You may have purchased figures in the past that came with gun accessories that don’t really look like guns. There’s no need to look very far to see exactly what I’m talking about. If you collect GI JOE Classified figures, you probably opened your figure out of the box with excitement, only to be disappointed by how the so-called “guns” that came with it, are supposed to be “guns”. For example, when I got the “Duke” figure from the GI JOE Classified Series line, I was so excited to get the 6-inch, updated and more modern version of the original 3.75-inch figure. It was my favorite toy when I was kid. I can remember playing with my JOEs, and have Duke posing at the front in command of the troops. However, I quickly realized that the guns and accessories he came with originally were not up to my liking.
“Is this supposed to be a hybrid of a laser space gun and a modern variation of the M4 Rifle?”, I would ask myself. How about his side arm pistol? “Is that supposed to be a variant of the magnum pistol from Halo, or something else completely?”
From what I remember back in the days, the original GI JOE Duke (3.75 inch) came with a rifle (looks a lot more like an SMG), backpack, binoculars, and a helmet. I can’t remember if he originally came with a sidearm .45 pistol, but I do remember having one for mine. It may have been from another figure that I just gave to Duke permanently. Needless to say however, the weapons and accessories for the JOEs back then at least somewhat “resembled” actual guns and accessories that we are all familiar with.
I am not entirely sure what the deal is, but I have a feeling that it has something to do with politics and keeping the “good” presence for Hasbro. I get it. As a major toy manufacturer, they probably don’t want to make it seem like they are promoting guns and violence (even though I personally believe guns DO NOT make themselves violent, but that is for another discussion). I’ve even heard from others that since Hasbro has licenses and contracts with Disney, this is also another reason why they can not make the accessories for their toys to actually look like guns. How much of that is true is beyond me, but again, I completely get it and would make sense to me.
That is why we are determined to provide custom accessories for toys and collectibles such as the GI JOE Classified Series. I know first hand how frustrating it can be when you realize that your figure’s weapons make them look like they are a part of the army from Mars! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having futuristic looking space guns if THAT IS WHAT’S BEING PORTRAYED (just look at Star Wars)! As a matter of fact, we will be releasing space-futuristic type weapons in the upcoming months, so we’re not against that genre at all.
When I look at GI JOEs, I see “REGULAR MODERN MILITARY”. Maybe I am just being too observant but I like to equip my JOEs with weapons and accessories that somewhat resemble military gear. It doesn’t have to be 100% accurate (that is actually a copyright and trademark infringement!), but at least it won’t make them look like they are a part of an elite military group from outer space. And that is one of my main goals here at M-A-D. I know there a lot of customizers and collectors out there who looks for such accessories because they don’t like the original ones that came with their figure, and it makes me happy that I get to provide those accessories at a VERY AFFORDABLE price.
Make sure you click the eBay image on the right-hand side panels to visit our store. We carry a wide range of weapons and accessories for popular 1:12 scale toy brands out there like GI JOE Classified, NECA, Mezco, Marvel legends and many other brands that make similar figures in size. Or if you want, you can just follow the link here: