2006 Operation Flaming Moth Range Viper - Around The Web

After nearly 20 years, the stain of the old club is wearing off of figures like this Range Viper.  It's always been a quality release.  Maybe, even, the best paint job ever offered on the mold.  But, the entire "not an army builder" shenanigans have tainted the legacy of this figure since its release.  Newer collectors are unaware of how the club's hubris divided the Joe community and contributed to the demise of line.  It might be good that we're moving on from the nonsense of the early 2000's.  But, it's also important to not forget.  Lest, we see the mistakes of the club repeated.  (Which, they kind of were with the Pulse releases....)

That aside, this Range Viper is excellently done.  The desert motif actually befits the character.  And, desert Cobras were rare in the line.  So, having one available is nice.  And, while this figure was clearance fodder for years (even sitting unsold at 50% off...) it's now gotten expensive as newer collectors try to track them down.  There's some good stuff using this figure out there.  So, check him out!

2006 Range Viper Profile

2006 Range Viper by fosilru

2006 Range Viper by yovalleyjoe

2006 Range Vier by instachampa

2006 Range Viper by blast_gijoe

2006 Range Viper by plasticbattles

2006 Range Viper by LTCLAYMORE

2006 Range Viper by kushviper

2006 Range Viper by blast_gijoe

2006 Range Viper by instachampa

2006 Range Viper by yovalleyjoe

The Top 10 - 2020

 So, 2020 was a weird year.  It was bizarre in that Joe was popular, but also not.  Items that, historically, collectors showed interest in were simply ignored.  Yet, common items that no one would ever care about now get massive attention.  And, in all this, the most popular post in the site's history debuted this year.  Yes, there is a new number one post in this site's long life.  And, you'll never guess what it is.

With that, here's the top 10 posts of 2020 on the site.

10. European Force Tonnerre

The European Force figures have always been solid performers during Rarities Month.  This year, I focused on the one figure that I see the least: Tonnerre.  This orange repaint is weird and odd and lots of fun.  I'd love to someday own one.  Until then, though, Rarities write ups like this one will have to suffice for me.

9. 2006 Viper

Army builders are always popular.  This Viper Pit set, though, has turned into a dud due to the poor quality of the figures.  Despite that, this figure got a lot of page views just due to the Viper name and the fact that it's been 14 years since he was released.  

8. Black Major Cobra De Aco

Black Major figures tend to perform well.  Especially when you consider that I can't promote the profiles of them in many of the largest social media groups.  Despite this blackout, people find the write ups of the figures.  Other Joe bloggers report the same.  The De Aco is a famous figure in its own right and people were interested to see how the Black Major release compared to one of the first foreign figures to really capture the community's attention.

7. 2020 Retro Hiss Tank

This isn't really a surprise.  A classic and iconic vehicle re-offered at retail for the first time in a long time was certain to draw in viewers.  Naturally, you see video reviews from large toy sites that have massively more numbers as they pull in the retail only collector crowd.  But, even Joe collectors wanted to see this one and it dropped into the top profiles of the year.

6.  1987 Fast Draw

I never considered Fast Draw an overly popular character.  But, his profile garnered a lot of attention.  It wasn't the time of year or anything.  In fact, the two profiles the surround Fast Draw (1984 Chameleon and 1997 Ace) were among the lowest performing posts of the year.  So, the popularity is entirely attributable to the Fast Draw figure.

5.  Sgt. Savage P-40 Warhawk

The Warhawk is an incredibly obscure item of which most fans had little recollection.  So, it getting a prominent post attracted viewers.  Some loved the design.  Others hated it.  But, the reality is that Sgt. Savage toys are almost as forgotten as G.I. Joe Extreme and it's getting rarer and rarer to see them in any capacity. 

4. Terror on the Tundra Mail Away Promo

I don't look at a lot of paperwork.  But, little items like this Terror on the Tundra promo tend to be popular.  Most collectors have these things lying around.  But, they aren't something that they take the time to look at.  And, now that some of the items in them have reached astronomical prices, it's interesting to look back at what you could have bought when they were released.

