Hasbro Q&A wrote:1. Given that the Crimson Guards first appeared in the 1985 GI Joe wave of toys, were these red uniformed enemy figures inspired, at least in part, by the success of the similarly outfitted Red Shadow toys that were such a huge hit with kids in Europe pre-1985?
2. With the International logo being present on Ninja-Ku and Glenda, are there plans to do more releases based on international characters? If so, why were the South American characters chosen first when the European Action Force characters have a larger and more active fan base?
3. Is there any chance that variants could be made of the Ninja Ku and Pilot Scarlett to more accurately reflect the original characters, please? For example Ninja Ku was renamed as Storm Shadow and had white skin, rather than the original darker tone, and the upcoming Pilot Scarlett (Glenda inspired repaint) has red hair not blonde.
4. There seems to be some confusion as to how GI Joe became involved with the international ranges. If more international heroes are revamped and released in the future, please would you consider adding a very brief explanation on the cardbacks as to which companies produced those figures before being bought-out by Hasbro?
5. And if you were to release any 25th anniversary Action Force figures, please could we have characters other than the nine original GI Joe repaints? * Rather than giving us a new set of these, please would you consider casting other Action Force characters instead? We would love to have a fully poseable Baron Ironblood and Black Major!
* Gaucho (Gung-Ho), Jammer (Stalker), Quarrel (Scarlett), Steeler (Steeler), Stalker (Snake Eyes), Blades (Tripwire), Hunter (Cobra Officer), Red Jackal (Destro) and Red Laser (Cobra Commander)
The Baron wrote:OK, here's the answers!
1) It is hard to say for sure…but the Red Shadow influence in the US was high.
2) No plans for any more international tribute figures in 2008.
3) There are no plans for this right now. These are meant to be tribute figures which can also appeal to the greater masses of fans of GI Joe.
4) Great suggestion. We can look into this.
5) There are no plans for this right now, but thanks for the feedback.