JoeDeclassified.com

- Nothing new was shown from last year or Toy Fair. But we did get more info:

- Although both the regular toy line and the Kre-Os are doing very well, it will be a lean year for toy offerings. They made too much merch and lost too much money and retailer faith for RoC, so they played it safe with Retaliation. But things are going better than anticipated, so that is good news.

- There will be some SDCC exclusives that will quote “fill some gaps”, but they were not revealed because USA Today gets first dibs to report what they are.

- Hasbro, Hasbro Toy Shop, and the Joe Club are trying to work something out so we, the G.I. Joe collectors, can get access to the SDCC items without having to go to SDCC.

- The next wave with Kwinn that was scheduled for May won’t hit until Fall, so August at the earliest. Production was just approved this week, after current sales numbers were positive.

- The movie and the toys were being developed at the same time, and when they were making the first waves of figures, the movie didn’t even have costume designs yet, so that’s why some characters don’t match what is seen on screen. Later figures were made after costumes we made, so they look more accurate.

- Despite was reported, it was confirmed that the Python Patrol Croc-Master and the green and tan Blowtorch that were allegedly produced, in fact, were not. A few production samples were made, but they were never released to the public. However, we will be getting them sometime down the line. It just might take time.

- Case assortments for now, are specifically designed to be 12 different figures. That’s how they want it to be sold. Thus, some figures might be hard to find.

- Hasbro would like to do the Retaliation “Ice Rail” ( the running name of the vehicle Snake Eyes and Jinx used) and the Cobra helicopter, but if it ultimately happens remains to be seen, since they already used their vehicle budget this year.

- A MOBAT was mentioned as an iconic vehicle that could possibly get the re-do Skystriker/Tomahawk treatment if they can fit in. No mention of the hovercraft, though.

- The Tomahawk has been re-sized to fit the taller 4" ‘Joes, and it has a removable tail to fit in a such smaller box. That’s why the packaging looks tiny, but it’s the same size (with a re-designed interior). It will also have ports to incorporate the zip lines from various characters. The door guns are also removable and you can swap them out with Roadblock’s heavier .50 cals. This will also be a Toys ‘R Us exclusive! Like the Skystriker re-release, it will have some extra stickers that will allow some slight customization with the aircraft.

- The bomb that comes with the 3-pack Firefly can be mounted on vehicles, as it has an attachment part.

- There is a possibility the Ninja Cruiser 4x4 (Retaliation VAMP) will be re-released in a tan deco to fit within the movie. A black Cobra “Stinger” version was also suggested.

- Multiple faction stickers sheets for vehicles were discussed, so you could potentially buy a VAMP, but have either ‘Joe stickers to make it a ‘Joe vehicle, or Cobra stickers to make it a Stinger. They like the idea, but they said the only hold-up is the possibility of little kids being confused as to why a ‘Joe vehicle has Cobra stickers, or vice-versa.

- Mushy plastic: Yes, Hasbro knows the softer, more rubbery plastic on the current figures suck--- especially with the wobbly legs. This was done as a cost cutting tool, but they are trying to move away from this, so we can expect better plastic in the future.

- So what’s the backstory on Nightclaw; the out-of-the-blue black panther in the Micro Force line? When the Micro Force figures were made, they were mirroring some figures that were planned to be released in 3 ¾” scale: a “Legends of the Arashikage” or a “Arashikage Masters” set, or figures related to that. (Budo was initially part of this set.) One master was a Beast-Ninja, in which he and an animal companion fought as a team in almost a totemic manner. The Beast-Ninja’s “beast aspect” and animal was a feline, so he was supposed to come with a black panther named Nightclaw, plus a chain leash. Unfortunately he was cut from the 3 ¾” line, but the concept is still carried through in Micro Force.

