1989 HEAT Viper

The HEAT Viper is the last of the 1989 army building class about whom I've written.  It's not because he's the worst.  The figure is weird and offbeat.  But, it has a charm about it that is elevated by his specialty.  He features a unique color scheme, excellent accessories and a specialty that was missing from Cobra.  It all adds up to a fun figure to have around.  The real story is the bizarre elements of the figure's appearance.  Some design choices seem fairly bad.  In the real world, the HEAT Viper would have issues.  But, in a fictional kids toy line, they still work and create a fun action figure.

My first interaction with the HEAT Viper was in the summer of 1989.  We were visiting some friends for a week.  Their kids were slightly younger than me.  And, in their toy room, the had a wide variety of new 1989 Joe figures.  The gear was long strewn about in various piles or tubs.  And, I spent my copious free time there sorting through various bins of building blocks, Hot Wheels cars and every other toy of the day in search of items that were obviously Joe accessories.  I then attempted to match them up with the figures with whom I could associate the gear.

This brings up an point about Hasbro's design team.  If you had any familiarity with vintage G.I. Joe, it was relatively easy to spot an accessory from the line...even if it was from a figure you had never seen before.  Joe gear featured specific plastics that were not imitated by other toy lines.  But, there was also a scale and detailing that just wasn't found on other toy lines during the vintage run.  Others would come along that could match the sculpting and materials.  But, they'd be out of scale for Joe figures.  So, it was easy for me to recognize a G.I. Joe accessory among a sea of other toys, even though I wasn't familiar with any of them.  That's a testament to the brand's continuity of quality and one of the unsung reasons why it was able to endure at retail for so long.

During this visit, I was able to piece together a large contingent of Joe accessories.  I wasn't sure what gear went with what figure.  (I might have found a cardback or catalog to help a bit, though.)  But, the pile of new accessories and new figures had me longing for childhood, again.  I didn't mind the bright colors on the new Cobras.  In fact, because of these colors, I remember the figures and the entire interaction.  There were, probably, new Joes in that room, too.  But, I don't recall any of them.  It is the HEAT Viper, TARGAT, Alley Viper and Annihilator that stand out to me.  The figures were new and exciting enough to recharge my interest in the Joe comic.  But, not enough to get me buy any figures at retail that year.  So, my interaction with the class of '89 was mostly relegated to those bored, summer days.

In the mid 1990's, I started picking up a few, stray 1989 Cobra figures.  I'd find them at flea markets or the occasional comic book store.  I just had a couple.  But, they all fit into a new mythos.  I now viewed Cobra as a sleeker, more dynamic attack force.  They were individually mobile (like the Annihilator) and designed to move in quickly, strike violently and leave suddenly.  It was a terrifying new phase of Cobra's plan as they brutalized small towns all over the country and made citizens fear for their lives.  As Cobra conducted more operations, they'd discover holes in their plan.  Once, a helicopter escaped an attack.  So, Cobra invented Annihilators.  Then, Cobra found that some locations had Cold War era concrete that could withstand the Alley Viper weapons.  So, Range Vipers were given heavier weapons to shoot through walls.  Eventually, Cobra came across a fortified location where locals were able to hunker down and hold off the attack.  So, HEAT Vipers were invented.  They were on call during an operation and would be quickly transported to any location that was too difficult for Alley Vipers to quickly handle.  The HEAT Viper would jump out of the Parasite, simply destroy the entire hive of resistance and jump back into the Parasite for transport to the next hot spot.  Cobra was efficiently ruthless in their attacks and they were quick to add specialties to ensure no survivors.

In this role, the HEAT Viper wasn't all that important...until he was.  And, that fit's the HEAT Viper's specialty.  He's not a guy you need on every mission.  And, he's never going to be one of your main bad guys.  But, he's someone who is really needed at very specific times.  He shows up, does his job and that's about all you need from him.  There's fun adventures to be had where the Joes are able to stop him.  His main purpose, though, was a great evener in battles where a single guy could take out a VAMP, Havoc or Mauler.  Eventually, the HEAT Vipers learned they could take out low flying Tomahawks and Dragonflies.  This was a game changer as it allowed Cobra to have mobile ground forces with a single person who was capable of taking out all of Joe's air superiority.  Joe responded by having the choppers fly higher up, out of the HEAT Viper range.  But, this limited the effectiveness of their anti-infantry weaponry and eliminated the ability of Tomahawks to insert ground troops.

I'd like to say the HEAT Viper fills this role today.  But, he doesn't.  Instead, I use Fast Blast Vipers.  The black 2001 versions and the crimson 2002 versions are just figures that speak more to me than the HEAT Viper.  The original yellow and purple does look great when posed with his 1989 contemporaries.  So, he's a necessary entry in any display.  But, for usage, the Fast Blast Viper has replaced the HEAT.  There's a few reasons for this.  And, the figure's base coloring is only about the third factor on the list.

