2021 Black Major Cobalt Guard (Gold Trim)

Back in the early 2000's, I was vocal that Hasbro should release a repaint of their updated Crimson Guard mold in Cobra blue.  I was hassled for this by collectors hung up on the "Crimson" part of their name.  When the Shadow Guard were released in mid 2005, I was adamant that the set should have included at least one Cobra blue figure to lead the new legions of black clad Siegies.  More people came around on the idea.  But, Hasbro was done and new repaints of their Crimson Guard mold were not to be.  In the early 2010's, though, Black Major released his first Crimson Guards.  These figures, though, were not as ubiquitous as the Cobra Troopers and Invasors had been.  The cheap lots of 4 to 6 figures were no more.  And, when he released a Cobra blue version, I was pretty much out of the Joe world.  Around 2016, I managed to get one of the blue Black Major figures off of Ebay for a few bucks.  In short order, the figures would get very expensive: too expensive for army building.  But, in 2021, Black Major brought back the Crimson Guards with a new mold.  This time, the figure included additional heads and a Viper rifle.  Among his color offerings were a few takes on Cobra blue.  Sold under the Cobalt Guard header, these blue Crimson Guards finally gave me a chance to build a blue Siegie army that I had wanted for a decade and a half.

The Crimson Guard was one of the most requested army builders from the early 2000's.  He was the third or fourth most requested figure behind the Viper, BAT and Cobra Trooper.  Eventually, Hasbro relented and resculpted a new Crimson Guard figure.  The figure wasn't bad.  But, it reused some existing parts, didn't have the classic gear and only included heads with removable helmets.  In short, they were fine.  But, they didn't really scratch the itch for collectors who loved the original mold.  In the early 2010's, though, Black Major made his first round of Crimson Guard figures.  These featured a multitude of color options and included the original gear.  But, these figures were made in lower quantities than the Cobra Troopers of that era.  And, while plenty of guys did army build a few flavors, they really didn't permeate the collecting community to the degree that some of the other factory customs from those early days had done.  Finally, about a decade later, Black Major's second run of Crimson Guard figures were released.  Done up in even more colors, these figures were well received by the dwindling collector base of the time.  Since there isn't much content being created these days, the figures don't appear with the frequency that you'd expect.  But, that's more about the dwindling creative collector and less about the figures themselves.

For me, as a kid, the Crimson Guards really were Cobra's elite troopers.  To me, the red uniform was combat ready.  The Siegies were just so good that they could wear red into battle with little concern.  The best of the best would then become Eels (I still swear that, somewhere, I read that CG's became Eels.  But, this appears to be youthful exaggeration on my part rather than any official canon.)  who could then become Snow Serpents.  (Who were the pinnacle of the Cobra army and equal to most Joes.)  But, as I got older, I saw this as a less likely use for the character.  Instead, they slowly became guards for Cobra Commander and other Cobra hierarchy.  They were still elite fighters.  But, they were reserved for protecting Cobra's top leaders.  The dressy uniform was still cool.  But, I didn't see it as combat ready...especially now that I had far more army builders available to me.

It is from this protector role that the CG's evolved.  One of the main events in my Joe world was the Crimson Guard Rebellion.  The group tried to take over Cobra in the mid 2000's.  The end result was that the elite unit was mostly broken up.  Those who remained are still entrenched in Cobra leadership: a powder keg of potential unrest just waiting to be lit.  But, mostly, they keep their heads down after they saw so many of their brethren be unceremoniously executed by Cobra Commander when he defeated them.  

One of the humiliations that the Commander bestowed upon the Crimson Guardsmen was that he allowed for their uniform to be worn in different colors.  Most of the younger elites choose blue to show their loyalty to the Commander.  Elders often wear black to denote their status.  But, some choose to wear red.  Mostly, it's done as a troll to the remaining rabble of rebellious guardsmen who see the youngers wearing red as an insult.  But, the Commander prefers blue and his personal guards always wear the blue uniforms as a means of confirming their loyalty to him.  The golden trim, though, is reserved for the officers among the Commander's entourage.  A special notation fitting of their status.  And, the blue and gold motif matches the Commander's dress uniform: implying the leaders have access to the Commander when he's at his least guarded moments.

My main draw to the gold trimmed figure is just how exquisite it looks.  For some reason, the color combo of the lighter blue and bright gold really clicked.  Not so much in that I wanted a dozen of them.  But, it worked as the leader of a large unit of figures.  As you can see in the photos below,  the blue is a bit lighter than standard Cobra blue.  But, it's not quite the Soldado blue.  It works for me.  Especially now that there are several other figures that have similar hues that are available from factory custom makers.  For this figure, the paint masks are tight and  the figure quality is really nice.  The golden paint really makes the fine details on the CG mold pop.  It's great to get Crimson Guard rifles.  And, you get an extra Viper rifle with every figure.  (Which is kind of handy when you have a couple dozen 2006 Viper Pit figures sitting around.)  Even now, where I'm in a phase of hyper-criticality on anything Joe, I still find this figure aesthetically pleasing.  Which keeps it relevant to me.

It is likely that this gold trimmed figure exists in smaller numbers than the other blue Crimson Guard flavors that were made.  For those who pre-ordered a set, a single gold trim figure was included along with nine of the silver trim figures.  (You could choose red Cobra logos or silver Cobra logos for the 9 other figures.  I went with silver.)  What this means is anyone's guess.  On the one hand, lower run figures tend to do well if people can't get them.  But, at the same time, the obscure nature of their differences combined with the massive amount of new figures released all at once tends to leave the figures the odd men out.  We'll see how it plays out with this figure.  But, I'm glad I have one as he's a visual treat that really helps provide more depth to the Crimson Guard brigades.

You can get the gold trimmed Cobalt Guardsman for about $22.  This is a far cry from the pre-order pricing.  But, in line with the retail cost when single figures were made available.  In general, Crimson Guard flavors from that era sell in the $15-$20 range.  So, the gold figure has a slight premium.  But, that's also likely due to reduced options for acquisition.  In the end, the gold and blue is a striking combination that makes for a visually pleasing figure.  But, you have lots of options for visually pleasing figures these days.  I go with what speaks, specifically, to me.  This golden trimmed Guardsman did just that.  So, he's a fun addition to my collection.  I just need to use him a bit more often.