2024 GI Joe (Classified?) Haslab speculation and discussion

@swoop716 Because of classic media villain logic:

"If I can't have it, no one can!!!"  (mwuhahaha)

Honestly I think the number of people who espouse that view are pretty small.   I think most people fall in the "I like it, but it's not for me" category.

The only reason to say "I don't want this to be made" would be so Hasbro can't hide figures I definitely DO want to be made in the package as an incentive to buy it that I can't or won't afford then.    If they made the vehicle and didn't lock exclusive figures inside the package for big spenders only then absolutely,  make it for those that want to afford it.    If you include a figure that only the big spenders get to have then NOPE, don't make it at all.

I’d buy it but it will definitely need to come a with a stand that lifts it about 10 inches off the floor. That would be about right so I can fit it in the top shelf and still have room underneath for displaying other figures. 

I have had the desire that something not get made/funded so I don't have to wrestle with my ailing willpower around an expensive item.  I get that's a totally self-centered feeling not taking other people into account so I don't campaign against things.

I love the GI Joe vehicles, of course, and while I don't hate the idea of getting these larger things out, I hate the blackmaily nature of Haslabs. It's different for something like the Vamp which came with a figure I want but is also slightly more space efficient/affordable. But when it comes to Rattlers and SkyStrikers and even the Dragonfly, as much as I like them, I would prefer not to have to buy them to get the figures. I bought the Dragonfly due to the figures included, but I skipped the Rattler and I'd skip the Skystriker as well. I want Wild Weasel. I'd want Ace. I'd want Admiral Keel-Haul, but that doesn't mean I'd want to fund a Classified-Scale Flagg to get them. It's all a wrinkle in what should be a far simpler thing

It seems that the consensus is that people here don’t seem to mind the sky-striker et al  being made, but not at the expense of the figures being exclusive to the project.

i gotta say that I understand the sentiment, but disagree wholeheartedly. 
 
With the dragonfly for example, they used night force colors for rip cord and crazy legs…

Personally when they do him in his correct colors I’ll buy him again.

if you just have to have the figure -right now- eBay will be there for you.  If you don’t want to pay the eBay premium, just wait.

They -will- reissue any figure they can and not leave money on the table. 

remember the exclusive Mickey Mouse cobra commander?

exclusive dr.mindbender?

This time next year we will know of a anime colors and /or brighter colors wild bill on a classic card.

Watch.

I really hope they do Wild Bill v2/v3 rather than Sunbow.  V3 would look really snazzy on the shelf.  v3 Ace which came with the Skystriker is a huge step up from v1 Ace (EDIT:  I'm wrong, thanks swoop).  If the Hisstank came with the current Retro CC, and the mass-release Retro CC was with the mickey mouse logo and silver faceplate, there'd be a lot more upset people.  On the flip side, I think it's fine if the retro toy versions that came with vehicles came with the modern Haslab versions, even if I'd rather just buy them for $25.

In summary, repaints aren't the same figure.  Different versions of the character doesn't scratch the itch that owning an upscaled version of your favorite childhood toys does and it sucks to lock them behind a $300+ paywall.  Hasbro has done a good job so far at not including any *bonus* figures that people would be too upset to not own with their Haslabs.

Personally, and I don't feel great about it, I've mostly been selling my Haslab figures.  I can't justify keeping Wild Bill when I can get triple digits for it, I simply wouldn't pay that myself.  It's nice to get the Dragonfly for under $100 total but bittersweet.  Patiently waiting for $25 versions of these figures is fine for me.

@vicious7171 

V3 ace came with the ghost striker, not the sky striker.

sky striker was packed w/v1 Ace.

i guess what I’m driving at is I doubt any well known or highly sought after character will be  -soley-available with a haslab.  I don’t think the figure is the main selling point for these 300+ dollar vehicles. For example   If they sold the dragonfly without Wild Bill, and just sold him separately, I still think they’d sell dragonflies. 

eventually they’ll do another wild bill. Probably a couple…Because they know there are some people who just want the figure and don’t want/can’t afford/ don’t have space for a haslab.

Maybe... we'll see.   I'm very skeptical that Glenda is going to get a main line release.    And I have a whole collection of other Night Force figures so it would be dumb to have these Night Force characters locked behind a stupid $300 pay wall.     

Sure, I agree that Wild Bill, Crazy Legs and Rip Cord will probably get some form of main line release.    But I just don't love the idea of even particular variants being sequestered for only those willing to pay through the nose for a giant premium vehicle.    If there was a guarantee that the figures would be released as singles eventually, no problem.     But any Marvel Legends fan that wanted a Bastion or a Nova or Morg figure can tell you it might be a long (and possibly futile) wait.

@swoop716 RE: Ace, thanks for clarifying, that's good news!  And makes a lot more sense.  I still have a sealed Ghost Striker, that's the one with the "gun grip" and projected red "targets" and yes you're right, he is green in the box.  So hopefully we can get him (v3 Ace in particular) as his own figure, he was really gorgeous, although I have to say, the new Rip Cord looks quite a bit like Ace so hopefully he's not redundant to the Classified team.

