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.

1993 HEAT Viper - Around The Web

This HEAT Viper repaint isn't great.  But, the bright green is actually kind of fun and makes for a visually striking action figure.  Done differently, the figure still has some limitations.  But, one of the great customs of the early online Joe community was a Snake Eyes using the chest from this figure.  It proved the sculpt had potential.  Oddly, the figure was released in Brazil as a good guy, Raio Verde.  But, the figure was also in bright green and isn't all that different from this version.  I do enjoy this guy, though, for what he is and it's nice to have a couple of them lying around.  Here's the best of the 1993 HEAT Viper from around the web.

1993 HEAT Viper Profile

1993 HEAT Viper by gijoecollector

1993 HEAT Viper by slipstream80

1993 HEAT Viper at JoeADay.com

1993 HEAT Viper by toydruid

1993 HEAT Viper by thedustinmccoy

1993 HEAT Viper by nightforcetunnelrat

1993 HEAT Viper by gvilla74

1993 HEAT Viper by ronnie_trickshot

Raio Verde - Brazilian Exclusive

The 1993 HEAT Viper is not a great figure.  He's big and bulky, has an odd head and, is colored neon green.  As such, he's one of the cheaper army building figures you can buy.  After Hasbro released him in 1993, though, they sent the mold to Brazil where Estrela also released.  Estrela kept the neon coloring and general look of the figure.  But, they made one huge change.  Instead of remaining a Cobra army builder, the mold was released as a Joe.

Raio Verde translates as "Green Ray".  So, you have a Joe named Green Ray.  Which seems ridiculous but really isn't all that much worse than many other code names from the American Joe line.  Here is a loose transaction of Raio Verde's filecard:

It is part of the latest generation of g.i. Joe, In love with speed and motorcycling, there is no bike he has not yet piloted. Exploring to the maximum the limits of the machine, Green Ray and scaled in the actions in which we say of second will decide the success or failure of the mission.

The Commandos usually bet with green ray. It has to identify model, engine capacity and year of manufacture of the bikes only by sound. Until today, he has not lost any bets.

So, basically, he's a Joe version of Relampago.  

The figure included weapons in neon green that were not available in that color in the U.S.  He has the standard '93/'94 era MP-5 inspired rifle, machete and shotgun.  He also includes a spring loaded missile launcher.  He was released in the final wave of Estrela figures around 1995.  If you could get the Estrela website to actually load on a browser in 1998, you could still find some catalog images from these late waves.  It was interesting to see some of the items from a time when all but the most famous Brazilian figures were impossible to find.

Really, there's no real way to determine this figure from the American figure, though.  The green is pretty much the same.  If the HEAT Viper were popular or decent in his own right, this figure would be more popular.  But, he's not.  As a novelty, the figure is cool.  And, he remains relatively cheap (though he's not as common as he was a decade ago) to acquire.  At one point, I had two of them, just because they showed up in lots of carded Brazilian figures quite often.

Rarities - Forca Electronica Figures - Brazilian Exclusives

Estrela produced around 150 unique figures for its Comandos Em Acao line.  Those range from completely new characters and figure combinations to straight up matches of American released figures.  The Forca Electronica subset of figures featured one brand new character in Letal, a repaint of a European exclusive Tiger Force Outback as Forasteiro as well as minor Brazilian repaints the HEAT Viper, Muskrat, Repeater and the Toxo Viper.

The Forca Electronica set featured 6 initial members:

Letal:

This neon green Frag Viper repaint is the most famous member of the set.  His striking appearance and general rarity have lead him to become very popular among collectors.  His golden weapons only add to the figure's mystique.  Letal is the most expensive, but also most often found member of the set.  His popularity makes him available, but his pricing remains consistently high.

Retaguarda:

This darker version of Repeater is one of the rarer members of the Forca Electronica series.  He was not publicly shown until the early 2000's.  Even today, the figure is very hard to find and you will pay a premium for him.  The darker colors are a cool take on the mold, though.  And, they bring something new to the Repeater character.