All of which leads to the discussion about the HEAT Viper's design.  Everything is going swimmingly on the HEAT Viper until you get to the head.  For whatever reason, the HEAT Viper's face shield only covers one of his eyes.  The other is blocked.  So, the HEAT Viper would have mono-vision.  (If you look at the card art, though, it appears the original design was to have a two-toned face plate so the HEAT Viper could see out of both eyes.  It just didn't translate to the figure.)  More glaring is the roughly 10% of his face that isn't covered.  There's just no reason for this.  And, this small part of exposed face is never explained.  It's low enough to leave the HEAT Viper's mouth exposed...limiting the effectiveness of the built in recycling gear that would purify the air he's breathing.  You have a fully concealed person inside a protective suit, just to leave a portion of his jaw exposed.  It's not even an aesthetic design choice.  The helmet is just weird and doesn't match any real world applications.  In fact, it is so jarring that it kind of ruins the complete figure.  Such case was taken to make the HEAT Viper encased in a detailed, protective suit.  Then, you leave one glaring weakness that's also detrimental to his appearance.  The Joe line got a little weird in the late '80's.  (It was like one guy who was mostly to blame.)  But, it made for some great figures along with flawed entries like the HEAT Viper.

The figure's colors are different.  But, they work.  Yellow and Purple would become a staple of Cobra vehicles in the 1990's.  It debuted on the HEAT Viper and the visual, offset with some grey and silver details, made for a visually striking figure.  There's no denying that the HEAT Viper is an aesthetic marvel.  Hasbro was willing to take some chances in the vintage line.  And, their wise decision to stray from staid blue and green allowed them to create powerful and memorable designs.  The yellow and purple complement each other, nicely.  The other colors help to mute the bright yellow.  And, they allow the features on the sculpt to stand out.  It leave the HEAT Viper one of the more interesting figures to look at and makes him a necessary member of any collection.

The HEAT Viper's gear is bizarre.  It's an intricate and complex system that all works together with amazing engineering.  1989 was the year of the sinister Cobra as the HEAT Viper joins the Alley Viper as two of the few figures with left handed weapons.  The HEAT Viper is supposed to carry his updated bazooka (he's the Cobra Bazookaman) in his left hand with the white hose connected to the peg on his helmet.  There is a second, black hose, that connects from the front of the weapon to the HEAT Viper's alternate shoulder where there is a sculpted peg.  Oddly, neither of these hoses connects to the HEAT Viper's backpack.  The pack's defining feature is the exhaust pipes.  But, there's nothing to create any fumes.  And, why would Cobra design an exhaust system that wraps around the wearer to discharge the waste in front of him...right where he'd breathe it in!  Cobra was all about death traps.  And, the HEAT Viper gear delivers.

From the card art, the gun is to be held with the smaller end facing forward.  For some reason, the weapon has the word "FANG" written on it.  It's a fun detail.  In the 2000's, when Hasbro used the gun and the sculpted hose with many figures, the factory began to self contain this hose onto the gun.  This was because the head peg into which it attached has been removed from the Fast Blast Viper since he had a new head.  So, the hose is plugged into the front peg on the bazooka.  Honestly, it kind of works.  And, I've never undone any of mine and use them in this fashion with 2002 Fast Blast Vipers.

You can not discern the orientation of the HEAT Viper's pack from his card artwork.  The traditional method is with the exhaust pipes at the bottom.  Leaving them to protrude on the figure's left side.  Personally, I prefer to orient them at the top.  Here they blow over the figure's right shoulder and help balance the overall look since the bazooka is such a big contraption.  Either will work.  The figure also includes 6 missiles that attach to his boots.  Practically, this is dumb for a lot of reasons.  As a toy, it's neat as heck.  Again, the missile orientation is up to you.  Some people have them pointing down.  Some have them point up.  And, some psychopaths will alternate the orientation with some point up and others pointing down.  The missiles hold in place rather well.  And, this firm affixation is the likely reason why they are relatively easy to find today.

The HEAT Viper was a canary in the coal mine for available Joe molds.  We just didn't realize that back in 2001.  The reason is that after his use in North America and Europe, the HEAT Viper mold went to Brazil.  Here, he was released in similar colors as a member of the Forca Electronica subset and named Estilhaco.  He didn't appear again until the first Fast Blast Viper showed up in 2001.  This figure used the entire HEAT Viper body and an Undertow head.  The same mold was released in 2002 in the BJ's exclusive gift set.  In 2003, the HEAT Viper head returned when he was released in the Toys R Us exclusive Python Patrol set.  In 2001, Hasbro (conveniently) told collectors that their favorite molds were "lost in Brazil".  But, as the HEAT Viper proved, that was not the case.  Hasbro just didn't want to look for the molds.  When the Comic Packs became a thing, Hasbro found more molds that had been "lost".  And, the club scoured out a few of the more popular molds for some convention sets.  I'd like to think that if we'd called Hasbro out, they'd have been shamed into finding more collector favorite molds.  But, I don't think they would have.

HEAT Vipers are a figure where it can be frustrating to find a mint and complete figure.  Dealers will sell them in the $30 range.  And, some sell because complete figures aren't all that common.  When you find them, though, you can get them for under $20.  If you give up a couple of rockets or the black hose, though, the price can half.  And, those figures are kind of easy to find.  Unfortunately, the HEAT Viper is one of those Joes who really needs his gear to be  useful.  He was designed with his full accessory complement in mind.  So, missing those elements leaves the figure wanting.  It's pretty easy to piece together a cheap figure from a couple of incomplete versions.  And, the extras aren't bad to have around to pilot your Parasite or Paralyzer.  You don't need a HEAT Viper army.  But, you do need one or two.  If for nothing else, to appreciate the artistry that went into his design.

