New Sculpts
 

Seems like the 2002+ stuff has gotten a bad rap. Why do you think the 2002+ stuff sucks rocks? Why do you think it's the greatest stuff ever made???

Most of the more recent new sculpts have been pretty good, and no one can deny gems such as Crosshair, Lowlight, Major Bludd, Gung Ho, etc. Plus, the sharper sculpting is to be applauded (like the heads on the comic pack figures). The main problem I have with some of the (mainly earlier) new sculpts is the ridiculous proportions, like long legs Heavy Duty, or giant feet Flint, or gorilla arms Scarlett. The proportions need to be right for the figure to look right, no matter how good the sculpt or colours.

I know what you think about proportions. I did some homework for the university about gold number. The old greek have found it and used it on their sculpts. Da Vinci did it to. Hasbro could put their sculptors learning something about them.

Yeah, the problem is a lot of figures' proportions were WAY off... and there was no consistency between designs. Just for example, Spy Troops Destro is badassitude incarnate, but his package buddy Red Spot is all full of bad proportions that just make me and baby Jesus sad.
Likewise, a lot of guys like Blackout and the CLAWs Commander ended up with their hands positioned weird. What was up with that?

The final reason why I don't do the new sculpt thing much, and this isn't to insult it, is that it looks off next to all my old sculpt figures. I don't like mixing them together because they don't look good together. So, I decided to just stick to old sculpt, because that's what most of my collection consists of. I've still picked up some figures, like wave 7 Snake-Eyes, DTC Low-Light and the helmeted Cobra Commander, to name a third of my new sculpt collection. :p

Viva 80's...for lack of a clearer option.

No- o-rings soured the line from the beginning. Arrogance on Hasbro's part (assuming fans would take what they given) or a cost saving measure or both?

Proportions and odd sculpting hang-ups on Hasbro's part:

Quite a few Tiny heads, someone forgot CLAWS were humans under that mask. This hurts a cool design.

Bicep arm bands, EVERYONE had them in 2002. Some sort of obession with hiding the swivel joint? An homage to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Goatees were pretty common, too.

Torso design and details that hinder arm and even leg posing. Torsos with wide shoulders or shoulder armor, the fact no-ring Cobra Commander couldn't even sit down! Sitting down the first Heavy Duty damages leg detail on the figure, and his shoulder has a sculpted on pad that hinders some poses.

Those arms CLAWS Commander and the first Mindbender. Ugh. Neo-Viper's left arm is like that, as is Black-Out's.

That whole wave 3 done by Takara sculpters was a mess, except maybe Cobra Commander, who might not have been fixed by them.

Big shoulders, noticable most on the females.

Inconsistent scale. Or no scale. Just sculpt Shipwreck 7' tall, Tunnel Rat 7' 5" tall and make Destro shorter than Cobra Commander. :confused:

Plastic "skirts". I hate them. Either make them so the figure can sit down, make them removable or don't make them. Battle Helmet Cobra Commander, applauded by fans...can't even sit on a throne, drive a vehicle. The type of figure as a kid, I'd leave at base or get killed off early in battle.

Action attack figures, made worse by T-crotchs. I never got that VvsV Destro because it was packaged with that Kamakura, easily one of the worst 3 3/4" Joe figures ever.

If only the line had started out with figures like Major Barrage, VvsV Torch and VvsV Snake-Eyes, and maintained that level of consistency...but it didn't and still doesn't (because so few of those style figures even got made. ) Even just starting out with o-rings would've made a difference.

To sum it all up: Should've been better than it was. The same things appilies to much of Hasbro/Kenner's 1995-1997 Star Wars efforts, too.


There's good figures from 2002+ but a lot of stinkers. And as noted, you often had to buy a stinker to get a good figure.

Bravo, Lava Boss. Plastic skirts? I don't have much need for a figure that can't sit or be used in any vehicles. T crotches? Didn't buy any of 'em, and frankly had Hasbro stayed with that figure construction, I would have been out of Joe altogether. I hope Hasbro read fan sites like this so that we can get more stuff like Lowlight.

I couldn't agree with you more Jay! Most of my collection consists in figures released in the 80`s and 90`s too. When I first saw the new ones I felt very frustrated for some reasons, the main problem is that the new ones are completely different from the old ones.

Gatilho

Lava Boss, there`s nothing more to say! Your post is perfect, a list of Hasbro`s error regarding new figures.
I my opinion, there`s a lot of good figures but are some problems that makes me sick such as the little head of VvV Scarlett or the Cobra Claws knees close to his feet.

