2024 BAT - Super7 ReAction+

About a year ago, Super7 attempted a crowd funding for an ambitious Cobra Mothership.  The campaign included a set of figures that, instead of the standard Super7 five points of articulation, would feature the classic o-ring construction of Hasbro G.I. Joes.  These figures proved more popular than the ship.  At some point during this process, it was announced that Super7 would be creating a full line of classically styled G.I. Joe figures.  This was somewhat remarkable: for Hasbro to abandon on in-house brand.  But, o-ring Joes had been a monumental failure for Hasbro.  (So much so that the stock is still lingering over 2 years later.)  And, Super7 had found success with  their ReAction branded Joe figures.  Hasbro wanted to, rightfully, put all their resources behind the Joe Classified brand.  So, licensing out the 3 3/4 license to a partner who was both willing and competent was a natural match.  In the summer of 2024, the first photos of the newly branded ReAction+ line surfaced.  They were met with cautious excitement.  As more images surfaced, the sentiment remained about the same.  People were excited for the figures.  But, at the same time, there were some doubts as to the final product.  Now, though, the figures are in hand.  And, the verdict on the figures remains, largely, the same.

Initial retail reports of the ReAction+ figures have suggested that Snake Eyes is the most popular.  Among collectors, the Snake Eyes was the least regarded figure.  We all have dozens of high quality Snake Eyes figures already.  Collectors were interested in Cover Girl and this BAT.  But, the BAT seems to be one of the most easily found figures.  This suggests that many of the retail buyers of these figures are casual fans who find interest in the major characters.  This is good since it will  leave the more obscure, collector oriented figures as something you can find at retail and, maybe, even army build.  And, it will sell out the less interesting figures of major characters that we all own in excess.

The presentation of the Super7 figures is geared towards collectors.  Unlike vintage figures that were meant to show off the toy, these modern releases are meant to be kept carded.  The layout of the figure and accessories are all geared for in package display on a shelf or in a case.  The figures are locked in place by a molded plastic tray to that the figure will still look great 100 years from now, long after the o-ring has dried up.  So, that's a nice feature for carded collectors and an added expense for loose collectors.

Accessory wise, the BAT is excellent.  You get two removable hands: one left and one right.  Then, there's the backpack that holds the additional three classic BAT attachments: the claw, laser and flame thrower.  The attachments are all new and feature updated detailing from their vintage inspiration.  The BAT includes one final piece: an oversized rifle.  As a Joe accessory, it isn't great.  But, when you look at the comic panels on which this figure is based, the rifle is a pretty nice match.  It's certainly better than the Hasbro accessories from the repaint era Comic Packs.  The Super7 weapons have been the weak point on the figures, so far.  It will be interesting to see how these evolve over time.  But, the gear has a precision fit to the figure in a way we haven't seen since about 1992.  So, that is a nice feature of these figures, so far.

I am also impressed with the quality of the figure.  The paint masks are sharp.  But, the real surprise was the joints.  All my ReAction figures had relatively stiff joints and would creak when you moved them.  Out of the package, this BAT has no such flaws.  The joints move freely with no sticking or catching.  But, they are also very tight and the figure can hold a variety of poses.  The removable attachments fit onto the pegs even better than those from the 1986 BAT do.  And, the figure could hold his accessories.  I could never get the ReAction figures to do that without fear of stripping paint or plastic off the weapon handle.  In short, they are very nice.  It's different plastic than vintage Joes and it's not the rubbery stuff that's rotting away from the 2000's.

So, my thoughts on the figure.  Since the beginning, I've felt something looked "off" about all the Super7 designs.  The most glaring design feature that drove this is the figure's heads.  The more cartoon inspired heads look very out of place on ARAH bodies.  And, the human heads, in particular are egregiously out of proportion to the older style body pieces.  But, even the masked and helmeted heads are a bit too detailed for the bodies.  The other thing that was noticeable is that the figures are smooth.  ARAH figures have just the right blend of folds, creases and pockets to give the legs and torsos some heft.  They are more realistic looks of how clothes hang on a human body.  The Super7 figures remain overly straight, though.  And, this gives them a bit of a knock off feel.  Remco and even Lanard skimped on sculpting and design elements like the detailed fit of clothing.  Super7 went the same route and it makes the figures stand out from vintage Joes and appear more in line with the cheap imitators who dominated the discount stores of the '80's.  

