1993 Alley Viper

This week, we're doing a tag team profile with the Attica Gazette.  Someone mentioned the 1993 Alley Viper somewhere and RTG came up with the idea to both look at this figure at the same time.  So, check out his review of the 1993 Alley Viper.  

There are 36 single carded Battle Corps G.I. Joe figures that were released in 1993.  (Plus some variants.)  Of those, I found half of them at retail between 1995 and 1996.  Those I never saw fall into two categories: repaints of 1992 figures and Cobra army builders.  The repaints make sense as the ensuing 25 years have proven out that they exist in smaller quantities than the rest of the figures.  The army builders, though, were popular.  As someone who had grown up with Joes, this seemed odd to me.  As a kid, Cobras were no more difficult to find than Joes.  And, I always picked a figure based on how cool he was overall.  Affiliation be damned.  (I bought Airtight over the Crimson Guard in February of 1985!)  So, the idea of buying a bad guy just because he was a villain was foreign to me.  But, at the same time, I was starting to get the army building bug from the Star Wars line.  And, as such, I hoped to find the missing Cobras at some point.  But, the search proved fruitless.  Staring at me from the cardbacks of the figures I did find were the Flak Viper, Eel, Headhunter and the subject of this profile, the 1993 Alley Viper.

I never had Alley Viper's as a kid.  They debuted in 1989 and both I and my brothers were done with Joe at that point.  I did encounter the figure that summer when our family went to visit some friends who had younger children.  But, that was fleeting.  My real introduction to the Alley Viper came in 1997 when I found an original at a local comic shop.  From there, I began to army build the character when I could.  This 1993 version, though, again proved elusive.  I managed to acquired one or two in large lots of 1993 figures that I was prone to buy.  But, that was it.  Complete, high quality figures were a tough find and you rarely saw them for sale.  By the time the figure started to become available, I was out of the Joe buying game.  Even today, the figure is under-represented in my 1993 army builder collection.  He's outnumbered by Cyber Vipers, Eels, Snow Serpents, Flak Vipers and even Headhunters. 

Back in the late 1990's, the general consensus was that the Joe line "ended" in 1987.  And, anything released after that magical year was suspect.  There were exceptions, though.  Shockwave, Hit and Run and the Iron Grenadier were all acceptable figures to own for the "real" collector.  Bright colors, though, were to be avoided at all costs...except for the original Alley Viper.  You'd have people lamenting the "neon" releases of 1993 in some forum post while espousing the virtues of the 1989 Alley Viper in another.  But, people do not, generally, recognize their own contradictory statements in any aspect of their life.  Regardless, the Alley Viper was a character who was acceptable in bright colors.  And, by extension, any later Alley Viper was also "OK" in bright colors since he original  paved the way.  This same courtesy was not afforded other figures, of course.  But, the Alley Viper character has always gotten a pass when it came to bright coloring.

And, with the shackles of "neon" cast off the character, many army building obsessed collectors of the early 2000's were welcoming of the bumble bee colored Alley Viper as a cool alternative army.  While you didn't see dozens of them in rows on a metal shelf in someone's dingy basement, you did see guys with 2-6 of them who would use them to draw attention to an otherwise mundane story.  Even as excellently colored Alley Vipers saturated retail stores and even hit clearance, you'd still see some photographers turn to the 1993 Alley Vipers as an alternative to the retail homogeny.  The figures were much cheaper than 1989 Alley Vipers.  And, they carried the "vintage" cachet that many people craved in order to give their collections authenticity.  So, the 1993 Alley Viper became one of the only acceptable army builders released that year.

Personally, the original Alley Viper was the character's entry point to my collection.  I was able to get a couple of mint and complete 1989 Alley Vipers early in my adult collecting days.  Along with the Range Viper and Annihilator, they made up my Cobra army.  The Alley Vipers were the infantry in the urban death squads that Cobra used to terrorize little towns in middle America.  In 1997, Cobra saw these towns as a way to instill fear in an American government who they could not, otherwise defeat.  In 2025, Cobra would find these towns a hotbed of recruitment for its cause.  But, back then, the Alley Vipers would mow down innocents as Cobra just eliminated thousands of people in short order.  They were ruthless, efficient and well equipped for mass slaughter.

Due to the quick strike nature of the Cobra attacks, bright colors were justified.  The Alley Vipers were trained to pretty much kill anything that moved.  So, Cobra gave them bright orange uniforms so that they'd hesitate when they saw that color so as to reduce friendly fire casualties.  Cobra didn't want to leave any evidence of their attack behind.  So, dead Cobras were a major liability since they had to be carried out of the scene.  The orange uniforms helped to mitigate the casualties for the Cobra attacks.  (Hapless, pre-9/11 rural police forces weren't going to kill any military grade attackers.)  As the 1993 figure entered my collection, he filled the same role.  The yellow was just another variation on the Alley Viper theme and didn't hold any special significance.  You'd often see collectors attempt to rank their Cobra armies by color.  There were some times when I'd somewhat see the 1993 Alley Vipers as a small, specialized team within the larger Alley Viper corps.  But, that made little sense since the character is already so specialized.  So, these killer bees were just an alternate look for Alley Vipers as their reigned terror upon rural America.

As my Cobra army expanded, so did the intricacy of the urban attacks.  HEAT Vipers, Incinerators, Frag Vipers and even Crimson Guard Immortals were added to handle different elements of the attack.  And, as the idea began to snowball out of control, I pretty much dropped the entire idea from my imaginary world.  By the time I had a small army of 1993 Alley Vipers in my collection, their main purpose was passe.  So, instead, they were just a cool visual to toss into a photo or something.  Only, I never really did that.  Looking back through 25 years worth of photos shows that I've never really used this figure.  I took one photo in 2017.  But, he never even appeared in the background prior to that.  This is surprising to me since I've always liked the figure.  When it came time to choose an Alley Viper for photos, though, the 1989, 1994 and even the 1997 were always the go-to choices.

