2006 Operation Flaming Moth Range Viper - Around The Web

After nearly 20 years, the stain of the old club is wearing off of figures like this Range Viper.  It's always been a quality release.  Maybe, even, the best paint job ever offered on the mold.  But, the entire "not an army builder" shenanigans have tainted the legacy of this figure since its release.  Newer collectors are unaware of how the club's hubris divided the Joe community and contributed to the demise of line.  It might be good that we're moving on from the nonsense of the early 2000's.  But, it's also important to not forget.  Lest, we see the mistakes of the club repeated.  (Which, they kind of were with the Pulse releases....)

That aside, this Range Viper is excellently done.  The desert motif actually befits the character.  And, desert Cobras were rare in the line.  So, having one available is nice.  And, while this figure was clearance fodder for years (even sitting unsold at 50% off...) it's now gotten expensive as newer collectors try to track them down.  There's some good stuff using this figure out there.  So, check him out!

2006 Range Viper Profile

2006 Range Viper by fosilru

2006 Range Viper by yovalleyjoe

2006 Range Vier by instachampa

2006 Range Viper by blast_gijoe

2006 Range Viper by plasticbattles

2006 Range Viper by LTCLAYMORE

2006 Range Viper by kushviper

2006 Range Viper by blast_gijoe

2006 Range Viper by instachampa

2006 Range Viper by yovalleyjoe

2006 Operation Flaming Moth Flak Viper - Around The Web

Back in 2015 and 2016, you could buy large lots of these figures from  Asia for a couple of bucks each.  As those sold out, you could get plenty of complete versions or $12 each.  Since then, the prices on these figures have gotten ridiculous.  Which makes little sense since these figures were hugely unpopular, were heavily clearanced and had overstock available for nearly a decade.  But, many of today's collectors have no concept of the line's history and can't imagine there are guys with dozens of these figures sitting a bucket, still thinking they are unwanted, cheap acquisitions.

There's little content on this Flak Viper any more.  Most of the items you'll see below have aged quite a bit.  Which is more about the changing nature of the collecting community than the quality of the figure itself.  So, check out all the content below for a glimpse of the past when the community was more vibrant.

2006 Flak Viper Profile

2006 Flak Viper by gen_liederkranz

2006 Flak Viper by fireflyed

2006 Flak Viper by yovalleyjoe

2006 Flak Viper by nightforcetunnelrat

2006 Flak Viper by plasticbattles

2006 Flak Viper by scarrviper

2006 Flak Viper by kushviper

2006 Flak Viper by LTCLAYMORE

2006 Flak Viper by Scarrviper

2006 Flak Viper by gen_liederkranz

2006 Flak Viper by blast_gijoe

2006 Operation Flaming Moth Shipwreck - Around the Web

Sometimes, a simple repaint creates a fig for the ages.  In the case of the 2006 Operation Flaming Moth Shipwreck, what should have been a mundane repaint brought new life to the character and gave collectors a great update to two vintage molds.  The combo of Cutter and Shipwreck gives collectors a version of a classic character that no longer looks like a reject from the Village People.  Collectors have adopted this version as a de facto original and made him a popular visage for the Shipwreck character.  Here's some of this figure's best content from around the web.

Flaming Moth Shipwreck Profile

Shipwreck by magoage

Shipwreck at JoeADay.com

Shipwreck by Flint

Shipwreck at Generals Joes Reborn

Shipwreck by cyko

Shipwreck at JoeBattleLines.com

Shipwreck manning the USS Flagg by Flint

2006 Range Viper - Operation Flaming Moth

You can make a strong argument that the first Joe desert figure appeared in 1983 with the tan Grunt repaint.  The 1984 VAMK Mark II and the tan Clutch figure appeared the next year.  But, officially, the first Joe desert fighter appeared in 1985.  From there, Dusty appeared again and there many other Joes done in base tan colors.  Cobra's first desert fighter, though, didn't appear until 1991.  And, that was it.  The desert was an area where Cobra was under represented.  Even the repaint era did nothing to rectify this.  Finally, in 2006 Master Collector offered some environmentally themed sets featuring vintage molds.  As Joe collectors of the age were army builder crazy, most of the figures were classic army builder molds.  There was a jungle set, an arctic set and a desert set.  The desert figures featured a tan repaint of the 1990 Range Viper.  The character made sense in this new color scheme and a full array of gear helped sell him.  Yet, the figure failed to sell pretty much at all.  14 years later, we can look at why something that should have been so successful simply was not.