Gatilho

I couldn't pick just one so I went with viva la 80's. The proportions on some of the figures were poo. Sure there were plenty of good new sculpts in the Spy-Troops waves but when Valor vs. Venom hit stores I knew that it was the deth of teh line. And I was right, at least in retail, ignoring sigma 6 of course.

Valor v Venom...uurrrrggggh. Spytroops was okay, but once the line got into fantasy stuff, you could sense the end was near, just like Star Brigade and Manimals in '93. Junk like Venomous Maximus was just ridiculous to me. At least VvV was put out of it's misery fairly quickly.

I actually like the Venomous Maximus figure but there's no way to fit the character into my realistic joe verse.

Ya gotta figure that VenMax is a redux of Serpentor.

Personally where I stand on it all; the 2002+ relaunch was a 2nd chance at GI Joe for me. I never had a full collection as a kid of ARAH. Plus, I quit around, I dunno, right around the movie days. 1990s+, HA! Never knew they existed. Mani-what??? In any case, back in 2002, I was living in the University District (of Seattle), was dirt poor and I saw these things at Target up by Northgate. I figured, "hell, I'm in debt consolidation, I have a few dollars, might as well buy some happiness since my living situation was horrid." Frostbite vs NeoViper.

And then I found the Devils Due website and hooked up with a whole community of guys who bought the toys and for the most part, DUG the new line. When the posse left to become SavageSoundoffs (aka SgtSavage.com), the toy group left and well, my views on things were swayed pretty hardcore. Coulda been considered a sheep, even.

Personally, I prefer the new sculpt stuff to ARAH. It has to do with it being a revamp. It has to do with, for the most part, tighter sculpting, an update of characters (ie; modernization which seemed to end up going backwards), and well, it was something for me to waste money on. It's a whole 'nother Joe line and I NEVER mixed the two. The ARAH sat in an old APC until I sold the single figures on EBAY. I didn't want to live in the past. And honestly, I don't miss them. (However, if they were all MOC, it'd be a small, but neat collection.)

I enjoyed JvC for the potential storylines. I was ok with the figures because I didn't know better. (lol)

Spy Troops I didn't quite understand. EagleEyeJoe would clue me in that Hasbro was doing themes each year. Spy Troops was cool but it never pushed the envelope for enough for me. At this point, everyone was wanting a cartoon, y'know? I wanted the DD comic to use the toys more.

VvV. I'm one of the few who enjoyed it. VenMax doesn't exist in my 'verse, but the V-Troops do. (as exampled in my dio) There were a lot of missed throughout the whole shebang, but I kept a whole lotta figures I love the most. Which might account for 30% of the figures released? If anything... That dio I've been working on... If the RRTS ALL had the SawViper body in Rollbar colors and w/ different heads (ie; customs), it would have been perfect. A uniform look is what I'd love. Unfortunately, what Hasbro believes to be uniform is different than mine; I have to go by them.

As for VvV... It wasn't the deth of teh line. In fact, it was extended for half a year. Wave7? That was Wave1 of Robot Rebellion (aka Rise of the Robots). There were a few factors into the demise of the 3.75" Joes in the brick 'n mortar stores. One was George Lucas and Star Wars. If you consider the timeframe, VvV would have been winding down and preparing for the next theme. But Lucas wanted NO COMPETITOR to his SW toys that would be launched that late-fall/Winter (for X-Mas). At the same time, Hasbro called the "HIATUS" and the announcement of Sigma6 came out. Consider too that Billy Lagor suddenly says, "Oh, we have a collector line only available online. We'll call it DIRECT TO CONSUMER (DTC)."

In the end, we see the demise of the 3.75". There is the theory that we haven't had the hiatus YET! THe hiatus is actually NOW. Wave4 has already been done and just needs to be packaged up and shipped out, right? We all know that the initial figures were done half a year ago. It's also been released from Dwight Stall that they are hard at work at the 25th Anniversary GI Joe (3.75") and the key term is "SUPER-ARTICULATION".

Hasbro, as it stands now, is pushing Sigma6. Is it GI Joe Extreme? NO. It has been received far better than GI Joe Extreme ever did. (IMO, Extreme SUCKED) You can say what you want about it, but Sigma6 has 2 scales now because sales have indicated it can be supported. It's hard to dis once you get the 8" figures in hand and see what they are capable of. AND they are the best game in town, to many folk. (I wouldn't know better.)

