Also, to add to the above a bit- I'm glad these aren't direct one-ups of he original run. If they were, I'd see little reason to buy them, considering I'm some 25-30 figures shy of having the full ARAH line on my shelves. They are close enough to invoke nostalgia, but updated enough to be fresh and exciting. They've really struck a nice balance in that regard, IMHO.

I don't know, some updates really are better.. I mean just because Sgt. Slaughter is hanging around it doesn't mean your Native American guy has to be dressed like Tatanka. Or pretending that it makes sense even in the 80s for any military personnel to be dressed like they're reenacting the Battle at Little Big Horn.

They're just saving the loin-cloth and arrow gun for the eventual Walmart "Classic" Exclusive.

So where did you get him and how many limps did that set you back?

It was a Trade. A B.A.T., Alley viper, and Supreme Cobra Commander.

^ Wow... you gave up more than the Lakers did for Anthony Davis. I mean Spirit is in the wave with Stormy and Cobra Officer right? IMO Spirit has the potential to become the next Gung Ho on the pegs... assuming that wave actually arrives at retail one day.

I also got Marvel Legends Hammerhead but all the figures that I traded I have extras of supreme cobra Commander and two more bats in my closet

Welp, Officer, Spirit, and Stormshadow arrived today. They're fucking awesome!

Where did you order from? I have them ordered at Pulse, BBTS, Amazon, and Gamestop.

Cmdstore out of Canada. A bit of a mixed bag ordering through them. The pros were that they had them in stock and shipped immediately, they arrived super quickly (less than a week), and the boxes were dead perfect for those that collect MIB.

The cons are that there was a bit of a markup (the three figures cost about $100 together, sort of between eBay and retail there. FOMO and wanting to knock down an ever-growing list of pre-orders at work), but the absolute worst is that after only a day of having them in stock, they added a further mark up- when I checked, they were up to $44 per figure. That's pretty goddamned predatory, and that alone would prevent me from recommending them to anyone.

All of the above aside, these are some truly great figures and they really have me excited for what's to come. Hasbro has really hit their stride with this line.

Thanks for the info. I have heard mixed things about CMD before. That has usually kept me from even looking there.

CMDstore is pretty reliable, and often get things in before everyone else. But they are not cheap to use.

The part that SUCKS is we can't even get them here in the states. I lucked out and got the entire wave January 2nd. I was told this weekend by an incredibly reliable source that it is unlikely we will see any Classified figures the entire rest of the year in the US.

Well a lot of stores are still clearing through Snake Eyes movie figures and the BAT/AV wave feels like it hit late and most places haven't seen it yet, but I have to believe that if this next wave is just starting to hit Canada that it should start popping up sooner or later in the U.S., too.

If Firmpulse says it, I believe it.

GI Joe Classified has to be one of the worst handled toy lines ever... great designs, but like everything else is a mess and has been like that since even before the Pandemic hit a couple of years ago.

I'm the opposite... I rather Classified be fully ARAH inspired so I can replace all my 3.75" Modern Era Joes on the shelf like how I completely replaced all my 3.75" Marvel Universe figs with 6" Legends versions. I don't really need two different scales of the same fig.

I get that for sure, in fact, that's why I feel the way I do, though in an opposite sense.

ARAH is kinda my be-all-end-all, so they'll always take priority over any other line and will never be replaced. I dumped my own ME stuff as Classified was starting to pick up steam, as I felt that Classified is that "different enough" line I'd been looking for the whole time- the ME stuff I had was practically just the same ol' ARAH figures, just with modern sculpting and articulation (and waaaay more frustration. I HATED gearing ME Joes up with a passion). Granted, it did take a few waves coming out for me to be impressed, I feel that the first two waves diverge from the classic feel too much. Figures like HA Roadblock, AC Snake Eyes, and this wave really hit that sweet spot though. They aren't just one ups, they all differ from the source, but they manage to do that and still evoke that classic feel. Even the Viper, Alley Viper, and BAT are significantly different from their 80's counterparts. If they weren't, I wouldn't own them- like you, I have no need for the same figure in two scales.

As a (former?) modern era collector, how did you feel about POC? I ask because it's frequently cited by many as the best of the ME, but those designs are mostly very far from the OG looks.

I'm also in the minority that I didn't mind the redesign of the original Classified Joes. I was disappointed that Hasbro back-tracked and went back to the original looks. But at least they're still different enough, so they're not just scaled-up versions of the originals.

