G.I. Joe Classified Series

So... two things; I'm fuck-ass-terrible at remembering when things came out ("Did I own this for a month, or 10 months?") and I also don't really buy that many figures from any single line.

I think the following figures I own came out this year: cartoon Breaker, V4 Snake Eyes, Budo, Armoured CC, Retro Viper. Is that right? Major Bludd is a great figure, but he's just a re-issue so I don't think he counts for me.

With that list in mind, I actually think the Retro Viper is the all around best figure of the year. The bright colors. The tons of hand options. The vastly improved ROM. I kind of feel like the Retro Viper is what a Classified figure should aspire to be.

My -favorite- figure of the year is probably Budo because he's a great combination of being a VERY well-made figure and one of my favorite vintage figures ever. But I'm probably also a lot more critical of him for that latter reason. That being said, I don't own Desert Scorpion yet, and I'm 99% sure that he'll end up being my favorite Classified of the year.


I'd definitely agree 2025 has been the best year for Classified in two senses; the first being that they're hitting on more characters and designs that I personally have a lot of nostalgia for. The other being that the current incarnation of Classified has really found its feet with part choices (mostly), extra gear, colors, ROM, etc. 2025 definitely represents Classified figuring out what worked and what didn't work from previous years and putting that fully into practice, with the occasional exceptions.
 
Damien said:
So... two things; I'm fuck-ass-terrible at remembering when things came out ("Did I own this for a month, or 10 months?") and I also don't really buy that many figures from any single line.
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I'm the same way. I had to look at my spreadsheet to remember what came out this year, especially since I also pick up older figures here and there still.
Damien said:
I think the following figures I own came out this year: cartoon Breaker, V4 Snake Eyes, Budo, Armoured CC, Retro Viper. Is that right?
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Yes.
Damien said:
Major Bludd is a great figure, but he's just a re-issue so I don't think he counts for me.
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Totally fair.
Damien said:
With that list in mind, I actually think the Retro Viper is the all around best figure of the year. The bright colors. The tons of hand options. The vastly improved ROM. I kind of feel like the Retro Viper is what a Classified figure should aspire to be.
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I alllllllllllmost went with him. Not that it takes anything away from the scoring, but the one I got has two right arm biceps. Meaning, if I don't want him standing there with his left arm turned the wrong way, then the bicep pouch is in his armpit, heh.
Damien said:
My -favorite- figure of the year is probably Budo because he's a great combination of being a VERY well-made figure and one of my favorite vintage figures ever. But I'm probably also a lot more critical of him for that latter reason. That being said, I don't own Desert Scorpion yet, and I'm 99% sure that he'll end up being my favorite Classified of the year.
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I do own Desert Scorpion, but not Budo yet, and I definitely like Desert Scorpion. He's a great accessory to the giant Scorpion. I really like his unmasked face and wish I could put that on someone else because I had to go with the masked face, even though I'm not a huge fan of how it came out. I don't know how I'd improve it, but maybe it's too close to Biker Scouts that it bothers me? but fantastic figure, and maybe my #1 will be Budo when I finally get him.
Damien said:
I'd definitely agree 2025 has been the best year for Classified in two senses; the first being that they're hitting on more characters and designs that I personally have a lot of nostalgia for. The other being that the current incarnation of Classified has really found its feet with part choices (mostly), extra gear, colors, ROM, etc. 2025 definitely represents Classified figuring out what worked and what didn't work from previous years and putting that fully into practice, with the occasional exceptions.
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Completely agree. Way more hits than misses and has me even more excited for what's to come. And right now, it's all gravy for me since I don't have too many characters/figures left for my "they absolutely NEED to get this figure out before the line ends" list.
 
IMG-2670.jpg


Picked up Law and Order on clearance today. I knew I recognized that dog from somewhere.
 
Ru1977 said:
I alllllllllllmost went with him. Not that it takes anything away from the scoring, but the one I got has two right arm biceps. Meaning, if I don't want him standing there with his left arm turned the wrong way, then the bicep pouch is in his armpit, heh.
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That figure would go in the trash in my house, or into the custom fodder bin. It would drive me absolutely insane. I have two retro Vipers and they're awesome. I really love them even though I'm not even much of a 'regular Viper' kind of guy. He's one of three figures I own multiples of in this line (two retro Vipers, two Night Creepers, three Snow Serpents).


