Hasbro GI Joe Q&A 2011 Round 6 - due Monday, October 31, Round 5 Answers on Page 7! Rating Options

[Detour]

To be fair, that is pretty much true of ALL the dreadnoks in their classic looks.

I dunno, Buzzer's tan vest and blue jeans manage to hold up, so long as the torso's not recycled for Leatherneck and Dial-Tone.
But yeah, Torch and Ripper, ugh. It's why "Leopard Print Ripper" is still pegwarming around here. (on the other hand, turning Torch's S&M vest into a brown vest helps just a teensy bit little)

This post has been edited by Detour: Aug 3 2011, 08:36 PM

[Spark]

Wherever else she gets released... it won't be regular retail.

Zarana's classic look is THE worst of the 80s. She's as dated as it gets with GIJoe.

To be fair, that is pretty much true of ALL the dreadnoks in their classic looks.

Here's a question I've been wondering:
Why are 12" figures back again this year?

They did poorly in 2008. They did poorly in 2009. So why bring them pack instead of offering more items in the more popular 4" range?

I know the reason is probably because Darryl Depriest is a 12" fan, but I haven't seen Hasbro's 12" stuff do well at retail since 2003 and I'm betting this attempt will be another two wave flop.

I'm sure TJ Maxx looks forward to the business. When someone actually buys one.

[Dake]

Yeah, that's what frustrates me. We get someone continually pushing their own failed agenda time and again siphoning funds away from the part of the line that at least performs consistently. That is another good question slightly reworded:

Q: While lines like "Max Steel" are popular in other countries, the large format figures have not done well Stateside for some time. What makes this current round of twelve inch figures different from the previous and numerous unsuccessful attempts over the last few years to revive this scale in the US market?

This post has been edited by Dake: Aug 4 2011, 06:54 AM

[Detour]

Here's a question:

Hasbro's Marvel toylines in recent years have featured small vehicles like bikes, ATVs and even small dune buggies that either feature pull and roll action or pop-out weapons. These types of vehicles do have their place in military environments. With larger GIJoe vehicles, and even smaller Alpha Class ones, being in smaller demand, has Hasbro ever considered making such smaller vehicles for the GIJoe brand?
(Seriously, I would buy the hell out of small vehicles like that)

[Fortress Ironhol...]

Here's a question:

Hasbro's Marvel toylines in recent years have featured small vehicles like bikes, ATVs and even small dune buggies that either feature pull and roll action or pop-out weapons. These types of vehicles do have their place in military environments. With larger GIJoe vehicles, and even smaller Alpha Class ones, being in smaller demand, has Hasbro ever considered making such smaller vehicles for the GIJoe brand?
(Seriously, I would buy the hell out of small vehicles like that)

Better question:

Hasbro's Marvel toylines in recent years have featured an assortment of vehicles like bikes, jet packs, ATVs, small dune buggies, jeeps, and headquarters facilities. These types of vehicles do have their place in military environments. What is the likelihood of seeing these items repurposed for the G. I. Joe line, especially the smaller released-on-card vehicles?




(Anyone else think that Captain America's combat jeep is a better VAMP than the VAMP we got last year?)

[Detour]

No. Cap's Jeep doesn't even have a steering wheel.

And also, Hasbro can't just nab whatever they want off their licensed lines and toss em in their own lines.

[Lukeblast]

The last few waves of Joes after the Arctic Destro wave have been completely unfindable at retail here. And I've looked. A lot. It's hard to purchase something that you never see on the shelf at Target, Walmart, or ToyRus. I would resort to HasbroToyShop but even they seem to mostly have full cases when they have anything at all. I want to give you my money: is there anything Hasbro can do to make that possible? Would it at least be possible to make sure Hasbro Toy Shop has a decent size stock of individual figures from each wave?

I have to reiterate this question since, while I'd love to throw my money at Hasbro for all the neat figures I've seen online for 2011... I've only ever seen them online, never at retail. Arctic Destro killed distribution apparently in my whole state dead as a doornail.

But--and I say this with no disrespect intended--it's a bad question. Distribution questions are common and get rote answers. Hasbro doesn't control what the retailers do. This one asks about a specific online outlet, apparently under the mistaken impression that Hasbro DOES control their stock directly.

Once again, if you're already willing to go online (and you can find them online, as you admit), how/why are you not getting the figures? Go where they are and get them rather than unnecessarily limiting yourself.

[NightViper]

Will any other terrorist groups with Hasbro origins (VENOM, MECH, Misfits?) ever join ranks with Cobra and invade store shelves?

How does the GI Joe brand team feel about the Renegade toy designs in regards to future repaints? Could they be used for non-Renegades characters? Or are they too unique?

[Dake]

How does the GI Joe brand team feel about the Renegade toy designs in regards to future repaints? Could they be used for non-Renegades characters? Or are they too unique?

I don't really understand this question. The Renegades figures are all "real world" versions and many of them are already reusing parts; Duke and Firefly use Resolute legs at least for example. Why wouldn't they repaint/reuse them?