So, what do you do with this figure?  I have a couple of them.  But, I'm past the point of actively trying to build an army of them.  So, instead, I'll have to be content to pull them out on a rare occasion and use them as some brightly colored background filler.  The figure is visually distinctive and is fun to have around.  But, as Alley Vipers go, I'll take some other versions as my preferred look for the characters.  And, that seems to be the figure's general place in the collecting world.  Everyone seems to kind of like this coloring for the Alley Viper.  But, no one actually uses it.  Instead, you'll see 1989's, 2002's and even, occasionally, some 1994's.  The 1993 remains unrepresented among the Alley Viper content.

The Alley Viper's gear is spectacular.  It's great because the gear is black in color, it's plentiful and, the mask, backpack and primary rifle all hearken back to the 1989 release of the character: tying the two together. The superfluous spring loaded launcher, missiles and stand are just filler for the Alley Viper.  What really makes him pop are the new, fang inspired mask, his rifles, the backpack and a new riot shield that is shaped like a Cobra, but is more compact than the 1989 shield.  The Alley Viper includes a black version of Dial Tone's rifle.  It's an extra, but makes it easier to outfit extra figures.  The main rifle and backpack are almost direct copies of the 1989 Alley Viper's gear.  The rifle, though, is a new mold that features a blocky front stock instead of the round peg from the 1989 figure.  The backpack is different, too in that the grappling hook is not removable.  It's a small detail.  But, now that collectors have co-mingled armies and accessories for decades, you do find the wrong gear with the wrong figure from time to time.

This Alley Viper features just three colors on the body: yellow, black and gold.  The yellow and black is a visual contrast that makes the figure stand out.  The golden highlights, though, add a bit more life to the mold and make the Alley Viper appear to be a more thoughtful release than a figure like the 1993 HEAT Viper.  You'll note the black stripes on the leg.  This the paint mask that was used and then not used on the two 1994 Alley Viper variants.  There is no doubt that Hasbro was saving money on paint masks with the 1993 Alley Viper.  His arm insignias aren't painted.  And, his lower legs are cast in black plastic and feature no paint applications: a notorious cost cutting measure that plagued the Joe line of the 2000's and again in the 2020's.  But, on this mold, the sparse coloring works.  The yellow and black are stark contrasts that make the figure pop.  It is tough to match him up to vehicles or playsets.  But, the overall look of the figure is strong enough to find a place.

It's important to also note that the Alley Viper's crotch is notoriously brittle.  This is a figure you'll often see with a broken waist piece.  Which is a real buzz kill when you find an otherwise excellent figure that's plagued by this major affliction.  His thumbs can be problematic, too, just due to his rifle and the way kids would force it into his hands.  In all my years of seeking out 1993 army builders, the Alley Viper is the one figure most prone to breakage.  So, be sure to check for stress points should you come across a good looking figure when you're out and about.

This exact Alley Viper configuration appeared twice.  There is this 1993 bumblebee release and the orange 1994 repaint (which has a striped leg and non-striped leg variant)  The Brazilian Mortifero figure that is nearly identical to this 1993 Alley Viper paint job features most of the mold but different legs.  After that, the figure was given legs from the 1984 Duke figure and then released in 1997, 2002, 2002 again, 2003 and 2004.  The dark blue 1997 version is my favorite, but was only available with the Rage.  The first 2002 version, in lighter blue, is the most common and is an excellent update to this mold that was widely available and was hoarded by collectors of the day.  The Red 2002 repaint was shortpacked in his case, but was both easy to find and unpopular and remains so today.  The almost Estrela blue version from 2003 was packed with a repainted Viper in the infamous Wave 7.75 (dubbed the "Army Builder Wave") from 2003.  It saw a short shipping window, but was easy to find for about a month or so.  Again, collectors amassed huge numbers of them.  The 2004 all black version is probably the second best (I'll accept arguments that it's the best, though.) coloring.  It was only available in a Toys R Us 6 figure pack that included two other army builders and three characters.  Due to this release vehicle, many collectors bought a few of this version, but not the large numbers of the two-pack figures from prior years.  All of these later repaints are probably better than the 1993 figure and are fairly common.  For an army builder, they are the way to go.  

Black Major even made his own version of the 1993 Alley Viper mold.  You can get the figure in a panoply of colors.  But, oddly, many vintage Alley Vipers are cheaper than the Black Major figures.  But, there's some solid paint jobs among the factory customs that are worth exploring.

Pricing on this figure is all over the place.  In general, you can routinely get a mint and complete figure for $20-$25.  But, for some reason, you also see mint and complete figures in the $10-$15 range, too.  And, you'll see figures sell within a day of each other at each price point.  The Alley Viper is certainly more common than my 1990's era frustration would attest to.  And, the figure is relatively available: probably to a greater degree than most of the other 1993 army builders aside from the HEAT Viper.  But, the fact that this mold was, basically, repainted in far better colors many, many times during the collector heavy repaint era has also helped temper demand.  It's one thing to pay a premium for a Cyber Viper that never appeared again and another to break the bank for an offbeat coloring of a great mold when the better repaints are far cheaper.

2017 Alley Viper - Factory Custom (Blue and Black)

Joe collectors have been enjoying factory custom created figures since 2009 or so.  Cobra Troopers, Snake Eyes, Cobra Mortals, BATs, Stormshadows and Female Cobra Troopers comprised the molds that had been recreated.  Collectors were able to fill some glaring holes in their collection with these repaints and the figures were, generally, appreciated by the community.  Then, 2017 happened.  In 2017, the factory custom Joe makers stepped up their game to an unprecedented level.  Aside from massive new repaints of older molds, new figures were introduced into the market.  There were two big splash army builders based on 1989 releases: the Night Viper and the Alley Viper.  As the year ended, there are just a smattering of colors for these molds.  But, one: the blue and black Alley Viper stands above all else as a figure who simply needed to get released.

In 1997, Hasbro planned to release a 1989 Alley Viper figure with the Rage vehicle.  Unfortunately, Hasbro could not find the Alley Viper mold.  So, instead of using the 1989 figure, Hasbro cobbled together a new configuration of the Alley Viper using the 1993 head, torso and arms and the 1984 Duke legs.  Collectors didn't take to this new look for the Alley Viper at first.  And, in fact, the 1997 Alley Viper was genuinely hated at the time of its release.  In subsequent years, collectors finally resigned themselves to the new look for the Alley Viper.  But, the 1997 figure left a bitter taste among collectors' mouths because the figure pictured on the back of the Rage box was a repainted 1989 Alley Viper.  It should be noted that a prominent Joe collector of the era hand painted the sample Alley Viper and gave it to Hasbro.  It was intended as the basis for the figure's design.  But, the photo on the back of the box is the actual hand painted figure and Hasbro never even attempted a 1989 Alley Viper repaint.

