2005 Crimson Shadow Guard - Random Photos of the Day

The Crimson Shadow Guard was a low effort release that Hasbro dropped at the end of the retail line.  It joined the HAS Set as the final sets Hasbro would give to Toys R Us as exclusives.  But, sometimes low effort is still OK.  And, in the case of the Shadow Guard, the black uniform take on the Crimson Guard worked out quite well.  We didn't need 6 of them in a single set, of course.  But, as an army builder, there were many worse releases in the repaint era.  

Of course, the Shadow Guard were flawed as they included terrible, non-sensical accessories that were mostly ninja weapons.  But, by 2005, Hasbro had all but given up when it came to the weapons included with figures.  The aftermarket had also stepped in and Marauder's Gun Runners was able to fully take advantage of Hasbro's lazy weapon complement.  

The real oddity was the inclusion of 6 identical figures.  Even the Cobra Infantry had made each figure unique.  And, later, the Viper Pit would break up the weapons and offer 1 exclusive figure among the identical soldiers.  But, this set was produced to be cheap.  So, 6 identical figures with easy to produce gear was the order.  Of course, that meant that army building collectors stopped at one or two sets since they were able to fill out obscure squads with small purchases.  But, even army building had become passe by 2005.  So, the Shadow Guard somewhat faded into obscurity.

Hasbro pretty much killed the online Joe collector community in 2005.  Their bizarre handling of the line drove away collectors en masse.  So, sets like this Shadow Guard got clearanced out.  And, when they dropped to $4 for a set, I bought way too many.  For under a buck per figure, it made sense to buy up more than I wanted.  Now, twenty years later, the Shadow Guard is still one of my most numerous army builders.  And, since they don't discolor and feature the pliable plastic of the 2000's, I actually use them way more than most figures I actually do like.

In the photos below, you'll see a version with a Fred head from the Comic Packs.  There's another with the Agent Faces head, too.  These two customs help break up the Shadow Guard.  And, with these "commanders", my Shadow Guard has a bit of characterization to it that has kept it somewhat relevant in recent years.  The Crimson Guard remains loyal to Cobra Commander.  But, the Shadow Guard is less certain in their allegiance.  If I ever want to work some intrigue within the Cobra ranks, the Shadow Guard are the first figures to come to mind.

The Shadow Guards remain pretty unloved.  While people will comment about how they like the design, the sales prices say that everyone has the figures they want.  Of the Toys R Us releases, Shadow Guards are among the cheapest figures to acquire.  And, while lots of dealers still cling to 2021 era pricing for repaint era Joe toys, they struggle to move any of them.  $15 is about the going rate for a figure.  But, you can get a carded set for under that price...indicating that the few sales are about frustrated collectors giving in to low demand.  The real price is probably half that.  But, you're going to grow grey waiting for them to come around in numbers.