3.  Rarities - Later Series Lucky Bell Power Commandos

While I had a good crop of Rarities posts this year, only two really broke through.  This look at the later series of Power Commandos, though, was the most popular Rarities post of the year.  Again, this showcased a bunch of figures that most collectors were not aware of and, in many cases, had never seen.

There still lots about this line I don't know.  But, there will be at least one more new post for Rarities month in 2021 that relates to the Power Commandos, though.

2.  2006 Operation Flaming Moth Range Viper

The Flaming Moth figures have been left behind by collectors.  Those of us around at the time of their release remember the acidic taste of the Club's disdain for us upon the figure's release.  And, we also remember the figures being clearance fodder for years as the club struggled to move them.  But, 14 years later, these figures have become obscure.  So, this profile hit a nerve with the generation of collectors who don't have bitter memories of how truly awful the G.I. Joe club really was.

Despite this figure being the 2nd most popular post of the year, it was viewed more than 2,000 fewer times than the number 1.

1. 1984 Manta

I know, I can't believe it either.  But, the Manta is the most popular post in the site's history.  And, it wasn't due to a viral moment or a spike in popularity in a social media group.  No.  The Manta's rise to the top was simply a sustained excellence over the year.  Even 8 months after it's original publication date, the Manta was still among the weekly leaders in site hits.  It never had a huge surge of visitors.  It's just steadily performed for months.  (If you scroll to the bottom of any page on the site, you'll see the top 5 posts visited in the past week and the MANTA was almost always there in 2020.)  And, in September, it overcame the Rarities post about the unproduced Cobra Island Infiltrate set to become the most viewed post since I returned in 2015.

I can't explain why.  Manta's don't seem all that popular.  The photos for it weren't out of the ordinary.  There's just something about the Manta that's kept it consistently drawing viewers since it first appeared.

So, that's it for 2020.  It was a hell of a year.  Let's hope 2021 is less eventful on all fronts.  I've got some fun stuff ahead for the new year.  Aside from Joe, I'm going to take a look at Spinmaster Batman figures, some new Star Wars releases and, or course, tons of Joe items.  I'll be back to my regular cadence next week and already have the posts mapped out into April.

As always, thanks for spending time here, reading my stuff and leaving your thoughts in the comments.  I appreciate all of you!

2006 Range Viper - Operation Flaming Moth

You can make a strong argument that the first Joe desert figure appeared in 1983 with the tan Grunt repaint.  The 1984 VAMK Mark II and the tan Clutch figure appeared the next year.  But, officially, the first Joe desert fighter appeared in 1985.  From there, Dusty appeared again and there many other Joes done in base tan colors.  Cobra's first desert fighter, though, didn't appear until 1991.  And, that was it.  The desert was an area where Cobra was under represented.  Even the repaint era did nothing to rectify this.  Finally, in 2006 Master Collector offered some environmentally themed sets featuring vintage molds.  As Joe collectors of the age were army builder crazy, most of the figures were classic army builder molds.  There was a jungle set, an arctic set and a desert set.  The desert figures featured a tan repaint of the 1990 Range Viper.  The character made sense in this new color scheme and a full array of gear helped sell him.  Yet, the figure failed to sell pretty much at all.  14 years later, we can look at why something that should have been so successful simply was not.

At its core, a desert Range Viper makes perfect sense.  The Range Vipers were generic "wilderness" troopers.  And, deserts make up 33% of the land on earth.  So, having Range Vipers who could operate in the vast deserts that appear all over the world is a logical outreach for the figure.  I could see Range Vipers who are adapted to pretty much all the major world eco systems.  They may not be experts like Desert Scorpions.  But, I can see some Range Vipers getting desert training so they can move into the more specialized units.  As such, the notion of a desert Range Viper worked for me.  I do enjoy environmentally specific figures...in moderation.  But, it made no sense to have desert camo clad Joes battling bright red or dark blue Cobras in a setting where most of the color is brown, agave or grey.  

