Today I bought a Storm Shadow figure. When I got home, I took him out of the package because I was going to have a sweet duel between him and my version 3 Snake Eyes. However, I called off the brawl because, after seeing the quality of the figure, I realized he probably wouldn’t survive the encounter. Everything on him is made of soft plastic. Just from opening the plastic bubble, he already had paint wear on him. It took me like 10 minutes to get his crappy dagger out. By the time I did, it looked more like a question mark. His fickle protruding index finger wouldn’t have lasted much longer. Snake Eyes would have fed it to him long before I could have gotten enough cobra vipers on the scene to break them up.
The figures from my childhood were made much more solid. Even though I played the **** out of ‘em, most of the figures and their accessories are nearly as solid and crisp as the day they left Wal-Mart. Rock and Roll’s thumbs were especially put to the test, but there’s not a stress line through either of them to date. I feel like today with this body construction, kids are getting shammed. No kid likes a toy that breaks easy. Essentially, they have chosen a figure that looks superficially better, but it can’t handle the stresses of play. Unless Hasbro improves the quality of its product, I think the G.I. Joe universe will suffer in terms of popularity.

The same "gloom and doom" predictions arise with every new Joe incarnation, yet the line survives...

Sounds like you were heading into some rigorous play with them.

I feel like today with this body construction, kids are getting shammed. No kid likes a toy that breaks easy.

That's the main reason I don't buy my kids toys in stores anymore. There is really no durability with the cheap plastics. They get to play with my old Joes, Turtles and Simpsons figures cause they won't break easily. But fortunately, I don't need playability anymore so I'll still buy the new stuff :P.

I think the plastic is superior, not inferior. I recently had the heels break off of three vintage figures (1982 straight arms) while I was trying to place them on stands. The older plastic is brittle. The newer plastic appears to be more flexible. Of course we will see what it's like in 25 years.

No matter what Hasbro does, there will always be complaints about something. But considering the line is selling out everywhere, it appears people really like the 25th product.

I feel like today with this body construction, kids are getting shammed. No kid likes a toy that breaks easy. .

True, however the saddest part is, that few if any actual KIDS are even getting to buy these anyway, what with whoever is responsible for such shabby stockage, and with us collectors buying up everything on the racks.


We suck... but moreso does whoever is responsible for not making/selling enough of the toys.


As for the figures... I like 'em. I have some complaints, but overall I like them.

Complaints:
Only some of the weapons actually stay in their hands. (though the newer single carded figs are having this problem less and less)
They are bigger than the classic ones. Which sucks when you want to play with them together (or with your Star Wars figs!)
They dont fit into any of the old vechiles!
They dont fit on old figure stand posts.
They cant be taken apart and customized the same way as the old Joes. (ei screw in back)
They cant swap back packs like the old ones did. (which means you cant use old accessories on them either)
And the girls are kind of... hunch backed.

But even with all that... I still like them. The look great, pose fairly well. (cept Roadblock who wont hold his gun for nothing) and ... um... they look good. Um.. yeah. I really do like them though... ;)

I feel the quality overall sucks on these figures, I cant tell you how many blemishes every figure i find has, Im very supprised some of these are grading high, but its not just bad paint, bt ive noticed excess plastic where is doesnt seem to be shaved enough, and all sorts of things

So i guess I for one havent been to stoked with the 25th line, plus im kinda bored of seeing the same old characters, I know why there doing it that way, but the only people buying these things are people who want to see new figures IMO

I also noticed this with the new transformers, I got my son one the other day and every time he plays with it I am constantly puting it back together, the arms keep falling off. It has a cheap ball joint.

Both my sons(12 & 9) have played with the 25th fig's as well as the older Joes and they have no complaints about the quality of the figures. And they play "rough" with the Joes. And a thing that surprised me was when I pulled out some of the older Joes for them to play with, they both said they liked the 25th ones better.

As for the figures... I like 'em. I have some complaints, but overall I like them.

Complaints:
Only some of the weapons actually stay in their hands. (though the newer single carded figs are having this problem less and less)
They are bigger than the classic ones. Which sucks when you want to play with them together (or with your Star Wars figs!)
They dont fit into any of the old vechiles!
They dont fit on old figure stand posts.
They cant be taken apart and customized the same way as the old Joes. (ei screw in back)
They cant swap back packs like the old ones did. (which means you cant use old accessories on them either)
And the girls are kind of... hunch backed.

But even with all that... I still like them. The look great, pose fairly well. (cept Roadblock who wont hold his gun for nothing) and ... um... they look good. Um.. yeah. I really do like them though... ;)


A few points of help for your complaints:

Some can fit into old vehicles with no prblems: Roadblock in the Awe-Striker, Just about everyone can fit on a Ram and the Troopers look great in Trouble Bubbles! :)

They can be taken apart and customized, just not as easily. Once you break open that upper torso though, it's on!

