Hey everyone, Gary here with a rare post. Which I am sure will be a hot topic of discussion for today and into the short term future (most Joe fans have short attention spans), dozens and dozens of the online Joe fandom who camped out HTS found that Slaughter is a hot commodity – the HARD way. At approximately 11:30a EST, the good sarge popped up on HTS and went from IN STOCK to OUT OF STOCK about as quick as it took you to read this sentence. While other Hasbro SDCC items flux between the two states, Sarge’s status has remained unchanged since. Yes, there are no Sarges today…
Ah, just another Monday after SDCC, eh? I guess not. In a first since SDCC ’07, the typical morning-after rush went over with the proverbial thud and sent panicked Joe fans looking for the nearest shower rod to hang themselves. While several community members called into HTS and reported their findings back, one thing is for sure, not a single Slaughter sold on the HTS site today. Fatigued panic turned into fatigued rage. Look, I don’t know who to blame here, but I do feel your pain. Luckily, for a handful of collectors, the GIJCC managed to score a small lot of them and offered them up to the community at a small, but reasonable profit. For the rest who were shutout, the secondary markets became a necessary evil. The highest auction at the time of this writing went for a whopping $129.95 for a set while a single figure hovers around the $50 neighborhood with the variants fetching a little more.
What can I say? This obviously did not go according to past scripts. I gotta believe there are more out there, certainly the USA deco, and will make their way onto HTS. If not, well…I guess the good news is that Hasbro hit a home run on a time honored character and there are many more fans out there than we take notice of. Whether it is because of the wrestling influence or people just tiring of other lines and liking the sculpting and articulation of Joe, more people in the hobby can be a blessing and a curse all-at-the-same-time. The bad news is that now future SDCC Monday’s will always start off in conversation: “Hey, do you remember those handful of guys who stayed up all night only to get teased by an image and a red OUT OF STOCK sign?”
Keep the faith fans…keep the faith.
I don’t think I would say I have nerd rage, just a severe case of nerd frustration. 😉 If they had gone on sale even for a small window before selling out, I think it would be a little easier to take, but damn, these things were just put up as out of stock and have been that way all day. GRRRRRRRR okay now I’ve got NERD RAGE!!11!!1! XD
:shifty:
I waited 15 hours. I tap out.
For the record, he never went “in stock to out of stock”… He was NEVER in stock.
I didn’t stay up all night, but I did get up a little early to try to snag a set of these for my almost five year old son (one for him to play with now, one to save until he is a bit older and can take care of his figures). I’m disappointed, but not as much as he will be.
I could talk myself into paying $12 a figure, but not the $25 I would have had to pay the Club as a Trooper level member, and definitely not the ebay prices. People are paying stupid prices for these right now. For anyone who thinks they will be an investment, I hate to tell you but they will not. Look at the GI Joe price Guide… a mint in bag 25 year old original version of the Sgt. Slaughter figure only goes for $30. There is no way that twenty five years from now these figures are going to be worth more than what people are paying on ebay today. There will be no nostalgia because hardly anyone got their hands on one of these figures, not to mention more people save them mint-in-bag and mint-on-card today than they did 25 years ago, so they won’t be as rare. I mean, seriously, you think these copies should be worth more during the week of their release than the originals are worth 25 years later?
I’ve got to say, as a person who collects these for his kids, I’m very irked at Hasbro. The first strike was Dr. Venom being a Club exclusive, and now Sgt. Slaughter being an SDCC exclusive with no chance to buy him at a decent price. I don’t mind if they release a Pimp Daddy Destro as an exclusive, because I already have a version of Destro for my kid to play with. I don’t mind if they release Roddy Piper because he wasn’t in the comics/cartoon so my kid doesn’t miss him. What I can’t stand is for them to release the only version of a beloved character in 25th/ROC/POC style as an exclusive. That isn’t fair to the kids, and when your business model is only catering to adult collectors of kids toys, eventually you will be out of business because all of us middle aged guys are eventually going to kick the bucket and the toy companies will have long ago alienated our kids.
Slaughter like Galactus was never “in stock” for sale. Notice also how they are both missing photos. I’ve been monitoring the site most of the day and I noticed a figure would first show up “out of stock,” then it would get the photos attached, then it would go “in stock”
Once the photos get attached then I would be ready for them to go “in stock.”
Unless they sold out at SDCC and Hasbro currently has no stock on these items, but I never read anything about a sell out.
The CHILDREN! WON’T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!
