2 hours ago, RobertD said:Well, the point of the retro cardbacks is to imitate the original toy line. So whenever they announce one the design is generally pretty locked-in.
Cover Girl and the Green Shirts beg to differ?When the mainline Classified was focused more on reinterpretation of classic designs rather than reproductions of them, the Retro line was a way to redo them in more classic toy looks, but as Jscott91 pointed out, it's all over the place now. There's been a shift toward cartoon-based looks and characters across the whole line over the past few years and I think that a more radically different look for Wild Bill - either toy v2 or cartoon - would justify his place in that line more than just giving people who couldn't afford the Dragonfly a chance to get him (which, don't get me wrong, is still an entirely valid reason to get a good toy back out there to a wider audience).
I'm just happy to finally have Wild Bill coming to my shelf
22 minutes ago, RobertD said:Well, the point of the retro cardbacks is to imitate the original toy line. So whenever they announce one the design is generally pretty locked-in.
The Retro line is actually weird. The early retro figures were just repainted Blackout designs. This worked for some characters (Destro) and not so much for others (Baroness).
The later Retro line is mostly ARAH based, but not always. Cobra Commander, for example, is clearly Sunbow in design (bigger gloves and the color scheme) and not ARAH.
And the Crimson Guard is all over the place. The silver face plate is not ARAH accurate and female Crimson Guard, obviously, did not exist in the ARAH line.
The Retro line is amazing and pretty much all I buy now (Dawn Moreno will be the first main line non-vehicle that I've bought since Jinx). But it's not consistent how it does figures.
On 3/26/2026 at 3:30 PM, Admiralty_Entertainment said:Weird that they didn't go for the very Sunbow color scheme then! That would have been significantly different from 'HasLab but worse' approach they've taken to Wild Bill and probably would have netted more buyers that already had the HasLab version in their collections anyway. Plus bright colors = more kid sales, which I would have thought would be as good a reason as any.
Well, the point of the retro cardbacks is to imitate the original toy line. So whenever they announce one the design is generally pretty locked-in.
Shown below is the new Hasbro G.I. Joe Classified Series Retro Card Wild Bill, Techno-Viper, & Grunt Figures are now available for pre-order at places like our sponsors: BigBadToyStore.com Entertainment Earth Nerdzoic Amazon - Wild Bill, Techno Viper and Grunt
Shown below is the new Hasbro G.I. Joe Classified Series Retro Card Wild Bill, Techno-Viper, & Grunt Figures will be available today at 1pm EDT for pre-order at places like our sponsors: BigBadToyStore.com Entertainment Earth Nerdzoic
Weird that they didn't go for the very Sunbow color scheme then! That would have been significantly different from 'HasLab but worse' approach they've taken to Wild Bill and probably would have netted more buyers that already had the HasLab version in their collections anyway. Plus bright colors = more kid sales, which I would have thought would be as good a reason as any.
Thanks Satam!
6 hours ago, Admiralty_Entertainment said:Interesting to see Wild Bill as a solo release, though with different gloves to the HasLab version, which I assume hews closer to the animation model as most of these retro card versions do. Surprising to see one so close to the exclusive version - I don't have the Dragonfly but I'm still kinda hesitant about getting this version knowing I'd end up with another one if I got the vehicle.
This is the animation model for Wild Bill from the Sunbow cartoon:The green gloves evoke the old 3 3/4" figure
10 hours ago, Jscott991 said:Wild Bill gives me some hope we will see Rattler Baroness's head show up on a new version of the character at some point.
It's extremely likely that most of Rattler Baroness will be repurposed without the flight vest and patches and stuff for a more retro comic-styled version as that's essentially what that body is.
Interesting to see Wild Bill as a solo release, though with different gloves to the HasLab version, which I assume hews closer to the animation model as most of these retro card versions do. Surprising to see one so close to the exclusive version - I don't have the Dragonfly but I'm still kinda hesitant about getting this version knowing I'd end up with another one if I got the vehicle.
Don't feel the need to pick up the Techno-Viper since I have a couple of the regular releases of them already, but always good for troop builders to get out there again.
Grunt, I see the appeal for those who are trying to do the classic versions of the original 13, but I'm quite happy with the modernized version we got in the mainline, like with Rock 'N Roll, so I'll pass on that but I'm sure there are plenty that are happy he'll be released.
Wild Bill gives me some hope we will see Rattler Baroness's head show up on a new version of the character at some point.
But Grunt and Techno Viper are really uninspiring re-releases. These figures were available at heavy discounts not that long ago.
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