What does it mean for something to be the best? It seems a simple exercise. But, once you get a wide variety of options for a specific item, pinning down the "best" starts to become more subjective. Such is the case with the original Snake Eyes sculpt. Originally released in all black, collectors clamored for Hasbro to update the mold with some colored details. Hasbro was happy to oblige with 2 updated paint job figures that were released in 1997. That wasn't enough, though, and Hasbro continued to pump out new colorings on the original Snake Eyes figure through 2005. Many of the figures featured very slight changes from previous releases. After a while, they all blended together. Which is to say, no one figure stood above the rest in terms of updated designs. With 20 years of reflection, though, I do think one Snake Eyes release rises above the others. It is the one version with the weirdest release vector. But, the 2003 Toy Fare Snake Eyes offers the best package in terms of colors, accessories and quality.
Now, all of the above does need to be couched in terms of one other Snake Eyes release: the 2003 DVD Snake Eyes. This purple version features the same paint masks as the Toy Fare version. And, it's the best Snake Eyes released in the repaint era. I'm excluding it, though, because the purple base allows it to serve a different purpose than any of the black base figures. So, all of the discussion about Snake Eyes will view this DVD figure as a separate entity that is not in competition with Snake Eyes figures based on the 1982 design.
It's tough to fathom that, even in 2003, toy magazines were still powerful. They were the first source of news for many fans. And, despite the internet ruining their exclusive scoops in many instances, the magazines still delivered content that was difficult to acquire anywhere else. But, the writing was on the wall. And, Toy Fare decided to use their clout within the industry to start selling some exclusive toys directly to collectors over the internet. This was still fairly novel at the time. But, the magazine was able to partner with manufacturers to produce two highly desired exclusives: a Radioactive Homer Simpson and a Faker figure. Upon the release of these figures, collectors instantly called shenanigans. While Toy Fare "sold out" almost immediately, huge quantities showed up at dealers and resellers, often at 5x to 10x the original cost. Toy Fare's reputation took a hit. And, collectors viewed any offering of theirs with caution. But, collecting is a strong high. And, the market, while mad, didn't really vanish. So, Toy Fare was free for their first Hasbro collaboration: a 2 pack with Scarlett and Snake Eyes.
This announcement was met with modest fanfare in the Joe community. When it was announced, the Joe world was still 100% committed to army building. Sets without army builders were simply ignored. Snake Eyes was passe in the Joe world as he had been released multiple times and the character was ubiquitous. Scarlett was a bit different. She hadn't been seen since 1997. And, that figure had gotten a bit pricey. But, there were a multitude of JvC Scarlett figures available. Collectors of the day didn't really distinguish between ARAH sculpts and JvC sculpts. So, the character of Scarlett wasn't something that everyone was starved to acquire. Most of the criticism, though, was around the fact that the set wasn't two army builders. Outside the Joe world, though, there was more excitement. For non-Joe collectors, the pack seemed an injection of pure nostalgia. And, there was enough excitement around it that, when coupled with Toy Fare's seedy reputation, the fear of the pack selling out and getting expensive began.
Upon release, though, these fears proved unfounded. The reasons are likely a combination of higher production numbers (necessitated by Hasbro), Joe collector malaise, non-Joe collector disinterest and the slow demise of the scalping community. All of these factors lead to the set being available from Toy Fare for a long, long time. The instant sell outs of the earlier exclusives didn't happen. (Insert your favorite conspiracy theory as to why the first two items did sell out, though.) And, Scarlett and Snake Eyes enjoyed a long availability window.
2003 was the pinnacle of the repaint era. As the year began, we didn't know that. But, by the end of the year, Joe was seeing a popularity it hadn't experienced since the vintage days. As 2004 dawned, though, the line instantly started to decline. And, despite a strong slate of releases in '04, the line limped towards the end of the year and was cancelled in 2005. One thing that defined this era, though, was that Hasbro was very interested in exploring alternate release vectors for G.I. Joe figures. Aside from retail saturation that got to stores that hadn't really stocked toys in decades, Joe also experimented with CD-ROM figures, huge boxed sets sold at a warehouse store, single carded figures, bonus figure packs, mail aways and even boxed sets like this Snake Eyes and Scarlett. Not every product was a success. Some failed before they even got released. But, Hasbro was able to produce massive amounts of different figures by utilizing all these different packaging options. Being an in house brand using existing molds allowed Hasbro financial leeway to experiment. And, were it not for some of these products, we'd have lost out on dozens upon dozens of figures.
As a figure, this Snake Eyes introduces a new secondary color: brown. The Action Force Stalker used grey highlights. The Funskool figures brought us silver details. The 1997 repaints combined both colors to make some new figures. This 2003 figures colors the web gear in a rich, leathery brown. It's a solid color and works well with the black base color. The holstered knife on his chest is painted silver. The grenade is green...except for the silver handle. It's a little detail. But, one that really amps up the visual appeal of his detailing. He has a brown belt and pants pockets and is wearing slightly differently colored shoes. The only skimp is that only the top of the bomb on his leg is painted. There are other versions where the whole design features paint applications. But, overall, this Toy Fare figures features the best application of paint details that offers some new colors to highlight Snake Eyes. This is, as far as I can tell, the most intricately painted 1982 torso that was ever released.
