I never army built BATs when I was a kid. I didn't really understand that was a thing lol. I just had the one and I thought he was just a singular badass looking figure.

I always wanted more Foot Soldiers for TMNT as a kid, but I didn't get any extra because I always wanted the different color ones from the arcade that never came.

I had to explain to my mom why more than one of each trooper was needed. Took a while but i managed to get her to understand the diff vetween an alley viper and a character like falcon! Lemme tell ya for a grade schooler that was exhausting. :)

^ Wow. You should have become a lawyer... even just this week I overheard a mom telling their kid I am not buying that... that's the exact same one I bought you last time. I think they were talking about Beyblades though... I heard the kid try to argue something, but he must have failed cuz he didn't get anything.

I remember being a kid and having all the different colorations of cobra vipers … whenever my parents would comment that it’s the same toy, just different colors, I’d point out they bought me Starscream, skywarp, and thundercracker, ironhide & ratchet, prowl, and bluestreak with no problem… they really couldn’t argue their position after that. Lol

Not to mention he-man toys, which were the same body with a mix of 15 or so options for legs and accessories.

As an adult in my 40’s, I feel oddly cheated and appreciative of the rampant reuse of molds and army builders figures. I feel cheated from the standpoint that toys are far more expensive today ($25-$80) it wouldn’t seem asking for unique molds was out of the question, but also it amazes me how with some clever paint, a new head sculpt, and accessories a company can make 50+ characters off of one body and get people to pay $25 a pop for the same toy over and over.

I'm not an army builder, but I am a completist, so I did get one of every color. But I only did that for army builders, not individual characters.

However, that changed when Crimson Guards came along. Because everywhere Cobra Commander went, he was flanked by Crimson Guards to his left and right, and with the Crimson Twins, it just didn't look right to have just 1 Crimson Guard to protect 2 Twins.

I don't mind toy makers reusing the same body/molds as long as it make sense. Molds and sculpting are expensive, you need to reuse stuff to make a bigger profit margins, I'm not against other people making money. I WANT all toy companies to succeed and make lots of profits so they can make more! I don't like it when it doesn't make sense. Growing up Roadblock has always been a disappointment. His toys were always the same height as everyone else when he should be bigger - both according to his other media appearances and his bio - that's what made him able to handle the Ma-Deuce. I think it wasn't until GIJoe Retaliation did they start using a visibly taller body for Roadblock.

Try explaining to your wife about a SWAT team! Back when 1/6 figures were popular, I built SWAT Teams - LAPD, Hong Kong SDU, etc.

Wife: "Why do you have 8 guys that look exactly the same?!"
Me: "They're NOT the same. See? This is a Front Man, with the shield, this is the Breacher, with the shotgun, then you have to have a 4 men Assaulting team, they cover each other's backs. These 2 guys with no helmet and lighter gears? Snipers! Over watch...It's not about the cloths, it's about the accessories!"

Came across yet another BAT.

https://i.imgur.com/J9coVL2.jpg

It would be nice if I could find some AVs.

Man i want a bat. And avs. :)

I’ve never even seen a BAT in person!

I originally had no plans to army build the BATs while I'd like to have 6-7 AVs in my collection. I've already got 2 AVs from Pulse and 3 are on their way from BBTS. For the BATs, I got 1 from Pulse, 2 from Walmart, 2 from Target, and 2 on the way from BBTS.

From Hisstank:
Nice find, Dr Kain. The BAT is easily one of the best the line has to offer so far.

Wait, the Viper 3 pack already????? I'm not ready for that one yet at all.

Agreed. I'll have the money, and I'd be happy if it's not a year out, but I'd rather have been able to plan for it.


All that aside, take the above with a grain of salt, it is just a rumor at this point... though the source is reputable, I'm told.

Wow, the comments on today's stream were toxic. I need to stop reading them. Overall, rather mixed on the reveals with lots of repaints on the horizon. I am particularly curious about the differences with Storm Shadow since I could only half pay attention to the stream and had no audio. It seemed almost identical to the recent "classic-ified" version from what I was able to observe.

What did they say?

Anyway, it seems like the only things new were Sgt Slaughter and Blue Ninjas. Didn't even know there were blue ninjas in GI Joe.

Pre-order starting at 1pm EDT for Pulse Premium. 2pm everyone. Grabbing the list off of Hisstank for ease of posting from my phone.

G.I. Joe Fans First Tuesday April 26th 2022

Sgt. Slaughter – Announced ARAH design removable hat, whistle

Snake Eyes with Timber – new paint deco

Duke with RAM Cycle – Tiger Force

Blue Ninja 2-Pack Troop Builder – Oni mask

G.I. Joe Retro Classified Carded

Zartan – sunbow colors/deco

Storm Shadow – new hands with wrist wrap

G.I. Joe Classified Preorders for Today

Tiger Force Bazooka – Target Exclusive
Tiger Force Recondo – Target Exclusive
Python Patrol Cobra Officer – Target Exclusive

Zarana – swap out hair designs
Dusty – hooded
Crimson Guard


Oh and the base price is going up to $24.99.

Just the forearms and hands, the "new" version has no arm guards and mittens. So he can't get the cookies out of the oven.

Since when did Hasbro needed a previous version to make a repaint?

Thanks for the list. The 3 Target Exclusives are $2 cheaper at Target.com versus Hasbro Pulse.

A bit of a miss not calling them a Ninja Viper and Vypra two pack. Oh well.
Teal is arguably blue, I guess:
https://i.postimg.cc/G3T5QHSZ/77026.jpg
https://www.yojoe.com/action/92/ninjaviper.shtml

Its blue in the same way pink armor is just lightish red. ;) heehee

Pretty crazy that Hasbro got the Sarge after Valaverse went through the trouble of doing it.

The Hasbro release may hurt Valaverse sales on the new Sarge figure. I am rather surprised that there was not an exclusive agreement with Valaverse for at least 5 years to protect their investment in the figure creation.

That segment of the stream put a big ol smile on my face, both because an official Sarge is a dream come true, and the fact that I live for schadenfreude. Mr. Vala has got to be feeling positively checkmated right about now.

Yeah, Mattel you can keep your impossible to get Sarge! And I never liked the Val Sarge

I know I cancelled my BBTS preorder after seeing this. I have nothing against the Valaverse stuff, but having a choice between their design and Hasbro's, I'm taking Hasbro's.