Ru1977 said:
I do own Desert Scorpion, but not Budo yet, and I definitely like Desert Scorpion. He's a great accessory to the giant Scorpion. I really like his unmasked face and wish I could put that on someone else because I had to go with the masked face, even though I'm not a huge fan of how it came out. I don't know how I'd improve it, but maybe it's too close to Biker Scouts that it bothers me? but fantastic figure, and maybe my #1 will be Budo when I finally get him.
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Based purely on pictures/reviews, the only way I could personally see making Desert Scorpion better is to revert to the classic ARAH colors and get rid of that very modern-looking gold or whatever that they put on him. I honestly don't love that. But I feel like I'm also always coming off as 'just 1:1 remake the ARAH figures because they area always better.' Which isn't... necessarily... how I feel. But definitely when it comes to my favorites that I have a strong nostalgia for, I'm going to tend to feel that way. It's a minor complaint and I understand they want to add more color hits and such. I just feel very 'meh' about it.

Also think they did a great job on that unmasked face and that's a shame because it's going to go into a bin never to be seen again.

Maybe an unpopular thought about Budo: I think he's being unfairly graded on a curve by a lot of people strictly because he comes with so much stuff and it's just a really impressive loadout. But I think those people are skating around the fact that you PAID for all that extra stuff. It's not like Budo is a regular-price figure. So you paid for a ton of extra shit, but you can't actually use it all anyway.
Frankly, I actually think Budo would have been better figureS if each armor set had been designed around a dedicated base body instead of trying to do this hybrid thing that doesn't necessarily 100% work for either look. Like he's got those chunky, kind of ugly forearm guards on his ARAH look, because they have to be removable so you can put on his samurai gear. Which I'll never use, because I want ARAH-style Budo.

I really really think samurai Budo could have been his own release. And I would have happily paid for two figures that I can display individually, and look better for it, than one figure and a bunch of junk that will go in a bin and never be used or that I have to buy a whole other figure to be able to use (and if that figure is another Budo - I end up with a whole OTHER set of extra shit in a bin).
 
I'm actually waffling on Sci-Fi. As amazing as he looks, that's just not MY Sci-Fi, and I'm trying to be smarter and more nostalgia-focused with my Joe collecting.
 
Damien said:
that's just not MY Sci-Fi
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What’s missing for you?
Is it the colors being muted?
Orrrr waiting for the v2?
Because I gotta say this figure slaps incredibly hard. I usually don’t get this attached to heroic figures that aren’t Snake-Eyes.
 
AceofKnaves said:
What’s missing for you?
Is it the colors being muted?
Orrrr waiting for the v2?
Because I gotta say this figure slaps incredibly hard. I usually don’t get this attached to heroic figures that aren’t Snake-Eyes.
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It's that v2 is my version of Sci-Fi. I never had this version and just have no connection to it beyond 'cool laser guy.' And I'm trying really hard to do less 'it just looks cool' purchases these days.
 
I'd like to revisit my list on January 1 because three of my favorite Joes are supposed to ship in the next four week and this list might change by then but my favorite so far this year:
  • Was Dial Tone technically 2025? Because if we're talking a perfect blend of original and modern; with the exact right amount of gear; at standard pricing; who is just a fun figure; and who had delightful attention to detail? Dial Tone nails it.
  • Crystal Ball gets a nod for being the most improved - taking an absolutely goofball lame-o figure from our childhood and making him cool AF. Best glow up of the year.
  • Desert Scorpion gets best deluxe figure, though Law & Order gets the nostalgia vote. As much as I love L&O, that mutant scorpion is a REVELATION in engineering and the unmasked face is one of those sculpts that tells a story. He also comes with a perfect array of gear.

