Rarities - 1986 Promotion Image (Pre-Production Figures)

Every year, Hasbro would go to the New York Toy Fair.  Here, they would showcase a catalog of their upcoming year's worth of toys.  As the Fair was early in the year, the catalog would often feature early designs and pre-production figures from various toy lines.  Below is not the 1986 catalog.  I'm not actually unsure of the origin of this image.  But, it's not from the official Toy Fair catalog.  But, in this promotional image, you can see several pre-production figures from the 1986 line.  The 1985 figures are all production level.  But, there are lots of 1986 goodies to explore.

The most interesting thing, of course, is that Mainframe still includes the little stands that were meant for his computer.  The holes into which these would have been inserted did manage to survive on Mainframe's production computer.  But, the stand was never released.  It is likely this was done to save cost as the stand didn't really add any additional play value.  But, the artifacts of it's early existence are proved out by its appearance in this photo.

Most people viewing this will likely focus on the BAT that is in the front and center of the presentation.  You'll notice that it has a different chest hologram as well as a different head.  This head appears squatter and fatter than the sleek head on the production figure.  I think the production figure looks better.  But, your mileage may vary.

Hawk also features an additional paint application on his helmet.  The goggles are painted black.  It's a very nice additional detail.  And, while it would have been great to see it at retail, it's also not enough of a change to really notice it's missing.

Several of the figures feature alternate heads.  The BAT and Dial Tone's heads are the most jarringly different from their production counterparts.  There are also lots of subtle paint differences, too.  Some of these figures might have been hand painted samples.  The awkward posing on the 1986 figures suggests that they were not production level at the time the photo was taken.  

You'll notice that Iceberg, Leatherneck, Low-Light, Monkeywrench, Zandar, Zarana and Roadblock are all missing from this display.  I'm not sure why.  I can see Zandar and Zarana being later releases while they finished up the color changing.  (Zarana is noted in some material as featuring a color changing "mohawk" which never came to be.)  All of these figures, though, do appear in  the official Toy Fair catalog for 1986...with a few pre-production oddities of their own.  By the time of the Toy Fair catalog, though, all of the pre-production figures from this photo (except the BAT)  had been replaced with production figures: even while the missing figures remained pre-production in that later photo

Stormshadow was also carried over into 1986.  This makes sense for one of the most popular G.I. Joe figures ever released.  There was a time when I was hell-bent on finding a grey Stormshadow filecard that would denote his 1986 release.  I can't recall if I ever succeeded in doing so or not.  But, check out that 6109 assortment that included Stormshadow.  You got Stormshadow, the 1985 Snake Eyes, Crimson Guard, Flint and the BAT in one case.  By Toy Fair, though, the assortment was modified to drop the Crimson Guard, but add the Eel, Low Light and Leatherneck.  That would have been a dream assortment to find hanging on the shelf at your local stores.

These old catalogs are a treasure trove of early designs and pre-production kitbashes.  In later years, Hasbro got better at including more production level figures in their materials.  At least until 1993 and 1994.  But, we'll talk about those at a later time.

2022 Wraith Viper - Black Major

It's tough to find Halloween themed Joes.  There's some monsters and aliens that you align with the holiday.  You can find some other lines that work, too.  Fortunately, Hasbro has avoided holiday themed figures in the Joe line.  (Some of the Star Wars figures are interesting.  But, Joe is small enough that holiday releases would seem like a waste of resources.)  But, it's still fun to find figures that fit a holiday theme.  And, in this case, we'll look at the 2022 Wraith Viper from Black Major.

One of the great discoveries of 2018 was that skull prints could be usefully applied to classic G.I. Joe figures.  Red Laser Army was able to use skull faces on a few of his releases.  Shortly after that, Black Major managed to create a really nice skull and bones feature on the classic Bonecrusher figure.  There were some experiments on Cobra Officer and Firefly heads.  And, there is even a Skeletor themed Cobra Trooper out there.  But, when the Cobra Viper factory customs appeared, there were a couple of figures that featured skull and bones prints.  And, it turns out that the Viper helmet is really conducive to a skull print.  And, it probably works better than many other uses of the theme since it looks like the skull is floating inside a helmet and would be somewhat terrifying to come across on the battlefield.

The neon green paint that is offset against the black background is also very nicely done.  It's a start visual that stays with you.  Being memorable is sometimes better than being good.  But, in this case, it's both.  The remainder of the bones on the figure are nice.  The ribs on the torso stand out to me because they really accentuate the visual of the countenance.  In short, the figure works well.  While everyone claims they want a green Viper, the reality is that the mold and the Cobra concept don't really lend themselves to a green Viper.  But, as an accent color, it can work.  There's now a couple of green highlighted Vipers that were contemporaries of this Wraith Viper.  All have some quality.  But, you can pick and choose among them for your personal favorite design.

If I had a squad of these figures, I'd definitely make them an elite squad of some sort.  As an individual figure, though, I'm not sure what to do with him.  Bonecrusher has the stranglehold on characters wearing the skull and bones.  And, I don't really see him as a former Viper.  So, time will tell how this figure evolves in my collection.  For now, he'll remain a figure who may appear from time to time just because he's visually interesting.  Eventually, a purpose for him may become clear.  Maybe he'll just be a guy who wants people to think he's dangerous.  The idea of a poseur Viper whose reputation by his visuals far outstrips his abilities might be a fun concept to toy around with for a bit.