I don't think anyone knows what to expect of the 25th Anniversary stuff. Will it be rehashes of the 2002+ stuff? Repaints? There's probably only 1 guy who knows and he ain't talking. (ok, maybe 3 guys)

And just so you know... That Steel Brigade vs Plague Troopers pack, the file cards were written by a friend (also a JBL and JoeSightings member) and Brandon Jerwa of GI Joe fame. Unfortunately, ALL the other work they've put into Hasbro, it's hard to see if it'll see light. I hope it does because both guys know what they are doing.

I see where you're coming from, G, and what you say makes perfect sense, and I agree with most of it. VenMax certainly doesn't exist in my Joeverse (as you probably guessed!), but the Swamp Rats do as normal human Cobra operatives; I just choose to ignore the venom serum part of things. (Never let a file card/theme you dislike stand in the way of a good figure, I say!). As for Sigma Six, it just ain't my thing. I'm fairly hardcore into realism, and S6 seems to be more futuristic/fantasy based than most of the 3 3/4" line, and as such holds no appeal for me. (Plus storage space in my house is at a premium thanks to other hobbies and my wife's Beanie babies, so the 3 3/4" stuff has priority).
You are absolutely correct on the good points of the new sculpt figs; much sharper detail, some great new characters and some classic remakes (new sculpt Lowlight quickly put paid to my '86 Lowlight's career!). Mixing new and old sculpts together does not bother me at all, 'cos good figures are good figures regardless, and I'll use 'em all. :)

I love them but admit they are not for everyone. Only a few come bone stock perfect to my satisfaction.

As a kid I collected the originals from the start but they were lost from moving around. I too got a fresh start in mid 2004.
In fact, I had never seen the new stuff until my Bro-in-law introduced the Spytroops Cobra Commander, and Viper/Alley ViperII figs. I didn't think much at first but was later taken by the detail and how much more life like they look than the vintage ARAH.

The sculpts from the Valor Venom and fresh DTC molds are the best. They finally found the right scale, proportion, art and detail, etc.

Spytroops is 20/80. There are a few good figs in the line, but half are 4" (Shipwreck????). The color schemes are mostly not too my tastes either. I can't stand the "monkey" elbow joints. Blackout is now a popular character in Hasbro's eyes but the figure sucks. I excuse the height issue, but the arm joints and body detail doesn't put a smile on my face. (thus why I don't use the DTC Bludd)

My biggest regret out of these is Flint. The head sculpt is perfect but his body proportion results are caricature. WHY?!!!

JvC is unsightly. Hasbro should have left the design team wherever they found them. Blowtorch???? I would never collect new sculpt if not for the VV line.

As for themes, who cares. I just want the figures. We all have our own Joeverse realms and ideas.

To wrap up, I only enjoy the new sculpt figs but am selective to the later series style stuff. They are usually not perfect and am thankful I have somewhat of artistic ability to "correct" the flaws to my liking. I suppose this is why the Joe business is a "hobby". :) I hope Hasbro continues to make them but with care.

I used to be pretty anti-new sculpt, but the only stuff I baed it on was the hit and miss JvC. The turning point for me was getting DTC Wave 1 and Viper Lockdown. Since then I've got loads of VvV and spytroops, created a cooler Cobra army, and it's made customising so much fun.

The detailing is miles ahead of what it used to be. Females look like... females! Yeah Fling looks like a Planet of the Apes reject, but that's what the comic packs are for :D

Spytroops sometimes seems pretty perfect in sculpting, Burnout, Overkill, Chief torpedo are fantastic figures. This was carried on with VvV Dr. Mindbender, Gung-Ho, Bombstrike (is it normal for a guy to have "those" kinda thoughts abou an action figure?) Croc Master has perhaps the most menacing head ever in a Joe toy.
I'm finding myself replacing characters with their new scult versions... or the "new old sculpt" versions, as the 80's ones look considerably more animated. They are more based in military but there is less detail, and the faces are often extreme characatures.

Swivel wrists have also made me happier than an army of Raptors never could (I so have to troop-build Raptor)

EDIT: Also Link is an extremely boring figure. Perhaps the most boring in the line's history. But just give him VvV Gung Ho's vest, DTC Grandslam's helmet and his look is completely changed from sissy vet/wannabe joe to awesome experienced soldier. It is nice how a few accessory changes can completely make a figure from a dork into one of the most badass in the line :D
I hope the 25th line has these rubber vests/jackets/helmets as they are also one of the best additions to the line.