Jump to content

Hasbro's deadly sins


Romadon

Recommended Posts

Hey gang,

 

I've been collecting Star Wars since they released the POTF He-man style Luke, Chewie, Han Solo and Storm Trooper...finally after years of hasbro retooling and rereleasing these figures, they pretty much fixed all these characters!!!

 

However, I still finding it amazing how they still manage to screw things up....

With that in mind I was wondering what you guys thought were some of the worst things hasbro has done with the GI joe 25th anniversary line...

 

here's my quick list, but I'm also gonna give them props on things they did that I love.

I'm only gonna list 2-3 things in each category to kick things off:

 

Worst habits and practices brought over from Star Wars

1. Rereleasing God Awful repaints of existing figures.

2. Promoting a great battle pack only to pack it with another SE, CC, SS Duke, that we don't want.

 

worst upgrade from classic 80's line to 25th line:

1. Lt Falcon (Comic Pack)

2. Serpentor

3. Zartan

4. Lady Jay (Single Card)

 

worst comic pack idea

1. Duke & Cobra Commander (pegwarmer)

 

best thing hasbro did with the 25th line:

1. Deciding to bring back GI joe and keeping the orignal style intact!!!

2. Bringing the old school vehicles back and not giving them some goofy color scheme.

3. DVD packs, love the first two packs.

 

best upgrade from 80's line to 25th line.

1. BATS, perfect figure, best army building trooper figure in gi joe and star wars.

2. Lady Jay (DVD PACK) I waited since the 80's for them to fix this!!!!

3. Snow Job...I hated the 80's version, he looked thin, flimsy and weak, but this 25th version is tough, love the removable hood and goggles.

 

best comic pack idea:

1. xamot & tomax

2. Firefly & Stormshadow

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hasbro's biggest missteps in this line have been the redesigning of figures (Serpentor and Zartan from last year), the slavish to certain poor colors and concepts from the 80s (the apple green parts on the BAT, Major Bludd's arm) and straying from the original design when they could've been more faithful (Tele-Viper having Viper arms and Legs when they could've used Snow Job's lower legs to get the puffy pant look, and Flint arms would've been just as "off-model" without suffering those awful wrists again. Also, Major Bludd using the Zartan redesign to approximate his *original* uniform which looks nothing like that).

 

The biggest blunder, I think, has been the Original 13. Without a standard, short-sleeve mold with bare hands, most of the O13 had to be made with Duke's insufferable 3/4 sleeve mold (which Hasbro has admitted is flawed since last October). Having that one mold tooled up would've improved Rock 'N Roll, Breaker, and Clutch. Steeler has Duke arms, inexplicably, when he should've had long sleeves and gloves (On a shipwreck torso, btb... that was an easy miss).

 

Secondly, the heads have sucked. Flash, Grand Slam, and Grunt all have the same ugly head, with grunt getting a 5 o'clock shadow for no reason. Head sharing should only fly when different color hair can *really* make the character look different, but these three all got relatively similar brown hair (Flash could've been a much brighter red, at least to differentiate him from Grand Slam!) The Breaker head is gigantic and has a 5 o'clock shadow when Breaker has always had a beard in the toyline and cartoon, and was clean shaven in the comic. The Hawk, Steeler, Rock'n Roll and Clutch heads are golden. Why do the others look so bad, either lifeless or out-of-scale?

 

Finally, while Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, and Stalker were true to the originals while being more realistic and varied, the rest of the O13 are kinda blah. Why do Clutch, Steeler and others have the old 82 "future boots", when Stalker and Snake-Eyes looked perfectly perfect with modern, normal looking boots? Short Fuze is fail (Likely Zap too) because Hasbro couldn't tool a simple piece of webgear to approximate their original mold, especially when it makes more sense for their specialities than Snake-Eyes' webgear.

 

I gave up on wanting an Original 13 set because of these problems. But my Joe Universe absolutely demands Clutch and Rock'n Roll... both of which have the awful Duke arms and are unlikely to get a "fix" before the Movie.

 

Aside from those problems, this line has really been the bee's knees for me. I even forgive the Viper arms *on* the Viper, because they're character-accurate and because Vipers should be carrying rifles positioned that way. Tele-Vipers should not. Siegies have been great and plentiful, and for many short-cut figures, like Snake-Eyes v2 and Flint, there's been an apology figure that shows Hasbro's trying.