In looking at the Range Viper, you see the quality of the design.  This figure brings out the details of the mold, but in more subtle colors than the original use in 1990 or either of the JvC era repaints of it that appeared in 2000 and 2002.  I like the fact that the skull like face isn't white.  Playing up the skull motif worked for the Rock Viper and Skullbuster.  So, it was good to see it abandoned on this figure.  It allows him to more stand as the desert specialist.  The green eyes are nice, too.  They bring a splash of color to the Range Viper.  But, they don't detract from the overall design.  (You can make a case they are tinted lenses to help deflect harsh, desert glare.)  The base of the figure is brown and tan with a subtle camo pattern on the legs.  It's all offset by some darker browns and the silver bullets across the figure's chest.  The design is understated, but entirely effective.  The figure looks like a desert trooper without any fancy trappings that try to upsell his duties.

Normally, this is the spot where I harp on the club's failures with this figure.  But, I've pontificated enough on those bungles.  Instead, I wanted to take a dive as to why these Operation Flaming Moth figures failed so miserably.  Ostensibly, the sets should have been winners.  Collectors loved army building figures and the paint masks that shamed retail figures along with excellent accessory complements should have been very appealing.  There is an easy answer: it was 2006 and Joe had pretty much died due to Hasbro and the club's negligent handling of the brand.  However, there was still a strong collector base out there, especially for vintage style figures.  The price point of the figures, of course, is the next most obvious culprit.  In 2006, very few army builders crossed the $15 per figure threshold.  So, these Moth figures were competing with '86 Vipers, '83 Cobra Troopers, Alley Vipers and Crimson Guards for collecting dollars.  The appeal of the retail army builders was the $3 per figure price point.  The appeal of the convention sets was the appeal of the event itself.  Without the con-going experience tied to the figures and the price point that was 5 times the retail rate, these figures were doomed.

But, why were the figures so expensive?  Defenders of the club quickly point to the additional paint masks, greater accessory complements and low production runs as the primary drivers of the figures' cost to collectors.  And, all of these are a factor...to a point.  At the time, Hasbro produced the Toys R Us 6 figure packs in numbers varying from 16,000 to 20,000 of each set.  These were sold to Toys R Us for between $8 to $12 a set wholesale where TRU turned them around for a $20 retail price.  So, Hasbro was selling figures for a profit to a retailer for around $1.33 to $2 per figure.  Its probable that the lower production runs (we don't really know the club numbers, but it was certainly less than 20,000, maybe even less than 5,000) raise the price.  But, it's reasonable to assume the figures cost under $5 or $6 to the club with the actual number probably being far less.  The issue, of course, comes in the box that the club insisted on including with the figures.  For full retail releases, generic packaging tended to add about 33% to the overall cost of the figure.  The Flaming Moth boxes were far more expensive than retail packaging and likely doubled the cost of the figures.  This cost was passed on to the consumer and help quell demand for army builders at a time when army building was holding its last stronghold of popularity. One of the strengths of the convention releases is that you could buy a bagged set for a discounted price.  While the initial cash outlay was greater, for loose collectors, this helped to reduce the cost per figure and gave them superfluous characters that could be sold: usually for higher than retail prices.  Had the same strategy been employed with Moth figures, they might have been more successful. 

This leads us, though, to the reasoning behind the boxes.  For collectors of vintage Joes, the primary attraction has always been loose figures.  This is due to the fact that collectors grew up playing with the figures.  While we loved the card art, it was a selling point in the store while the main reason for buying a figure was to take it out of the packaging and play with it.  Those who collected vintage Star Wars are the same.  Loose is the entry point as it's the nostalgic factor.  Sure, collectors do move to carded.  But, if you started collecting vintage Joes any time after 1994, you had 100's of carded figures to track down.  To this day, carded collectors are former loose collectors who got bored and switched, collectors who have small carded collections, based on their childhood favorites or those who supplement their loose collections with carded items.  In 2006, there were far fewer carded collectors than there are today.  The club had this weird notion that they were going to force 3 3/4 Joe collectors into carded/boxed collecting.  And, the shoved expensive boxes down people's throats from the beginning in 2002.  While some collectors enjoyed the boxes, the fact is that the higher price point that the boxes created drove down demand for the club's figures.  Had the club accepted this at an earlier point in their life, then many of the products like Flaming Moth would have been far more successful and it's possible that we would have gotten a few more releases.

