The figure is a repaint of the 1994 Ice Cream Soldier mold. But, the sculpting, combined with new colors, lent itself to a Cobra repaint to such an extent that most people now refer to this as the "Shock Viper Mold" instead of the Ice Cream Soldier mold. For most collectors, it was tough to get more than 6 of the Shock Vipers due to sold out stock and online dealer purchasing limits. But, time has somewhat evened that out. Even though, the figure still remains relatively hard to find.
Despite being one of the best army builders of the era, there's not a ton of content in regards to the figure out there. This is a combination of his relative scarcity and the fact that collectors tend to prefer the more standard Cobra army builders when setting up displays. But, here's the best content for the 2002 Shock Viper form around the web.
2002 Shock Viper Profile
Shock Viper at Half The Battle
Shock Viper at GeneralsJoes.com
Shock Viper Dio by Outrider
Shock Viper Dio by ScarrViper
Shock Viper Dio by Outrider 2
The scarcity of the wave may be overstated in the long run, at least loose. Some years after the wave hit, Shock-Vipers were available from the grey Chinese market for some time. Even to this day, the Joe figures (whom fewer fans care about, because...that's a whole other post) from that limited wave 5 ARAHC show up in random lots from some sellers in Asia. Sadly, Shock-Viper is never amongst them. The Crimson Twins from that time can still be got loose fairly cheap...I should do that someday, since I never got them.
ReplyDeletePeople just flat out ignored these guys were designated as Flame Throwers, even the Collectors club did and made Claymoore their leader. It's not like Incinerators came back to reclaim that role, either, no one cares about flame thrower troop builders that much.
I love these Vipers! It seems like there's not much to buy from China anymore.
ReplyDeleteAs an Ice Cream Soldier fan of long standing, I can't express enough how much I hate this figure.
ReplyDelete