20 years after the 1997 fiasco, Black Major rectified the Hasbro mistake.  Among his first volley of Alley Viper repaints came this black and blue version.  It is reminiscent of the planned 1997 figure and was the first time the Alley Viper was released in classic Cobra colors.  Upon seeing it, I had to have one for two reasons.  First, it was an homage to the intended 1997 figure.  Secondly, though, the Alley Viper has always seemed like a figure that required a release in standard Cobra colors.

Of all the Cobra specialties, the Alley Viper seemed like the most logical.  Cobra wasn't going to engage in expensive, long term military campaigns.  At least, not in the U.S.  Instead, they'd focus on localized quick strikes in urban areas or on targeted isolated locations.  (labs and whatnot.)  In that realm, the Alley Vipers would be Cobra's primary troops to use.  They would have the chops to handle the urban navigation of large commercial facilities that Cobra was either robbing or destroying.  They had the gear to battle both private security and police departments that might get involved.  And, they'd even be able to take on small military units that might be guarding these locations.  In short, they were the soldiers that Cobra needed the most of.  So, having them in standard Cobra colors seems like a necessity.   

I never minded the original Alley Viper.  In some ways, having a killing squad of swarming death in bright orange worked.  It helped the Alleys distinguish each other in a melee.  But, it is nice to finally have a few of Cobra's urban figures in different colors.  The fact that these figures match the 1997 Rage is nice, too.  It gives them a vehicle to match their specialty.  And, with this color scheme, I can better match Alley Vipers as part of a larger Cobra units.  I have never seen Cobra as an organization that would attack with just one type of trooper.  A platoon of Vipers would be supplemented by a few Alley Vipers to better handle tough situations.  HEAT Vipers would be stationed around the area, ready to swoop in and either destroy incoming armored police vehicles or blow up a particularly thorny bastion of holdout opposition.  So, having a few Alley Vipers that match the base army of Cobra helps in cohesion.

While Hasbro never repainted the original Alley Viper mold, there are now dozens upon dozens of repaints that are available via the factory custom route.  Some, like this black and blue version, are simply essential and awesome.  Others are weird and bizarre.  And, some don't really blend with vintage figures.  But, instead, they perfectly match the massive amount of Black Major releases.  So, you can get a larger Python Patrol in Black Major colors than you can get from the Hasbro and Estrela Python Patrol releases combined.  This gives the modern collector a ton of items to track down.  But, it also gives them choices in the figures they wish to buy.  I have just a few Alley Viper flavors.  I focused my buying on a few color schemes.  Others have built cool armies of different colors.  This has allowed for far greater diversity in the collecting world and moved us past the hegemony of the 2000's when we all owned the same stuff and every army building shot was retail Cobras standing in rows.

The Alley Viper quality is very high.  The figures have tight joints, crisp paint applications and great gear.  The gear fits onto the figure very well.  The only real issue that the face shields tend to be very, very tight and can be hard to get on.  I worked on mine for a while and, eventually, got a point where I just assumed I'd break a figure or two trying to get them on.  Fortunately, I didn't.  But, I did have to clean out the holes on the mask with a small knife tip in order to finally get them on the figure's head.  The gun and pack are great.  And, in a different time, I'd have bought a bunch of extras to outfit my 2000's Alley Viper units.  It's nice to get the full array of original gear, especially since Alley Viper gear is among the best ever released with a Cobra.

(As an aside, I originally wrote up the outline of this profile in early 2018.  As such, much of the info below this part is already very dated.  But, I wanted to leave it as is since this Alley Viper has kind of dried up and he was never available in the super cheap bulk deals like figures released prior to 2017 were.)

As the Alley Viper is a newer mold, super cheap repaints in bizarre color schemes haven't really hit, yet.  That may or may not happen in 2018.  However, there are several variants of the Alley Viper out there.  Not everyone finds this blue and black version to be the best, but I do.  As it's an early release and includes lots of delicate new gear, it's tough to find these Alley Vipers for under $12 each.  That may change in time.  But, the $12 price seems to be the sweet spot for sellers.  And, this configuration's popularity seems to have caused a relatively quick sell out.  You can still find them easily.  But, there aren't as many sellers or the large quantities publicly available like there were a few months ago.  You never know the long term prognosis on these types of figures.  But, a Cobra blue and black version of a hugely popular character whose only knock was the bad Hasbro colors will never be an unpopular figure.  I know I'd like about a dozen more of these guys now.  But, the sheer volume of new figures coming into the market has me more focused on diversifying, right now, rather than army building too much.  Few other collectors are under such constraints, though.  So, these figures will likely become harder to find as the supply goes into a personal army for the next 20 or 30 years.

1997 Alley Viper - Random Photos of the Day

 The 1997 Alley Viper is my favorite repaint of the character.  The classic Cobra blue combined with the black equipment and gold and white highlights create a visually stunning figure that also fits with many classic Cobras.  Over the years, I've profiled him twice and done an around the web feature.  Despite that, I enjoy getting these figures out for photos.  I'm not 100% sure that there isn't a dark gold/light gold color variant on this figure.  It seems that some have different sheens.  But, I can't be sure that it's not just wear.  Here's a few random photos I've taken over the years.

2002 Alley Viper

If you were a G.I. Joe collector in 2002, you know how army building crazy the community was.  Starting in 2001, Joe collectors were simply starving for any retail army builders.  Figures that weren't great would get purchased in bulk just because collectors wanted to army build something.  It was an almost unhealthy obsession.  But, Hasbro of the time did us no favors.  The army builders of 2001 were not great and were often packed with lackluster Cobra character repaints.  No one wanted 20 Major Bludds, Destros or terrible Zartans.  They wanted Vipers, Bats and Troopers.  But, for some reason, Hasbro was loathe to release any of those collector demanded entities.

