G.I. Joe Classified Series

Maybe unpopular opinion, but I legitimately do not give a shit about anyone that wants the HasLab figures to be special, one-time-only versions. Like, not a single shit. People that got the HasLabs got a super cool vehicle and Mattel threw in a bunch of figures for, at worst, cost. Or free. Or however you want to look at it. If other people can get those figures later on as literally full-priced figures, and that gets your panties twisted, you can fuck off.
 
The vests are always a bit tough. I ended up buying an extra Flint to remove his since they hadn't revealed the retro version yet. (Funny aside: I was messing with the first version of Beachhead last night and his vest... shrunk? Like around the backpack hole. It is withered and dried out and not useable anymore. If I could get a duplicate at a reasonable price I might cut the messed up vest off and see what he looks like underneath--actually, a quick eBay search turns up someone of course already did that and if you don't want the box he's still getable around retail price, which considering how effing hard he was to find is kind of hilarious.)

@Damien I do wonder if it's "we'll piss off buyers" or instead "our customers are smart enough to know if we reliably re-release Haslab figures, they won't spend hundreds of dollars up front for the incentive of exclusive figures." It's a proven motivator to get folks to shell out money up front, so I could see there being some unspoken rule about it.

Personally, as someone who's backed a bunch of stuff? I don't care if they re-release them, I'd PREFER they do, but I'm not buying for value, If I buy something I'm keeping it til I'm dead or like, have end of life medical bills to pay, regardless of how "exclusive" it is. Same goes with SDCC exclusives, too. I was just talking with a friend about the Hellfire Club set and I mean... I have one, it's one of my favorite sets, it was my Marvel White Whale buy, and I'm mad they DIDN'T re-release those figures since then. It sucks for collectors as a whole to have false scarcity. I mean, I'd be lying if the figures don't usually push me over the edge, but I'm not gonna be mad if they put out Wild Weasel on a retro card at Christmas. More power to 'em. Hell I might buy him twice so I can tinker with his load out.
 
altcunningham said:
It's truly what I want to do. There was a sprinkler hitting the sidewalk the other day and people were avoiding it even with the heatwave, and I just danced right on through. I don't care. It felt so good. I could just feel my inner child.

You're right. I'm going to keep it and I want to swoosh that thing.

I'm also glad that the Baroness vest comes off. I don't think Glenda's does, and it was a concern of mine.
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There you go!
 
PantherCult said:
So much, this. I love swapping parts and changing gear to make new configurations and it sucks to have to cut through straps to remove gear.
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Or like the 4 inch guys in the 2000s, very easily removed and swapped.

I have gotten away with not cutting any vests yet, just popping arms off and pulling them off. It's definitely a pain but worth it to me.
 
Ru1977 said:
Or like the 4 inch guys in the 2000s, very easily removed and swapped.

I have gotten away with not cutting any vests yet, just popping arms off and pulling them off. It's definitely a pain but worth it to me.
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How do you do that? Hot water for a few minutes and that's it? Are the arms easy to pop back on?
 
Hi-Fi said:
How do you do that? Hot water for a few minutes and that's it? Are the arms easy to pop back on?
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The way I usually do is microwave a mug of water for a minute or two, then put the part in there for 10-20 seconds, and kinda wiggle it a bit. Then I will try to wedge a screwdriver between the shoulder ball and the inner shouder part to really gently pry it out but keep the inner shoulder part (I'm sure you guys know the term for it, I'm sorry I haven't learned it) still in there. The vests come off easier if they're a little soft as well.
To get the arms back in, I find it works better if the arm is solid but the shoulder is softened with heat, they usually pop right in well.
 
Ru1977 said:
The way I usually do is microwave a mug of water for a minute or two, then put the part in there for 10-20 seconds, and kinda wiggle it a bit. Then I will try to wedge a screwdriver between the shoulder ball and the inner shouder part to really gently pry it out but keep the inner shoulder part (I'm sure you guys know the term for it, I'm sorry I haven't learned it) still in there. The vests come off easier if they're a little soft as well.
To get the arms back in, I find it works better if the arm is solid but the shoulder is softened with heat, they usually pop right in well.
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Thanks!

