The Zeros - Mark VI

Once again, for the July 4th holiday, I present the Zeros.  These are the least popular posts on the site in the past year.  Some make senses.  Others surprise me.  I have a theory that newer collectors are less interested in obscure ephemera of the line and, instead, are more likely to engage with a post about a toy they had has as kids.  That's far different from where the hobby was just two or three years ago.  But, you'll see that a lot of the under-performing subjects are collector based items rather than nostalgic toys.

Whatever the reasons, though, these were the worst performing posts of the past year.  So, take this long holiday weekend and catch up on some stuff you might have missed. 

1. Plastirama SOS (Doc)

This one is a disappointment.  It's the worst performing new profile I've written since 2015.  I thought an obscure repaint that's an upgrade over a popular American character would have fared better.  But, this was a complete dud across all platforms.  Too bad.  As, it's an amazing figure.

2. Killer Moth - Spinmaster Batman

This one makes sense.  This is a G.I. Joe blog and an entry about Batman figures is heavily out of place.  But, Killer Moth is one of the highlights of 2020 and is a figure well worth owning.  Plus, the Spinmaster Batman line is awesome and deserves to run for a decade or more.

3. 1982 MMS

This one surprised me.  Hawk, the figure from this set, did really well a few months later.  But, few people were interested in this origin year toy.  It's not a really exciting toy and works better as diorama filler.  But, it's still classic that every collector recognizes.

4. 1984 Chameleon

Another stunner.  I would have thought that Zartan's favorite vehicle would have gotten some good attention.  Any Zartan figure does good numbers.  But, the Chameleon was an absolute dud in terms of engagement.

5. Funskool Cutter

Cutter isn't a hugely popular character or figure.  The 1992 mold is awesome.  But, it doesn't get a lot of attention.  The Funskool figure is obscure.  So, this profile not getting attention makes sense.

6. 2001 Double Blast

Double Blast is another expected member of this list.  Really, this is a Roadblock repaint and the new character isn't one that any cares about.  So, low numbers make sense.

7. 1984 Thin Green Stripe Recondo

Recondo is a very popular character.  And, in the old days, collectors loved variants.  But, this combo of the two didn't do very well.  I can't really explain why.  Recondo seems popular all over the place.  But, some other Recondo content didn't so hot, either.  So, maybe he's not really that well liked?

8. 1991 Super Sonic Fighters Rock and Roll

I was super disappointed in this one.  I think this figure is so cool and has tons of potential.  I loved the pictures I got for him, too.  But, no one else did.  I thought this guy would find a nice audience due to his obscurity for a major character and his distinct visuals.  He didn't.  Collectors seem to love neon figures these days...except for this Rock and Roll.

9. 2002 Gift Set Stormshadow

Stormshadow is popular.  But, this red version from 2002 is pretty low on the list in terms of collector interest.  It's not a popular mold for the character.  And, this o-ring retro fitted version retains a lot of the limitations of the original.  So, he's an unsurprising addition to this list.

10. Funskool Croc Master

This one isn't too much of a shocker.  Croc Master tends to be middle of the road in terms of popularity.  Funskool's version is pretty strong but also fairly obscure.  I was also offline for a while prior to publishing this so overall site engagement was lower during that time.

Another 1/2 year down.  The Joe world has been stupid in 2021.  We'll see how the year ends.  I'm starting to see some signs that we might come out of this crazy market.  Supply is up a bit and prices of non-rare items are starting to soften.  So, those are all good signs that this hobby is returning to normal.  We'll see how that holds up in coming months, though.  

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by and supporting the site.  Lots of good stuff to come in the second half of the year.