Well, that didn’t take long. Just moments after the story broke about upcoming Past and Present figure 2-packs, many folks were wondering when we’d see images…and as usual, Gyre-Viper from HissTank.com comes through. Keep in mind these are pre-production mock ups and aren’t necessarily indicative of what the final product may be, but I think it’s probably a safe bet.
If these are what the final product will be? I hesitate to say it, but… “meh”. I’ve got all the Rise of Cobra versions already, and honestly, these are all just repaints of figures we got in comic packs not so long ago. I could potentially see some new collectors jumping on board here, but honestly, most of the new folks prefer the Anniversary/Rise of Cobra tooling and style, and wouldn’t really latch on to these vintage homages that are somewhat slapped together and imperfect. It presents a strange dichotomy. Generally, the most diehard vintage type fans aren’t really big on the movie designs…and the folks that are really into the movie already have all of these movie figures, and also aren’t necessarily that interested in vintage homages, so I’m really not sure who these are designed to appeal to.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m as excited as any long time fan for the premise of vintage o-ring tooling being sold on store shelves, but I’m just not sure this was the best way to go about it.
Perhaps if the homages were more carefully done or better conceived, there might be a broader appeal, but as a somewhat hackneyed store exclusive set, I’m a bit hesitant to get all that fired up. Anyone agree or disagree?
no images were found
sorry next time I’ll wait at least a year before posting pics 😛
Hey, don’t take my “mehness” personally. You’re still the man for getting the pics. 😉
hahahaha. hey i’m totally meh about these. i just like mock ups. hahahaha. I could care less if these even come out.
in fact (for collection purposes) I hope they don’t. hahahaha.
I’m going to wait and see what the finished product looks like but so far I am unimpressed. A great big “MEH” from me to add to the pile.
That said, thank you Gyre-Viper for the pic hook-up.
justin i agree with you 100%, not to mention these are the same tired characters we keep getting all the time.
PASS.
but its not that upsetting……more money towards PoC.
Ugh. No changes? With how much they love repaints, we are just getting the regular versions? Why not paint them up like thier original counterparts; RoC Duke would look awesome in similar colors to the original, and Destro would be great in black. Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes wouldn’t change much, but since when did that stop them from releasing those two?
Oh well.
Destro’s O-ring mold has the most amount of paint apps that mold’s ever gotten.
Very disappointed that neither Duke nor Storm Shadow feature their original arms. The thick Gung-Ho lower arms on teeny Duke upper arms is still as awful as ever, and he’s still got the Gung-Ho waist that never works. Storm Shadow’s bare upper arms painted in skintone are also awful. Snake-Eyes also still features the 86 Roadblock waist that DOES NOT WORK with the rest of the body.
Considering how the first release, Snow Job, featured his original upper arms, I am quite disappointed that none of these guys have any effort in them.
Considering the “ROC” Snow Job from the Past & Present vehicle set featured original paint apps it’s very disappointing to see all the other figures completely unmodified.
This would have made so much more sense if we got these when the 25th Anniversary line was still popular or if they actually made an effort to redeco the ROC figures to reflect the classic costumes.
backpack, I would’ve loved to see the ROC Desert Duke in colors that emulate the classic Duke. And Destro would look awesome in black and red.
And don’t Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow’s colors reflect the classic costumes? :p
Apparently Hasbro didn’t get the memo of all the Destro’s, Duke’s, Storm Shadow’s and Snake Eye’s still stuck on the shelves. There is nothing about these sets that interest me. Now come out with characters we haven’t seen in a while and then I might bite.
Hahahahaha lol, We’re all crying for the new stuff to come out, and hasbro spits on our faces “more of the same” while shouting at us: “live with it!”
@ Jay: Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow’s colors do reflect their classic costumes, but geez, How many Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadows does one need? There are so many other characters that they could have used for this.
Yeah, wow, about the only thing I like about these is that it looks like the RoC Destro might use the SDCC Destro head, which is pretty cool. But that doesn’t make it good enough for me to even be tempted by these…here’s to hoping it’s just an exclusive so that stores everywhere don’t wind up clogged with them.
The last few weeks I’ve been sensing that you’re more and more discouraged and dissapointed with Hasbro, Justin. I hardly recognized you now that you’re not the pentultimate fanboy. I guess having kids is starting to make you like the rest of us. (Better be careful, or else Hasbro won’t send you one of those special “care packages” next year!)
Just kidding bro, I totally hear you regarding these. Completely uninspiring choices of figures. Typical corporate decision; any new line has to start out with the standard characters: Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Duke, Cobra Commander, Destro, etc.
I’m ashamed to admit, I keep hoping the failings of the ROC line will cause Hasbro to bring back the 25th Anniversarry line.
