2023 Fail Safe

I regret backing the Skystiker.  It's been a year since it shipped and has now aged into the community.  And, I should never have bought it.  At the time, I thought that several of the figures from the set were going to be $100+ on the secondary market.  That didn't happen.  In fact, many of the figures are stupidly cheap.  So cheap that many people who speculated in the set have stopped selling the figures because some were selling for below the retail cost of Pulse era retro figures.  As such, the $500 I spent to get two of the Skystriker sets would have been far better spent buying up the figures I wanted on the aftermarket.  Sometimes, you make a bad decision, even though it's based on the best information available at the time.  But, the real regret over the Skystriker is that the figures are just piss-poor quality.  Which is a damn shame because a figure like Fail Safe should have been one of the better releases we've seen in the entirety of the 2000's.

When I say piss poor quality, I'm specifically speaking to the materials used on the figures.  I do think that all of the Skystriker figures were designed well.  The team took absolutely no chances on them.  Which means that the figures are all solid.  But, there's also nothing that really stands out.  Each figure kind of feels like he's been released before in some way.  But, in a line that loves its repaints and homages, that's what collectors tend to buy.  The main issue is that the plastic used is very soft.  You can definitely tell that Hasbro never really intended for collectors to actually open the figures.  This indicates a massive lack of understanding of the 3 3/4" collecting community.  We've never been a carded first group like Star Wars and Marvel collectors tend to be.  We are openers first with a 2nd carded version being the exception rather than the norm.  

And, that's why the poor plastic bothers me so much.  I actually want to use these figures in photos and dioramas.  I'd love to have them displayed around the collection.  But, they just aren't quite up to snuff.  I'm afraid of paint loss just from using the accessories.  And, some of the gear is so poor that you can't even get it onto the figure without risking breakage.  I have no use for figures that I can't use.  I've never felt that Joes were worthy of an artistic display when they were still in their packaging.  Really, I kept cardbacks because I was too lazy to cut out the filecards that I did want to keep.  I never felt the card artwork was anything other than a sometimes reference point for subtle nuances of the toy mold.  

One of the most damning indictments of the Skystriker is that you simply don't see it in photos...anywhere.  While the Instagram G.I. Joe community is much smaller these days than it was even just in the late 2010's, it's still large enough to spot trends and see which toys have caught on with collectors.  And, the actual Skystriker hasn't.  Really, the only part of the Skystriker that's caught on with collectors is the Cobra Ramp Rat.  (You also see the Mickey Mouse Cobra Commander from time to time.)  You never see dioramas with the actual plane.  And, with about the same number of Skystikers out there as here were 2000's era Toys R Us exclusives, you should see the planes appear in the online content that is still created.  But, to be fair, I never even put my planes together.  I checked the parts, pulled out the figures to open, segregated the missile loading vehicles and haven't even bothered to look at the airplane pieces in the year since I buried them in a basement closet in February of 2023.  

The one success of Fail Safe is the head.  Hasbro utterly failed to produce nice heads in the 2000's.  They were too big, too small or just didn't fit the body on which they were placed.  It's really surprising how consistently bad the new heads were between 1998 and 2010.  But, Fail Safe's is OK.  It's heavily based on Ripcord's head.  And, that's probably why it works.  They just used a solid design, made some tweaks and called it good.  But, that made it a success.  This figure looks like he could have been released in 1984.  And, that's about the highest compliment you can give to newly sculpted pieces on retro Joes.

It, of course, fails because the head is painted.  Painted heads suck. They look terrible, scuff easily and generally make the face just look flat and fuzzy.  And, since Fail Safe has a very nice helmet, putting the helmet on and taking it off is likely to  wear down his face paint over the next few years.  Hasbro will simply not give up on painted faces, even when they are comically bad like the Baroness and Zarana.  The only upside to Fail Safe's helmet is that it's made of absurdly flimsy plastic.  So, it's less likely to scrape the paint away when you want to actually put it onto the figure's head.

The rest of Fail Safe is pretty nicely blended.  The flight vest is well detailed.  It's reminiscent of the 1992 Ace body...only if it had been sculpted a decade earlier.  The best part of the figure's torso, though, is that it features some solid paint applications.  It features blue, silver, black and two shades of green.  The colors blend well together.  Fail Safe isn't going to draw much attention to himself with his coloring.  But, the muted tones suit the figure's specialty as well as any other color combo.  I'm worried about paint chipping on the soft plastic.  Until then, though, Fail Safe is a nice match for many early Joe vehicles, including more traditional flying machines like the Dragonfly.

One of the great nuances of the Joe line is that there is a definitive color palette split between the vintage Joes of 1982-1994 and the repaint era and later figures that have come since.  Two main differences are that the later colors are flatter and less vibrant.  Even if you look at 1982 releases, the colors are powerful and eye-catching.  In 1997 and later, there were some really nice colors.  But, they had a flatter finish that mutes them.  So, even sets of figures that feature a rainbow of colors still tend to blend together.  The designers of vintage Joes have often spoken about how the appearance of the entire line on a retail shelf was of huge importance to them.  They, specifically, chose colors that complemented and accentuated each other to create a pleasing visual experience for the customer.  In the post vintage Joe world, though, the figures are more designed to look similar than they are to be part of an overall tapestry.

