Been comparing the GI Joe exclusives with Transformers exclusives with someone on the net and I've sort of got to the point where I could use the help of people a little more in the know.

Okay we were talking about how if something is a Bot Con exclusive then it will never see the retail light of day in the US ever, but if something is a Joe Con exclusive then it might show up at retail at some point. As an example I used the Crimson HISS and Crimson Baroness. Then I got questions about if fans went crazy when their exclusive was not as exclusive. Hope I got it right but I don't remember people getting upset and up in arms because another Crimson HISS was released.

So does anyone with a bit of insider knowledge or just better informed than I am know why exclusive isn't as exclusive or why we don't have a big uproar because someting like our Target exclusives end up being a wider release only with a different figure but no uproar? I don't think I've ever read 90 angry pages over some Joe exclusive so are we just weird?

Your premise is well a bit off, the crimson strike team I.e. the 2002 exclusive is not the same as any thing else such as the KB Operation Crimson Sabotage, the vehicles have very different color presentations. As for the baroness well that’s even more simple, different head sculpt and also different color presentation. With TF and GI Joe con exclusives with few exceptions on both sides they both depend on existing molds so for the most part it comes down to paint applications and presentation. I’d say for the most part GI Joe has the most room for making true exclusives due to the fact they can swap body parts around something not to easily done with TF.

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Because Joe Collectors are Cheap beyond measure. As a group GI joe collectors want to play with their toys, don't care about collectability or uniquness of items, and have a really narrow perspective of the whole hobby.


Why would you complain when an exclusive you missed out on gets a general release if your main intention is to get the best bang for your buck.

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In all fairness I made the assumption that BOTCON exclusives are reuses of existing mold is this true?

And Brian I’m not cheap

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Here! Here!

Joe Collectors are not only cheap but lazy. The hobby isn't fun if you gotta spend time and money tracking down some exclusive figure. Plus the idea of exclusives is just evil in the first place. Let's make new figures based on some character the fans have dreamed about seeing for years. We'll only make it in limited numbers and avaliable at just one retailer. That is plain evil to me.

Yes, BotCon exclusives are simply repaints (sometimes retools) of existing molds.

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That may be true...but simply throwing out some peices of Cardboard and Styrofoam with the trash could show you have a bit of disreguard for the value and collectability of GI Joe as more than just a toy.

I suppose there's always an exception to the rule.


What most people consider Exclusives are usualy repaints...only for certain events like SDCC will new parts/figures be created by Hasbro for use in an exclusive. With the exception of a Few Tweeked heads, any exclusive done by Fun Publications have been made up entirely of Repainted parts made by Hasbro.

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I will admit freely I am cheap. But I'm not lazy, just want a hobby that is fun and not a job to have on the side.



Actually I am betting this years SDCC exclusive ends up on the regular full release in some way by next year (Note: I never said we would have another CC in suit, but the suit mold itself and the new head will probably make thier way into figures on the regular market is what I am saying).

But to be fair to fun publications (and I hate to) wasn't the cobra chicks last year with a new body and head mold. Also the Stun Dreadnok RP had newly molded hubcaps if I am not mistaken.

Those are the only two exceptions, but other than that I am pretty certain that all the rest have been straight repaints.

Are there enough Transformer exclusives to make a fair comparison. Every Joe Con set is 15 figures (with army builders though) plus additional figures only available there. MC has been running the Jeo Con for what 7 years now? Where as the TF exclusives are usually what like 6 total with a few more added this year and they've only been doing it for a couple of years. I don't know TF well enough to make the comparison but I know there is that one Japanese store exclusive seeker jet that was also made for one of the Cons. It does happen.

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You know what get your stinking socks off my pillow.

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[quote=zedhatch]Actually I am betting this years SDCC exclusive ends up on the regular full release in some way by next year (Note: I never said we would have another CC in suit, but the suit mold itself and the new head will probably make thier way into figures on the regular market is what I am saying).
quote]

I think I read somewhere, forget which site it was, that the suit body isn't a new 25th Ann sculpt, and that it doesn't have the same articulation and was borrowed from a different toy line. This would imply we WON"T see this body used for any T&X figures down the line. Can anyone confirm hearing this story about the SDCC CC suit body?

Its definitely different than any 25th or ARAH articulation so you might be right, check out http://www.hasbro.com/monkeybartv/defau ... t&aid=3457

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Also Note: I never said the suit body was going to be a GI Joe Release just that it would be released again within a year.