1989 Recoil - Random Photos of the Day II

Recoil is a figure I've looked at a couple of times in the site's history.  In the early days, he was new to my collection and was among my favorite new acquisitions.  But, over time, his importance has waned.  He's not really a figure I think about all that often.  Despite that, though, I do seem to photograph him rather frequently.  In the photos below, you'll see a variety of shoots that have been taken over a couple of years.  He's often with the same cast of characters as I tend to shoot figures with their contemporaries.  This is function of how I store my figures as I keep them in plastic drawers by year and, in large years, by Joes or Cobras.  That makes it easy to grab the same figures time and time again when I'm thinking of a photo.

My thing with Recoil is that he should be awesome.  He fits all the classic criteria for a great figure.  He's just not quite there.  The powder blue accessories are the easiest mark against him.  But, with the plethora of factory custom options now available, that's an easy fix.  Maybe it's just that he unzips his tunic a bit boo much.  Or, he's wearing 1/2 of the Devo hat.  But, this guy just isn't someone for whom I've taken time to develop a character.  

Instead, he's a steady presence in photos as he works well with lots of figures and in many different environments.  He's not a guy I actively like, but one I use quite a bit.  Along with a similar realization about the 1983 Snake Eyes, it's made me re-evaluate what actually constitutes a figure I like.  While photos aren't the perfect way to gauge favoritism, they are a strong indicator.  (Some figures like the '85 Snake Eyes are just hard to photograph.)  I might spend a cold weekend looking at the figures who find themselves the subject of the most photos in my collection.  In fact, that might be a fun write up that exposes some truths about the figures I think I like the most.

Rarities - 1989 Deep Six (Unproduced Diving Shoes)

The 1989 Deep Six is not a beloved figure.  He is, though, a pretty great figure for his specialty.  He was the perfect blend of 1989 modernity that defined the Joe line and old-timey diving suits that every kid in the '80's knew from the Fisher Price figure that came with the orange octopus.  Originally, though, the figure was supposed to include even more gear than he did.  Along with all his production pieces, Deep Six was also going to include two diving shoes that attached to his feet.  You can see them in the catalog image below.

It's certain that these shoes were removed for cost cutting reasons.  They really offered nothing to the figure.  And, Deep Six included a nice amount of gear, even without them.  And, no kid was making a purchase decision on Deep Six based on whether or not he included some weighted shoes.  They were small pieces that would have been easily lost.  So, much like Mainframe's computer stand from 1986, the accessories were entirely superfluous and didn't really affect the overall impression of the figure were they removed.

If you look very closely at Deep Six's card artwork, you can just barely see the shoes.  Hasbro was deft in their editing, though.  And, the bottom of Deep Six's feet are cut off by the edges of the card.  Knowing the shoes were axed and this would have just been a matter of cropping the photo slightly differently, it's tough to see the feet being so close to the edge as anything other than intentional.  

It's always interesting to see items like this.  We know that the cost to develop an accessory is the biggest part of the overall expense.  But, even in the late '80's, Hasbro was making at least 150,000-200,000 of their least popular figures.  So, saving a few pennies on a figure could add up across the whole line...even if Hasbro had incurred the cost to make the parts.  The shoes appearing in a promo catalog with production level figures, though, tells you they were a late strike from the figure's complement of gear.  While I would love for their to be a complicated back story as to why these pieces were chosen for elimination, the truth is that it is certain to be nothing more than financial.  And, decisions like that are both boring and depressing while also driving home that, to the Hasbro guys, the Joe line was, at the end of the day, a job.  

My Favorite Accessories - Part 2

Part 1 of this series looked at my favorite weapons from childhood.  This time around, I'll be looking at some of the gear that really drove my second phase of collecting.  This period, technically, covers 1988 through 1997.  During that time, I only was able to find a few figures.  So, you're going to see a cross section of accessories.  And, a few classic items will be missing because, while they were released during this period, I didn't acquire them until 1998 or later.  Some of these items appeared in my early teen years when I wasn't collecting or buying Joes, but my youngest brother still was.  So, the limited exposure to them made them loom larger than they otherwise might have.

Early Adult Favorites:

1. Duke/Stalker/Others MP-5 inspired rifle

As I returned to Joe collecting in the mid 1990's, I spent most of my time tracking down the remnants of the line at various retail stores.  Among the first figures I found was the 1993 Duke.  This is a solid figure.  But, the main source of interest in him was the "new" weapons on his tree.  While I was passingly familiar with Muskrat's shotgun (someday I'll tell that story...), the other weapons were ones I had never before seen.  As far as I was concerned, they were completely new sculpts.  It was the MP-5 inspired weapon that piqued my interest, though.  It looked great with Duke.  It was somehow both compact and large.  This was accomplished by having the overall footprint be small while giving the weapon a larger barrel.  I turned this into a story element.  These newer weapons became "Generation 4" weapons.  They were more powerful and could carry more ammo than earlier weapon designs.  As they were new, they were limited to only the highest ranking Joes.  Eventually, Cobra got some and gave them to elite troopers, too.  As I got more and more 1993 and 1994 figures, the weapons became less special.  And, with more colors in tow, the MP-5 like weapon became one of my favorite standards across my Joes.

