By the time I was hunting down the final Joes remaining at retail in my area in the mid 1990's, most of the Cobra army builders were gone. Figures like the Headhunter, Alley Viper and, especially, the Flak Viper mocked me from the cardbacks of the Joes I could still find. The bad guys were long gone: sucked up by a combination of the first adult collectors as well as the burgeoning speculator market. So, as the internet became a viable option to acquire old toys, my first focus was finding many of the figures who had I longed for just a few years prior.
The Flak Viper was among my most wanted acquisitions. Fortunately, at the time, the 1992 version was pretty available and relatively cheap. The 1993 version, though, was a bit harder to find. Even carded versions weren't all that common. In the ensuing years, though, the 1993 became more common. And, today, remains among the easiest to find 1993 army building figures.
There's lots of good Flak Viper content out there. The figure's stark colors, congruency with the 1992 original and excellent gear all adds up to a figure that is a lot more fun to own than you might otherwise think. While I've managed to build up a small army of these guys, I still want more. And, when the price is right, I still pick up a spare or two to keep building my forces.
1993 Flak Viper by fun time at serpentor's lair
1993 Flak Viper by thedustinmccoy
1993 Flak Viper by Danish Dude
Flak Viper at halfthebattle.com
1993 Flak Viper by thedustinmccoy
1993 Flak Viper by Slipstream80
1993 Flak Viper by nightforcetunnelrat
1993 Flak Viper by ronnie_trickshot
1993 Flak Viper by thedustinmccoy
1993 Flak Viper by gen_liederkranz
I remember getting the original Flak-Viper as a kid and really loving the mold, colors, design and his specialty. He was one of the exceptions in that 92-94 run that had all original parts. I came across Flak-Viper v2 earlier this year and once I got him in hand immediately felt like he was an awesome variant of the original rather than an odd colored 90s figure. Something about the colors work. Another great gem of a figure from the later years of the ARAH run.
ReplyDeleteThat is an insane amount of day glo orange. Reminds me of watching Batman Forever as a teenager
ReplyDelete