gojira77

Still wish that I could get that FF on single card; I remember thinking that the first 25th A. Firefly needed a darker color scheme. I can live without a shirtless SS.

I think you're right-- thanks! Nice of Hama to clear that up for us-- yikes!-- even though he's called Duke one of the core characters in another IDW interview and even said that he owned a figure. That's ok, Duke, I love ya anyways, and I hear that Batman has similar feelings towards Larry Hama! @loll@

I've been rewatching The MASS Device and Revenge of Cobra recently-- thank you awesome DVD Packs! Now, I know that certain things have to be taken for granted with the 'toon, such as comic characters getting re-worked so that General Flagg gets fat and bald and CC becomes whiney and ineffective. And they let just about anybody fly a jet, though nobody wears a helmet while operating a jet pack! Anyways, two things have stuck out for me this time. First, I think it's totally doable to follow the cartoon continuity and have Snake-Eyes end up with Scarlett. They totally had a moment there in that cave in the arctic and she almost jumped the man when he got back to base alive and surprisingly not looking like a hotdog frank that's been in the microwave too long. It was a couple years in the comic before SE and Scarlett became an item, though they were always close like you see here. Thus the comic book Clutch could feel free to continuously hit on the squad's only girl without fear of her ninja boyfriend gutting him like a fish. Duke already gets the exotic, dark-haired slave girl Selena-- it's not right for him to have two pieces of arm candy while 'Snake' is left with flea-bitten Timber. Second, I read a wikipedia entry awhile back that said the 'toon versions of Duke and Flint had virtually the same personality. This same joker went on to say that Hama didn't like Duke, which isn't true-- he just toughened the First Shirt up a little to make him more like his experience in 'Nam. I think there are subtle differences between the two archetypal tough guy leaders, and that they are both cool in the classic 'toon. What do you think?

Yeah, I'd have to agree, but only because the made so many versions of the Closed-Fisted mold-- why'd we have to buy another one to get the red crystals when they were planning to give us the CC of our dreams in the last pack that completes the MASS Device! Shenanigans!

Thanks for so much interest in this topic! I had to wait awhile for my choice because its kinda already been taken and I wanted this thread to have some variety. And, as far as COPS and G.I.Joe cross-over, while we know that Hasbro liked to reuse names across its action lines, I remember the two characters of Bullet-Proof to have more than a passing similarity. My runner-up would be the '89 Version 3 Snake-Eyes, which is based on a CLASSIC figure with a look that was well-used in one of my favorite era's of the comic book. However, I'm not sure how I feel about the new, head-mounted night vision goggles... Strangely, my favorite is Tiger Force Duke. There was a time when you literally had to wait years to get a new version to replace a lost or broken figure of your favorite character. Duke hadn't been on the pegs for a long time, and though a convenient voice-over saved him from getting his Purple Heart posthumously, it still looked like the Joe's had all but retired his jersey after a career-ending encounter with the business end of Serpentor's python spear. But 1988 was the Year of Second Chances (just ask Powermaster Optimus Prime!), and Duke was back in action to head up Gerneral Hawk's "Dirty Half-Dozen". Sure the new Duke was a little bit of a disappointment, with replacement parts, brown hair-- obviously to know how Hawk felt-- and pink, unpainted teeth. But it made for an awesome Christmas to have the old squad leader back. The upcoming Duke will sport an improved paint-scheme with blond hair and have better hands and more faithfull accessories than any version of the character produced since the 25th Anniversary. Though I don't usually get duplicates, I'm gonna need two TF Duke's so that I can keep one MOC.

There have been IMO plenty of opportunities to grade the particular successes and failings of each figure in the current line in terms of articulation or faithfulness to the original. There are a lot of great reviews out there that objectively measure the strengths and weaknesses of each figure and could tell you why someone like Torpedo or the BAT could be the VERY BEST figure of the whole line. But what about the less-perfect figures that in the end might mean more to the individual fan? By purely subjective and personal reasons, name the one figure that you have been most excited to see either online or on the pegs. Which one has done the best job at bringing you back to when G.I.Joe was still new for you? Though it may be hard for those devoted to the manliest of action figures to talk about their own feelings, what one figure has been the most special for you-- and why? Now fix my stupid wrists-- or the NEXT shot won't be just a warning!

