We can argue whether the default Cobra color is blue, red or even purple. (Seriously, there's more purple Cobras than other colors.) But, everyone will agree that Cobra's principle color isn't green. There were just two vintage green Cobras that both appeared in 1989: the Aero Viper and the Night Viper. Both figures are highly regarded as the color can work in small doses. The dark green palette works for the specialty of the Night Viper. But, there are many other color schemes that would have also fit the mold. Hasbro never saw fit to repaint the Night Viper and he remained one of the more desirable vintage army builders for many years. In the late 2010s, factory custom maker the Black Major released several series of Night Viper repaints. All showcased the untapped potential of the Night Viper mold. The paint job I've found most useful, though, is a grey and black color combo. The grey hearkens back to the Stinger Driver from the vintage line and fits with the iconic Cobra vehicles from the line's early years.
I've recounted my discovery of the Night Viper before. He was, though, the only figure I purchased at retail between early 1988 and December of 1992. His pristine cardback with bubble still attached sat inside a small Banana Republic brown paper shopping bag on the top shelf of the closet in my childhood room for nearly two decades. While I never really got to use the figure, his top notch design kept him as someone that held more value to me than most of my post-childhood Joes. As an adult, I acquired a nice squad of Funskool Night Vipers that were my core Cobra army for a few years while we waited on Hasbro to finally get some diverse army building molds into production.
In time, though, that novelty waned. I had less interest in a Night Viper army because I had other figures that became available. But, when I liquidated a huge chunk of my collection in the early 2010's, I kept all the Night Vipers. I saved my four vintage figures. And, kept my entire Funskool army. (It helped that Funskool figures were worthless at the time and I've have sold them for less than my $4/figure cost.) So, even as the figure fell out of favor from a usage standpoint, it remained a viable army in my collection. Every now and then again, I get the urge to get the old Night Vipers out and relive their heyday as the pre-eminent Cobras in my legions. But, you'll see that Night Viper appearances are few and far between. Heck, the photos in this profile are at least 3 years old and I don't have any newer ones to supplement them.
This figure is pretty basically colored. His body is a silverish-grey with black highlights. Aside from a small, silver belt buckle and the small green and yellow logo on his left arm, the figure is two tonal. But, in this context, the figure works. His paint masks match the vintage Night Viper and this figure very much feels like something Hasbro could have made during the vintage run. While additional painted details would have been nice, they are less necessary for some repaints due to their ties to the vintage figure's appearance.
For gear, the Black Major Night Vipers match with the vintage figures. He includes the classic rifle: complete with strap to go over his arm and the weird holes to affix the rifle to the Night Viper's legs. The Night Viper backpack is there, though it's kind of underwhelming due to the original design. The figure features both the face shield and the monocle that attaches to it. The face shields are the biggest source of consternation for these figures. The shields are difficult to get on and can either break or snap off the pegs that are on the figure's helmet. Some colors work better than others. But, they are all tight fits and take a bit of patience to get onto the figure's head without breaking something.
The result of all this is a really nice repaint of a classic figure. I'd hesitate to say that this grey Night Viper is better than the green version. It's just different. The green has many uses. But, this grey version does, too. He fits well with the Stinger, Hiss Tank or even the Night Watch. And, it is nice to have a a grey figure from some of the later years to fill in gaps on Cobra vehicles when you want to use other figures who were released after 1984. More importantly, it's a sensical color for both the mold and the character's specialty. Grey and black is about as classic "night" as the Joe line gets. So, seeing it on this Night Viper mold makes this release feel like it could have been a vintage Hasbro design. For me, that's a huge plus when it comes to factory customs.
At this point in my collection, knowing that this figure exists and that I have a couple is where the value in him lies. I don't really see me taking this guy out and using him in extensive photo shoots. And, it's hard to get proper night shots where the figure really makes sense. I like to take him and mingle him with 1989 or Funskool Night Vipers. But, I rarely find the occasion warrants any photos to commemorate it. I do enjoy the Night Viper mold. It's one that I've never been able to fully appreciate because I had the figure in my teenage years but couldn't really appreciate him. That's carried over to today and I generally feel that the Night Viper is a figure that I really should use more often.
Hasbro released one vintage Night Viper. Some of his parts were used on the 1992 Heli-Viper: but in very odd colors. After that, the mold went to India. Funskool released the Night Viper for many, many years. The figure was colored in similar style to the American figure and was a staple of online Joe dealers during the Funskool heyday. (Funskool Night Vipers would sell out routinely throughout 2001 and even into 2002. Guys bought them by the dozens.) There are a few minor coloring variants on the figure and accessories. But, the figure's main design doesn't stray from Hasbro's vision. Hasbro got the Night Viper back in April of 2003. His parts were then used for the 2005 Iron Grenadier convention figure. And, in 2006, the club released an exclusive "not an army builder" Night Viper that was...in green. So, even the newly painted version didn't really bring anything new to the mold other than some painted details. Due to the club's use, the Night Viper didn't get picked for any retail sets...even though he was a natural fit for the Night Watch set. Factory Custom makers re-creating the mold, though, has finally brought about the Night Viper repaints we've always wanted. You can now get them in grey, tan, red, gold, blue, black, python patrol and even colored like the Alley Viper. At this point, every Night Viper you could ever want is available. So, the mold finally got its due.
The Night Viper series debuted as a higher price point figure from Black Major. And, it's never really come down. These days, it's pretty easy to find the less desirable Night Viper colorways. They don't really seem to sell. The earlier figures with many of the more collector friendly colors are much harder to track down. You'll end up paying between $25 and $30 if you can find one. Which, is probably too much. As the market cools down, figures like this will be less desirable and should come up, from time to time, at cheaper prices. You just have to be ready to pounce when one appears. Until then, there's lots of other Night Vipers that are just fine to tide you over.
