Wowboy wrote:
While I know you guys did this project for fun and had no illusions about it's potential to be something that Hasbro would actually pay attention to and pick up, I have to ask; Did it whet your appetite to work on a fully fleshed out toyline? Would you ever want to take an original idea and give it this sort of treatment and even maybe make it available online?
I can't speak for Bucky and OreoBuilder, since I just did a fair number of the file cards, and had nothing directly to do with the figures or vehicles themselves, but I think this practically IS a fully fleshed-out toy line, at least as far as it goes -- which sadly isn't to your local toy departments.
Unfortunately, it just happens to be a toy line that we can't DO anything with beyond what's been done, of course.
In my estimation, though, there's a world of difference between doing a series of customs that are presented as if they were a full-fledged toy line, and trying to actually DO something like that. A series of customs doesn't require, for example, coming up with the production capital, contracting with a manufacturing facility (in China or wherever), sculpting prototypes, manufacturing the packaging, checking everything along the way to make sure that the production facilities are getting it right, and then trying to justify the cost vs. the probable sales of what would almost surely be a rather limited edition.
I think about what the Collectors' Club does with the Fan Subscription Service, and the Convention Sets. Now, say what you will about it, but they put a lot of effort into that, including new headsculpts, to try to create good modern likenesses of a lot of classic characters. And they have to come up with the package artwork, the file card, and everything else. And I think they do a very good job of it. But I also don't doubt there's a lot of headaches along the way. The Club, of course, needs Hasbro's approval to carry on with this, and with the Transformers counterpart, but even so, the Club, or Clubs, are not Hasbro. They're a much smaller operation, and in light of that, I think they do a remarkable job with what they deliver, given what they doubtless have to go through.
That said, I sure as heck wouldn't want to try it myself, even if I had the money to do it, which I most categorically do not. Whether Bucky or OreoBuilder have the resources or patience I cannot say, even to proceed with an entirely original, non-Joe concept.
In a perfect world, something like G.I. Joe: Resurgence would be coming to a store near you -- and in sufficient supply so that the scalpers couldn't spoil the fun for the rest of us. So far, I can honestly say, I haven't seen a single thing that I HAVEN'T liked -- and I can't remember the last time I said that about ANY toy line.
But as it stands, we'll just have to enjoy what's being presented here, as a sort of "What if" type of thing, which admittedly is a little sad, since it would be cool to own these figures and see them produced, but on the other hand, it's good to know that this sort of creativity, imagination, and talent is still alive and well in the G.I. Joe community, especially since those were some of the main factors -- as well as quality -- that brought me to G.I. Joe in the first place.
Have to agree with everyone else that I have to have the Orca. I have loved all the vehicles put up to this point, but absolutely by far the best vehicle from the project. 