In late 2001, Hasbro released the prototypes of the New Sculpt Joes that would debut in 2002.  Collectors immediately hated them.  The odd proportions and lack of o-ring doomed them to obscurity.  Hasbro, somehow surprised by the backlash, quickly went back to the drawing board to retro fit later new sculpt molds to include the o-ring.  But, doing so delayed their release.  Hasbro needed something to fill the retail void since Joes were actually decent selling toys back then.  They also actually wanted to do something for collectors to appease them and give the new line a chance later.  So, Hasbro came up with Wave 1.5.  It was a set of 4 vintage Joe packs that were meant to bring some fan favorite molds to production.  The set included General Tomahawk/Headman, Sure Fire/Slice, Mirage/Cobra Viper and Big Ben/Alley Viper.  Sure Fire and General Tomahawk were meant to the be the 1988 Shockwave and 1986 Hawk as a favor to fans who cherished those molds.  But, the tooling was not found and later, less popular molds were used.  The Viper and Alley Viper, though, were Hasbro's way of giving collectors army builders to amass in unforetold numbers.  And, despite their insistence at packing the army builders with Joe characters, it worked.

Collectors immediately went bananas over the retail army builders: buying them in droves and clearing out any retailer who had ample stock.  (The first shipments appeared at Wal Mart and they stocked several cases at once.  My local store had so many that there were boxes stacked on the tops of the shelves and half opened boxes on the lower shelves in addition to the full pegs.)  Collectors quickly posted photos of 10, 20, 50, even 100 Alley Viper and Vipers to showcase their support for these figures.  One thing the army building craze did, though, was obscure the fact that not all the army building figures of the era were winners.  Starved collectors would buy multiples of any figure with "Viper" as part of the name.  So, it was difficult to tell the stinkers from the gems since everything disappeared quickly.  In the 15 years since this time, though, winners and losers have appeared.  The green Viper from this wave is relatively forgotten and unloved.  His Alley Viper companion release, though, has found greater popularity and remained a stalwart of many Cobra armies.

The reason for this is that the figure is well done.  While the parts aren't ideal and remain a source of ire to this day, the overall body design isn't terrible.  It's better than the kit bash Hasbro concocted for the Viper, though not by much.  The colors are subtle.  The base blue is a bit light for classic Cobra.  But, it's also OK.  It fits with many Cobras of the era and even earlier without being too derivative.  The grey, white, black and silver details are subdued and give the figure texture without taking away too much from the base color.  In short, this is a good, solid Cobra who works with established Cobra colors.  His gear is pretty much great since you get the face shield (which is less prone to breakage with the softer plastic of the 2000's), a good enough Big Bear backpack and the Cobra hand held shield.  The weapon choice is bad, though, since he includes a Tomax/Xamot pistol instead of the AK-47 that was so common at the time.  Fortunately, it was easy to get better accessories for these figures from the superfluous overstock of figures who were packed with army builders.

Wave 1.5 is one of the most overproduced waves in the post vintage history of the line.  When the wave first appeared, it showed up en masse at retailers around the U.S.  There was regional lag and any collector who was plugged into the community was quickly able to find the wave as it appeared.  But, then, it continued appearing.  As the summer moved on, retailers stocked more and more of the wave.  It sold well enough since collectors loved the Viper and Alley Viper.  But, it kept coming.  In the fall, bonus packs of the figures began to show up at K Mart.  They included one of the 2 packs from the wave along with a third, bonus figure: also from the wave.  Then, the wave began to show up at discount and other non-traditional retail outlets.  Into 2003, the Wave continued to appear at odd places.  A large volume of the cases were actually shipped to Israel for pennies on the dollar and Israeli toy dealers were able to sell some figures to Americans for cheaper than they could buy the figures at retail.  Into 2004, the wave continued to ship to places like Dollar General Stores: who had to discount the two packs to $1 each to move them.  There was just so much of the product that Hasbro struggled to get rid of it.  And, as the Joe line was dying out in that retail incarnation, the wave became a bit of a target for collector frustrations since it was so overproduced and collectors were drowning in oceans of Big Ben and Mirage figures.

This configuration of the Alley Viper first appeared in 1997.  In 2002, this blue version was released and, later in the year, a red repaint was packed one per case.  In 2003, the mold was colored in brighter blue and released with a repainted Viper in the infamous wave 7.75 "Army Builder Wave" that came and went from retail in the blur that was G.I. Joe sales in the 2nd half of 2003.  The figure was planned as part of a Wal Mart exclusive Sky Patrol themed set for late 2003 but the entire concept was cancelled.  The unproduced figures are relatively available, though, as tons of stock were sold by Asian Joe sellers.  The final appearance of the figure was the all black version in the 2004 Toys R Us exclusive Urban Strike set.  The mold never appeared again.  However, collectors had gotten a bit burned out by so many releases of the Alley Viper in short succession.  So, his absence after 2004 was never really an issue: especially since pretty much all 5 of the paint jobs for this parts combo are well done and generally liked by collectors.

This version of the Alley Viper, despite his availability, has actually maintained some value in the past 15 years.  Mint and complete figures generally sell in the $8 range.  You can get carded versions for $11 or so, showing how worthless the Big Ben figure in the 2-pack really is.  Dealers will sometimes price him in the $15 - $20 range and sell a couple, too.  But, $8 is more common and a little patience will yield you a figure at that price.  But, getting an army of these guys will take some time.  They are not nearly as available as you would think.  It seems that many collectors who built armies of this figure have kept them and are not into liquidating their excess versions.  But, when you look at the combination of mold quality, figure colors, included accessories and general availability, you can see why this figure has become one of the more sought after army builders of the era.

When I liquidated the majority of my collection, this version of the Alley Viper stayed.  I had a few of them.  But, I also had armies of several other versions of the character.  I consider the 1997 version the best and kept all of those.  But, I also held on to this version.  Part of that is because of the time in which I sold my collection.  Back then, this figure was still relatively worthless.  And, I didn't feel the paltry sum of money I'd get for them would be enough to offset their quality.  The other part, though, is that I just kind of like this figure.  He's a neat design and decently colored.  In 2002, I had more of him than any other Alley Viper so he was my default version.  That nostalgia helped him, too.  Now, I'm happy to have retained these figures. They are a nice way to use the Alley Viper character and give me another option from the 1997 releases.