This has lead to a schism in the two lines.  It's tough to mingle vintage and post-vintage Joe figures because the base approach to color was so different.  There are some figures that do look good together.  But, the combos are a lot harder to find than if you mingle Joes from 1983 and 1993 together.  The Pulse releases also skew towards the post vintage color approach.  While Fail Safe features a wonderful hue of green, it is also rather flat in finish.  So, he looks great with 1997 and later figures.  Bu, when posed among 1984 figures, he tends to stand out as an oddball.  I'm certain that the softer plastic that been used on the post-1994 releases is part of the difference in appearance.  But, I also think that some of it is purposeful choice.  Hasbro was lead to believe that collectors wanted "gritty, realistic" colors...even though that was never the aesthetic of the vintage line.  But, Hasbro went with it and the glossy finish that made the vintage figures so eye-catching was tossed aside.

Fail Safe included just two accessories.  One was a newly sculpted pistol that really doesn't work.  They should have resculpted the 1986 Hawk pistol or the 1987 Chuckles pistol for the figure.  But, the new weapon features a handle that's too large and that makes it look incredibly awkward when placed in the figure's hands.  The other piece of gear is a redone 1983 Airborne helmet.  It's really nice.  It is so nice that it works way better on the contemporary Night Force Ripcord figure.  The green matches Ripcord's hue and breaks up the figure's appearance when he has the green helmet instead of his included black version.  I'd have liked an air mask with the figure as it makes no sense that the Skystriker's main pilot would require a pressurized flight suit but his battery mate wouldn't even need an additional oxygen supply.  But, a Ripcord airmask works on the figure.  It's just disappointing that a premium release didn't include a better complement of accessories.

In handling the Pulse era figures, it's pretty obvious that it's a softer, cheaper grade of plastic than vintage.  It's very similar to the plastic used between  2000 and 2007.  And, that's going to be a problem.  The figures from the repaint era are not holding up well.  Discoloration is common, even on still carded or packaged figures.  This is likely to also occur to the Pulse era figures.  Fail Safe will be interesting.  His green color is less likely to yellow than, say, the blue color used for Scarlett.  But, we'll see how the upper arms hold up as that's the first area we see degradation on the repaint figures from 15 to 20 years ago.  But, even Hasbro's flagship Star Wars lines that use similar plastic tend to discolor.  It's just the nature of the materials.  And, a likely inevitable end for all figures that were made from it.

As 2023 began, I was certain we'd see another 3 3/4" Joe Haslab.  The Skystriker performed well.  And, the aftermarket malaise was not yet known when Hasbro would have been designing the follow up.  But, Hasbro shifted and moved all their resources to the 6" scale.  And, it's hard to argue with the results as the Hiss Tank and Dragonfly have both funded without any hint of hesitation.  The people who work on the Joe line will better pad their resumes with toys like those than  they will with recreations of 40 year old toys in a dying scale.  And, the complete and utter failure of the Cobra Mothership also calls into question whether the 3 3/4" collector base could support another Haslab to the tune of 17 thousand units.  It sucks that we'll never get an updated Whale, Rattler or Moray to replace the ones rotting away in our basements and attics.  And, I don't really get any joy knowing that we did get a plane with no play value.

So, I figured Fail Safes would start out around $70 or more for a carded figure.  And, I also expected them to climb to over $100 after a year.  That...didn't happen.  Now, you can easily buy a carded figure for around $40 shipped.  If you can find someone selling it at auction, they'll go for $15-$25...usually near the lower end.  After 20 years, we've seen the Toys R Us figures climb to stupidly high prices.  But, I doubt Fail Safe will follow that trend.  In 20 years, Joe collectors will be mostly retired with many staring down their 70's.  Yes, that's right.  We're now closer to our 70's than our 20's...even if we feel like our 20's were yesterday and our 70's are light years away.  But, 70 year olds won't be buying collectibles for speculative prices. And, let's face it, a lot of us will be dead and gone with our collections tossed away for pennies on the dollar as our kids and grandkids won't want to deal with the incredible hassle of liquidating a collection of crumbling and yellowing toys.  

It's still possible that this figure will find some aftermarket life.  There was a massive speculator buy in for the Skystriker since a lot of Star Wars fans had some money to spend when the Rancor failed just days before the Skystriker funded.  And, that speculative stock is lowering.  Slowly, the top figures from the Skystriker set are getting bought up.  But, there's still plenty of Fail Safe's out there.  And, if there's an event that forces more collectors to liquidate duplicates and unloved items, we'll see a flood of Skystrikers coming into the market once again.  But, if you can get a cheap Fail Safe, you should.  He's one of the best "new" figures Hasbro has done in the past 25 years.  He's not perfect.  But, he's good enough.  And, these days, that's about the best you can expect from Hasbro's attempts to salvage the legacy of the ARAH style Joes.

The Mothership Fails

There are failures.  And, then, there are embarrassing failures.  And, the Cobra Mothership was nothing more than one of the most complete and utter disasters the Joe world has seen.  Even the failed DTC experiment had an initial modicum of success.  The failure of the Super7 Cobra Mothership, though, is so thorough that it's tough to take away any useful lessons.

I was an advocate for the Mothership.  I wanted it to succeed because cool toys need to be made.  I was clear that it wasn't a toy for me just due to the sheer size.  But, up until  the end, I was optimistic that the ship would fund.  It needed about 2500 backers on the final day.  This isn't an insurmountable number.  And, Haslabs often have 5,000 or more backers on the final day of funding as they blow through tiers.  Kickstarters are notorious for seeing a surge of last minute pledges.  It's a fundamental truth in the crowdfunding world.

