Just browsing though General's Joes, and came across this comment

"In fact, I’ve found quite the opposite from my normal opinion, I’m liking the Joe figures in general a heck of a lot more than the COBRA ones. A bizarre reversal."

This caught my attention, because I had noticed Wednesday night that of the 10 figures I bought so far, not a single one was a Cobra. This was wierd because, in general, its usually the Joe figures that I pass on, while stocking up on Cobra characters (and no just the rank-and-file troops). Sitting here (procrastinating), I've tried to think why. Is it the new Cobra designs that are quite a departure from what we've had before, and they're a little to different from what I think Cobra troops should look like? Is it because the Joes are done in slightly more-realistic unis, but with enough subtle changes to make each character unique?

So, has anyone else noticed a change in their preferences with the new stuff? Although, I should add the disclaimer for me its not just the ROC figures - with the Cobra Island 7-packs, I've ordered the Joes, yet am not impressed at all with the Cobra set.

The only Cobras I bought so far are CC, Stormy and Destro - CC purely for "WTF?" purposes (he's since been chopped up for a custom) and Destro because he looked kinda cool. SS was a must just to see in-hand, but he'll probably go under the hobby knife as well...

The army builders look lame IMO - I might like them better after I see the movie, but I have no desire to get them at all - even for potential fodder.

The Joes, on the other hand, are teeming with fodder potential and mostly good sculpts. I've been pretty impressed so far.

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The figures themselves look good. Its the designs that are not blowing up my skirt and that's not entirely Hasbro's fault. They took the designs from the film and translated them to figure form. And from what I've seen they've done it quite well.

Its just that the designs themselves aren't very inspiring. I'm hoping they'll come off way cooler when I see the film but until then they just don't inspire me at all. Not even for fodder (though I do have an idea for one piece of webgear).

I think they aren't exciting because we haven't seen any Troopers in action in the trailers and commercials. Granted they aren't the focal point of the story (or are they?) or main characters but still a little more than the "here's your gear" scene would probably create more buzz for them.

The Joes aren't much more interesting but as a Sigma 6 fan I do see some potential in them for customs (and have HUGE plans for them).

But I won't be getting any of the Cobra troopers at all. Even the named characters don't do much for me. Baroness and Cobra Commander/Doctor are probably the only ones I'll track down. The others just aren't "cool". And that's disappointing.

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I surprised myself buying an extra of every troop I've found so far, but they pretty much all have difficulty holding their guns. I like the designs more than I thought I would, the image of this new school Cobra force emerging from the ground behind the Mole Pods.

I'm surprised at the number of different troop types there are that are essentially just slightly tweaked versions of each other. Curious that they seem more styled after Destro with the silver head look being predominant, while the MARS troopers seem closer to old school Cobras. It was daring of them to put the Ice-Viper in a camo scheme that essentially matches the Joe team's. I also applaud the samey-ness of the Joe uniforms and the fact most of them are armed with the same rifle.

Baroness... man! Absolutely my default version. She's damn sexy!! I'm gonna try doing shorter versions of all the females to see if they work better, but I could see sticking with the long legs for some of the ladies for diversity's sake.

Cobra Commander is just amazing. I'm getting this serious Kronen vibe from him. Ironic because the first time I saw Kronen I dubbed him a cross between Firefly, Storm Shadow, and CC!

Storm Shadow I keep passing over. The suit is okay looking, it's just that I find it hard to buy into a ninja with a trenchcoat integrated into his uni. Granted I picked up the trenchcoated SE, but he's more of a commando to me. I'll succumb eventually

Destro is a nice update on the version from about five years back. I'm happy they finally gave one of his versions double-jointed knees!

Zartan is cool, but the skirt really inhibits his range of motion.

Overall, I am kinda digging the Joes more. Scarlett is my favorite of the bunch, she's now my default version of that character as well!