Optimus Prime is an icon of the brand as well as my personal hero and role-model throughout my childhood. The bad, bad, slimey marketing execs told the writers of the classic 'toon to kill him off in the movie in order to make room for a new robot James Dean hero-- a marketing decision that didn't take either the developing mythos or the kids at home seriously. If G1 and Season 3 of Beast Wars have taught us anything, it's that the "suits" need to stay out of the way of the creative process of awesome cartoons! Ok, Ok, fast forward 20 years... Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like Hasbro is still trying to apologize for killing Optimus Prime?! Why can't we go a year without at least three versions of the guy on the shelves at any given time? Alright, toy marketing decisions are different nowadays-- in 80s lines like TF, G.I. Joe, and MOTU the objective seemed to be to produce as many different characters as possible, perhaps to replicate the success of Star Wars. Since the 90s, it seems the focus has been to create as many variations of the core characters as possible so that there are plenty of Michelangeloes, Batmen, Spideys, and Snake-Eyes for the discerning six-year-old. Now, Batman I understand, and there were really only FOUR Turtles under the tutelage of Master Splinter, but couldn't the scope of the Transformers be bigger than that? Do you have to replace Prime in order to focus somewhere else in a vast and continually evolving mythos? Especially now, when Prime isn't even really Prime anymore in the current Animated continuity-- he's more of an Orion Pax, really. Do all the lead characters have to be named Optimus? Even in Beast Wars where they are clearly not the same character? Do you think that kids, familiar with the Optimi of TFA and the latest movie, could ever get behind an version of TF without the big, red truck? Would Hasbro ever be bold enough to try it again?

I kinda wonder if WB should ALWAYS be in his less-than-practical Cartoon Colors. Does anybody really have found memories of Bill from the comic book (other than the time he almost gave Duke a heart attack when landing the Dragonfly?). Maybe some folks out there who's parents let them watch Robert Duvall's performance in Apocalypse Now? "Charlie don't surf-- Yo Joe!"

IMO when in doubt, blame retail! The good people at Mattel love cool toys just as much as we do-- it's what they do for a living-- but in today's economy, the retailers have even more say in what goes on the shelves than they did the the Golden Age of the '80s (I'll look around to see if I can find some links to support this if anybody doubts it ).

Because the reality of the modern collecting scene is that any fan walking into a brick and mortar store is in a sense competing to find the goods alongside scalpers of the line AND casual consumers. Buying on-line ENORMOUSLY ups your chances of getting these figures, while a brick & mortar hunt is a total crap shoot. On-line shopping puts you into a environment that simply excludes most of the scalpers and casual consumers that the above situation holds. I mean, if you MUST do a foot hunt for toys, you just have to accept that scalpers and other collectors will be doing the same thing and you just need to be Johnny-on-the-spot to find anything. You'll spend time, gas money and frustration looking for stuff that others are looking for as well, with no guarantee of finding it. An on-line store either has stock in, or they do not--and you can tell pretty quickly if they do without expending much time or energy, and once you commit to buying........the goods are pretty much yours from that point on. If you spend $10 in gas while searching, the equivalent in time and frustration......well, shipping costs either work out the same, or less. You could "should" all over this choice, but in the end you are choosing to gamble if you search on foot.. I guess if you're going to be SERIOUS about your toy collecting and really be a completist of your favorite line, than online is the only way to go. Unless you have some old-fashioned ideas about the "purity of the sport" like those folks who only hunt game with a high-powered bow and arrows! No offense to any gamehunters out there he still play with little plactic men...

I wish that Alternators & Binaltech started at this scale like Takara originally intended, since 1/24th sclae TF's all look like giants compared to virtually any other TF in existence.

Cosmos looks awesomes-- Viva Los Minibots! I never thought that I could get so excited over $5 Transformers!