For Transformers I believe they said that Thrust's wings were new molds by Fun Publishing too, not just something Hasbro had laying around. Same with all of the new heads they have done, Jazz / Ricochet, Blurr, Dreadwind, and others.




Fun Publishing has been doing the Botcon since 2005, so this was their 4th year. They seem to usually have a 5 figure box set with two add on packages, and an attendee bonus figure.

So about 10 Botcon figures a year (from Fun Pub).

This year they added a few minicons, but still stuck to this formula for the most part.

2008----------------------------------- 2007

Box Set:------------------------------Box Set:
Optimus----------------------------------- Dreadwind
Grimlock -----------------------------------Bugbite
Jazz ------------------------------------------Thrust
Goldbug -------------------------------------Dirge
Starscream ---------------------------Thundercracker
extra minicon figure

Add ons:---------------------------- Add ons:
Megatron -----------------------------------Springer
Rodimus-------------------------------------Huffer
Sideswipe --------------------------------Alpha Trion
Blurr ---------------------------------------- Weirdwolf

Attendee figure: ------------- Attendee figure:
Ricochet--------------------------------- Clear Mirage

Can't think of all of the figures from 2005 and 2006, but I do believe that both Box sets were 5 figures.

The Starscream mold from this year's set was only released in Japan prior to the convention set, and now the War Within Dirge comic pack later this year. I'm not sure if it was ever officially stated as exclusive in any way or not. It just wasn't released in the U.S. previously.

I Pluv hit on a part of it too though. For $300+ you either get a 5 figure Transformer box set or a 15 figure Joe set.
At that comparison, it's roughly $20 per Joecon figure but $60 per Botcon figure.
I know if a Convention exclusive figure were released in general retail, I be more likely to get upset about the figure I had to pay $60 to get, being thrown in to stores at $10, than I would a figure I paid $20 for.

Plus, using the two examples Caravankidd gave (Baroness and HISS), even though they were released to retail outlets, they were still store exclusives, and not a general retail release. So even the re-releases were exclusives, as well as being different from their original Convention release versions.

Plus I just think that things like this effect Joe fans and Transformer fans differently.

However with that being said, if the only way to get a 25A Major Bludd was to pay $60 for a convention exclusive figure, and Joe collectors did it just to get the character. I bet more than a few would be a little ticked that they were suckered in to paying club prices for the figure, if it was announced to be retail released a year or two later.

Obviously this wouldn't effect many of the people on Joe Customs as much, because most people here can make a custom Bludd that would be just as good, if not better, than the exclusive figure, and therefore may not even buy it in the first place. But for all of the non-customizers, who rely on the factory produced figures, it's a little different...

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No. Those were molds that Hasbro had already created that were either nixed for release or simply never made it production. While they had not been previously used, they were not created by MC.

As to the issue at hand, you could make a case that the Crimson Hiss tank was undermined by the subsequent Crimson Strike Hiss (prices on the con piece fell precipitously after the KB release) but that's about it. The Crimson Baroness could never be confused for the Processional Baroness as the colors are too different and the Crimson figure has superior paint. As such, you can't really compare the lack of complaining as we have yet to see Joe exclusives re-issued.

However, if we did, you are correct in that people wouldn't [LASER BLAST] too much. Too many Joe collectors simply pass by the MC figures and don't buy them at all. As such, if the same figure appeared in a $10 comic pack, Joe fans would buy it up and then laugh at all the people who paid the higher price for the con figure. For the majority of Joe fans, paying a premium for a figure is something to ridicule. That's why the most significant pieces are always sold privately and most of the high dollar collectors don't frequent any message boards. They don't want to put up with the crap after they spend their money on an expensive figure.

Nova hit the nail on the head. Most Joe fans are stupidly cheap. They'd rather get a cheap, exact remake of an existing figure than get something completely new and exciting. Why? Simple, they'd rather get a 6 Viper Pit figures for the price of 2 vintage Vipers than see a set with arctic Vipers, desert Vipers or anyone other number of unreleased color combinations. Joe fans don't even care if the figure is good. We'd rather have a remake of an expensive or hard to find crappy figure than something new. It's just a mentality that pervades this hobby. It's been around for a number of years and isn't likely going away.

(And, that's why this hobby gets pretty much zero respect in the higher echelons of the collecting world.)

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