But, with the Mothership, there was no final day surge.  Sure, the numbers went up a bit.  But, not even 100 people backed it in the final day.  That is unprecedented.  And, it is that lack of last minute interest that bears the most scrutiny.  In the end, 1598 people out of a necessary 4000 backed the project.  That is an astoundingly bad showing for a product whose community regularly generates 15,000 or more backers for Haslabs.

Throughout the campaign, I was surprised by Super7's lack of advertising of the product.  It was only near the end of the timeline that they started reaching out to toy influencers on YouTube to hype the toy.  And, even then, their presentations were tepid.  While it's likely that Super7 could not create any advertising showcasing vintage Joes in the Mothership, there was no reason why an online personality couldn't have done so in one of their videos.  It would have been a nice visual.  And, would have gotten some play in the vintage Joe discussion groups.

Speaking of those groups, though, Super7 never even attempted to use them.  Facebook is full of Joe groups with 10,000 or more members.  Why didn't Super7 do a quick Q&A livestream with one of the  admins of these groups?  It would have been free and a way to instantly reach most of the still active Joe fans who exist.  And, things like that are FREE!  Which, for a project that only sought $2,000,000,  was probably an essential component.

To me, the complete lack of fanfare over the toy was the single reason for it's failure.  Items like the Skystriker, Hiss Tank and Dragonfly generated discussion in the Joe community every single day of their campaigns.  The Mothership did not.  Part of this is that it wasn't a Hasbro product.  And, that means a lot as there are many collectors who view non-Hasbro product as non-official, even if it's fully licensed.  Part of that is that the Mothership was somewhat obscure and not a toy that had ever really generated a lot of speculative interest.  The Cobra helicopter?  Sure.  Collectors have wanted that for 30 years.  But, the Mothership never even appeared on the once common "wishlist" items that dominated online Joe discussion.

The final issue was price point.  I have no doubt that $500 was a necessary price to make this happen.  But, even Hasbro has shown that the sweet spot for crowdfunding is between $200 and $300.  At that level, the items don't seem like such a big ticket purchase.  But, they also make the item seem special.  I don't think that Super7 could have created a version of the Mothership that was viable within that optimal price range.  So, they took a huge chance on a more spectacular product.  And, it backfired on them.

So, what does this all mean?  Truly, I have no idea.  We are certain that 3 3/4" o-ring Joes are dead to Hasbro.  They have been farmed out to Super7.  I doubt the failure of this ship will alter those plans.  Super7 has had enough success with their 5POA line at retail to justify a solid attempt at o-rings.  And, figures always do better than vehicles in today's toy landscape.  I'm sure there's some hand-wringing at Super7 HQ today as its leaders wonder if they bet too much of their company's success on a single brand that, frankly, has a lot more failures under it's umbrella in the past 25 years than it does successes.

 

2023 Cobra Mothership Tracking - The Home Stretch

So, yeah, I've been offline for a couple of weeks.  Lots of stuff going on and it was simply easier to drop Joe from my life for a bit than it was to try and keep up.  So, I haven't updated the tracker since 11/23.  And, in the two weeks since then the Mothership...still hasn't moved.  Here's what updates I did track:

11/25/23 - 1443 + 0
11/26/23 - 1443 + 0
11/27/23 - 1446 + 3
11/28/23 - 1446 + 0
11/29/23 - 1446 + 0

And, on 12/8/23, the total number of backers is 1484, less than 40 in two weeks.  The bulk of that number was a small jump from the Super7 announcement that they will be bringing an o-ring line of Joes to production in late 2024...about the time this ship will be distributed.  (Assuming it funds.)  But, more on that later.

For now, we're three days shy of the deadline for the Mothership.  I still think we'll see a last day surge.  But, we should be seeing some folks back it this weekend.  So, now, I'm non-committal on the funding.  It probably won't fund at this point.  But, it still might.  I definitely want it to fund, even though I'm not backing it.  And, I'm going to HATE the terrible takes that will dominate the Joe world for a day or two if it fails.  (Hint, they'll all be completely wrong about why it failed and will be all based on myopic, pre-conceived notions rather than actual data.)  

As for the announcement of the o-ring line...I'm ambivalent.  I'm not going to collect it, per se.  In cases where it will supplement or augment my collection, I'll buy a couple.  I'll certainly pick up any I find on clearance as it's tough to find any o-ring figures for under $8.  But, I'm past the point of picking up a new line.  And, it's pretty obvious that the new line will be a homage to the vintage line rather than a continuation.  Even Hasbro has utterly failed to capture the essence of the vintage line's sculpting and design.  

I expect the Super7 line will look decent.  But, it will be different from the vintage Joes.  A Dr. Venom will be a nice supplement to my vintage Joes.  But, the first Cobra Commander is going to look out of place among 1983 Cobra Troopers.  So, I'll pick and choose.

When I look at the figures that Super7 has made for the ReAction line, there's several designs I'd have bought in o-ring format.  But, there's many great designs that simply don't have any resonance with my collection.  The Gamemaster figures are great.  But, I'd never buy them as I'm not a cartoon guy.  But, I'd buy a cartoon coloring of Flint in an instant.  

I do wonder how the line will do.  Hasbro proved there is no market for $25 o-ring figures among Joe fans.  That line crashed and burned faster than the Dungeons and Dragons line.  And, with different construction, I'm not sure they'll appeal to the standard ReAction figure fan.  You'll see people talking about lower production numbers for Super7.  But, the Pulse o-rings didn't have high production runs.  And, they still failed.  If the Super7 figs go to real retail, they might do better.  But, I still wonder if there's a long term market for any o-ring line.