 

Hopefully, as we near the end of the line, Hasbro can issue those few apology figures we need to get our collections looking *right*.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Worst habits and practices brought over from Star Wars

1. Rereleasing God Awful repaints of existing figures.

 

Star Wars?

 

Go back further--its a practise of economy that goes back at least as far as the 12" GIJOES in the 60's.

Hasbro saves, thus makes, money by employing savvy re-use and re-paints and has throughout their history. Its just smart business.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm just going to edit the already existing list to suit my tastes...

 

Worst habits and practices brought over from Star Wars

1. Rereleasing God Awful repaints of existing figures.

2. Too many releases of the 'headliners'- Snake Eyes, Duke, Storm Shadow, Cobra Commander... Destro is nearly as bad. The line is re-using most of the molds ad nauseum anyway- find a new use for them! There's really no excuse or reason to get more versions of these characters in 2 years then in the original 12 years of GI Joe. One of the major strengths of the line was the variety of characters, and we're simply not getting that these days. You don't have to look too far to see how this is souring a lot of the 'old school' fans that the line is primarily intended to cater to.

3. Characters that can't hold weapons due to one of their hands being in some ridiculous 'action pose'. Cobra Commander and Destro, I'm looking at you. Having a million versions of them out there just compounds the problem. I wouldn't even mind some of the repainting/re-releasing if there were actual improvements to these molds.

 

worst upgrade from classic 80's line to 25th line:

1. Cobra Commander: a million versions and they still don't have him right.

2. Serpentor

3. Tele-Viper: Ugly, ugly, ugly.

4. Any figure that reuses the head of another figure to become a different character. Cutter, Leatherneck, Grand Slam, Grunt, etc.

5. Major Bludd. So messed up that I refused to even consider buying him.

 

I respectfully disagree that Lt. Falcon and Zartan are the 'worst'. Zartan is a great figure- his only 'crime' is that he's not the classic Zartan. I actually like Lt. Falcon better than the original ARAH figure.

 

worst comic pack idea

1. Any comic pack that requires the purchase of a character already out when said character has no significant changes, or offers nonsensical ones. The first SE/SS pack is exactly what I mean by no significant change. The Shipwreck from the SW/Copperhead pack is a great example of a nonsensical change.

 

best thing hasbro did with the 25th line:

1. Improved articulation. Now they just need to learn not to 'pre-pose' the sculpt. Don't offer me more articulation and then make it useless!

2. 'Original' versions of old characters. If Hasbro simply HAS to do all those Dukes and CCs and so on, this is the way to go. 'Arctic Snake Eyes' is easily one of my favorite figures from the new line. The Firefly from the comic pack is also pretty awesome.

3. Doc. Getting a mail-away figure cranked the 'nostalgia factor' of the line to 11.

 

best upgrade from 80's line to 25th line.

1. Storm Shadow (v1). Finally, a ninja figure who can move like one. Take that, Ninja Force!

2. Lady Jaye (DVD PACK) I waited since the 80's for them to fix this!!!!

3. Copperhead- Sure, he's recycled parts, but he's done incredibly well.

 

best comic pack idea:

1. Cobra Officer and Crimson Guard: I would have thought getting either of these guys (Scarface or Fred) was a longshot. Getting both in one pack was the bee's knees.

2. Tomax & Xamot: Sold together, as they always have been and always should be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll bite. Do I have to come up with 7:

 

1. Head reuse for other characters:

 

What other modern company actually does this? Body reuse is fine, as it does help to create a more unfirom look and size between figures. No problesm there. Head reusage is just lazy. Other than a select few figures, I refuse to buy anything with a reused head.

 

2. Duke arms

 

It isn't just that they look bad that bothers me: it is the fact that they feel like they might break at any minute. Seriously, folks should give Duke arm figures to every child they know so that the arms get snapped off, then call Hasbro about defective product. The arms don't just look bad, they are of poor quality. I'd rather everyone had Stalker or Snake eyes arms than those pitiful Duke arms.

 

3. Lazy repaints

 

If a repaint is unique and relevant, I have no problem picking it up. I know not everyone loves Tiger Force and Python Patrol, but at least they are more unique than different shades of the chacacters main uniform. The comic packs have been the worst offenders: I would much have prepared a Duke in camoflauge, urban camo, desert camo, heck even Slaughter's Marauders colors than in neon or comic colored shades.

