So I came out of the gates hard yesterday morning with the G.I. Joe: Classified info revealed by IGN but my workday schedule was such that I didn’t really get a chance (at least not here) to talk about the inadvertent reveal from later in the day, courtesy of WalMart.com and HISSTank.
The upcoming G.I. Joe: Classified 6″ Duke has officially been revealed.
And I’ll tell you what– as someone who isn’t real crazy about Duke, this figure is probably my favorite of the first four revealed. A nice blend of military and sci-fi, some obvious throwbacks to his old school designs, and a weapon that is laser-based, yet still resembles more realistic military weaponry.
Good stuff and a nice further springboard into Toy Fair news later today.
IGN.com has blown the lid off the new upcoming G.I. Joe: Classified 6″ line this morning, revealing first looks at Scarlett and Roadblock, as well as official images of Snake Eyes which was leaked earlier this week.
Simply put – I’m ecstatic.
I can already anticipate a flurry of complaints about the figures not being 100% authentic to the vintage designs, but I gotta say, I love this direction. Taking inspiration from the classics, but with some great updates, these figures look collector friendly and fun.
Hasbro Pulse has currently listed the pre-order for Snake Eyes and according to IGN, both Scarlett and Roadblock will be available for pre-order tomorrow.
Also, Hasbro Pulse has a great video up looking at the process behind the design of Snake Eyes and his packaging and it’s chock full of awesome detail.
Don’t look now, but 2020 is off to a great G.I. Joe start, and I’m sure there will be a lot more fun stuff to see tomorrow at Toy Fair!
The floodgates are officially open. Since the first reports of images from what appear to be a G.I. Joe: Classified “Convention Set” Snake Eyes, loose images have started flooding the Internet from many different sources.
These images show Snake Eyes loose with the vast arsenal of ninja-oriented weaponry as well as the functionality of the weapon rack, and a better look at the awesome package art (including a glimpse of what appear to be Alley-Vipers!).
As one might expect – I love what I’m seeing here.
Yes, my love of G.I. Joe was born in the 80’s with the 3 3/4″ Real American Hero line, but was also ignited by the 8″ Sigma 6 line in 2005 and the partner 2.5″ line alongside that one. I’ve loved 12″ figures as well. Safe to say, as long as the toys are fun and bring something new to the table, I’m a fan.
An early look at Snake Eyes seems to confirm this.
While the figure is obviously strongly inspired by the 1985 knight visor version of the figure, there are some great additions to it, including more military style pants, some sort of layered body armor and other very cool twists to the familiar design.
There’s a lot to love here, and if this is an indication of what we’ll be seeing with the G.I. Joe: Classified line going forward, I think I’m going to be a very, very happy camper.
At least I can only assume so based on the images that have leaked online of what appears to be an upcoming G.I. Joe: Classified Convention Set.
The images feature a 6″ Ninja Commando Snake Eyes (based strongly on his 1985 iteration) with a wide assortment of weapons, including his signature sword and Uzi, as well as what appears to potentially be a weapons rack or ornamentation of some sort.
These images were first revealed (or at least I first saw them) over on The Full Force Facebook Page where you will see tons more news and info over Toy Fair weekend coming up in a few days. The images apparently initially surfaced over on the Toy Jaeger Facebook page.
I gotta say, it feels good to type those words. It seems like a very long time since there was something G.I. Joe-wise to look forward to at Toy Fair, but this year promises to turn that all around.
You’ll notice that the main page of GeneralsJoesReborn has undergone a minor facelift as we work towards the Hasbro Collector’s Event next Saturday. The countdown clock you see above expires at 1:30pm, which is when the Hasbro Collectors Event begins, but please keep in mind, the latest show room images may not be posted until later that evening.