The last thing, though, was not something I really recognized until I got the figures in hand.  This BAT features a ton of sculpted details on his chest and legs.  But, they are all flat to the figure's body.  There's barely any elevation at all from the base sculpt.  In the vintage Joe line, the sculpted details protruded quite a bit from the body.  Pouches, holsters, knifes and even superfluous details like zippers extend out from the pants, chest and arms in realistic proportions.  When looking at this BAT, his sculpted details are flush with his body.  This accentuates the smoothness issue because you don't have the visual break of extended details.  It also takes away some of the realism of the figure.  Things seem out of proportion because they don't have the necessary width.  It's not a design choice that, alone, makes the figures bad.  But, it contributes to these figures being very different from Hasbro figures and, to me, makes them more Joe-adjacent than actual Joes.

Where the ReAction Joe line succeeded was mining the depths of the Joe cartoon for obscure characters and offbeat paint jobs.  It was the most diverse Joe line released since the vintage days.  So far, the ReAction+ line seems to be following that formula.  Cover Girl, Tomax and Xamot are all cartoon icons.  Supposedly, this BAT was from the comic.  Upon first glance, I would have guessed it a cartoon paint job.  But, the this is the BAT coloring from its first appearance in G.I. Joe #44.  So, technically, it's a comic figure.  (I'm going to have to write about G.I. Joe #44 at some point because it's been mined so deep for figures that have actually seen release even though some of the best ideas from the issue have yet to be considered.)  If Super7 continues a mix of comic and cartoon figures, they'll do well.  And, to be sure, I'm invested in the line if only for the possibility of both a Dr. Venom and a proper Kwinn figure in both his cold weather gear and the khaki shorts.  I assume we'll get at least one of these in the line: along with a multitude of other figures that will exist in no other form.

ReAction+ figures are $20.  That's a lot for what you get.  But, it's a boutique line with low production numbers.  So, you're going to pay for that.  Historically, the first wave of figures of a new line is overproduced and, eventually, ends up on clearance.  This isn't an indicator of success or failure, it's just the nature of an exuberant launch.  So, I fully expect you'll be able to get this BAT for a discount at some point in the next few months, especially as future waves roll  out.  Like the ReAction Joe line, these o-ring figures are available at all online retailers as well as Target's brick and mortar stores.  It's nice to be able to buy a figure on the pegs.  And, were it not for this retail presence, I would not ever have purchased one of these figures.  Target was pretty committed to the ReAction line.  So, I hope that partnership will not only continue, but also bring us weird foreign repaints that are exclusive to the retailer.

I have no real prognosis on the future collectability of these figures.  I never thought the Toys R Us repaint figures would be anything more than late line oddities.  But, now, some of them command substantial premiums.  And, it's pretty likely that these Super7 figures will have similar or lower production runs.  So, in time, they'll disappear.  It's just a question of whether collectors disappear at a faster rate.  If they do, it won't matter.  But, if they don't, there might be some future interest in these figures.  For me, my interest in these will be as a supplement to my collection.  I'm not going all in on them as they still aren't a close enough integration with classic Joes for me to do so.  But, you can be sure I'll pick up some characters who appear in unique paint jobs or have never been otherwise released in ARAH Joe form.  

Super7 O-Ring Figures

So, we finally get to see the Super7 take on o-ring G.I. Joe figures.  They are...pretty much as expected.  Basically, they are ReAction figures with vintage Joe articulation.  They feature the same heads, smooth sculpts and trademark hand design as the 5 points of articulation figures.  So, they will stand  out among vintage Joe figures.  But, they are also somewhat close and will work with vintage figures.

My thoughts:

1. The heads are too large and detailed for the vintage style bodies.  They will definitely not look like vintage figures.  
2. I'm not a fan of the hands.  But, the main reason is that the gear is much less likely to be compatible with vintage Joes.
3. The bodies are just too smooth.  They lack details that the vintage Hasbro team used to give the figures depth.  The smooth bodies look like knock off figures from the '80's.  (The smooth upper arms are especially egregious.)
4. The waists are too big and blocky.  This is a feature that also plagues many kickstarter figure lines.  
5. The crotch is short and stocky.  It's straight off of a K-Mart Remco figure.  It's hugely noticeable among vintage Joes.
6. The accessories don't look great.  The cartoon inspired designs are OK.  But, the guns included with the BAT and Snake Eyes look like Chap Mei type weapons that are overly large and embellished.

So, I'm left with an existential question: am I an o-ring figure collector or am I a vintage style Joe collector?  Because, I don't see these figures as being an extension of the vintage Joe line.  Really, the entire success of this line will likely hinge upon the paint masks.  If they offset the cheapness of the sculpting, these figures will be really nice.  But, even skimping on one or two masks will leave the figures looking more like knock-off Joes instead of an upgrade over Hasbro's work.

