I'm sure it'll be more like the Infantry, easily found online for quite awhile and really losing their "value" on the secondary, almost never seen by most in the wild. Army builders just don't hang around on pegs.

I don't know, I ran into a lot of Infantry for a while there especially at Target. But they were never hard to find, just a "buy them now cause they won't last forever" situation. BATs might be as popular, but I suspect AV's will be even easier to come by.

Wait... so BATs are more popular that AVs? I'm going with AVs being more hard to find in the short term, but BATS being more popular in the long term.

While both are equally popular, among long time Joe collectors, it does tend to trend in favor of the BATs. The BAT always tends to carry a higher value on the secondary and vintage markets as well over the AV.

I got pretty lucky with troopers once the general release version began hitting stores. In total, I ended up with about 8 of them, the large majority of which I found in Walgreens of all places. While Walgreens has since dried up in general as far as toys go, I was able to find quite a bit of the harder to find figures, such as the Trooper, Zartan, and Duke repaint throughout this past year. Hopefully the trend continues in 2022.

Speaking of army builders, I finally spotted the Night Creeper from the basic line, and while it's a really cool figure for a basic on it's own, I decided to use the headsculpt (which is really good) to cobble together my own Classified version to lead my Cobra Ninjas into battle.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ea1f9d_c_d.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...31f377_c_d.jpg

I've thought about adding some silver to the vest to replicate the original figure, but I actually wanted to keep paints off of this for a more classic kitbashed look. It did take some cutting of the gear and some dremeling of the head to get it to work, but I'm really happy with the result. I wouldn't be surprised to see this headsculpt get used again when Hasbro decides to tackle him in Classified, as it's really that good in hand.

Looks fantastic! I am curious to know the pieces that you used for the non-Red Ninja parts.

Thank you Kirathis! I'm happy with how he came out, as Night Creeper ranks pretty high in my personal favorite Joe figures of all time.

Firefly - crotch, upper and lower legs
Red Ninja - upper torso and arms, boots, feet, belt, weapons and knee pads
Major Bludd - vest
Night Creeper (basic) - weapons, head

It can be an expensive formula if you don't already have the figures for parts, since two of them come from CI. I was able to obtain an extra Bludd vest from an online seller (https://onestopjoeshop.com/) who specializes in Joe figures and fodder, and I had an army of Fireflies and Red Ninjas lying around that I could Frankenstein with.

If you need an alternative...Zartan's vest works well in a pinch as a substitute for Bludd. Its a little bit more brown than the Bludd vest, but that doesn't matter if you are willing to paint or drybrush...and it actually gets better articulation than the Bludd vest. It does have the shoulder pads, but those can be cut away easily, or left on if you want a more armored Creeper.

That Creeper is indeed awesome. What sort of modifications (if any) went into the head swap?

Edit: NVM, I should read. Nice work!

Awesome, thanks. I have an extra Bludd from a lot that I bought and, I believe, an extra Firefly so hopefully the difficult pieces to source are covered. Then I just need to gather the rest and try my hand at a torso modification. I have never done more than the extremities before.

You basically have to hollow the inside of the head just a tad bit under the chin and around the sides so that it will slide a little further down the neck peg and onto the actual neck itself. Otherwise, the head sits kinda high on it and will look like a bobble head.

The great thing about the Classified line that you don't hear too many people mention is that the figures themselves are very friendly to customizers (at least they are for mow...that will change once pinless becomes the norm.)

If you have never tried to pull apart one yet, the awesome thing is they require no torso cracking. Soak the limbs in hot water for an appropriate time and they will pop right off the body, allowing you to bash away. This will also allow you to slide the vests and web gear off without having to cut them and glue them back, as once the arms and heads are popped off, you can just gently slide the vests off (if you use a little clear handsoap, they slide right off and on.)

Be sure to check YouTube, as there are plenty of Classified disassembly tutorials out there that might help you along!