2007 really changed that, though.  With the advent of the anniversary Joes, collectors had a chance to be in on the ground floor of carded collecting.  In 1995, the same thing happened with Star Wars collecting.  Those who had loose vintage sets simply decided to collect the new releases carded.  This bore out of both a collecting mentality (the carded would be worth more in the future) and a reality that adults don't really play with toys and having them loose didn't do anything but save space and create hassles with missing gear, falling figs, etc.  With the anniversary Joes, Joe collectors had the same chance since the anniversary packaging hearkened back to the vintage designs and was starting over.  This release, while substantially less popular than the 2002 relaunch in terms of retail sales, brought in a huge number of new collectors.  Most of these were retail toy collectors who bought anything that was based on a vintage property.  (Which is why they abandoned the line when it turned into a movie line and no longer had that retro appeal.)  For them, packaging was a key component of the release since they had no desire to open something.  With this, the club mandate of packaging became more accepted and we see their packaged options now being very popular at original release and on the aftermarket.  This is all fine and good.  But, the anniversary and vintage collectors were a very different group of consumers.  Even today, though they have merged more and more, people have different expectations of vintage figures versus anniversary style releases.  Had the club understood this, or listened to their customers who were telling them this only to fall on deaf ears at the time, they could have created multiple offerings that appealed to both groups and found success across all lines.  But, certain club members were on record about their hatred for the 3 3/4 vintage figures and seeing them fail had bring some schadenfreude to them...especially as the anniversary items worked with their vision of what collectors should enjoy.

The Flaming Moth figures were a disastrous failure that spelled the the end of the club's forays into vintage style figure releases that weren't convention sets or membership figures.  Eventually, the figures were clearanced by the club at both conventions and in their online store.  Many army building collectors cashed in at that point to fill out their armies.  Many dealers also swooped in to buy cheap stock in the hopes that it would quickly appreciate and they could make their money back.  That didn't really happen, though.  By the early 2010's, boxed sets still sold for original price or less with loose figures barely commanding $10 each.  This was aided by the fact that huge amounts of Flaming Moth figure overstock was found in Asia and sellers there flooded the American collecting market first with cheap figures (though missing accessories) and later with complete or partially complete figures.  As recently as 2018, you could find both the Range Viper and Flak Viper, mint and complete, from Asian sellers for around $12 each.  While stock has started to dry up, now, the demand hasn't caught up.  You can still buy boxed sets of the Range/Flak Viper for around $30.  To be fair, though, it remains the cheapest of the Moth sets and others do sell for more.  So, the figure's lack of popularity also hurts pricing.  But, convention figures were cheap and plentiful for years and years.  Then, since the onset of 2018, they have steadily risen in price and started to disappear from online sales.  It's possible the Moth figures will follow suit since the Asian supply seems spent and those who bought armies have already liquidated or are content to keep their figures.  But, in the end, these remain obscure repaints from a time when the collecting world was, basically, dead.  So, it seems unlikely that they will suddenly become the figure du jour in the collecting world.  But, stranger things have happened.