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Yea it's kind of weird since I also normally get most excited about the Cobra figures and the Joes are more of an afterthought. This time though I'm really excited about the Joe figures and the Cobras seem more like if I'm bored one day and have a little extra cash.

I plan on getting Destro and Baroness some time soon but the rest of the Cobras seem way down my later on list while there are Joes at the top of my want list.

But maybe the movie will change my mind of the troopers. If not I've still got several squads of 25th Cobras that look really good fighting the movie Joes. It's not like movie Shipwreck doesn't look good punching out some 25th blue shirts.

I've picked up more Joes than Cobras, both for parts and to keep as is. I have some custom plans that may require some Neo-Vipers, but other than the Elite Viper and the Ice Viper, none of the movie Cobra troops will make it into my collection in one piece. The upcoming Night Adder (though I suppose he could be an individual, and not a trooper) and Volcano Viper look like they'll be winners too, but the rest just don't appeal to me. The helmets are something I know are coming into use in military operations, but combined with the funky chest armor, they all end up looking a bit too Cobra-La for my taste. Look at the Crimson Neo Viper and tell me you don't see the Cobra-La Royal Guard there.

I agree, kinda. I picked up a couple of Cobras - Destro and Baroness. But, I find myself wanting to troop-build figures like Stone, Pit Commando and Desert Duke. None of the Vipers or MARS troopers are very interesting to me. However, I'm collecting Zartans at an alarming rate (16 and counting) to use as generic Joe Troopers and various customs.

OB

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With the funky chest armor they remind me a little too much of the Jaffa from Stargate so the helmets just look wrong. Maybe if they came with jackal, cobra, or crane helmets they might look right then

Is it just me or they feel like cheap rubber like pte figs and weapons?

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I totally agree that the joes are better than the cobras. I've picked up nothing but joes, so far, and I have more planned for customs based on joe figs.

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Out of all the Cobras, I think the Ice Viper is the best, probably because he's not such a radical departure from past Cobra designs.

I bought the Viper Commando and like him well enough as a toy, but something about that smooth, insectoid head doesn't even look like a Joe figure to me. Neither does the lobster-themed armor. The figure has none of the high tech, military look of the original Viper, nor does it have the low grade, utilitarian look of the blue shirts. To be honest, the ROC Viper looks more like a Frag Viper than anything, and I'm not sure that's a good thing.

Why the Hollywood design team saw the need to make such a huge change, I don't know. Maybe after the movie we'll have some kind of answer. I hope we do anyway because regular Vipers would have looked great on camera, particularly the mirrored facemask which has been an iconic Joe design since CC v.1.

It's bittersweet though. In a way, I'm glad the design team didn't go with the same old Viper look for the movie because it keeps the toys fresh. Last thing I wanted to see on the pegs were more 25th Vipers. At the same time, however, I don't think we've really traded up.

The ROC Viper design just isn't that exciting. It's plain. It has no ammo pouches, no grenades, no goggles, no Cobra emblems, none of the recurring themes we've seen on Cobra troops since day one. While it's good to try and take Joe in new directions, I think the'vey deviated from the norm just a little too far here.

These aren't Cobra troops. They're aliens.

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The army builder Cobras just don't look like Cobra troops to me, they look like some kind of bug warrior, and as yet I haven't felt inclined to pick up any of them yet.

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I actually like the insectoid look of the Cobras, but I just have been more infatuated by the look of the joes.

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Like Cobra la of 2009 eh.

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I really like black ,grey and navy blue figures, so... i was only going to get Baroness , Destro, SE and maybe a scarlett or 2 but when i saw thenm in person i went a little crazy and bought 6 of the Ice viper's (he looks like he just walked out of REI or Cabels with all his gear on) In the the past i was mostly Cobra , with about 5 Joes that i really liked but thess new movie figues look good and i like the look of a team on the joe side , they have been missing it since 82. I plan on takeng alot of the "bug" heads of the Cobras and useing Joe heads.