^ Damn... that sounds amazing... I tried to crack a Marvel Legends torso once and it wasn't pretty... never attempted it again.

Sigh. Apparently I do not have an extra Firefly like I originally thought. So much for that idea.

On another note, my Valaverse Action Force pre-order came in yesterday. I have only had the time to do a cursory glance at some of the figures and accessories but it appears that they will fit in well with the Classified line.

Hisstank has found listings are Walmart.com for retro carded GI Joe figures. However, the price point and packaging dimensions are consistent with 6" Classified figures rather than the current 3.75" retro carded figures. I've included the link from Hisstank.

Hopefully, this means I'll have another chance at Heavy Artillery Roadblock.

https://news.hisstank.com/2021/12/29...nch-line-76525

If anyone is considering the Action Force weapon packs, I did some testing last night with a Trooper. The weapons do indeed scale well with the Classified figures. However, they are made from a type of dense plastic and appear to be more brittle than what is included with the Classified line. Nothing broke but I was hesitant to try a couple weapons for that reason.

Damn... so like the Black Series Archive line... those are straight repacks though right? Would be cool if these are repaints with classic colors instead. Like seriously though... there are a bazillion Lady Jayes outthere right now... I wonder if they just assumed Lady Jaye would be the hard one to find. Heck, even Baroness is no longer hard to find anymore... but I guess people would love to have a single carded version of her. Would love if they repainted Classified Scarlett with OG colors in this new line.

I totally forgot there were supposed to be Night Creepers in the movie line. Did they ever actually hit stores or were they an onkline only thing?

For Black Series, the Archive and retro carded figures are generally straight repacks with the exception of using face printing. However, the Credit Collection figures from The Mandalorian are repainted to resemble the preproduction artwork seen at the end of each episode during the credits.

Baroness and Lady Jaye are assumptions based on the code names. I would take their inclusion with a grain of salt for the moment. But I could see some of the more recent Classified figures getting deco changes to match the old 3.75” figures or even the cartoon.

The Night Creeper in the photos is one that I kitbashed together using the headsculpt of the basic NC from the movie line aimed at kids. He can be found in stores as part of the second wave, but he's a little on the hard to find side...as he is one per case within an ocean of more Snake Eyes and Storm Shadows. If you are willing to resort to online ordering for a 10 dollar figure, that would probably be an easier route.

As Trivial noted, he can be difficult to locate. If you do want to order it, be prepared to hunt for a while or pay, at minimum, double MSRP. I have been looking since I saw Trivial's custom. He is sold out everywhere and the secondary market is up to at least $20. EE has him up on pre-order but their date has already jumped from February to March over the last couple of days.

Not worth it. I might be willing to buy them if I walked into a store and they had several of them for the $10 price tag, but nothing more than that. They don't have the articulation range to justify it.

Exactly my thought as well. I managed to snag one from a seller on Etsy of all places. $9 +$3 to ship so I considered that acceptable.

New Year's Gift from a friend. Guess Hasbro is rolling out new back of box art.

Storm Shadow is one of the best figures in the line to date. Pinless, bright white, classically armed he evokes the greatness of the V1 figure and enhances everything we love about the og design with contemporary yet understated flair. You guys are gonna freak. I haven't even posed him. Just admiring his presence in a neutral stance.

^ Lucky! And at first glance I thought we were gonna get a classic color Gung Ho, but upon closer inspection of the art that is just the same Gung Ho we got, but the light reflecting off the armor parts on his vest just makes it look bluish.

Still waking up everyday hoping someone posts pics of the Walmart repaints... that line could be a game changer for figs like Classified Scarlett.

He is indeed pictured in classic colors I looked at it under a magnifying glass. :D GH doesn't appear to have any part/design revisions. Still has that incredibly stupid chest tat. He'll be released in the new Classified "Retro" carded line. It's very similar to the way Hasbro handles the Marvel Legends Retro runs.

BAT and Alley Viper are in stock on Pulse

And Alley Vipers sold out before the BATs, I'm surprised.