1990 Range Viper - Around the Web

The Range Viper is one of the first figures I ever reviewed.  He was also one of the first figures that I never had as a kid who captured my attention.  Like many of these early collector age figures, though, the Range Viper's profile fell after a few years: his spot taken by newer figures.  Plus, Hasbro kind of ruined the uniqueness of the mold by repainting it so often in the 2000's.  But, the Range Viper is still a very solid release and remains an enemy I enjoy having around.  There's a good amount of content on the Range Viper from around the web:

1990 Range Viper Profile

European Spring Loaded Weapon Exclusives

Range Viper at the Viper Pit

Range Viper at JoeADay.com

Range Viper at Half The Battle

Range Viper by Cobra Freak

Range Viper at JoeWiki

Range Viper by 00zxcvb

Rarities - European Exclusive Firing Weapons Figures

Everyone is familiar with the European exclusive Action Force G.I. Joe repaints, the 6 European Tiger Force exclusive figures and even the more obscure European variants of Mutt and Spirit.  But, there were actually many more European exclusive figures.  Some are just minor color differences.  Some are date stamp discrepancies.  And, some are exclusive accessory variants.  It is the last category that is the focus of today's profile.  In the 1990's in Europe, Hasbro released 15 figures who featured exclusive accessories.  They are defined by the fact that the most identifiable characteristic is that most included spring loaded, firing weapons.  But, these are a lot of interesting tidbits hidden within these figures that we'll look at below.

The 15 figures are all 1990 and 1991 figure molds.  It should be noted that most, if not all of these figures were also released in Europe with their American accessories.  But, these altered releases were exclusive to the continent.  I'll start with my favorite of the bunch, the Rock Viper.

As you can see in the photo above, the Rock Viper now includes gear from the 1991 Snake Eyes figure.  The backpack is in an exclusive dark maroon color.  But, the thing that I really like is the neon green gun and missile.  The green is a nice color offset for the Rock Viper and I don't mind neon accessories in some cases.  But, this colored missile and gun are exclusive to this European version of the Rock Viper.

Next up is the Night Creeper you see below.

The main reason I like this version is because I like the Night Creeper in general.  This version, though, includes the backpack and launcher from the 1991 Mercer figure in a dark purple to match the Night Creeper figure.  He also includes an exclusive silver missile.

Next up is Ambush.

The obvious difference in Ambush is his accessories.  He now includes the backpack and missile launcher from the 1991 Snow Serpent in an exclusive light tan color.  He also have the Snow Serpent missile in red.  But, if you look closely, the figure itself is different.  Instead of dark brown cammo on his body, this Ambush features a brighter, lighter brown that has an orange-ish hue.  It is definitely a variant to Ambush.  Though, I'm not 100% certain that this cammo variance was exclusive to Europe or was also available elsewhere.  This European figure also features exclusive card artwork.

The 1991 jet pack General Hawk stands out because he does not include a spring loaded weapon.

As you see above, Hawk includes the launchers and missiles from the 1991 Crimson Guard Immortal figure.  They appear to be in the same color as the CGI weapons.

Next, we have Bullhorn.

Bullhorn is still the same great figure.  But, this version includes the 1991 Snow Serpent missile launcher in an exclusive maroon color.  He also has a neon green missile.

The most famous figure from this crop of missile launching figures is the 1991 Dusty.  This is because Dusty was also released in Asia with the same accessory configuration.  (There were some other figures in this series that also saw Asian releases with the alternate gear including Range Viper, Laser Viper and Desert Scorpion.)

You see Dusty includes the 1991 Red Star AK-47 and missile launcher.  The figure also features unique card artwork that showcases his alternate inclusions.

The 1991 Low Light follows the Dusty.

Low Light also includes the 1991 Red Star launcher and missile.

Up next is the Laser Viper.

This Laser Viper variant includes the missile launcher and missile from the 1991 Sci Fi figure.

Pathfinder shares a detail with Laser Viper:

Pathfinder also features the 1991 Sci Fi missile launcher.  These accessories appear to be unchanged from the American Sci Fi figure release.

Captain Grid Iron makes the Sci Fi launcher reuse a trifecta.

Captain Grid Iron, though, also features exclusive card artwork to help make him a little more interesting than just the reused launcher.

Metal Head brings us back to exclusive gear.

