25th ripper and torch pics and some 25th news
 

news now that the 2 packs will be out in april with ripper and torch. although they do have reused parts, im still excited about these as im a die hard nok fan, and im guessing at least flatline will be also. ripper's jaws of life actually come apart and torch has a removable gas mask on his backpack. here are some pics.









also there is talk about a possible dr venom and billy mail away figures. also a figure that has been hinted around is, and ive saw a custom of this somewhere, crystal ball. not many fans will want this on joe dios, but myself ill want one as the one i ordered from ebay was joenapped from my mail box.depending on the reaction of the fans and also when the movie gets nearer there is a possibility of large scale vehicle playsets. one noted was the aircraft carrier, all depending on the movie and fan base however.

OMG! Those are awesome! Forget the nu skulpt versions, these rock! That Torch soooooo looks like Torch!

ohhh those are cool them are now on my list of things to get

I love the original three Noks, this makes me incredibly happy.

I kinda like it, the Snow Job looking cool also.

You'd figure with the omnipotence ofthe 25th anny stuff they could fix Torch's lame hose...I guess it's nostalgic because it's just as frakked up as the v1's!

I don't even like the Dreadnoks and I'm psyched for these!!

Ok if the Aircraft Carrier is ever re-released, I'm saying it now ....I will buy at least two!!!!

RIPPER, TORCH, MAIL-IN DR. VENOM & POSSIBLY AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER, AWESOME NEWS!!!!!!! :D Thank-you lehsreh for all the Updates!!! :D

Thanks Again for the info. lehsreh!!! Your the Man!!! :D

i'LL TAKE ANYTHING, JUST DON'T CANCEL THE LINE

Point. Match. Set. Game. ;)

These definately do look like 'Noks!!!!!

im with you both. ive said before im just happy to have new 3 3/4 th. i understand that some people arent happy, but i dont think there all as bad as everyone thinks. and since im one of the people who didnt get all the joes when i was a kid and then the ones i did have got lost in an alternate dimension i really want the old ones to get some completion. even if they arent perfect, ill buy some just to keep the line going and hope they fix things. better, in my book, to have to ok joes then no joes at all for the next 10 years.

They look better than most of the other 25th stuff, but they are still the same basic flawed design underneath the gloss. No matter how nice they look, I still won't be tempted to buy them until Habro fixes the fundamental problems with this figure style. On a side note, it's cool to see my hometown on Torch's back! ;)

So, what, there aren't any forearms they could use that don't have sculpted sleeves/cuffs? Unless Torch is supposed to be into freaky body-modification...?

Man you gotta loosten up a bit on this new 25th stuff or you may just end up regretting your stuborness :)

The articulation is flawed, but damn if they don't look good. I'm with you on the old sculpt stuff, it is the default style for me, but the sculpting on these new figs makes up for any articulation flaws...it will get ironed out eventually as long as fans support it!

I took a look at this fig from the Toy News International web site and it's not bad at all. The helmet is a little bit funky but this is a "in progress" shot and the helmet issue will more then likely be addressed. I will pic him up no matter how it turns out. C'mon...this is the Crimson Guard...if Hasbor don't fix it, anyone of us can with a simple head swap...

Stubborn? Me? Never.... ;) I'll "loosen up" when the 25th figures "loosen up" :p

Dr. Venom and Billy, too late really. Why? Because they should've been done in style with the vast 3 3/4" RAH line in the comic line a few years back. Now everything's a restart. And I get the feeling the 25th line will go on hiatus when Hasbro decides to concentrate on the movie line. If the movie gets made.

Nobody at the con bothered to ask the Hasbro peeps why they decided small GI JOE is now a 4.1" line instead of a 3 3/4" line.

This is why I haven't got any 25th figures, and why I'm not excited about previously-unmade characters since they won't work in my existing collection. Plus I find the idea of accurately recreating the original character designs (ie clothes) nice form one point of view, but I can't help feeling I've already got all the figures they've released. I'm sad that we'll not see DDP-style updates any more, keeping classic elements while updating them to amore modern, fresh style.

Basically, to me, short of the Club the 3.75" toy line I've collected has now finished and I don't have the money, space or desire to collect a brand new toy line that's just BASED on what I'm a fan of. I've never bought a 12" Snake Eyes, or an 8" one, and I'm not going to get a 4" one either just because he's wearing the same outfit as the 3.75" one I've already got.

I guess I know how a lot of fans felt when the new stuff started appearing in 2002, but at least Hasbro was mixing in old-sculpt figures and providing new versions of classic characters rather than outright replacement figures of them.

Many a good point raised there, Stormer! I couldn't agree more.

Ditto.

You guys really think Hasbro would do something 'new' for the 25th?

I would say that fans who aren't jiggy with the 25A should wait a year when Hasbro starts doing other things. But the theory is, after 25A, then there'll most likely be movie-based toys. Whether that's a good thing or not, we'll see. There's already been word of how GI Joe will be played out movie-wise and for a lot of fans, it's not good.

I understand that the 25A aren't for everyone. But I love the updated sculpting myself, even if there's no o-ring. How I'll deal with these things for picture-taking and dios, I haven't figured out yet. But they are nice standing around on a shelf. :P

:eek: :eek: :eek: Man these figures are amazing! Torch is my favorite Dreadnok! Thanks for the pics.

Tips for finding (25th) Joes at Retail
 

I posted this over in photos under Randy S's Wave 2 finds at Wal-Mart, so I thought I would post it here in the forums as well.


Hey Guys I use to work in the retail world....I use to be an Xbox rep and I was always in the stores....now I have my own company but that's besides the point, although I can go to the stores when I want too, he-he. My wife works for a major cosmetics company and calls on these stores daily and she's on the look out too for my Joes and I still get insider info on store workings.

The following is general tips...I live in Houston TX so the scheduling of deliveries may be different in your area....just ask when your stores usually get trucks in, and for Wal-Mart and Target ask when they usually get toys in....they have trucks a couple of times a week and toys aren't always on there, but at least once a week toys do come on the trucks. Mid to late Morning is generally the best time to go because they either stock overnight or early morning. Wal-Mart is going to a no back-stock system so when they get it in the back it's going out onto the floor. Target is already like this. Little to no back-stock.

Wal-Mart and Target, I believe as well, generates a re-order when an item is sold. When it goes through the register it generates a re-order, now whether they have it in their warehouse is another story(up to Hasbro to get it to them) but that's how it works.

Wal-mart generally gets a truck twice a week that contains toys...Wednesdays are the big day, if you can try in the mid to late morning that is usually your best bet.

For Target usually Saturday is their big stock out day. I was on the toy aisle this past Saturday and picked up the entire Wave 2 as he stocked it on the wall. It was around 10 am, again morning is your best bet.

Toys R us gets a couple of trucks each week but again go in the mid to late morning for your best chances to buy.

I would see collectors, actually ebay junkies who would buy everything on the shelf just to turn around and sell-it....would drive me nuts, especially if I was hunting something down.

Anyway, guys if you want something the online retailers are the best bet...just pre-order and you'll get it. I pre-order mine through Big Bad Toy Store, but after release I go through smalljoes and HTS as well.

Hope the retail tips helps.....sometimes you have to just be lucky.

****EDIT****

I forgot to mention K-mart, well we don't have K-Marts anymore in Houston, but they generally follow the same as Wal-Marts as far as replenishments, stock outs, and received shipment schedule.

Thanks For the Tips!!! :D

Any and all tips are always appreciated..........

THANKS!

They rock!
Only problem is with the scale and articulation. Byt hey - I won't get any of those because thry don't import theme to Poland and I don't have cash to do it on my own.
Still - they look best when placed on a shelf :) And hell, thry look awesome!