 

4. Silly naming

This isn't a huge one, but why does Hasbro insist on calling some characters "G.I. Joe blank" and others Sgt. "blank"? Why couldn't Hawk have been Colonel and general hawk instead of G.I. Joe Hawk?

 

5. Empty holsters and sheathes

Another small one, but why would you ever release a figure with a holster or sheathe and leave it empty? That just looks lazy. This problem hasn't impacted the single carded figures any, but it has impacted the Target exclsuives, the DVD packs, and the Falcon comic pack.

 

Actually, that is it. I can't really think of any other problems. Granted, some of these are quite minor, but others are pretty severe and have kept me from pruchasing certain figures and sets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Worst habits and practices brought over from Star Wars

1. Rereleasing God Awful repaints of existing figures.

 

Star Wars?

 

Go back further--its a practise of economy that goes back at least as far as the 12" GIJOES in the 60's.

Hasbro saves, thus makes, money by employing savvy re-use and re-paints and has throughout their history. Its just smart business.

 

 

LOL, yeah your right, wasn't thinking that far back, but you get my complaint.

I'm all for hasbro saving money and making money by reusing old molds and repainting them, but the problem is when you get: Comic pack (Duke & CC) when they could've given us something more interesting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The over-all quality of the 25th/ Modern Era Joes has improved a lot over the past year in terms of paint jobs, articulation, and proper accessories and I don't have too many complaints about current or future waves. I wish Wave 8 was a little easier to find, but I'm not having a trouble with 9 other than the BAT (seriously guys, save some for the rest of us! :)) There is the usual crumby figure, but "collect them all!" is hardly a moral imperative. The thing that bothers me most right now is probably those empty holsters on the DVD & Driver figures. Are there any good custom guns and knives that would fit those sheaths and holsters?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. Making the figures larger than 3 3/4" (characters like Nemesis Enforcer get a pass).

 

2. Molded closed fists (Shipwreck, Cobra Commander).

 

3. Inability of some figures to sit down properly.

 

That's really my 3 major gripes since the 25th line started. Had they used their head and did these things right they would have been perfect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hmm what made me sell all of mine for pretty much dirt cheap :D

 

1. ugly articulation (mainly the torso, aka booby/titty, articulation)

2. no o-rings

3. early figures not being able to sit down (i'm not buying the same freakin' figure just so he sits almost normally!!)

4. crappy paint aps one some figures. namely the comic pack ones

5. repaints

6 mixing crappy repainted body parts with good new body parts to make a new character

7. 800 cobra commanders

8. 800 dukes

9. 900 snake eyes

10. 900 storm shadows

11. repaints

12 and the main thing that bothered me. They were bigger than my other non 25th anniversary joes.

13. not enough figures at the stores. especially early on.

14. my walmart shoving wave 7 down my throat

15. repaints

 

things i liked.

 

1.Love the vehicles and their makeovers

2.some of the figures were just completely amazing. i.e Snow Serpent. that figure made me stick with the line for a few weeks longer after i decided to stop buying them. it was only a few weeks because I couldn't find any more of the little guys!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Try here:

 

http://www.marauderinc.com/servlet/StoreFront

 

Great place, great customer service and prices, and awesome 1/18 scale weapons.

 

Thanks! I'll likely pick up some side arms for my DVD Battle Pack Guys and a radio pack for Breaker if I get the one with the RAM. Does anyone know if their custom knives work in S.E./Stalker's sheath?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Overall I've been really happy with the line, however, there are a few things that really bother me:

 

1. Repaints - ok, enough with CC, Duke, SE, SS, and Destro. We get that they're the main characters. Sure 3 different versions to re-create the 80s ones of them are understandable, but the first four now have over 10 versions a piece. Do you realize how many other great characters could have replaced them??

 

2. Diper crotch - can't sit down normally without much effort. Its been fixed lately so my only real problems are the first 5-pack figures and wave 1.

 

3. Closed fists - kinda worked for CC v1. Not for shipwreck, crankcase, and whoever else may get it in the future. by contrast I'm a fan of QKs chop hand.

 

4. Empty holsters - its made me canablize the pistols from the Ram Cycle to fill Falcon's and give Steeler a second like his card art. I'm dremelling new knives for SE and Stalker also.

 

5. Head reuse - unless they're twins, they get a new head. Simple as that. Come to think of it, even Tomax and Xamot have different heads.

