I think the Storm Shadow V2 pic has the hood on incorrect like they did on the earlier figure having the small side showing here. It’s obviously reuse of the hood we have.

Thwipp!

There's no way to sugarcoat it--and I reserve the right to change my mind when we see better pictures tomorrow--V2 Storm Shadow and Iron Grenadier look terrible.

Iron Grenadier is on the ok side of terrible if you think of him as an singular officer, but as an army-buildable soldier that is not the way to go.

Alpine and Goldenbat look great.

I think the IG looks pretty great but I need to see some OOP shots to be able to fully tell if it will check the box for my retro tastes.  The Storm Shadow… no, sorry.  I don’t think I’ve been as disappointed in a figure since wave 1.  I’m sure they’ll do a retro at some point so I’m content to wait it out, but it’s still a bummer to see a figure that should have been a slam dunk miss the mark so badly.

Definitely feeling some preliminary disappointment with Storm Shadow. Maybe I expect too much, but this is starting to feel personal. It took Hasbro two tries to get the Classic costume correct - a look that I don't like at all. They absolutely took a steaming shit all over my favorite costume (Ninja Force) and now the v2 remake seems like it loses all the stuff that makes v2 interesting. If the hood is on wrong that will really help, for sure.

The greys look too dark. Everything about his shin armor is bad from the design to the color. The added .. padded bandolier? .. on his right shoulder looks awful. The extra crotch flaps are bad. The rolled sleeves are way too tight and low-profile. And his swords are set for a left-handed draw for some reason. Also like.. even just having two swords instead of one? I guess if that specific part is removable and one sword still fits on the backpack it's okay. If that's an integrated part of the secondaries he's wearing and is part of his belt, then that sucks because it's dumb for a number of reasons.

No vertical wrist hinges for swordy-swording.

It's literally like they read how much I hate the hatchet job they did to Ninja Force SS and said 'we can do worse.' It feels a lot like everything people have been HAPPY to see them move away from where the excesses of stupid design and modernizing things are concerned. I generally really like what the team is doing with Classified these days. And that includes when things don't look strictly ARAH-faithful. But this figure, based on the boxed and loose leaked images, sucks.

Storm Shadow is full mid 80's bad ninja action flick and it make me want to put on some Macho Man sunglasses and Puma sneakers and drive off into the sunset in my Delorean. He's about to be the center piece to my collection.

Alpine is another favorite glad to see him. Put me in the group that's hoping it's just the pics, but stormy V2 looks awful. Mask is too large, hood is too small, the whole is all kinds of wrong. The IG looks like it should be Destro in IG gear, not the army builder.

Posted by: @corn_viper

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Did Hasbro outsource Storm Shadow V2 to Mcfarlane? His head is so tiny! Hopefully it looks better in the livestream tomorrow, it's a figure I've been excited about. 

Meanwhile Alpine's head looks really big. (And I wish they'd sculpt the googles and hat on, or include a second head, chances are the loose pieces aren't gonna sit right). Everything else looks great, though.

Not a fan of that Storm Shadow and I can't put my finger on why. The deco bothered me at first but I checked over on Yo Joe and it's pretty accurate. I guess it's just the head ... and maybe the red highlights.

Hope they pop the helmet on the IG tomorrow. He looks better out of the package but that helmet's gonna make all the difference for me.

The BAT's OK but nothing I need right away. I'll wait for a sale.

The out of the package pic doesn't help SS at all. The gear is sitting too high on the waist giving the figure a diamond shape. I hope he's better in hand and posed.

I think if I weren't so attached to the classic Iron Grenadier I'd like the design more here, but it doesn't QUITE do it for me. I'll pick one up because I've always loved that faction but he's... just a different kind of fancy than I'd hoped for. Really can't go wrong with BAT repaints though. 

Agree there's something a little off about Storm Shadow. I'm willing to take a chance on him though. The team has been generally mostly wins so maybe it's just a prototype or photo issue. 

Alpine looks fab. No notes. Easy preorder. Gotta get him with his buddy Bazooka ASAP. 

Posted by: @theknightdamien

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No vertical wrist hinges for swordy-swording.

Are you sure?  They look vertical in the shot with the claw glove-thingies.

I'm most excited for the BAT out of these early shots, even if he's all-repaint.  Is this the first BAT with a clear chest plate?  The rest aren't too exciting atm.  I want to like Storm Shadow but the skirt and "vest" might hinder articulation too much.  IG looks alright, I'll get one.  Alpine is fine, looking a little boring though.  Still exciting to see new Joes!

EDIT:  Oh, I see, there's in-box images on Hisstank, and some product photography of the same figures on other websites.  Here's those product photography shots:

Spoiler

piccies

So I'm very much a Joe deletant, but one of the few figure/vehicle combos I had as a kid was Destro with the gold mask and the Despoiler. Has there been any word on that version coming along with or without the vehicle now that we're getting Iron Grenadiers?

More pictures are not helping that Grenadier. All I see is Kroenen from Hellboy cosplay.

Is the IG design too busy?  Like he should have a less detailed costume?  Looks like he could be a commanding officer rather than your average grunt. 

@vicious7171 Can we just take a moment and give a round of applause to, I'm assuming, shootingthegalaxy for just more awesome photos!!!???  I mean those are some great shots with great action poses, angles and backdrops.  They really do a lot to add to the appeal of the figures.

I'll just copy and paste my thoughts from another post:

The IG is more in line with the 25th/ME/Collector's Club looks. So that leaves it open for a more ARAH look for a Retro card release down the line. I have always liked this sort of modern look for the IGs. If they were to do a more traditional IG in retro I would use this release as an officer.  Possibly Destro's personal guard ala the Crimson Guard.

Storm Shadow is pretty close to the original look. I think what most people have been concerned about is the white in the middle. It breaks up the look, but apparently it is some pouches or some such thing so maybe it is removable and the paint deco continues underneath. We'll find out soon enough.

Alpine looks great. I just hope his hat and googles fit well and aren't a hassle to stay on his head. It is disheartening they couldn't give him his actual gear instead of piecemealing him stuff from other figures along with a couple of new pieces.

BATs are always great in my book. I think the only thing I don't care for on this one is the Arctic BAT head. It looks to ornate, or "busy" and distracts from the BAT look. It worked for the Arctic BAT, probably because of the colours, which is probably why I don't think it works here. Of course it looks a little too close to the regular BAT otherwise. Still another BAT is all good in my book.

C'mon 11am......

The action pics are a spectacle for sure. I wonder if the artist who made them switched the hood to make it look more sleek. It just keeps cracking me up each picture I see. I’m really curious how the compound bow fits on that pack used for the Night Creeper.

Alpine’s pic is awesome too. Seems the rope is being used to hold his gear. I suppose the carbeeners (carabiners?) on the waist are being used too. 

Can’t wait to see more pics!

Thwipp!