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Hasbro- GI Joe Classified: Beachhead.
You know what?s pathetic? It has been basically a year since I have seen a new Gi Joe Classified figure on the shelves. Sure, I have been able to purchase some via internet retailers, but the ability of Hasbro to provide a stable supply of these figures, in spite of their push of pre-orders and coming soon images, is ridiculous. And don?t get me wrong, I know the challenges that are facing this line, but I have never had a company be so blas? with both the market and the fandom and don?t even get me started on the exclusives. I mean, what has happened to Toys R Us and these Cobra Island exclusives? Sure we got a handful of the initial figures, but I?ve only seen Major Bludd once and Barbeque never showed up, despite being on clearance in some Targets down south. Outside of that there is no indication where the new round of exclusives are going to show up, if at all and in true Hasbro fashion, they are not just clever repaints of existing molds, but brand new characters like OUTBACK in a Tiger Force motif. I suppose there is a time when these figures will be released through all channels, but seeing as it's been a long time since the initial round of Cobra Island figures were released and still nothing outside of the exclusive status, I have a really hard time believing it.
Pros: I consider myself very lucky to have tracked down a BeachHead figure and at retail to boot. As critical as I am of Hasbro about how they have rolled out the Classified line, I have to say that every figure opened, including Beachhead, is an absolute treat. Amazingly detailed sculpt, all the articulation that you could want and a bunch of great accessories.
Cons: The backpack doesn?t seem to want to stay on very well on my Beachhead. Also, and this isn?t such a big deal to me, the weapons could stand to be more realistic and less NERF- like.