 

6. Copyright loss - KEEP THE ORIGINAL NAMES HASBRO - how hard can it be to renew regularly????? And if you cant give their rank not 'G.I.Joe......." it just looks stupid. I've wound up printing custom lables for my stands to fix this.

 

worst upgrade from classic 80's line to 25th line:

1. Serpentor - still not even close

2. Zartan - I like DDP Zartan, but give us a proper colour change classic

3. Glenda - blond hair please (personal issue)

 

worst comic pack idea

1. Duke & Cobra Commander - easy pass, got enough of these guys already

2. SE & SS - again, enough already

 

best thing hasbro did with the 25th line:

1. Deciding to bring back GI joe and keeping the orignal style intact!!!

2. Bringing the old school vehicles back and not giving them some goofy color scheme.

3. improved articulation - more joints = more fun - still need to get ball joint wrists though

 

best upgrade from 80's line to 25th line.

1. Snake eyes V2 - admittedly grey, but that is acually better camo according to military night ops

2. BATS - love him, looking forward to the battle damaged one

3. Snow Job - great accessories, really makes the figure

4. Torpedo - see above.

 

best comic pack idea:

1. xamot & tomax - only way to do the twins justice is to release them together

2. Torch & Ripper - great way to get two dreadnocks - now do Zandar and Zarana

3. Falcon and Enforcer - I know i'm in the minority here, but I think Falcon looks decent in hand, and NF is pretty cool in my books.

 

 

 

 

 

@can@

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. Repaints - ok, enough with CC, Duke, SE, SS, and Destro. We get that they're the main characters. Sure 3 different versions to re-create the 80s ones of them are understandable, but the first four now have over 10 versions a piece. Do you realize how many other great characters could have replaced them??

Forget 'great characters'. There are times when I'd settle for a 'Z-lister' over another one of those guys.

 

6. Copyright loss - KEEP THE ORIGINAL NAMES HASBRO - how hard can it be to renew regularly????? And if you cant give their rank not 'G.I.Joe......." it just looks stupid. I've wound up printing custom lables for my stands to fix this.

I absolutely agree. I still can't figure out why they can't copyright something like "Code Name: Cutter" and just slap that on the stand, since the 'Code Name' part will be there by default anyway on the stand AND when the figure is named on the card/filecard. The only place it would look wrong would be on the cardback when it's listed among the other figures... and I can live with that.

 

On another note, how are you going about printing custom labels? I've been playing around with a few ideas and still haven't really found a way of doing it that I like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. Repaints - ok, enough with CC, Duke, SE, SS, and Destro. We get that they're the main characters. Sure 3 different versions to re-create the 80s ones of them are understandable, but the first four now have over 10 versions a piece. Do you realize how many other great characters could have replaced them??

Forget 'great characters'. There are times when I'd settle for a 'Z-lister' over another one of those guys.

 

I see so many collectors stating the same thing, yet the "excuse" always given, as to WHY Hasbro continues to keep releasing these same characters over and over and over again, is that collectors won't buy the B to Z listers, so they "HAVE TO" keep inserting them into the line in order for it to sell well enough? So on one hand, we have collectors practically BEGGING for more characters to be made and on the other hand we're being told (by the pro's) that it's all about the money and it's been long decided that collectors don't REALLY want them, and won't buy them, it's a risky investment so it's SE, SS, CC, Duke and Destro in every wave.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two points are in desperate need of a reality check:

 

1. O-rings suck. Just put a screw in the back of new figures so that they're easier to take apart for the sake of customizers and everyone outta be happy. Rubber bands are for Megos and He-man and other crappy toys of the 70s and 80s-- not modern collector's items.