Recently, Hasbro people have made the statement that Joe collectors "buy the brand regardless of scale".  I found this somewhat odd.  Joe fans have, historically, been very adamant that scale was a necessary part of the Joe world.  When I dug into it a bit, I realized that both sides of this statement are true.  Hasbro only asked collectors of the 6 inch scale figures if the scale mattered to them.  Since every collector of Classified started with 3 3/4" Joes, you can see how they'd be less concerned with scale, now.  However, there are collectors like me to whom scale is paramount.  However, we've already been left behind.  Hasbro doesn't even bother to query us about our desires for the brand as we're dinosaurs whose money isn't worth the hassle.  We can get on board or be left behind...as we already have been.

With that, makers like Black Major become more important.  While there's lots of o-ring Kickstarters out there, many of them have failed to deliver a true vintage Joe like experience.  Instead, most feel like cheap knock offs of Joe that are driven by the cliched "tacti-cool" looks that are overdone.  The heads fall flat and the figures are bulky to accommodate inexperienced sculptors.  And, they are stupidly expensive.  A $30 figure needs to be perfect.  And, none of these Kickstarters have delivered on that for their price.  A couple of upcoming projects look promising.  Others...don't.  So, having a source of vintage inspired Joe molds has great value.  I wish Red Laser Army was still around to also supplement army builders like this Viper.  But, at least there are options for those of us who no longer matter to the Hasbro Joe brand.

This Viper includes the standard Viper rifle as well as a pack.  Mine included the Big Bear backpack instead of the standard Viper pack.  There may be slightly different accessories offered with the figure from different sellers.  It should be noted that this is the second release of factory custom Vipers.  Red Laser Army released a variety of Vipers starting around 2016 or so.  Those Vipers featured removable helmets, though.  This Black Major figure is a new mold and has a head whose helmet can not be taken off.  But, this figure is high quality.  The joints are tight enough and the paint masks are great.  The figure can hold his weapons and can hold all the poses you can concoct.  

Wraith Vipers are still available.  You'll find them with frequency for about $18.  That's about the going rate for Black Major figures in general.  There are people who army built them upon their release.  And, you'll find some nice photos with squads of them in you look hard enough.  But, a year after their release, it's more common to see individual figures offered for sale.  Some factory customs take on magnificent aftermarket values.  But, I have no idea which ones will do that.  Some of my absolute favorite designs  remain super cheap.  While some figures that I think are useless and bland have become really expensive.  So, I pick up the figures that I like when they're available.  If this guy interests you, I'd suggest the same approach.

2023 Super7 Cobra Mothership

So, it's finally happened.  After some teasing, Super7 showcased a real flagship toy for 3 3/4 G.I. Joe figures: the Cobra Mothership.  You can pre-order it here.

The toy is from the cartoon and fits with the Super7 strategy of mining cartoon designs for their toy offerings.  It is $495 plus shipping.  That's a lot.  But, this thing does look amazing.

Really, it's the type of toy that Joe collectors have pretended they want since 2001.  Now, we finally have one.  We'll see if people are really willing to spend $600 after shipping to support a toy like this.  It's got a lot of play value.  It's designed to be a display piece for collectors.  And, it holds tons of figures in various spaces so you can set up displays to your heart's content.  It's a dream for Joe photographers.  

For me, though, it's probably a no.  It's not because I don't think the toy is worth it.  From appearances in various photos from the NYCC, it appears to be in line with pricing for a toy of this intricacy and size.  But, it's the size that gets me.  The ship is 32 inches wide.  So, it's massive.  And, I just don't have space for something that size.  I do love that you can open it up and display tons of figures on the inside.  That is a big plus for me.  But, I'm at a point where I'm not sure I want another massive display toy.  And, I'm not dropping $600 to keep this thing in a box in a closet.  In a smaller scale, this toy would suck.  So, it needs to be big.  

The real news is that there is a 5 figure Viper set that's available as an add on.  Actually, there are 2 of them.  One is the standard ReAction style.  But, the other is an o-ring set.  What does this mean?  Really, I'm not sure.  Will Super7 do more o-rings?  I hope we'll find out as the weekend progresses.  

For now, though, speculate away.  Complain about the price.  Rage about how Super7 isn't your preferred vendor.  Pontificate about the scourge of crowdsourcing.  The bottom line is that 3 3/4 Joe fans now have another opportunity to show whether or not they're a large enough group to support a crowdfunded toy.  I hope this thing gets made.  Just because good toys should be supported.  It's just not something that's really in my wheelhouse of collecting any longer.

1994 Viper - Made in Indonesia

So, did you know there are two variants of the 1994 Viper?  Visually, there's no tell between the two.  The only real difference is the Country of Origin (COO) stamp.  Some 1994 figures were made in China.  Others were made in Indonesia.  Many of the Indonesian figures included exclusive paint masks.  But, the Viper did not.  The two figures are identical.  Aside from oddball obsessive collectors like myself, no one cares about this subtle difference between the figures.  But, for me, it gives me an excuse to look back at a figure that was hugely influential in my early collecting days and continues to be among my favorite army builders.

