1/32 Joes = Japanese SD-G.I.Joe?

not familiar with the 1:32 scale... what toylines are in that scale? I'd like to take a look.

My only problem with 1/32 scale figures would be the customizing aspect. I don't really want to paint with a magnifying glass and teeny tiny paintbrushes. The vehicles might be fun to work with though.

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While I have been kind of hard on Hasbro, its easy to criticize and hard to offer constructive advice. There are a few things I will say:

There is a segment of the fandom that only wants items from 1982-1987 and I think Hasbro's Joe team (a few of whom were said to have grown up with ARAH) must feel the same way. Why are figures like Muskrat, Repeater, and Desert Scorpion relegated to being exclusives? If they were on the shelves, I would have picked them up (and troop build the Desert Scorpion). I would love updates of characters like Ambush, Freefall, Recoil, and other such characters.

MU figures that haven't been on the shelves for awhile are re-released in revision cases; so why not the same with Joes? I understand the mold has been used a bunch of times, but Renegades Storm Shadow could stand a reissue. I'm sure other people missed Lowlight and Shadow Tracker as well.

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A #1 thing I'd do: make HTS be worthwhile as a means to get product. Why isn't it the very first resource for collectors of any Hasbro line? Why can't the Club stuff be sold thru them instead? Why doesn't it get it's own exclusives?

WHAT'S THE POINT OF HAVING IT, HASBRO?

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Let me state up front im still a "true" 1:18th (3.75'') scale guy with regard to preference despite my really being enamored with 1/32nd scale . ARAH / The Corps! o-ring figures were truly the perfect blend of small scale portability and extreme toy play value in my opinion.

With that said...if hasbro released a 1/32 scale line that means the figures would be between 2.15'' ( that would b 5' 9'' ) and 2.6'' tall (@7 feet tall) from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head depending upon how much the scale was fudged. Most characters would be 2.25 to 2.5'' tall. Therefore vehicles wouldnt take up a ton of space while still looking phenomenal, would be cheaper and would allow for more "universe / world building" for kids. I recall being able to buy a joe for $2-3 . I think Hasbro could pull off a 2 man / 1 vehicle set for less than $10 at 1/3x scale. THAT is toy value. Regarding customizing..you'll have to hold one in hand but 2 to 2.5'' figures arent that small. We arent talking table top miniature scale (1.25'' or smaller). See the ARAH Starcom comparison pic below. Painting them isnt hard at all

What we have in toy history that is similar in scale would be :
1. Jada Toys HALO 4 die cast collection (retails between $8 USD and $22 USD depending upon set purchased. Figures range from 53mm tall Spartans (although grunts are shorter) to Elites that are about 2.5'' tall. Imagine that Orbital Drop Shock trooper with cobra emblems or a GI Joe characters head and swivel biceps.




2. Starcom - one of the most underrated action figure toylines of all time. It took me a while to really appreciate it but DAMN! if it had been released with modern toy technology ... Figures are @55mm tall / @2.25''. Imagine joe characters in this scale with joe vehicles on your shelf or desk. Not obnoxiously big but big enough to be a great display piece.






3. Air Raiders - slightly smaller than the others listed. About 2inches to the top of the head exactly. Very creative designs though with gimmicks. Where as Starcom used magnets and motors Air raiders used air pumps (like NERF) to launch missiles and vehicles. Imagine small hiss tanks and jets..






4. Battle Force 5 - DCUC style hips and ball hinge shoulders. The figure is 2.5'' tall . Had they added swivel hinge elbows i'd have bought every one of them. Tone down the colors and add a Joe "skin" to the designs...


Others that are similar but slightly larger - MASK (and about 4-5 other toy lines i wont take the time to list or link to pics of).

A collectors line could be die cast. The main line could be plastic . The sets could be released fully assembled *or* still on sprues the way Air Raiders and ARAH GI Joe vehicles were in the 80's. This also cuts down on Hasbros cost.

Bottom line: kids would be able to snag figures AND vehicles at a low cost and quickly compile a nice collection. The figures would have just enough articulation to excite the imagination but still have a sturdy design (sturdier than the o-ring actually). I find the vehicle / figure combo set much more appealing than the figure alone if the vehicle is creatively designed.

Bring back ARAH format, classic character and new characters, including some of the more interesting new faces that turned up in the newsculpt and modern lines. This would include characters such as Kamakura, Bombstrike, the Para-Vipers, the Hazard-Vipers, etc.

An animated series the caliber of the original.

A live-action TV series if it can be produced to the level of other top-flight shows, several of which have already been mentioned in this thread. This should be a show that makes people drooling over that upcoming SHIELD TV series think, "Hey, wait, that looks even cooler."