1997 Alley Viper - Around the Web

At the time of his release, the 1997 Alley Viper was generally reviled.  Most collectors didn't care for him since vintage army builders were so cheap.  Now, though, a lot has changed and this figure is one of the better colored and desirable Alley Viper figures.  Here's the best on him from around the web.

1997 Alley Viper Profile 1

1997 Alley Viper Profile 2

1997 Alley Viper at JoeADay.com

Alley Viper at JomiToys.com

Hand Painted Alley Viper at YoJoe.com

Unproduced Boxed Set Alley Viper at YoJoe.com

1997 Alley Viper at Serpentor's Lair

Alley Viper at HalfTheBattle

Rarities - Asian Bootleg 1992 and 1993 G.I. Joe Figures

I've saved the oddest item of all for last.  In the late 2000's/early 2010's, carded bootleg examples of 1992 and 1993 G.I. Joe figures started showing up in Asia.  They were on cards mimicking the vintage carded look for G.I. Joe.

The figures sometimes attempt to be similar to the colors shown on the card artwork.  In other cases, they are very off.  But, the figures are spectacularly bad.  They are definitive bootlegs if only for their horrendous quality and garish design.

Below you will see ten of the figures offered.  There may be more.  I'm not sure of the origin.  But, some figures, like Cobra Commander can be interesting due to the different paint jobs.  I own the Iceberg figure, but have never gotten around to opening him.

These figs were dirt cheap when the first appeared, often selling in the $5 MOC range.  Today, they are still relatively cheap with the most popular figures running around $20 for a MOC figure.  As an interesting display piece, the figures have some value.  But, they are really, really awful in terms of quality.

Rarities - Alternate 2003 Army Builder Pack Viper and Alley Viper

A lot of alternate and unproduced figures came out of Asia in the early 2000's.  For a time, it seemed every single figure Hasbro took to retail had at least one Asian variant.  In time, though, this slowed down.  It might have been tighter factory controls.  Or, it may simply have been a function of Hasbro drastically reducing their product line and the diminished volume allowed for stronger quality control at the source.  But, well over 100 pre production and unproduced variant figures managed to make their way into collector hands in numbers large enough for them to be considered figure variants.  They were common and, for most part, pretty cheap to acquire. 

As 2003 came to a close, Hasbro found the Joe line was a huge retail success.  After a slow start to the year, they jam packed a huge amount of figures into the final 6 months.  These waves sold out to Hasbro's retail partners and Hasbro couldn't keep up with demand.  A special "army builder wave" of figures was even offered up so that collectors would have something just for them.  But, demand was so great at the "big 5 stores" that Hasbro ended up selling all of the wave to them: leaving online dealers out in the cold.  The most popular pack was a repainted Alley Viper/Viper release that people snatched up as soon as they found it.  The figures were decently colored and getting two army builders for $8 was enticing.  As the Asian figures began to leak out, though, alternate versions of these popular army builders were among them.

First up is the Alley Viper.  Ostensibly, this figure isn't much different from the production figure. The blue is a little brighter.  Unaccessorized, the figures are rather bland.  But, it's not hard to find Alley Viper gear from this era (there were a lot of them released) so if you can track down the figures, they aren't hard to get up to speed in terms of gear.

The Viper figure, though, has some significant changes.  While the base colors are slightly brighter than the production figure, it is the black face mask that is the most striking difference.  Hasbro never released a Viper with a black faceplate and it is a powerful look for the figure.  In the right context, it could have been a very strong Viper repaint.

The Viper figures were fairly popular for a while and tended to fetch decent prices.  The Alley Vipers, though, did not fare as well.  Today, you still see the Vipers for sale, often for significant amounts.  But, the Alley Viper variant remains relatively obscure.

1994 Alley Viper - Around the Web

I never found the 1994 Alley Viper at retail.  By the time I was combing the scraps of the Joe line in 1995 and 1996, Cobra army builders were long gone.  But, this figure is a great homage to the original and a very nice update.  There is a variant where one has little stripes on his legs and the other does not.  As this guy is somewhat tough to find in any form these days, getting both variants can take a bit of work.  There's not much content on this guy out there, but here's what I could find around the web:

1994 Alley Viper Profile

Rarities - Unproduced Wal Mart Sky Patrol Alley Viper

In 2003, Wal Mart approached Hasbro for an exclusive run of G.I. Joe Figures.  Originally, the 6 figure series was going to be based on Sky Patrol and include vintage style G.I. Joe molds.  The figures were planned as three Joes and three Cobras: Snake Eyes, Duke, Low Light, Stormshadow, Hiss Driver (possibly as Rip It) and this Alley Viper.  However, the parachutes could not pass a safety test and Wal Mart scrapped these figures. They were replaced with an 6 figure set of new sculpt molds where a desert Joe was paired with an urban Cammo Cobra.

Large quantities of the Wal Mart Sky Patrol figures were produced, though.  They were readily available from Asian Joe sellers in the mid 2000's.  This Alley Viper was among the more popular figures and tended to fetch higher prices than even the Hiss Driver.  (He's also a great match for the 1997 Rage and at least one collector built an army of these figures to man that vehicle in his displays.)  Of the figures in the set, though, this Alley Viper was probably the least distinctive except for Snake Eyes.  Hasbro produced many flavors of this mold in blues and reds.  So, collectors have similar enough figures to not feel as cheated.  But, it's still an unproduced figure that has gotten very hard to find these days.

2004 Urban Strike Alley Viper

To say that the Alley Viper was overdone in the repaint era would be an understatement. In 7 years, the figure was released in 5 unique color schemes. Each of these were designed with collectors in mind and each was army built with some gusto by the collecting world. In 2004, though, Hasbro put out their last Alley Viper incarnation. By that time, collectors had feasted on three retail Alley Viper figures in the prior two years. And, as such, were somewhat burned out on the mold. This lead many collectors to overlook what might be the best Alley Viper repaint of them all: the 2004 Urban Strike Alley Viper.