In 1995 and 1996, I was searching out all remnants of the Joe line at retail.  Usually, though, my limited budget restricted me to buying just one of each figure.  At some point in the summer of one of those years, I went to a different Toys R Us in the Cincinnati suburbs.  (I believe it was the Springdale Mall.  But, that was a long time ago.  My usual store was the one in Colerain.)  There, I found a 1994 Viper, Flint and Shipwreck.  I already had all three figures.  But, I loved all three and wanted to army build the Viper and Shipwreck and use Flint's weapons to outfit them.  So, I bought all three.  I was not, though, able to bring myself to open the Flint.  To this day, I have the carded figure that I purchased at that Toys R Us so long ago.  The Viper and Shipwreck, though, joined my collection and the doubles allowed me to take a small dip into army building.

I outfitted the Viper with the 1990 Ambush rifle from Flint.  I thought it looked good.  (In 2006, Hasbro agreed when they released a grey version with the Viper Pit set.)  The second Viper got a different shade of the same weapon when I appropriated the bluish version from the 1993 Muskrat.  With these weapons, the Vipers filled the role of their 1986 original.  They were Cobra's basic ground troops who were used as both cannon fodder and expert field commandos.  I would have a 1993 Crimson Guard Commander lead them.  And, with these legions, Joe was overmatched.  The newer Cobras had better, more powerful weapons.  And, they wore far better body armor than even the newer Joes I had found at retail.  Cobra gained the upper hand and my Joe team of the mid 1990's was always behind them, trying to just survive long enough to regain the advantage.

The Viper includes a red accessory tree.  The red goes well with the blue.  But, isn't a great match for the orange on the figure.  But, to a collector who had stopped buying figures in 1988, almost all of the gear on the tree was new to me.  The one piece that wasn't, a red version of Monkeywrench's spear gun, was a disappointment.  I've never liked that weapon and I wouldn't even remove it from the tree.  The Viper has two red pistols.  One is from the 1991 Toxo Viper and the other from the 1992 Spirit.  They look good with the Viper.  And, today, they are my preferred weapons with the figure.  My favorite weapon of the time, though, was the red knife that originated with the 1988 Hydro Viper.  It looks wicked and many a Viper fatally stabbed a Joe or civilian with it, leaving them to die horribly with a wound that was not fixable.  His gear is rounded out by a red figure stand, two red missiles and the requisite yellow missile launcher.  In all, the gear isn't great.  But, it works well enough and I've come to associate it with the figure.

The 1994 Viper was released just the one time.  It is not known if he would have gotten a 1995 repaint.  Though, it's likely that, had the line continued, the mold would have found an additional use.  In the comic, the early renditions of the 1994 Viper wore green suits and gold helmets.  They looked a lot like Aero Vipers.  Again, I don't know if this was artistic license from a time when the comic had more leeway.  Or, if it was an early intended color scheme for the figure.  In 2005, the club "found" the mold and painted it in Iron Grenadier colors as the Iron Anvil.  The Anvils are excellently done and showcase the quality of the 1994 Viper mold.  But, being both Iron Grenadiers and a highly painted convention release, the Anvils also have limitations.  And, despite their high quality, I find myself preferring the 1994 original.  This might be nostalgia.  But, the simplicity also has its place.  Of course, the mold had tons of life left in it.  But, Hasbro left it fallow and it is now gone...leaving just two uses and one minor variant for modern collectors to enjoy.

The Viper also has two card variants.  The Viper card only has the standard horizontal Joe logo.  It features a full sized filecard on the back.  The filecard will either have no COO (Country of Origin) info and there is a "Made in China" message below the card.  Or, the filecard will say "Printed in Hong Kong.  Figure Made in Indonesia."  From the front, the cards are identical.  In 1994, Cobras got red cards while Joes got blue.  In my experience, neither version seems overly hard to find.  I've got about an equal number of each in my collection.  This isn't the case with all figures that have both COO's.  But, for the Viper, he seems to have seen equal production in both locales.

The 1994 Battle Corps figures were released in two series.  The first series of 7 figures included this Viper.  Along with him were additional all new figures of Shipwreck, Flint, Dialtone and Metal Head.  There were also two repainted 1993 figures: the Alley Viper and Beach Head.  Of the seven figures, Shipwreck, Flint, Dialtone and the Alley Viper have paint variants as well as COO variants.  While the other three just have the COO variants.  In my experience, the Alley Viper and Beach Head have always been the much harder figures to find from this series.  I have not been able to track down a case assortment to determine if they were shortpacked or if the new figures were just carried over into later cases.  But, Alley Vipers and Beach Heads have always been hard to find.  I found just one yellow vest Beach Head at retail and never found an Alley Viper.  Even today, I can get all the Vipers I want.  But, the Alley Viper and Beach Head remain a much scarcer find.

