Now now Jeffrey, that's no way to behave on your first day in school. Go home, learn some respect, and come back with something a little more intelligent than "you guys are suxxoes". Do that and you might just find people listening to your opinion rather than laughing at it.

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"The future's uncertain and the end is always near." - The Doors "Roadhouse Blues".

Thats funny Outrider!
Oh and maybe rate everyones picture as terrible on your way out!

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Maybe not 500,000 adult collectors out there, but what happens when the ones that are end up buying multiples of everything due to the perceived rarity caused by abysmal distribution...? Of course, that line of thinking ends up leading to conspiracy theory-like notions that Hasbro is trying to force the new toyline into prominence and popularity so that all the existing collectors will buy everything, even if it's a remake of a character & design they already have, whereas original costumes in original construction would be more likely to get passed up by collectors who already have them...

I'm curious to know how many collectors of the 25th line are basically in the process now of replacing their ARAH collection? Who's buying everything that's coming out now and will be disappointed if any characters don't get a 25th release even though you already have a figure of that same character wearing the same clothes...?

As well as longtime Joe-fan collectors, I also think Hasbro's "adult collector" targeting includes people who will buy them for the nostalgia factor. People who used to collect Joes as kids, watched the cartoon, etc, and will see these in Wal-Mart and say "Hey, I remember that guy." Hence their advertising the line in places like ToyFare and Wizard magazine -- people with the right kind of attitude to buy toys but who couldn't identify with stuff like VvV. I've seen a few people/places online talking about the 25th figures (both positive reviews AND negative reviews regarding stuff like shoddy construction and restricted range of motion) and they were obviously people who weren't following Joes before the anniversary and certainly didn't have classic vehicles or dio-making hobbies that the new figures are harder to reconcile with.

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Come check out my Flickr account for more pics of my collection and additional shots from my JoeDios photoshoots. Includes my "Class Reunion" and "Foes Of The Joes" sets, exclusive to Flickr!

Last updated 2/5/10.

That's not really a valid argument...

I peruse this thread from time to time and there are SOME valid points. But I know where I stand on the issue and for the most a lot of others do as well. I don't think over-zealous shout-outs are gonna change any minds here though. Also they are somewhat counter-productive.

Personally I like both 25th and ARAH. Was never into the JvC, Spytroops, VvV, or DTC stuff though unless they were RAH molds. These are a big nostalgia thing for me, but I can see why some don't like them. I don't see them as a continuation of the original line, but I didn't see any of the in-between lines as continuations either. Between Star Wars, Transformers, and GI Joes I think Hasbro likes to start over A LOT.

Now that I've set my opinion up for an attack, I'll go.

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Flying his X-Wing toward Prince Adam's toy collection.

"Sonneilon, why did you turn off your targeting computer???"

lol

I think the nostalgia factor is huge. Its what got me back into buying Joe's after a 14 year absence.

Nostalgia is what's made the 25th Anniv. line successful where the DTC stuff wasn't. Since there isn't really any marketing at all, its nostalgia that's gotten people besides 'collectors" to by the figures.

I can just picture some 30-35 year old guy shopping for a Christmas present for his kid and he sees the new Joes. He recognizes the packaging and the figure. It ignites a spark and he ends up buying one or two. Maybe he comes back for more, maybe he doesn't. If the guy doesn't give it to his kid as a gift he'll probably end up using to decorate his desk, or sharing it with his kids or something. Does he end up collecting the whole line? Probably not, but maybe. He's probably introduced GI Joe to a new generation is the process which is great.

I think this nostalgia effect was realized mostly through character selection and packaging, and its the reason for the success of the line thus far. But can this nostalgia sustain the line long-term, and without a cartoon or something to breathe life into the line there's not much to get kids excited about unfamiliar characters. I'm really hoping that the movie will bring about a ton of interest from kids and crank the nostalgia up a few more notches with adults.

What I don't get, is that if Hasbro is really mining the nostalgia angle with the 25th Anniv. line, why did they have to switch to an entirely new construction? Wouldn't we all rather have new ARAH style sculpts of the original characters. The pre-1985 molds really look dated. Just imagine new ARAH molds for Short-fuze, Flash, Grunt, Firefly, Duke, that actually looked like the art work of the original packaging. Then imagine simply re-issuing molds we haven't seen since 1985 or 1986 (Alpine, Barbeque, Crankcase, Airtight). Combine that stuff with reproduction packaging, and you've got nostalgia gold.

I know some of the molds have been lost or broken, but its got to be easier to re-make a mold than it is to develop an entirely new construction format and new molds from scratch.

Ahhh, my unobtainable dream....
Sounds like a darn good idea to me Uncle Flint, too bad Hasbro doesn't think like we do. Had they stuck with the ARAH construction for the 25th stuff, I would have bought them by the bucket load. As it stands, I refuse to spend money on the "new" style of figures. It's a completely different line as far as I'm concerned, and it holds no interest for me whatsoever.

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"The future's uncertain and the end is always near." - The Doors "Roadhouse Blues".

My 6 year old started "wrestling" two figures together. An O-ring ARAH figure (or at least a comic pack reissue) vs a 25th (comic pack Hawk, I think, vs 25th Cobra Commander.)

It was great to hear him humming his own little music and saying things like "25th vs old-style, who will win?"

"Uhh, bam, slam, ding, ding, ding! Old style wins the day!"

I'm not a 25th basher, I like them all right, but the idea of what you would have to do to acquire a mail-away Doc. Wow!

6 comic packs at $10 per, plus $4.95 shipping per fig. $64.95 for a single fig. Wow. I guess if the comic pack figures were great figures, that would be cool. Maybe future waves will look better.

Glad I still have a 1983 Carl Greer in decent shape...

Not that I want one, but I'll bet the offer is not available outside the US either, as usual. That would mean another third-party eBay rip off price for us "foreigners" who might want one.

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"The future's uncertain and the end is always near." - The Doors "Roadhouse Blues".