So Hasbro learned the hard lesson that nothing they did was going to surpass their original run of ARAH product. So they moved into a bigger scale. Not quite Marvel Legends stature, but certainly more of a Superhero figure scale than Real American Hero. They were big and had an anime style to them. When I say that, I mean the figures didn't emulate realistic physiques and musculature like the ARAH Joes. They were stylised with angular features and tapered waistlines. This translated well in the accompanying cartoon and allowed the cartoon to ride the western/anime popularity wave established by shows like Dragonball Z and Pokemon.
The figures weren't bad. They came with interesting, unique accessories, [most of them] had unique molds and gimmicks. They were just big. Too big to be accommodated by what I deem to be the selling point of ARAH - the vehicles. If you haven't gathered by now, I am a huge fan of the vehicles. If you were to ask me what my favourite G.I. Joe toy is, I wouldn't put a figure on my top ten. Probably not even on my top twenty. And I'm not alone, this formed the subject of an internet poll that I stumbled onto. They eventually had to announced an additional, separate poll for the figures, as the vehicles were getting all the votes.
So what do you do when your scaling doesn't allow for a range of vehicles? Well I don't really know what you should do... But Sigma 6 remedied this by releasing a subscale. A set of vehicles scaled to a 2 inch line of figures.
I bemoan a scaling split. I just can't get my head around it. Do you play out your adventure with the big figures and when you call in some Dragonhawk air support, you switch down a scale? Unsatisfactory, especially for someone who knows better, someone who remembers an articulated soldier toy that could climb into a helicopter or tank or headquarters and look like he belonged.
And that my friends is why Sigma 6 had to die.
The figures weren't bad. They came with interesting, unique accessories, [most of them] had unique molds and gimmicks. They were just big. Too big to be accommodated by what I deem to be the selling point of ARAH - the vehicles. If you haven't gathered by now, I am a huge fan of the vehicles. If you were to ask me what my favourite G.I. Joe toy is, I wouldn't put a figure on my top ten. Probably not even on my top twenty. And I'm not alone, this formed the subject of an internet poll that I stumbled onto. They eventually had to announced an additional, separate poll for the figures, as the vehicles were getting all the votes.
So what do you do when your scaling doesn't allow for a range of vehicles? Well I don't really know what you should do... But Sigma 6 remedied this by releasing a subscale. A set of vehicles scaled to a 2 inch line of figures.
I bemoan a scaling split. I just can't get my head around it. Do you play out your adventure with the big figures and when you call in some Dragonhawk air support, you switch down a scale? Unsatisfactory, especially for someone who knows better, someone who remembers an articulated soldier toy that could climb into a helicopter or tank or headquarters and look like he belonged.
And that my friends is why Sigma 6 had to die.
Oh yes it did, oh and it needed to die hard.
ReplyDeleteAnd totally agreed man, never mind favourite joe toy, one of favourite toys as a kid growing up was my cobra bugg (mentioned in an earlier episode) and my gi joe warthog.
And all toys in my mind are still pitted up against joes, as the original joe line still reigns supreme in my mind as the way to go when making an action figure line.
One thing I forgot to mention. The bloody Sigma 6 cartoon was often purile nonsense. You can only alienate your adult fanbase when you have robot dogs disarming bombs by pissing on them and Roadblock and Tunnel Rat facing off in a hamburger eating competition. Renegades is not without its problems but is watchable for a fan of ARAH.
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