 

2. It might be retro, it might smell just like your childhood, and the guy at the Hasbro booth might actually make eye-contact with you at the convention, but you are still not the center of the universe. Hasbro is not your Genie and you don't call all the shots. Nothing EVER sold at a Target will ever cater to as narrow a crowd of geeks as what you might find solely at the conventions or comic book shops. Sure, Hasbro is selling these things to the guy with flat feet and a bad complection who still sleeps in between G.I. Joe sheets even though he never thought of actually growing up to be a real-life G.I. Joe and getting his ass shot at in Iraq like a Real American Hero. But they're also marketing these things to the guys that grew out of G.I. Joe's and went on to chase girls in High School, but now that they have kids of their own they remember that cool cartoon with the guy with the silver face who hissed like a snake when he talked. Maybe they'd like to buy the character's they actually REMEMBER for their own kids. Thus you see a much wider market-share for Hasbro's products. Even traditional Geek Stomping grounds like the comic book shop and the Sci Fi/Fantasy Convention are getting more mass media coverage and thus attracting, for like a better word, "normal" people. And girls, too. Who like Scarlett and the blonde guy. No, the other one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see so many collectors stating the same thing, yet the "excuse" always given, as to WHY Hasbro continues to keep releasing these same characters over and over and over again, is that collectors won't buy the B to Z listers, so they "HAVE TO" keep inserting them into the line in order for it to sell well enough? So on one hand, we have collectors practically BEGGING for more characters to be made and on the other hand we're being told (by the pro's) that it's all about the money and it's been long decided that collectors don't REALLY want them, and won't buy them, it's a risky investment so it's SE, SS, CC, Duke and Destro in every wave.

The flipside of that being that collectors cannot buy what they cannot FIND, and that when they do find them, many collectors feel that the B-Z listers often suffer from a lack of thought/care/attention to detail.

 

And then Hasbro says up and down that the collector wants army builders and puts them out like crazy, but the majority of pegwarmers in my area are Troopers and Scarface/Fred comic packs. The comments on this board would seem to suggest that there is a lack of variety among the army builders, and that a million repaints of the Trooper is not the same as getting all those specialty Vipers. That makes the whole thing pretty moot.

 

It would seem that collectors want a mix of 'well done' and 'variety'. Hasbro seems to have that confused with 'same old (poop)'. This opinion that collectors want the A listers over and over was probably formed in the JvC years when the choice was between A-listers and completely new characters, with the A-listers often being horribly done. Hasbro heard a lot of people screaming for good versions of the A-listers, and only heard "more A-listers". It probably hasn't occurred to them yet that the line is completely different now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see so many collectors stating the same thing, yet the "excuse" always given, as to WHY Hasbro continues to keep releasing these same characters over and over and over again, is that collectors won't buy the B to Z listers, so they "HAVE TO" keep inserting them into the line in order for it to sell well enough? So on one hand, we have collectors practically BEGGING for more characters to be made and on the other hand we're being told (by the pro's) that it's all about the money and it's been long decided that collectors don't REALLY want them, and won't buy them, it's a risky investment so it's SE, SS, CC, Duke and Destro in every wave.

 

 

That's the first time I've ever heard that Hasbro's line was that collectors don't want the B-Z listers. The line I've always heard is a combination of "Kids don't like the B-Z listers" with "We like keeping the core on shelves so that new buyers can get a Duke, Cobra Commander, Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadow, et al..." with a large dose of "The retailers want core characters because those are the characters they recognize." I've never heard "collectors don't want those other characters."

 

But really, when they pull off a poll to do special repaints of any of the figures thus far released, and two versions of Snake-Eyes, and a Storm Shadow take up three of the eleven slots....yeah, someone out there loves Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow. They're either lying about it on the boards or they simply aren't posting on them.

 

Also worth noting: Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow (by far the two most common rehashes) aren't the ones pegwarming. Even Cobra Commander and Duke end up selling before the hardcore pegwarmers (Serpentor and Buzzer, rapidly being joined by Wild Bill).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see so many collectors stating the same thing, yet the "excuse" always given, as to WHY Hasbro continues to keep releasing these same characters over and over and over again, is that collectors won't buy the B to Z listers, so they "HAVE TO" keep inserting them into the line in order for it to sell well enough? So on one hand, we have collectors practically BEGGING for more characters to be made and on the other hand we're being told (by the pro's) that it's all about the money and it's been long decided that collectors don't REALLY want them, and won't buy them, it's a risky investment so it's SE, SS, CC, Duke and Destro in every wave.

 

 

That's the first time I've ever heard that Hasbro's line was that collectors don't want the B-Z listers. The line I've always heard is a combination of "Kids don't like the B-Z listers" with "We like keeping the core on shelves so that new buyers can get a Duke, Cobra Commander, Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadow, et al..." with a large dose of "The retailers want core characters because those are the characters they recognize." I've never heard "collectors don't want those other characters."

