G.I. Joe – Page 12 – European Joe's

Noblesse Oblige

When the Classified series was announced, I was very sceptical about the new size and how the figures would look. As soon as I received my first figure though, I was convinced that G.I.Joe was back on track to being a good selling toy line. Since those first figures, a lot more have made their way over to Belgium – see my previous posts. One that kept eluding me, however, was the Baroness figure with the C.O.I.L cycle. Yes, I wrote ‘was’, because here she is, in all her European Nobility.

G.I. Joe Classified Cobra Baroness with Cobra C.O.I.L.

To be honest, I was doubting if I was ever going to get one. They seemed to go up in price all the time and the online offers were very scarce, hence also awfully expensive. During one of the Fan Friday events, Hasbro announced there was going to be a re-release of the set and that did raise my hopes a bit, but still I wasn’t holding my breath. I did keep an eye out though and sure enough, it seemed more and more became available online. The prices were still high though. Eventually, I was able to strike a deal on eBay and after a short wait, I can add the set to my collection.

The head sculpt is really nice and the gold details on the glasses matches the golden gun and dagger handle nicely.

As with all the Classified Series figures, the artwork is top notch. The bullet (laser beam?) that pings of the windscreen is a nice touch. I also like the golden Cobra (I’m assuming the dagger handle) popping up from behind her.

On the side of the box is another great piece of artwork.

A nice addition to the collection. #13 in the set of Classified Series. If anyone at Hasbro is reading this. We could really do with a nice guide or checklist to keep track of them.

That’s it for now. See you again soon with more new additions to the collection. Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

You lose some, you win twice

I incidentally channeled my inner Bob Ross and had a happy little accident on eBay. I was still missing 3 figures from the Classified figures, namely, The -00- Snake Eyes, The Baroness with C.O.I.L cycle and the Cobra Trooper. This last one seemed like the easiest one to find, so I started looking online to score one for a reasonable price. I actually found 2 on eBay that were fairly priced and so I placed a bid on both hoping that I could win one of them. And then this happened…

Yes, I won both. I guess I’m an army builder now. I was hoping that they might be variants, there appear to be figures with a black collar and then others with a blue collar, but alas, both have blue collars. I can’t really complain, at least I was able to find one. Ok, two.

The box art is again quite superb, and the trooper does like very menacing. The black, the blue and the orange hue in the background really do blend well together. And there is a H.I.S.S tank there, could it be?

I guess you could call this a win-win, but still, they weren’t exactly cheap, so I may end up selling one. This could help me save up and one day pick up a Baroness or Snake Eyes… For now, I’ll just keep on admiring my army of 2.

Until next time! Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

Talking about good versus bad

I’m definitely not bad at math, but I honestly lost count of how many Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow figures have been released. This morning, I got these two figures delivered by the mailman. The packaging was a bit banged up, but the figures itself aren’t really damaged, just some dents in the bubbles and some creaks in the cardboard.

These are from the new cheaper 6″ line that was released with the new Snake Eyes G.I. Joe Origins movie. They are less detailed and have less articulation than the Classified figures that will be released as well.

They are cheaper than the Classified figures because of the lesser features, but that makes these toys more playable and accessible to a new audience. It’s much easier for a parent to say “Yes” to their kids asking for the new Joe toys when they’re cheaper and so more kids can get to know and love the brand. I don’t think this was a bad move by Hasbro.

These figures should cost around $10 in stores, so compared to the Classified figures, that’s easily half price. Looking at it differently, you can have 2 toys instead of 1 for the same amount of money. Sure, they are a bit more basic, but they are really intended as toys, not as collectibles. I ended up paying a little over $17 a piece (including shipping to Belgium and taxes & import duties). Still almost double of what you pay in the US, but all things considered, still very reasonable compared to the prices in the local toy shops for similar toys (the Fortnite figures go for around €15 ~ $18 over here).

No checklists or other references on the back of the cards, just instructions on how to assemble the weapons and how to make the figure do his signature attack move by twisting the body.

Same story with the Storm Shadow figure. He does come with a bow and arrow set as well as 2 katana swords.

I’ve mailed and called to several toy store chains here in Belgium, but they all said they won’t be selling the G.I. Joe toys any time soon. That is quite sad if you think back to the 80’s and 90’s where we had such great catalogs, a number of exclusive toys and merchandise and a very well organized and lively fanclub. There really is a market for the G.I. Joe toys here in Belgium (and The Netherlands), it’s a shame Hasbro doesn’t seem to be interested in selling over here. The thing is, on the back of the cards, you can see that the contents, warnings and what have you are marked in several languages. Including DUTCH! So why isn’t Hasbro selling these toys here? On the bottom of the card (the cardboard in the bubble, what else could I call it?) there is even an address in The Netherland for the representative importer. I truly don’t understand.

With new tax rules and shipping costs ever on the rise, it’s getting increasingly difficult to keep collecting everything (I’m skipping on the Super 7 figures for instance). Sometimes you catch a break, like with these figures, and get something fairly priced, but most of the time the price we have to pay to get our hands on the toys is just getting out of control. Let’s hope that the new movie does well over here and Hasbro can get convinced that sales will be good here.

That’s it for now. Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

This title is not a Red Herring.

No, it’s for a Red Ninja. The Special Edition Funko Pop Retro Toys Cobra Red Ninja to be precise. And a little something extra…

Based on the original Storm Shadow outfit, but in red. This figure really looks the part of a mean ninja.

This figure is released as part of the 2nd set of the Funko Pop Retro Toys G.I. Joe figures. On the back of the box is a checklist of the figures. They include Scarlett, The Baroness, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow.

There is another Snake Eyes figure, a Funko Exclusive, packed with Timber. Naturally, I have that one too.

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

Not a small feat for something so tiny

I did not think I’d be getting the G.I. Joe Prexio Miniature figures quite easily, but a while back I stumbled upon them on eBay for a very reasonable price. Well, when I say reasonable, I mean not too expensive. Considering these were selling in the US for a few bucks, I did pay quite a hefty markup, but hey, they’re here and they are small, but they’re Joe and so they’re cool!

3 Cobra’s and 3 Joes to have a completely balanced set. On Cobra’s side, we have Cobra Commander, Destro and a Red Ninja. The G.I. Joe team is represented by Duke, Roadblock and Snake Eyes. The figures are small. No other way to put it. No articulation as far as I can tell, I still have them on the cards. But surprisingly well applied paint and decals. They really do look nice. They do remind me of the kind of figures you can buy as cake decoration. Someday, I may just put them on my birthday cake 🙂

That’s it for now. I’m really glad to see a lot of different G.I. Joe related toys and products being released. Even though I won’t be able to get them all here, I keep my eyes open for that sweet deal.

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!