It's not a weakness. It's a strength.

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Double edged sword

*ahem*

If HTS doesn't want to stock more Joes, then they wont. If Hasbro could put whatever they wanted on there, don't you think they would?

They really need to get the last couple waves of 30th anny stuff back out. Airtight and Sci-Fi were at the top of my want list. I never saw them!

If I didn't work so slow, I'd be tempted to make my own from chopped up Star Wars figs and Japanese hobby joints, Sith_fire style.

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Wow... I had forgotten all about those and was just sorta pulling that idea out of nowhere. I was thinking more along of a release of 4-5 single carded figures, on vintage inspired cards, only smaller like the JvC drug store figures, cheaply priced as stocking stuffers. You could even stick some in the cashier's lane to be impulse buys.

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That's kind of my whole issue with HTS. Stop running HTS as an independent company and leverage it as a direct branch for Hasbro sales. Shouldn't someone try a different approach and utilize direct merchandising as a benefit, not as an afterthought? If people are will to pay $30-$40 for Low-Light on the aftermarket, shouldn't someone at Hasbro look at it from a revenue standpoint and realize there is money to be made? There is obvious demand and they should try to capture some of that money. Heck, just put all the pieces of the figure in a baggie and sell it to us OEM style. Hasbro had the ability to do this 30 years ago, but can't do it now?

This isn't even about me having or not having a certain figure, but more about the argument in regards to Wal-Mart or Target demanding a certain case assortment of product. Cater to the big retailers, but find a way to integrate incremental sales that will satisfy BBTS or smalljoes.com. The internet is not a new thing anymore, unless someone out there is trying to convince us that the internet ruined Hasbro's toy business.

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Even if Hasbro were to start running HTS as a direct branch like that, they would still operate via the same system that other retailers use. Doing it the way you would like would require them to either change their manufacturing methods, which they are incredibly unlikely to do, or to have a separate manufacturing facility only for online stores and HTS, which they DEFINITELY aren't going to do. Would they make money that way? Sure, but not enough to offset the cost it would take to make those changes. More money is made through Wal-Mart and such than it is through HTS.

Darn you Pyre, you win the internets
You can proceed past 'Go' and collect $200.

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Precisely. I also hope we get past the initial waves, because there's some figures in waves 3, 4, etc, that I am definitely interested in.

But if the Retaliation toys don't perform well -- 2014 is G.I. Joe's 50th Anniversary. Let us hope it will be one worth celebrating.

Wow... Okay, I'm glad we got the Snow Job set with the vehicles because my original Snow Job, like I suspect many of ours, had discolored over time. This was the best opportunity to get a nearly-identical Snow Job that was nice and white.

Of the sets shown -- the Storm Shadow set technically serves the same purpose as the Snow Job set. It's a good chance to replace a discolored figure. I had one Storm Shadow discolor so badly he looked like he was wearing a tan uniform for the desert. However, a Storm Shadow was released during the O-ring era comic sets which also took care of this. Granted, some might have missed that set, so it would have been nice.

Snake-Eyes -- like we really need more Snake-Eyes.

Duke -- nice headsculpt, nice use and colors of most of the original molds, certainly looks superior to some of the less-than-impressive versions that came out in the comic sets, but I really, seriously hate those short sleeves.

Destro -- nice headsculpt. However, I don't care how classically they color it, I cannot forgive that awful, too short, overly exaggerated, hiding-a-parachute-in-the-collar 1992 body. Hated it in 1992 -- still hate it.

Except whereas Past & Present Snow Job got its upper arms fixed from the 1997-and-on releases... this one carried over the bare biceps added to the Comic Pack figure (despite the fact that Stormy wore full sleeves in that specific issue).... painted white to simulate the short sleeves the 84 figure sported.

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It does suck that big box retailer have all the power in the current retail market. No sense of Boutique sales anymore

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I don't really get it either, because those big retailers clearly don't give a crap what they have on the shelves, or if the toy dept has even got any stock.

I still say that Walmart needs Hasbro just as much as Hasbro needs Walmart anyway. Without Hasbro, they'd be stuck without tons of toys, and left with "LASER BLAST" toys and Barbie.

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Keep in mind that these aren't finished product. They very well may have changed those arms had it made it to production.

I love this idea. But then, I love anything that gets us an ARAH-style Roadblock update and the concept case Flint and Lady Jaye.