Hasbro’s business model is hardly only catering to adult collectors. But Sgt. Slaughter is an EXCLUSIVE figure, there’s going to be fewer of him than in a mass release, and there is absolutely zero reason for Hasbro to think that a wrestler/character from the 80s is going to have mass appeal to kids today. Not to mention the fact that there are likeness rights issues here; Hasbro probably cannot release a mass retail version of Slaughter because Mattel owns his likeness rights now.
But, hey, keep on whining. That’s what collectors do.
Galactus was in stock early on. I saw it. I however, never saw Sarge in stock.
What, and kids don’t watch the 80’s cartoons that were re-released on DVD last year? Sgt. Slaughter is a major character in the old cartoon. My son saw pictures of him here on GeneralsJoes and I told him I’d try to get him one, and he even asked me if he came with his tank, because Sgt. Slaughter drives this really cool tank. Now how the hell does he know that if the Sarge has no appeal to kids today?
The problem is, Hasbro does still make toys for kids… but the comics and movie were not at all suitable for the kids who are of the age that they play with toys. So what is a dad to do but expose his kid to the much less violent and graphic media of my own childhood.
This whole thing reminds me of a similar situation with my son two years ago with Thomas the Tank Wooden Railroad… my kid saw Boco on the Thomas DVD, but Boco was out of production so there was zero chance for him to get Boco. As a dad, I searched every hole in the wall store in my state that carried Thomas wooden engines, and found a lot of other old engines but never Boco. The problem is with Sgt. Slaughter and Dr. Venom, I’ll never find them because Hasbro didn’t release them in stores. If that isn’t catering to adults, what is?
Why is Dr. Venom a favorite of mine? Because of how he was portrayed in the comics. Is it so hard to believe that my kids who will watch the same show and read the same comic that I read (also re-released over the past two years) have a similar interest in Dr. Venom, Kwinn, etc?
If I was a collector, I’d pay the money to get the figure from the Club or from ebay. For me, the only reason I’ve collected 25th was because I didn’t have my childhood toys, and GI Joe was always my favorite, and I wanted to pass them along to my kid so that he can experience the same joy I did playing GI Joe. Call me weird, but we don’t have any video game consoles or gameboys because we want our kids to play… not sit around staring at a screen all day… they’ll have enough of a chance to do that when they get a job in 20 years.
There were UNCONFIRMED reports that the Sarge did flash in stock and people had him in their carts from a couple of sites and people I consider reputable. With that said, I decided to error on the safe side and report on the side that Sarge did make it to in stock status. It does seen plausible. At the end of the day, it is basically splitting hairs. It doesn’t change the fact that Sarge is still out of stock. I used it as a illustrator to show how quick everything changed. The community one second it was: “Come on Hasbro!” to “WTF Hasbro!?” the next. It was literally that quick.
Shh, now, Gary, you’re going to disrupt the mindset of a lynch mob. We just can’t have that!! 😉
“What, and kids don’t watch the 80’s cartoons that were re-released on DVD last year?”
No, not unless their nostalgic, collector daddies bought it and made them watch it.
“Now how the hell does he know that if the Sarge has no appeal to kids today?”
Because his nostalgic, collector daddy bought it and made him watch it.
“The problem is, Hasbro does still make toys for kids… but the comics and movie were not at all suitable for the kids who are of the age that they play with toys”
None of the kids in the theater had any problems watching the movie the two times I saw it.
“The problem is with Sgt. Slaughter and Dr. Venom, I’ll never find them because Hasbro didn’t release them in stores. If that isn’t catering to adults, what is?”
Those are two exclusive, collectible figures, not their entire business model (or even a substantial part of it).
“Hasbro probably cannot release a mass retail version of Slaughter because Mattel owns his likeness rights now.”
If that were the case it wouldn’t even be listed.
funny thing for me was…….all weekend i was waffling between getting one and not. i finally decided this morning to get one, got all excited to order one……and this.
oh well…….i guess all the waffling was unnecessary, hasbro made the decision for me.
i managed to get that build n brawl version……not nearly the same, but better than the one i ordered today!
No one has said the game’s over just yet. Many have said that they go back and forth being being listed in stock and out of stock with these SDCC figures. I’m sure the same will be said for Sarge…eventually.
Maybe lol
Sarge wasn’t a major character in Sunbow. He only appeared in season 2 and the movie. The majority of Sunbow consisted of the first 3 mini-series and season 1…hence the 3 DVD sets vs. 1 set.
Good thing Justin got a free set of Sarges direct from Hasbro lol.