On paper, the Urban Strike Set looked like a winner. 3 major Cobra characters combined with three army builders should have been strong. The actual release lived up to the hype. Done in shades of black and blue with a bit of grey thrown in, the set was classic Cobra colors with strong molds. The Alley Viper, though, was fairly plain. But, there are times when less is more and this all black body with a few silver details and brown highlights was a perfect swan song for the mold. It was a simple and effective look for a character whose primary duty would be urban combat, likely under the cover of darkness. Despite Cobra's affiliation with evil, they rarely featured figures that were clad in solid black. (The repaint line featured more and more of them, but it was still relatively rare to see.) So, those who do appear in that color can be very useful, especially when paired with the large volume of black Cobra vehicles that are available.

The Urban Strike set suffered from it's release window. In late 2003, Hasbro had created the Python Patrol set. This set included 5 vintage army builder molds, all with their original accessories, colored in a decent homage to the Python Patrol theme. In January of 2004, the Cobra Infantry Squad was released. This set of 4 Cobra Troopers and 2 Cobra Officers was the high point for army builders. It was an immensely popular set that sold through very quickly. When the Urban Strike set appeared, collectors were hoping for a repeat of 6 army builders for their Cobra forces. But, Hasbro disappointed them by including only three army builders in the set along with Firefly, Scrap Iron and Stormshadow. This disappointment caused many to overlook the set and not realize that the Firefly was the best Firefly released up to that point, Scrap Iron had not been seen in 20 years and the Stormshadow was decently colored, even if the mold was lackluster. It was in the army builders, though, that Hasbro really outdid themselves. The Nullifer was nothing short of amazing. The Night Creeper was the best use that mold ever saw. And, the final figure, the Alley Viper, was one of the great, unheralded army builders in the repaint era.

Like most TRU sets of the time, the Urban Strike set had an unreleased variant that was available from Asia. While Firefly, Scrap Iron, Stormshadow and the Night Creeper all had fairly obvious differences, those on the Nullifer and Alley Viper are minor. Really, the only difference is some red paint cammo patterns applied to the figure. It is not a major variant, but one that is worth tracking as a squad leader for a group of retail released Alley Viper.

Today, these Alley Vipers are the main unit that's left outside of the 1997 Alley Viper contingent. The black color makes them one of Cobra's most effective quick strike units. The fact that they included the shield, face mask and pack helps flesh this out. (While the Alley Viper's weapon in the set sucks, the Stormshadow figure includes an all black uzi from the 1989 Snake Eyes mold that works perfectly with this figure. (You can see it in the photos below.) The figures are fully armed and ready for battle. While they are not perfect matches for the Rage, they work well enough and are right at home on Hiss Tanks or Stingers. It's a versatile figure that meshes well with vintage Joes and shows that sometimes, a simple repaint can be incredibly effective.

These Alley Vipers can fluctuate in price. In recent years, they have gone as high as $12 per figure to as low as $4 per figure. These days, you can get them in the $6 to $7 range, and less if you are willing to buy lots that include this figure and others. Many of the TRU exclusive set, including the Urban Strike, have taken on a bit of aftermarket appreciation. But, considering it's been a decade since this figure's release, that's not unexpected. Especially when you consider that this set likely only had around 20,000 units produced. Collectors have realized that sets like the Urban Strike did have some very redeeming qualities and are now willing to pay a bit more to add them to their collection. If you passed by this set at retail, that can be a bitter pill to swallow. But, the figures in it are top notch and this Alley Viper is certainly no exception.

1994 Alley Viper

The Alley Viper has long been a collector favorite mold.  Despite his orange color, collectors have taken to the specialty, mold and accessories.  The character seemed to be a favorite of Hasbro as well as they released Alley Vipers in both 1993 and 1994.  The new mold was very similar to the original version.  The 1994 version even brought back the orange color.

The Alley Vipers are the backbone of my Cobra urban forces. As Cobra mostly undertakes urban missions, they are, by extension, the backbone of Cobras army as a whole. The excellent gear, cool rifle and fearsome face shield all add up to a group of figures that would strike fear into any urban center they attacked. However, the bulk of my Alley Viper forces are now made up of later, better colored versions of the Alley Viper. The orange of the original was cool for what it was. However, the bright yellow of the 1993 figure and the orange of this 1994 version didn't do much for me. I greatly prefer the more traditionally Cobra versions from 1997, 2002 and 2004. Those figures are much more interesting and useful.

There are 2 variants to this figure.  One has stripes on the legs, the other does not.  The striped version is harder to find than the non striped version.  This was a common occurrence in 1994 as Hasbro tried to cut costs on the later produced figures by skipping paint applications. This had lead to a string of variants across the 1994 releases. Unfortunately, the 1994's, in general, skimped on paint applications in comparison to the Joes from prior years. So, having some applications skipped in a cost cutting move really is a detriment to several of the figures from this year. (Except in the cases where the color omitted was neon!)

The Alley Viper's accessories both match the figure and the time in which they were released. The 1993 Alley Viper included a recast V1 Alley Viper backpack as well as a black weapon tree, shield and face mask. (There was a yellow missile launcher thrown in.) The weapon tree included a new version of the classic Alley Viper rifle, just with a bulkier front handle. It also included a Dial Tone rifle, knife and missiles. The 1994 figure skipped the backpack, but included the same weapon tree. Only, this time, the weapons were bright orange. It was nice to have the correct weapons for the figure and the orange color is kind of fun on display since it's so apropos for the 90's. But, the figure looks much better with black weapons, if you can find a spare set.

The Alley Viper mold got way too much use. It debuted in 1993 with the "bumblebee" version of the Alley Viper and was repainted in 1994 for this version. The mold was then sent to Brazil where it was colored nearly identically to the 1993 figure and released as Mortifero. The body, arms and head made their way back to the U.S., though, and were used in 1997 when Hasbro couldn't find the body from the original 1989 figure. Hasbro then repainted this mold ad naseum with a blue release and a red repaint in 2002, a bright blue repaint in 2003 and an all black version in the Urban Strike set in 2004. There are now a full complement of Alley Vipers available and collectors had grown rather tired of the mold. A grey urban version would have been nice. But, there are enough other colors out there to suit the needs of pretty much any collector.