Metal Head includes a golden launcher from the 1991 Cobra Commander figure.  He also includes the standard 1991 Cobra Commander gun.

The final four figures are all Cobra army builders.

Range Viper:

The Range Viper also features Red Star's AK-47 and missile launcher.  He includes an exclusive golden missile, though.

SAW Viper:

The SAW Viper includes the gear from the 1991 Incinerator figure.  He also features exclusive card artwork that showcases his different accessories.

Desert Scorpion:

The Desert Scorpion includes the backpack and missile from the 1991 Mercer figure.  The only exclusive part of the figure is the card artwork that shows an oddball configuration for the new gear.

Undertow:

The Undertow figure also uses the gear from the 1991 Snake Eyes figure.  But, it's in an exclusive red color meant to mimic the Undertow's colors.  He also features an exclusive grey missile.

As accessory variants don't tend to command great attention as opposed to figure variants, these European figures remain very obscure.  But, they are generally hard to find and carded figures can command a premium in the right setting.  I'd love to track down a few of them as the offbeat colors are right up my collecting alley.  But, the general rarity of them makes them another fun subset in foreign Joe collecting.  One final picture is from a European catalog that showcases several of the figures in their alternate accessory configurations.

Rarities - Unproduced 2002 Skullbuster

In late 2002, Hasbro introduced the Skullbuster character to the G.I. Joe Vs. Cobra line.  The figure is a surprisingly cool blend of purple and white on the classic Range Viper mold.  Originally, though, the figure was going to be a much brighter color.  Below you see a pre-production Skullbuster that is drastically different from the produced figure.  The bluish base color is definitely more garish and eye-catching.

The Range Viper mold quite quite a bit of use during the 2000's.  The skull like face seemed a popular meme for Hasbro to exploit.  And, the figure was fairly well done, from late enough in the line that collectors didn't have tons of them, but not so late as to be ostracized by bulkier sculpting and lack of original accessories.  Hasbro also had the full range of gear for the Range Viper, though they didn't use it for Skullbuster.

The Skullbuster figure suffered from setbacks.  He wasn't, technically, an army builder.  And, he was packaged with a straight re-release of the hugely pegwarming Heavy Duty figure.  Heavy Duty wasn't even a repaint.  At the time when this figure was released, you could find the original Heavy Duty pack still collecting dust at many secondary retailers around the U.S.  So, the character and figure's star was somewhat tarnished by these packaging decisions.  Collectors still appreciated him to an extent and most collectors of that era have at least one.

While I prefer the actual Skullbuster figure who saw release, it would have been cool to get the version below, too.  He's different and different was mostly missing during the Joe Vs. Cobra time period.  Plus, the character deserved at least one other release.  The brighter colors may have been the decided factor in making the changes before the figure went to production.  But, when a figure's base coloring is purple, it's hard to justify slight shading variants as the determining factor in retail success or failure.  I don't know of too many of these pre-production figures that are actually out there.  But, it's an interesting take on a character that should have seen more use.

2002 Skullbuster

As 2002 has progressed, we have seen some awesome newly molded figures, some pretty poorly designed new sculpts, and a smattering of repainted classic figures that have been hit or miss. As the year winds down, though, I look back at the nearly 100 figures released (it will be more if Wave 5 is considered part of the '02 line, though my personal opinion is that it should not) and think that 2002 has been a pretty good Joe year. There have been plenty of army builders, lots of new characters, and plenty of old favorites have been revisited with remarkable success. Not everyone out there is pleased with the direction the line has taken, but there really has been something available that should have appeased all factions of Joe fandom. As such, I'm greatly anticipating 2003 as I think we will continue to see some great new stuff combined with special offers of classically molded figures that should keep collectors' interest high. I really don't think much else could be expected for the line's future.

