Is the Vehicle Wave 5 (Stinger, Artic Hiss etc) going to be online only, or will it hit retail?

Sorry wrong post.

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99% sure online only. B&M stores had the option to get it, but they have to order direct from Asia (not Hasbro's regular distribution) so they would have to really want it and go through non-standard procedures to get it - which means that outside of specialty shops, there is little to no chance of it showing up at retail.

Certainly not your "regular suspects" (Target, Walmart, Kmart, ToysRUs) anyway.

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Things are always subject to change but it was initally a retail release that was canceled and then offered to online retailers but only those online retailers that could meet a certain order size that facilitated direct shipping from china to the independent online dealers. So it is a very limited release. Of course history tells us that after the online stores have sold out they'll show up at TRU.

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Geez you need a scorecard to keep track of what's coming.

This is purely speculation, but I'd be surprised if they turned up at retail (rather wish they WOULD, since now that I have the Arctic HISS and the Cobra Stinger, I wouldn't mind a couple more of them should $$$ permit).

I get the impression, and I could be mistaken, that Hasbro released a limited existing supply of this wave to online retailers that had already been manufactured before the official cancellation came through. That the online retailers had to work through unconventional shipping methods to get them may be some evidence to that fact, but again, that's speculation on my part. I don't know how that sort of thing really works.

But I think slightly more probable is the fact that this wave of vehicles is NOT tied into the movie, which is soon to get a major push in the toy stores and toy departments. And once it blows over, who knows what the nature of future G.I.Joe products will be? Will they continue with movie style packaging? Will there be some sort of animated series? Look at what Transformers did after their first movie. You had Animated, Universe/Classics, and movie extensions for a while. I tend to doubt that a wave of vehicles packaged up for a format PRIOR to the movie is going to find a home at retail, and I'd be a little surprised if these vehicles made a transfer into -- whatever packaging comes up after the movie. Hope I'm wrong about that, but I suppose we'll just have to see.

Well yeah, it would be nice if Hasbro gave some solid info on what all we've seen off eBay, etc. and when/where it will be coming out officially.

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SDCC and possibly JoeCon is where you'll get any of that information. Sucks to have to wait but that's how it is.

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