“No, not unless their nostalgic, collector daddies bought it and made them watch it.”
I bought it, but I hardly had to make him watch it. In fact, he was begging to watch it for a long time before I felt he was ready.
“None of the kids in the theater had any problems watching the movie the two times I saw it.”
The GI Joe toys are ages 5+. You think it is appropriate to take a 5 year old to a movie where someone is walking around lit on fire? How about impaled? I don’t think that’s appropriate, and apparently neither did the ratings board since they gave the movie a PG-13. How many 13 year olds play with toy action figures? My dad made me get rid of my GI Joes when I was 14, because I was way too old to play with toys.
“Those are two exclusive, collectible figures”
You’ve made my point for me. The *figures* are exclusive, collectible, and cater to adults. Yet the *characters* were designed for children (and yes, the Sarge character was ‘designed’ because the wrestler wasn’t fighting BATs and driving a Triple T around.
“If that were the case it wouldn’t even be listed.”
Unless, of course, he and Hasbro signed a contract between the wrestling deals.
“The GI Joe toys are ages 5+. You think it is appropriate to take a 5 year old to a movie where someone is walking around lit on fire? How about impaled? I don’t think that’s appropriate, and apparently neither did the ratings board since they gave the movie a PG-13.”
I think it’s perfectly appropriate, as long as you go with him, and so did plenty of parents with kids that age when I saw it. None of them were screaming in terror during the movie. You do realize that PG-13 is only a *suggestion* for parental guidance, right? I saw The Empire Strikes Back when I was three, and the film’s main protagonist got his hand cut off in battle. Another protagonist was frozen solid while his love interest and best friend watched. I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark when I was four, and people’s faces melted on the screen. The experiences were not traumatic.
“How many 13 year olds play with toy action figures?”
Right, because the Spider-Man movies didn’t put kids in seats, and children definitely aren’t playing with Spider-Man toys.
“My dad made me get rid of my GI Joes when I was 14, because I was way too old to play with toys.”
So? How is some arbitrary decision your father made relevant?
“You’ve made my point for me.”
You have quite the imagination.
“The *figures* are exclusive, collectible, and cater to adults. Yet the *characters* were designed for children (and yes, the Sarge character was ‘designed’ because the wrestler wasn’t fighting BATs and driving a Triple T around.”
The characters were designed for children in the ’80s. The only way kids of today have any concept of them is if their nostalgic, collector daddies bought the comics and cartoons and exposed them to it. That was *your* strategy, not Hasbro’s.
If *you* got your kid all excited for a limited, exclusive action figure, that’s not Hasbro’s fault, either.
Guys, you know as well as I do that we’re going to see the Sarge in some other capacity. Hasbro doesn’t just make a new mold and use it once for a convention exclusive. Dollars for donuts we’ll be seeing that mode used in some capacity either through a desert themed Slaughter mail-away or a TRU Slaughters Marauders 5 pack, for example.
A Slaughter’s Marauders pack is an interesting idea. We have most of the team members in new sculpt form now (or we soon will in the upcoming PoC releases). I like that idea a lot…
“If that were the case it wouldn’t even be listed.”
“Unless, of course, he and Hasbro signed a contract between the wrestling deals.”
Not to get into the middle of your argument, but I’m wondering if Hasbro does own the likeness rights of Sgt. Slaughter (or at least the military version of him). I see the Sarge made it into Mattels ‘Legends of the Rings’ line, but he’s wearing a white T-shirt and blue wrestling pants (I don’t even think he’s wearing his Drill Instructor hat). I just assumed it was because of his recent inclusion into the Joe line.
Andrew Hall,
People were saying the same thing about Destro last year, and although that pack was listed and attainable for months unlike Sarge, that mold hasn’t been reissued and might not ever see mass retail. I wouldn’t be so confident that Slaughter will be used again. The mold certainly doesn’t fit with the PoC line aesthetic nor does it match the Renegades cartoon style and those are the main focus of the retail line for the foreseeable future.
Red Sox said ” The mold certainly doesn’t fit with the PoC line aesthetic nor does it match the Renegades cartoon style and those are the main focus of the retail line for the foreseeable future.”
True. It may just take a while. 30th Anniversary is coming up. Most likely place to see him again I would guess, if any.
Meanwhile, if you have cash to burn, there are several dozen up on E-Bay.
Hasbro said in one of their Q&A’s that they had aspirations that the Destro mold was going to be used as a Extensive Enterprises Tomax and Xamot. If anything killed that Destro mold, my guess would be from the slow sales of ROC, and the switch to POC.