Not too long ago, you never saw off condition 1994 figures.  Any you would find would always be pretty much mint.  Slowly, though, this began to change.  The first figure to go bad was the 1994 Alley Viper.  His light blue parts simply didn't hold up and you started to see yellow discoloration destroy otherwise nice figures.  Other figures followed.  And, now, it's not uncommon to see 1994 figures that were well cared for, but now feature discoloration and even white elbows.  

The 1994 Viper has been hit hard by discoloration.  You'll often see darkly colored figures.  These aren't variants.  They are figures that have discolored.  The Viper should be a vibrant purplish-blue color.  If you see one that's dark and seems more purple, it's discolored.  Vipers are odd in that they tend to discolor evenly across the entire figure.  For that reason, you see people trying to pass discolored figures off as mint samples.  So, be wary.  And, as there are more and more collectors coming into the hobby who have never actually seen a mint version of many figures in terms of coloring, you'll even see other collectors commenting about how a discolored figure is "cherry" when it's actually been destroyed and is worthless.

The surge in Joe pricing has affected 1993 and 1994 army builders in three different ways.  In some cases they have gotten ridiculously expensive.  In other cases, they have slid under the radar and have remained relatively inexpensive.  In the case of the Viper, though, he's the third option who is right in the middle.  He has gotten a lot more expensive.  But, he's not a $40 figure, yet.  Dealers will ask in excess of $30 for a mint and complete with filecard figure.  Left to their own devices, there's enough stock to keep the price around $25 in the open market.  But, you can still get deals on individual or lots of 1994 Vipers that are missing most or all of their accessories.  Those are starting to dry up, though.  It's still not too late to build armies of this figure.  You can't say that about many of his contemporaries.  But, he's probably one of the next two or three figures to disappear and just be overly pricey in all his forms.  (At least, until the market corrects.)  

1989 Python Patrol Viper - Around the Web

1989 saw the advent of the first set of repainted Cobras.  Python Patrol brought back a slew of classic Cobra molds, including the best army builders of the first few years of the line.  The Python Viper is a figure I actually consider better than the original.  But, I'm not a fan of the 1986 Viper.  So, mine is a minority opinion for sure.  There was a time when Python Patrol figures weren't that hard to find and would sell for less than the original versions.  But, now, their single year of release has left them harder to find than the classic Cobras.  There's lots of fun stuff using the Python Viper out there.

Python Patrol Viper Profile

Python Patrol Viper by corpscommandercody

Python Patrol Viper by scarrviper

Python Patrol Viper at JoeADay.com

Python Patrol Viper by viper_space

Python Patrol Viper at JoeBattleLines.com

Python Patrol Viper by dashiellrfairborne

Python Viper by gen_liederkranz

Python Viper by thedustinmccoy

Python Patrol Viper by HCC788

Python Patrol Viper by jogunwarrior

Python Patrol Viper by friezus.maximus

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 Viper - Viper Pit

Army building is heavily a phenomenon of adult collecting.  It spawns from the fantasies that we all had as kids of owning as many toys as you could possibly want.  Truthfully, army building something to great degrees is probably extremely unhealthy, obsessive behavior.  But, in collecting circles, it's not looked upon as that.  Instead, it is celebrated.  It is a cause of jealousy.  And, in the early 2000's, it was the fastest way "in" to be considered a "serious collector".  Back then, though, it was all about army building at retail.  In the end, all it proved was that you were good at shopping.  Despite collectors clamoring to buy up every retail army builder they saw during that time, Hasbro was able to sate demand.  Every few months, new army builders would appear.  Rarely were they perfect.  And, most times, they were downright flawed.  As the swan song of the Joe line, though, Hasbro dropped one final army building set on the collecting world.  At first glance, it was perfect: six classic Vipers done up in classic colors.  There was no way it wouldn't be a hit.  And, a hit it was.  So much so, that Hasbro did a second production run to get them into collector hands.  But, in the 14+ years since this set debuted, the flaws that were apparent upon its release have only become more pronounced.

If you were a fan of this set, or if you weren't a fan of this set, it was maddening.  If you loved 6 of, essentially, the same figure in colors like very common (and falling in price) original Joes, this set was frustrating because Hasbro only ever delivered two army building sets in that vein.  The rest featured characters, odd mold choices or bizarre colors.  If you didn't like this set and wished they had gone with a variety of Viper colors as the line's final send off, well, you knew that your desires would never be fulfilled.  Either way, though, collectors bought the set up.  Knowing it was the final release in the line helped to drive demand.  But, the fact that the 6 Vipers in the set were excellent stand ins for the original figure (and, in some ways superior) only helped the set's popularity.

But, with heavy purchase volume came issues.  The corners that Hasbro was cutting in terms of design and materials came to roost on this set.  The o-rings were bad.  The joints were stiff.  And, worst of all, the crotch piece was not properly designed with the upper legs and many collectors simply sheared away the little piece of plastic just by trying to sit the figure in a vehicle.  The drooping heads that were a hallmark of all Vipers released from 1997 and on were even more pronounced on these figures.  All of these issues combined to make the figures not only awkward to pose, but a downright liability to move around for fear of breakage.  All these years later, this set's poor quality continues to be it's hallmark and comments sections are filled with criticism of these figures for their brittle nature.