I'll be interested to see what Super7 comes up with.  But, I'm not going whole hog on the line.  It's doubtful that the gear will be compatible.  And, the heads will stand out quite a bit.  That's doesn't mean, though, that I won't buy some, photograph them and write way too much about them.

We'll touch base again on Wednesday when we know the Mothership's final fate.

2023 Cobra Mothership - Weekly Tracking Week 6

I was on vacation this week and missed a couple of check-ins.  Not much change, yet.  We'll see how it goes over this weekend.  I expect the needle to move some.  But, even if it doesn't, I'm still not convinced that the item won't fund.  Here's the numbers for this week:

11/18/23 - 1438 + 0
11/19/23 - 1438 + 0
11/20/23 - 
11/21/23 - 1441 + 3
11/22/23 - 
11/23/23 - 1443 + 2

11/24/23 - 1443 + 0

5 new backers this week.  Not much moving of the needle.  But, starting next week, pretty much everyone will be within their same credit card statement for the end of the campaign.  So, buying it then vs. buying it the last day won't really matter much.  We'll see if people get interested.

The upside is that, this week, Super7 clearly communicated that the Mothership was compatible with vintage o-ring figures.  They haven't shown pictures...likely because they can't.  But, this is why a quick collaboration with any toy influencer out there would be ideal. That person could show vintage Joes in  the ship and allow the photos/video to circulate online.  So, there's more that could be done.  

2023 Cobra Mothership - Weekly Tracking Week 5

This week, Super7 did some promotion for the Mothership.  Their Twitter account starting posting some new pics of the toy.  It showed just how big the ship actually is.  And, they showed off some of the interior of the ship.  They promoted the 5 figure army building packs.  And, they appeared on a podcast.  The result of all this effort was...little.  After gaining only 4 backers last week.  It gained 7 backers this week: three of those occurring on Friday afternoon.  Not a great return.  But, at least it was free promotion instead of paid shilling.

I missed a day this week.  Just got busy.  I expect the same to happen next week with the holiday.  But, with only 7 backers in a week, the daily totals become less important.  For now, the only real value in the tracking of the numbers is to see if the 10% in the first week and 90% in the last week comes true.  We'll see.

Here's the breakdown:

11/11/23 - 1431 + 0
11/12/23 - 1433 + 2
11/13/23 - 1433 + 0
11/14/23 - 
11/15/23 - 1435 + 2
11/16/23 - 1435 + 0
11/17/23 - 1438 + 3

Next week is Thanksgiving in the US. Typically, the Friday of that week is the biggest shopping day of the year and the day that people often commit to big gifts.  So, I don't expect the needle to move much next week since I'll post an update early on Friday.  But, the week after, that will cover Black Friday and Cyber Monday, should see an uptick from people who want to gift this item to themselves directly or by proxy.  And, we should be within the next credit card statement date for most people, meaning that ordering it over next weekend vs. waiting for December should still get the charges on the same statement.  After that, we'll have about 2 weeks left in the campaign.  I still expect a surge on the final day.  We'll see if it's enough to make this thing come to fruition.

2023 Cobra Mothership - Weekly Tracking Week 4

Last Friday, the Cobra Mothership was coming off of a terrible week in terms of the number of new backers.  Then, this week happened.  Here are the numbers:

11/04/23 - 1427 + 0
11/05/23 - 1427 + 0
11/06/23 - 1429 + 2
11/07/23 - 1429 + 0
11/08/23 - 1431 + 2
11/09/23 - 1431 + 0
11/10/23 - 1431 + 0

Ouch, again.  It's another rough, rough week for funding progress.  Not even a backer per day.  There's a month left in the funding window.  We're halfway through.  But, I don't think this is dead, yet.  Only 4 people backing this week is bad.  There are, though some things that could still be done to goose interest.  And I also think there's one big incentive that could lead to 2500 or more backers in the final 24-48 hours.

It's surprising me, though, that Super7 isn't doing much to promote this item.  While I get that $2,000,000 probably doesn't leave a huge budget for marketing, I do wonder why low cost and free options aren't being utilized.  Super7 could easily do a livestream in one of the large Joe Facebook groups where they show off all the features of the ship in close detail.  This would only cost a bit of time and get a large audience of potential customers.  The video could end up on Youtube for posterity.  None of the big social media G.I. Joe accounts have had anything to say about this ship.  And, even some of the big toy accounts on Twitter and Youtube that have 10's of thousands of followers have done nothing since the day this was announced.  I'd argue that the most recent Black Major figures have gotten more reach than the Mothership has.  That seems like a big failure to me.

The one reason while I'm still hopeful lies in the purchasing error that Super7 made.  If you back a Haslab, your credit card isn't charged until the project close date and then, it's charged only if the item funds.  With Super7, if you back it today, you pay today.  (Thanks to Josh Z for pointing this out.)  Then, if it doesn't fund, you get a refund.  This is a bad model.  I suppose it will cut down on declined charges on the day of funding.  But, that seems a small problem.  Especially when compared to forcing people to pay now for an item that may not even fund.  Because of this, though, I do expect we'll see a huge surge in final day backing.  And, that's why I'm still optimistic this funds...even with the numbers right now indicating (screaming, really!) otherwise.

2023 Cobra Mothership - Weekly Tracking Week 3

So, it doesn't look like the complete lack of support for this project last week was an anomaly.  I was really hoping it was.  But, when the counter started moving again, there wasn't a jump.  So, the pace hasn't just slowed down, it's pretty much stopped.