I'll  definitely use them to supplement my vintage collection.  Especially if they make missing figures like Dr. Venom or the Khaki shorts Kwinn.  Figures like Snake Eyes and Cobra Commander seem unnecessary since I have plenty of them that are already compatible with my collection.  The Twins (a surprise announcement!) and Cover Girl fall into the middle tier.  For the right price, I'll get them.  But, $50 or more for the Twins is a no.  Though, $35 might be doable.  

We're seeing Hasbro and other toy makers dropping prices and also pushing discount lines at brick and mortar retailers.  But, collector lines haven't felt the full pinch...yet.  So, it will be interesting to see where the price point on these ends up.  They were going to be expensive.  But, the market may not support that, now.  So, we'll see where they end up upon release.  I'll be hard pressed to pay $25 plus shipping for these figures.  $20 at my local Target seems like a lot for all but the best figures.  $12 seems great.  But, that's just not going to happen.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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 Super7 Tiger Force Shipwreck

Yeah, it's that time again.  We're going to look at a Super7 figure.  Once again, the figure in question is a Target exclusive.  Instead of a flavor of Stormshadow, though, this time around the figure is the Tiger Force Shipwreck.  Super7 is releasing a wave of Python Patrol and Tiger Force figures.  Among them are some first time members of each team.  And, the designs of each figure are very strong and interesting.  Shipwreck's appearance can be attributed to both the endearing legacy of the Shipwreck character from the cartoon and the figure's appearance in the Brazilian version of Tiger Force.  That figure was a new character named Marujo.  But, it gives vintage legacy of Shipwreck's appearance in this now collector favored subset.

You'll notice no loose pics of this figure in the write up.  Once I had the figure in hand, I had a bit of buyer's remorse.  I also had a bit of a collectorism bite me, too.  See, the card I found was in really nice condition and was unpunched.  It's the type of thing I normally don't care about.  But, since this loose figure isn't something that's all that important to me (he'd get photographed once and disappear into a box), opening him isn't a priority.  I do like to have a clean carded figure added to my collection from time to time.  And, this seemed like the prime chance to do it.  But, the remorse was that I paid full price for this figure and that money could be spent elsewhere.  And, while I really like the yellow rope and grappling hook and would likely use it with my vintage Joes, the Shipwreck's lack of the cool double barrelled pistol that appears on the card artwork limits my interest in an open toy.  I'm not sure why the pistol was omitted.  But, it was probably a cost savings measure on a figure that has a lower production run since it's exclusive.  But, leaving the figure carded means I can return it next week if I decide that $20 was just too much for this type of collectible.

Tiger Force Shipwreck makes more sense than something like Tiger Force Frostbite or Blizzard.  At sea, the crazy yellow is less of an issue.  And, Shipwreck's iconic appearance isn't something that really lends itself to repaints.  So, getting one in a subset makes as much sense as any other release.  (And, he's a great fit for the Tiger Force Hovercraft.) On display, the Super7 figures look great.  And, a full lineup of Tiger Force will always look good.  And, this figure for $20 is far better than $200 for a real Marujo.

As a figure, this Shipwreck checks the Super7 boxes.  The paint applications are tight.  The quality looks good.  And, the card artwork is fairly poor.  I'd have preferred a Marujo card art homage.  But, that would have probably cost too much and put the figure over budget.  I'm a sucker for grappling hook and rope accessories.  But, the lack of a weapon is a big mark against this figure.  The real Marujo features long sleeves, though.  It's a slight difference.  But, again, this figure had to be a straight Shipwreck repaint to keep the costs in line.  New arms would have been too much.  And, not too many newer collectors have enough familiarity with Marujo to really argue about the appearance difference.

In recent years, it's become a bit of a subversive theme in the community that the Classified collectors (and, therefore, the bulk of the retail buying adults) are not really Joe collectors, per se.  But, instead, scale collectors who flock to Classified due to a slight connection to a childhood memory.  But, moreso, due to the fact that the Classified figures are among the best 6" figures on the market today.  This has finally become confirmed in recent months.  Many posters in large online forums are flummoxed by figures like the Funskool Snake Eyes and this Tiger Force Shipwreck homage.  But, the real event that confirmed it was the announcement of Glenda as part of the Dragonfly Haslab.  Despite the fact that Glenda is one of the most famous international exclusives and has been a key collector piece since the 1990's, you saw far too many posts from people who didn't know who she was.  It's one thing to not know all aspects of foreign Joe ephemera.  But, figures like Glenda and Marujo have been very common and available for two and a half decades.  Casual collectors have at least cursory knowledge of them.  And, to see the vitriol aimed as Glenda shows that the new breed of Classified collector is even more different from the traditional Joe collector than many of us thought.  