The actual set, though, did look good.  It included one gold face plated Viper and 5 silver faced Vipers: the subject of this profile.  The paint masks on the set were convention set level quality.  This figure features two-toned gloves, a very finely detailed Cobra logo, silver buckles on his chest and metallic grenades.  He features substantially more paint applications than the 1986 Viper.  And, even more than the retail Vipers that Hasbro had been pumping out since 2002.  From a pure aesthetic point of view, this was one of the best Vipers ever produced.

As this was the final Joe product to be released before the anniversary debacle, I bought this set heavily.  I figured I'd never regret getting cheap Vipers.  And, back then, I still had delusions of a massive collection display that would include a magnificent Cobra rally.  But, even if that didn't come to fruition, having a large quantity of Vipers available for photos, dios and just general purpose was enticing.  And, in the package, the set didn't disappoint.  But, once opened, the quality issues that others found also limited my use of these figures.  To this day, the figure rarely appears in any photos because the figures are so difficult to pose.  

Personally, I enjoyed the Viper Pit's weapons.  The Ambush rifle in grey is decent enough.  The fact that I had used the version of it from the 1994 Flint with my 1994 Vipers also gave it a nostalgic bent for me.  The little pistols were nice add ons.  The 1992 Gung Ho backpacks are fine.  The big win, though, was the inclusion of the machine guns.  This sculpt was from a JvC era figure.  But, it worked well enough with the ARAH figure scale.  And, it looks great with the Viper.  I've always liked Vipers or Troopers to be self sufficient.  So, Troopers having heavy machine guns, mortars or bazookas was fine by me.  The Viper including this machine gun works in the same vein.  It allows the Vipers to have heavier fire support and makes them a more formidable force.  To me, this was the only value in the Viper Pit set.  I was able to get some cheap Vipers that had different weapons to use.

Beyond that, though, this set's value is limited.  If you want to stand them all up in a row on a shelf, this set looks really nice.  The excellent paint masks and solid gear make for a visual treat and one of the better looking figures from the repaint era.  But, that's the extent of their use.  Once you want to use them in photos, dios or displays, the severe limitations of the poor quality become way to apparent.  You can't really pose the figures and any sudden movement may leave you with a snapped crotch.  Over the years, I've tried to get them into more photos.  But, the stiff legs hinder even cautious movement and I've had more than a dozen of the o-rings snap just in proper storage.  So, the figure's visual appeal is more than offset by the quality issues and that has left these figures with a legacy that is far below what a cursory visual inspection would imply.

One fun fact about this Viper Pit set is that it included one filecard for all 6 figures.  We do not know the production runs on this set.  At the time, Toys R Us ordered around 20,000 Cobra sets when they sold vintage Joe 6 packs.  But, they also only ordered around 16,000 Joe themed sets of the same product.  It's likely that the first Viper Pit production run was in that ballpark.  The initial production run sold out at most online dealers relatively quickly.  Hasbro then produced a second, distinct run of the figures to help sate demand.  And, sate it, that extra run did.  The second production run lingered at retail and quickly stagnated as collectors had moved on and the anniversary collectors who were starting to come online didn't care about vintage style Joes.  As late as 2013, you could still buy packaged sets at dealers for original retail cost.  The filecard and production numbers are related, though, in that there is, at best, one filecard per every 6 figures that Hasbro released.  This means the filecard is, likely, one of the rarest filecards per figure in the line's history.  It's not a great filecard.  But, the fact that only 1 in 6 figures at max could possibly have the filecard, it's worth noting and holding onto any filecards you may have.

My final take on these figures is that, for the right price, they are good stand ins for the classic Viper.  But, that's about it.  Among the late Viper repaints that Hasbro created after 1994, this version falls in the middle.  The paint masks make it more interesting than most of the retail Vipers of the 2000's.  But, the 1998 Cobra Trooper and Officer and the 2002 Crimson Viper match the paint masks and have the added benefit of bringing something relatively new to the mold in terms of coloring.  So, that also means this figure is something skipable.  I'd rather have a ton of other figures than these Vipers.  But, the realities of retail in the 2000's made it possible to acquire a large amount of these figures.  And, the economic realities of the early 2010's when I went to sell off a large part of my collection meant that these figures were worth less than retail and weren't worth selling at that time.  So, even today, I have a massive bin full of these Vipers...that I never use.  Every now and then, I'll check on them to find a few more have snapped their o-rings.  But, that's about the extent of their value.  In today's market, it might be worth exploring their trade potential.  But, again, that's about all the purpose I can find for them.

Viper Pit Vipers are oddly priced.  Loose, mint and complete figures sell in the $12-$15 range.  (Dealers sell a farcical amount at $20, too!)  But, you can get an entire set of 6 loose figures for around $40 with a little patience.  That's a far better deal.  Dealers tend to sell loose and complete sets for about the same price as carded sets.  But, even carded sets top out around $60 in the open market.  That's quite a jump from where these figures were just 5 or 6 years ago.  But, it's also not nearly the leap we've seen with some of the other 6 figure sets that were produced in the same time frame.  But, collectors bought all of the Viper Pits and the later production run put way too many into the marketplace.  14 years after the set's release, this means that people can now get the figures for not too great a markup.  But, the relatively poor design choices have left this Viper as a poor substitute for the original and the demand for this figure reflects that.