Forasteiro:

Really, this is the oddest figure of the bunch.  Forasteiro is slightly brighter version of the European exclusive Tiger Force Outback figure.  How this paint mask ended up in Brazil is a mystery.  But, it means that the most common appearance of the Outback mold is a paint application that was never released in the U.S.  We all know Outback's tend to be brittle.  The easier to snap Brazilian plastic exacerbates this and finding mint Forasteiro's is not easy.  Again, you pay a premium for an unbroken figure with no paint wear.

Estilhaco:

Estilhaco is a straight and slight repaint of the 1989 HEAT Viper figure.  The purple is a bit brighter.  He's the cheapest of the 6 figures in the set, mostly due to the fact that he was fairly common in the 1990's and he only has slight differences from a very common and rather unpopular American figure.

Explorador:

This slightly brighter green Muskrat exclusive is fairly elusive.  While he doesn't really offer anything you don't get in either the highly common American or Funskool versions of the figures, he's still different enough to drive you mad.  The fact that he's fairly rare props up the price, too.

Maligno:

This brighter purple Toxo Viper repaint is the bright end of the spectrum for this mold.  The American figure is a base purple color.  The Funskool version is a few shades darker than the American.  Maligno is a few shades brighter than the American.  He also features the golden weapons that increase his eye catching properties.  Again, Maligno isn't easy to find and high quality, complete versions fetch decent prices.

The Forca Electronica figures have gotten expensive.  While both Letal and Estilhaco were relatively easy to find in the late 1990's and early 2000's, the other figures were, basically, impossible to find and a few of them had never been seen until the early 2000's.  Today, all of the figures in the subset go for a premium.  They are extremely well done repaints and the rarity has lead collectors to appreciate them more than many, more interesting Brazilian subsets.

Estrela released a 2nd series of the Forca Electronica with 2 figures: General Ataque (a Scoop repaint) and Annihilator.  These two figures were released later, and on their own.  They are MUCH easier to find than the first series and are nowhere near as expensive.

Collectors long ignored the Brazilian figures that were similar to their American counterparts.  The last decade, though, has seen this trend reverse.  Subsets like Forca Electronica show that even the slight repaints can be interesting and have merit.  Unfortunately, so many have discovered this that the figure are not nearly as cheap as they used to be.

1993 HEAT Viper

Let's face it. Most Joe collectors out there would not consider a neon colored figure to be among their favorites. In fact, many would simply dismiss a figure due to its poor color. My feeling, though, has long been that many of the poorly colored figures that sprinkle the line's history could, with a proper redesign, be held in high regard. The Shock Viper and Mirage are just examples of how a bad figure can be made good with a major color change. Such is the case with the figure in this profile. The 1993 Heat Viper suffers from an abdominal bright green as his primary color and has fallen into the line's scrap heap as a figure that collectors simply don't want to own. While the colors are loud, though, this figure does have many redeeming qualities and, like his 1993 brethren could be a great figure were he only colored a bit differently.

The Heat Viper mold is actually very well done. If you look around, there are several well done customs that utilize parts from the Heat Viper to create a great new character. First off, the figure is bulky. In '93, many figures began to get "super-sized". Torsos and legs were thicker and the figs, when compared to earlier models, looked much bigger and stronger. This was simply a reflection of the action figure market at the time and the natural progression has lead us to the new sculpt figures of today. In the case of the Heat Viper, though, the bulk works. Supposedly, this is a hand held artillery soldier who would carry heavy weaponry. As such, they would have be strong and big. Beyond the bulk, though, the mold is also incredibly detailed. The figure has a black bandoleer across his chest that houses three grenades. He also has a pistol molded to his leg along with various straps and holsters. The coup de gras, though, is the figure's boots. The Heat Viper has heavy knee pads and thick, black boots that make him look like he means business. It is a small detail, but the type of thought that would have made this figure stand out had he been released in earlier years. While the description of the details may sound a bit sparse, it is the way the detailing is used that allows this figure to be remarkable in simplicity. He is Truly an example of where less is more.