Even today, this is my favorite weapon to use with 1993 and 1994 figures.  It exists in a plethora of colors...some rarer than others.  But, you can get it in black, gold, yellow, purple and other colors with a bit of looking around.  It remains one of my key weapons.  And, I'll always pick up a new one if the price is right.  I have unfulfilled plans of being able to outfit the entire 1993 carded lineup with these weapons for a photo at some point.  I'm not quite there on the right number of them in my collection, yet, though.

2. Annihilator Pistol

I first saw this weapon at the home of some family friends who had some younger children.  I remember it being awesome.  Around 1995 or 1996, I found my first Annihilator at a flea market in southern Ohio.  I picked him up for the rifle.  Once in hand, it reminded me of the awesome weapons from G.I. Joe #36 back in 1985.  In short order, I bought as many Annihilators as I could find.  The figure was "new" to me and I loved the portable helicopter.  I saw them as the airborne division of the Alley Vipers and they made up a key ingredient in my early notion of Cobra urban death squads.  With plenty of his weapons in hand, I had them available for use with any other figure I wanted.

And, with them in hand, my fascination with the weapon ended.  It was difficult to make the weapon look good with other figures.  And, it was a bit bigger than I had remembered.  It was less of a one handed pistol and more of a two handed weapon that switched up my notion of the weapon's versatility.  I still find it the necessary weapon for Annihilators.  But, I've long since sold off my army of that figure.  I have a couple of spares of the weapon, though, still hanging around.  I'll use them with another figure from time to time.  I do need to get a photo of it in the hands of a Fred to mimic that old comic.  

3. Hit & Run  Rifle

This one is a bit of a cheat.  I actually did own Hit and Run when I was a kid.  I bought three 1988 figures before I quit toys.  And, Hit and Run was one of them.  I immediately fell in love with his rifle.  But, I didn't to use it very often as I left  my Hit and Run hanging on a wall at my grandparents' house shortly after I got him.  Once the figure was recovered, though, my Joes were put away.  So, it was on rare occasion when I'd get them out.  Inevitably, Hit and Run would be among the figures chosen, though.  Part of it was the sheer quality of the figure.  Part was his amazing rope & grappling hook bag.  And, the final piece was his rifle.  Everything about it seemed perfect.  It had a long clip to store extra ammo.  It was compact enough to be used in close quarters.  And, the figures just held it perfectly.  I wanted to use it with pretty much every one of my favorite figures during this time.  But, I had just one sample with no way to acquire more.

That changed in the mid 1990's as weapon trees began to proliferate.  The real joy was finding extra samples of this rifle being included on weapon trees of 1993 and 1994 figures.  With this discovery, I was able to acquire an excellent rifle in a variety of colors.  As the weapon was my preferred rifle for the 1994 Shipwreck, I came to see it as a standard rifle used by all sorts of Joe themed army builders.  So, having it in cream with Snow Storm and even red with Outback allowed some consistency on the weapons used by the troops who supported the Joes.  Note that this weapon is often confused with the 1992 Shockwave rifle.  They are similar, but not the same.  Also, some late run 1994 figures featured the rifle but with a blocked out trigger guard.  Those aren't bad.  But, I do prefer the original design.

Now the rifle is ubiquitous.  And, I had so many of them that it's become a bit passe.  But, the early 2000's brought some weapons into the mainstream to a point where they started to get stale.  Hit and Run's weapon was one of them.  And, while I still love it, I don't see it as the staple for every figure as I once envisioned nearly 30 years ago.  But, I do still find uses for it and you'll see it being carried by other figures in some photos around the site.

4. Bullhorn's Mask

My youngest brother got a Bullhorn in 1990.  I believe he was  the only 1990 figure that we ever had.  While his rifle was amazing and everyone still goes ga-ga over his weapon case backpack, I found the real value in him was his gas mask.  I love gas masks.  And, as a kid, I lamented that the only ones you could get were either Ripcord's airmask or Lifeline's rescue mask.  I gave them to pilots, troopers navigating gassed caves and just to anyone I wanted to look cool.  But, they had limitations (like the hose you had to plug in for it to look good) and always left me wanting more.

Bullhorn's mask, though, solved this problem.  It was a self contained piece and was sculpted with the air filter right on it.  When placed on the figure's head, Bullhorn could be a faceless army builder.  I now had a way for more figures to be outfitted with protective masks.  Unfortunately, though, the specific design of Bullhorn's mask made it so that it was form fitted for Bullhorn's head.  And, that made it difficult or impossible to really use the mask with a variety of other figures.  And, this limited the mask's use.  But, the overall design still works.  I've since found Bullhorn to be a more boring figure than I'd remembered.  The mask, though, overcomes this and keeps the figure relevant to me.  I just wish it was a little more flexible for use on a wider variety of figures.