The Zeros - Mark V

Once again, for your 4th of July boredom, I present the Zeros.  These are the least popular posts of the past year.  I see a bit of a theme this year.  And, seeing what's really popular kind of reinforces my theory.  Obscure releases and foreign figures seem to be waning a bit in popularity.  While simultaneously, stuff that's relatively common seems to get big traffic.  I suspect it's a function of the influx of new collectors who are drastically overpaying for the common stuff they remember from childhood.  They like stuff they're familiar with, but aren't yet going into the depths that Joe collecting offers.  We'll see how that trend holds up through the the rest of the year.

Without further ado, here are the least popular posts from the past 12 months:

Tocha - Brazilian Blowtorch

Everyone loves Blowtorch.  Estrela figures from Brazil tend to be very popular.  Put them together and you get a dud of a profile that no one cared about.  I think this figure is cool.  But, he's also pretty much indistinguishable from the US release.  

2002 Convention Exclusive Crimson Viper

A somewhat obscure and hard to find army builder who's repainted in a classic way?  Check.  A profile ignored?  Check.  Not sure why no one liked this write up.  But, it's overall engagement was very low.  Generally, classic Cobra army builders do well, regardless of the color scheme.  But, this high quality figure flew under the radar.

Rarities - Unproduced Yellow Gloves Steeler

As unproduced figs go, this one is pretty lame.  The yellow gloves make no sense.  And, the 2004 figure of Steeler is generally unloved, too.  So, I get this guy's low numbers.

1992 Eco Warriors BBQ

Neon 1990's figures have finally found their popularity in recent years.  The releases from this time have gotten harder to find, substantially more expensive and appear far more frequently in fan created content.  Despite that, this Eco Warriors BBQ figure was ignored.  Few people stopped by to read about him.  I guess not all brightly colored 1990's figs can be popular at the same time.

Funskool Buzzer

Dreadnoks tend to be popular.  And, Buzzer is probably the best done of the crew.  But, this Funskool repaint didn't garner any attention at all.  In some ways, early Dreadnoks have become passe.  And, common Funskool figures don't get much love these days.  So, this profile amounted to a big dud.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2020, I have a lot more in store.  

2002 Crimson Viper - Convention Exclusive

2002 was a banner year for the G.I. Joe brand.  While the A Real American Hero line had fizzled out at retail in 2001, it was also a harbinger of greatness to come.  2002 brought a new style of G.I. Joe figure to the market that was better competition to other toy lines of the age.  Hasbro didn't forsake collectors, though.  2002 also introduced the first wave of toys released by a major manufacturer only to online vendors.  The year saw the return of vehicles to toy shelves.  And, there were some special collector themed sets and variants as well.  The biggest surprise of 2002, though, was the release of an exclusive set of figures for the 2002 G.I. Joe convention.  The set came out of the blue and blindsided many collectors.  When the set's contents were revealed, it was a wet dream for the collecting community of the time.  Tomax, Xamot, the Baroness and a full dozen Cobra Vipers painted in a crimson color scheme was about the most amazing item Hasbro could have sold.

I've spent lots of time talking about how army builder crazed collectors of 2001-2005 were.  I can't understate how the notion of army building dominated the hobby.  Pretty much everything else wasn't secondary, it was far down the list.  Collectors seriously talked about how waves should be army builders only.  The derided any Joe figure, no matter how well done and wondered why Vipers, Cobra Troopers and BATs weren't released in every single wave.  So, seeing a set with a full 12 army builders was something collectors never considered that Hasbro would release.  The fact that the figures were collector favorite Viper molds painted in an theretofore unseen and collector favorite crimson color just made them even more desirable.

Of course, this desire also lead to anxiety about pricing.  Many collectors of the time were freaked out at their initial ideas that the figures might cost as much as $5 or $6 each, bring a set total to a range of $75 to $90.  This price seemed exorbitant.  And, many collectors balked at the thought of having to spend nearly $100 at one time to get some army builders.  But, then, the real pricing came out.  The first set was $210: $14 per figure!!!  This would buy you four figures at retail at the time.  And, you could buy pretty much any army builder other than an '86 Viper, original BAT, 83 Cobra Trooper or '83 Cobra Officer for less than that.  There was a kicker, though.  If you bought a boxed set, you could get another bagged set for $90.  This was only $6 for an additional figure (which tells you how much profit was built into the boxed set...), but the total package was 30 figures for $300, or $10 per figure.  This was an amount that collectors nearly revolted over.  Even die hard army builders threw up their hands at the pricing and resigned themselves to never owning the set.