Conversely, Hasbro launched a Ghostbusters Haslab on 10/27.  It was over 80% backed in about 24 hours.  Within a couple of days, the full 10,000 backing number was reached.  The lesson here?  Fanbases will come out in force for products they feel are well worth the money.  This indicates that Joe fans, overwhelmingly, felt the Classified Dragonfly and Hiss were well worth the money and worth backing right away.  The Mothership doesn't fit that sweet spot.  Too many people can look at it and don't feel the overwhelming desire to instantly support it.  

Personally, I feel the sweet spot for crowdfunding projects is right around $300.  Much less, and the product will seem too much like it could have been a retail release.  Much more, though, and you cross a price threshold where the item has to be epic in order to justify the price point.  I'll argue the Mothership is epic.  It's just not iconic.  There's never been a groundswell of fan voices calling for it.  So, that's why it's not funding with the velocity you see in some other projects.

Here's the numbers:

10/28/23 - 1414 + 3
10/29/23 - 1414 + 0
10/30/23 - 1424 + 10
10/31/23 - 1425 + 1
11/01/23 - 1426 + 1
11/02/23 - 1427 + 1
11/03/23 - 1427 + 0

They are dismal.  This thing has slowed down and is not moving.  I do think this will still fund.  I'm less sure than I was last week.  But, I think nothing short of a new Joe Haslab that runs a funding window at the same time as the Mothership will be required to tank this.  The overall number of backers required to reach the funding goal is low.  But, as more and more weeks pass by without any significant backing, the chances of this failing does increase.

2023 Cobra Mothership - Weekly Tracking Week 2

As we enter week 2 of the Cobra Mothership funding, there's good news and bad news.  The bad news is that the early backing kit was not met.  So, the vinyl parachutes are not going to be included should this ship fund.  It's not really a loss.  Parachutes are a lot neater idea than they are actual toys.  But, it does lower the overall value of the package.

The good news is that the numbers are still climbing.  While the surge from the Super7 advertising bliltz of mid week from last week has abated, we're still seeing solid daily numbers.  Here's the count in the last week:

10/21/23 - 1250 + 70
10/22/23 - 1342 + 92
10/23/23 - 1411 + 69
10/24/23 - 1411 + 0
10/25/23 - 1411 + 0
10/26/23 - 1411 + 0
10/27/23 - 1411 + 0

You'll note the totals not moving for several days.  I doubt this is actually the case.  The web tracker doesn't seem to have a real time interface.  So, either someone's out on vacation or someone forgot to update the site with the numbers for a few days.  Either way, it's a bit disconcerting that a company tasked with making an item of this scale struggles to keep their customers updated on the likelihood that the project will fund.  If I'm going to give you a $600 loan for a year, I need to be confident that you are capable of delivering on your promises.  Simple miscues like not updating a website give me pause that a critical production question could be answered on time if missing even a single person has such an impact on your organization.  But, this is a company who misspells the word collectibles in their online advertising video: despite spelling it correctly in a different part of the same ad!

Right now, the Mothership is 35% funded.  I still think it's pretty much a done deal that this gets funded.  The recent Haslab Giant Man project got around 50% of it's backing in the final day.  And, was backing at more than one per minute in the final hours of the campaign.  Because of this, though, it also ended just a few units shy of the next funding tier.  You do wonder if enough people would have added another order onto theirs had they known they were so close to getting more toys for their money.

I doubt the Mothership will see such a surge.  But, it will get a surge.  And, the confirmation of funding isn't likely to occur until the final day.  But, with a low target number, maybe that won't be the case.  Regardless, you've got 6 weeks left to save up if you want to buy this thing.  

2023 Cobra Mothership - Weekly Tracking

I didn't do this with the Haslab Skystriker and I really wish I had.  I'm going to track the weekly progress of the backing numbers for the Cobra Mothership.  Frankly, this thing has stumbled out of the gate.  While I had no notions that it would get to close to funding in  the first few days like the last Classified Haslabs have, I also didn't think it would take days and days to even break 300 total backers.  But, there's been a mid week surge that's put this thing back on track.

For Haslabs (and Kickstarters, too) there is a set expectation where an item will get a decent amount of backers in the initial days.  Then, those numbers start to drop off.  Until then end.  Then, in the last couple of days, especially the last day, the numbers spike.  I'll be curious to see if the Super7 model follows that established pattern.  I do expect a bit of a upturn in the final two days of the early backing.  The parachutes aren't really all that much of an incentive.  But, you might as well back it early if you already know you're going to buy it and get them.

So, the numbers through the 1st week of availability: 1180 backers.  At over 25% funded, this thing looks like it's going to be a go.  The total should increase through the end of the early bird period before trailing off a bit again.  Then, it will flatten out until we get to the end when we'll see another spike.

Here are the daily totals.  I took these in the morning each day.  The time wasn't consistent.  But, any significant changes that occur after I record the numbers will be reflected the next day. (The tracker also appears to update in batches instead of real time, too.)  I didn't start until 10/14/23.  So, the first two days' worth of data aren't available.  You'll note a change indicator after the total for each day, too.

10/14/23 - 244

10/15/23 - 272 + 28

10/16/23 - 287 + 15

10/17/23 - 302 + 15

10/18/23 - 623 + 321

10/19/23 - 771 + 148

10/20/23 - 1180 + 409

There was a steady, but small daily increase in the numbers.  Then, between Tuesday and Wednesday, something happened and the backing exploded.  It doubled in one day.  Then, it added another 148 the following day.  Then, over 400 more on Thursday and Friday.  I have no idea why the weird explosion.  And, for it to occur on a random Tuesday and Wednesday makes no logical sense.  But, I've started seeing Youtube ads for Super7.  So, their advertising might have paid off.