I gotta say I still think you’re the penultimate fanboy…lol. Really, statements like : “Don’t get me wrong, I’m as excited as any long time fan for the premise of vintage o-ring tooling being sold on store shelves, but I’m just not sure this was the best way to go about it.” are in line with all the other generalizations you’ve been making about how everyone is eagerly awaiting the PoC figures and all that. I couldn’t disagree more. Though I understand you probably feel the need to overstate things to try and balance out the overall negative vibe in Joe-fandom regarding the movie and everything after that but sheesh, time to call a spade a spade.
As for these Past and present figures? A 2-pack with one half figures I JUST bought and the other half with some long-obsolete construction and Playmobile-like sculpting? C’mon. This isn’t just disapointing…this is crap.
I DO fully agree with you that the 25th stuff got boring, but MAN I just can’t get over the fact that if they had continued it and just brought in all these new sculpts they are doing, gave them new names and histories and released each wave part old, part new, EVERYONE would be thrilled. But continually re-inventing the wheel is killing this franchise. That new PoC Zartan coming out? AWESOME figure….but not as Zartan. A new character would have been the way to go, or if you really want to connect to the old stuff, why not a re-designed Raptor? How cool of an update would that be? And the PoC Desert Ripcord? Why wasn’t that made a new character as well? I mean really, this new line is all about wasted opportunities. The sculpting has never been better, the accessories are incredible and numerous, but as long as they are releasing Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Ripcord, Duke, Cobra Commander and Destro versions 350 – 400, I’m not really sure anyone cares.
Hasbro is just missing the mark. I thought two things were proven in past lines, new characters are welcome (Spy Troops/Valor vs Venom) and classic designs are still loved (25th line). With the new stuff they ignored both, giving us old characters with new designs.
And I haven’t even started on the major missed opportunity of selling a ton of Resolute toys. Hopefully that boxed set sees the light of day….I want some Resolute Alley Vipers damn it!
I understand of course the contradiction of running a Joe fan site and then complaining about everything Joe, but to me it seems popular sites like yours have a responsibility to let Hasbro know when they’ve screwed up. I mean, it’s in their best interest as well. After all, they want to sell product. And if any of you are share-holders in Hasbro and have access to reports, you know that the RoC toys bombed compared to what was expected. A complete 180 of what happened with 25th, where expectations were low and they were just blown out of the water. I really fear that much of PoC will never see the light of day. Sales aren’t showing support for this direction of GIJoe. Why that is? Can’t say for sure, but the fact that every stores shelves are lined with wave 1 and 2 overstock tells me a lot. Why order in new waves when your shelves are still full? I’m still waiting for my City Strike Snake Eyes to show up somewhere.
Okay, I’m done. Hopefully I didn’t offend anyone.
Didn’t offend me in the least, no worries.
Perhaps folks see it as generalizations, but I hit every forum on the ‘net, and by and large I see a VERY positive outpouring of praise for the Pursuit of Cobra items. I don’t see that as a generalization in the least.
And believe me, I’ll happily let Hasbro know that they screwed up, when I think they’ve screwed up. Everything I speak on this site I speak from my own perspective and own opinion. If I state on the site that I think the Rise of Cobra was a good idea, it’s because I think it was, not because I’m trying to appease some invisible share holders who probably don’t even visit the site anyway.
I’ve said in multiple posts on this site that Rise of Cobra toy sales were not up to expecatations. In fact, I ignited a firestorm just over a week ago when I talked about it, and many folks labeled me as too negative. So which is it?
I speak from my own opinion and my own view on things, and don’t water down anything.
I’ve long spouted my own opinions on G.I. Joe: Resolute, and how from a design perspective it was one of the best things to come to G.I. Joe since the 80’s, and have mentioned how disappointed I am that we didn’t get a full blown toy line based on that.
So in the past 2 weeks I’ve been raked for being too negative, and now too positive. Nothing I’m not used to.
lol…well yes, that’s the way it is with fans isn’t it? No matter what you do, someone is upset.
I know you speak from your heart, though I do get the feeling at times you hesitate to ever really bash anything, maybe just because it’s GIJoe and maybe you just have a much better memory than I do and those years when no Joe product was available still live on in you, cause seen that way, any Joe product is usually better than no Joe product.
I guess I could agree that the viewpoint on PoC is positive in the way that it’s hopeful and people are relived the horrible RoC stuff is over. But the main negatives people don’t like are still there. 1. It’s tied to the movie. 2. People are thinking they’ll never see the product anyway (even if it comes out, as distribution has been atrocious) and 3. It’s still a line keeping us from the completeion of the 25th stuff.
Personally, I’m looking forward to most of it. There are some really cool looking figures coming out….well, supposed to come out anyway.
And yeah, I did appreciate your honesty regarding the sales of RoC. However that’s just fact. People argueing against that is just pointless, as it is what it is. That’s not putting out an opinion.
When it all comes down to it, all any of us can do is speak with our purchasing power anyway. …..and our choice of sites to visit…lol…as this is definately THE Joe site I visit, so you must be doing something right, even if I gripe from time to time 😉
I’d like to see how Hasbro can handle making a 2 pack for Ripcord.
That’ll be waaaay funny.
Ripcord, Baroness, Cobra Commander and Scarlett are all probably planned. This is just the ROC universe heroes and their older ARAH counterparts. It’s simply a way to push out more ROC characters and try to get kids hooked while at the same time trying to rope in the nostalgic collectors with the O-Rings.
As already mentioned by pretty much everyone, it’s just more of the same ROC figures that people just bought and are already warming the pegs everywhere, with O-ring molds from 2005 comic 3-packs that we just bought a few years ago.
Just more wasted potential that will sit and warm the shelves.
So I highly doubt it will sell through and we even get to see what a Ripcord pack would look like and consumer opinion on it.
I like the Storm Shadow, but this is just complete fail and I just have to wonder does Hasbro even care anymore?
Hawkwinter, I believe you’re spot on with your assessment on the situation. I guess no one can blame Hasbro for actually wanting to market to kids, but the writing on the wall is clear to me and for the sake of future endeavors for Hasbro, I hope it is to them as well.
G I Joe doesn’t appeal to kids on a mass scale these days as it did in the 1980’s, early 90’s.
Seems like whenever Hasbro pushes Joe with kids as their main demographic, the line sputters and fails. (VvV, Spytroops, Sigma 6 and now ROC)
Whereas they do something for the older market and things fly off the handle. (25th, Resolute)
G I Joe is very clearly a collectors market, not a childs market.
While I am sure this is not all Hasbro has to offer, what they have had to offer lately has left me a little bored. If I have seen it before, then I am less likely to jump out and go get it at the store. I have passed on a lot of product this past month mostly because it has not been very imaginative from Hasbro. It is as if the bean counters and marketing guys are really in charge and not the guys who love this stuff. “Meh” is an understandable reaction, especially when you only have limited cash on hand to spend on luxury toys. It just does not pull me in when I see the same thing over and over again. Anybody with access ti the internet knows they can get all of this stuff on Ebay already, so what Hasbro is offering is only the cardboard wrapper.
@ backpack:
As far as Storm Shadow goes? As many as it takes! I am a rampant Storm Shadow fanboy, and own every single non-skirted version of ROC Storm Shadow.
I also keep pining for a better 25th Anniversary 88-style Storm Shadow using the Ninja-Viper’s assembly.
Plus a Storm Shadow based on the attire he sported in his Devil’s Due (depressingly short-lived) ongoing series.
I love these! Even though I have similar versions of most. I hadn’t bit on some of the ROC figures. The new vintage versions packaged with them are enough to make me pull the trigger on the whole set!
In response to Alpines comment
I think the whole thing is so simple. And the answer is on the GIJoe Resolute DVD. When you watch the interviews with the three guys who made the film, there are some very simple lessons to learn for Hasbro there.
1. The guys working for Hasbro, are guys like us. They grew up with GIJoe, they love it like we do.
2. How often do they mention how thrilled they were to get to work on something they had not only free reign on but also was targetted at them? Countless times
3. They were surprised by how enthusiastic the fans were about Resolute.
Unfortuanately this outlines what many of us have complained about regarding Hasbro for years; they are missing their target market. To be fair though, that’s a problem most companies have. There is a long line of video game magazines that failed mainly because they wrote their magazine like they were talking to kids. Well, the average player is around 30 years old, and you know what? Kids don’t like being talked to like their kids either. Card games also make that mistake, where polls show the average player is about 26.
But getting back to the topic at hand. Does Hasbro even understand why the 25th line was so popular? Why people like me who live in Canada spent hundreds of dollars just for shipping to get these figures? It’s because for all those people that haven’t kept their collections from when they were kids, or re-built them, the 25th line (for the most part) was having their favorite childhood toys back in arms reach the way they remembered them. I have countless friends who never considered buying Joes again until they saw these new versions. Everyone said these look just like I remembered them. (Show them the actual old figures and watch their face contort in a “wow! really? I remember them more like this”). Those same guys have looked at the RoC stuff and see nothing they can relate to. The RoC stuff doesn’t look like GIJoe to them.
We are the target. My age group, people with reasonable disposable income. Loonies like me who went beserk over the 25th stuff and bought nearly 300 of the wave 1 Cobra Soldiers only to realize I liked the red-masked version better when it came out and re-buy them all over again (though I haven’t been able to get that many of the red-masked version…yet). How many of the RoC troopers have I army built? None really.
So if guys like me aren’t buying, the guys that remember GIJoe fondly aren’t buying, and the kids aren’t into the whole GIJoe thing, because it doesn’t resemble Halo, who exactly is left besides hardcore collectors?
And I would of bought 50 each of the Alley Viper and Range Viper figs from the Cobra Island 7-pack, but buying the entire 7-pack and paying the shipping costs for them all makes it impossible. So more money lost for Hasbro, and a semi unhappy collector.
And I doubt these now and then packs will sell well, which again will tell Hasbro all the wrong things, namely that GIJoe doesn’t sell anymore.
As usual, spont on HawkWinter. Spot on.
As usual, spot on HawkWinter. Spot on.