Prior to today, the Skystriker was on pace to easily fund and probably reach the Ripcord tier. However, due to the bad press around the Rancor, there was a lot of concern among Joe groups about the Skystriker funding. So, today, Hasbro dropped a new tidbit of information on some additional figures that are included in the base tier. They are: Cobra Commander, a Cobra Trooper and a new amalgamation of the G.I. Joe Deck Crew figure and the Cobra Trooper that makes a Cobra Deck Crew.
The Cobra Commander is the helmeted version that is in desperate need of a new release. It features the Mickey Mouse logo. This is certain to be an exclusive variant and the sure to be retail release in 2022 will have the standard Cobra logo.
The Cobra Trooper is based on the cartoon look. I HATE the ungloved hands. But, that's just me. It's tough to get excited over Cobra Troopers when there's over 100 repaints of them available. But, it's a nifty looking figure for sure and something that will have some demand later. The final figure using the Cobra Trooper head, Ripcord legs and the chest from the Deck Trooper. It's a neat looking idea and also pretty much ensures the Deck Trooper mold will probably appear at some point.
As you now get these included in the base tier, you are guaranteed to get them when the Skystriker funds. I do not like the idea of army building figures in an expensive set like this. I'd prefer them to be characters. But, this shows that Hasbro wants the Skystriker to fund and is also showing their hand when it comes to probable 2022 commemorative figure releases.
One thing to ponder:
After the announcement, we're seeing massive uptake in the Skystriker backing. It's probably a combo of hard core collectors upping their max order to 5 to get the army builders and some new people coming on board. Will be interesting to watch these next few days as the campaign ends.
I don't see them getting over 3770 sets ordered in the last four days. Darn it Hasbro, start making o-ring figures for the mass market!
ReplyDeleteExactly, make sets of figures without stupid, big expensive vehicles.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't believe for a second the figures will look anything like the renders. They'll pull whatever molds they have at hand and use those parts.
Do they have ANY vintage ARAH molds at hand? Were they not all scrapped years ago according to...the Collector's Club? Hasbro itself? I dunno how much stock to put into anything.
DeleteHasbro destroyed all the vintage molds in like 2011 or so. It's likely that they kept some of the molds that had been used recently (2005 and up). But, even that is doubtful. Though, today, it's cheaper to just make a new mold than it is to move an existing one around. So, these will be released from all new molds, likely based on the vintage figure's tooling.
DeleteWe will see a Red Laser?
ReplyDelete