The first package of 2023 has arrived and what a package it is. Number 53 doesn’t match the Love Bug this time around, but the one and only (if you’re not counting the Valaverse Action Force figure), Sgt. Slaughter.
Herbie?
The Sarge is in the house
The box art on this one is unique in the fact that we get multiple versions of The Sarge. Top left is his WWF pose, top right looks taken from the comic books, bottom right from the cartoons/movie, front and center almost looks like a picture and then bottom left is the actual figure ‘s upper body. Somewhere in there is also a detail of his fist clenching a Classified Figure that is holding his mini-figure that is also included.
Side art detail
Also on the side, the art is lifelike and looks the part. Being a windowless cardboard box again, we also get actual photo’s of the figure on the back of the box. Including the actual size of The Sarge, which is, truth be told, not as big as I would have guessed. Still, he’s probably very imposing in the flesh.
Need a hand? Or a fist?
Sarge in action
That’s all for now. See you back soon. Until then, Happy Collecting and YoJoe!
Just a quick note today to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
JoeJoeJoe
Also, today marks the 10th anniversary of the blog. Ten years ago I started this blog to talk about my collection and the struggles to find ‘new’ toys to add to the collection. In those 10 years, we got 2 movies, Haslab products, the Retro line, the Classified Series, Jada toys miniatures, Super 7 figures and many more. It really is a good time to be a collector. Don’t get me wrong, there are still struggles (Why doesn’t Hasbro ship to Belgium for one?), but at least we’re getting new stuff!
I know it has been a while since I last posted something, but that doesn’t mean that my collecting days have come to a halt. It’s hard sometimes to find the time to sit down and write a post down. I often start a quick note to remember I have to write a post about something, but then I don’t have the pictures that go along with it or it slips my mind. Still, I always keep an eye out for G.I. Joe and although the collection hasn’t been expanded much, here are some new things that have entered the EJ collection.
A TPB filled with Saturday Morning Adventures.
First up is the TPB of the Saturday Morning Adventures comic books. I already had the floppies, but this was a bargain a while ago on Amazon and so I pre-ordered it. Occasionally my LCBS can’t order the comics and this leaves a gap in my collection (I’m still looking for IDW ARAH #259 – #265 that weren’t sold over here during the pandemic). By getting the TPB, I can at least make sure that I can read the entire story.
R/C V.A.M.P.
Next up, is the Jada Toys R/C V.A.M.P. Mk-II. This one has been on my radar for a while, but I never seemed to be able to find it here in Europe. At the end of October, I was browsing the U.S. Amazon site for anything Joe, and I noticed the price was dropped to around $20 for this one. With shipping and taxes, it was still below $50 and so I snatched it up. I haven’t tried it out yet, it’s just sitting in a box for now. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that they keep on using an image of the A.W.E. Striker on their boxes, even when it’s a V.A.M.P., but still, a very nice addition to my collection.
Golden 15
Now, we’re getting back to the Classified line, first up is the #15, Profit Director Destro (great brainstorm on that name by Hasbro)!
Who’s your Director?
This one has taken a while to get here from the U.S. I had it on pre-order a long time ago via a colleague that lives in the U.S. She finally got to travel again to our HQ in Belgium and she was able to bring this one with her. The golden gun, the leopard cape, it’s a look. Definitely a look.
For the Nite is dark and dangerous.
A second figure she was able to bring over, is the Fortnite x G.I. Joe Snake Eyes figure. I have to say, I only briefly tried to play Fortnite a while ago and I’ve never had much fun playing FPS games, so I passed on playing more. I did however read the Batman Fortnite comics and they featured Snake Eyes in an issue. So when this one was announced, I didn’t really think too hard and got my pre-order in.
Zero Point? No, lots of points!
This figure is a really nice version of Snake Eyes. You have to ignore the idiot weapons that he came with (see below), but the figure itself and his katana are gorgeous. This may be the best version of Snake Eyes in the Classified line if you ask me.
These will probably stay in the box indefinitely.
And finally, I also got a small present from my colleague when she came over… Tis the season after all 🙂
Ho-Ho-Ho
I’ll probably put up another post this year, but in case I can’t make it, Happy Holidays to you and your family.
Karma, karma, karma, karma, karma Kamakura You come and go, you come and go Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dreams Red, gold, and green, red, gold, and green
61 already
Mostly green though. And some silver. This package just arrived today straight from that big river store in the US of A. It’s also my first figure that comes in the new all cardboard packaging.
Smaller and cardboard all the way.
I get the switch from the windowed boxes to these full cardboard ones, it’s less plastic and less cardboard and will probably be more cost effective as well as better for the environment. If it’s better for us as collectors? The jury’s still not out on that. I personally like it. The art has always been great on these Classified figures and this way the focus can be more on the art. What I don’t like is the fact that the size is different from the other Classified figures (I guess I could just open them all up to counter that). The small picture of the figure on the front bothers me. They have all this space to let the art pop from the page, it feels wrong to me to put a picture of the actual photo on the front, they can (and do) that on the back. I’m guessing it’s some legal obligation. All I can say is that it ruins the art. I know, with the window boxes you could also see the figure, and you’re right in pointing that out, but still, that is completely different. They should have fully embraced the new packaging and went for an full-on art attack with these boxes.
One mean looking Arashikage ninja.
On the back of the box, we get a complete view of the figure, complete with a ruler to show the actual size of the figure. I genuinely think this is a good way to show off everything that’s included in the package. Keep it like this, don’t put a small picture on the front and take attention away from the art. Especially since the same image (but larger) is re-used on the back again.
The figure with accessories.
The left bottom corner of the back
On the back, they also reprinted the photo from the front, this time instead of the bust, the complete figure in an action pose. As I said before, this should be enough, I don’t need to see it on the front.
As a side-note, when will we be getting an official checklist for these figures, comparable to the little pictures we used to get on the back of the cards of the 3&3/4 figures? I know this is also probably not done in a way to keep the production costs as low as possible, but still. How cool would it be to have a small poster inside these boxes with an overview of the classified pictures on one side and then an action shot on the other side? Maybe we’ve been to spoiled with the European catalogs we got in the 80’s and 90’s, but still, I’d really would love to see that make a comeback.
That’s all for now. More new Classifieds coming soon I hope. Happy Collecting and YoJoe!
Just a quick update this time around on another pre-order that finally made it’s way to Belgium. It’s the Valaverse Action Force Sgt. Slaughter, delivered by the good people over at BBTS.
The Sarge
During #YoJoeJune, Hasbro announced that they will be making an official new G.I. Joe Classified Sgt. Slaughter figure, but while we wait for that one to get made, we already have a 6″ figure of the Sarge in the Action Force series.
The figure comes with removable hat and sunglasses, four pair of hands, a stand, a knife, and a big ass revolver. The revolver and knife can be placed in holsters on either leg.
Picture from toysarama.co.uk
That’s it for now. Keep your chin up and see you soon!
Happy Collecting and YoJoe!
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