Hasbro was fairly protective of Snake Eyes' iconic black base for a long time. So, it is unlikely that this figure was ever seriously considered for release. But, the fact that it is fully painted shows that it was part of a color sample and did get far enough in the process to be a late rejection.
During the heyday of the these alternate figures' availability, Snake Eyes wasn't too popular. The 1989 mold was overused by Hasbro and collectors soured on it: even in unproduced forms. While the Firefly and Roadblock from this set fetched high prices, this Snake Eyes was relatively forgotten. He would often go unsold or sell cheaply. What interest there was in the mold was mostly focused on the better unproduced Wal Mart Sky Patrol version of the same mold that was also available at the time. Like all of these alternate, unproduced Asian figures, though, this Snake Eyes has gotten harder to find and more expensive.
As an oddity, this guy is actually kind of interesting. The gold looks better on the green than it did on the production black. You will note this figure is missing the terrible GI JOE logo on the figure's leg. And, the production figure features a 2nd, silver paint mask over the knives' blades that is missing here. But, this figure also has paint armbands and grenades that were left black on the production piece. So, it's definitely a mishmash of a few designs.
As an oddity, this figure is interesting. But, as a fully released figure, I think he'd be as forgettable as the retail BJ's set figure is. The green would have been a short topic of conversation during the time. But, the purple release in 2003 would have stolen all the focus off of this figure had it seen production. It is, definitely, a relic of that era's unproduced figures. But, isn't anything that really catches a collector's eye.
Only 3 of 68 versions of Snake-Eyes used that mold. LOL. I was never a big fan of it, maybe if they ditched the ear piece and had made the knives removable. And yes, Hasbro sticking to the black with SE made new versions of him an increasing dull.
ReplyDeleteThis Ninja trance Snake Eyes is weird with the double knives on his chest. I mean who does that? That alone makes this mold forgettable. Lose the knives on his chest, and you got a decent mold, even good enough for army building, because this version is not very iconic.
ReplyDeleteWhat bugs me about this mold is the tiny head. Other than that though, I've gotta say this looked like a cool repaint IMHO. A green Snake Eyes is kind of fresh, that color looks like it would have gone nicely with a lot of the 82 vehicles.
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