All of the Target exclusive Super7 figures have gone to clearance around the country.  Most of them finally sell out around $5.50 or so.  So, it's entirely possible that this figure will be clearance fodder in a few months when the next Target exclusive figure is ready to ship.  Target clearance items don't appear at every store.  And, it's rare that they stick around for more than a week or two since Target tends to cut deeply just to get rid of the stock.  But,I leave it to you to use your own judgement as to when or if you acquire this figure.  

The one takeaway I have though, is that Super7 collectors get Tiger Force Shipwreck and an awesomely unique Python Patrol Cobra Commander while Hasbro gives o-ring collectors a craptastic Zarana with black elbows and a Zartan who got kicked out of Kiss.  It's such night and day in how each company views the older collector base.  I just wish Hasbro would get over itself and give the o-ring license to Super7.  Sure, the figs would be $20.  But, I'd feel that their $20 designs would be well worth the money while Hasbro's feel like $3 figs from the asshole early 2000's Hasbro Joe team that are repackaged at a 600% markup.

2022 Super7 Ninja Ku

Lots of energy has been spent on the Super7 G.I. Joe figures.  You still see the stale takes about them on various forums.  A few key points.  Hasbro is neither making nor not making 3 3/4" figures because of the Super7 figures.  Super7 fills a completely different niche in the collecting market than Hasbro.  These figures are designed for a specific type of collector.  So, things like articulation doesn't matter.  When I was a kid, I'd have loved a single figure type that encompassed multiple licensees.  Instead, figures from different IP's were not compatible and I ended up gravitating to the single property that offered the most diversity in play, which was G.I. Joe.  Super7 solves this by covering many different properties and putting them into a single, unified format that is based on the most popular standard of vintage toy: Kenner Star Wars figures.

I've seen Super7 figures described as not quite action figures but also not quite art pieces.  And, that's an apt description.  The sculpting is well done.  The paint masks are tight.  And, the plastic quality is far superior to Hasbro's current materials.  I have no concerns about the figure falling apart or breaking.  Sitting up on a shelf, the figure looks great.  It's meant as a display piece.  But, it doesn't come with the massive price tag of busts or statues.  They are a cheaper alternative for people who want to display pop culture characters but not spend too much and have a bunch of items that really don't look like they belong together.

Interestingly, Target has carried the carded waves of Super7 figures in the US.  So, both casual collectors and even just toy buyers can come across them at a retail store.  To make the figures enticing, though, Target case assortments include 1 homage figure to an obscure foreign release.  The first was Funskool Snake Eyes.  And, his appearance just showed how little the casual Joe collectors who joined in the pandemic actually care to know about the line's history.  Many derided it as "neon".  And, when it was pointed out to them that it was a vintage design from India, you got no further response.  That figure was followed up with Satan and, finally, this Ninja Ku.  The upside is that the figures are simple repaints of existing molds.  So, they aren't expensive.  But, they offer just something a little extra and make the overall Super7 offerings more diverse.

It's been about 18 months since Super7 announced the launch of their line and showcased photos of the first wave.  While that seems like a lifetime ago, the reality is that they've accomplished an amazing amount in a short period of time.  Since the launch, we've seen 4 basic waves of figures.  In addition, there are supplemental waves of army builder variants as well as some other, special, offerings.  From the beginning, Super7 has made it a point to include some things that are not available in any of the o-ring lines.  (Some of them might exist in Anniversary sculpts, but not all.)  Their focus has also been heavily cartoon centric.  This is a welcome update from the club dominated era of Marvel comic or bust.  And, it better represents fandom as it's always been an, at best, 50-50 split between comic and cartoon fans.  Comic fans just tended to be older and then quickly set up gatekeeping mechanisms to prevent the cartoon fans from getting too loud a voice.  (And, it was this way even in the beginning when Zartan's Domain was the most popular Joe website online and the club went so far as to fake Hasbro legal documents to attempt to discredit it.  Funny how that's been forgotten in the past two plus decades....)

But, in the first four waves, Super7 has offered: a cartoon Baroness, Kwinn in full Eskimo regalia, sailor army builders for the USS Flagg, Bazooka in a parka, Shock Troopers and GameMaster figures from the cartoon, a javelin wielding Lady Jaye, a Cobra blue V1 Cobra Commander with helmet (the fact Hasbro can't make this figure is just embarrassing), Cobra Factory Workers, female engineering troops, a proper Cover Girl with blonde hair, Cobra Paratroopers from the cartoon's opening sequence along with greenshirts in multiple flavors and female Cobra Troopers.  Just for fun, they've tossed in a sled with figure from the cartoon, some glow in the dark releases, tons of cartoon specific repaints of major characters, a couple of fun cartoon meme classics and Satan, Funskool Snake Eyes and this Ninja Ku.  Really, what they've done reads like a wish list from every fan who was online in the early 2000's: when things like this still seemed possible from Hasbro.  