Movies that respect the toys, not the other way around,

Continue the Real American Hero comic being written by Larry Hama. The rest of it, not so sure.

Get Hasbro and the retailers to understand that G.I. Joe is a more collector-than-kid-driven line these days.

And just for fun, start an entire G.I. Joe-connected side line based on MASK.

Everybody and their sister knows that GI Joe is fighting a loosing battle. We get some reinforcements from Hasbro, and some from the club, but not enough to turn the tide.

GI Joe needs an overhaul, but needs to be kept somewhere within the realm of GI Joe.

This is what I'm thinking:

Concept
Reduce GI Joe down to one man, Sgt. Joseph D. Colton (retired), a veteran of the war between the U.S.A. and The Cobra Terrorist Cell (C.T.C.) back in '93. Only he can't settle down. Sine the war, peacetime is just too dull. So, looking for adventure, and looking to expand his worldview, Colton decides to travel the world and research other cultures, look for artifacts of times past, get first-hand dealings with exotic animals, goes to parties of the rich and famous, as well as coming to the aide of the less fortunate, and search for legendary objects and creatures. And of course, he has to fight bad guys when it comes to it.

The goal would be to somewhat educate children. Not enough to call it an "Educational Franchise," but enough so that the children don't grow up to be totally ignorant.

Toys
Both scales, 12" and 3 3/4". The beauty is there's only one character to produce, that has to be cheaper, right?

The 12" figure comes on his own, wearing his normal Adventure-ready outfit. Have assorted gear and outfits available, correlating to new adventures. The point of this is so that the child doesn't end up with 16 of the same figure. Perhaps at some point, introduce a bad guy figure to fight/thwart Joe.

The 3 3/4" figure comes with minimal gear. Additional accessory sets would be available, perhaps even a vehicle. Again, at some point maybe an enemy figure.

Media
Cartoons
The Journals of Joseph Colton as he travels the world. Some educational tidbits, but thrown into the scripts themselves, not as pop-ups, so the kids would never know. Kids need good cartoons these days, everything I see on Disney Channel and Cartoon Network is really, really stupid.

Comics
Separate from the cartoon, but in the same groove.

Video Games
Mostly a Tomb Raider/Uncharted, run and jump style adventure game, but to appeal to a wider audience, include some first person shooter elements in a dream that Joe has about the War against C.T.C. back in '93.

Other Things
The Occasional Mail-In offer for an exclusive piece of equipment, or a fancy uniform, etc.

Perhaps a novel for the older fans.

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Here is the biggest problem. Most kids don't play with toys past the 4th grade. I teach in an elementary school and once you get past 4th the kids are just not into toys they ways kids were years ago. So toy companies target consumers are now the younger kids, in most cases.

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This does tend to be an issue in these discussions. Most people seem to assume that the toy market is like it was when they were growing up, but it just isn't. Hasbro producing the specific toys that I would like to buy would almost certainly result in the permanent death of the line.

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On the other hand, as the kid's toys market narrows brand loyalty will decrease and the companies will have less-stable returns on their investments. If they want to have any long-term stability they'll need to cater to the market with the ability and desire to buy product into the future. As usual with companies, they're sacrificing their longevity for short-term profits when they ignore the demands of the adult market, imho.

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That assumes this adult market is big enough for a company the size of Hasbro to be concerned about. Since they don't only make action figures, as action figures become less profitable they shift their investment to other products rather than accepting slimmer margins on a niche market.

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Exactly. But which of those markets is on a consistently-declining trend and which is steady if not increasing in size?

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One is fixed and slowly shrinking, the other one is declining but at least has a possibility of increasing. The adult market will never get any bigger than it is now, and will only continue to dwindle every year.

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Another factor is cost. Kids want expensive toys and expensive video games, apps, etc. when push comes to shove it the app or video game the kid will choose almost every time. Plus what I have noticed from my time in kindergarten is that kids don't know how to play anymore.

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I don't think the adult market for toys is shrinking. I think it's growing significantly, but not for GI Joe. The Marvel Legends line has grown and is supported mainly by adults. And there has been introductions of new lines for adults also like the Star Wars black series, and companies like NECA and McFarlane are growing making high detailed figures based on tv shows and movies for mature audiences. There's a huge audience for these 6 and 7 inch figures on Instagram.

A 6 inch Joe line would probably be the best for Hasbro but it would kill the 4 inch line.

I would really like to see and Adventure Team movie with 4 inch and 12 inch toys. The other thing that would help is if they made a movie that didn't suck and adults liked