had this convo at Target this morning...

with the 25th construction and pretty decent sculptor at hasbro's design team. a lot of people see this as an oppurtunety to see old favorites with newer modern construction.

...but with the new tech,.. wouldnt it be better to see our favorites UPDATED rathar than rehashed? I mean, Classic Hit-n Run looks cool.. but a MODERN looking Ht-N-Run would be even cooler!, or to see obscure characters like Ghostrider or windmill with modern pilot uniforms... A perfect example of this would be the newer sculpts of Firefly or the bare chested Storm Shadow.

or,... brand new characters like the Bazooka Viper or Paraviper, or unmade ones like the hard master are another route that could be done.

so... what do you think?

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I think you'll get enough of that after the movie. I personally love seeing these old classics. There is a sentimental connection that closes the deal. I've been able to walk away from anything not based on 82-88 ARAH. Also, the new versions bring out so many fun details of the classics that we could only imagine before. Like molded on weapons becoming real - and best of all on the special environment figures - the snow serpent, eels, snow-job, torpedo - all have awesome detail and accs that brings your old friend to life.

Personally, a modern Hit N Run wouldn't be Hit N Run to me, so I'd pass. But I get what you're saying and I think there is plenty of that to come.

-CJack

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Since this line started, I've been of the mindset that this is a perfect time to introduce more characters, or at least new looks for old ones. For instance, I don't care about Zartan. I think the character is silly and the half torso armor is a bit ridiculous. The guy with the chaps and football pads in The Road Warrior looked manlier. I think the DDP version of Zartan was a great update. Not a great figure, but a great update. It just missed the mark on execution, I think. One of my favorite figures from the entire line is the Bazooka Soldier. The webgear is awesome (though I wish there was that holster) and the figure is fun and new. This is why I'm excited about the Trooper and Duke Resolute figures. Completely updated. It's probably the closest we'll get to new characters unless they for some reason introduce someone new in the cartoon or IDW comic.

Don't get me wrong though. Some of these "classic looks" make for perfect figures. Torpedo, BAT, Snow Serpent and Beach Head among them.

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therin is part of the argument. the 25th Torpedo is cool looking,.. but in 25 years there has only been TWO torpedo sculpts (original 84, and 2003 new sculpt), wouldnt a navy seal infiltration uniform Torpedo look cooler than the traditional wetsuit version? (Thats actually one of the features Im hoping is incorporated in a Wetsuit figue, a removable helmet)

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I really hope that Resolute does well. I think that if it does, it will give us updated and modern looks to our favorite characters. Plus, this way, we won't have new designs out of nowhere.

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I think with Resolute and IDW it's going to give Hasbro a good chance to do both.

When they want a classic look to a character they say it's a tribute to either the original, the Marvel comic books, or the cartoon. When they want to give a character a more updated modern look they could say it was either a tribute to IDW or Resolute. Seems like a win win since it would give them plenty of excuses to do both.

Which is why I'm kind of excited about the Resolute line because we've gotten Duke, Cobra Commander, and the Cobra Trooper all updated without having to step on the toes of anyone that likes a more classic look instead.

So yea there is some hope that they will be able to do somethings with characters they haven't been able to do until now.

Yeah, I'd like to see them reimagined.


To me, this is a nice line, but some of the characters(looking at airborne and zartan) just suck in their choices for uniform.

But I'm the pick and choose type of collector, so I just let them stay on the pegs if they don't look cool.

B.A.t.s are one case where the old look plays, paravipers, an example of what this line can really be, and the snow serpent, in my opinion, is a hybrid, superior to both,

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very good point. The B.A.T. is a perfect example of giving us an original figure, while updating the sculpt to today's standards,.. while the Snow Serpent is a perfect example of correcting the original figure's flaws, while keeping it the same.

The Paraviper, is exactly what I was referring to with adding new characters. for instance, the Joe greenshirts adds new "grunts' into the group, but in the Devils Due comic, there were THREE branches of greenshirts. I would like to see a greenshirt pilot, or Greenshirt sailor/ seal. This was one of the New sculpts shinning lights in the final run, with the medi vipers and Multicultural soldiers. Hopefully, this will start a trend with the 25th scale with not just movie and resolute figures, but newer characters and "imagined" joe and cobra troopers.