In the recently released Wave 4, Hasbro tossed two bones to collectors of classic sculpts: a new version of the Shock Viper and a newly created character that utilized the original Range Viper mold who is named Skullbuster. Skullbuster has already been much maligned even though he utilizes one of the greatly under appreciated molds in the history of the line. This figure has been called wonderful names like "Mardi Gras Viper" as a slam to his metallic purple base color. However, in an admission that is sure to be a shock to every long time reader of this site, I like Skullbuster's color scheme and think he is another high quality aesthetic addition to the Joe line.

Skullbuster has a primary color of metallic purple with copper highlights. It is very pleasing to the eye, even if it is not something you would normally consider a "Cobra" color. (Also not the highly detailed Cobra logo on Skullbuster's leg. It is a very nice addition to the figure.) However, it is the white face masking that truly stands out. On the 2001 Rock Viper, the skull like face was painted white in an attempt to accentuate the mold's detail. On this figure, the effect was decent, but the stark contrast on Skullbuster really allows for the effect to be appreciated. It allows the figure to portray the fearsome helmet that was obviously designed with this intent. While the figure is nice looking, though, he is poorly accessorized. Rather than including the full complement of Range Viper equipment like the aforementioned Rock Viper did, Skullbuster includes a version of Low-Light's backpack without the knife or flashlight to fill in the holes. He also includes a version of the 1992 Destro's pistol. The underwhelming accessories leave a sour taste, especially when the originally intended accessories are known to exist. However, on a good note, the awesome 2002 Headman figure comes with a Range Viper rifle. As I outfit my Headman with Mutt's silenced pistol, I have a spare weapon for my Skullbuster to use. With this in hand, he fits in well with original Range Vipers, recent Rock Vipers, or the Acid Vipers you see in the photos below.

Skullbuster is not an army builder. Instead, he is the leader of the Range Vipers. It is nice that we have been given a new named Cobra who had such a specific purpose. However, the utilization of a mold that already has been used for two previous army building figures makes this guy a little harder to accept as an individual character. As such, I don't know if I'll be able to use him as the intended character. Instead, I foresee this guy becoming a ceremonial Range Viper. In my Range Viper profile, I mention how I use them as basic Cobra troops. They aren't only for wilderness use. As such, having one in purple makes sense from a differing uniform perspective, even if the color is not something that would be heavily utilized in the field. As such, I foresee this figure filling out dioramas and melding with my other Cobra hierarchy as a way to augment their visual appearance. In the field, though, I still find uses for oddly colored figures. So, while I don't foresee it now, Skullbuster will probably make future appearances in some of my dioramas.

Skullbuster may suffer from what I, and many others, consider the biggest packaging error in the line's history. Rather than including Skullbuster with another repainted old sculpt figure, or a repaint of a new sculpt figure from a previous wave, they included a Wave 1 Heavy Duty figure. Now, this isn't even the repainted Heavy Duty from Wave 1.35. This is an exact copy of the original Heavy Duty figure that anyone who built a Cobra Claws army has dozens of. This is the same Heavy Duty that is still VERY available in his original pack all over the country. Why he, of all figures, was included with Skullbuster makes no sense. However, I have a theory as to why this was done. Again, this is only my theory and not something that has been confirmed or anything. You see, there are many old sculpt only collectors out there. Hasbro knew that all of them would buy this Skullbuster figure. In an attempt to get them to at least try the new sculpt figures, Hasbro packed the old molds in with new molds so those who had been avoiding the new figures would have to buy at least two. The only problem with this theory is that why would they include Heavy Duty? He is an okay figure, but there are many others from earlier in the line who are better. As such, you would think that if my theory were true, they would have at least offered a high quality figure as the attempted enticement.

