1989 HEAT Viper

The HEAT Viper is the last of the 1989 army building class about whom I've written.  It's not because he's the worst.  The figure is weird and offbeat.  But, it has a charm about it that is elevated by his specialty.  He features a unique color scheme, excellent accessories and a specialty that was missing from Cobra.  It all adds up to a fun figure to have around.  The real story is the bizarre elements of the figure's appearance.  Some design choices seem fairly bad.  In the real world, the HEAT Viper would have issues.  But, in a fictional kids toy line, they still work and create a fun action figure.

My first interaction with the HEAT Viper was in the summer of 1989.  We were visiting some friends for a week.  Their kids were slightly younger than me.  And, in their toy room, the had a wide variety of new 1989 Joe figures.  The gear was long strewn about in various piles or tubs.  And, I spent my copious free time there sorting through various bins of building blocks, Hot Wheels cars and every other toy of the day in search of items that were obviously Joe accessories.  I then attempted to match them up with the figures with whom I could associate the gear.

This brings up an point about Hasbro's design team.  If you had any familiarity with vintage G.I. Joe, it was relatively easy to spot an accessory from the line...even if it was from a figure you had never seen before.  Joe gear featured specific plastics that were not imitated by other toy lines.  But, there was also a scale and detailing that just wasn't found on other toy lines during the vintage run.  Others would come along that could match the sculpting and materials.  But, they'd be out of scale for Joe figures.  So, it was easy for me to recognize a G.I. Joe accessory among a sea of other toys, even though I wasn't familiar with any of them.  That's a testament to the brand's continuity of quality and one of the unsung reasons why it was able to endure at retail for so long.

During this visit, I was able to piece together a large contingent of Joe accessories.  I wasn't sure what gear went with what figure.  (I might have found a cardback or catalog to help a bit, though.)  But, the pile of new accessories and new figures had me longing for childhood, again.  I didn't mind the bright colors on the new Cobras.  In fact, because of these colors, I remember the figures and the entire interaction.  There were, probably, new Joes in that room, too.  But, I don't recall any of them.  It is the HEAT Viper, TARGAT, Alley Viper and Annihilator that stand out to me.  The figures were new and exciting enough to recharge my interest in the Joe comic.  But, not enough to get me buy any figures at retail that year.  So, my interaction with the class of '89 was mostly relegated to those bored, summer days.

In the mid 1990's, I started picking up a few, stray 1989 Cobra figures.  I'd find them at flea markets or the occasional comic book store.  I just had a couple.  But, they all fit into a new mythos.  I now viewed Cobra as a sleeker, more dynamic attack force.  They were individually mobile (like the Annihilator) and designed to move in quickly, strike violently and leave suddenly.  It was a terrifying new phase of Cobra's plan as they brutalized small towns all over the country and made citizens fear for their lives.  As Cobra conducted more operations, they'd discover holes in their plan.  Once, a helicopter escaped an attack.  So, Cobra invented Annihilators.  Then, Cobra found that some locations had Cold War era concrete that could withstand the Alley Viper weapons.  So, Range Vipers were given heavier weapons to shoot through walls.  Eventually, Cobra came across a fortified location where locals were able to hunker down and hold off the attack.  So, HEAT Vipers were invented.  They were on call during an operation and would be quickly transported to any location that was too difficult for Alley Vipers to quickly handle.  The HEAT Viper would jump out of the Parasite, simply destroy the entire hive of resistance and jump back into the Parasite for transport to the next hot spot.  Cobra was efficiently ruthless in their attacks and they were quick to add specialties to ensure no survivors.

In this role, the HEAT Viper wasn't all that important...until he was.  And, that fit's the HEAT Viper's specialty.  He's not a guy you need on every mission.  And, he's never going to be one of your main bad guys.  But, he's someone who is really needed at very specific times.  He shows up, does his job and that's about all you need from him.  There's fun adventures to be had where the Joes are able to stop him.  His main purpose, though, was a great evener in battles where a single guy could take out a VAMP, Havoc or Mauler.  Eventually, the HEAT Vipers learned they could take out low flying Tomahawks and Dragonflies.  This was a game changer as it allowed Cobra to have mobile ground forces with a single person who was capable of taking out all of Joe's air superiority.  Joe responded by having the choppers fly higher up, out of the HEAT Viper range.  But, this limited the effectiveness of their anti-infantry weaponry and eliminated the ability of Tomahawks to insert ground troops.

I'd like to say the HEAT Viper fills this role today.  But, he doesn't.  Instead, I use Fast Blast Vipers.  The black 2001 versions and the crimson 2002 versions are just figures that speak more to me than the HEAT Viper.  The original yellow and purple does look great when posed with his 1989 contemporaries.  So, he's a necessary entry in any display.  But, for usage, the Fast Blast Viper has replaced the HEAT.  There's a few reasons for this.  And, the figure's base coloring is only about the third factor on the list.

All of which leads to the discussion about the HEAT Viper's design.  Everything is going swimmingly on the HEAT Viper until you get to the head.  For whatever reason, the HEAT Viper's face shield only covers one of his eyes.  The other is blocked.  So, the HEAT Viper would have mono-vision.  (If you look at the card art, though, it appears the original design was to have a two-toned face plate so the HEAT Viper could see out of both eyes.  It just didn't translate to the figure.)  More glaring is the roughly 10% of his face that isn't covered.  There's just no reason for this.  And, this small part of exposed face is never explained.  It's low enough to leave the HEAT Viper's mouth exposed...limiting the effectiveness of the built in recycling gear that would purify the air he's breathing.  You have a fully concealed person inside a protective suit, just to leave a portion of his jaw exposed.  It's not even an aesthetic design choice.  The helmet is just weird and doesn't match any real world applications.  In fact, it is so jarring that it kind of ruins the complete figure.  Such case was taken to make the HEAT Viper encased in a detailed, protective suit.  Then, you leave one glaring weakness that's also detrimental to his appearance.  The Joe line got a little weird in the late '80's.  (It was like one guy who was mostly to blame.)  But, it made for some great figures along with flawed entries like the HEAT Viper.

The figure's colors are different.  But, they work.  Yellow and Purple would become a staple of Cobra vehicles in the 1990's.  It debuted on the HEAT Viper and the visual, offset with some grey and silver details, made for a visually striking figure.  There's no denying that the HEAT Viper is an aesthetic marvel.  Hasbro was willing to take some chances in the vintage line.  And, their wise decision to stray from staid blue and green allowed them to create powerful and memorable designs.  The yellow and purple complement each other, nicely.  The other colors help to mute the bright yellow.  And, they allow the features on the sculpt to stand out.  It leave the HEAT Viper one of the more interesting figures to look at and makes him a necessary member of any collection.

The HEAT Viper's gear is bizarre.  It's an intricate and complex system that all works together with amazing engineering.  1989 was the year of the sinister Cobra as the HEAT Viper joins the Alley Viper as two of the few figures with left handed weapons.  The HEAT Viper is supposed to carry his updated bazooka (he's the Cobra Bazookaman) in his left hand with the white hose connected to the peg on his helmet.  There is a second, black hose, that connects from the front of the weapon to the HEAT Viper's alternate shoulder where there is a sculpted peg.  Oddly, neither of these hoses connects to the HEAT Viper's backpack.  The pack's defining feature is the exhaust pipes.  But, there's nothing to create any fumes.  And, why would Cobra design an exhaust system that wraps around the wearer to discharge the waste in front of him...right where he'd breathe it in!  Cobra was all about death traps.  And, the HEAT Viper gear delivers.

From the card art, the gun is to be held with the smaller end facing forward.  For some reason, the weapon has the word "FANG" written on it.  It's a fun detail.  In the 2000's, when Hasbro used the gun and the sculpted hose with many figures, the factory began to self contain this hose onto the gun.  This was because the head peg into which it attached has been removed from the Fast Blast Viper since he had a new head.  So, the hose is plugged into the front peg on the bazooka.  Honestly, it kind of works.  And, I've never undone any of mine and use them in this fashion with 2002 Fast Blast Vipers.

You can not discern the orientation of the HEAT Viper's pack from his card artwork.  The traditional method is with the exhaust pipes at the bottom.  Leaving them to protrude on the figure's left side.  Personally, I prefer to orient them at the top.  Here they blow over the figure's right shoulder and help balance the overall look since the bazooka is such a big contraption.  Either will work.  The figure also includes 6 missiles that attach to his boots.  Practically, this is dumb for a lot of reasons.  As a toy, it's neat as heck.  Again, the missile orientation is up to you.  Some people have them pointing down.  Some have them point up.  And, some psychopaths will alternate the orientation with some point up and others pointing down.  The missiles hold in place rather well.  And, this firm affixation is the likely reason why they are relatively easy to find today.

The HEAT Viper was a canary in the coal mine for available Joe molds.  We just didn't realize that back in 2001.  The reason is that after his use in North America and Europe, the HEAT Viper mold went to Brazil.  Here, he was released in similar colors as a member of the Forca Electronica subset and named Estilhaco.  He didn't appear again until the first Fast Blast Viper showed up in 2001.  This figure used the entire HEAT Viper body and an Undertow head.  The same mold was released in 2002 in the BJ's exclusive gift set.  In 2003, the HEAT Viper head returned when he was released in the Toys R Us exclusive Python Patrol set.  In 2001, Hasbro (conveniently) told collectors that their favorite molds were "lost in Brazil".  But, as the HEAT Viper proved, that was not the case.  Hasbro just didn't want to look for the molds.  When the Comic Packs became a thing, Hasbro found more molds that had been "lost".  And, the club scoured out a few of the more popular molds for some convention sets.  I'd like to think that if we'd called Hasbro out, they'd have been shamed into finding more collector favorite molds.  But, I don't think they would have.

HEAT Vipers are a figure where it can be frustrating to find a mint and complete figure.  Dealers will sell them in the $30 range.  And, some sell because complete figures aren't all that common.  When you find them, though, you can get them for under $20.  If you give up a couple of rockets or the black hose, though, the price can half.  And, those figures are kind of easy to find.  Unfortunately, the HEAT Viper is one of those Joes who really needs his gear to be  useful.  He was designed with his full accessory complement in mind.  So, missing those elements leaves the figure wanting.  It's pretty easy to piece together a cheap figure from a couple of incomplete versions.  And, the extras aren't bad to have around to pilot your Parasite or Paralyzer.  You don't need a HEAT Viper army.  But, you do need one or two.  If for nothing else, to appreciate the artistry that went into his design.

1990 Sonic Fighters Dialtone - Around The Web

Dial Tone is among my favorite figure molds.  All of his releases have been solid.  Just due to circumstances of acquisitions, though, this Sonic Fighters Dial Tone is my least favorite of his incarnations.  It's still a great coloring of the mold.  It's just that childhood nostalgia and early collector fandom left this version of the character caught in a weird middle ground where he lacks the emotional connection to really allow his quality to be his determining factor in my collection.

Fortunately, lots of other collectors do really like this figure and you can see how they use him in the content below.  Enjoy!

1990 Sonic Fighters Dialtone Profile

1990 Sonic Fighters Dialtone at the Attica Gazette

1990 Sonic Fighters Dialtone by gen_liederkranz

1990 Sonic Fighters Dialtone by dok_sewage

1990 Sonic Fighters Dialtone by tabletopjoes

1990 Sonic Fighters Dialtone at 3DJoes.com

1990 Sonic Fighters Dialtone by 73larebear

1990 Sonic Fighters Dialtone by gen_liederkranz

2024 Sgt. Slaughter

I was wrong.  Back in July of 2024, I wrote up a blurb about the recently announced Sgt. Slaughter and Leatherneck Transformer Cross Over.  I was not overly kind to the announcement of the new figures.  The initial image of the figures made them look like barely repaints that offered collectors nothing new.  As more, clearer images appeared, the Sgt. Slaughter figure looked like it might have something more to offer than my initial impression.  And, as collectors began to get the figures in hand and actually photograph them, I realized that there might be some value to the Sgt. Slaughter figure.  He was a lot more different from his vintage counterparts than he had first appeared.  And, while he still didn't fundamentally change the character's appearance, the figure ended up being the best Sgt. Slaughter that any company has ever made in o-ring form.  And, he might be the best figure of the Pulse era.

The one thing I did do with this Sgt. Slaughter set was wait for discounts.  Unlike the Hiss Tank, which dropped in price by almost 75% for a while, the AWE Striker and Thunder Machine never dropped below about a 30% discount in any sales.  (Though, cheap Thunder Machines were available at Ross around Christmas in 2024, just in limited quantities.)  I waited through the holidays of 2025, hoping that the Triple T set might show up at Ross, too.  Instead, they appeared, for full price, at Wal Mart stores for a collector's promotion.  Not all stores got it.  But, many previously internet exclusives were dropped into these endcaps that encompassed many collector friendly brands.  My local store didn't get any, though.  Not that it mattered.  There were no reports of widespread clearance on the items.  Online, the Triple T dropped to about $60 on a couple of occasions before it would return to full retail.  Finally, it dropped back to that price and I decided to bite the bullet and add the final Pulse o-rings to my collection.   

In hand. the Sgt. Slaughter doesn't disappoint.  He's got several points working in his favor.  The first is just that he's got a flesh colored plastic head.  Gone is weird head paint that's ruined so many of the Pulse figures.  In fact, all of his flesh is the plastic.  So, all his various flesh tones match up.  There's none of the mismatched skin colors we saw on the Baroness or Zartan.  It's amazing how much this helps make a figure work.  It was such a simple idea, too.  I still can't wrap my head around Hasbro's fascination with fully painted heads...especially on figures like Duke or Ripcord where they are supposed to wear helmets.  I'm glad they finally got it right.  It just sucks it was so late in the process and so many figures were lessened by it.

Sarge's colors are also vibrant and powerful.  The browns are rich in a way that we haven't seen since 2005 or so when they were used to simulate leather pieces on Toys R Us figures.  The green color is deep and isn't a common hue we seen on Joe figures.  It's all offset by a flat black tank top.  And, the final palette is accentuated by a white belt and a golden whistle.  The color additions allow this Slaughter to transcend the vintage versions.  He features a full 7 different colors.  Even when compared to figures from the height of the vintage line, this is an abnormally high count for different colors used on a figure.  The fact that they are both a combination of accentuating and contrasting colors shows a level of design that was missing from most figures.  And, again, it's those little details that really allow this Slaughter figure to stand above his contemporaries.  Even more than a year after his release, you still see this Sgt. Slaughter figure used in photos and dioramas.  He appears far more often than "more popular" characters...a testament to his quality.

Slaughter's only accessory is his eponymous baton.  This version is larger than the vintage versions.  It also features a string on the end.  It's closer to the accessory used in the Anniversary era than the vintage.  But, it works well for Sarge as you expect him to include it.  Had this version been released with the vintage figures, it would be less rare than those '80's versions are now just due to the larger size.  It's actually a little big for his hands.  But, the larger size of the figure allows the bigger scale of the accessory to still work with the figure.  I wouldn't have minded an M-60 to be packed in as an homage to the comic.  But, we did get a spare one with one of the other Pulse releases.  (I think it was in the Cobra Trooper/Officer pack.)  So, I've got some spare weapons with which to outfit Sarge when the baton isn't appropriate.

As a kid, I used Sarge's baton as a cross between Captain America's shield and Spiderman's webshooters.  He could throw the baton an incredible distance and it would always return to his hand.  I imagined it had a rope inside that pulled it back to him after every throw.  This allowed Sarge to scale buildings, take out far away enemies and grab onto fleeing vehicles as they sped away.  It also was the also humiliation for the BAT.  I hated BATs, even back then.  I thought robots were dumb and the figure was lame.  The BAT filecard mentions they burst into flame when hit from behind.  So, when Cobra would deploy them into a battle, Sarge would just sneak around behind the line of BATs.  He's then run down the line of robots and tap each of them gently on the back with his baton.  They'd then burst into flames and be instantly eliminated without doing any damage to the Joes.  It was the most degrading way for BATs to be defeated.  And, was the main use I found for Sgt. Slaughter when he wasn't manning the gun tower on the HAVOC.

With the Pulse era of o-ring figures now over, we can assess each figure against his peers.  When doing so, it's tough to place this Slaughter anywhere other than near the top.  I'll argue that the Ramp Rat is a better character and a more useful figure.  But, he features almost no paint applications.  And, his overall appearance is definitely below this Slaughter.  The Cobra Commander from the Duke/CC two pack is the only real contender against Slaughter.  He features the paint applications, brilliant colors and needed update that are tough to beat.  But, Sarge being firmly in the top 3 is pretty impressive.  Especially when he beats out stalwarts like Duke, Zartan and Stormshadow.  Again, I got this one wrong from the get-go.  But, I'm not going to let my initial mistake hold me back and prevent me from liking one of the best figures we've seen in the past decade.

You all know that I'm not a fan of the Transformers Cross Overs as a product.  I won't beat that dead horse.  The one thing I do wish, though,  was that Hasbro had been more creative in their vehicles.  The Triple T isn't really a collector favorite.  It's easy to acquire and cheap on the second hand market.  Really, it's not that interesting.  Instead, I imagine a world where the Transformers had turned into the Earthquake, Bugg and the Skystorm.  I doubt those products would have fared worse at retail than the classics.  And, collectors would have gotten some vehicles that were outside the standard molds Hasbro has reused many times since 2008.  I'd have even liked something like a green and purple Hiss Tank or a bright yellow AWE Striker to match the Transformers characters.  Anything to have made these products a bit more appealing.

With o-ring Joe production shifted to Super7, there is a very real possibility that this Sgt. Slaughter and Leatherneck are the last o-ring Joes that Hasbro will ever produce.  The Pulse era of o-ring Joes has been interesting.  It lacks the total duds that we'd get all too often in the repaint era.  But, it also lacks the sheer home runs that the repaint team would trip into every now and again during that time.  The figures are solid.  But, they lack any flair.  The best new figures are safe.  And, that's fine.  During the repaint era, there was a type of fan who believed we should "love" everything Hasbro made and buy it to support the brand to keep it going in hopes of, eventually, getting something good.  I was the opposite in that I was overly critical of Hasbro in hopes of holding them to a higher standard.  Neither approach worked.  I had high hopes when the first Pulse two packs of figures were showcased.  The Skystriker lead me to dream that we might get two or three of the vehicles of our fantasies from childhood.  Those hopes were unfulfilled.  Instead, we got a solid crop of figure updates.  That's not terrible.  It's just that we wanted more.  It does seem that Super7 is starting to get it, though.  And, their first showcases for 2026 show a lot more promise than their 2025 figure lineup.  So, there's still light for collectors.  Just in a different format than we'd have ever imagined as recently as 3 or 4 years ago.

If you go back to the 1995-1998 era of G.I. Joe collecting, Sgt. Slaughter was equivalent to the Fridge in terms of Joe fans' affections.  Both were considered joke figures that somewhat sullied the brand's reputation.  Over the next decade, though, perception of Sgt. Slaughter changed.  Part of this is that the 1985 and earlier die hards began to lose ground to fans who grew up on the cartoon.  To them, Slaughter was a key part of the team.  Even Larry Hama treated him well in the comic.  The real turning point, though, was that Slaughter embraced his G.I. Joe roots.  While I'm sure that the appearance fees at conventions were a big draw for him, he also seemed to genuinely embrace the sheer silliness of his cartoon persona.  And, this endeared him to fans.  By 2006, he got a convention figure and was the headliner for the entire show.  He began to engage with fans on old Twitter and would follow most Joe focused accounts.  He's call people "maggots" for their birthdays.  And, the photo of an out of shape Joe fan trapped in a Sgt. Slaughter headlock became the staple of every Instagram account who attended a toy show.  Sarge just seemed like a guy who got the joke and really appreciated that so many people had grown up with him.  You can now make an argument that Sgt. Slaughter is one of the top three or four characters most associated with the G.I. Joe brand.  That's quite a turnaround.

Above, I mention "any company" for versions of Sgt. Slaughter.  The reason for this is that are quite a few different Sgt. Slaughter releases from all  over the world.  The mold upon which this 2024 is based originated in 1986.  Here, it was first released as a mail away.  And, later in  the year, as the pack in driver for the Triple T.  Slaughter appeared in a new mold in 1988 as the Warthog driver.  (I'd have loved the 2024 color scheme on the 1988 figure.)  Then, things get more interesting.  In 1989, the Slaughter mold went to Brazil.  There, it was painted in the Slaughter's Marauders paint scheme.  Some of those figures were exported to North America and released.  Others were released in Brazil.  The figures are the same.  But, the packaging is different.  The timeline is murky.  But, I suspect that Slaughter then went to Argentina.  It's possible the Plastirama figure pre-dates the Estrela Marauders.  But, Argentina release years are tough to pin down.  Regardless, the original mold was released in Argentina as Sgto. Slaughter.  This was the best paint job of the original Slaughter mold.  The mold wasn't done, yet, though.  It then made its way to India.  Funskool released Sgt. Smasher (a Slaughter mold done in colors based on the 1989 Slaughter's Marauders version) for a while.  They also used the head to great affect on the Supercop figure around 1994.  The mold then disappeared.  The club resculpted a head based on the original for the 2006 convention set.  But, it was given an entirely new body.  So, there's a LOT of Slaughter figures for any fan to track down.

The Triple T set with Slaughter is still widely available for retail pricing.  Dealers have tried to split the figure out and you'll see a lot of them for sale in the $45 range.  But, they just don't move.  At that price, you're much better off just buying the whole set when it drops to $60.  Pulse figures just haven't taken on any aftermarket appreciation.  If we look back at the repaint era of 2002-2006, the o-rings from that time didn't really start to gain any traction until over a decade after their release.  Now, some are very desirable.  I doubt the Pulse figures will follow the same trajectory.  But, I also predicted the TRU figures would never experience great demand, either.  At the end of the day, this is the best Sgt. Slaughter figure.  If he's a character that matters to you, buy one at retail and call it a day.  

1991 Badger - Around The Web

As the 1990's dawned, the Joe line changed.  Specifically, the vehicles.  The number of vehicles and playsets in the line was greatly reduced.  And, the pseudo-model kit aesthetic of the releases changed into more more molded pieces.  The result is a less iconic class of vehicles that still function as solid toys.  Lost in the shuffle is the 1991 Badger.

The Badger is a fun little attack vehicle.  The spring loaded missile launcher isn't over-done.  It can work as a cannon or a launcher.  The driver is protected by a roll cage.  And, the front and back feature some nice detailing.  In short, it's a worthy successor to the '80's classics.

Like most 1990's vehicles, though, it's pretty rare to see the Badger in use.  I found a few solid photos.  So, take some time to check them all out.

1991 Badger Profile

1991 Badger by  thedustinmccoy

1991 Badger Toy Commercial by 3DJoes.com

1991 Badger by pygmygorilla

1991 Badger by halfthebattletimmer

1991 Badger by gijoe_pty

1991 Badger by dawghaus_

1991 Badger by ptytoys2021

1991 Badger by crimsonguardjay1

1991 Badger by formbx257

1991 Badger by gijoe_pty

2001 Wetdown

I should love the Torpedo mold.  It was one of the most interesting designs of the first two years of the Joe line.  He had memorable and iconic accessories.  And, he was really hard to find until the fall of 1983 ushered in the holidays.  But, for some reason, the figure has never really clicked with me.  Even as a kid, Torpedo often found himself as the operator of the Whale's hidden little sled under the troop door.  Here he'd sit, forgotten and rarely used.  Mostly, this was because Cobra had no divers against whom Torpedo could fight.  But, as the Cobra maritime force grew, my interest in Torpedo did not.  This carried over to my adult collection and Torpedo has never been a figure that's been overly important to me.  These blase feelings towards the mold carried over to a now obscure 2001 release.  While the figure used the entire Torpedo mold and accessories, he now had a new name: Wetdown.

Wetdown is emblematic of the flaws that somewhat doomed the ARAHC line.  This figure is, essentially, the same as the 1983 Torpedo.  In 2026, collectors love new versions of older, decaying figures that have gotten expensive.  In 2001, though, vintage Joes were plentiful, still in solid shape and very affordable...provided the figure wasn't an army builder.  So, the need for barely repaints was much less than what we desire today.  So, interest in figures like Wetdown was tepid.  He lacked the freshness of the first wave of the ARAHC from 2000.  Wetdown's wave with Double Blast, Cobra Commander, Destro and Sure Fire was laden figures that just felt like they were low effort releases.  Even the Wet Suit with whom Wetdown was packed lacked any panache as he was a downgrade over every other Wet Suit that Hasbro had released to that point.  

For some reason, the ARAHC ran out of steam.  Shortly after Wetdown's release, collectors would learn the reason why.  Hasbro had started up work on a new Joe line that was going to use new construction and feature a new story and characters that were interspersed with the classics.  The JvC line sucked up all the resources and creativity and left the ARAHC as a hollowed out shell of its potential.  While the JvC line didn't end up being my cup of tea, it did feature much of the flair that defined the vintage Joe designs.  Bright, bold colors, updated characters, new specialties and a gaggle of new gear all made for much better toys that were more exciting than the drab figures that defined the ARAHC line that immediately preceded it.  

It is that drabness, though, that defines Wetdown and helps him stand apart from a vintage Torpedo.  While the black and grey palette is identical to the 1983 figure, the actual hues on the grey are much darker and more flat.  It makes the figure appear dark.  On his own, Wetdown isn't that bad.  He's just...Torpedo.  In making him a new character, I wish Hasbro had taken some color changes to set him apart from Torpedo.  By using such similar colors, Wetdown gets an imposter vibe that's tough to shake.  You can't use him and Torpedo together as they appear too similar.  (He might work with the '97 Torpedo.)  But, there's really no reason to have both a Torpedo and a Wetdown.

The new code names that were used in the 2000's are just bad.  There's no getting around it.  The most uncreative people in the world named the figures.  Most of them have two words.  And, the result is just dumb.  What worse, by 2000, there was a vibrant Joe customizing community that was already full of hundreds of fan created code names that were actually decent.  So, even the dullards could have plagiarized something better than Wetdown.  (Actually, it might be spelled Wet Down, as two words.  I don't care enough to go back and change it, though.)  But, they didn't.  Adding up the banal code names, uninspired paint jobs and repetitive mold choices, the ARAHC was kind of doomed right from the beginning.

With all this working against him, it's no surprise that Wetdown has never much mattered in my collection.  Were it not for the fact that I was an ardent completist in those days, I doubt I'd even have him in my collection.  And, it was his pure worthlessness on the secondary market that kept him in my collection when I purged it off.  If I didn't have, I'd forget he exists.  Not because he's bad.  Just because he's not interesting.  I'd just use the original Torpedo if I wanted a figure that looks like this.  But, I rarely do.  As I said before, Torpedo just didn't hit the right notes for me.  I loved all the later divers, though.  Both versions of the 1986 Wet Suit were vital to my childhood collection.  The '94 Shipwreck remains one of my favorite figures.  So, it's not divers that are the issue, it's just Torpedo.

Wetdown included the standard Torpedo gear.  He includes a silver spear gun.  At first, this weapon was unique to Wetdown.  And, it's kind of cool as the silver shows off the sculpting on the weapon that can be lost on black plastic.  The weapon later appeared with JvC Wet Suits and is much more common than Wetdown is.  The same is true of Wetdown's backpack.  Wetdown's version lacked any paint...a cost savings measure.  But, again, the same pack appeared multiple times in the JvC line.  He also included the standard black display stand that was required for all figures in this era.  Finally, he has a pair of black fins.  These are similar to the 1997 Torpedo's.  Though, there are slight plastic differences between the two.  The Torpedo mold needs Torpedo's gear.  The early Joe team got it right when it came to matching a figure sculpt to accessories.  And, one of the ARAHC's strengths was that many of the figures included their vintage gear to accentuate the overall value of their new, retail release.  So, that definitely works in Wetdown's favor.

After Torpedo's debut in 1983, he wasn't seen again in the vintage line.  He didn't even get another version.  (Wet Suit took over the SEAL character role and got all the updated sculpts.)  But, the mold was sent to India where Torpedo was a staple of early Funskool releases.  The most famous is a yellow Torpedo figure.  It's relatively hard to find.  Though, a few cases of them were unearthed in the 2010's.  The mold was returned to Hasbro for the 1997 releases.  Hasbro got some quick mileage out of the Torpedo mold.  First, he was released in 1997.  Then, this 2001 use for Wetdown was released.  But, then, the mold disappeared.  On one hand, it would have been good to see another Torpedo mold appear in 2004 or 2005 as part of a Comic Pack.  On the other hand, there wasn't much left to do with Torpedo and we didn't need another black and grey use of the mold.

Wave III of the ARAHC probably saw a truncated production run.  At least relative to Waves II and IV.  Wave III never really popped up in the clearance and discount stores of 2001 while those other waves were ubiquitous through 2002 and beyond.  But, that hasn't really translated to reduced availability or higher prices.  You can find Wetdown's relatively easily.  Dealers try to sell the figure in the $15-$20 range.  They don't sell.  He's, at best, an $8 figure.  Carded versions with Wet Suit sell in the $20 range.  That's the direction to take if you want the figure in your collection.  

With figures like this, don't take my cynicism as a reason to not own him.  Twenty Five years have passed since Wetdown was released.  And, he's holding up much better than 1983 Torpedo figures.  So, that has some value.  And, there are collectors who love to have newer versions of vintage Joes that have the softer plastic and that are less brittle than the originals.  I'm not sure why Torpedo never did it for me.  But, if you love the look of the the original, then there's value in this Wetdown for you, too.  He's definitely a figure where individual collector's mileage may vary.  Mine's just very, very short.

1992 Cutter - Around the Web

The Whale is one of the top three most iconic vehicles in the Joe line.  It was released in 1984 and included a cool pilot named Cutter.  The Cutter figure was fine.  He fit the aesthetic of the time period.  8 years later, Cutter would get an upgrade.  This time, as a member of the DEF, the figure got a sleeker and more detailed look.  But, the underlying design was strikingly similar to the 1984.  The baseball cap, orange vest and dark blue pants were all carried over.  And, you if you were familiar with the 1984 figure, you'd instantly recognize the 1992 figure as Cutter.

As this updated version was released in 1992, it's often overlooked in discussions about the best character update in the line.  But, Cutter's massive improvements are right there with the 1985 Snake Eyes, 1989 Stalker and 1986 Hawk.  The 1992 looks just as home in the cockpit of the Whale as the 1984 version.  That's a tough trick to pull.  Hasbro did it, though.

Sadly, Cutter's not enough of a main character to really have his update shine through.  He remains fairly obscure and isn't a character that gets a lot of press.  I had to dig deep to find some good content on him.  But, much of what's below shows off not only his traditional gear like his weapon and the amazing flashlight.  But, also his spring loaded grappling hook that's one of my favorite spring loaded weapons.  So, take some time and check out the links, below.  There's some great content featuring one of the more unheralded character updates in the vintage Joe line.

1992 Cutter Profile 2002

1992 Cutter Profile 2014

1992 Cutter by evilface

1992 Cutter by Gen_Liederkranz

1992 Cutter by thedustinmccoy

1992 Cutter by hobieshinobi

1992 Cutter by ronnie_trickshot

1992 Cutter by actionforcedk

1992 Cutter by gijoe_c4_panama

1992 Cutter by thedustinmccoy

1992 Cutter by gen_liederkranz

1986 Viper - Random Photos of the Day

I've never found the 1986 Viper to be the figure that most collectors see him as.  It wasn't a mold for whose return I was clamoring.  But, we got lots and lots of Viper repaints.  And, there's no denying the figure's place in Cobra history.  And, he photographs well.  So, it was worth having a few lying around.

I've always viewed the Viper and Cobra Trooper as interchangeable.  Viper armor is impractical to wear when lounging around the base.  So, the more standard blue Cobra jumpsuit is the alternate look for the backbone of Cobra's legions.  This allows the figures to co-exist and even appear together without convoluted backstory.  

Other than that, not much to say about this guy.  I still find him over rated.  But, not nearly as much as the BAT.  Enjoy the photos below as I hope I can finish up a profile for next week.