Man, I'm not too proud to want a Viper, either. If only I could find one-- yes, Distribution is a harsh mistress!

They still match up. No Viper or IG but if they are the same there would not be new ones anyway. There is a R&R, Deep Six, Gung-Ho and Battle Armor CC with Fred head. I still think that Duke, Strom Shadow and Snake Eyes look alot like JVC versions. I wonder if they could be the Omega guys. SE might also be the one coming w/ the Night Creeper-- anybody got a link to the cover for that pack-in comic?

I wish we got that Falcon, instead...

Could the mystery behind these pics posted awhile back on Hisstank be solved at last?

I just want to know if that trooper can sit normally or not. Hasbro fixed the mold for the Python Officer, but these pics don't show that. And though I really liked the Python Patrol as a kid and still remain a nostalgic sucker that CG is just... so... yellow!

Could this be the Duke they're talking about? Showed up mysteriously on the Hisstank boards awhile ago with some other figures that seem to have turned out genuine.

No more liberties than Hasbro's taking with TF Duke (no one will miss the brown hair, but c'mon a green helmet?). Great job by the way!

When pics of the Impossible Toys Diaclone-Driver-sized Spike and Sparkplug first popped up online, I wasn't very impressed either. But now that I ACTUALLY have them, I can tell you they were definitely worth the price. They look great, fit in all the diaclone-mold TF's, and have little hard hats and wrenches that fit perfectly! If Exo-Spike is really "G1-scale" then he's probably only a little bigger than the drivers-- not much you can really do at that size and you actually have to distort some things (kinda like sculpters with larger-than-life statues) just to create a good likeness. All blown-up, it's going to look a little funny. Anyways, I'm impressed by what I.T. has put out so far in terms of 'official'-quality customs, so I'll hold off judgement until someone gets this in hand. I think it would be really cool if they also made a Daniel-version and the two could be distiguished from each other even at that size (only the heads would be different since Daniel was wearing "Dad's old Exo-suit").

Didn't Superman beat the Captain in Kingdom Come by just covering his mouth? In that case-- Orko could beat him! @loll@ There is nothing "self-proclaimed" about the Champion of Eternia. The upper limits of his power have never been quantified, for Grayskull is always there to insure that He-man is as powerful as he needs to be! Besides, Adam is a brave and clever warrior, a true son of Randor. If He-man can prove a match for Superman and still has his wits about him, I doubt the Captain will have much to grin about.

Same here....but I am glad others are getting a chance at figures they missed. Although I would have preferred the other Batgirl because I missed her too. Perhaps they will re-release her later (I hope). I'm surprised they didn't go with Cassie, and went with Babs. I'm sure most collectors had more of a chance getting her instead of Cassie. I wish they brightened up her colors or something to make her look like a better fit with Detective Batman and the rest of the Classics. This one looks just like the Batgirl from the old DCSH Two-Pack-- not even a varient!

Is that last one "light-piping" or photoshop? Anyways, thanks to Mattel's DCSH/DCUC line we now have good representatives of the whole Reign of the Supermen, except for a '90s Con El. Get cracking, Horsemen!

My only problem with TFU Prowl was the paint job actually smudging under my fingertips, like it hadn't had enough time to cure since the factory. But I assumed that that was just mine, or at most a problem w/ that particular batch and that QC would catch up in a few weeks. Has it?

Knives and small pistols to fit all the empty holsters and sheaves we've been getting lately. I think that Hasbro shouldn't judge Joe by Star Wars standards (how many freakin' light sabers does a guy need any way) though we know from the Q/A's that they do. I'd buy accessory packs from HTS, but I'd also be up for Hasbro just tossing in a "gun rack" sprue with extra weapons just like they did in the Battle Corps days (see, not everything in the '90s was a bad idea ). They could cut costs by just leaving the things on the sprue and the 'loose' collectors could just clip 'em out themselves and distribute where needed. We seem to pay a premium for single pack guys anyways, compared to Comic 2-packs, vehicle drivers, and DVD Battle Packs, so why not add a little more value to our $6.99-$7.99 purchase?