BBI Figures...the Verdict

dandaman · Post by **dandaman** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:11 pm

I was in a TRU today and I had three BBI modern figures in hand that I was going to purchase. I noticed another guy rifling through the 21st Century VN figures and I asked him "Looking for the new ones huh?" He grumbled "Yeah, but they never seem to restock. All they have are these Vietnam guys which I don't collect." So I asked him "What about modern? Like these BBI figures?" I held them up and he just about laughed. "Those guys look ridiculous. They're not even accurate. You're better off getting the Forces of Valor series at Target." As he walked off I had this big lump in my throat. Were BBI figures really that weak? And not accurate? What did he mean? Needless to say, I put them all back on the shelf and left. I wanted to get the group's opinion before I head back there and buy them. I did notice there was an overabundance of BBI on the pegs, like they had hardly been moving...what am I missing?

Black_Dragon_One · Post by **Black_Dragon_One** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:20 pm

I like the bbi guys... i guest it is more of taste... I pass on the fov guy...

any way you can get bbi guys for cheap at target to.. or at wally world for 2 to 3 bucks... if you can still fine some... I seen fov but never own them...

Fritzkrieg · Post by **Fritzkrieg** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:34 pm

My only gripe with the BBI stuff, is that they have not produced any WWII Axis stuff, accept the the Zero. I'd like to see some BBI quality Germans.

General Blasto · Post by **General Blasto** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:35 pm

Yep, me too. I like them BBI modern figures because I behead them and put the heads on to my WWII guys

Then I put the WWII heads on the BBI guys and sell 'em. I got a whole bunch for sale now and cheap too

Da General

dandaman · Post by **dandaman** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:43 pm

This is my theory. I welcome any challengers.

I think there are two different types of military collectors. There are those who prefer to collect "faceless" troops, like WW2 Germans, VC/NVA, generic looking GIs, etc. and then there are those who collect all sorts of figures, including ones which can only be customized so much.

Like when you get into these BBI elite forces. There is something very *individual* about every figure. You can try to customize them, but in essence they are what they are: special ops guys. It's sort of hearkening back to the GI Joe days where initially the GI Joe line started off with generic looking troops, but then morphed into this monstrosity with all sorts of weird individual characters. The only ones that remained "faceless" were the cobra troops.

I am more of a fan of the "faceless" figure than the individual, because you can do so much more with them. I guess the individualistic BBI figures aren't for me after all.

Phaid · Post by **Phaid** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 4:06 pm

Well, a lot of BBI modern figures are pretty inaccurate. The figures that are in regular uniforms are just silly -- the latest Marine sniper, the Marine Force guys, and all of the earlier figures like the Delta / SEAL / SWAT figures which were basically the same 3 sets painted different colors. All of these figures are terribly inaccurate, the uniforms are just random made-up camo patterns and the gear is just as bad.

On the other hand, their newer (last couple of years) series of special ops types are excellent. The Delta and SEAL paratrooper, the Ranger and 10th Mountain paratrooper, the Delta CQB guy, the Night Stalker pilot, and a few others are really nice. The uniforms and gear are accurate, the weapons are much more detailed than before, etc.

So the upshot is... for army builder types, the FOV modern figures are definitely a whole lot more accurate. But for special ops types, well, it's hard to beat BBI in any case, even more so since nobody else makes any.

MG40K · Post by **MG40K** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 8:53 pm

That guy obliviously doesn't know what he's talking about, I find bbi to be some of the most accurate out the, especially the modern guys. He's just mad because he cant find his little 21c figures.

I'm talking about the new ones of course.

olifant · Post by **olifant** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 10:41 pm

Agreed on the army building vs. individual, but the most recent BBI figures are by far my favorite. I think they are outstanding and can't get enough of them, both literally and figuratively. The 10th Mountain troops are fabulous.

digger · Post by **digger** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 6:50 am

The bbi figures are great. The bbi WWII was inspired by SPR and are the best US troops we have. Not all of the modern guys are incorrect. The very first wave of Seals IS correct. Some of the newer guys may have the worng camo or weapon, but overall they have great detail and headsculpts, and are easy to mix and match with. I have a ton of the last two waves of modern guys and never get tired of mixing up the SF teams.

parrish333 · Post by **parrish333** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 10:38 am

dandaman wrote:I was in a TRU today and I had three BBI modern figures in hand that I was going to purchase. I noticed another guy rifling through the 21st Century VN figures and I asked him "Looking for the new ones huh?" He grumbled "Yeah, but they never seem to restock. All they have are these Vietnam guys which I don't collect." So I asked him "What about modern? Like these BBI figures?" I held them up and he just about laughed. "Those guys look ridiculous. They're not even accurate. You're better off getting the Forces of Valor series at Target." As he walked off I had this big lump in my throat. Were BBI figures really that weak? And not accurate? What did he mean? Needless to say, I put them all back on the shelf and left. I wanted to get the group's opinion before I head back there and buy them. I did notice there was an overabundance of BBI on the pegs, like they had hardly been moving...what am I missing?

I say buy what YOU like. I do read every review posted here, but the fact is everybody ends up having their own funny little preferences. Plus the guy you met might have been confusing the "Elite Operations" guys at TRU with the "Elite Force" figs; there's a world of difference between the two. Esp. since he said to go with the FOV guys instead, which really are on par with BBi/Elite Force. But if he did know exactly which figures he was talking about, again, just his own odd preferences.

It's not really a generic joe vs. an individual thing with BBi either. That is certainly GI Joe's idea to provide a very unique character with a backstory, but plenty of BBi's guys are as "generic" as anyone else's. Take a look at digger's photo's of an army of 101st Paratroopers - all BBi guys with head swaps.

In the end, each line has its own merits. Find what you like and don't let one person's "that's crap!" turn you off if you really dig it

STUKA · Post by **STUKA** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 10:54 am

buy what you like. I like most of the BBI guys and usually get a few of each and more for head swaps. The modern FOV figures? I liked the ones for the tankers but didnt get as many of the regular figures.

topnotch97 · Post by **topnotch97** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:29 pm

same here. done my fair share of headswapping. some went well, some went bad.

i guess it's a matter of.... taste.

dandaman · Post by **dandaman** » Sat May 03, 2008 9:10 am

In your opinion, what are the best elite force/special ops BBI figures to get?

Please cite the name of the figure and what part of the figure is best (i.e. whole figure, head, torso, etc.).

Small Scale Military Headquarters

BBI Figures...the Verdict

BBI Figures...the Verdict

Theory

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Re: BBI Figures...the Verdict

Opinion