I hope we see more in stock down the road but I find it doubtful. How Hasbro could’ve thought Sarge wasn’t popular enough for main line release I’ll never know.
By the way his Mattel figure is based on what he wore when he first debuted in 1982. Don’t forget he was a bad guy.
This is an outrage! How could Hasbro treat us like this! I demand they make it up to us by packaging them with am exclusive on-line only ditty bag! An itty bitty ditty bag!
Oh well, here’s hoping they throw a good amount up for the fans eventually. At least we still have the mini figure from Jakks. Now, if this happened last year with the Destro set, then there would be nerd rage right now!!
It makes me so angry I could elbow drop Hasbro while saying…”This…is for Pimp Daddy Destro!”, then I body slam them and say…”This is for Podium Cobra Commander!”, then I could throw them off a cliff and say…”This is for the U.S. of A (variant of Sgt. Slaughter which is way too hard to get a hold of)!”
“I saw The Empire Strikes Back when I was three, and the film’s main protagonist got his hand cut off in battle. Another protagonist was frozen solid while his love interest and best friend watched. I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark when I was four, and people’s faces melted on the screen. The experiences were not traumatic.”
You seem like such a nice, well-socialized individual now, I see the error in my ways and will start exposing my children to age inappropriate material immediately. Although I think my wife, who has a degree in early-childhood education, might disagree. Come to think of it, when I was studying for my degree, those courses on criminology taught me that this would be the perfect way to raise a sociopath. I think I’ll stick to my parenting choices, and hopefully my children can avoid the hundreds of junior sociopaths whose parents think it is okay to expose them to graphic violence at an age when they are psychologically and developmentally unable to distinguish fantasy from reality.
Example – children at that age believe that a fat man with flying reindeer who can magically come down your chimney and visit every house in the world in a single night is real. You expect these same children to not be affected by seeing someone die a graphic death in a movie?
My son is almost five, and the other day saw a mother monkey dying on a nature show. His first reaction was, “That mommy is going to come alive again, right?” We told him, “No, when something dies, it doesn’t live on earth ever again.” At this point he proceeded to create a story about monster aliens bringing the baby monkey a new mommy, which made everything okay.
Kids cannot deal with that level of violence… as a coping method they will automatically categorize it as fantasy, because the possibility of something like that being real frightens them so badly. If you think that scaring them like that is a good thing, it is not. It can permanently desensitize them to violence and permanently affect their ability to empathize. And a lack of empathy is a key ingredient in a sociopath.
But again, what do I know? I only studied criminology and my wife studied early childhood education, and we’ve had many long discussions and debates on what is and is not appropriate for children at ages 0-6, based on what we each know from our respective education and experience.
Santa Claus isn’t real? Damn it! Don’t you know the rules? Your supposed to put ‘Spoiler Alert’ when making a revealing that kind of info. It’s common internet etiquette, sir! Lol.
And yet we can still get Duke, Snake Eyes, COBRA Commander, Destro and Storm Shadow until we puke, yet not a sign of the Sarge we worked so hard through the Hasbro Q & A to get them to make for us. Perhaps they should release the Sarge on a Pursuit of COBRA card…
“You seem like such a nice, well-socialized individual now, I see the error in my ways and will start exposing my children to age inappropriate material immediately. Although I think my wife, who has a degree in early-childhood education, might disagree.”
Am I supposed to care what your wife thinks? She is even less relevant than your father, with whom you seem to have some pretty serious issues. But hey, if you want to shelter your kid and protect him from all the scary, fictional violence in a PG-13 movie, you go right ahead, little fella. You don’t have to defend having that stick lodged so tight to me.
And you’re right. I’m not nice, because I’m not holding your hand and telling you how right you are about Hasbro’s business model. I’m not patting you on the back and encouraging you to use your kid as an excuse to not only collect toys, but to whine incessantly because you didn’t get one you wanted for retail price. I’m not giving you a cyber fist bump because you said you would have paid more for the figure if you were a collector, but you won’t spend the extra scratch for your kid. Yeah, I’m a mean, mean man.
“Come to think of it, when I was studying for my degree, those courses on criminology taught me that this would be the perfect way to raise a sociopath.”
If you really believe this, and it wasn’t just some pathetic, failed attempt at sarcasm, you should be asking for a refund on whatever was spent on that “education.”
“I think I’ll stick to my parenting choices…”
Oh, that lucky kid.