Of course, though, the Heat Viper has some deficiencies. The first and foremost is his neon green color. While eye-catching and attention grabbing, it is not so useful for practical situations. Aside from that, the figure is only molded in three colors: green, black, and flesh. While the contrast of the green and black is fantastic, it also makes the figure feel too simple. Like other later edition figures, the lack of paint detailing lets the intricacy of the mold down. Aside from that, the figure's head is odd. Like the original Heat Viper, this figure has a bizarre helmet that leaves the figure's mouth exposed. Why wear a blast helmet if your source of air is still left open to exhaust and blast fumes? It is a poor design choice, but one that remains true to the figure's roots. The final problem is the figure's accessories. Aside from being cast in neon green, the Heat Viper's weapon tree makes no sense. He comes with machine guns and no projectile launcher as is suggested by his specialty. The thought was for kids to use the spring loaded launcher as the bazooka, but leaves modern collectors with the dilemma of how to properly arm him. (At least black versions of the original Heat Viper's gun have become common with the new releases.) The disappointing thing is that there were other weapon trees offered in '93 that would have made sense for this figure. However, by '93, accessories were an afterthought for these figures.

In my collection, the Heat Viper is not the hand held artillery soldier as denoted by his specialty. Instead, he is more of a specialty shock trooper. He is basically a Cobra SWAT trooper who is used in close quarters, urban situations. Unlike the Headhunters who are more mobile, these Heat Vipers are trucked into a specific situation, knock down the door, take care of business and are then quickly sped away to the next task. I explain the figure's bulk as being a combination of body armour and sheer muscle mass. As such, these guys are the heavy hitters who lead the charge into building occupied by resistance. Alley Vipers are the combat arm of Cobra's urban assault forces. The Heat Vipers are just a logical extension of them. The supplement the Alley Viper's duties in specific situations that call for more heavily protected and less mobile troopers. Plus, I can explain away the green color as being special fabric that allows the Heat Vipers to see each other in the dark confines of the environments in which they tend to operate.

Many have said that this mold would make for an excellent candidate for re-release in the modern line. New colors and proper accessories could really create an exciting new figure. However, this figure has a slight problem that many other '93 figure molds face: he was sent to Brazil shortly after his American release was finished. In Brazil, he was released in nearly identical colors and named Raio Verde. Most of the molds that were contemporary to Raio Verde have not been located by Hasbro and are not candidates for re-release. For now, the Heat Viper appears to be among them. However, as Hasbro is actively seeking out their missing molds, the possibility of this figure's return is always there, no matter how small it may be. I know I would appreciate a new attempt at this mold. Were it done right, I think many other collectors would, too.

1993 Heat Vipers aren't hard to find. There are lots of them out there. The only problem is that they tend to be carded or only available in lots with many other '93 and '94 figures. As this figure is not high on many collectors' priority lists, though, even carded samples can be had cheap. Truthfully, after pulling mine out and putting them to a bit of use, I'm thinking of going out a picking up a couple more of these guys. It's rare to find many Cobra army builders for cheap these days. It's even rarer when the ones you can find are not either highly specialized or suffer from a truly bad mold. I think this version of the Heat Viper is a good buy right now. While he'll never replace the more standard Cobra troopers in my collection, he does fit in well for specific tasks. I think that, given a chance, more collectors could grow to appreciate this figure, even if they never actually use him. For a '93, that's not too bad a lot in life.

I'm curious about the upcoming Python Patrol Heat Viper. My guess is that he will be a straight repaint of the 2001 Fast Blast Viper rather than the '89 Heat Viper or this mold. Which would you prefer?