5. Spearhead's Rifle

I do not know how this weapon entered into our collection.  We never had a 1988 Spearhead.  But, at some point, his rifle appeared among our toys.  It was likely left by one of my brother's friends.  As soon as I saw it, though, the rifle simply enthralled me.  Mostly, this was because it was new.  But, also, the rifle featured a couple of key design elements that I found among the cooler features of Joe accessories.  First, it had a bayonet.  But, we'll talk more about this, later.  The second, and more important feature, was the strap.  I had long loved strapped weapons.  They allowed your figure to carry their weapon without having to always be holding it in their hand.  I never like my Joes climbing a rope if they didn't have a strap on their gun because it wasn't realistic to just have their weapon magically appear at the top if they didn't have a means to carry it.  It's weird what unrealistic elements bothered me when I was a kid and which didn't affect me at all.

Back to the bayonet, though.  While I really liked bayonets, the piece on Salvo's rifle made the weapons footprint rather large.  And, at some point in the early 1990's, I wanted a knife for some figure.  The bayonet on Salvo's rifle was of sufficient size to work as a knife for a figure.  So, since the weapon wasn't key to any complete figure in my collection, I snipped off the bayonet and gave the knife to someone.  The paired down rifle was then smaller and looked even better with the figures to whom I gave it.  At various points, I've found the snipped bayonet and wondered who's knife it was.  Usually, I then remember that I cut this off from the original weapon.  I'm 99% sure that the bayonet is still sitting in a plastic baggie of superfluous edged weapons stored in a shoebox in the basement closet.  And, you'll see the snipped version of the rifle in a photo below.

In the early 1990's, I gave this weapon that mysteriously appeared in our home to a figure who also had a similar origin: Salvo.  I don't know where Salvo came from.  And, our figure just had the helmet.  So, it was another likely leave behind from some unknown friend of my brother.  But, Salvo and Spearhead's gun just seemed to mesh.  And, without having Salvo's real accessories, it made sense for him to have this borrowed weapon.  So, between 1991, or so, and 1999, Salvo always carried Spearhead's rifle.  In fact, if you can find really old Salvo photos on the site, you'll see him carrying it.  To this day, I more associate Spearhead's rifle with Salvo than I do with Spearhead.  But, that's because Salvo is an awesome figure and Spearhead is...not.

Really, these were the dark days of Joe.  I didn't collect for several years.  And, when I got back into things, I was chasing the dregs of the line at retail while also scouring out the not ready for primetime flea market scene that define the pre-internet days.  You didn't find a lot of Joes back then.  And, those that you did find were often those from my childhood years.  Meaning they were figures I already owned.  So, it was hard to find items I didn't have already.  

There were many more, better accessories that were released in this time.  But, I didn't really acquire them until my collector phase began in earnest around 1998.  We'll explore those in the final installment in a few months.  Until then, though, what are some of your favorite accessories from this time?  Let me know in the comments below.

1989 Arctic Tundra Stalker - Random Photos of the Day

The 1989 Stalker might be the best 2nd version of any character in the Joe line.  He's just about a perfect figure.  His sculpting is great, his colors make sense.  And, his gear is nothing short of spectacular.  I've been fortunate to get him out in the snow this year.  So, I was finally able to take advantage of his gear and showcase him in his intended element.  He's definitely a figure I'll continue to use as the weather allows.

1989 Night Force Repeater - Random Photos of the Day

The 1988 Repeater is a pretty solid figure.  The only real downside is that he might be a little bland.  The Night Force version that was released the following year, though, rectifies this.  The Toys R Us exclusive figure brings some splashes of color to Repeater and is, in my opinion, an upgrade over the 1988 original.  The black and dark brown better offset the green torso.  The best part, to me, though, is that the figure isn't too "Night Force" and can be used in any context as a replacement for the original figure.

Back in my early collecting days, I tended to avoid Night Force figures.  They were always expensive.  Though, expensive in 1999 is laughably cheap in 2024.  I also avoided, them, though, because I didn't find them all that compelling.  In most cases, the original versions of the Night Force team were better and more interesting.  I have this Repeated from an acquisition of 1990's era figures.  Meaning that this one is, likely, from the Rapid Deployment Force mail away that was offered in 1993.  Really, all that means is that I didn't get any accessories with him.  But, the 1988 Repeater gear works well enough and allows me to enjoy this figure either with close enough facsimiles of the figure's intended gear or with some supplemental weapons from my collection.  

The photos below were taken over the past 8 or 9 years.  I don't get this Repeater out as often as I'd probably like to.  But, he does tend to get used at least once or twice per year as he's both a solid subject of a photo and an excellent and interesting background filler.  He appears more often than any other vintage Night Force figure on this site's photos.  So, he's definitely a figure I enjoy.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on Night Force in the comments.  It's a set that, in my opinion, has always been overhyped.  In recent years, dealer types have been desperately trying to convince new collectors that vintage Night Force figures are as rare or rarer than many mail aways.  While they did have lower production numbers, Night Force figures were a staple of Toys R Us stores for most of the year.  So, they're not as rare as some of the nouveau sellers want you to believe.  Beyond that, though, I think they carry over the cachet of the late '90's when older collectors who had stopped buying Joes in 1987 discovered some of their favorites were available in "gritty, realistic" colors.  But, what are your thoughts?  Does Night Force deserve its venerated position in the hobby?  Or, are they a set you view with an air of indifference?  