“You expect these same children to not be affected by seeing someone die a graphic death in a movie?”
With *good* parenting? Absolutely. Kids see PG-13 movies all the time. It happens every day. They grow up perfectly fine, because their parents watch the movies with them, discuss what they saw, and guide their children. You know, parental guidance. In your warped perception, taking a kid to see Revenge of the Sith in ’05 guaranteed he’ll grow up to be Andrew Cunanan. Are you really so delusional as to believe all these millions of people who have taken their kids to see things like Spider-Man, The Rise of Cobra, Iron Man, and Transformers are terrible parents who are raising a world of monsters? But not you, though!
I am so thankful that I was able to actually have fun as a kid. I got to see entertaining movies, I got to play with toy guns with my friends, and we had a blast. My friends and I even got to choose what cartoons and toys we wanted to watch and play with for ourselves, not have our parents impose stuff from their childhoods on us. None of us even ever sacrificed a neighborhood cat to the demon gods, or anything.
“My son is almost five…”
You have mistaken me for someone who cares about your son. I don’t. I couldn’t possibly care *less* about your son.
“But again, what do I know?”
Honestly? 🙂
“I only studied criminology and my wife studied early childhood education…”
And yet you still haven’t learned how to accept not getting what you want without reacting like a spoiled brat with an inflated sense of entitlement.
Well after all the waiting yesterday, Infinite Hollywood finally has the story of SlaughterGate.
How SlaughterCon turned to SlaughterGate – Hasbro’s Biggest SDCC Debacle
Shout outs to all my original brethern who made the full trek with me yesterday.
If you want the TRUE, full story, there is no other place to view it, because I was there from the front lines, the entire time: http://www.infinitehollywood.com/2010/07/slaughtergate-hasbros-biggest-sdcc.html
If you want the true, full story from someone who was there in the front line, here it is: http://www.infinitehollywood.com/2010/07/slaughtergate-hasbros-biggest-sdcc.html
No nerd rage to be found, much like yesterday.
Sorry for the double post, not trying to spam. The first one didn’t load up, but now it’s showing up… So yeah. Sorry Justin.
I just wanted to get that out here, because I think people are quick to point and laugh and make it seem as if this hobby is full of “nerd rage” and whatnot, but that’s a pretty poor and inaccurate representation of what went down yesterday. Eventually people did become upset, but that’s not at all what the majority of yesterday was and most if not all of the people who actually waited for Sarge, weren’t like that. Disappointed, confused, certainly. But not full of nerd rage.
Cheers.
So nerd self-pity instead of nerd rage? How is that, “the true, full story,” when it’s just a recap of what everyone already knows? There’s no insight or new information. How is the chair in front of your computer the, “front lines”?
And not for nothin’, but there was nerd rage aplenty yesterday. I could go through the various threads and copy hilarious quotes about the, “slap in the face,” perpetrated by, “Hasblo,” but why bother? It wasn’t quite on the level of what we see from MOTU fans every month, but it was absolutely there.
You’re entitled to your opinion even if it doesn’t accurately reflect the reality of the situation. Silly pot shots aside, I can only speak for what I saw while I was there. Your milage may vary. But since I was there through it, I actually know what happened. Which is why I posted the most accurate account of what happened with all the information as it had never been presented. I never said that there wasn’t some nerd rage, but certainly not as alluded to here or elsewhere. The majority of the supposed rage has come later, from people who weren’t there and have no idea what the hell even went down. Much like most the commentary after the fact.
And in a discussion about how people acted on a forum during a wait for a toy, being there and being part of the discussion “in front of a computer chair” is the front lines, because that’s the story. Being in front of a computer in a chair.
This isn’t a matter of opinion; it’s a fact. The posts about “Hasblo,” the slap in the face, not caring about the poor collectors, and all that other nonsense are still on the various sites. “Opinion” has nothing to do with it. You can be sullen and willfully blind to, “the reality of the situation,” if you want, but the comments were posted in public. The fact that you wasted your time staying awake all night doesn’t give you any more insight to the situation, because the posts don’t have expiration dates. They don’t disappear into cyberspace, leaving people who went to bed Sunday night to question what was said. More importantly, the posts during the day, *after* we were all finished waiting for Slaughter show up (and then to go from Out of Stock to In Stock), are the ones with all the anger. Why would there be any rage when people still thought he was going to be available? I hate to shatter this notion you have of being the only person on the internet who witnessed the reactions, but plenty of us were online – excuse me, “on the front lines” – trying to order the same figures yesterday. Several of us were reading the threads, too.
