December 2021 – European Joe's

I’ve had a red, white and blue Christmas.

I’ve had a red, white and blue Christmas with my new Joes
I won’t be blue playing with my troops
Classified packages under my Christmas tree
didn’t stay there, I guess you know what I mean

Well, the mailman came by today with 2 parcels that will find their way under the Christmas tree. I’m very happy to add 3 new Classified Series figures, technically 4 if you think about it, to my collection. Check out which ones below.

Can you guess which figures are inside this box?

This box contained the Classified Breaker figure with RAM Cycle. These recently dropped in price drastically in the States and I just happened to be browsing the In Demand Toys website when I noticed they had them on sale as well. Since they had another figure I really wanted (see below) and was going to order, I decided to add another Breaker to my collection. One to open and maybe customize someday. Both figures got sent in the Hasbro slip box of the Breaker figure.

The second figure I ordered from In Demand Toys, was a figure I wasn’t counting on getting anytime soon and probably not for a reasonable price as well. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to order one from them and as always, the service was excellent. If you haven’t yet checked them out by now, do so now, this I command! (Seriously, how cool would a Classified Serpentor with air-chariot be?) Anyway, let’s get back on track with the 2nd figure I got.

Can you guess who’s in the box? He doesn’t even know who he is sometimes. A ninja? An old man? Another ninja? A swordsmith’s apprentice? An expert archer? Ripcord? Who knows? Well, keep on reading and find out.

Yes, the Hasbro Pulse Exclusive Classified Series Master of Disguise Zartan figure is here! I already have the regular Classified figure and like I said before, I didn’t really count on getting this figure for a reasonable price. Sure, I could use a parcel forwarding service and buy it from Hasbro directly in the US or the UK, but with the extra shipping costs and taxes and duties, I was looking at close to €100 for just this figure. Luckily, I noticed him being available with In Demand Toys and I didn’t hesitate to snatch this one up.

The figure has a special feature similar to the original 3.75 inch figure, he changes color when left out in the cold. He arrived on a cold morning and was very deep blue. By the time I started taking the pictures, he had already warmed up and so his skin tone was back to the regular pinkskin (yes, that’s a Star Trek reference, I vote for Jeffrey Combs to play Zartan in a future movie, he has some knowledge of playing different characters).

The figure has a lot of accessories, not in the least 6 different heads to wear as a disguise – not counting his own head. The bow and arrows of the Arashikage are a nice touch to remind us of his actions in the comic.

I’ll end this Zartan portion with the artwork, which is sublime yet again. This series is truly delivering on the art side of the packaging. I can’t stress this enough. I hope Hasbro has the brains to put them all together in some sort of art book someday. Instant purchase for the coffee table.

And now, the end is near and I still have to show off the final figure or figures, I’m still debating this point, I received around Christmas. I may have missed out on the “00” figure because Zavvi canceled my pre-order, but this time, they came true and delivered.

See, looking at the box and reading the bottom line, I have to conclude that it’s 2 action figures, or better 1 action figure and his animal companion. Although, both are Commandos, it says so on the box. It’s confusing, but man am I happy to have these figures (yes, I’ll stick to the plural) in my collection. Snake Eyes comes with his trustworthy UZI, knife and some rifles while Timber has a second head where he looks simple ferocious. The sculpt is fantastic.

As I stated before, here again the artwork is very nice. Just see for yourself.

That’s it for now and probably for 2021. Thank you all for visiting the blog and for the community feeling over the year. It has been another strange year, but we made it to the end and we scored some nice toys along the way. Let’s hope 2022 will bring a lot more Joes our way. Stay healthy, stay sane and above all, stay collecting! May the new year bring you lots of joy with friends and family and above all a good health.

As always, I will see you next time. Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

Controversial decision?

Since you visit this page, I guess you know that in the US and the UK, HasLab ran a fundraiser campaign to sell an updated version of the SkyStriker. I was surprised to see that it was made available for us European fans via Zavvi. I did make the bold decision not to pre-order one with Zavvi. Was that a mistake?

