G.I. Joe: Classified 6" figures

[ObiGlennKenobi]

Retro CC has shipped to me in Oz from an Oz online etailer.
Should arrive tomorrow.
Shame I'm on the otherside of the Country though. lol

 

[ObiGlennKenobi]

 

[redxavier]

Looks like the Dragonfly is shipping soon, received an email about confirmign address with a deadline of 24 Oct.

 

[ObiGlennKenobi]

2nd CCOAM from local retailer.

This one is an opener!!

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Even as a Classified-only collector, I still find money and available space crucial to which products I buy. I have a tier list and I’m curious if any of you have one as well.

1. HasLab
2. Small and mid-size vehicles
3. Exclusives
4. Retro Cardbacks
5. Everything else

1) Great blowjobs
2) Is an amazing cook
3) Free stuff
4) Super cheap
5) Clearance
6) Retail as a last resort

Wait... just Classified....

1) "Must Have" individual figures I know will sell out fast at retail and I love the figure concept ( The first Snow Serpent is a good example, amazing figure, I know everyone will want one or multiples, and while I can hold off for a sale for a little while, odds are you need to pull the trigger in relatively short order or watch them disappear. I've observed Snow Job, Low Light V1 and Rock N Roll were also fast sellers for example. They didnt' disappear overnight, but they won't be "evergreens")

2) Targets of opportunity individual figures. ( So I think Road Pig looks cool but I'm not apt to spend the 50 bucks for him at retail. But if I can get him on a super clearance or a discount outlet will get him, I'd be happy to pick him up. The blue Marauders BBQ fit this category in real life. Had no interest in him in Category 1, but if I can get him at a clearance price or as an additional figure in a big loose lot buy, then happy to have him incoming) Small vehicles and mid sized vehicles land here too. If I can get a smoking deal, I'm open to it, but otherwise I'm OK with holding off. Something like Big Ben and Tunnel Rat fit here too, I'd want them in the collection, but believe I can time a good sale.

3) Army builders/Squad builders individual figures as the situation permits. I'm willing to spend a good chunk all at once if I can get less than retail/MSRP but the price is going to be above clearance, to get things like BATs or Vipers. Like if I could get 10 BATs for 150 before shipping in a loose complete lot, I'd trigger that, something like that.

The only exception to any of that was I bought an ungodly number of Rattlers. I didn't have one as a kid and wanted one badly as a kid. So that kind of falls into the category like the Voltron Lions, I also didn't have it as a kid and wanted it as a kid, those things that hit a kind of "grail/nostalgia" category are outliers and will spend outside my more current budget collecting way to get them. I'm sure part of it is completely psychological in nature. I grew up with holes in my clothes, no jacket in the winter time, went to bed hungry lots of nights. I'm not saying that for folks to feel badly for me, because lots of people grew up rough or had it even worse than me, but most people can't understand what it's like to be a kid and covet something like the Voltron Lions over regular food every night. Here around fellow collectors, I think people for the most part understand where and how a kid would think like that or covet like that. There was a girl in my math class in middle school, she said that once, out loud in front of me, and it was kind of a distracted kind of way, the kind of way where you saying way too much truth and you don't realize it. She basically wore the same clothes every day, I went to school with other kids like that, and she just said, "I'm just so tired of being poor" Poverty messes with you, how you see material items and how you buy things. You have to fight it's worst tendencies as an adult. I have to mentally constantly fight off the urge to buy 4 of everything immediately now. I have a budget and I stay in that budget. I could spend more, but I've seen others go out of control before with a hobby, and I can't go there. More to point, how we collect, my thinking on it is it's partially a function of how we had to grow up and deal with money.

I pick and choose now, whereas before I was a hard line completist for a lot of things. The decade I took off entirely from the hobby did me good in so many ways. I was not in a good place before my hiatus, and I knew I couldn't handle myself for better things and still be a collector at the same time. So I just left. Again, I'm in a forum, a subforum here, with fellow collectors, and I truly do believe that people here, most of them, can actually understand where I am coming from here. Sometimes this stuff for me is a time machine, to go back to a better version of my past that I never got to have. But instead of needing that fix all the time, now it's just where it needs to be - nostalgia with limits.

 

[Neal136]

Raptor arrived today (Pulse), and this figure has simply no business turning out this good. The concept is purely asinine.

 

[KitbashOfficer]

Raptor arrived today (Pulse), and this figure has simply no business turning out this good. The concept is purely asinine.

Yeah, this is one of those characters I just can't accept, lol. That being said, I will keep an eye on it to see if it ends up cheap.

 

[Joe Scorpio]

Raptor arrived today (Pulse), and this figure has simply no business turning out this good. The concept is purely asinine.

I had him as a kid and I have no excuse for that other than I was just a kid. 😂

That being said, Classified has really upgraded and improved some of the more absurd characters like Serpentor, Big Boa and Croc Master. I’m legit scared to see how Classified Crystal Ball turns out. 😱

I’m looking forward to picking up Raptor and Road Pig.

 

[Neal136]

Speaking of Road Pig ... I ordered him on Sunday from Target and took advantage of their $10 off of $40 toy offer.
Though it said he shipped later that day, the figure still hasn't moved, and per the UPS tracking, they don't even have the package yet.
Umm ... that was four days ago. Something tells me they aren't going to meet the expected delivery date of today.

 

[screamingmetal]

With no early notification, my Starduster shipped from Pulse. I'll have mine on Thursday.
My Falcon & Quarrel Walmart preorder has been delayed until early November.