Truth be told, I don't want Hasbro to be this prolific since just keeping up with one of everything would cost thousands.  But, Super7 seems to have found a way to keep new product coming out and providing fans with characters, paint jobs and oddball surprises that they like.  Sure, you see pictures from Toys R Us Canada with a whole wall of these figures just hanging there.  But, they seem to move well enough at my local Target store.  The fact that Hasbro has only released 6 carded figures in slightly less time makes you realize that the o-rings obscurity is a function of Hasbro's disinterest.  Especially when the figures Hasbro has made could be turned to simple, but highly desired, repaints with minimal effort.  I'd love a proper Hasbro Satan and Ninja Ku.  Cobra Troopers and Officers could get multiple color schemes that would be fun.  And, the fact that we don't have a proper dark blue Cobra Commander after 40 years just makes it seem that Hasbro simply doesn't care.

From what I've read, Super7's success rate with new characters and paint jobs is heavily a function of one of their high level executives being a legit G.I. Joe fan.  So, he's making the things he wanted when he was a kid.  Hasbro has lacked that brand insight since the vintage days.  They had a guy who was a 12" collector.  But, that's the closest we've seen.  Even the Classified team seems to have no personal connection to G.I. Joe as a plaything.  And, that's why we don't see fun and innovative stuff from them.  (And, the few times they do create relationships with collectors, they pick the same types of people: one dimensional collectors whose view of the line is stuck in 1984.)  So, you can bag on Super7's 5 POA model.  But, you can't attack them for the way they've approached the line.  Had Hasbro chosen the same figures and paint jobs from Super7's first four waves for the ARAHC back in 2000, the collecting community would be very different.  But, they didn't.  And, we're in a place now where crumbs are the best we can expect.

I only paid $5.49 for this figure as it was on clearance.  The Target exclusives have a different DCPI and were clearanced while the remainder of the figures stayed at the standard retail price of $17.99.  You see the $8.99 on the price tag.  And, I was fine with paying that price.  At $9, I'd probably buy a few of these figures.  With the quality and the gear, that price would be in line with the Spinmaster Batman and other DC figures.  The super heroes, though, have more articulation and include some low quality accessories and cloth capes.  At the $9 price point, I find the value between the two figure types to be equal.  The Star Wars Retro figures have risen from $10 to $12.  But, those have massive production runs, the Star Wars licensing fees and a gargantuan collector base.  But, $20 seems to be the current sweet spot for collector pricing.  We seem to pay it...for now.  We'll see what 2023 holds.

Ninja Ku includes quite a few accessories.  His complement is based on the 1984 Stormshadow contingent.  He has two swords, nunchucks a bow and wears a backpack.  The pack is hollow so you can store some of his gear in there.  I hang the nunchuks over the pack so there's room for the bow.  I have trouble getting the gear into his hands as they are somewhat stiff.  But, this is a me problem and hasn't been an issue for others.  

I really don't have a long term prognosis for the value of this figure.  I'm not familiar enough with Super7's other products to know if they tend to appreciate with time.  I'm sure some of the more popular licenses may have gotten more expensive.  But, I don't know how the G.I. Joe figures will age.  The first wave has been heavily clearanced at many retailers.  And, you can find later figures with some discounts.  But, there are a lot of characters in the line that can't be acquired in any other way.  So, those are the ones that will probably be the most desirable in the future.  

For me, these figures are interesting.  They are not something I wanted.  And, at their price tag, not something I'm likely to get into moreso than a figure or two that I can get cheap.  If these were in the $8 range, though, it's likely that I'd have many more of them, maybe even a full set.  But, that's not the model that's being sold.  Instead, these figures are a great way for collectors to scratch the itch on characters or color schemes that Hasbro will simply never do.  And, as a supplement to a collection, these figures aren't bad.  We pay more than $20 for a new o-ring figure and have to have it shipped to our homes.  So, being able to get some of these for that price is less out of whack for the market that I like to realize.  But, I do recommend that collectors try one of these, at least on a figure that you'll never otherwise see in production.  They're not vintage Joes.  They aren't meant to be.  But, they are a way to fill some holes in your collection and get some figures that will otherwise never exist.