While I am not able to travel to New York next weekend myself, Chris from The Full Force will be there in my stead, representing both GeneralsJoes and The Full Force podcast, so you know we’ll get some fantastic photo and video coverage live from NYC as soon as humanly possible. You’ll want to be sure to follow:
I expect to see some news about the G.I. Joe: Classified six inch line, the anticipated Snake Eyes movie line(s), and perhaps even more. While Jazwares news likely will not hit alongside the Hasbro stuff on Saturday, I’m sure more of that intel will be available throughout the weekend and into the following week as the official Toy Fair kicks off.
Regardless of what we see, the anticipation itself is a breath of fresh air and I find myself extremely excited to await the reports from the presentation and the showroom tour next weekend.
Good stuff coming in a week, and fantastic stuff coming for 2020, look forward to sharing it all with you!
I will be the first to admit, as a long time shameless G.I. Joe fanatic, that there hasn’t been a whole lot to get excited about with the franchise in recent years. Although it actually hasn’t been that long since we had new toys (the FSS was still happening a bit over a year ago), something feels… different about 2020.
With the impending launch of the Snake Eyes film in October, rumors have been running rampant about a potential new 6″ vintage-inspired G.I. Joe line called “G.I. Joe: Classified”. For every enthusiastic post, however, there are generally several “I’ll believe it when I see it” counter-arguments, which is understandable.
However, in recent days we’ve seen an actual Bill of Lading posted from a shipping company in China indicates the existence of a convention exclusive, as well as Wal-Mart and Target product codes courtesy of YakFace.com which clearly indicate that there are, in fact, mass market newly produced G.I. Joe action figures on the horizon for the first time in a very long time. Even the 50th Anniversary was mostly existing tooling and relegated to only Toys “R” Us, so you really need to look back to G.I. Joe: Retaliation as the last time we saw G.I. Joe action figures at places like Wal-Mart and Target.
In spite of what some Joe fans might say, and regardless of what your scale preference is, this is big news. This is exciting news. And yes, as you probably all anticipate, I’m pretty fired up.
I’m a bit unique in my love for G.I. Joe. While it was certainly the ’82 – ’86 era that ignited that spark in me, I carried a love for the military/science-fiction infusion of the brand all the way through the 90’s, through the 00’s, through Sigma 6, and straight up to the present, and while I totally understand people’s attachment to 4″ (or 3 3/4″), I can’t help but be excited about this new iteration of our favorite Real American Hero.
Honestly, there are a few reasons for that:
Brand new stuff. Yes these figures will very likely be vintage inspired, but they should have mostly new tooling and a new style that we haven’t seen before, and everyone knows I’m a sucker for new stuff.
Visibility. Like it or not, collector themed lines are trending 6″ right now, which is interesting because not that long ago they were all trending 4″. Star Wars: Black, Marvel Legends, Power Rangers: Lightning, not to mention stuff like Fortnite and DC Collectibles have proven that the sculpting and detail at a 6″ scale has made huge strides. I’ve been buying Marvel Legends again, which I haven’t done for several years, and like it or not, a strongly vintage inspired collector-oriented line will bring new people to the table and get those people interested in the brand again.
A wider expanse. So, I think we all realize that Hasbro knows that G.I. Joe’s bread and butter over the years has been at the 12″ and 4″ scales. I’m not sure a highly detailed 12″ line is realistic at this point, but I would be shocked if we didn’t see some 4″ action figures alongside this new 6″ collector line. Time will tell what sort of detail and articulation we see (and how much new tooling is involved), but regardless, I suspect that a little over a week from now, people will be a lot happier than they might be now.
Oh. Yeah. Speaking of a “little over a week” from now. Hasbro’s Collector Event at Toy Fair happens Saturday, February 22nd. That’s a week from tomorrow, and according to their brochure, G.I. Joe is sure to be a topic of conversation. So a week from tomorrow, we should know what to expect for the coming year, and I strongly believe we will be pretty fired up, especially compared to the relative drought we’ve seen on Wal-Mart and Target shelves over the past several years.
A new movie. A new mobile game. New toys. Sure looks like 2020 is shaping up to be a fun year. You can bet I’ll be right here celebrating alongside you.