 

[Joe Scorpio]

I picked up Raptor at a local Target because Walmart doesn’t carry Classified in my area anymore.
I really enjoy the figure and had to bust out a rare figure stand to keep him from falling over.
It’s a great update to that goofy design from our childhoods.

 

[Buttmunch]

With no early notification, my Starduster shipped from Pulse. I'll have mine on Thursday.
My Falcon & Quarrel Walmart preorder has been delayed until early November.

I don’t think the new Pulse site it doing processing soon notices like the old version. Any of the new orders I’ve placed since the new site went live haven’t given me the warning. I still will get them from lingering orders from the old version though. Can’t say I’m a fan of that lack of notice and I’m betting they changed that on purpose to avoid cancellations.

 

[Neal136]

Can’t say I’m a fan of that lack of notice and I’m betting they changed that on purpose to avoid cancellations.

Yup ... same here. It's annoying.
Speaking of Pulse, Starduster arrived today. He's a nice figure ... for what he is.
He comes with the same grenade launcher as the Retro Gung Ho, except his is painted much nicer. I wasn't going to display him with it anyway, so I gave it to Gung Ho.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

That being said, Classified has really upgraded and improved some of the more absurd characters like Serpentor, Big Boa and Croc Master. I’m legit scared to see how Classified Crystal Ball turns out. 😱

This is a custom ( not mine obviously) What's interesting is his kalediscope accessory looks to be incorporated into shield. Which is the only IMHO I can see it kind of working. If it's a normal shield, but has a release feature to allow the "magic" part to come out when needed. But IMHO, I think they'll just reuse as much of the Dreadnoks as they can and cobble a Crystal Ball together for a SDCC release ( I just don't think this can sell mainline)

 

[Buttmunch]

Yeah some of the goofier characters are questionable at retail but getting Raptor and Roadpig just recently, they’re not afraid of venturing into the bizarre. I think if Crystal Ball just ends up being a cool figure like Raptor, even his C list status might not delegate him to exclusive status. Really nothing but nostalgia media says Storm Shadow is an A list figure and Crystal Ball C or even D list. Croc Master was my brother’s favorite Joe figure and he’s nowhere near the status of a character that should have been done as well as the Classified release got. Some kid may find CB the coolest thing in the toy isle because of how different from everything else he is.

 

[BuddyGus]

Got Starduster, RoadPig, and Raptor from Pulse this week. Also, picked up the 60th Ann Marine Sniper and Pilot at the local base exchange. For the life of me, I don't understand why they made the Pilot a HALO Jumper and the Sniper a female. They just don't go together. Can't imagine too many pilots are doing HALO Jumps, and there certainly aren't many female Marine Snipers...

 

[MeatHookGekko]

,,,,,Really nothing but nostalgia media says Storm Shadow is an A list figure and Crystal Ball C or even D list....Some kid may find CB the coolest thing in the toy isle because of how different from everything else he is.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

For the life of me, I don't understand why they made the Pilot a HALO Jumper and the Sniper a female. They just don't go together. Can't imagine too many pilots are doing HALO Jumps, and there certainly aren't many female Marine Snipers...

Best guess is they are focusing on maximizing the preexisting base of molds over the more practical aesthetics of the figures themselves. The sniper looks like they took a failed prototype of Shooter and mixed it with reuse from Lowlight.

Unfortunately what I believe consistently happens is one release is a budget buster, like Cobra La, and the rest of the lineup in that wave has to suffer for it. If they can't reuse it, they might hesitate to make it. Which is why I think Sci Fi might take a long time to come out. I mean how can you easily reuse that dude?

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Yeah some of the goofier characters are questionable at retail but getting Raptor and Roadpig just recently, they’re not afraid of venturing into the bizarre. I think if Crystal Ball just ends up being a cool figure like Raptor, even his C list status might not delegate him to exclusive status. Really nothing but nostalgia media says Storm Shadow is an A list figure and Crystal Ball C or even D list. Croc Master was my brother’s favorite Joe figure and he’s nowhere near the status of a character that should have been done as well as the Classified release got. Some kid may find CB the coolest thing in the toy isle because of how different from everything else he is.

I hate to say this, but Classified might hit a bit of a wall relatively soon.

Figures we know will sell - Blowtorch, Rip Cord, Air Tight, Main Frame, Footloose, Lifeline, Wet Suit, Leatherneck, etc

Then you get some interesting concepts like Sci Fi, Muskrat, Hit & Run, Fast Draw, Repeater, Recoil, etc.

2021 - 17 releases
2022 - 30 releases
2023 - 48 releases
etc, etc

I mean it won't be overnight. But there's a point where you can upgrade an Iceberg or a Sneak Peek sure. But there could be a fall off once you settle too far into the more fringe guys. Once you get to Top Side, Bullhorn and the DEA guys and Battle Corps, I just don't know. If we are talking nostalgia, there's a bit of a fade out for the later releases. You can make Rampart cool and make a really awesome concept, but he doesn't have the same nostalgia factor of a Flint. Or maybe even a Raptor. IMHO, venturing into the bizarre might get used more because there isn't as much subject matter left that hits both nostalgia and interesting concept together at the same time.

2027 maybe? This line is awesome. But it can't last forever.

 

[Buttmunch]

Most Joe lines have introduced new things into the universe and so far Classified has done very little of that. We got the redesigned versions of the core characters pretty early on and just now are getting classic versions of them. Maybe in a few years they’ll put out some more redesigns to keep things fresh? But you’re right, eventually everything ends. Right now, it’s probably Hasbro’s best selling figure line and that will keep the execs backing it for a little while longer.