At 4,000 units required for this ship to happen, the backing number is low.  It needs to average about 67 units per day to reach funding.  As of today, it's averaging 131 per day: well over the rate that's needed.  The slow start on the first days was worrisome.  But, now, the ship is back on a more normal crowdfunding pattern.  There's still a long way to go to get to 4,000.  But, it's pretty likely with where the numbers sit today.

2023 Super7 Cobra Mothership

So, it's finally happened.  After some teasing, Super7 showcased a real flagship toy for 3 3/4 G.I. Joe figures: the Cobra Mothership.  You can pre-order it here.

The toy is from the cartoon and fits with the Super7 strategy of mining cartoon designs for their toy offerings.  It is $495 plus shipping.  That's a lot.  But, this thing does look amazing.

Really, it's the type of toy that Joe collectors have pretended they want since 2001.  Now, we finally have one.  We'll see if people are really willing to spend $600 after shipping to support a toy like this.  It's got a lot of play value.  It's designed to be a display piece for collectors.  And, it holds tons of figures in various spaces so you can set up displays to your heart's content.  It's a dream for Joe photographers.  

For me, though, it's probably a no.  It's not because I don't think the toy is worth it.  From appearances in various photos from the NYCC, it appears to be in line with pricing for a toy of this intricacy and size.  But, it's the size that gets me.  The ship is 32 inches wide.  So, it's massive.  And, I just don't have space for something that size.  I do love that you can open it up and display tons of figures on the inside.  That is a big plus for me.  But, I'm at a point where I'm not sure I want another massive display toy.  And, I'm not dropping $600 to keep this thing in a box in a closet.  In a smaller scale, this toy would suck.  So, it needs to be big.  

The real news is that there is a 5 figure Viper set that's available as an add on.  Actually, there are 2 of them.  One is the standard ReAction style.  But, the other is an o-ring set.  What does this mean?  Really, I'm not sure.  Will Super7 do more o-rings?  I hope we'll find out as the weekend progresses.  

For now, though, speculate away.  Complain about the price.  Rage about how Super7 isn't your preferred vendor.  Pontificate about the scourge of crowdsourcing.  The bottom line is that 3 3/4 Joe fans now have another opportunity to show whether or not they're a large enough group to support a crowdfunded toy.  I hope this thing gets made.  Just because good toys should be supported.  It's just not something that's really in my wheelhouse of collecting any longer.

2023 Pilot Scarlett

Everyone now has an opinion on the Haslab Skystriker.  They've been in people's hands for about three weeks.  There's lots of kvetching about it from a vocal minority...many of whom did not even back the project.  But, there's also been a lot of positives about it.  My plan was to write a full on screed about the Skystriker: it's failures and successes.  But, I don't want to.  Instead, I'm going to look at the one figure from the set that I thought wasn't going to be great.  But, has turned out to be nicer and more interesting than the rest of the figures from the set: the Pilot Scarlett.  And, as an added bonus, both the Dragon Fortress and the Attica Gazette are looking at the same figure today.  (Can you believe it's been 5 years since our last collaboration?)

When the Skystriker was announced, the Pilot Scarlett was among the revealed tiers.  Her figure was just a repaint of the standard Ace body that was recreated for this set.  It featured a new Scarlett head, though, to create a missing specialty for a major character.  At the time of her reveal, I mentioned that her coloring wasn't something you saw very often in the Joe line.  And, it is that coloring that really made the figure stand out once I had the entire Skystriker set in hand.

Really, the Skystriker figures are kind of bland.  The colors are dark and muted.  They're not bad figures.  They're just not anything that stands out.  If you mixed them with a lot of vintage figures, you'd miss them at first glance.  Figures like this are a valuable part of a collection.  But, it's nice to get something to spice up the monotony.  And, that's where this Scarlett comes in.  Her flightsuit is in light blue with white accents offset by a dark blue torso.  Usually, when you see an all blue figure, they look too much like a Cobra.  But, this Scarlett doesn't suffer from that.  It might be the distinctiveness of her flight suit.  But, the color scheme is different and visually vibrant.  

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the figure, though.  Scarlett has never been known as a pilot.  Though, she was somewhat retconned into the role based on the Glenda appearance.  But, as the Joes tended to be able to specialize in multiple things, it's fine that Scarlett is now a pilot.  And, it makes sense that she'd wear a high altitude flight suit just like Ace.  Or else she'd run the risk of blacking out and dying at high altitudes.  The bulk of the flightsuit would obscure some of Scarlett's female form.  So, that detail is also something you can accept.  But, I didn't even unbox my Skystriker plane.  And, I'm not going to.  So, this Scarlett is going to somewhat disappear into the storage drawer for 2023 figures.

In some ways, though, that's good.  The reality is that the Skystriker figures were not meant to be opened and used for photos, etc.  The plastic is soft.  But, the paint is even softer.  Ripcord's gear is so soft that you can't put it on him.  Scarlett's glove paint will chip if you put her helmet in her hand.  And, that's a thin accessory.  The painted heads and hands will strip easily.  The paint feels like the soft application that existed on the alternate Asian figures where it was like the paint was never sealed.  Hasbro means for these figures to be carded display pieces.  Which really is unfortunate as Joe figures have always been toys and not carded collectibles like Star Wars figures.  It's especially problematic since these are premium priced figures that are supposed to be of decent quality.