[Detour]

About 75% of Snake-Eyes's body is reused from Resolute Snake-Eyes, too.

[NightViper]

Basically I asked because I want Tunnel Rat's rolled up overalls reused one more "casual" figures in the future. Maybe even come up with a way to add another layer to it to make an "off-duty" flight suit.

But... See... Well... I didn't buy the Resolute figures. So I had no idea the Renegades reused their parts.

[Detour]

I haven't bought any Resolute toys either. But their parts have been recycled since Rise of Cobra.

[Dake]

Yeah, quite a few of the PoC figures use the Resolute legs too. But now I understand. Yeah, Tunnel Rat's outfit might be a tough one to reuse but they've shown a lot of imagination repurposing stuff before so I'll bet they will if they can. I won't be surprised if we see Zarana's torso somehow down the road just b/c it seems crazy to sculpt something that detailed to never use again (though we haven't seen the doughey Slaughter torso again).

[NightViper]

Here are the questions that the Staff selected for the Q&A. There were quite a few good questions generated for this round, so hold onto them. We may get to the next round.

1) Ever since the movie line, there has seemed to be a major disconnect between the team designing the GI Joe vehicles and the team creating the stickers for them. Again and again, we're seeing decals that don't fit in the spaces where we're told to put them, that are supposed to impossibly lie flat over protruding plastic details, and that are shown in totally different locations between the instructions and the pictures on the boxes. As annoying as this may be for collectors, it must be even more frustrating for kids who are looking for simple directions for completing their toys. How does this keep happening and are any steps being taken to put an end to the phenomenon?

2) Since the revival of the line in 2007, the majority of the original Python Patrol lineup from 1989 has been released in some fashion, either in stores or as exclusives. In contrast, there are a number of figures and vehicles which could be redone in their appropriate Tiger Force, Night Force, Sonic Fighters / Super Sonic Fighters, Sky Patrol, or Slaughter's Marauders colors but which have not been touched. In particular, more than a few eyebrows raised when Wild Bill was packed with the Target-exclusive Tiger Rat instead of its original pilot, Skystriker. Will we potentially see these subsets fleshed out in the future, or has the notion of vintage subset redecoes been put on hiatus for the time being?

3) 12" GI Joe figures take the brand back to its origins, however, it seems like it has been quite a few years since a 12" line managed to thrive at retail. What changes in the market sparked this surprise resurrection?

[Dake]

Wow - you guys made number three sound much more friendly. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif)

[NightViper]

Answers!

1) Ever since the movie line, there has seemed to be a major disconnect between the team designing the GI Joe vehicles and the team creating the stickers for them. Again and again, we're seeing decals that don't fit in the spaces where we're told to put them, that are supposed to impossibly lie flat over protruding plastic details, and that are shown in totally different locations between the instructions and the pictures on the boxes. As annoying as this may be for collectors, it must be even more frustrating for kids who are looking for simple directions for completing their toys. How does this keep happening and are any steps being taken to put an end to the phenomenon?

1) Thanks for your comment on this. Actually, designing the labels is a fairly tricky part of the toy design process. As we look forward to the movie line, we are changing the way we are doing labels, reducing them in number/quantity, and thinking about ways of making them "kid friendly" in application.

2) Since the revival of the line in 2007, the majority of the original Python Patrol lineup from 1989 has been released in some fashion, either in stores or as exclusives. In contrast, there are a number of figures and vehicles which could be redone in their appropriate Tiger Force, Night Force, Sonic Fighters / Super Sonic Fighters, Sky Patrol, or Slaughter's Marauders colors but which have not been touched. In particular, more than a few eyebrows raised when Wild Bill was packed with the Target-exclusive Tiger Rat instead of its original pilot, Skystriker. Will we potentially see these subsets fleshed out in the future, or has the notion of vintage subset redecoes been put on hiatus for the time being?

3) 12" GI Joe figures take the brand back to its origins, however, it seems like it has been quite a few years since a 12" line managed to thrive at retail. What changes in the market sparked this surprise resurrection?

3) The brand team realized that in this day and age, more kids than ever have family members or people they know involved in the armed forces, yet they don't have a way to represent these heroes in play. We decided that it was time to recognize these heroes in toy form and come out with a new line of 12" to represent some of the most dedicated military and civil service heroes we could think of.

[Powered Convoy]

No answer for #2 aye?

[NightViper]

Nah. That's usually the GI Joe Q&A MO. Ask three questions and they'll pick two of them to answer.

[Spark]

Number three kind of sounds like bull to me. It doesn't exactly explain the 12" Snake Eyes and Storm Shadows that went nowhere, and the odd lesser 12" subline from the movie.

[Dake]

No answer for #2 aye?

Nah. That's usually the GI Joe Q&A MO. Ask three questions and they'll pick two of them to answer.

Well, that and the fact the question has been asked numerous times in slightly different ways over the last couple of years. It really is just a "will you make figure X" question. I'm glad they ignored it vs the usual, "We're always excited to leave the doors open to future possibilities but no plans for now -stay tuned!"