But, upon the set's release, many songs changed.  The figures were cool.  The characters could be sold to recoup nearly the full cost of the bagged set and Hasbro never released a retail Viper with either the color scheme or the upgraded paint masks again.  Army builders relented as they simply couldn't let a modern release elude them and quickly absorbed the leftover sets after the convention.  In short order, real Crimson Vipers climbed in value, even surpassing the 1986 original figure.  Before wave after wave of "secret" Fuchsia Vipers came into the market, the desire for real Crimson figures intensified.  By late 2003, it wasn't unheard of for Crimson Vipers to fetch $40 per figure...making it one of the most expensive figures in the line.

As for the figure itself, the Crimson Viper is great for what it is.  The figure uses the exact same parts combination and paint masks from the 1998 Cobra Troopers/Officers.  The '98 paint masks were excellent.  (Hasbro didn't start skimping on the masks until 2001.)  These figures, though, got the added benefit of a Cobra logo.  They also included the original Viper backpack (missing since 1989) and got a better rifle, Red Star's AK-47.  The package is a well built figure that looks amazing and has the quality to stand with even vintage Joes.  (There are some issues with the head/chest combo, though, that leads to odd head positioning.  But, that's afflicted every Viper since 1997.)

There's another fun little story with this figure.  Originally, the A Real American Hero collection was to have five waves of figures in 2001 and early 2002.  However, the spectacular failure of Wave II at retail changed those plans (Big Ben and Whiteout forever doomed another arctic themed set.) and the failure of Wave IV cemented them.  While we did get a fifth wave as an Internet exclusive, that release was pared down.  However, early solicitation lists from Hasbro did leak out.  Among the figures listed as a release was a Crimson Viper.  Of course, collectors focused on that name and anticipated his release.  But, as the line started to fail and Hasbro's approach changed, the figure fell out production.  It is likely, however, that the convention figure started out, conceptually, as a retail figure with the other parts later added in.

A certain fan website, though, began to mock the lists of unreleased figure names.  In a move of consistent dickery that continues to this day, these "fans" gloated that the figure would never be released and then offered 1000 (or some such ridiculous number) to everyone if they happened.  Then, when the figure showed up in the convention set, this contentious group played semantics (you'll notice the beginning of several patterns, here...) saying that they didn't have to pay up since the names weren't exact and the convention figures weren't "released to retail" or some such nonsense.  Those of us who called this out were shouted down and ignored as collectors allowed themselves to be degraded as long as they got a couple of army builders.  But, I don't forget because I'm a bitter old collector who firmly believes that had this crap not been allowed, we'd have gotten a lot more good stuff in the repaint era instead of so much garbage that Hasbro foisted upon us.

So, a few things happened with this set.  At first, the convention sets didn't sell out.  After the convention, Master Collector still had sets available.  However, right after the convention, a set sold on Ebay for double the price from Master Collector.  Within days, the remaining sets sold out.  By the end of 2003, Crimson Vipers were $40 figures.  It looked like they might become the most expensive army builder out there.  But, Master Collector also lied about the numbers of Fuchsia Vipers that were made.  And, tons of secret Fuchsia sets were quietly sold to dealers who could then dump them into the community.  With Fuchsia Vipers available for $12-$15 each, collectors lost interest in the Crimson sets.  Why buy 4 figures for $120 when that same money would get you 10 figures that were, basically, indiscernible in dios and displays at the time?  Prices of Crimson Vipers plummeted and were below $20 until the price spike that started in early 2018 set in.

Even now, though, Crimson Vipers aren't as expensive as many other convention figures.  Most of the sets that collectors bought to display or hold have been broken up as collectors have begun to maximize space.  Rows of 20-50 of the same figure seem passe, now.  But, the general increase in Joe prices has lead to dealers getting $50 for Crimson Vipers with open market figures selling between $30 and $40.  That's a lot for a mold that was so frequently used between 1997 and 2006.  But, the Crimson Viper is the equal of the 1998 Cobra Trooper in every way and is an excellent paint scheme that everyone should have.  The need to build an army of two dozen of them is a relic of their release era.  But, a small squad both makes sense and works within the confines of Cobra.

1994 Viper - Around the Web

In 1995 and 1996, Cobra army builders were especially hard to find at retail.  I only found four of them and they were the Crimson Guard Commander twice and this 1994 Viper twice.  But, I was able to army build them from the get go.  The 2005 Iron Anvil proved what a good mold this figure has.  This Halloween orange leaves something to be desired.  But it remains a sign of the times from the 1990's.  Here's the best content I could find on the web for him:

Viper Profile

Viper Pre Production at YoJoe.com

Viper at JoeADay.com

Viper at Nekoman's Viper Pit

94 Viper at Droppin

Viper at OreoBuilder's Blog

'94 Viper at JoeDios.com 1

1994 Viper, 1987 Jinx, 2004 Comic Pack Scarlett

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.

1986 Viper

In the 17 years that have passed since I first looked at this figure, my feelings on him have changed.  In 2000, I was a wide eyed, neophyte collector.  Much of the Joe line was new to me and the excitement over owning something I had never owned before far outweighed my nostalgic feelings.  Now, though, there are few vintage figures with whom I'm not overly familiar.  And, in an effort to streamline my collection a few years ago. I trimmed down much of what I had to heavily focus on the years from my childhood.  The 1986 Viper came near the end of my toy playing days.  And, as such, has many memories associated with him.

