Hasbro, those teases. They show us some spectacular unproduced 8? offerings at the same time as they officially declare the scale dead. Well death didn?t stop DTC Wave 4, it just slowed it down a little. If 3 ?? figures like that wave and Robot Rebellion Cobra Commander can build up enough momentum online that they eventually get released as MC exclusives, I think we can build up the same speed under figures like
these.
Just this past weekend, The GI Joe Collector?s Club released it?s first 8? figure, a red repaint of Kamakura v3 called Red Ninja. So we know they are willing and able to produce exclusive 8? offerings. It was also just announced that they are releasing the 3 ?? figures mentioned above, so we also know Hasbro is willing to use them as a distributor of items once thought unobtainable.
Who here wouldn?t love to have those six unproduced 8? figures in their collections?
Scarlett would be the first female figure in the scale, a character so important to the GI Joe mythos she was included on the Sigma 6 animated series despite minimal chances she ever get produced because the boys toy market couldn?t sustain a female figure. But we?re men, and the men?s toy market needs female playthings.
Joe Colton is literally GI Joe. He is the figure that started the 12?, and a character that got a 3 ?? ARAH figure right before that series ended. It?s wrong that such an icon came so close to being the only character produced in all three of GI Joe?s major scales, and then disappeared. And while I?m sure we all agree that the gorilla would make for a nice touch, if it came down to just the figure or no figure at all, we?re reluctantly willing to see the gorilla put down.
I?m not sure if it?s rumour or speculation, but I?ve heard
Zanzibar?s name attached to this figure. Dismissing that this would be the first Dreadnok released and that pirates are very popular right now, look at that figure! He?s dripping with wannahitya and dressed in getsthejobdone. He tattooed the Cobra sygil to his head, showing he values dedication over brains. But most important, Cobra characters are outnumbered by Joe characters at least 4:1. Even if you use 90 of the different Storm Shadows released as generic Cobra Ninjas, you still need quite a cast to compete with the 8? Joes. This figure is a new Cobra character, something the line and us collectors were starved for.
I don?t know who
this is, but he looks an awful lot like Chuck Norris. And who doesn?t miss the days of celebrity members of GI Joe? It?s an interesting figure with lots of soft accessories. A hand-to-hand trainer, perhaps?
I?ve taken to calling the screwdriver-gun wielding construction worker/soldier
Tools McGee but most likely he?s Hardtop. And I already have a place in my team for him. You?ve got Hi-Teck, the computers and softwear designer. And then Tools McGee builds the hardware. Picture this figure and Hi-Tech each standing on one side of their greatest creation, the Metal Mayhem. Hi-Tech is smirking proudly, Tools McGee is all business, waiting for the next two hunks of technology he?s needed to screw together.
Finally, the tough sell.
Deep Six. I personally think this is the best 8? diver we?ve seen. But, with the recent release of another Deep Six figure, we already have three divers and a sailor, to combat Cobra?s non existent naval branch. And one of those divers is already Deep Six. I am a huge fan of the Deep Six character, a soldier so antisocial he became a deep sea diver to get away from people, and if this AT pack was on the shelf, I pick it up as fast as I picked up Recondo. But without the shark and the cage, this figure offers noticeably less than the other figures that were on display. Maybe the treasure chest can be salvaged and packed with Zanzibar.
Everyone here interested in any of these figures needs to rally together. We may not be able to save the 8? line, but I?d rather have my skin peeled than not put my best effort into seeing these last few glorious figures see released.