1989 Downtown - Around The Web

I'll always believe that Downtown started his life as an updated Short Fuse.  The similarities are just too great.  The one difference, though, is that Downtown is a pretty good figure.  He has interesting and unique colors, the sculpt is top notch and his accessories blow away  those from the 1982 Mortar Trooper.  Despite all this, the figure lives in obscurity.  While there's some nice content on the figure out there, you really don't hear much about Downtown or see him as a major character in too many collections.

The figure's quality lends it to photography.  And, you'll see that some folks in the links have really been able to showcase just how awesome Downtown can be.  So, check them out below!

1989 Downtown Profile

1989 Downtown by retroworld_n

1989 Downtown by thedustinmccoy

1989 Downtown by g.i.boyz

1989 Downtown by gijoebarcelona

1989 Downtown by Hit and Run

1989 Downtown by elevatemetoahigherhumanform

1989 Downtown by dantedmc37

1989 Downtown by thedustinmccoy

1989 Downtown by jogunwarrior

1989 Downtown by evilface

1989 Python Patrol Trooper

I've had this profile scheduled for months.  It was just the way it fit into the schedule with various other figures and the fact that this profile was mostly done.  Then, Hasbro dropped the Classified Python Patrol Cobra Officer release last week.  So, now it looks like this is a response to that.  But, hey, I'll take the weird kismet and roll with it.  

I don't much care for the Cobra Officer.  I have always been a Cobra Trooper fan and found the Officer to pale in comparison to the much more detailed Trooper.  But, the Officer included an AK-47.  And, to a kid of the '80's, this weapon was the symbol of the bad guys and tied Cobra's imagery to the two greatest evils of the era.  So, the figure was imperative, even if it wasn't my preferred Cobra army builder.  As a kid, I bought a Trooper at a Kohl's store.  But, I don't recall the Officer mattering very much to me.  He was in our collection as my parts bin still as some Officer pieces in it.  But, the Cobra Trooper was always my preferred Cobra and the Officer was, to me, a lesser figure that wasn't really worthwhile when the superior Trooper was available.

For some reason, Hasbro switched the names on the Python Officer and Trooper.  It's not quite a 4-LOM/Zuckuss level screw up.  But, it has lead to decades of confusion.  Personally, I always felt the Officer mold was better suited to be a trooper since it was bland and included the assault rifle.  But, the notion of this mold being an Officer over the Troopers is so ingrained from the original blues, that the name bungling can't prevent me from still seeing this figure as the Officer and the other figure as the Trooper.  I have just this one Officer.  But, I have quite a few Troopers and even some Factory Custom troopers to supplement them.  So, I still see this figure as the officer, even if the official name is that of a trooper.

The upside to this Python Trooper is that the colors and python pattern are excellently done.  Green Cobras were all but non-existent in the vintage line.  (At least, outside of 1989!)  So, the fact that this Python Trooper sports a green shirt makes him stand out.  Oddly, grey was also a sparsely used color among vintage figures and this Trooper also features grey accents that highlight the mold's details.  The bottom of the figure is cast in black with grey highlights to tie the top to the bottom.  In short, the figure isn't a color combo that appears very often and it allows for this figure to be a standout.

The Python Patrol used a color scheme that was consistent across figures.  So, this Trooper features the same green that you find on the Python Officer's straps.  What is really nice, though, is that the green also matches with the Brazilian Exclusive Python Patrol figures.  Gatilho is a nice match for the Officer.  And, you can easily mesh the exclusive Brazilian characters with the Hasbro army builders to create a larger, more cohesive team.  And, if you pair them up with the Sears Dreadnok Ground Assault, you get a cool little cadre of Cobras that can be used in some specific scenarios.

And, it is in that vein that I use the Python Patrol to this day.  I missed them when I was a kid.  And, even my brothers were pretty much done with Joe in 1989.  So, Python Patrol was solely a subset that entered into my consciousness when I was a collector.  It wasn't one that really resonated with me beyond the Viper.  But, in 2008 or so, Hasbro released an anniversary sculpt Python Trooper.  At the same time, there was a Hiss Tank available at retail.  I liked the combo and thought about how awesome it would have been to have had a vintage style Hiss and Python Trooper available at retail just a few years before.  But, at the time, Python Patrol figures were dirt cheap.  So, I stocked up on some Python Officers and built an army that remains the bulk of my Python Patrol collection today.

The Python Trooper has an accessory variant.  His AK-47 can be a glossy black or a light grey.  It is imperative to not confuse the light grey weapon of this figure with the white AK-47 from one of the Battle Gear packs.  You'll also often see the original, charcoal colored AK-47 from the 1982/1983 Officer with these figures, too, as they are actually easier to find than the black rifle from the Python figure.  You can see both variants in the photos below.  Neither of the variants appear to be more common than the other.  But, these days, it's far more common to see Python Troopers sold with incorrect weapons that it is to find them marked with specific variants of the rifle.

