Hey, Here's a Good Idea (and Investment)...

Marauder John's has mostly been known for selling guns and other accessories for 3.75" figures. Now it looks like they're dipping their toes into making actual figures, replete with oodles and oodles of accessories.

Pre-G.I. Joe 25th, I daydreamed of how cool it would be to get new versions of the figures I loved as a child, but this time have them packed to the gills with various weapons, knives, grenades - all of which would be removable. The 25th figures, highlighted by the the 30th POC Wave, was mind-blowing. With MJ's Kickstarter Campaign, it looks like we're moving closer to the dream.

One minor nitpick, well a few, plus some "future wishes": More soldiers and bad-add military types? Aside from the teeny-tiny props (such as mini-pouches), these seem to be variations on some of Joe's POC 30th offerings, like the "breacher" Cobra Trooper, which were basically soldier-SWAT-types packed with various, realistic weapons. Not bad, but it sorta-kinda feels familiar.

As mentioned on a message board and other places, there are plans to make some minority figures (if they're able to reach their stretch goals), and I realize hoping for variety at this early a stage is too risky, investment-wise - but wouldn't it be cool to get something other than the army-soldier standard?

I  know many fans and customizers were clamoring for a "guy-in-suit" mold, to have figures that could act as background, agents, secret identities, etc. to include in their collections, dioramas and game-playing. Jazzwares came out with Face with the A-Team, and Marvel/Hasbro had their own suited figure with Professor X. There had been others, like Men in Black 3 and the upcoming Joe Colton figure (let's not forget the ROC Destro before that), so it wasn't exactly barren.

Face, Custom James Bond, Professor X, Destro

But aside from those, wouldn't it be great to get variations - how about a trenchcoated figure? Or one in a boiler suit or mechanic uniform? Or how about a figure with an older man headsculpt (instead of the typical 20-to-30-year-old)?

And although women figures aren't a big seller, many of the other options available leave a lot to be desired - and it would be cool to have variety in terms of different body types and ages. One figure that surprised many fans when it came out was the JL Amanda Waller figure - a heavy-set black woman. Not a big-seller, yeah, but wow, Mattel actually had the balls to do this.

Not your typical action figure, but cool fan service

Sure, many might find these figures boring, but as an addendum to the figures many collectors already own, I think they'd be popular. And let's face facts: Many of these types of soldier figures, even the MJ Marauders, are directed towards the Adult Collector.

Awesome custom Tony Stark, by local customizer extraordinaire riverspoons

Still, the MJ project is a great start, and hopefully with its success, many more types of figures will be released in the future. Too bad imported prices to own these would be too expensive for many local collectors. Sigh.