There is one glaring issue with the figure: her hair.  Scarlett is known for her red hair.  It's been her calling card since 1982.  In looking back at the promo mock ups of this figure, though, the hair color has been pretty consistent.  It's just still jarring to see Scarlett with such a brown colored hair.  It should have been a simple fix.  But, it's another odd choice made for this figure.  Sadly, as this is an all new head, no vintage or repaint era Scarlett heads will fit this mold and still allow the helmet to work.  So, painting her is about the only option to get Scarlett in her real hair color.

Scarlett includes two accessories: a helmet and a crossbow.  The helmet is the same as Ace's, just in a different color.  It is, though, extremely difficult to remove once you get it in place.  Dok Sewage has a video with tips to get it off without damaging it.  The second piece is her iconic crossbow.  However, I guess the crossbow isn't that iconic because Hasbro remade the mold without the handle!  So, there is no natural way that Scarlett can hold her classic weapon.  Hasbro has made a prior mistake in a similar vein when the Bazooka with the Cobra Trooper/Officer set was missing the sight.  This handle, though, is more egregious.  It elevates to scandalous, though, because Hasbro has gone the extra mile to pretend this design was intentional.  Hasbro Customer Service even sends out photos of how she can "hold" her weapon.  In one of them, her thumb is stretched out so far that not even the softer plastic used to make the figure looks like it will not last long.

The bottom line is that Hasbro made a mistake.  Instead of bullshitting collectors, they should have owned up to it.  They could have said it was an error, they're sorry, and they will work to ensure that no future releases have similar misses.  But, they didn't.  And, they way they handled it was reminiscent of the early 2000's Hasbro and their step child, the collector's club.  They'd have done a similar take where they didn't make an error and collectors were stupid for trying to point out that they did.  I was hoping that collector themed products would at least lead to a modicum of respect for their customers.  But, Hasbro is what they are.  And, their lack of culpability is completely in character for them.

I do not know how this figure will hold up.  We know that light blue figures from the early 2000's discolor without even being removed from the package or exposed to sunlight.  It would sure suck to find this figure an ugly yellowing, blue color in 15 years.  But, it's definitely possible.  I'm making it a point to get good photographs of all the 2020's figures so it's easier for me to spot discoloration in future decades.  I hope I'll be surprised and Scarlett holds her intended colors as the hues are so nice.  

When this figure was announced, I speculated that she'd be $80+ within a year of her release.  Early indications were that all the Skystriker figures were going to be pricey.  But, a lot of people are underselling these figures right now, especially Scarlett and the Cobra Commander.  So, buy now.  In 2024, despite the fact that the market will be a lot cooler than it is now, the deals on the Skystriker figures will be gone.  And, we'll lament $40 Scarletts the way we lament $4 Funskool Night Vipers today.

2022 SDCC Carded Skystriker Figures

I was really hoping these figures would be released on the old resealable bubble cards that were used for convention figures.  You'll have to tear up the cards to get a set of loose figures, which is what I'm after.  So, that kind of sucks for loose collectors.  

The artwork on the never before carded figures looks pretty weak, though.  It's similar to the fan art inspired stuff we see on Super7 cards.  It's definitely lost the feel of the vintage work.  It's just a bunch of guys (and one girl) standing around.  Meh.  These will definitely look out of place among either vintage carded figures and even the 2022 releases that were based on the standard vintage artwork.

But, these will resell for stupid amounts.  I'm guessing over $300 easy for the Cobra Commander, maybe higher if the vintage market hasn't cratered by the time this is released.  But, man, is his artwork weak.  It's really amazing how much the Ripcord artwork (which is based on the vintage) stands out among the rest of the statues.

The Top 10 - 2021

 2021 has been an interesting year.  We've seen massive amounts of factory customs.  There were a few "retro" items available.  And, most importantly, Hasbro is bringing back some vintage Joe style figures with commemorative releases and the Haslab Skystriker.  2022 has much for Joe collectors to look forward to.  Promises of a variety of products that should hit everyone's collecting niche abound.  

Looking through this year's top 10, it's an eclectic mix.  Numbers 2 and 3 are really surprising.  But, in general, the popularity seems to be all over the place.  The site saw a massive uptick in visitors as both the pandemic raged and the Snake Eyes movie drew close to release.  Even after the movie's disappearance from popular culture, though, the traffic has remained high.  The site got 189,000 page views this year.  That's a substantial increase from years past.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 posts in terms of pageviews that were released in 2020.  I put that caveat on there because the most viewed post on the site in all of 2021 was, once again, the 1984 MANTA.  I don't know why.  But, it more than tripled the number 1 post that was new in 2021.

10. 1986 Claymore 

Claymore is a "rare" figure who's price has far outstripped his value to a collection.  As I got him for Christmas in 1986, though, he's somewhat important to me.  And, his rarity always attracts eyeballs.

9. 2017 Commando 

Red Laser Army figures tend to do well.  Snake Eyes figures tend to do well.  So, combined, they clocked in as the 9th most popular new post on the site this year.

8. 1983 Hawk 

Hawk is kind of a surprise.  I looked at the MMS last year, too.  And, it was one of the worst performing new profiles of the year.  So, to see the Hawk included with the vehicle get so many additional views just goes to show how valuable the inclusion of the drivers really was.

7. 2020 Black Major Bonecrusher 

Bonecrusher was my pick for the best figure of 2020.  I still maintain that it's an excellent design that brings some needed life to the 1985 Snake Eyes mold.  It showing up there is no surprise.

