At Viperskingdom:

http://stores.ebay.com/viperkingdom/G-I ... 34.c0.m322

OB

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Thanks for the link. These look like early paint samples based on Leatherneck missing paint apps, Lady Jaye and Baroness's face paint apps being off, sloppy paint on the Heat Viper and Viper viper.

That said, some revelations from these, the first wild production sample pics:

1. Leatherneck's knife appears to be removable!
2. Destro's modular gun/briefcase is amazing.
3. If China gets the Lady Jaye eye placement right, this figure will be fantastic.
4. It's hilarious how much stuff LJ and Baroness come with.
5. Blowtorch and Hawk appear to have no substantial changes (aside from the star) and maybe the color of Hawk's boots. Low-Light has the star and it looks like they're trying to get his eyebrows on there.

I fear that they are finale runs and that is the paint apps for Baroness and Lady Jaye. Not thrilled with Baroness and her gear. But Jaye looks good, just badly done face paint.

Destro looks off. The collar reminds me of the ARAH 3rd version. The wrist missiles look off too.

Right now I feel....meh about this line.

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Some of the quality seems to be lacking, but I am still pretty enthusiastic about these.

I am guessing the arctic Bat comes with snow job... I don't think I have noticed them before.

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I hope toy-nutz is wrong about these being final figures, at least in the case of that Lady Jaye, because somebody's aim was more than a bit off on those eyes. Otherwise, that DOES look like a great figure. Given the country of origin, maybe that's a set that got pulled for looking too weird?

HEAT-Viper looks pretty good. I wondered how they were going to manage the missiles on the boots bit with him (which strikes me as one of the worst places to carry that sort of thing...

About the only thing keeping me from bidding on that Arctic BAT is I don't want the battle-damaged head. Otherwise, really liking the Arctic BAT.

Not seeing a lot here to dislike, really!

ah the ridiculousness of people bidding crazy just to be first

Looks like Leatherneck comes with FSS Repeater's heavy MG.

Lady Jaye's poor paint just confirms my reluctance to buy any of these online.

Did you guys notice the cool gold paint on the stands?

Lady Jaye and Baroness are really being generous with the weapons recycling. Lady Jaye seems to have all the gear that Retaliation Lady Jaye sported, while the Baroness seems to have all of Wave 1 ROC Baroness's gear.

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Yeah, I don't understand paying $100s for toys that will be out next month. And may not come with all the accessories.

I hope the paints apps are better than that at retail. Usually Joes aren't too bad, it's just Marvel stuff you need to be careful with. But wow, Lady Jaye's face looks terrible.

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Normally vk's figures are carded when they arrive.
He removes a sample to take photos for auctions.
So these are most likely identical to what will be at retail.

Also, in regards to getting things early, what's so hard to understand?? People get things early and review them. Movies, comics, food, shampoo, toys.

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If these are indeed full retail samples, then it appears that hasbro's recent quality control downgrades are starting to carry over into the joe line. So sad.

The Baroness's nanomite briefcase is a confusing addition, but the armory they come with is a nice value. Bummer about the faces, but that's every action figure line anymore. With all the advancements in sculpting, paint masking still seems rooted in the '80s.

Is that an official downgrade that you're talking about, or just an observational comment on what you've noticed with their product?

I've found that it's not impossible to get a well-painted figure, but it's not as easy as it ought to be, especially in some of what ought to be their better lines, like the Star Wars 6" Black Series.

Observation. Particularly with this year's star wars offerings. Both scales of the black series seem to suffer from questionable paint apps, but the 3 3/4" Black series wave 4 is slowly appearing online and it seems hasbro can't paint eyes properly anymore. Or mask off hair lines either.

On a positive note, I love how these sets seem to be jam packed with accessories. If I actually can find any of these sets at my local TRU, I might grab a few just for the spare weapons and parts.