No one's gonna say it...?

Okay, I will...

Now we know!

And Knowing Is Half The Battle ;)

Thanks for the tips. But, what about KB-Toys?

KB Toys...ah forgot about them, LOL....they are a little unique. They receive shipments multiple times a week...what's on the truck is anyones guess even the managers. This is because they receive the majority of their inventory via UPS.

They get it early morning and they stock out around mid to late morning. KB has closed a lot of stores nationwide due to competition to Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, and Target. That's why I didn't really mention them, plus I have always found them to be a dollar to two more expensive than the other stores. Like I said, a good portion of their stuff comes UPS since they are usually located in malls but there are some free standing stores, the may receive large truck shipments. So you can always ask them when the UPS guy usually comes.


Also another good place ot go is Tuesday Mornings...if you have them in your area check them out....they are a re-sale place. Basically they get the over stock or closeout/deleted items from Wal-Mart, Target, etc. That's where I found my Crimson helicopter for 10 bucks apiece a couple of years ago. You never know what they might have or when they have it.

Favorite Figure of the 25th Series
 

It's love or hate with the 25A figures, but man... Some of these figures are really cool. So for those who have 'em and can deal with 'em, who is your favorite figure so far???

Here's a list so far (I'm going off memory).

Duke
Snake Eyes v1
Scarlet
Roadblock
Gung Ho

Snake Eyes v2
Storm Shadow v2
Flint
Lady Jaye
Beach Head
Stalker
Shipwreck

Cobra Commander v1
Destro
Baroness
Cobra Trooper
Storm Shadow v1

Red Ninja
Zartan
Buzzer
Firefly
Cobra Commander v2 (hooded)
Cobra Commander v3
Cobra Officer
Cobra Trooper (silver chest)
Cobra Trooper (Yellow gear)
Cobra Air Trooper
Cobra Gas Trooper
Cobra Stinger Driver

Well, first off Hasbro need to get an ACTUAL supply of figures out! Hard to say what your favorite is when you can't get them anywhere....but, since I'm pretty much through getting figures (I HATE the 25th stuff) I's have to say my favorites that I DO have are;

1.) Pimp Daddy Destro (ok, I know Terrible choice for most, but he REALLY grew on me! LOL!)

2.) Serpentor - finally a 25th figure that has been updated and ISN'T a throwback to the 80's as far as outfit is concerned!!

3.) Snake eyes - I can't believe I'm saying this, but the way the 25th are created, figures like Snake eyes, Beachhead and Firefly benefit from the articulation. Figures like Duke and Flint look out of porportion and the articulation on the flesh parts SUCK!!!

You guys KNOW I'm a nu skulpt fan, even if things somehow change for the worse. I like the 25A figures moreso that I love the idea of how the old outfits look now with nu skool sculpting skillz (or it's the technology of the molds or whatever...). With that said, there are so many that look and feel great (I won't discuss playability). I love the Flint figure. I love the Duke figure. Both Snake Eyes are great!

As it stands, I am finding myself loving the Beach Head figure most. I love the awesome detailing of the vest, the figure is great in itself and the weapon set are off the chart. His machine gun isn't JUST a rehash of that 1985 weapon. It's far cooler. A week ago, it was Firefly. And a few months ago, it would have been Zartan, Flint, Destro or Duke. Or Snake Eyes. Man... Too many choices!

I finally found Wave 2 of the single cards today., and I gotta say-- I love Beachhead too! Also, I think this is the best version of Lady Jaye we've ever seen. I like Destro, I love Storm-Shadow, and I think Roadblock is great except for the head.

However, above all others, my absolute favorite must be... Snake-Eyes version 2! The head sculpt is amazing, and he looks exactly as he did when he appeared in the comics and cartoon lo those many years ago. I'm sure a lot of folks may have said this long ago, but I'll say it here for the first time-- I'm now officially happy if we never receive another Snake-Eyes ever again.