Yes, the women are hunch backed...until you move their upper torso :) Many people are afraid they'll break them but the paint is making them sticky (Same as it does with all new toys) just be steady and slow and push that torso back! All my ladies stand up straight

I have no problem with the plastic used. As others have said, the more solid RAH plastic was great, but had its drawbacks too. I had thumbs and crotches break even back in the day. Heels too.

I do have a problem with the articulation. It's somewhat sub-par - all the points are there but they don't move all that well. None of them so far can properly hold a weapon at the port, and there's no excuse for that - they got all the SW trooper figures perfect, why not these too? They're more or less the same articulation.

I also hate a few inconsistencies with the figures. Why doesn't Lady Jaye have swivel wrists? No reason for that...

True, however the saddest part is, that few if any actual KIDS are even getting to buy these anyway,

I totally agree. I had previously given my young cousin (7 years old) a few of the VvV figs in an attempt to try and get him interested in them. He was, but not to the degree I had hoped.

I pulled out some of the 25th figs for him last night though and it was more of the reaction that I had hoped for, as he really seemed to be having fun with them. He didn't want to stop playing when it was time to leave to go to dinner. :D But the point of all that was he hadn't even seen them in the stores yet and was excited to play with something that cool, which makes me think, he may have been drawn to them in the stores if he had the chance to see them in the stores.


As for the quality of the figs, I am not all that impressed, but compared with many of the Joe figures released in the last few years, they are of fairly equal quality. My biggest complaint has always been holding the weapons properly and that really hasn't changed in the 25th figs. Oh well....

I think that the softer plastic in recent years is nice because the figures flex instead of breaking; with all of the moving I do that is a plus.

I also noticed this with the new transformers, I got my son one the other day and every time he plays with it I am constantly puting it back together, the arms keep falling off. It has a cheap ball joint.


I think that's the reason Hasbro makes Transformers that way. Better if it falls of than breaks off.





As for the 25th Joes, the hands are the only problem that I have. The G.I. Joe collector's club does a much better job when it comes to using soft plastic for the hands of G.I. Joe figures.

I think that the softer plastic in recent years is nice because the figures flex instead of breaking; with all of the moving I do that is a plus.
I think that's kinda the point of the new plastic. The older, harder stuff would certainly fare worse I would think with the new POA; too rigid and would seem more prone to breaking. Worse and inferior are definitely subjective terms and really up to who's playing with them. I guess there really is no middle ground with these, you either hate them passionately or you love them. However, it looks like we are moving forward and looking at them for what they are and not looking back to 25 years ago with our rose-colored time-displacement goggles and making comparisons.

Certainly a lot of forum members have made some good points so far. However, I still contend that essentially the fault of these new figures is that Hasbro made an inferior product. I agree it looks awesome, and it has great appeal towards collectors like myself. Yet I’m still not sure that it has the resiliency that the hard plastic figure had. I think that Hasbro made an economic calculation; that a figure which is more superficially malleable, yet less resilient, will produce better off the shelf toy sales than visa versa. That is “if it breaks so what? Parents will just buy another one.” However, I suspect only time itself will tell for sure.
On a side note, I do find it tactically unfortunate that the construction of the various figure’s hands are unsuited to carry each other’s weapons. Because every good infantryman knows that if the Joe with the squad automatic weapon is gunned down, the next Joe in line needs to pick it up and provide suitable cover fire. But I understand that’s thinking about it way more in depth than it’s intended to be :P

While the rigid plastic of old could break, that could be prevented with care. In some cases, if it did break it could be fixed. But the soft plastic of the new figures prevents figures from holding weapons and for that matter holding a pose even with a stand. I had to hot glue my Roadblock to his stand just to keep him in a regular standing pose with his gear. I also has to use one of those clear rubber bands to get him to hold his gun.

New figures I had to do something extra to make them work. Old ones I just had to be careful to keep them working. I think I know which one I like better.

I've said it before, but I feel that all mass market toys are as perfect as their budgets will allow them to be. These retail at less than $5, so yeah, I bet Hasbro made a ton of compromises. Some people are likening these to the Takara Masterpiece Transformers, but if Hasbro went that far would people want to pay $15-$20 for the figure? No, then the perspective will shift to the cost and not articulation, materials, etc.

It'll always be something as people always go in with certain preconceptions in mind. Figures of this caliber used to retail around $10 (vintage Star Wars, but I will concede that some of the cost went to feed Lucas' next chin), but now those figures retail in the same league as a basic figure. I remember the vintage Joes eating up most of my $5 allowance, so to get modern SA figures at close to the original cost is great and I still think the positives out weigh the negatives that most people want to dwell on.

On the hand issue, I'd just like Duke to be able to carry his own weapon before he starts to worry about Flint's or Road Block's.