Toy Fair 2014 has come and gone. Now that the news team had some time to catch up with all the work that comes with this mega sized event, we wanted to share our thoughts on the G.I. Joe action figure side of Toy Fair 2014. We may be a little late to share our opinion but I feel it needs to be said. G.I. Joe ARAH 3 3/4 – 4 inch is officially dead.
The Hasbro Toy Fair show room for 2014 was one of the best looking displays of action figure goodness I have seen throughout the years. The sections I visited were well representative of the lines they were showing off.
Unfortunately it was a huge disappointment to walk into the show room to find no sign of G.I. Joe action figures during a 50th anniversary year (other than Kre-O). There was not even a logo to take pictures of and there was no official team member from Hasbro who was currently working on the brand that could answer any questions.
With this being the 50th anniversary of a mega toy brand you would think there would have been more effort put into G.I. Joe considering there will be a third G.I. Joe movie in the pipeline and it’s the brand that coined the term action figure! I feel they let all the momentum escape they gained from the positive second attempt at a movie with G.I. Joe Retaliation.
Is what we saw in the Hasbro presentation really worthy of a G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary year?
I really don’t think so. Twenty figures that are mostly straight-up repaints with one of the weakest G.I. Joe SDCC Exclusives we’ve seen to date feels like G.I. Joe was an after-thought, rushed just to say “we did something”. With the exception of the new Destro and Flint this line just gives off sounds of the dying on their way to the grave. The G.I. Joe ARAH train has come to the end of the line.
Alright so if the G.I. Joe 50th anniversary line is so bad and mis-represented – what would you have done differently?
I would have started by making a statement with the 50th anniversary of G.I. Joe by putting out a reissue of the Real Terrordrome not the Kre-O version, and gave us 20 completely new tooled figures in the “POC Style” of product, with the repaints shown at the presentation thrown into the mix to break it up over the year. Secondly I would have tested the 6″ market for G.I. Joe and put out four key characters in a single Black Series wave: Snake Eyes, Destro, Baroness and Scarlett! Lastly, a massive attempt at getting the G.I. Joe brand into the video game market with a Call of Duty / Halo Style game.
All of the above would have been nice but the bottom line is Wal-Mart, Target and other big box retails are not interested in buying into a brand that does not have a ton of media and hype behind it. Sadly if they do not buy it, it does not get made. The industry trend is the toys must have a movie, TV show or major video game to justify the kind of purchasing levels needed for a line of products listed above. The days of huge toy sections for every brand are over. We had a solid 10 years of spray and pray style production over the last decade, with G.I. Joe and other lines, from multiple companies. With the massive cost increases in production and buyers from the big box retail stores cutting back, this is the end result.
So that leaves us with what we got, a very weak Toys “R” Us exclusive run of mostly repaints that will be extremely hard to find and heavily scalped on eBay because of poor distribution and small print runs.
“Are you mad Bro”?
Not at all, I’m just trying to be honest. There are only so many original products and repaints Hasbro can do which will appeal to both collectors and a mass market. The hardcore guys that collect G.I. Joe like the readers of HISSTank.com may be able to support a Toys “R” Us exclusive run of repaints, but Hasbro is not going to invest the tooling cost and development budget and the major retailers will not purchase big with no media behind it. On top of that, we are reaching a point of “been there done that” with G.I. Joe ARAH, even if they did. Leading us to the biggie…
There needs to be a reboot of the brand to go in a different direction. They need to drop G.I. Joe ARAH, wipe the slate clean, and start fresh. Even if it’s set 20/40 years from now, connected-but-not to canon, fine. Or just start over. For us, we won’t like anything but ARAH figures, 3.75 in scale most likely. But that won’t work as the main line aimed at kids anymore. Not easily anyway. If Hasbro isn’t making money with G.I. Joe at a larger level (aka kids), then we won’t get anything but FSS and Sideshow level stuff, if we are lucky. Let’s be honest, we are already starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel with character selection and what is left to be produced.
The Modern Era run of main stream ARAH G.I. Joe is over. Hopefully they figure out what to do next.
Lets us know what you think by sounding off after the jump.
DESTRO says
G.I. Joe State of the Union - Toy Fair 2014 G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Fail
G.I. Joe State of the Union - Toy Fair 2014 G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Fail - GI Joe News
Sorry guys it needed to be said.....
C.I.A.D. says
DETH UV TEH LYNE! ZOMGZOMGZOMGZOMG WHAT WILL I DO NOW?!
Oh yeah, Acid Rain, Transformers, Kre-O.
DESTRO says
Oh yeah, Acid Rain, Transformers, Kre-O.
Rakhamon says
It's certainly sad to see.
The sad truth is, until the U.S retailer system changes, then this will not change. Hasbro cannot physically force a retail chain to take a line they feel is "failed", and Joe now considered a failure by 2/3 toy retailers in the US. Scores of overstocked 25th product and the relative failure of Rise of Cobra to move toys were the final nails in the coffin, and we're just now seeing the eventual fallout.
I have no idea how they could fix that image, but since the movies didn't do it, maybe it's better to let it lie in fallow for a few years and then try again.