I spent most of 1985 buying pretty much every Joe toy.  For Christmas that year, I turned to the SMS as the last Joe toy I'd get that year since my parents would not get us a Flagg.  As 1986 dawned, a kid in my brother's class got most of the new Joes in February.  I spent the rest of the year trying to catch up.  In short order, I had most of the new figures.  But, if anyone got a figure before I did, I was compelled to create an exciting, multi part adventure for that figure that would drive me to find the figure for myself.  Such was the case with the Viper.  My brother's best friend got one before I did.  On days we got out of school early, we'd go over to this friend's house.  There, in his toy room, I concocted a story where the new Cobra Vipers, armed with their massive new rifles, overtook a group of Joes.  They shot Hawk: giving him a sucking chest wound that Lifeline had to deal with using his spectacular air mask.  For the next few weeks, the Joes were on edge, waiting for these new Cobras to show up again.  Finally, I found a Viper at retail and he quickly became the mainstay of my Cobra army.

Before too long, that Viper's right thumb and crotch were broken.  I ended up buying another one to have a decent Cobra soldier in my collection.  The beat up figure found a home in one of the gunner stations of the STUN.  For a 1986 figure, though, this type of abuse was rare.  I had spent the first part of 1985 heavily beating up my figures.  But, the latter half of the year, I was much more likely to treat them well.  I spent the summer of 1986 buying new versions of the 1985 figures that I had worn out.  But, rare was the 1986 figure who suffered the same fate.  This shows how important the Viper was to me.  He got lots and lots of use, often dying spectacular deaths that lead to the breakage of his weakest points.  But, having a spare was also a great insight into the value of army building.  It was nice to have the same figure fill multiple roles within Cobra.  And, between the STUN and Thunder Machine, I had a wide array of uses for a beat up Viper who could no longer hold a weapon.

In looking at this Viper from a purely objective standpoint, he has great points and some limitations.  Color wise, the figure is about perfect.  You have the basic Cobra blue matched with dark red, all offset by black.  He's, basically, the poster child for everything you could associate with Cobra.  But, looking a bit deeper, this figure is also pretty basic.  The most glaring point is the goggles on the helmet.  (Why a person wearing a full face shield needs goggles, too, is another questionable aspect of the figure.)  They are just painted solid black.  The lenses lack an additional paint application.  The same is true of the grenades and clasps on the figure's body armor.  When you get down to it, this figure has only three paints masks: black, silver and red.  In the 2000's, we ridiculed Hasbro for going so cheap on the Viper.  Yet, the original figure was really the reason for this.  At his core, the fig is pretty generic.  He only has two accessories: neither of which are all that complex.  Despite this, though, the figure works.

If you want Vipers, there are tons and tons of them out there.  Hasbro released repainted 1986 molds in 1989 in Python Patrol colors and in 1990 in the Super Sonic Fighters line.  There are then 12 repaints of the Viper that were released between 1997 and 2006.  (These all have mold variants, but are clearly Vipers, even if some are Cobra Troopers and Officers.)  If the new sculpt figures are your bag, the character appeared three times in that format.  And, if you like anniversary figures, Vipers have appeared at least 13 times in that format.  If that's not enough for you, Red Laser's Army has created modern bootlegs of the figure who appear in more and more colors every few months.  So, basically, you can spend a lot of time just collecting Vipers without even talking about army building them.

It should be noted that while the Viper never showed up in any international collection, his legs did.  Hasbro used the figure's legs and waist for the 1993 Dr. Mindbender figure.  When that mold was sent to Brazil, the legs for the Viper were "lost".  This explained the later figures all taking lower body parts from BATs or having them resculpted.  There are also two variants to the Viper.  The red coloring on the figure can vary slightly from one to another.  If you get a bunch of them together, you can see the slight differences as both variants seem to exist in equal quantities.

There's something about this original figure that really defines Cobra.  There are nearly 20 different variants of this mold available.  Yet, you'd be hard pressed to find any collector who wouldn't agree that the original is still the best.  Even the 2006 repaints who were designed to improve upon the 1986 figure failed to deliver.  The blue body, black armor, red highlights and silver face shield armed with the white rifle make for an imposing enemy.  And, even for me, they retain a soft spot in my collection.  This guy was first enemy who could match the Joes in firepower, armor and field capabilities without being overly specialized.

In the early 2000's, as the army building craze was going full force and collectors had fewer repaint options for the this character, Vipers were $25 figures.  Due to that old pricing, many dealers still ask, and get around that price for mint and complete with filecard figures.  On the open market, though, Vipers are around a $13 figure.  And, if you can find them in small army building squads, that price falls further.  But, the ubiquity of the later repaints of the Viper character helped to sate collector demand.  When you could buy 1 Viper or a set of 6 Vipers that were painted like the originals for the same price, something had to give.  Still, collectors love to army build this figure and he will always be popular.  While I vastly prefer the original Cobra Trooper as the backbone of my Cobra army, there is something about a squad of Vipers, armed with better gear, that does put the troopers to shame.