6. 1987 Crystal Ball 

Crystal Ball really shouldn't be among the most viewed profiles of the year.  But, I can also see how he does belong.  Everyone knows him.  And, sometimes, people just can't look away, even at something that's goofy and silly.

5. 2021 Zica Toys Riot Commando 

To be honest, I thought the Riot Commando would have done better.  It's an awesome figure and I got him within days of his 1st release.  But, it seems this figure hasn't really caught on in the vintage Joe world.  I expected lots of photos of him to appear in the months after his release.  That hasn't happened.  And, the Riot Commando seems to be fading into obscurity.  That's an unjust fate for a solid figure with amazing paint applications that's priced right.

4. Chinese Toxo Zombie

This one kind of makes sense.  The Toxo Zombie has become a popular figure.  Obscure carded figures tend to perform well.  And, this is a relatively unknown foreign variant, too.  It all added up to a well read post.

3. 2001 Crossfire

Ugh.  Crossfire sucks.  I despise this figure and have since his release 20 years ago.  Yet, I must not be in tune with the community on this one as here he is, the third most viewed page on the site in 2021.  Controversy gets clicks, I guess.

2. Stargate Lt. Kawalsky 

This one is surprising.  Stargate figures get zero mention in Joe groups.  And, while these figures include Joe accessories, they aren't all that exciting to anyone but variant nerds like myself.  But, I suspect the offbeat nature of the figure and the loose connection to Joe brought in many casual readers.

1. Haslab Skystriker

No surprise that the biggest Joe news of the year lead the site in traffic.  It wasn't a huge advantage, only about 30% more than Lt. Kawalsky.  But, nothing beat out the Skystriker announcement.  The night the Haslab funded was one of the most fun Joe collecting nights in my more than two decades of being a member of the online collecting community.  Here's to another one in 2022.

Thus ends another year of Joe fandom.  We know we're getting o-ring figures in 2022.  We just don't know who and when.  But, it will happen.  And, assuming they aren't impossible to get, you'll probably see them here.  The night of the Skystriker funding was one of the most fun Joe world experiences of the past 20 years.  It's my hope that Hasbro can strike that kind of magic more often.  

As 2022 is the 40th anniversary of the vintage Joe line, I'm going to take a different tact for the first part of the year and profile something each week in chronological order starting with 1982 through, at least 1994.  (I'll see how I feel about touching on post '94 years.)  It will follow my personal chronology with the line, how I grew with the line, abandoned it and then came back.  

I hope you and yours have had a solid 2021 and wish you a better 2022.  We have much to look forward to this year and I will enjoy sharing it with you!

Haslab Skystriker - Funded!

So, on 12/6, the Rancor failed.  Despite a strong last minute surge, it still fell about 500 backers short.  Instantely, this lead to doom and gloom among the Joe groups that the Skystriker was sure to fail, too.  And, at about 85% heading into the final day, it was kind of a possibility.  But, as we neared 12 hours before the funding deadline, the backers suddenly surged.  Over 600 Skystrikers were backed in under an hour.  And, the next hour saw over 400 more.  Slowly, the counter climbed over 98%, over 99%.  And, then, it stopped.  There was a major Amazon Web Services outage on this day.  And, the counter got stuck at 9924.  

But, after a while, it jumped and the Skystriker was fully funded with about 8 hours to go.  From there, the numbers continued to climb.  Historically, about 2/3 of the orders for a Haslab are placed in the final 2 days.  But, the failure of the Rancor and the quick funding of the Ghostbusters Pack put some of that historical context in doubt.  The various Joe forums were full of gloom about the Skystriker's fate.  More collectors than you would think took up a schadenfreude approach and took glee in the impending doom.  But, as the numbers rose, those posts and comments started to disappear.  For a moment some of the toxicity of Joe fandom was beaten back in shared accomplishment that will bring some desired toys to the collecting world.

Now, the Skystriker is happening.  It's the most ambitious Joe toy since at least 2005 and, maybe, since 1993.  It's also a telling milestone.  We know that vintage style Joes are making some kind of a return in 2022 for the 40th Anniversary of the line.  To see a flagship toy get produced by a collector base that's still firmly stuck in the "wait for Ross" mentality gives me hope that a retail Joe line will get a little more of a marketing nudge than it might otherwise have.

Around 3 hours away from the funding mark, the Skystriker passed the Scarlett tier of 13,000 units backed.  This means that pilot Scarlett will be made and it makes this Haslab a better than retail cost proposition.  In the last 90 minutes of the campaign, though, there was a final surge.  And, the Skystriker's final number was 16,784 units backed.  This meant that not only was Scarlett unlocked, but Ripcord, too.  So, the final product will include 7 figures, the plane and the deck vehicles.  Not too bad when you consider what the aftermarket pricing on the figures will be.

In the end, 12/7 was as much fun as February 15th, 2002: the date that the internet exclusive Wave V debuted at online retailers and the entire Joe world was united in their desire to get them and the frustrations as ambiguity set in.  Days like that are rare in the Joe world.  Nearly 20 years between two dates is a lot.  But, for now, there's something to be happy about in regards to Joe.  When those two huge boxes show up at my door sometime in 2023, though, we'll see how the happiness lasts as I try to explain $500 in toy airplanes to my wife.

Haslab Skystriker - Cobra Figures Added

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:

Back of the napkin math if this were a retail item:

Figures:

5 x $15 = $75.

Refueling Vehicles: $25

Shipping: $30

Skystriker and Base: $100

All of those are in line with retail pricing.

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.