Lenny Panzica Has Announced He is Leaving Hasbro

[toynewman]

Lenny Panzica has announced that he is leaving Hasbro for a new position at Boss Fight Studios. There is no word on who will be replacing him on the G.I. Joe Classified Line. When more information is available we will be sure to let you know.

"After 20 incredible years, I’m stepping away from Hasbro and onto a new adventure with Boss Fight Studio, a decision that felt right for me and my family.

It’s hard to put into words what this chapter has meant to me, from early days on Spider-Man to time on Transformers, and ultimately helping bring G.I. Joe Classified to life. The design work was always special to me, but the people made it unforgettable. I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some truly talented, passionate creators.

To everyone who’s been with G.I. Joe Classified, you made this something bigger. Your passion, your deep knowledge, your feedback, the callouts… it all mattered more than you probably realize. It pushed us to dig deeper and make the line better.

I’m going to miss being a part of this community, but I’m pumped for what’s ahead with Boss Fight Studio! The chance to build new worlds, push ideas, and create in ways I haven’t before. There’s a lot I’ve been wanting to explore, and I can’t wait to bring it to life. excited for what’s ahead and the opportunity to build something new with Boss Fight.

Proud of what we created together. On to the next chapter."

[Scattergorical]

Terrible news for Hasbro, but great news for Boss Fight and I would argue the rest of us as Hasbro continues down the path of being less of a toy company and more of an entertainment company. I could always tell Lenny had a lot of passion for the Classified line and brought a lot of his own unique creative visions that I appreciated for the most part.

It's looking like a very smart move right now for BFS and I hope he is more able to flex his imagination over there from start to finish as much as it appears he was restrained by the management structure over at Hasbro. Boss Fight just has to keep their eye on QC, but all of their production figures look fantastic with no attempt to cheap out on paint or materials. Have fun Lenny!

 

[Jscott991]

If I understood everything Lenny hinted at or explicitly said over the years about his preferred characters and style, I'm not sure I will miss him.  But he did save the line from Blackout-heavy designs when he first took over and I am grateful for that.  

[lordtom]

Onwards and upwards, a great gain for BFS. I will miss him on stream. 

[Satam]

Cory Cantelupe, former Classified sculpting manager, who was laid off by Hasbro brass a couple years ago, also just announced he was taking a job at Boss Fight.

[RobertD]

Smart move, I suspect.  I imagine a lot of people over at Hasbro don't have a lot of confidence in their job security, sad to say.  Looking forward to seeing what he produces over at Boss Fight. 

[ucsf]

He will be missed. I liked his energy in the streams. I'm hoping that a more relaxed path is waiting for him at the BFS family. Remember, that the founding designers also worked on the finest 4 inch modern Joes back in the day.

[Roadpigmaster]

I look forward for Lenny to help on the Conan line and others  of the licenses they have.  The best for him and his family. ️

[Scotty97]

There is only one person who can replace him, and that's me. @Hasbro gimme the call.

[MagnaPrime]

Lenny was great. Can't wait to see what he does at boss fight.

[Scattergorical]

Well there goes Tony Colella! How many ways can Hasbro say the line is dead without saying the line is dead? Sure we'll get a year's worth of leftovers, but forget about fine tuning or anything ambitious.

[Jscott991]

I wish them the best at Boss Fight, but I'm ready for the line to change. Hopefully whoever takes over will do fewer Z-listers, fewer Dreadnoks, fewer revisionist designs, and more A-list updates for characters that were done very early and haven't been revisited (Baroness in her v1 outfit for example).

[Roadpigmaster]

I hope Tony the best at Boss Fight Studios.  He and Lenny make them shine over there... BMac should have a plan for this. I wonder if we would see Transformers designers moving to the Classified team!

[deecee4]

I honestly wasn't aware that bossfight was big enough of a company for them to hire away people from larger companies. Always got the impression it was just a couple of guys.

[Roadpigmaster]

2 hours ago, deecee4 said:

I honestly wasn't aware that bossfight was big enough of a company for them to hire away people from larger companies. Always got the impression it was just a couple of guys.

I actually thought the same man...

[Cxb452]

2 hours ago, Roadpigmaster said:

I actually thought the same man...

I wonder if they have something cooking.  Wouldn't surprise me honestly if Hasbro licensed something out to BFS and they hired Lenny and Tony and Corey to handle the work.  

[Satam]

Front page article says Cory was the sculpting manager on the Power Rangers line. This is true, but he was also the sculpting manager on GI Joe Classified for three years. Also Cory's been at Bossfight for weeks now.

[Satam]

This is a news site, not a gossip site. This is not the place for gossip about Bobby Vala and his relationships/interactions with other former Hasbro employees, current Hasbro employees, Bossfight employees, toytubers,  and this thread is not a place for discussion about Bobby Vala at all. 

[Scattergorical]

These guys are starting to look like a superteam haha. Boss Fight just took all the mojo out of Hasbro's pockets! Maybe the plan really is to have BFS to be the company to make new licensed mainline GI Joe figures. I actually hope not, I wanna see some new IPs!

[ucsf]

history repeats itself. I'm wishing the best for these people, I really hope they will shine in their new endeavour.