From Different sources I have talked to, it seems that there are a lot of exclusives..Target, Walmart, TRU will all have their own sets of vehicles and figures..I saw the Target one's. They come with Vehicles...like the blue Grand Slam I posted in another thread. For the record, I was talking to another board member and it's getting to the point where Hasbro just doesn't get it. As a collector, I am sick of hunting down toys. I am sick of having 1 figure in a case of pegwarmes and then hearing them blame the retail store for not putting out the new goods. It seems that they don't care and want to see how much they can make us run around like idiots finding things.

I dunno guys, but it seems that with the economy and the way things are going, some of these things WILL be hard to find. Making the secondary market more profitable for scalpers.

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I have no problem with Hasbro having store exclusives. For the most part, I've never had a problem tracking them down because they tend to be plentiful in those particular stores. In fact the only ones I've ever had a problem with were the Wal-Mart desert and urban environment ones. Stores showing enough of an interest in GI Joe to demand exclusives is good for the line's longevity.

Personally if those vehicles we've seen and some of those repaints we've seen are any indication of some of the exclusives I have no problem not looking for them. Blue Grand Slam isn't exactly a must have. I say that now, but watch as a limited release turns him into the next Starduster.

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Well here's the Target exclusives pics except the motorcyle. http://www.theterrordrome.com/2009/05/n ... on-taobao/

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linky no worky

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Not really worried about the availability of the Joe movie product since I want so little of it. My interest has been piqued by the "expanded universe" stuff for the collection, but as far as the main characters go, if I pick any of that up, it'll be for customs.

At this point, I know my part of the country gets very little new Joe product (on time or ever), so the stuff I really need, I'll order online. Everything else is just coolness I might stumble upon when I go toy-hunting a couple times a week. It really does help make the experience much more fun and easygoing, rather than frustrating when I can't find anything.

That Eel with the punches of neon green caught my eye last week while surfing the web, so thanks for the info about it being a Target exclusive. I'll keep my eyes peeled for it.

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Thanks Hawk. I wasn't sure if I could "borrow" your pics when I saw them on another site.

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Those Target exclusives are...LAME!

More repainted Spy Troops crap again GRRRR! Oh well saves me some dough.



I agree 100%, Look at November and the rush of 5 waves in a month, what the hell was up with that, no store orders that frequently unless its online. No wonder half the waves didn't reach retail on that one. Also if its the "reatilers fault" why give them refresher waves of figures they didn't want to order in the first place? I mean they aren't ordering the current waves now if we listen to "Big H" (The other lie that got to me long ago is how retailers "force" them to put out so many waves and an abundance of repaints each year, while companies like Ban Dai and others get loads more shelf space and only have a wave a year, Look at the Ben 10 and Power Rangers for a while and you see this).

I rembember in the JVC days we would give Hasbro hell, and they would brush us off saying "these aren't made for you anyway." After a while it seemed they started listening but it was too late cause they alienated the fans. When 25th hit it seemed the voices of diverse opinion were silenced for various reasons, and now most of those guys have left GI Joe altogether. Even the few that are left are remaining silent just cause after 7 years of trying to say what we feel and being called "negitive" well it wears on you.

But that is all beside the point, what is really troubling is the shear glut of product showing up on auction sites, and its very troubling when you realize most are scaling back due to costs, boredom, and lack of variety (which are trends that seem to still be in full force for the movie line).

The reason I get tired of the exclusive is, in one breath, Hasbro claims the collectors are a small percentage of the toy-buying market. Then, the next thing you see is exclusives like this. Why? I seriously doubt kids care about exclusives. These are just gimmicks to suck in the collectors to the respective retailers. And, because of manufacturing costs, etc, they're hardly worth hunting down, since they're usually nothing more than repaints.

And, I'll agree with the comments above - I'm getting worried about the sheer volume of toys we are seeing. With toy prices what they are, along with the inability to dump my excess collection because the market stinks right now, I don't have the spare money or space to pick up most of this. Not to mention years of playing the Hasbro game, knowing that unless I'm 100% happy with the figure they put out (Baroness - I'm looking at you), wait a few months and see the countless other versions Hasbro will put out in an attempt to "fix" the figure.

Now, ranting aside, I can't wait until someone picks up the Grand Slam - I'm really interested to see if that's a new head sculpt. If so, I'll gladly be sucked into buying that repaint.

I actually like the outlet that exclusives provide, but sometimes it feels like exclusives exist just so something can be made.

I actually like these to some degree. There aren't many 3 3/4" SE figures that have the camo pants and while it is by far not my first choice for SE, it does provide a change that feels like really getting something different and not so mainstream.

Normally, I'd have my fingers crossed that a lot of exclusives could mean we will be getting items that got canceled. But Hasbro really has taken care of us this past year with the coming 7-packs and the reinstated vehicle wave. So I really don't have much to cry about.

I think that some more creativity could have happened, but I'm just not tired of AVAC, Grand Slam, nor Eel. All of those are good choices imo. I do think that the colors of Eel could be a lot more creative since he looks a lot like a Torpedo figure with Eel gear.

Maybe this should have been the time to put out a Heli-Viper using the mix of available parts and garish yet enjoyable colors on that Air Viper/AVAC.

Looking at the Spy Troops vehicles, I have to wonder if they have been retooled. If there isn't a 25th bp hole, Grand Slam will have to hold tight onto that bar. And Eel may have trouble standing upon his wave crusher.

I think the Spytroops vehicles are friggin' sweet. I'll get the bike for sure.

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Meh. Sort of underwhelming, in my opinion.
I'd definitely no fan of the glider Grand Slam comes with.
I may get some if they show up at Zellers, like Target exclusives have a tendency to do in Canada... Depending on how Snake-Eyes looks I might get that Ninja Lightning repaint... and the Eel with Wave Crusher is another possibility.

Still. It is incredibly disappointing with a major Hollywood movie how much of the upcoming stuff is just recycled older stuff. So few of the figures are actual new toolings, and even fewer new vehicles...

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I have like 6 of that bike already and refuse to play the Snake Eyes game anymore so that's an easy pass, and I already have Grand Slam and like12 of that damn glider, so that's frivolous too... But I LOVE me some Wave Crushers, and that Eel looks frikkin' awesome to me. So I'm down with that.

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I guess on the bright side at least the exclusives this time don't seem like a must have. Some things I wouldn't mind having but nothing I'd have to kill myself tracking down or deep regrets if I couldn't find it.

I think I'd be more in favor of exclusives if distribution was better. It was improving, for a while, but now, not so much.
I'm interested in the Eel set because I want an Eel commander type. Other than that I think I'll pass.
From Walmart I'd get the Shockblast/Night Creeper set.
Now what are the TRU sets? I heard the Viper set was being replaced with one with Footloose. Any details?