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I think it depends greatly on the designs.

For instance, I really did not like about 80% of the new sculpt stuff.
Not just because of the funky proprotions, but I really did not like the designs at all. Every Beach Head and Firefly they did sucked, badly, IMHO.

Now if they could come up with new designs for anyone, that were actually cool looking, then sure go for it. I think one of the problems is that people have come to associate a certain character, with a certain look. So it makes it harder, for many, to accept a different look for the same character.

That and everyone has a different idea about what looks "cool" for any given character. So some may like it, some may not.

It is definitely possible though. Hawk is a good example, so are Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow.
All have multiple uniforms, and many of those different versions seem to have almost equal popularity.
While other characters, have had new uniforms that were... less than stellar.

I think right now Hasbro is being (mostly) wise in putting out popular characters, in their popular uniforms. It has generated plenty of sales for them. While they have been able to sneak in a few new items, mostly army builders, here and there.

I also agree that we will be seeing MANY new uniforms in the future. Just between the movie and Resolute, there will be tons of new designs for Hasbro to draw from. And those new designs will have media to bolster their sales potential, even if the "classic" collectors aren't interested in the new designs.

Personally, I have seen very few "new" designs that I liked better than the original. Hawk, Snake Eyes, Destro, and Roadblock are the only characters I can think of, where I liked their second version better than their first, and every subsequent version since. Other than that I prefer the original character designs compared to everything else that has been done.

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And when they want an everyone-wears-black spandex- and looks-nothing-like-their character look, they can say it's a tribute to the movie...

In seriousness, I agree that IDW and Resolute will be where we get updated by still "inspired by" versions of the main characters. And if there is ever an avenue for new characters, you'd think it would come after a successful comic run allowed stories to be told for most of the worthwhile existing characters. You'd also expect new vehicles to come about as a result of every medium though, as they are in many ways more dated than any of the classic looking characters.

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I said when they started the 25th style that I liked the updated figures, but I didn't want to re-buy the entire run of GI Joe action figures. There is nothing new about revisting outdated technology and designs. Figures like the BAT and Torpedo hit great strides by giving us very modern figures that also linked to their vintage sculpts. But figures like Duke and Stalker have been kind of a let down because their designs haven't evolved and therefore been better. I like the Bazooka Trooper and Jetpack trooper. Not because they a the awesomeest figures ever but because they make sense and they are something we haven't seena bajillion times already.

It is a balancing act for sure but one that is doable. I want some classic characters modernized (Dr. Mindbender). I want characters we've seen before who've never had a figure (Dr. Venom, Billy). And I want an injection of new characters, updated designs to keep things fresh. They've been doing alright but there have been a few releases that have left me scratching my head as to why they got made over others.

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well, like they say, vote with your billfold, what billfold is, I have no idea, but wallet seems to work in a pinch,

I've bought almost every bat I've seen at retail and I've not bought one duke single card(though his dvd pack was acceptable to me).

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I think Hasbro is starting to do both. Like the single carded updated Beach Head and the comic pack rehashed Beach Head. I guess Hasbro realized they can't please everybody so it would make sense for them to do separate figures for each. Either way, it's still additional income for Hasbro.

Other examples are Devil's Due Zartan (although with chest armor) and the original Zartan; Marvel Firefly and Devil's Due Firefly; Devil's Due Serpentor and DVD pack Serpentor; and of course, original Cobra Storm Shadow (Battle Pack 1), Joe Storm Shadow (single card), Valor vs Venom Storm Shadow (Legions), Devil's Due Storm Shadow (comic pack) and whatever other version of Storm Shadow is out there...

- JM

I like the classic looks, in most cases. I do preffer the updated Beachhead, though. I just wish they'd update some of the equipment they're carrying. I find myself wanting to buy bulk packs of Marauder's frag grenades to replace the outdated (and often badly scaled) pineapples that a lot of the figs have molded on.

And, we better get a classic styled Dial Tone, before they even think about making a figure of that chick from the IDW comics.

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Actually there have been technically 3 (spy troops was left out)

http://www.yojoe.com/action/03/chieftorpedo.shtml

also a strong arguement for 4 since there was the ARAH one that was kitbashed from wet suit, Roadblock and Muskrat with the TRU Vamp set.