Scoop says
These are the changes I would have made to the 50th Anniversary products they are going to release...
Versus Sets
• Night Marksmen - Low-Light vs. Night Viper (I would have just re-released the green Retaliation version of Night Viper.)
• Arctic Ambush - Snow Job vs. Arctic B.A.T (I'm sure they could have made this Blizzard vs. Snow Serpent V2 using parts that already exist.)
• Heated Battle - Blowtorch vs. H.E.A.T. Viper (I would switch out Blowtorch for the convention "Nocturnal Fire" Night Force Charbroil in his original colors.)
• Social Clash - Baroness vs. Lady Jaye (I would have used SDCC Baroness, possibly with the missing skirt piece.)
• ??? - Cobra Trooper with Cobra Officer (I would give the Trooper a silver Cobra logo to make it into a Viper Pilot.)
3 Packs
• The Vipers Pit - Cobra Trooper, Cobra Viper, Beach Head (I would make a Viper Officer using the regular blue & red colors with a gold visor, and replace the Trooper with a black or red Viper instead.)
• The Eagles Edge - Destro, Leather Neck and Hawk (I would replace POC Hawk with concept case Flint.)
Vehicle Sets
• Battle Below Zero - Cobra Wolf with Ice Viper vs. Arctic Sky Hawk with Arctic Snake Eyes (I'm not sure I like the idea of Snake Eyes here, but I really don't have any other ideas for another figure. Since it's a release of a canceled figure I can let it slide.)
• Danger at the Docks G.I.Joe VAMP MkII with Flint vs. Cobra Eel with Night Landing Craft (2 Variations - One listed as Convention Exclusive!)
(For the "Danger at the Docks" sets I would first swap the vehicles so that the tan Vamp MKII comes with the blue Night Landing. I would then replace the concept case Flint with a tan version of the 25th "Double" Clutch figure. With the other set I would replace that digital camouflage Vamp MKII with the 25th Stinger in the same digital camouflage colors to make it the Rattler 4WD. Then I would replace the Flint figure with Vypra using a repaint of the SDCC red Jinx figure. The black Night Landing would become a G.I. Joe S.E.A.L. raft with 25th Torpedo painted in his V2 colors, instead of that Cobra Eel. If not Torpedo I would also go for a Shipwreck V2 figure from 1994 possibly using 25th Snow Job's head and 25th Torpedo's body.)
What do you think?
C.I.A.D. says
fireflyguy says
Yu know, I'm inclined to agree with you. And tbh, I'm ok. I got back into GI Joe collecting with the 25th strictly for nostalgia reasons. I'm not a completist, and I don't have an extensive collection at all. I like what I like and I have what I have. I enjoy it. But with somewhat limited space, there HAS to be an endpoint for me. And I think there HAS to be an endpoint for figure productin if Hasbro isn't going to reboot the line. Sure, many of us would keep buying repaints and reissues. Those possibilities are endless, but it's all abut making money. Joe isn't dead, oer SE, because there are those of us who like the ARAH stuff and those who like the 12" stuff, so we keep it alive to some degree. We will have the club. As long as there are members, I think they'll put out some stuff. While joe has some pop culture value! it doesn't have the popularity with tanger generations! and Hasbro is about making money. And that's the way it should be. It's ok. IF Joe is indeed dead at retail (idk what to expect for Joe 3, but I'm not buying 5 poa figures), then I'll enjoy what I have, do some trading, reminisce, and read the comics.
SmokeBellew says
Yeah, it's hard to ignore the signs.
When Target clearanced the Retaliation line BEFORE Christmas, I knew the jig was up. Bottom line, the fact that retailers don't want to carry a G.I. Joe line, at least as it has been, really says it all.
Still, with a third movie will come another toy line--I'm pretty certain that's a given--but it may not be a line we recognize or "want". We'll see. I have more important stuff to concentrate on. Thankfully, we had more than a few years of great toys and I'm satisfied with what I have. This was a fun hobby for me, but only a hobby. If it ends now, well, it was a good ride. Regardless, IMO, Hasbro has done right by G.I.Joe and adult fanboys.
Blackice says
For the line to be viable it has to scratch the ARAH line and start fresh. Let the kids have their own Joeverse. Let the ARAH line go the way of the 12"
DESTRO says
Still, with a third movie will come another toy line--I'm pretty certain that's a given--but it may not be a line we recognize or "want". We'll see. I have more important stuff to concentrate on. Thankfully, we had more than a few years of great toys and I'm satisfied with what I have. This was a fun hobby for me, but only a hobby. If it ends now, well, it was a good ride. Regardless, IMO, Hasbro has done right by G.I.Joe and adult fanboys.
That's just it. You would think Hasbro would want a huge showing of G.I. Joe after a solid Movie year and spring board that into the 50th Anniversary with extra hype leading into the third Movie, but that's not the case. Why? Because Retaliation as a toy line was a fail in retail eyes. So now they can't even sell G.I. Joe on the scale they want even if it has a movie.
Keep reading: G.I. Joe State of the Union - Toy Fair 2014 G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Fail - Page 2
Not a member yet? Join HissTank Now!