You're right that there's a lot of interest for just the vehicles.  But to that end, I feel like you're kind of helping the argument of those you disagree with.  To say there's a market for the vehicles and that the figures would sell fine separately, I feel like sides with people who think it's unwanted for figures to be packed in with the vehicles.  Personally, whether I keep or sell the figures, they're a large driving force in me actually pulling the trigger on backing these projects.

If we didn't get the Haslab figures, would we have gotten four more Classified releases this year?  Hard to say, but it would be preferable for many if true.  It's worth noting that the CC is the only figure from the Hisstank we've gotten, with no hints that the Driver/Tactician or female version will be available elsewhere, as-released or repainted AFAIK, so it's not really for any of us to say if we'll actually get all the Haslab exclusives.  

You know what is interesting...  the "named" characters from the Dragonfly bothered me SO much more than the generic Cobra soldiers from the HISS Tank would have (though the vehicle was too cool to skip there).    I honestly wouldn't mind if the exclusive was a generic "pilot" -  I could 100% live with that...  Something about the named character aspect bothers me much more.   

Even on the Rattler the options were the Rattler Pilot, the Rattler Gunner and the Pilot Baroness -  and I didn't care much about any of those.   The Rattler Pilot looks good and if they released him on a single card I'd buy him but I won't feel a hole in my collection without him.    And I already have multiple Baroness figures... this one won't feel like something's missing.     

So I guess my problem is much more acute on the Joe side of the coin because those characters all tend to be unique named individuals and I don't like missing those.  

But there's just zero space to keep accumulating HasLab vehicle releases so I won't buy them (unless they do the Whale... then I'll be helpless... or the Snow Cat,  because, come on...Snow Cat)

@vicious7171 

That green version of ace was certainly my preferred look too. As a child I have fond memories of him being my “James bond” action figure… I recall him resembling Roger Moore?

Hey, me personally I couldn’t care less if the vehicle is packed with a particular version of a character. 

I know they will produce whatever may be lacking if sufficient demand is there.

For example, if they did a skystriker I wouldn’t be arsed if Ace wasn’t included at all…

id toss in slipstream or whoever else in the cockpit until they inevitably released an Ace figure… Because I know it’s forthcoming at some point 

🤷🏾‍♂️ 

it is worth noting also that the hiss tank crew are just that… the hiss tank guys.

They’re kinda tied to the hiss tank. Are there droves of people out there demanding a hiss tank driver with no hiss to drive?

 I’m sure there’s one here lol…

but I’m asking are there enough to support a production of the hiss tank crew?

 I Doubt it personally…

We all know that there are enough buyers  to support a classic cobra commander though. That’s why he got redone in classic kit.

So they could sell it to us twice.

as far as nightforce or any other niche group 

they can still do those at any point… and I’d argue that the night force colors, or marauders colors , or tiger force colors can be manipulated in lots of ways to accommodate everyone.

If enough people demand it, and want to pay for it , They will release crazy legs and rip cord in dark colors at some point.

I think one of the big issues with the Classified Haslabs is that they decided to go with numbering the figures so they would slot in to the rest of the line.    Not sure that was a fair thing to do, especially since they didn't do that with Mickey Mouse CoCo and the retail releases skip that with both the Retro line and the 60th/Legacy figures.  

Previous Haslabs from the different brands, and even the Skystriker, didn't usually have figures that were specifically meant to slot into the regular retail line while MOSC.   They usually had, even if just slightly, different packaging to differentiate them, or even different accessories.   I think it might have been better if the Joe team had gone that route rather than what they chose.  I mean they did it with Retro CC, and could have done the same with all the other figures.   Same figure as what we see at retail, but different (non-numbered) packaging, and maybe a different accessory.

Then keep the numbering for retail and everyone can get the same figure and still slot it into their collection if they so choose.

@canprime  I think that's an excellent point -   for any people who keep a carded collection the inclusion of numbered characters in the package means gaps in the numbering if you don't buy in to the HasLab.    As you state, they didn't even do that with the Anniversary Joes,  so it's almost cruel to have those numbered "singles" included in these $300 crowdfund projects -  pony up to back or have those gaps in your numbering system.   But I'm sure that was intentional for exactly that reason.    But, they play the same game with convention exclusives and such, so it's not new and not surprising I suppose.

I'm a freak for the female figures so the inclusion of the female HISS gunner was a huge get for the Hisstank.  Same with Baroness with the Rattler, except I didn't back that.  So I might be out $70 or so when she comes out.

And I agree 100% about the numbering of the Haslab figures.  It would have been neat if all the exclusives started out with a letter or something to differentiate them.  Walmart, Target, not just Haslab.  I kind of like that added dimension of figure sorting and it would have made things a lot less stressful for OCD collectors.

As far as Hasbro toy lines go, we're still jerked around way less than every other IP, so I won't complain too much about how Classified is released to us.