2021 Blue Worm - Black Major

Worms were never a popular figure.  They got an oversized bit of attention for their helmet antenna that was often missing.  But, even as this piece started to get pricey, no one really cared much about the Worm.  For most collectors, he was a checkmark on a list.  A few guys might have had three or four to man their Maggot.  But, even a setup like this was somewhat rare.  Hasbro had the mold for the Worms in the 2000's and used it on the 2005 Convention General Mayhem figure.  And, while this figure was well regarded in its day, the mold's use didn't lead to calls for a new Worms figure repaint.  The Worm was just one of those unheralded gems from the line's middle years of whom most collectors were aware, but few cared about in any material way.

This made it all the more surprising when, in the early 2020's, Black Major announced the Worms figure was going to be one of his next releases.  The choice to use the Worm wasn't met with disdain.  For most collectors, it was an interesting idea that might have some merit.  And, by this time, Cobra Troopers, Vipers,  Crimson Guards, Alley Vipers, Night Vipers, Snow Serpents and Eels had all been made by factory custom producers.  With the heavy hitters mostly covered, looking to more obscure molds made sense.  The colors were announced, the figures were produced and, with little initial fanfare, Black Major made what are likely his best overall figures, ever.

Factory custom makers have struggled to get good color matches with vintage figures.  The Cobra Blue colors don't match up.  The Action Force greens are always a bit too light or a bit too dark.  The red and crimson used for Red Shadows and Crimson Guard figures is always just a little off.  But, the blue on this Worm figure is spot on.  It is a deep, rich color.  While not a perfect match for the 1982 Cobra figures, it's a color that matches up with Cobra in a way the lighter blues you often see on factory customs doe not.  The most noticeable aspect of the color, though,  is that this figure is done in a dull, flat tone of plastic.  It's a stark difference from the glossier plastic you see on most factory customs.  It allows this Worm to blend in with vintage figures in a more seamless way.  

When I was a kid, the Worms figure became a high ranking Cobra who was just below a named official.  He was above all the various Troopers and Vipers and would confer directly with the named Cobras.  He's assist them in planning and then convey the orders to the troops.  I don't recall if he was loyal to the militaristic Cobras or the conniving character portrayed by the Sea Slug.  (I suspect the Sea Slug.  The only evidence I have is a photo from 2001 on the Flying Scorpion figure where I set up my Cobra hierarchy and the Worm stands behind the Sea Slug.)  But, the Worms figure took on more prominence than the simply commander of a mid run Cobra vehicle should have.

One think I've realized of late is that I've lost a lot of the characters that I made up during my various Joe runs.  30 years of seeing photos and stories arranged with "canonical" toy appearances has stripped away some of the uniqueness of my Cobra setup.  Another part, though, is that army building turned once essential figures like this Worm into just another nameless, faceless Cobra whose sole duty was a singular task.  Even the vaunted Sea Slug is now just an army builder who often wears Techno Viper gear.  

I suppose this is a function  of age.  And, it was always difficult to explain why I had certain figures in distinct scenarios as their appearance made no sense without the years of context from my childhood play.  On some level, I feel I've lost some of the wonder around the toys.  Their value came form the stories they could tell, the emotions they could express and the pure wonder of exploring the human condition that could offer.  Now, I don't spend my time attaching such functions to my Joes.  They are collectibles that I take outside for photographs.  I'm not sure I would even be able to piece together a play session.  And, that loss is something I do lament.  While the horrible reality that is today's world plays out, it would be good to hold on to a piece of innocence.

While I love this blue Worm, the truth is that he makes for a much better army builder than I could justify turning into a character.  Despite having just the one version, I can only see him as an artillery or vehicle commander.  It's not a bad role.  And, it does allow the Worm to be used on a multitude of Cobra vehicles.  I just can't see him as that ambitious character, any longer.  Now, he's one of many Cobra specialists who wear uniforms colored to their environment or to match their vehicle of choice.  It makes for better photos.  But, I'm not sure it's a better story.

With this figure in hand, it become more apparent that Hasbro's inability to ever repaint the Maggot in a meaningful way (that terrible Night Force version doesn't really count...) was a mistake.  It's likely Hasbro had the mold in the 2000's.  But, cheap vintage Maggots and collector disinterest killed any calls for a repaint.  But, in Cobra blue, grey, black or white, the Maggot would have been an amazing update to the line.  Had it included a driver, that might have cost the chance at these Black Major Worms.  But, with the new colorways in hand, I find myself really wanting a matching colored Maggot to augment these figures and really showcase their panache.

The original selling point on the Worms figures is that they were, actually, three figures in one.  Each Worm included an alternate Torso and heads.  One head was based on the 1993 Cobra Commander.  The Worms has always had a bit of a regal look.  And, the medals and formality of the mold are a perfect match for Cobra Commander's character.  So, including the Commander head was a smart move.  The other pieces included were a Wild Weasel torso and a caucasian Doc head.  This setup also included an Aero Viper helmet and creates an interesting Air Viper figure.  I might hold the Air Viper configuration in the highest regard of the three possible combos.  It's a weird parts combination that you really don't see used at all, any more.  But, it really works.  At some point, I'll do a write up on that, specific, character, though.

The Worms accessory complement was weird.  There's no other way to say it.  The good part is that each figure included the Worms helmet with an antennae.  On this figure, the helmet is blue and the antennae is black.  The two tone color really adds to the overall look of the figure.  It makes the antennae more prominent and showcases it's addition to the helmet.  The helmet is a perfect fit and is one of better add on pieces you'll find in all the factory custom libraries.  Where the figure gets bizarre is the weapon choices.  The best piece is a 1988 Iron Grenadier Uzi.  This weapon is overly large.  But, it's the only piece that makes any sense for the figure.  

He also includes a knife.  It's a solid sculpt, but has a large, round handle that makes it tough for any figure to hold.  There is a small pistol.  I am not aware of the origin of the knife or pistol molds.  They might be from Anniversary era figures.  This small  pistol lacks details.  It's...fine for the Worm.  But, it's small and not that cool.  The final, most offbeat weapon is the main body of the 1983 Airborne Rifle.  Gone, though, are the stock and the muzzle with bayonet.  The weapon looks like a toy M-16 you got when you were 7 and promptly broke into three pieces.  Beyond the absurdity of the weapon choice, it doesn't really fit in the figure's hands.  If you find a figure with just the helmet and antennae, it's worth picking up because the rest of the gear isn't great.

The upside is that, in addition to this blue figure, there are a variety of Worms colors to track down.  There are arctic Worms that are a perfect match for the Wolf.  There is an all black version that is the only figure in that color scheme that's worth owning.  Really, it's amazing.  Then, there's Crimson, Red Shadows, Python Patrol (which, again, is better than it has any right to be), Desert, for some reason...Tiger Force, a grey cammo version and an Air Viper color scheme.  There might be more, too.  But, you have Worms for all seasons and all of them are of high quality in terms of tight joints, paint applications and overall construction.  And, you can now have a Worms commanding every vehicle in your Cobra armory, should you so choose.

The Worms figures have gotten a lot harder to track down, these days.  Either their production run was shorter than more traditional army builders or, more collectors simply held on to the figures due to their overall quality.  If you can find the figures, the various colors will run you between $15 and $35 with the more desirable colors going at the top end.  Usually, these figures will also not include the parts for the Air Viper or the Cobra Commander.  So, you're not even getting the complete package.  I'll argue that this figure is worth it.  The quality is excellent and the colors just pop.  This blue Worms gives you a chance to upgrade your Cobra command structure with a new figure.  Or, just build out your mechanized army.  Either way, it's a solid figure and one of those under the radar releases that has no business being this good.

2016 Desert Viper - Red Laser Army

In 1997, Hasbro produced their first Repaint Era (1997 - 2010) Viper update.  The figure was the harbinger of many Vipers to come.  Between 1997 and 2006, Hasbro released no less than 12 repaints of the highly popular mold.  In those releases, Hasbro managed to make a green Viper that (kind of) worked for forest and jungle environments.  Beyond that, though, the rest of the figures were almost entirely amalgamations of typical Cobra colors.  Lost in the sea of banality that were the two toned Hasbro repaints was the fact that the Vipers were never offered in any environmentally themed color schemes.  The 2006 Viper Pit was the perfect (and last!) chance for Hasbro to finally get Vipers into standard colors that could support Cobra's more specialized troopers.  But, they failed to deliver.  About a decade later, though, some new Vipers finally appeared.  Made by Red Laser Army, these figures filled some nice gaps in the Joe line but have also fallen into incredible obscurity.

Red Laser launched with some pretty standard color schemes.  Most of the Vipers were meant to mimic some classic Cobra paint schemes.  The figures were heavy on hues of grey, red, black and some blue.  Among the releases, though, was a straight up desert repaint of the Viper.  Clad in tan with a brown vest, this figure was a simplistic repaint that gave Cobra some effective desert fighters.  In the vintage Joe line, Cobra just the Desert Scorpion figures.  While a great figure, it's a highly specialized mold from a year that makes him a tough figure to acquire in multiples.  In 2009 or so, the first factory custom Cobra Troopers appeared.  Among the first flavors to appear were some desert Troopers.  These finally gave Cobra a force to battle against the multitude of desert colored Joe figures.

The addition of the Viper to the Cobra desert ranks offered not only another option for a desert enemy but a nice bridge between the early Cobra Trooper and the Desert Scorpion figure from 1991.  I've long felt that the backbone of Cobra's army (be in the Trooper or the Viper mold) would have environmentally themed uniforms so they could be effectively deployed in habitats around the world.  Desert Scorpions would still be the specialists who dominated the operations in that theatre.  But, they would be supported by standard Vipers wearing appropriate colors.  Not everyone shares this view, of course.  So, your mileage on the themed Vipers may vary.  But, if you're going to get a dozen color schemes on a mold, at least a couple should cover some of the major environments in which armies tend to operate.  

In 2022 or so, the Black Major introduced a new factory custom Viper mold.  Quickly, this was repainted into dozens of color schemes.  Some were standard Cobra colors.  Some were amazingly different.  And, some are just oddball.  But, now, there are finally Vipers for all seasons.  The Black Major figures, though, do not feature the removable helmet.  Among his repaints are some desert themed figures.  They are different from this Red Laser Army figure.  But, they scratch the itch that any new collector may have for desert themed army builders.  And, as of 2025, they are more readily available and easier to find.

The quality on  this figure is high.  The plastic is good.  The joints are tight.  And, the paint masks are as crisp as any vintage Hasbro figure.  The thumbs, though, are somewhat rigid.  And, the large handles of the Viper rifle make posing the figure with the weapon in his hands a tricky proposition.  I felt that the thumbs would snap when I slipped the stock behind the figure's forearm.  But, 8 years later, they are still intact.  The helmets are also an incredibly tight fit to the figure's head.  So much so that I can barely remove some of them that I've put on.  But, the tightness allows the helmeted figure to appear to be a vintage style Viper head.  It's very difficult to tell that the helmet is removable until you look closely.

The other thing that Red Laser Army brought back to the Viper was the 1986 style paint masks.  Starting in 2002, the retail repaints of the Viper mold skimped on paint masks.  And, that lack of detailing greatly hindered some figures that could have been really nice figures.  The most noticeable impact of the paint masks, though, is that they make this figure appear more in line with vintage Joes.  One of the features of various Joe eras is that they have unique looks in terms of the paint used and the manner in which masks are applied.  This desert Viper is able to bridge some of these eras because the classic paint application hearkens back to the vintage timeline.

One unique aspect of the first wave of Red Laser Army Vipers is that racial variants exist.  They are not just heads, since the figures have bare arms.  So, even helmeted, you can have diversity in your Viper ranks.  You will see two versions in the photos below.  This is another homage to Hasbro's diversity attempts of the early 2000's in the army building sets of that time.  Sadly, the skin tone variants were phased out for later RLA Viper repaints.  But, this desert figure (and some of his contemporary Viper paint jobs) has at least two skin/hair color variants.

These Vipers included three accessories.  The unique release is the removable helmet.  Hasbro never made this accessory.  So, it is all new and only available on the Red Laser Army releases.  The figure then includes a black facsimile of the classic 1986 Viper backpack.  The hallmark, of course, is the return of the 1986 Viper rifle.  This was missing from every Hasbro release after the 1989 Python Patrol Viper included a black version.  The RLA rifle is grey.  But, it's a darker grey than the vintage Hasbro releases.  It's also made of a more rigid plastic that has a distinct feel and sound when it's handled.  All of the RLA vipers included the same rifle. It's return, though, helped spark interest in these figures as the missing original gun was one of collector's biggest gripes about the 2000's era Hasbro Viper releases.

There are quite a few paint jobs of the Red Laser Army Viper figures.  Aside from the army builders that started it all, there were some private runs of figures that are fairly hard to find as well as the mold's inclusion in the "full" set of RLA figures.  There's more than a dozen repaints of the RLA figures that are available.  Some are very similar to others.  And, some of the obscure paint references didn't translate all that well to the Viper sculpt.  But, there are also some gems.  I find the desert to be my personal favorite.  But, as I was living in the desert at the time, the usefulness of the figure to me was likely greater than it was for most other collectors.  

Pricing on these figures is tough.  All the early Red Laser Army Viper repaints sit unsold in the $40 range.  So, their value is well below that.  If you can find some left to the open market, they're about $20 figures.  Which, frankly, seems low for such high quality releases that had so little permeation into the collector community.  But, the dark ages of factory customs that occurred between 2012 and 2017 is filled with some obscure, but high quality figure releases that are all but forgotten by the collecting world.  Many, though, are definitely worth tracking down.  You just have to spend a little bit of time trying to find them.

2019 Night Force Snake Eyes - Black Major Exclusive

I've looked at two of the many flavors of the Black Major V2 Snake Eyes figures already.  There isn't much to say about a mold that was criminally underused and is now the exact opposite.  But, sometimes, a figure hits you in a way you weren't expecting.  I'm not a huge fan of the vintage Night Force subset.  To me, all the figures look the same.  Having one or two in the Night Force colors is really cool.  But, having 12 of them is just a boring, banal team that really flies in the face of what Joe is supposed to be.  But, it remains the most popular vintage Joe subset and really is something that needed a few more members.  Especially when you consider that Snake Eyes was not part of the original team.  Fortunately, Black Major corrected that in 2019.

On the one hand, Snake Eyes' absence from Night Force in non-sensical.  Of any Joe, Snake Eyes seems the singular, logical choice to either lead the team or at least be part of it.  I can only imagine what the pricing would be today had the 1985 Snake Eyes mold gotten its only repaint in the 1988 or 1989 Toys R Us exclusive Night Force sets.  But, his omission has more to do with the peculiarities of his release years and their lack of overlap with the TRU sets.  I actually have to give Hasbro credit for not including Snake Eyes in the 2004 Night Force set since Snake Eyes was overused at the time.  Though, the 1989 Snake Eyes mold in 2004 Night Force green might have been pretty cool.

The 1985 Snake Eyes holds a prominent place in my collection.  In 1985, I was reading the Joe comic and was well versed in Snake Eyes being the most prominent character.  His new figure personified everything that kids of that era wanted Snake Eyes to be.  He was still a commando at heart.  But, now had a ninja element, too, so he could battle the best Cobra figure ever released in the 1984 Stormshadow.  As such, to me, the 1985 sculpt is Snake Eyes.  Even moreso than his 1982 original design.  The placement of this figure at such a prominent point of my childhood blinded me to the obvious weaknesses in the figure's design, though.

As Black Major repainted the mold in a variety of colors, my blinders to the sculpt began to fade away.  I would now see that the head is a little bizarre, with the sculpted mouth.  The figure also has a little pooch in his stomach.  These flaws, though, were offset by finally seeing the mold painted in a way that accentuated the details that made us all fall in love with the figure back in 1985.  So, I still hold 1985 Snake Eyes repaints in higher regard than they might deserve.  There's something about this mold that remains magical due to its prominent placement during my childhood.  It's helpful to understand those old feelings and how they shape my view of toys based on the classic figure.  And, it's why I try to stay out of very valid debates about how good this figure actually is.  To me, I can't have a rational debate over a toy that was so central in my formative years.

It's interesting to me that I've owned a version of the 1985 Snake Eyes for 40 years, now.  Despite that, I still don't feel I've ever adequately appreciated the figure.  It always seems like I can not do anything that lives up to the greatness of this mold.  Photos don't do it justice.  Paint jobs make it better, but it still seems like there's more to be done.  This is legacy that is hanging on from childhood.  The result of these inadequacies is that I don't use 1985 Snake Eyes figures as often as I should.  He'd work great in many photos.  But, I end up taking one of the repaint era figures based on the 1991 or 1983 Snake Eyes instead.  With those figures, I never worry about capturing the essence of the figure in a perfect way.  With the 1985 mold, I want to do that.  And, I've scrapped many photos and writings about the 1985 mold for that very reason.

This Night Force version of the figure got a bit of use for a while.  I loved the added colors on the character.  But, since then, the figure has stagnated.  I haven't taken a photo of him in years.  Other Snake Eyes colorings have grabbed my attention and are more likely to be used.  And, I'm not sure why that is.  I still really enjoy this color scheme on the mold.  But, it suffers from the general malaise that I feel towards using this classic look for Snake Eyes.  I'll choose other Snake Eyes costumes long before I turn to the '85.  In some ways, I should rectify that.  The '85 is still my preferred look for Snake Eyes.  And, using some of these older Black Major colors does give photos more flair.  It's supposed to rain tomorrow.  Maybe, I'll take this figure down to the creek and try to find a cool spot for a showcase.  

Aside from one detail, this Snake Eyes uses colors that are callbacks to the vintage Night Force figures.  The black base and grey pants match up with the standard motif of the vintage era.  And, the green highlights hearken back to the Toys R Us figures using that color, too.  None of the colors on the Snake Eyes are an exact match for the vintage figures, though.  He's one of those guys who looks good on his own.  But, if you posed him with the '88 or '89 figures, you'd notice that his coloring is off.  The main difference, though, is the red visor.  The red is somewhat of an homage to the red highlights used on Night Force vehicles and isn't a feature of the vintage figures.  It actually kind of works for me, though.  It gives the Snake Eyes more visual distinction from his other figures.  And, it also allows you to use this as an alternate look for Snake Eyes rather than just a Night Force addition.

My favorite element of this Snake Eyes is his accessory color.  While the figure includes the full complement of 1985 Snake Eyes gear (backpack, Uzi, sword and wolf), it is the base, brown color of the figure's gear that is most striking.  The rich hue isn't often seen.  And, while it may not make sense for a sword or firearm, it looks cool.  I'm a sucker for oddball accessory colors.  And, this Snake Eyes pulls it off with aplomb.  (There's tons of Black Major Snake Eyes gear available in more standard colors, now, should you want to give the figure more traditional weapon colors.)  The brown is a nice offset to the black and green base.  It complements the figure's coloring and gives him even more pizazz.  

The Night Force Snake Eyes is of decent quality.  In 2020, the Snake Eyes mold began to wear out.  And, some of the later paint jobs tend to have loose arms.  But, that doesn't affect this Night Force version.  The backpack mold, though, has a flaw that prevents the sword from fitting into the slots.  It's annoying as it renders one of the better features of Snake Eyes' accessories moot.  You can awkwardly slide it in, sideways.  But, it's precarious, at best.  Aside from this, though, the figure is solid and works very well with vintage figures.

When this figure was first released, he was only available to those who purchased an entire 9 figure set of Snake Eyes repaints.  After that, a few select figures were raffled off.  And, a few were sold on auction sites.  Those figures started over $100 and continued to sell for $70+ for quite some time.  By the fall of 2019, though, the figure had fallen in price and you could get one under $30 at online auction sites.  As with all Black Major figures, future pricing is tough.  Were there fewer Night Force Snake Eyes figures made than the other repaints that were released at the same time?  Will collectors continue to want this particular paint job when there are, literally, at least 18* others to choose from?  If you like the figure and find it at a price you like, snatch it up.  The one constant is that after factory customs sell out, they get harder to find.  So, even if the figure drops in price, tracking one down might be worth the extra bucks today.

*I started writing this profile in April of 2020.  I just got around to finishing it, more than 5 years later.  Now, there's dozens of '85 Snake Eyes repaints available.  Some are great.  Some are bad.  And, some are weird.  But, there's something for everyone.  This Night Force version sits, unsold, at $40.  And, his contemporaries seem to have settled in the $25-$30 range.  That's a good starting point should you want to buy this Snake Eyes in 2025.

2017 Cobra Soldado - Around The Web

When the first factory custom Cobra Troopers appeared, there was one, single design that I wanted to see: an homage to the Brazilian Cobra Soldado.  The brighter blue on that figure was always visually distinctive and appealing.  It's a rare situation where the different color was still a perfect match for Joe figures.  Finally, in 2017, we got the first Soldado release.  The blue isn't a 100% match for the real figure from Brazil.  But, it works well enough.  And, it remains one of my favorite Cobra Trooper repaints.

The two best early Brazilian repaints were the Cobra De Aco and the Soldado.  (Though, Athena is pretty good, too.)  But, they were both straight arms.  Making them useless as toys.  While we're still waiting for a proper, swivel arm De Aco, this 2017 figure finally gave us a swivel arm Cobra Soldado.  I've never understood the appeal of straight arm figures.  I find them useless and don't even collect them.  So, having a swivel arm Soldado finally gave me the enemy force I'd been craving to battle against my later Brazilian Joes.

There's not a ton of content on this figure out there.  Like most of the late 2010's factory customs, the content of his release era has been buried by the algorithms and few people still use him.  Some of the photos are of later edition Soldados who came out in the 2020's.  They are equally nice.  After checking these guys out, let me know in the comments which repaint of the Cobra Trooper is your personal favorite.

2017 Cobra Soldado Profile

2017 Cobra Soldado by gen_liederkranz

2017 Cobra Soldado by cyko_9

2017 Cobra Soldado by Nekoman

2017 Cobra Soldado by sintechness

2017 Cobra Soldado by hobieshinobi

2017 Cobra Soldado by slipstream80

2017 Cobra Soldado by sintechness

2017 Commando (Red Laser Army) Around the Web

Red Laser Army was a great combination of ambitious and obscure.  They were willing to take big swings on large sets of figures.  And, many of them were dedicated to G.I. Joe ephemera that was buried in the deepest recesses of collectordom.  The Commando figure is based on a sticker set from 1982 that featured a gloveless Snake Eyes wearing green and camo instead of his trademark black.  The figure was one of the highlights of the 2017 Red Laser Army figure set.  It quickly found a strong life among the creators of the time.  It's hard to fathom that this figure was released 8 years ago.  And, much of the content that once featured Commando have fallen into the abyss of social media.  I was able to find some solid content featuring the figure.  

Commando remains a great figure.  It's a perfect look for an alternate Snake Eyes.  The figure works well with other Red Laser Army figures, too.  You do still see Commando from time to time.  He's more common than most of his 2017 classmates.  But, even my use of him has diminished in recent years.  Most of the photos below are a couple of years old, at least.  I should try to use him and other Red Laser Army figures more frequently.  Until then, enjoy the content below.

Commando Profile

Commando at Attica Gazette

Commando by billykessler

Commando y gen_liederkranz

Commando by Slipstream80

Commando by viper_space

Commando by kickstart_joe

Commando by gen_liederkranz

Commando by darth_beotch

Commando by gijoe_manila_ph

Commando by specialmissionforce

Commando by kickstart_joe

2020 Night Force Snake Armor - Black Major

I do not like the Snake armor.  I hated it as a kid and it has been completely and utterly irrelevant to me for over 40 years.  But, one of the things that helps us grow as people it to take another look at something we dislike and try to understand why we dislike and if the circumstances around that dislike warrant another evaluation of our opinion.  It's something good to do with political views, social conventions and even the people in and around your life.  So, when Black Major produced Snake Armors in 2020, I saw an opportunity to pick one up and see if my childhood bias against the toy held up.  In this case, I'm actually looking at a Night Force version of the Snake armor.  I'm not sure why there's a Night Force version.  But, it was cheap and included a Stormshadow repaint I wanted.  And, the base colors are Cobra enough that it solved my need for a sample of the Snake that would help determine if I've been wrong for the last 4 decades.

The Snake came out in 1983.  It was a cheap toy that was meant to fill the price gap between a figure and base vehicle.  At the time, Hasbro ensured Joe toys existed within price points so that G.I. Joe toys were a possibility for any level of gift giver.  And, because of this, my brothers and I got no less than 3 Snakes between birthdays and Christmas in the fall of 1983.  By that point, I was completely engrossed in G.I. Joe and they were the only toys I really played with. So, ostensibly, any Joe toy would have been an awesome addition to my toy room.  But, Snakes were not.  From the get go, I found them useless.  The last thing I wanted was a suit that limited articulation on my figures.  I could easily imagine some force shield that offered all the power of a Snake without limiting my ability to pose the figures any way I wanted.  But, the most damning aspect of the toy was that, in order to use it, it took a figure out of rotation.  Someone had to be inside the suit for the thing to work.

So, now we get the crux of the issue.  Pretty much anyone reading this would say, "What about the exoskeleton included with the Snake that allowed it to be set without a figure?!?".  Usually, this would be prefaced or ended with the word dummy.  (Or, your expletive of choice.)  But, we'll save that.  Because, you see, I didn't know about the exo skeleton piece.  In all three of our Snakes, that little part was tossed with the leftover sprues.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it was the zeal of opening something new.  Or, I was just a moron who missed it.  But, I didn't know this part existed for a many years.  So, this is the part where you call me a dummy.  

But, to be fair, this was not the end of the Snake for me.  In time, certain Cobra figures got broken.  Even as a kid, I could not abide by figures with broken crotches or thumbs.  So, when a Cobra Officer was damaged, it made perfect sense for him to slide into the Snake as the operator.  This allowed me to use the Snake.  But, it also didn't cost me a figure since someone already broken was no longer considered part of my actual collection.  But, even with this addition of a figure, I found the Snake lacking.  Like the MANTA, the Snake didn't stay together all that well when you actually played with it.  And, the lack of poseability still killed it.  In short, the Snake couldn't manage to find a way into my adventures.

In 1984, I started buying the Joe comic.  In short order, I found a local comic book shop and started buying back issues of the Joe issues.   Eventually, I came across issue #19.  Here, Dr. Venom put Kwinn and Snake Eyes into the Snakes and had them attack the G.I. Joe Headquarters.  I had a few problems with this issue.  First, Dr. Venom kept referring the Hiss Tank being "Cobra blue".  As the Hiss was canonically black, I found this a glaring error.  Second, it didn't make sense to me that Kwinn and Snake Eyes would have their bodies controlled, but still have clear enough minds to shoot the locks on the suit.  Finally, it was self defeating to have these invincible suits who could be cracked open by a guy who somehow managed to get a remote controlled machine gun to fire manually.  The upside, though, was that the terrible suits were proven very ineffective.  And, in my mind, my dislike of Snakes as a toy and a concept were codified in the comic forever.

But, at its core, my dislike of the Snake went deeper.  Generally, I was not a fan of robots.  For some reason, I never got the robot bug.  This manifested itself in 1986 when I found the BAT a fairly lame toy and character.  BATs were fun for about 4 minutes before Sgt. Slaughter would slip behind them, shoot them in the back and watch them burst into flame...rendering them absolutely useless.  I was shocked to find my friends and even random kids at the store who LOVED BATs.  I didn't get the fascination with robots.  And, I still don't.  I see collectors going ga-ga over mechs and things and I simply don't understand the appeal.  But, to me, the humanity of the characters was a driving force in my play.  So, even in my days of playing with Star Wars figures, I rarely found the robots interesting.  Monsters and aliens could be given personality.  But, I just didn't click with robots.  And, to this day, I find anything that heavily features robots to be kind of boring.

The Black Major Snakes are very well done.  They are of high quality and display nicely.  The paint masks are crisp and the rainbow of colors allow even curmudgeons like myself to find something of interest.  Snake accessories tended to break on the vintage toys.  With the Black Major figures, the risk is still there.  But, the attachments fit snugly and work very well with the arms.  The parts fit together without falling apart.  And, even with the exo skeleton inside, the toy stands and functions just fine.  

There are tons of Black Major paint variants of Snakes available.  A few colors were even metallicized and you can get shining versions that look like Christmas ornaments if you are so inclined.  The original Snake had an interesting life.  Hasbro released the white version in 1983.  Then, in 1985, they repainted it into a blue version.  I have no idea why the Snake got this treatment when other, far better vehicles in the price point did not.  But, the blue Snake exists and is somewhat rare.  In Europe, Palitoy released a red Snake named the Escape Armor for the Red Shadows.  Of course, it's highly desirable and expensive.  Funskool finally released the Snake in the 1990's.  There are various hues, the most famous being a gray version.  Again, this is hard to find and you'll pay a premium for one.  So, for a crappy, crappy toy, there are tons of variants out there.  Yet, there are only two Flight Pods and one real coloring for the CLAW....

Black Major Snakes dried up pretty quickly.  While you can still find them, the initial assortment sold out far faster than I would have thought.  All this proves is that my take on the Snake is the minority opinion in the community and the design is generally well liked.  Less desirable colors of the Snake are still available in the $12 range.  But, some of the most desirable colors almost never appear for sale and will command a premium.  For me, it was easy to get one like this Night Force version because it was more about having one Snake to review than having the right colors.  If you're a Snake fan, that might not be the case.  

Sky Patrol Steel Brigade - Red Laser Army

I'm not a great fan of the Steel Brigade.  But, every now and then, a repaint of a bad figure or bad idea comes along that redeems the figure or character in my eyes.  In 2017, this occurred with a Red Laser Army release of the Steel Brigade done in up in a combo of silverish grey and blue.  This "Sky Patrol" version of the anonymous Joe army builder was a new look for the character and created a striking color contrast that really worked with the mold.  The colors matched up well enough with vintage Sky Patrol figures and created a great little subset of figures with which a Sky Patrol army could be built.  While this figure hasn't removed the stigma of Steel Brigade in general, it has allowed me an opportunity to enjoy the mold more so than I have with most other repaints.

Sky Patrol has also long been a concept to which I've been cool.  Even during my heyday of buying Joes, I only ever got a couple of the figures.  Now, I have just two of them.  It was never a subset that really clicked for me.  And, I'm not a big fan of the Steel Brigade, either.  Yet, together, the concepts mesh extremely well.  The idea of support troops for a unit that I kind of see as ancillary to G.I. Joe rather than integrated within it works for me.  

Somehow, the Steel Brigade mold ended up being released by both Black Major and Red Laser.  Each made different color schemes.  So, that created a wide variety for the character.  In very short order, there were desert, arctic, black, blue and even Action Force Steel Brigade figures released.  The plethora of army building options allowed collectors to fill out their Steel Brigade armies.  Some were great repaints.  Others were just OK.  Personally, I found this blue and silver version to be the most compelling.  The colors aren't often seen in the Joe line.  And, the Sky Patrol figures that debuted the color scheme no longer call my collection home.  So, the colors were even more unique to me.

When I first saw this Sky Patrol rendition of the Steel Brigade, my first thought was that they'd make a solid crew for the Tomahawk.  The blue and silver shouldn't work with the brown helicopter.  But, that was my main thought about usage for the figures.  I suspect that the connection was just a manifestation of my desire to use the Tomahawk more.  But, with the figures in hand, I still didn't do anything with the Tomahawk.  Even today, I have yet to put it together, again.  I will do it at some point.  And, then, I'll finally take photos of the iconic chopper with their crew.  Until then, I often look at these Steel Brigade figures with grandiose ideas in my head.  And, I then utterly fail to properly showcase how cool the figures are in any attempt at photos.  

Sadly, these Steel Brigade figures suffer from a design flaw.  The hands are extremely small.  So small that they won't really hold the rifles without either modifying the rifle or modifying the hands.  Both are bad options.  And, it really limits these figures since it's very difficult to get them to hold their weapons without risking thumb breakage.  Aside from that, though, the quality is very good.  The plastic is different from vintage and repaint era Hasbro plastic.  So, you'll notice it once in hand.  But, the joints are tight and the paint masks are crisp.  So, the these Steel Brigades work well in a collection.

The figures included a nice complement of accessories.  The coolest piece was the silver backpack.  It is a cool color that works perfectly with the figure.  He also includes a small pistol and knife.  I'm not 100% sure of the origin of these sculpts.  They are Joe-adjacent and not reproductions of vintage Joe gear.  The coup de gras, though, was the inclusion of a black Steel Brigade rifle.  This rifle was highly desired outside of the baby blue in which it debuted with Recoil back in 1989.  And, for the first decade of online Joe collecting, it was acquirable.  But, that had changed by 2017.  So, being able to acquire large quantities of properly colored versions of the weapon was the real value in the figure.  As the very common version "D" Steel Brigade was my entry point to the character, I only consider the Recoil weapon as the viable weapon for any Steel Brigades.  So, it's great to have it included with this version.

In the late 2010's, Black Major produced a dozen or so repaints of the Steel Brigade.  Simultaneously, Red Laser Army released another 1/2 dozen, give or take, repaints of the mold.  Black Major's figures included an alternate, Airborne torso to help differentiate your armies.  The Red Laser figures, though, did not.  Black Major's figures also included an Airborne rifle while Red Laser Army included a more modernly sculpted pistol that didn't fit into the figure's hands.  Between the two factions, there were more than enough Steel Brigades to go around.  But, after the initial runs were completed, the molds disappeared from both sellers.  In 2023, Black Major brought the Steel Brigades back with a newly updated mold.  Again, many new repaints were produced.  The Airborne torso was gone.  But, the new figures filled in gaps that had been missing for nearly 40 years.  

Sadly, Sky Patrol Steel Brigade figures have pretty much dried up.  You could buy lots of three figures for $12 each for a long time.  But, those days are gone.  And, all of the Red Laser Steel Brigade flavors have gotten much harder to find.  You can expect to pay in excess of $30 for one of the figures these days.  The popularity of Steel Brigade in general, the high quality of this figure and the usefulness of this specialty within the Steel Brigade ranks all add up to a desirable acquisition for newer collectors.  It's really amazing to me how much the Joe world changed between 2017 and 2020.  That short span fundamentally altered the landscape of collecting from an affordable past time to a speculative collectible with a high cost of entry.  It's too bad.  Because, figures like this Steel Brigade were designed to be an affordable way to build the army you always wanted as a kid.  Now, they're single purchases that get tucked away in drawers or boxes and check off a box on a spreadsheet.  It's fun to recall these days of Red Laser Army as they speak to a simpler time in the collecting world.  I think this figure represents the innocence of that era and the potential that still existed in the line.

 

2018 Red Laser Army Redmack

I've talked about the rare second series of Plastirama figures many times.  I've looked at them both as rarities and as factory custom releases.  The thing about that series of 6 (yes, 6!!!!) figures is that the four good guys (Redmack, Shimik, Manleh and Topson) all look like they could easily have been transitional Hasbro figures made between 1982 and 1983.  They would have introduced some color to the mostly green 1982 lineup while still staying loyal to the construction and parts limitations of the original 13 Joe figures.  (Glenda and the Cobra Mortal using chrome parts make them less integrated to the aesthetic of the original 13.)  It is within this context that I find the most interest among these Argentine characters.  I can see them as early Joes.  Maybe they didn't make the cut.  Or, maybe they were wiped out by Cobra back when they were a more fanatical and cultish organization ruled by a mass murderer.  It wasn't something that I really had to ponder too deeply prior to 2018, though, as the original figures from Argentina were straight arm, often off conditioned and brittle and, most importantly, stupidly expensive.  Fortunately, Red Laser Army solved these issues with his release of Redmack, Topson,  Manleh and Shimik in 2018.

Redmack was the member of the 2nd series of Plastirama figures in which I had the least interest.  He didn't really resonate with me.  I felt that Manleh was the most intriguing.  Glenda was a visual treat.  Shimik had the most drastic look to blend with traditional, Hasbro Joes.  Topson and Redmack, though, were just kind of...there.  I saw them like I saw Short Fuse.  They were figures who were part of a small team.  But, they didn't really bring anything to the team that wasn't already offered by other, cooler figures.  Upon my acquisition of this Red Laser Army Redmack, though, I started to see more value in the figure.  The browns are different than anything that exists on swivel head Joes.  And, the offsetting aqua-green highlights really set him off as more visually distinctive than most of his contemporaries.  With that, I found that Redmack had some value in photos and as an ancillary character to have in the background.

I didn't really see him as a machine gunner, though.  Early Joes have that position covered with Rock and Roll and Roadblock.  Redmack is redundant in that regard.  But, his colors necessitate him having some purpose.  When I found that Battle Gear Breaker gear looked good on him, I went in that direction in some photos.  But, I also outfit Shimik with comms gear.  So, I now had two characters who were redundant to Breaker.  So, for now, I have no idea what Redmack's real role actually is.  I'll probably just continue to use him as a utility player who can take on any position or specialty as a photo necessitates.  It's not bad to have some figures who aren't pigeon-holed into their specialties.  It's in that context that Redmack will have the most value.

I've always been fascinated by how foreign exclusive figures came to be.  Were they abandoned Hasbro designs?  How much latitude did licensees have to make changes or all new characters?  These are questions that are likely to go unanswered.  (And, if they are ever answered, it will be someone conveniently "remembering" 40 year old details to coincide with the paycheck of a book that will sell a few thousand self published copies to desperate collectors who are unlikely to scrutinize the claims the book makes....)  But, seeing so many exclusive characters in one short produced series makes you wonder what the circumstances of their release and low production numbers actually were.

If you look at Redmack's card artwork, it looks nothing like the figure.  While the character is angrily pointing his M-60 at the sky, you see that Redmack's original design used the Short Fuse/Zap torso.  This kind of makes sense since all 4 of the characters who were released used the same grenade and knife chest.  It makes you wonder why the change was made and if the artwork or figure was designed first.  You'll also note that he has a mustache and appears to be darker in complexion than the blonde headed figure actually is.  Plastirama took a chance by altering the skin color of Manleh and Shimik.  I wish they had done the same with Redmack.  He and Topson took no chances with the head paint.  And, as such, just look like alternate uniforms for Breaker and Short Fuse.  Maybe that's not bad.  But, seeing such similarity on two heads in a series that also featured Shimik and Manleh is disappointing.

2018 Red Laser Army figures are fairly decent quality.  But, they aren't without issues.  You'll notice that my Redmack's upper right arm isn't glued together.  Small quality issues like these aren't unheard of with Red Laser figures from this series.  So, be sure to check photos of any figure you are about to acquire.  Otherwise, the figures are very nice.  Redmack is odd in that his shirtcuffs are flesh painted.  The original figure wasn't like this.  I'm not sure how they ended up this way.  But, it does take away from Redmack's visual to see this paint application.  The plastic is good quality, though.  And, unlike the 2017 series, the 2018 figures can hold weapons with no fear of thumb breakage.  

My biggest gripe about the 2018 Red Laser Army series was the relative lack of accessories.  Redmack suffers for this.  While he does include his M-60 and bi-pod like the original figure, that's all he includes.  1982 Joe heads that were designed for helmets need helmets.  Without them, it just looks like you have an incomplete figure.  Redmack not having a helmet really limits him because all you can see if the Hawk/Short Fuse head.  A brown helmet gives him some cover and diminishes some of the imposter syndrome.  Fortunately, it's easy to find 1983 Battle Gear brown helmets.  And, they are a pretty good replacement to use with Redmack.  With just the weapons included with them, the RLA homages are less impressive.  It's not great to need to alternate gear to make a figure worthwhile.  But, the upside to all the RLA figures is that many of them are nice matches for otherwise useless Battle Gear accessories.  So, you can make Redmack more useful with some cheap and easy to find upgrades.

As a character, Redmack is fairly limited.  There are expensive Convention releases of the character in the 25th Anniversary figure format.  There are two vintage Redmacks.  The original debuted in Argentina where Plastirama released him.  Shortly thereafter, the figure was moved to Venezuela where Rubiplas also released him.  The Rubiplas version features slight color alterations and includes a brown Doc helmet.  Both of those figures are straight arms, though.  Red Laser Army released the only swivel version in 2018.  And, that's all you have in regards to the character and his unique look.  

Redmack figures have dried up.  It was pretty easy to find them for 5 years or so after their release.  They were expensive.  But, they were available.  Now, though, it's tough to find him or any of the other RLA homage figures.  The upside, though, is that the market is starting to freefall.  Even before recent months, though, Redmacks were about $30 figures.  Considering new releases for factory customs run $24, $30 doesn't seem ridiculous.  But, now, I'd absolutely wait out the market.  Supply is going explode in the next 12 months.  And, just like what happened back in 2009-2012, prices will swiftly adjust: downward.  In the meantime, you aren't missing much by not having this figure.  Glenda never getting a factory custom leaves your Plastirama team incomplete.  And, outside of an oddity, Redmack isn't really a necessary addition to any collection.  

2018 Cobra Trooper Driver - Red Laser's Army

One of the great things about the 1982 Cobra Troopers and Officers was that they were completely compatible with all the Cobra vehicles of the era.  You could drop one into the FANG, HISS, Stinger or Rattler and the figure would look perfectly in place in whatever position you chose to use the figure.  They were the everyman of the enemy line.  As figure designs progressed, though, more specialization was introduced.  And, in just a few years, Cobra was a highly diversified army with figure and vehicle pairings that were less general and more specific.  (To be fair, the Joe side of the equation was similar.)  As kids of the '80's turned into adult collectors, though, there was a demand for more of the simpler offerings.  And, while Hasbro was able to deliver some Cobra Troopers and Officers, more support staff in their vein didn't actually come around until 2023.  Where Hasbro failed, though, factory custom makers thrived.  And, during the 2010's, we saw every color of Cobra Trooper imaginable from Black Major.  Red Laser Army, though, took the next step.  And, offered not only some basic Troopers in different uniforms, but also a few specialty Troopers who could fill in gaps from the vintage line.  This Cobra Trooper Driver might be the most useful of the designs.

The design aspect that makes this figure a driver is the introduction of the 1982 Clutch torso.  Clutch had one of the most memorable torsos among the original 13 Joes.  (He's tied with Steeler with just the single use for his parts.)  And, Hasbro never reused it for other characters.  That ties the chest piece to the driver specialty and allows collectors to instantly associate this figure with being a driver.  One on hand, the selling point of the original Cobras was that they didn't reuse Joe parts.  But,  for 30 years influential custom makers have been putting Cobra heads on original 13 Joe bodies to great effect.  So, the Hasbro precedent was usurped by the fan community's ingenuity.  And, it carried over to the 2018 Red Laser releases of this driver and the machine gunner Trooper who used the classic Rock and Roll torso.

The figure's coloring is vibrant.  The blue is much brighter and more powerful than the drabber Hasbro colors.  So, that makes these figures pop in photos.  The blue is offset by an equally powerful silver that's used on the accents.  I'm not sure why a driver needs a bomb on his leg (the legs were originally those for the the original Snake Eyes) but it gives the figure a much needed swath of color on his legs.  The grey and black on the torso are reminiscent of the Stinger Driver and help tie this figure to the first Cobra driver from 1984.  The short sleeves are also a Clutch homage.  They feature a relatively faint Cobra logo on the right arm.  (It tends to float up onto the rivet.)  The face is highlighted by a red mask.  Red mask Cobras appeared in the comic and were a stark difference from the black masked toys.  Most collectors have assumed the red masks as a classic, though.  And, the red also provides some strong color to the figure.  The one downside is that the entire lower leg is cast in black.  This was surely done as a cost savings.  For this figure, the look is acceptable and less ostentatious than on other figures.  But, it is something that can drive some collectors batty and is worth noting.

The blue color of the Red Laser Cobra Troopers has upside and downside.  The good thing is that the 2017 and 2018 Troopers that Red Laser produced match with each other.  So, you can get a nice squad of specialty Troopers that all blend together very nicely.  The downside, though, is that the blue color doesn't match any other early Cobra figures.  So, these figs are not a great complement to early Cobras.  Together, they look great.  But, when you try to mix and match them with classic Cobra blues, the lighter color really stands out.  The brighter blue color, though, is still a great complement to the classic black and red vehicles from Cobra's earliest years.  So, these drivers look right at home in a Stinger.

During the repaint era (1997-2010ish), Hasbro never resculpted the Clutch torso.  They made lots of other parts, often parts that were already existing.  So, the choice to not bring back a sparsely used fan favorite is bizarre.  One thing they did have, though, was the 1984 Thunder mold.  The Cobra Trooper or Officer head would have looked great atop the Thunder body.  And, repainted in Cobra blue, it would have made for an amazing updated Cobra Trooper that could have served as a vehicle driver.  Just one of these in the 2004 Cobra Infantry set would have been a great replacement for one of the Cobra Officers.  But, it was not to be.  Seeing the Clutch torso used for a driver, I do think that Thunder would have been a better choice for a new amalgamation.  

Which brings me to the final judgment of these figures.  And, it really comes down to the fact that the idea of a Cobra Driver using the Clutch torso seems like a better figure than it actually makes.  Despite being excited to own these guys, I've found that I rarely use them.  Each time I look at them, I just feel like they should offer something...more than they do.  I mean, the design is fine and the figure is pretty much perfect for it's intended usage.  Despite that, it's not a default choice for me, even when I'm yanking the Stinger out for a photo.  It could be that this torso was used on so many different Red Laser Army figures in the 2018 series that it lost some of its impact.  It could be that I'm just getting old and finally getting a figure I'd wanted for 20 years was somewhat of a letdown.  At its core, this is a very good figure.  It just doesn't inspire me like I had hoped it would.  

This figure included two accessories.  Both were originally seen on the 1984 Firefly.  The driver included a grey walkie/talkie and a grey sub machine gun.  The colors are unique.  But, also very light.  I don't find the rifle to be a great fit for this figure.  (The walkie/talkie does make some sense, though.)  But, truthfully, the Firefly weapon was kind of ruined by its constant appearances in the 1998-2005 Joe repaint line.  Here, the rifle was used ad naseum and I'm still burned out on it.  I've found that Red Laser Army's grey Uzis based on the 1982 Snake Eyes weapon or the grey Mac-11 based on the 1984 Mutt's pistol to be much better fits for these drivers.  Red Laser Army accessories remain cheap and available to this day, too.  So, you can get some more fitting weapons for the Driver should you come across one.

Red Laser Army upped their figure quality quite a bit in 2018.  Gone were the loose upper arm seals and the hands that couldn't hold weapons.  This Driver is closer to a vintage Joe than many other factory customs of the day.  He can hold his accessories and poses.  The joints are tight and the paint masks are crisp.  If you were hesitant to acquire any 2018 figures because of the issues with the 2017 series, that's not a feeling you should indulge.  The flaws were fixed and these figures work extremely well in any collection.  

It's not terribly easy, these days, to find these figures.  All the original resellers of Red Laser products are long sold out of their extra stock.  And, few collectors are liquidating their extras these days.  You can find the figures for sale by dealers for around $30.  But, they don't sell.  So, this is, more likely, a $20 figure or so.  But, it will take you a while to track one down.  Which is both a shame and, kind of, OK.  It's a neat figure to own.  But, it's also not essential.  The Driver is a fun way to expand a collection and bring some visual diversity to your army.  But, he doesn't fill a role that isn't already taken up by a vintage design.  When these guys were $12, you could take a flyer on one and not have risked too much if you didn't end up liking it.  If $20 or more is an amount you're comfortable with, then,  it makes sense to pick one of these guys up and see if it's more appealing to you.

Night Viper - Grey (Black Major Version)

We can argue whether the default Cobra color is blue, red or even purple.  (Seriously, there's more purple Cobras than other colors.)  But, everyone will agree that Cobra's principle color isn't green.  There were just two vintage green Cobras that both appeared in 1989: the Aero Viper and the Night Viper.  Both figures are highly regarded as the color can work in small doses.  The dark green palette works for the specialty of the Night Viper.  But, there are many other color schemes that would have also fit the mold.  Hasbro never saw fit to repaint the Night Viper and he remained one of the more desirable vintage army builders for many years.  In the late 2010s, factory custom maker the Black Major released several series of Night Viper repaints.  All showcased the untapped potential of the Night Viper mold.  The paint job I've found most useful, though, is a grey and black color combo.  The grey hearkens back to the Stinger Driver from the vintage line and fits with the iconic Cobra vehicles from the line's early years.

I've recounted my discovery of the Night Viper before.  He was, though, the only figure I purchased at retail between early 1988 and December of 1992.  His pristine cardback with bubble still attached sat inside a small Banana Republic brown paper shopping bag on the top shelf of the closet in my childhood room for nearly two decades.  While I never really got to use the figure, his top notch design kept him as someone that held more value to me than most of my post-childhood Joes.  As an adult, I acquired a nice squad of Funskool Night Vipers that were my core Cobra army for a few years while we waited on Hasbro to finally get some diverse army building molds into production.  

In time, though, that novelty waned.  I had less interest in a Night Viper army because I had other figures that became available.  But, when I liquidated a huge chunk of my collection in the early 2010's, I kept all the Night Vipers.  I saved my four vintage figures.  And, kept my entire Funskool army.  (It helped that Funskool figures were worthless at the time and I've have sold them for less than my $4/figure cost.)  So, even as the figure fell out of favor from a usage standpoint, it remained a viable army in my collection.  Every now and then again, I get the urge to get the old Night Vipers out and relive their heyday as the pre-eminent Cobras in my legions.  But, you'll see that Night Viper appearances are few and far between.  Heck, the photos in this profile are at least 3 years old and I don't have any newer ones to supplement them.

This figure is pretty basically colored.  His body is a silverish-grey with black highlights.  Aside from a small, silver belt buckle and the small green and yellow logo on his left arm, the figure is two tonal.  But, in this context, the figure works.  His paint masks match the vintage Night Viper and this figure very much feels like something Hasbro could have made during the vintage run.  While additional painted details would have been nice, they are less necessary for some repaints due to their ties to the vintage figure's appearance.  

For gear, the Black Major Night Vipers match with the vintage figures.  He includes the classic rifle: complete with strap to go over his arm and the weird holes to affix the rifle to the Night Viper's legs.  The Night Viper backpack is there, though it's kind of underwhelming due to the original design.  The figure features both the face shield and the monocle that attaches to it.  The face shields are the biggest source of consternation for these figures.  The shields are difficult to get on and can either break or snap off the pegs that are on the figure's helmet.  Some colors work better than others.  But, they are all tight fits and take a bit of patience to get onto the figure's head without breaking something.  

The result of all this is a really nice repaint of a classic figure.  I'd hesitate to say that this grey Night Viper is better than the green version.  It's just different.  The green has many uses.  But, this grey version does, too.  He fits well with the Stinger, Hiss Tank or even the Night Watch.  And, it is nice to have a a grey figure from some of the later years to fill in gaps on Cobra vehicles when you want to use other figures who were released after 1984.  More importantly, it's a sensical color for both the mold and the character's specialty.  Grey and black is about as classic "night" as the Joe line gets.  So, seeing it on this Night Viper mold makes this release feel like it could have been a vintage Hasbro design.  For me, that's a huge plus when it comes to factory customs.

At this point in my collection, knowing that this figure exists and that I have a couple is where the value in him lies.  I don't really see me taking this guy out and using him in extensive photo shoots.  And, it's hard to get proper night shots where the figure really makes sense.  I like to take him and mingle him with 1989 or Funskool Night Vipers.  But, I rarely find the occasion warrants any photos to commemorate it.  I do enjoy the Night Viper mold.  It's one that I've never been able to fully appreciate because I had the figure in my teenage years but couldn't really appreciate him.  That's carried over to today and I generally feel that the Night Viper is a figure that I really should use more often.

Hasbro released one vintage Night Viper.  Some of his parts were used on the 1992 Heli-Viper: but in very odd colors.  After that, the mold went to India.  Funskool released the Night Viper for many, many years.  The figure was colored in similar style to the American figure and was a staple of online Joe dealers during the Funskool heyday.  (Funskool Night Vipers would sell out routinely throughout 2001 and even into 2002.  Guys bought them by the dozens.)  There are a few minor coloring variants on the figure and accessories.  But, the figure's main design doesn't stray from Hasbro's vision.  Hasbro got the Night Viper back in April of 2003.  His parts were then used for the 2005 Iron Grenadier convention figure.  And, in 2006, the club released an exclusive "not an army builder" Night Viper that was...in green.  So, even the newly painted version didn't really bring anything new to the mold other than some painted details.  Due to the club's use, the Night Viper didn't get picked for any retail sets...even though he was a natural fit for the Night Watch set.  Factory Custom makers re-creating the mold, though, has finally brought about the Night Viper repaints we've always wanted.  You can now get them in grey, tan, red, gold, blue, black, python patrol and even colored like the Alley Viper.  At this point, every Night Viper you could ever want is available.  So, the mold finally got its due.

The Night Viper series debuted as a higher price point figure from Black Major.  And, it's never really come down.  These days, it's pretty easy to find the less desirable Night Viper colorways.  They don't really seem to sell.  The earlier figures with many of the more collector friendly colors are much harder to track down.  You'll end up paying between $25 and $30 if you can find one.  Which, is probably too much.  As the market cools down, figures like this will be less desirable and should come up, from time to time, at cheaper prices.  You just have to be ready to pounce when one appears.  Until then, there's lots of other Night Vipers that are just fine to tide you over.