 

Actually...I've read ALL of them at one point in time, over the years. I've not been to a Joe convention, spoke with any Hasbro reps in person, I just get such commentary secondhand HERE and other places. Not sure of what's speculative or actually Hasbros thinking, but everything you posted above has come out at some point or another. "kids..NEW buyers or fussy collectors who only want CERTAIN core characters" has been the excuses.

 

But really, when they pull off a poll to do special repaints of any of the figures thus far released, and two versions of Snake-Eyes, and a Storm Shadow take up three of the eleven slots....yeah, someone out there loves Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow. They're either lying about it on the boards or they simply aren't posting on them.

 

Also worth noting: Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow (by far the two most common rehashes) aren't the ones pegwarming. Even Cobra Commander and Duke end up selling before the hardcore pegwarmers (Serpentor and Buzzer, rapidly being joined by Wild Bill).

 

Makes you question just what (exactly) do REATAILERS know about G.I.Joe and who's who of them, in order to even make a DEMAND of core characters? Same for the kids. Where would they be getting their information as to who is core and who is not? Were the core characters all that ever sold back in the 80's to you kids?

 

Also, your pegwarmers listed (in your area) don't exactly reflect the pegwarmers in mine. Snake-Eyes, Cobra Commander, Duke jet pack, Wild Bill and Buzzer clog the pegs here, and I guess it depends on our own opinion a little, but i consider them A listers. They seem to manage a version in almost every line released over the last 8 years. Peg warmers are like HTF characters I guess and can vary per location a little. :)

 

As far as taking polls.....I think they're bogus.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two points are in desperate need of a reality check:

 

1. O-rings suck. Just put a screw in the back of new figures so that they're easier to take apart for the sake of customizers and everyone outta be happy. Rubber bands are for Megos and He-man and other crappy toys of the 70s and 80s-- not modern collector's items.

 

:rolleyes: riiiight.

 

Titty twisters SUCK and offer no superior articulation over that of the O-ring.....plain and simple, so there's YOUR "reality check". Hell, even the pop on and off heads of the new style are inferior to that of the old ball necks that could actually look down, look up along with side to side and not rotate like Linda Blair on Satan.

 

Wrist and ankle articulation is all they ever needed, to improve upon what was already a good style. I rather like the hinged knee's also, so add that one. Everything else is a waste though and inferior to O-rings.

 

 

2. It might be retro, it might smell just like your childhood, and the guy at the Hasbro booth might actually make eye-contact with you at the convention, but you are still not the center of the universe. Hasbro is not your Genie and you don't call all the shots. Nothing EVER sold at a Target will ever cater to as narrow a crowd of geeks as what you might find solely at the conventions or comic book shops. Sure, Hasbro is selling these things to the guy with flat feet and a bad complection who still sleeps in between G.I. Joe sheets even though he never thought of actually growing up to be a real-life G.I. Joe and getting his ass shot at in Iraq like a Real American Hero. But they're also marketing these things to the guys that grew out of G.I. Joe's and went on to chase girls in High School, but now that they have kids of their own they remember that cool cartoon with the guy with the silver face who hissed like a snake when he talked. Maybe they'd like to buy the character's they actually REMEMBER for their own kids. Thus you see a much wider market-share for Hasbro's products. Even traditional Geek Stomping grounds like the comic book shop and the Sci Fi/Fantasy Convention are getting more mass media coverage and thus attracting, for like a better word, "normal" people. And girls, too. Who like Scarlett and the blonde guy. No, the other one.

 

 

Just so you know...that was MY piss in your Cheerios this morning! :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My main concern is the smeg-awful Duke arms. I know they're not too hard to fix, but the point is I shouldn't have to boil some water while I take my figure out the package. I understand that those arms must have been made for aesthetic reasons instead of functionality, but seriously.

 

Oh, and Steeler REALLY ought to have come with his Tank Commanding helmet.

 

I'm still going to collect the Original 13 since I'm a huge O13 Whore, but I'm going to have to do some customizing, that's for sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two points are in desperate need of a reality check:

 

1. O-rings suck. Just put a screw in the back of new figures so that they're easier to take apart for the sake of customizers and everyone outta be happy. Rubber bands are for Megos and He-man and other crappy toys of the 70s and 80s-- not modern collector's items.

 

:rolleyes: riiiight.

