G.I. Joe Classified Beamish-Style Weekend Vehicle Poll - #56 - Thunderwing Jet (Valor Vs. Venom)

Most of what I know about Sigma 6 is people that still talk about it fondly and I am more and more finding that I do not understand why.
 
Most of what I know about Sigma 6 is people that still talk about it fondly and I am more and more finding that I do not understand why.
I was perplexed by it at the time. And I remain so.
Like the mainline new sculpt ARAH-style Joes were being released largely at the same time. I get the “for kids” angle, I guess, although if I had been 20 years younger when these came out I would have been pissed they weren’t as “cool” as the 3 3/4 figures: they would have read “baby toys” to 6 year old me. The ones that caught my eye in the toy aisle (as I walked by to find the other Joe line) were the ones that looked the most like classic Joes, but then those same characters were readily available in JoeVCobra, Spy Troops, etc.

Absolutely no shade nor offense intended to those who dug them at the time, but they seemed just so not-Joe to me, and also an obvious self-defense swerve to avoid looking as much like “war toys” in the age of the Bush Doctrine (which: fair, fuck Bush and his phony wars, but it didn’t make for a compelling storyline in Joe). I didn’t even know there was a kid and a robot dog . . . if I had I would have been a LOT more negative at the time. As it was, I just skipped them. It’s pretty telling that it is literally the only Joe line I have never bought a single thing from, not even a Snake-Eyes.
 
I've only watched a few minutes of the show. It wasn't for me. The toys though were a different story. I'm pretty sure they were the only game in town at the time. I grew to like the aesthetic. They were a then modern take on accessorizing your soldiers (like original G.I. Joe) with characters I knew from ARAH. I am elated that we're now in Classifiedland, but I won't say I didn't enjoy my time in the cove of "this was clearly named an exec that just got his Six Sigma cert."
 
Absolutely no shade nor offense intended to those who dug them at the time

100% this, just for the record. I'm shitting all over these figures because I really do strongly dislike them, but that isn't a judgement on people that DO like them. I use subjective language to talk about the figures being bad, but what I mean by that is bad -to me-.
 
I think the appeal for me was that they weren't typical Joe designs and they took a chance on something totally different. I didn't collect the 3 3/4 lines, but I always saw that as the "main" line, and these as a hybrid experiment of the classic 12" line with the "character-ness" of the ARAH line, with a dose of what was hot at the time for kids toys. They where very Toyetic and where just fun to mess around with. As the line went on, it became less "Sci-Fi Sigma" and it own little homage to various figures of the past.

Grand Slam
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Shipwreck
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Iron Grenadier
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Goofy accessories aside, I think this was my favorite Cobra of the entire line.
 
All of those look like fun and cool designs . . . if they were translated away from the stylization.
I know, I know: the stylization is the point. But it just doesn’t ding the bell for me.
 
Ahhhh dammit I don’t think I could say no to a bike that turns into a hovercraft. It’s the MASK kid in me.
 
These look like the “Snake-Eyes” movie cycles. They’re okay for urban locals but the design isn’t good for rural terrain. It’s not that the bike is bad, it’s just not practical for an uneven terrain. I don’t really need the transforming feature. A probable pass as a Joe vehicle. It might me something I could incorporate into the Marvel Legends line.
 
It’s not that the bike is bad, it’s just not practical for an uneven terrain.
DUH, THaTs WHy iT HoVerS!!

Just joshin, it does very much satisfy the M.A.S.K itch. I think a slight tweak to it and it can be pretty groovy. I had both the snake eyes and Storm Shadow version.
 
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