Randy here,
It's been an interesting past 24 hours for GI Joe Classified fans! Likely a lot of angry emails over at Hasbro as well! Images -a LOT of IMAGES- appeared yesterday on Twitter from Jtprime17 showing GI Joe Classified figures of Big Ben (#77) and COBRA Range Viper (#76)! Showing not only renders but the figures in diorama poses, these are believed to be Walmart and/or Hasbro Pulse exclusives. With the Walmart Collector Con starting at 10am EST on March 16 (tomorrow) and continuing through the 17th, we'll know soon enough!
COBRA Range Viper (#76)
Pretty sure this one came from a time that I wasn't watching the GI Joe cartoon. And while initially silly looking to me, I'm beginning to dig on the Range Viper - especially the head. I'm sure it's supposed to its ACTUAL head, becuase, well... GI Joe in the late 80's/early 90's. But I'm thinking of it as a specialized helmet and face, designed to inflict fear into their enemies. Kinda like the skull mask some special forces units have been seen using. That, along with some excellent weapon accessories makes this far more interesting figure to me.
Big Ben (#77)
Why, hello there! This was not particularly high on my list of figure to purchase. THAT has changed! The look of this figure is really strong, along with the additional gas mask head and weapons accessories. I'm thinking that SAW is going to end up in the hands of Rock and Roll in the near future. The addition of "Night Force" on the packaging lends credence to the idea that this figure iwll be store exclusive subset, like Target's recent Python Patrol and Tiger Force. It also give hope that he'll show up as a standard figure somewhere down the line. Again, these images and more can be seen at Jtprime17 on Twitter
Along with the images, RUMORS have been circulating of other figures and possible exclusives that have been leaked, including a new Classified Character, a redecoed Alley Viper, "Tiger Force" Dusty, and a "Zombie Viper". OOOO-Zombies!
Again- these are RUMORS and treat them with a big ol' grain of salt!
After last week's Hasbro GI Joe Classified livestream, these leaks continue to make me excited for the Classified line this year. Well, MOSTLY - I REALLY don't like having to get not only retailer exclusives of GI Joe Classified figures I like, but ones that are Hasbro Pulse only. Looking at YOU, Snow Job and COBRA Valkyrie 2 pack!
More to come, I suspect! Until then...