The single carded figures continue at retail through 2008 with wave 3 hitting stores in October and wave 4-- a reissue wave-- hitting possibly by year's end. This "extra" wave will consist of Cobra Commander, Cobra Air Trooper, Roadblock v1, Gung-Ho, Scarlett, Destro, Duke v1, and Storm Shadow v1. The Snake Eyes figure shown at the convention that was shown was the comic pack version rendered entirely in black and is slated to be a part of the first 2008 wave. Hasbro is aware of the concerns that fans have in terms of both design issues and availability. John Worden stated that they are working on the mobility issues found with the figures and that these will be corrected in subsequent waves that will be released in 2008. Retooling the molds for the currently released figures, however, will prove costly and so that decision would be made at a later date. It was also mentioned that the torso articulation is being reworked to resemble that found on the Star Wars "super posable" Clone Trooper which features a mid-torso joint located below the ribs as opposed to below the pectorals. This will provide for a much more consistent look while maintaining the same range of motion found in the current releases.
Neal Hoffman addressed the shortages of figures to be found at retail stating that the demand far exceeded the supply on what was originally intended to be a much smaller line. Refresher cases of waves 1, 2, & 3 will be hitting stores in late third quarter/early fourth quarter to ensure that fans will have a much easier time finding their favorite figures at retail.
Wave 4 prototypes were shown for the first time and included the long-rumored "Blade" Destro which will feature a cloth cape by the time the piece hits stores. Other figures shown included Flash, Crimson Guard, and Snow Job. Flash will feature the "quilted padding" on his chest, arms and legs. The Crimson Guard features a removable pistol that will be holstered on the left leg, and Snow Job features all of his original equipment plus a removable cowl and pair of goggles. The design team was particularly excited about this wave as it represented some of their most ambitious figures to date.
Lastly, the design mentioned that feedback from the fans is important. They stated that they do read the various message boards and encouraged fans to discuss the aspects of the line that they liked as well as what they thought could be improved on the forums.
2007 Wave 3 single carded figures |
featuring Firefly, Red Ninja, Shipwreck, Stalker, & Zartan |
firefly.jpg |
firefly2.jpg |
redninja.jpg |
redninja2.jpg |
shipwreck.jpg |
shipwreck2.jpg |
stalker01.jpg |
stalker02.jpg |
zartan.jpg |
2008 Wave 1 Single carded figures |
featuring Crimson Guard, Destro, Flash, Snow Job, & Snake Eyes (repaint) |
crimsonguard01.jpg |
crimsonguard02.jpg |
crimsonguard03.jpg |
crimsonguard04.jpg |
destro01.jpg |
destro02.jpg |
destro03.jpg |
destro04.jpg |
destro05.jpg |
flash01.jpg |
flash02.jpg |
flash03.jpg |
snowjob01.jpg |
snowjob02.jpg |
snowjob03.jpg |
snowjob04.jpg |
snakeeyes01.jpg |