It's these details that make this the "best" Snake Eyes, in my eyes. He has the most accents of any Snake Eyes figure. And, he builds from the other historical releases. Thing is, if you're not a fan of the brown, you might not like this version. So, if grey is your preference, there's other figures that better use that hue. Which leads us to the real crux of this figure. Yes, he's great. But, he's not really great enough to vastly surpass other Snake Eyes figures from the repaint era. So, while this figure has all the features to rise above the rest of the Snake Eyes figures, he doesn't rise high enough to justify spending lots of time and effort to track him down over figures like the 1997 or 2004 figures.
Superficially, I like Snake Eyes figures painted details. But, practically, that's just not the case. I only use the 1997 figures within the context of other 1997 figures. The Comic Pack figure might show up from time to time. But, mostly, I take his grappling hook and rope. My spare Action Force Stalker doesn't see much use, either. Usually, I just use the 1983 figure. The all black just works. And, his higher quality plastic make him my go to choice when I want to use a Snake Eyes figure. In fact, I find that the 1983 is actually my preferred Snake Eyes, overall. I use it way more than my "favorite": the 1985. This might be convenience. But, I find it an interesting aspect of my collection. And, it's probable that I actually like the original look for Snake Eyes the most of all his incarnations.
This Snake Eyes included the requisite Snake Eyes gear from the era with one exception: the classic 1982 Uzi. The figure has a 1992 Gung Ho backpack, the classic Snake Eyes ammo back and a sword from the 1989 Snake Eyes mold. Instead of his standard firearm, he includes a silver version of the 1986 Low Light Uzi. It's close enough for Snake Eyes. But, the figure looks somewhat off when not paired with his classic weapon. Fortunately, the classic Uzi returned with later Snake Eyes figures. So, it's pretty easy to "fix" this guy should you want to.
Sadly, the quality on this figure isn't the best. I've always felt the paint application on both figures in this set was a bit "soft". And, it's very easy to rub and chip away the paint. I suspect it's just a function of the softer plastic used on the figures. But, I'm very wary of Scarlett's paint wearing away just from putting her crossbow in her hand. On top of that, Snake Eyes legs have a bow to them. This is from either a bad t-hook or o-ring. It makes his leg flair out. It's a common affliction with earlier factory custom figures. But, this Snake Eyes is subject to it, too. It makes him hard to stand up. So, again, this is a limitation for the figure that makes him less necessary. Though, it should be noted that most of the other repaint era Snake Eyes figures also have similar quality issues. It just seems this guy is a little bit worse than them.
It's difficult to list all the various variants of Snake Eyes. The 1982 straight arm was released by Hasbro, Estrela, Plastirama and Auriken. (Maybe, Rubiplas, too.) There are some with Cobra logos as well as the Invasor or Mortal and his head was used on the De Aco. The swivel arm version was released by Hasbro, as a European exclusive and in various colors over in India by Funskool. Funskool was actually the first company to really paint up details on the Snake Eyes mold. Hasbro got the mold back in 1997 and released two versions of him that year, though with some slight parts changes. (The Roadblock waist making it's debut.) This figure and the purple version appeared in 2003 and the figure appeared again in 2004. The head was used on a 2004 arctic Snake Eyes and the body appeared for a final time in 2005 in another comic pack. But, this figure included a new head. If that's not enough, Black Major made Snake Eyes repaints in the early 2010s and another batch in the mid 2020's. And, finally, Hasbro made an all new swivel arm mold that was released in 2022. It's all enough to drive you mad, trying to track them all down.
The Snake Eyes/Scarlett set was a retail dud. It was available from Toy Fare for a long time. After a while, though, the sets were liquidated to other outlets. Into the 2010's, you could get a set on Amazon for under the original price. As those dried up, prices rose. During the height of the collecting boom, these were $70+ sets. Now, though, the prices have stabilized and you can get a boxed set in the $40 range. Like a lot of plastic from the early 2000's, the windows and plastic inserts on the set do tend to yellow. So, the display value of a boxed version diminishes, accordingly. It's kind of hard to find this Snake Eyes on his own. And, dealers will ask $40 for him or Scarlett if they are loose. So, buying the boxed set is the only way to go. At best, this is a $20 figure. And, the real value is, likely, lower than that. There's just too many options for Snake Eyes that are close enough. The Scarlett from the set is the real plum. So, while this is, arguably, the "best" Snake Eyes, it's not different enough from any of the others released in the repaint era to really warrant a price premium or substantial effort to add to your collection.
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| 1997 Snake Eyes, 2003 Toy Fare Snake Eyes, The Other 1997 Snake Eyes |
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