Looks like I'm breaking my Airborne and my Falcon tonight (I refuse to risk Clutch).
 
The two contradictory things is take your time and don't force anything too much, yet you also have to do just enough force to get the peg out.
 
I've done it a bunch, too, like I just took Darklon's arm out today doing that same thing. Near-boiling water in a coffee mug, soak for 15-20 seconds, pull it out, shake loose some water so you don't burn, then grip by the shoulder ball and just pull it out. Should pop right out. If it doesn't, the water might not be hot enough, or maybe you didn't soak long enough. The worst thing you can do is pull too late or for too long, that will just stretch the mushroom peg. You might want to try on figures you don't care about. Oh, you said Falcon, yep go for it. 😂
 
vicious said:
I've done it a bunch, too, like I just took Darklon's arm out today doing that same thing. Near-boiling water in a coffee mug, soak for 15-20 seconds, pull it out, shake loose some water so you don't burn, then grip by the shoulder ball and just pull it out. Should pop right out. If it doesn't, the water might not be hot enough, or maybe you didn't soak long enough. The worst thing you can do is pull too late or for too long, that will just stretch the mushroom peg. You might want to try on figures you don't care about. Oh, you said Falcon, yep go for it. 😂
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I mean, I love Airborne and I actually like 2-pack Falcon. Maybe I should try with Grunt first.
 
Damien said:
Maybe unpopular opinion, but I legitimately do not give a shit about anyone that wants the HasLab figures to be special, one-time-only versions. Like, not a single shit. People that got the HasLabs got a super cool vehicle and Mattel threw in a bunch of figures for, at worst, cost. Or free. Or however you want to look at it. If other people can get those figures later on as literally full-priced figures, and that gets your panties twisted, you can fuck off.
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I feel this way too. Wild Bill, Wild Weasel, and HISS Driver should get regular releases in the line. Especially Wild Bill. They could just easily change the color of his holster, hat, or scarf to make the Haslab unique. But honestly, I'm fine with them just re-releasing him as is. I backed the Dragonfly Haslab for the Dragonfly. The other bonus figures can remain locked behind the Haslabs, but the main driver/pilot characters should see mainline releases. Some people worry about potential dips in Haslab backers if this happens in the future...bah. Hasbro would also be generating revenue from the sales of the pilot/driver figures in their mainline. The Haslab versions would ship first with mainline versions happening 1-2 years out which be fine, just to give backers a limited first-time experience with figures. Too many people are wrapped up in aftermarket value of their figures. Let more people enjoy the items.
 
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Hi-Fi said:
I mean, I love Airborne and I actually like 2-pack Falcon. Maybe I should try with Grunt first.
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Same, I like all three of those. Airborne looks great in the Dragonfly. I was joking about regular Falcon, I like 2-pack Falcon a lot more since he's on my favorite Outback buck. I even repainted the arms on one for a quick and dirty NF Outback custom.

And regarding re-releases, I agree that they should just re-release anything that has enough demand. If you have to, change something small, I think that's a lot of fun. Obsessive collectors will double dip. New Wild Bill has a green hat, for example. Small changes can be a huge price difference. I remember watching a video about an old star wars droid toy that had like, orange paint instead of white on one little panel, making it exponentially more valuable.
 
I was poo-pooing Frag Viper a couple of pages back and I saw him in person today at Target. Yeah....they did a really good job on this guy. If you think you know where this is going.............I DIDN'T buy him, BUT, I'm going to pull my vintage Frag Viper out of storage where he has lived basically since my early 20s when the first thing I did with my own income was buy just about every vintage Joe before their prices started going wild. I'm going to revisit Frag Viper. Maybe I can change my mind about him.
 
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