Redesign is fine, as long as it retains the essence of the character. I didn't like the gold accents of the first wave, but that's nothing a paint brush can't fix. Design wise, you can still tell that was Duke, Scarlet, Snake Eyes and Roadblock, but in modern uniforms. Roadblock's "fork gun" was too "out there" for me, but otherwise, they were fine. What I didn't like, was the Target Roadblock. There's nothing about him that says "Roadblock", Roadblock has never wore the head-bandana or sported a beard, that was always a "Heavy Duty" thing.

https://www.yojoe.com/images/resize/...uty7_large.jpg

So that was what I would consider a "bad redesign". But like many have mentioned, I think that was always meant to be Heavy Duty, so I did a quick swap of the left arm with the Amazon Roadblock, so now my 2 Roadblocks have tattoo on the left arm, while my Heavy Duty has no tattoo.

I would like to see Tomax and Xamot not in those ridiculous circus uniforms. They would look so much more like "Crimson Guards Commander" if they're in matching uniforms like the ones that came with the Crimson Command Copter.

https://www.yojoe.com/images/resize/...03/ccc/box.jpg

I know people would groan, but to me, that's a good redesign. Updating the looks to what make sense today.

POC was the best possible updating of the RAH "20 minutes in the future" aesthetic (which "Classified" utterly botched).

That's the thing, though: they weren't wearing modern uniforms. Roadblock and Duke were essentially wearing their 1980s outfits with the addition of some extraneous, LED-bedecked bits of metal on their extremities, Scarlett was wearing some kind of horribly overdesigned zero-G yoga costume (complete with thrusters on the boots?) and as for Snake Eyes, merely putting trousers on his "ninja" catsuit does not make him "modern," after all.

Agreed. As they have started releasing the "Classic" stylings waves it would be nice to see the regular releases return to a modern or slightly sci-fi design. I for one would have loved to see the original Storm Shadow design with the different mask and the tattoos.

Yeah I was one of the apparently very few who was disappointed that the first non-exclusive Storm Shadow is not the design featured in all of the Classified art so far (not counting the movie one, that's separate). V1 Storm Shadow has always been my personal least favorite because it's just too plain, I was really digging the Sub-Zero-esque mask, Batman blade gauntlets, and colorful tattoo that was previewed by the art. If they insisted on going classic couldn't they have at least done V2?

I am aware that my desires for the line won't line up with most Joe fans since the franchise has never been that dear to me. I started picking up some Classified figures just because they appealed to me when I saw them on the shelf but lately as the newer releases and reveals continue to skew more and more towards the original designs I'm finding myself less interested.

I share your sentiment almost exactly. I had never collected more than the dozen Joe figures I obtained as a child in the 80s. I stumbled across Classified while looking at mecha figures and found that I enjoyed the new aesthetics with the 6" scale. They had a more "special operations with bleeding edge technology" feel and my intent was to develop the figures into a S.H.I.E.L.D. strike team for Legends. I never followed through with that idea as I decided I enjoyed the line on its own. However, as the line moves closer to ARAH, I find my interest waning.

POC was the pinnacle of 3.75" Joes IMO, but 2010 was just a different time... stuff was cheaper and somewhat easier to find and I had like no problem buying tons of figures back then for Joes or SW or Marvel or whatever. Nowadays I just pretty much want one definitive version of something and I am good to go.

It's a line with a lot of passion behind it but as a brand still a lot hurdles left to overcome.

That makes sense. I actually have a similar rule set for all non-ARAH lines, basically one figure per character, whatever I happen to feel is definitive. I didn't even grab a symbiote Spidey or brown and gold Wolverine, as tempted as I was. Space is the deciding factor for me, though. I just don't have room to display every version of a character.

Recap of the Classified portion of today's stream for those who missed it.

Hasbro will be revealing 2 new character names for 2023 releases each week this month.

First reveals during a prior Instagram Live: Shipwreck, Rock n Roll
Today's reveals: Copperhead, Torpedo

Pre-orders from 2021 Pulsecon (Tiger Force, Python Patrol, Spirit, Stormshadow, Cobra Officer, Croc Master) have left Hasbro warehouses for retailers.

New waves in 2023 will be 5 figures instead of 3.

Digital renders revealed today:
Falcon
Outback in Survival shirt
Crimson B.A.T.
Barbecue in Mauraders colors
Cover Girl

Available for pre-order today:
Snake Eyes and Timber version 2