The 1994 Alley Viper isn't easy to find. He is probably the hardest figure from the main Battle Corps line to find both carded and loose. He was popular even during his release period (he is the only regularly carded series 1994 Battle Corps figure I never found at retail) and continues to be popular today. The meshing with the classic Alley Viper and general obscurity of the release year have added up to a figure that is tough to army build. Mint and complete figures will run upwards of $17 these days. Carded versions tend to hit $40 with the striped versions going even higher. Of all the vintage Alley Vipers, this is probably the least interesting. But, it is still a solid mold worth acquiring. But, given the figure's scarcity and price, the 1989 Alley Viper is still the better option for building a decently sized Cobra army.

1997 Alley Viper

It's hard to believe, but, in 1997, collectors hated this version of the Alley Viper.  Outright loathed it.  Many people resorted to selling them for nothing or even giving them away for free.  They despised the mold, the colors and the accessories.  It's amazing how time changes perspective on things.  Today, this is one of the most popular Alley Viper repaints.  The relative scarcity of the figure combined with the quality has put it among the collector favorite army builder figures.  The Cobra blue is unique to this version and leaves this Alley Viper as the best figure to integrate into classic Cobra ranks.

Alley Vipers are the urban backbone of the Cobra Army.  Their heavy armor, decent weapons and menacing helmets make for a frightening enemy.  The 1989 version, though, suffered from a gaudy orange and blue color combination.  The 1993 update grounded the character in a bright yellow base.  It was not until 1997 that the Alley Viper appeared in a color that was true to Cobra's roots.  The dark blue is easily integrated with more classic Cobra characters.  However, the figure is not without faults.  Notably, the white cammo splotches that dot the figure's uniform are not a perfect combo for the deep blue.  Aesthetically, the figure is pleasing.  But, it is still not perfect.

In my collection, the Alley Vipers remain the third most important Cobra army builder behind the original blue Troopers and the Crimson Guards.  Beyond those classics, Alley Vipers are the next most common specialty in my Cobra ranks.  It never made much sense to me for Cobra to have a standing army that was capable of holding ground against the military of even a small nation.  Instead, it would seem more prudent for Cobra to have small, highly mobile and extremely deadly strike forces that were capable of rapidly dispatching a small portion of any urban setting.  The objectives are smaller and more attainable and Cobra wouldn't need thousands of men waiting around for a mission.

This figure has quite fragile paint applications.  It uses gold paint for many of the highlights on the body mold.  Gold paint is notoriously easy to rub off on vintage figures.  But, the combo of the paint along with the softer plastic of the 1997's is a recipe for disaster.  Hasbro chose to use the most fragile paint on the protruding parts of the mold that are the most susceptible to disintegration.  Many Alley Vipers had paint wear right out of the box.  As such, finding a truly mint version of the figure can be extremely difficult.

This version of the Alley Viper was the first to use the parts combination of the 1993 Alley Viper chest, waist, arms and head and Duke's legs.  For whatever reason, this design didn't click with collectors.  Even into 2003, the use of Duke's legs were a constant complaint.  Personally, I don't have much issue with the construction of the figure.  The parts combination works well enough and the colors offset any mold deficiencies.  The figure includes a black face mask, a black version of the 1993 Alley Viper's shield and a black version of Dial Tone's gun.  It is likely that the Alley Viper's signature weapon mold was lost in Brazil.  So, Hasbro went with the Dial Tone weapon that had first appeared with the 1993 version.  It's not a great accessory with this figure.  But, since the original, more highly desired gun never made another appearance in a Hasbro release, the use of the Dial Tone weapon has become less distasteful in the past 15 years.

The Alley Viper was the included vehicle driver with the repainted Rage vehicle.  The Rage, in and of itself, is a great repaint of an obscure Cobra mold that most collectors at the time did not own.  But, this worked against it during its release period.  Collectors did not want cool repaints of toys from the later years.  They wanted items from '82-'85 and would settle for things released as late as 1987.  But, that was about as far as the collecting conscience went back then.  On top of the general collector dislike of the Rage and Alley Viper, they were rather pricey at retail.  Toys R Us sold these items for $17.99.  While that may not sound like much today, the reality is that in 1997, $20 at a toy show would get you a mint and complete vintage Stinger with Driver and leave you enough money to pick up a 1983 Cobra Soldier to ride shotgun.  So, when faced with buying up the retail item or vintage toys, you can see how most collectors would choose the latter.  The result was that the Rage didn't sell through all that quickly.  It lingered into 1998 in many places.  Eventually, the vehicles were sold through.  Though, many collectors reporting finding quantities of Rage's with the figure removed.

In the early 2000's, the army building craze really affected this version of the Alley Viper.  For a time, this figure was nearly impossible to acquire.  As such, prices rose ludicrously fast and, for a while, loose, mint and complete versions of this figure would sell for around $40 each.  Hasbro, though, kept pumping out repaint after repaint of the Alley Viper.  Eventually, these new versions took much of the steam from the 1997 version.  Today, many dealers still hold onto hope that this figure is worth a lot of money.  As such, you see many places offering the figure for $50 or more.  You'll notice, though, that these don't sell.  The reason is that demand for this figure has diminished drastically.  You can now purchase these Alley Vipers for $15-$17 each.  That is still a bit high, but much more in line with their quality and availability than the higher prices.  The figures are still not easy to find and it may take a month or two to track one down at the market price.  But, it can be done.  I've found this to be the best version of the Alley Viper that is available.  It's taken me more than a decade, but I've been able to get a nice squad of them together.  So, it can be done.  It just takes time.  But, in this case, it is very worth the investment.

Armadilha (Brazilian Exclusive Alley Viper Commander)

I've long had a soft spot for Brazilian figures. They simply offer so much to a collection. Due to the overall exotic allure of the figures, even mundane, poorly colored molds can take on new collecting importance. Such is the case with Armadilha. On the surface, this figure is a barely repainted 1993 Beach Head figure. But, this Brazilian release features just enough superficial differences for him to be a major player in my collection. Of course, the most important difference is that Armadilha is a Cobra. He is a Cobra that is unique to Brazil and he has no American counterpart. Frankly, there are a lot of Brazilian figures who were released as Cobras in South America even though they were Joes in the US. Of them, though, only Armadilha has really gained widespread notoriety.