- Since we’re not getting filecards right now, the concept of the Data-Viper was explained, and why he wasn’t called a Drone-Viper instead. Since Cobra is divided into cells and doesn’t have a default central database for security concerns, the Data-Vipers act as living, breathing data serves. They have a wide, highly contoured helmet that’s linked to their drone cameras. The helmet and the drone’s nosecones are the same general shape, because each drone has 4 camera lenses (the red, thin rectangle lines), and the D-V's helmet also has four red, thin rectangle data ports that mirror the placement and function of the drone’s cameras. Thus, the Data-Viper’s visual feed on his helmet's interior HUD is almost ommatidium, so he can see in four different directions at the same time and get real-time imagery. They then store or disseminate all intel, data, and other electronic or digital information to be used in whatever theater of operation they are assigned to. However, if a D-V is killed, all of his data is automatically sent off to the next available D-V, so even if the ’Joes recover his equipment, they won’t have access to any data, as it will be gone or destroyed.

- Ultimate Duke figure: Although this is planned as Duke, he also comes with a spare masked head and several weapons so collectors can buy him as 'Joe Troop builder instead of Duke if they so wish.

- Due to a screw up in China, the upcoming Cobra Night Landing set will have 50% of the Eels with a Cobra insignia on their wetsuits, and 50% won’t. The crate of weapons can be used for either ‘Joes or Cobras.

- The upcoming Cobra Combat Ninja (movie accurate Cobra Trooper) was named "ninja" to appeal to kids, but he is also designed as a tie-in to Larry Hama's current IDW comic, as he comes with an alternative head to make him into a Blue Ninja Clan cyborg.

- The lack of new product is causing a lot of other people and sites to freak out, and proclaim it's the "deth of teh line". But here's the scoop on that: There is no "deth of teh line". They have big plans for next year's 50th Anniversary of the whole G.I. Joe line. The reason why nothing new was shown, was, this is a movie year---and a movie line that was pushed back nine months totally fracking up their entire 2013 plans, and eliminating the huge advertising push they once had when the film was supposed to come out last year. They blew their wad too soon, so-to-speak (though it was not their fault), so now when the movie is finally out, it's old news despite being new. And because they didn't know initially if the movie wold be a success, they wanted to concentrate on the movie aspect to push it as much as they could. Turns out the movie is doing well, the toys are selling, so Hasbro is in good shape. However, to keep that momentum going, they are still only concentrating on movie items, because they felt it would have been inapporporiate to overshadow that with non-moive toys that will likely be shown next at SDCC.

- We may see the concept case zombies in a 7-pack, or some other format. But if they do it, they want it to be a story line that will run its course, not just throwing them out willy-nilly with no point to having zombies in the mythos. They joked that it could be an Eco Force storyline, but hopefully it will be comething cooler than that. Head designer John Warden is a huge The Walking Dead fan, so he wants the zombies to make it out, an dmake it out while everything zombie sis red hot so they can take advantage of that in pop culture.

- The Ultimate Cobra Commander is actually the zombie Cobra Commander body, with two new heads.

- The JoeClub FSS Series 2 will consist of:

Night Force Lt. Falcon

Oktober Guard Dragonsky

Oktober Guard Big Bear

Widescope

Bombadier (U.K. foreign figure)

Tiger Force Airtight (Brazil foreign figure)

Tiger Force Shipwreck (Brazil foreign)

Keel-Haul

Tollbooth

Cesspool

Skullbuster

Desert Scorpion (from the cancelled mech)

- Hasbro is really going to push their Kre-O line, so we can expect many more 'Joe sets. They are not going to "one and done" this line like they did BTR.

- Since Hasbro ownes Wizards of the Coast; the makers of Magic The Gathering card game, they would like to do a new G.I. Joe trading card game, but the time isn't right for that yet. But it is a long-term consideration.

- Many requests for Pythona---she's continually tops the Joe Club's lists, but she is still too expensive for the Club to do on their own.

- No Battle Kata in the film: Hasbro developed Battle Kata for Roadblock to draw a clear link to Snake Eyes and to show how Roadblock evolved that hand-to-hand style to re-configurable weapons instead, to showcase his own fighting style. However the film-makers decided that enough exposition was given regarding Roadblock and Snake Eyes' history, that Battle Kata wasn't necessary. Thus Roadblock has all the gear, but he isn’t shown using it on screen. The movie prequel comic from IDW does highlight Battle Kata and how Roadblock came to use it.