Skullbusters availability is yet to be fully determined. However, this figure only ships one per case. As Wave 5 is now starting to ship from Hasbro, it seems that Wave 4 may have had a truncated production run. What truncated means, though, is open to debate. Regardless, if you find a Skullbuster figure and want one, I would buy it when you see it. I don't think that Wave 4 will have the recurrence of some previous waves. On top of that, when a Wave 4 case does appear, the Skullbuster figure is the second fastest to go behind the BAT/Shipwreck pack. Long term, I think this will make the Skullbuster figure one of the lesser produced 2002 figures, but as they are available now and the figure is not a true army builder, I don't think the he will see any major price increases in the future. For me, I'm content with one of these guys. The lack of accessories and inclusion with Heavy Duty is enough to keep me away from any beyond the one you see below. While I like the figure, I don't hold him in high enough regard to spend money for another example that would be better spent on additional versions of other, more desirable, figure packs. Regardless, I'm glad that we got this figure. While he is certainly not the most important figure I've come across, he is cool enough to warrant residence in just about everyone's collection.

Skullbuster is a decent figure. I'm looking forward, though, to seeing this mold in Python Patrol colors. What about you?

1990 Range Viper

1989 was probably the second best year for Cobras in the entire run of the G.I. Joe line. As such, many of the releases in 1990 tend to be overlooked. Since the awesome 89's were still on the shelves, many people didn't take much notice of the Cobras that welcomed the new decade. The S.A.W. Viper got a lot of time in the comic, but the Cobra who I think was the highlight of the year, the Range Viper, never seemed to get any coverage. This figure is awesome. I love the skull like head, the evil grin, the color scheme, and the accessories of this figure. He is the perfect Cobra trooper. He is equipped to the hilt with great weapons, he has a respectable color scheme and is molded with the ever popular bullet strap on his chest. He is perfect for all sorts of missions. I often use them as the more advanced field troops who come in when the Vipers have really made a mess of things. These guys work great in both rural and urban settings. They are the rare Cobra figure that really can be used in any situation.

The Range Viper anguishes in relative obscurity along with his '90 counterparts, the Laser Viper and the Rock Viper. All of these figures are very good, but they just couldn't keep up with the great class of '89. Unfortunately, 1991 followed with another great crop of Cobras. The Crimson Guard Immortal, Desert Scorpion, Incinerators, Snow Serpent, Bat, and Cobra Commander simply overwhelmed the 1990's again. The figures never had the chance to appear on the shelves as the pre-eminent Cobras. As they were overshadowed at retail, they have been largely overlooked in the collector market as well. This, though, gives many collectors a chance to get ahold of these guys. While Alley Vipers and Crimson Guard Immortals continue to climb the price charts, the Range Viper has remained affordable. The Range Viper is probably the most readily available well sculpted Cobra that can still be purchased for a good price.

The Range Viper has been one of Hasbro's favorite Cobra molds since they relaunched the line. The figure was repainted in his entirety as the 2001 Rock Viper. The mold was then dusted off again in 2002 for the Skullbuster figure. Parts of the mold then appeared in 2005 as the Processional Viper and most recently, a desert Range Viper was released by the collector's club. But, remember, that figure isn't an army builder.... Regardless, it has been one of Hasbro's favorite molds and characters. Still, even with that, I think that a Range Viper done up in real wilderness colors is still one of the figures that needs to be done. After that, the mold can be retired. But, it really makes no sense to never see a Cobra Wilderness Trooper in colors that would befit his specialty.

Range Vipers can be found rather easily and rather cheaply. Unlike the pricey '89's and '91's, the '90 Cobras are still cheap and plentiful enough to build armies. They make excellent additions to any Cobra legions. Their weapons are great, and they don't have the neon colors that seem to plague so many figures made in the '90's. These are the consummate Cobra field troops. Not until the '98 Viper pack did Cobra get a generic field trooper that could measure up to the Range Viper. (Don't get me wrong, I think the original Viper is awesome, but his red uniform would not work too well in the field.) I don't know why the collector market has passed on these guys. To my knowledge, they never appeared in the comic. I don't know about the cartoon. Like Miniver Cheevy, the Range Viper was born too late, or too early. Either way, he came out at the wrong time to be able to capture the Joe fans' attention. This is fortunate, though, as the Range Viper gives new collectors a chance to build a Cobra army with cool figures that won't break the collecting budget.