Budo should be the deluxe figure of the year but I agree with a lot of what Damien said above - I think he would've been better released in two looks. I ended up spending stupid money on a second one because I wanted to display him twice, but I couldn't get his samurai gear to rest exactly how I wanted it to so I've got him in military look with the clean-cut face and "I just escaped a POW camp" stripped down look with the unbound hair and honestly? Bandana, red gauntlets, sword belt on one hip, rope-bound sheath across his back, with a gun on one thigh and a rifle in his hand... I'm not using like 80% of the pieces an that one is my favorite. BUT! A really amazing figure, I just think how he was released could have been more... efficient? Cos I bought him twice and would have been happier buying him twice but not having a pound of plastic I don't use.

I can't say they are FIGURE OF THE YEAR compared to some of the other releases, but Flint, Cover Girl, and Crankcase all made me ludicrously happy. They aren't groundbreaking but they hit the spot for three of my long-time favorites. Like, maybe they ARE my figures of the year cos they have not left my desk since I got them. They're not even on display, they're just nearby so I can toy with them all day.
 
AceofKnaves said:
What’s missing for you?
Is it the colors being muted?
Orrrr waiting for the v2?
Because I gotta say this figure slaps incredibly hard. I usually don’t get this attached to heroic figures that aren’t Snake-Eyes.
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This is why I'm holding off on committing my official best of list - I'm literally checking my order on Sci-Fi (and Wet Suit) every day or two to see if the shipping date has moved up. Ugly Green outfit Sci-Fi is my boy.
 
Damien said:
That figure would go in the trash in my house, or into the custom fodder bin. It would drive me absolutely insane.
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Heh heh. Well... it kinda takes a lot for me to leave him on the shelf. As I've said before, I have several of the trio set Vipers and was okay with leaving it with that, but really like variety and damnit... I wish they'd matched the damned blue. But whatever. Then Amazon had them on sale so I got one thinking I would put the unmasked Dice head on him, which worked but Eh... I dunno. I couldn't get past "It's a Viper with Dice's head on it" so put the Viper head back on and have him in the corner waiting to see if he's gonna be the one dude with the female Vipers if they make them match the Retro blue rather than the darker ones. IF they make lady Vipers of course.

All this is to say, when I noticed the bicep thing, the superstitious part of me definitely thought, "I'm just not meant to have this figure." Like when I got a used Leatherneck from Amazon but the previous owner had swapped all his weapons and gear out for other stuff.
Damien said:
I have two retro Vipers and they're awesome. I really love them even though I'm not even much of a 'regular Viper' kind of guy. He's one of three figures I own multiples of in this line (two retro Vipers, two Night Creepers, three Snow Serpents).
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If I didn't have the sets, I would have gone all in on the Retro. if I started collecting right now, yeah I would have loaded up on Retro Vipers when Amazon had that sale and probably just accepted the lack of diversity. As it is now though, if there was a way to easily change the arms on the retro guy I would have. Eh.
Damien said:
Based purely on pictures/reviews, the only way I could personally see making Desert Scorpion better is to revert to the classic ARAH colors and get rid of that very modern-looking gold or whatever that they put on him.
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Yeah that would definitely help.
Damien said:
I honestly don't love that. But I feel like I'm also always coming off as 'just 1:1 remake the ARAH figures because they area always better.' Which isn't... necessarily... how I feel. But definitely when it comes to my favorites that I have a strong nostalgia for, I'm going to tend to feel that way. It's a minor complaint and I understand they want to add more color hits and such. I just feel very 'meh' about it.
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I hear you. Some updates they do are really cool. But sometimes,like with Firefly or Beachhead, I'm really happy with how close they get their second attempts to the originals.
Damien said:
Also think they did a great job on that unmasked face and that's a shame because it's going to go into a bin never to be seen again.
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Completely agreed. I would really really really love to use that one someone else. Like my retro viper until it bothers me too much.
Damien said:
I really really think samurai Budo could have been his own release. And I would have happily paid for two figures that I can display individually, and look better for it, than one figure and a bunch of junk that will go in a bin and never be used or that I have to buy a whole other figure to be able to use (and if that figure is another Budo - I end up with a whole OTHER set of extra shit in a bin).
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Yeah, they could have done one version, then Retro.
 
I got a Ghost Viper delivered today. Ordered last night for shipping cuz it said the furthest Walmart from me had four. Figured it'd be gone by the time they got around to prepping it today, but I guess not. Even now the site still claims they have three.
 
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