Many collectors simply regard Armadilha as an Alley Viper commander. This likely came from the fact that Armadilha was released in the same wave as an Alley Viper (Mortifero) in Brazil and that Armadilha includes yellow versions of the Alley Viper's accessories. There is no indication on the figure's filecard, though, that he is associated with the Alley Vipers in any way. However, many modern collectors have simply accepted Armadilha in this role. As the Alley Vipers lacked a true commander, the ascension of Armadilha is a logical step in filling this void in the Cobra hierarchy. In the few instances where you will see Armadilha appear, it is almost always in this capacity as leader of the Alley Viper forces.

In my collection, Armadilha is still evolving. Years ago, I concocted my own leader of Cobra's urban forces when I acquired Relampago. I like Relampago in that role and am not willing to move him aside for Armadilha. I've always viewed this mold as more of a maritime character than anything. As such, I could see Armadilha becoming the leader of the Lampreys. Unfortunately, in that capacity, Armadilha's use would be limited. While the Lamprey is one of my favorite molds, it is tough to use in my desert environment. He could also become the land commander uniform for the leader of the Eels. In this role, though, his use would even more limited as it is rare when I use my Eels outside of water settings. And, it wouldn't make much sense for Armadilha to change out of his diving suit while those in him command did not.

However, as I spend more time looking at the figure, I do find myself linking him in with the 1997 Alley Vipers. Those figures are my favorite coloring of the Alley Viper character and are somewhat elite since they can be tough to track down. So, I could see Armadilha evolving into a lesser Cobra commander who's sole charge is an elite group of Alley Vipers. They would be the highly specialized division of the Alley Vipers, the guys called into an area first, or after it has gone so bad that standard troops no longer are sufficient. This would allow me to keep Armadilha as more of a combatant. I have enough politicians in my Cobra ranks and, every now and then, it's nice to find a Cobra character who is on par with the Joes. Cobra wouldn't be all troopers and leaders afraid to risk their necks in combat. They would have to have combat commanders. Ultimately, I think that is the role that will occupy Armadilha's time.

Quality-wise, Armadilha is right in line with his Brazilian contemporaries. His paint masking is not as tight as those on the American version of the mold, but it is still better than you would find from Funskool. (The last few waves of the Brazilian Joe line show signs of the paint masking quality slipping as the you will find slight over spray and inconsistent application of the paint on most samples of the figures.) The plastic is close to American figure quality, but is still a bit more brittle. It is much easier to break this figure's thumbs by simply using his accessories than it is to break those of an American figure. But, Armadilha isn't so fragile to render him useless. Like all Estrela figures, you simply have to handle this figure with a bit more care.

You can see a photo below that compares Armadilha to the American Beach Head figure. Armadilha has brighter green pants and the blue on his arms is slightly richer than Beach Head's. The true difference lies in the figure's under coloring on the chest and face. Beach Head is a much brighter green. Armadilha is quite dark and that more subtle base makes quite a difference in the appearance of the two figures. With the dark coat on his upper body, Armadilha's brighter green pants are actually a nicer offset than the more subdued green on Beach Head. That gives Armadilha some nice depth and allows him to be a figure that is more recognizable in photos and dioramas. The rest of the figure has the same black trappings as Beach Head and Armadilha does not feature any painted details that are not present on his American counterpart. (All Brazilian figures from Armadilha's era simply use the American paint masks, though the colors may be slightly different.)

Armadilha's accessories leave a lot to be desired. While he does include versions of the Alley Viper gun and shield, they are colored bright yellow. He also includes the standard spring loaded missile launcher and yellow missiles. This entire series of figures from Brazil basically mimicked their American counterparts in terms of accessory colors. So, Armadilha has yellow accessories to match Beach Head, Anjo De Guarda has blue accessories to match Keel-Haul, etc., etc. It's an unfortunate trend but one that is easily rectified. A simple swap of Armadilha's yellow accessories for the fairly easy to find black versions from American Alley Vipers simply makes all the difference in the world. (Much like the '93 Beachhead with the black backpack from the original and the black gun that was released in 2002 is an entirely different look than the same base figure with yellow accessories.) As such, a figure sans accessories isn't one to pass by should the price be right.

Loosely translated, Armadilha means "trap" in English. Now, a code name like "Trap" is fairly unimaginative and lame. But, in Portuguese, the name takes on a different dimension. Knowing the meaning behind Armadilha's name gives the character more depth. The commander of an elite unit of Cobras who is known as "Trap" connotes the type of missions that Armadilha and his men would undertake. It brings a bit of mystery and intrigue to a character who, were he named in English, would be somewhat forgettable. That's why I try to incorporate foreign names whenever possible. Many of these characters would blend into the background without a great name. And, their foreign moniker often provides the distinction that I crave in my collection ranks.

Armadilha marks the last appearance of this mold. It is probable that the mold died in Brazil and will never be available again. In a way, that's too bad as the mold is very high quality and someone with a vested interest in new figure design could easily turn this mold into something special with just a few new colors. Alas, that will likely never happen. In the meantime, though, the idea of the Armadilha character could easily be resurrected into a newly amalgamated figure. Armadilha has enough fame that he wouldn't be just a random homage to foreign figures and enough collectors know of him to make a new figure appealing enough to consider. I doubt it will happen any time in the next few years, but it is a possibility that, were it to come to fruition, I would like to see.

Armadilha is the hardest figure of his wave to find. Time was that all 8 of the figures from this wave and one immediately preceding it were equally easy to find. In time, though, collectors slowly absorbed the Armadilha and Mortifero figures. After that, Tiro Certo started to disappear. Now, Armadilha is rarely seen for sale with his contemporaries. But, when he is, the figure isn't pricey. Even MOC, Armadilha is still available in the $20-$25 range from American sellers. There were a lot of the later series of Brazilian Joes who were imported to the U.S. As such, there is stock out there that can be had. For my money, that's a fair price to pay for an exclusive Cobra character from Brazil. In fact, it's about the cheapest price you'll pay for an exclusive Cobra character from Brazil! But, Armadilha's similarity to the American Beach Head figure definitely keeps interest in the figure lower than it otherwise would be. The reality is that you can buy a MOC version of an exclusive Brazilian Cobra character for less than the going rate of several of the shorter run 25th Anniversary Joe figures that will still be shipping for months. But, that gives the savvy collector a great opportunity to add this figure to their collection without breaking their budget.