It is a ridiculous travesty that the 2022 Cobra Trooper/Cobra Officer set hasn't been repainted into Python Patrol figures.  Hasbro could drop a 6 pack of 4 Troopers and 2 Officers in a white box and baggies (like they do with Star Wars army builders) and sell them without too much difficulty.  They took the time to make these new molds and we have yet to see them reused outside of a last minute addition to the Skystriker.  Maybe we'll see them someday.  But, at this point, I don't hold my breath.  It's far more likely we'll see a repainted Trooper or Officer included with a $120 Transformer before we see a real army building pack that's themed and directed at collectors.  It would really be hard for Hasbro to have bungled the vintage Joe homages any more than they did.

The Cobra Officer mold wasn't used all that much.  The straight arm figure was sold in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.  The swivel arm Cobra Officer was sold in various countries and was available as a mail away for years and years.  In fact, bagged Cobra Officers were available as late as 1999 from Hasbro Canada.  The mold was used for the 1984 Stinger Driver.  Then, Python Officers were sold in 1989.  But, they were also available in things such as the Chuck-E-Cheese promos.  Hasbro remade the Officer mold in 2004.  But, they then found the old mold that same year.  It was used in a Toys R Us set, a Comic Pack and the Night Watch set from the DTC line.  Then, we got the 2022 Officer and it's repaint on the Stinger Driver.  Factory Custom makers have done an Officer mold.  So, you can find the proper color variants that Hasbro should have done in that realm.

Way, way too many Python Troopers sell in the $50-$70 range.  And, that's not just dealer sales.  You'll see the market push that high, too.  You can get mint and complete figures in the $40 range.  But, even incomplete figures sell in the $30 area.  As the crotch is brittle, it's much easier to find broken figures.  But, even they will command premiums at times.  Python Patrol was once considered less desirable than standard paint job figures.  But, those days are gone as collectors have realized that the Python Patrol exists in far lower numbers than their contemporaries.  So, pricing now reflects that.  

1989 Slaughter's Marauders Spirit - Around The Web

Surprisingly, there's a lot of content out there that features the 1989 Slaughter's Marauders Spirit.  As it's kind of tough to find one in good condition and the figure is notoriously brittle, even when in mint condition, I didn't expect to see it used to often.  But, there's tons of great content featuring him out there.  So, check out the links!

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit Profile

Slaughter's Marauder Spirit by Purple Cobra 75

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by MrMikeVinthePit

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by Hit and Run

Slaughter's Marauder Spirit by Purple Cobra 75

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by emike

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by thevintagetoylife

Slaughter's Marauder Spirit by Purple_Cobra 75

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by yotothejoe

Slaughter's Marauders by gijoe_rama

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by el_main_man

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by buxovigo

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by Purple_Cobra_75

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by thedustinmccoy

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by dashiellrfairborne

1989 Python Officer - Around the Web

I have always been a fan of the Python Officer.  Sure, he's the Cobra Trooper mold.  So, I have always used him as a Cobra Trooper instead of an officer.  The Python pattern is relatively subtle on the figure, though, and that makes him more useful as something beyond just a sub team member.  I have always used him in conjuction with the repainted Dreadnok vehicles.  I've found he works as a nice complement to the green colors.  Being a popular figure, there's lots of great content on the figure out there so check all the links to see some of the best work done with the Python Officer.

Python Officer Profile

Python Officer vs. Vibora Cart Artwork

Python Officer by thedustinmccoy

Python Officer at Colin's Joes

Python Officer by plasticbattles

Python Officer by Relinqueshed

Python Officer by backyardjoes

Python Officer at JoeADay.com

Python Officer by darkstar_vintage

Python Officer by playfulmonkeycosplay

Python Officer by thedustinmccoy

Python Officer by tituslester32

Python Officer by murphs_actionfigures

Python Officer by gen_lierderkranz

Python Officer by thedustinmccoy

1989 Night Viper

I did not buy any G.I. Joe figures in 1989.  I was simply out of the game.  I did swipe a 1989 Snake Eyes.  You can read that story in his profile, though.  But, even my younger brothers were pretty done with G.I. Joe.  My youngest brother got a Scoop figure.  But, that was it.  None of the other 1989 figures existed in my collection.  In 1990, my brother got a Bullhorn figure.  But, I was not only now old enough to drive myself to stores, I also had a full time job providing, for the era, a good deal of spending money.  I usually worked 3:30 to midnight with a thirty minute lunch.  There was only one store close enough to drive to, buy something and get out.  It was a nearby Kohl's.  

While they still had a hefty toy department and full selection of Joe figures and vehicles, the end was near as the entire stock they had was from 1988 and 1989.  But, among these figures, I had the pick of the litter.  While I had dreamed of getting a Rock and Roll or Downtown, there was another figure that caught my eye.  I had never really seen the Night Viper figure.  But, here, in front of me, the green and black Cobra was something completely new to me.  And, he included a great looking rifle (with a strap!), a face shield and a backpack that looked like they'd make for a perfect addition to my collection.  I bought the single Night Viper and snuck him into my house when I got home from work after everyone was asleep.  Here, I opened the figure and found he was everything I wanted him to be.