Personally, I don’t think so. Let me explain. First off, I have the original SkyStriker in pretty good shape. Also, the SkyStriker isn’t my favorite vehicle, it’s not even my favorite plane. Then there’s our attic (where I plan to build my Man-Attic to display my Joes) is still not finished, our contractor has huge delays and so we keep waiting on him to come and do his work. I know the plan is for Hasbro to deliver them somewhere in 2023 and the attic should definitely be finished by then, but still, I need to invest in the house first. This leads to the last point, the price. I honestly do think it’s overpriced. I was hoping that they would create something we hadn’t seen yet like the Cobra Transport Helicopter (ASPID). So I was a bit disappointed that they went with the SkyStriker. HasLab should be for something new and special, not for a plane they have released a few times over the years even though they changed it up a bit.

All these reasons have led to my decision not to support the fundraiser. An extra reason is the whole fundraiser thing. Hasbro is a multinational company, they should just release this to the big public through physical stores or even via an own online store. A fundraiser should be used for charity or for startups to gather funds for their idea, not abused by a big company to ensure they don’t make a loss. Put this SkyStriker at a fair price point, maybe with less figures and accessories in stores and I can guarantee you that the fans will buy them.

That’s it for now. The next post will probably be about something I did buy and added to my collection. Until then, Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

Microscopic warfare is real!

I’ve had quite a few post about little figures on this blog. Remember I posted about the small Funko Pop figures and the Prexio miniature figures. Back in September 2020, I was actually able to get the G.I. Joe and Cobra Jadatoys Nanofigs set of 6 figures. I realize that I never wrote a post about these little metal set of 6 figures. Now is as a good a time as any I guess. Oh, and keep on reading, because there’s even a bigger and better reason to write a post now.

I pre-ordered the set with Big Bad Toy Store and while I was waiting on them to ship it, it suddenly came available on our local Amazon site. So I ordered it there instead.

The figures are small, hence the name Nano Figures. They measure around 4cm (1.65″) and weigh in at about 30 gram (1.06 ounce) each. Even though they’re small, the paint on these figures is really good. All figures look they original 3 3/4″ counterparts. The paint is nice and shiny, a tad too shiny maybe, but I’m not complaining.

Next to the little figures, Jada also released the first set of little vehicles. As a kid, I used to have quite some micro-machines, but they got lost along the way to adulthood and being a G.I.Joe collector. Still, I can appreciate the small vehicles. I do wonder though, why they chose the A.W.E. Striker as the card art, when they could have easily put on one of the vehicles from the pack. Still, it’s an iconic piece of art, so it helps to sell I guess.

Flashforward to this week and I received the Series 1 box (I guess the first set of 6 was a teaser). This box contains 18 figures, a very decent mix of Joes and Cobras.

On the left we got Duke, Scarlett and Lady Jaye. The second column has Storm Shadow, Doc and Firefly.

In the middle 2 columns we get Snake-Eyes, Dusty and a B.A.T. Next to them, Cobra Commander Barbecue and a Cobra Trooper.

On the right, The Baroness, Roadblock and Zartan. And finally at the far right, Destro, Flint and Serpentor.

The box has a nice mix of the most popular Joes and Cobra’s, but also throws in a few figures that get less love, like Doc, Dusty and Barbecue. Each of these little fellas is nicely painted and immediately recognizable.

Eagle eyed readers may have noticed that there is a small flaw on the box, they placed a sticker on Serpentor’s name on both the front and back of the box.

I didn’t check on my box, I don’t want to damage it, but it’s reported that there is a print error. They have him named “Serpento”. Way to go, quality control…

And just when you thought this was a lot of small figures, here’s another one.

It’s another Duke figure and yes, it’s the same figure as in the previous sets. But this time he gets a ride. The V.A.M.P. And yes, that’s the A.W.E. Striker again on the package. It’s a nice size of vehicle and I would live to see other figures on this scale. They’re showing a H.I.S.S. Tank on the back with a Destro figure, but I haven’t been able to find this set online anywhere. If you happen to come across one, let me know!

That’s all for these small figures for now. More small news may be coming soon. Keep you posted.

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!