But by all means, continue to live in Nerd Denial over Nerd Rage if that makes you happy.
As always CC, your “my deluded opinion is fact and the only fact” is amusing. I’ve certainly missed it. Not that you’ll listen anyway as you’re far too busy with Twitter insults and the like, but my overall point was that the MAJORITY wasn’t nerd rage. There will always be a few clowns in the bunch, and I never said there wasn’t. I can only speak for what I saw, which is also documented and brutally more apparent (reality has a incredible way of doing that) than anything else. All of the post commentary and opinions, like your own, are irrelevant.
Anywho, thanks for the laugh. Your nerd rage over nerd rage (or in this case the general lack thereof) is classic stuff and I haven’t had exposure to it in a while. It’s good to know you’re still out there, doing your thing. Keep on Ragin’ on brother.
So easily confused. I didn’t “insult” you on Twitter. For the record, that’s not an opinion, either. Figured I should go ahead and explain that since you can’t seem to differentiate matters of opinion from matters of fact.
You’re also misinterpreting the reasons behind my own commentary. I would have thought that you’d have me figured out by now, but even after all these years, you still don’t get me. *sniff* If it makes you feel better about your “SlaughterGate” (wow) woes to think I’m as angry as you are, there really isn’t much I can do about it. The fact (not opinion), though, is that all this stuff is pure entertainment for me. I missed out on the Sgt. Slaughter figure I wanted yesterday, too, but I’m not whining about it. Life goes on, and if I want one badly enough, I’ll just buy it on eBay. While you’re feeling depressed over missing out on your most favoritest character ever, I’m having a laugh at your attempt to create a traffic leak to another poorly written entry on your little web site.
But despite your TOYZ R SRS BZNS attitude and existence within your own fabricated reality, you’re still okay in my book.
RE: “How Hasbro could’ve thought Sarge wasn’t popular enough for main line release I’ll never know.” and related comments
It’s entirely possible that they _did_ want to make him for release, but couldn’t secure the rights for anything but a limited-edition exclusive. He’s a character that existed prior to and outside of GI Joe whose likeness is entirely based on a real person, so the rules are different.
And those rights have been an ongoing issue for years, both in and out of the toy industry. We’ll most likely never know the details of the agreement.
@CC: Obviously misinterpretation is a two way street. Since, I’m neither angry, depressed or whining about it. I did create a “poorly written entry” (Oh noes you’re not a fan but thanks for reading anyway!) on my blog about toys (which couldn’t be anything further from serious) but definitely not to drive traffic as we do just fine, thanks. It’s simply another extension of the discussion, no different than your posts here or elsewhere. While I did admittingly waste the better part of a Sunday night and Monday afternoon waiting for the figures to drop, it hasn’t made me feel any of the “serious” emotions that you seem to think it has. You’re gonna have to take my word on this one, because I undisputably know more about myself than you do. Much like yourself, I’ve made clear from the beginning, if Hasbro doesn’t provide another avenue to get the figure, I’ll pick him up off of Ebay.
@Fogger: Yeah the biggest question will be if Hasbro’s deal with Slaughter could allow more or different figures to be created. Sarge has a new deal with Mattel, so without knowing the details and if there is any wiggle room, everything else is just conjecture.
“Oh noes you’re not a fan but thanks for reading anyway!”
Well, you *did* say you had, “the true, full story,” rather than saying, “this is how I spent my Sunday night.” Was it foolish of me to believe you might *actually* have the full story? Perhaps. But fool me once, and all that jazz.
Compulsive Collector,
What’s your deal man? The vitriol you’ve spewed here is equal to or worse than any reaction to the unavailability of Slaughter figures. You chastise people for being upset about a trivial thing like toys yet you’re engaging in an internet pissing contest.
The USA Drill Instructor version is currently listed as In Stock.
http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/exclusives-gi-joe-sgt-slaughter-375-drill-instructor-figure-usa-deco?CD=96&ST=SO&PG=1
Seriously, did Hasbro lose a pallet or something? They usually don’t shit the bed this bad.
I’m hoping they can take the head sculpt and stick it on a different body (I just don’t think this one looks good) and do a desert version similar to the Club’s Con version. Make it a mail-away so the process is relatively stress-free.
Something for the Q&A sites to ask/pitch next go-round.
Hasbro ordered another production run for both figures. Expect to see them on hts soon. The initial run has completely sold old so wait on the next run. Do not support the douche bag scalpers on eBay and other sites.