 

Titty twisters SUCK and offer no superior articulation over that of the O-ring.....plain and simple, so there's YOUR "reality check". Hell, even the pop on and off heads of the new style are inferior to that of the old ball necks that could actually look down, look up along with side to side and not rotate like Linda Blair on Satan.

 

Wrist and ankle articulation is all they ever needed, to improve upon what was already a good style. I rather like the hinged knee's also, so add that one. Everything else is a waste though and inferior to O-rings.

 

 

2. It might be retro, it might smell just like your childhood, and the guy at the Hasbro booth might actually make eye-contact with you at the convention, but you are still not the center of the universe. Hasbro is not your Genie and you don't call all the shots. Nothing EVER sold at a Target will ever cater to as narrow a crowd of geeks as what you might find solely at the conventions or comic book shops. Sure, Hasbro is selling these things to the guy with flat feet and a bad complection who still sleeps in between G.I. Joe sheets even though he never thought of actually growing up to be a real-life G.I. Joe and getting his ass shot at in Iraq like a Real American Hero. But they're also marketing these things to the guys that grew out of G.I. Joe's and went on to chase girls in High School, but now that they have kids of their own they remember that cool cartoon with the guy with the silver face who hissed like a snake when he talked. Maybe they'd like to buy the character's they actually REMEMBER for their own kids. Thus you see a much wider market-share for Hasbro's products. Even traditional Geek Stomping grounds like the comic book shop and the Sci Fi/Fantasy Convention are getting more mass media coverage and thus attracting, for like a better word, "normal" people. And girls, too. Who like Scarlett and the blonde guy. No, the other one.

 

 

Just so you know...that was MY piss in your Cheerios this morning! :P

 

Well, I guess then it was good that I had cake instead!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My main concern is the smeg-awful Duke arms. I know they're not too hard to fix, but the point is I shouldn't have to boil some water while I take my figure out the package. I understand that those arms must have been made for aesthetic reasons instead of functionality, but seriously.

 

Oh, and Steeler REALLY ought to have come with his Tank Commanding helmet.

 

I'm still going to collect the Original 13 since I'm a huge O13 Whore, but I'm going to have to do some customizing, that's for sure.

 

 

I'm in full agreement on your thoughts here. The only thing I'd question is the thought that Dukes crappy arm style was anything "aesthetic" since they LOOK just as awful as they are pointless in any extra functional aspect, seeing how a wrist swivel would have offered just the same, and looked less odd.

 

For a line that claims to have superior "details" it's funny how many of those small, minor little "details" get missed when they really would have made such a MAJOR difference in the characters overall figure representation. Using Zartans entire body just to give us a Major Bludd didn't exactly work as well as say the use of the Flash/Grand Slam mold for the HISS Drivers did, or even as well as the Snow Job/Wild Weasel/Barbecue shared molds did. Seems they lack some of that old cleverness they once had with this stuff. Not saying it's totally absent, it's just kinda hit and miss and i don't know why?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not saying it's totally absent, it's just kinda hit and miss and i don't know why?

 

Different individuals designing some figs vs. others? *shrugs* It does seem weird that some combinations/frankenjoes work great while others are lackluster, though personally I like Major Bludd save for the jointless arm. Not as much as I'll probably like the Desert Pack version, but still.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not saying it's totally absent, it's just kinda hit and miss and i don't know why?

 

Different individuals designing some figs vs. others? *shrugs*

 

 

For the slackers on the payroll, I'd suggest only one thing to them...

 

trumped8.png

 

 

Hasbro needs to sort out the unimaginative, slackasses and losers in the bunch and give a raise to the better ones. @lol@

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Find Action Figures on Ebay

×
×
  • Create New...
Sign Up For The TNI Newsletter And Have The News Delivered To You!


Entertainment News International (ENI) is the #1 popular culture network for adult fans all around the world.
Get the scoop on all the popular comics, games, movies, toys, and more every day!

Contact and Support

Advertising | Submit News | Contact ENI | Privacy Policy

©Entertainment News International - All images, trademarks, logos, video, brands and images used on this website are registered trademarks of their respective companies and owners. All Rights Reserved. Data has been shared for news reporting purposes only. All content sourced by fans, online websites, and or other fan community sources. Entertainment News International is not responsible for reporting errors, inaccuracies, omissions, and or other liablities related to news shared here. We do our best to keep tabs on infringements. If some of your content was shared by accident. Contact us about any infringements right away - CLICK HERE