What I did not want, though, was for my younger brothers to find the figure.  They had a bad habit of pawing through my room when I was not home: looking for toys I had stashed in the closet.  They had found the purloined 1989 Snake Eyes.  And, they would take him from the red Lego case in which I stored my saved Joes that was buried in the back of my closet.  With the Night Viper, I had opened the package carefully, to preserve the bubble.  I had an old, paper, Banana Republic bag that was on the top shelf of my closet, above the reach of my siblings.  So, I put the Night Viper card into this bag.  It stayed there until 2013 when my mother moved out of the house.  Yet, I don't know what happened to it after that.  I can't imagine me throwing it away.  But, it's not in my collection any longer.  It was probably put into a box of comics that I ended up giving to my nephews.  But, it was a shame for it to survive so long and then disappear after I was a full time collector.

The figure, though, was a different story.  First, I tried putting him the Lego case.  But, of course, my youngest brother found him in due time.  Avoiding the questions of the figure's origin, I tried hiding him under my bed or among the boxes of baseball cards that now adorned the shelves in my room.  In time, my brother forgot about him.  With the figure in hand, though, I came to a realization.  I no longer really had the capacity to play with a toy any longer.  I would pull out the Night Viper from time to time.  But, I'd mostly just look at the exquisite detailing and design that went into him.  I really didn't have the capacity to act out adventures with him any longer.  That was probably the turning point for my transformation into a collector instead of viewing Joes as toys.  

That didn't mean, though, that I appreciated the figure any less.  In fact, he was something I really enjoyed due to his overt quality.  Despite that, though, I didn't buy any more Joes until the end of 1992.  The allure of sports cards was too great and my disposable income from my teenage years went to those.  As the card market has exploded even moreso than the Joe market since 2020, it's probably a break even choice as to which was better.  But, I would have enjoyed 1,000's of dollars of retail Joes more than I do the boxes and boxes of commons that once filled an entire closet.

In the late 1990's and early 2000's, though, I got lucky with Night Vipers.  I was one of the few people specifically looking for lots of 1989 - 1994 figures back then.  And, I'd get a lot of collections for under $2 per mint and complete with filecard figure.  I was able to get several Night, Alley and HEAT Vipers in these lots.  As the Funskool figure became available, the price on Hasbro Night Vipers dipped a bit.  And, I was able to fill out a squad of them.  Even during my great purge in 2010 where I liquidated my massive armies of 1989 Cobras, I kept my squad of 6 Night Vipers, even though I had another 8 of the Funskool versions.  The figure was too cool to get rid of.  And, I figured that I'd one day have a way to display the figures to finally fully appreciate the mold's greatness.

With the Night Viper, less is more.  The figure is just two main colors: green and black.  There is a bright green Cobra logo, a gold belt buckle and flesh around the eyes.  The minimal paint masks, though, work due to the intricacy of the figure's sculpt.  Whereas you don't tend to see great paint wear on Night Vipers, that's more than made up for by the the oft-broken pegs that hold the rifle on the figure's leg or the visor on the figure's head.  Both of these parts are brittle and get broken very easily...even when the figure was new.  I still don't know why a rifle with a strap that allows it to be held over the shoulder or across the backpack needed to also he holstered on the Night Viper's leg.  But, it's a great little detail that added to the figure's mystique.

Accessory wise, the Night Viper was well equipped.   Along with the aforementioned rifle and visor, the figure also included a backpack and a monocle.  The backpack is small and compact.  It's purpose isn't entirely clear.  But, that's the joy of a figure like this.  It allows you to make the pack whatever you want or need.  The monocle is the most lost accessory on the Night Viper.  And, many that were affixed to the peg on the figure's visor were snapped off, with the peg forever trapped in the monocle's hole.  With all the brittle features and one easily lost accessory, it's a miracle that so many Night Viper's survived childhood playtimes.  But, they did.  And, collectors are better for it as we have another awesome army builder available to us.

The Night Viper did not have much of a life.  Hasbro released the figure in 1989 and 1990.  In 1992, the Night Viper's body was used for the oddball kitbash Heli Viper figure.  As it was in purple and red, few people even really consider that it was the Night Viper that comprised most of that figure.  From there, the mold went to India.  Funskool started producing Night Vipers around 1995 and produced them through April of 2004.  At that time, the mold was returned to Hasbro.  They then used it as the body for the ill fitting 2005 Iron Grenadier.  The final use was the 2006 Operation Flaming Moth Night Viper.  It was green, expensive and not really a hit with the collector community.  The mold then died off.  Around 2017 or 2018, though, Black Major produced Night Viper figures.  These exist in 20 or more color combinations.  And, now, collectors can get Night Vipers in pretty much any color scheme they would want.  Black Major didn't really suck all the demand for the Night Viper out of the community, though, and I'm sure that any release of the Night Viper in the Pulse era would be embraced by the collecting world.

1989 Night Vipers got super expensive in the early 2000's.  It was first Cobra army builder to break $30 for a mint and complete specimen.  But, slowly, the massive quantity of Funskool Night Vipers sated the army building demand of the collecting world.  By 2003, the price of a complete Night Viper was under $15.  In 2022, though, the stupidity of the Joe world has also caught up with the Night Viper.  Incomplete figures will fetch $30.  Dealers will sell an appalling amount of mint and complete figures for more than $50.  And, in the event you can find a mint and complete figure left to open pricing, it will still usually cross over $40.  But, as the cheap Funskool figures have been absorbed, there's no longer an alternate outlet for those who want a Night Viper army.