At its core, a desert Range Viper makes perfect sense.  The Range Vipers were generic "wilderness" troopers.  And, deserts make up 33% of the land on earth.  So, having Range Vipers who could operate in the vast deserts that appear all over the world is a logical outreach for the figure.  I could see Range Vipers who are adapted to pretty much all the major world eco systems.  They may not be experts like Desert Scorpions.  But, I can see some Range Vipers getting desert training so they can move into the more specialized units.  As such, the notion of a desert Range Viper worked for me.  I do enjoy environmentally specific figures...in moderation.  But, it made no sense to have desert camo clad Joes battling bright red or dark blue Cobras in a setting where most of the color is brown, agave or grey.  

In looking at the Range Viper, you see the quality of the design.  This figure brings out the details of the mold, but in more subtle colors than the original use in 1990 or either of the JvC era repaints of it that appeared in 2000 and 2002.  I like the fact that the skull like face isn't white.  Playing up the skull motif worked for the Rock Viper and Skullbuster.  So, it was good to see it abandoned on this figure.  It allows him to more stand as the desert specialist.  The green eyes are nice, too.  They bring a splash of color to the Range Viper.  But, they don't detract from the overall design.  (You can make a case they are tinted lenses to help deflect harsh, desert glare.)  The base of the figure is brown and tan with a subtle camo pattern on the legs.  It's all offset by some darker browns and the silver bullets across the figure's chest.  The design is understated, but entirely effective.  The figure looks like a desert trooper without any fancy trappings that try to upsell his duties.

Normally, this is the spot where I harp on the club's failures with this figure.  But, I've pontificated enough on those bungles.  Instead, I wanted to take a dive as to why these Operation Flaming Moth figures failed so miserably.  Ostensibly, the sets should have been winners.  Collectors loved army building figures and the paint masks that shamed retail figures along with excellent accessory complements should have been very appealing.  There is an easy answer: it was 2006 and Joe had pretty much died due to Hasbro and the club's negligent handling of the brand.  However, there was still a strong collector base out there, especially for vintage style figures.  The price point of the figures, of course, is the next most obvious culprit.  In 2006, very few army builders crossed the $15 per figure threshold.  So, these Moth figures were competing with '86 Vipers, '83 Cobra Troopers, Alley Vipers and Crimson Guards for collecting dollars.  The appeal of the retail army builders was the $3 per figure price point.  The appeal of the convention sets was the appeal of the event itself.  Without the con-going experience tied to the figures and the price point that was 5 times the retail rate, these figures were doomed.

But, why were the figures so expensive?  Defenders of the club quickly point to the additional paint masks, greater accessory complements and low production runs as the primary drivers of the figures' cost to collectors.  And, all of these are a factor...to a point.  At the time, Hasbro produced the Toys R Us 6 figure packs in numbers varying from 16,000 to 20,000 of each set.  These were sold to Toys R Us for between $8 to $12 a set wholesale where TRU turned them around for a $20 retail price.  So, Hasbro was selling figures for a profit to a retailer for around $1.33 to $2 per figure.  Its probable that the lower production runs (we don't really know the club numbers, but it was certainly less than 20,000, maybe even less than 5,000) raise the price.  But, it's reasonable to assume the figures cost under $5 or $6 to the club with the actual number probably being far less.  The issue, of course, comes in the box that the club insisted on including with the figures.  For full retail releases, generic packaging tended to add about 33% to the overall cost of the figure.  The Flaming Moth boxes were far more expensive than retail packaging and likely doubled the cost of the figures.  This cost was passed on to the consumer and help quell demand for army builders at a time when army building was holding its last stronghold of popularity. One of the strengths of the convention releases is that you could buy a bagged set for a discounted price.  While the initial cash outlay was greater, for loose collectors, this helped to reduce the cost per figure and gave them superfluous characters that could be sold: usually for higher than retail prices.  Had the same strategy been employed with Moth figures, they might have been more successful. 

This leads us, though, to the reasoning behind the boxes.  For collectors of vintage Joes, the primary attraction has always been loose figures.  This is due to the fact that collectors grew up playing with the figures.  While we loved the card art, it was a selling point in the store while the main reason for buying a figure was to take it out of the packaging and play with it.  Those who collected vintage Star Wars are the same.  Loose is the entry point as it's the nostalgic factor.  Sure, collectors do move to carded.  But, if you started collecting vintage Joes any time after 1994, you had 100's of carded figures to track down.  To this day, carded collectors are former loose collectors who got bored and switched, collectors who have small carded collections, based on their childhood favorites or those who supplement their loose collections with carded items.  In 2006, there were far fewer carded collectors than there are today.  The club had this weird notion that they were going to force 3 3/4 Joe collectors into carded/boxed collecting.  And, the shoved expensive boxes down people's throats from the beginning in 2002.  While some collectors enjoyed the boxes, the fact is that the higher price point that the boxes created drove down demand for the club's figures.  Had the club accepted this at an earlier point in their life, then many of the products like Flaming Moth would have been far more successful and it's possible that we would have gotten a few more releases.

2007 really changed that, though.  With the advent of the anniversary Joes, collectors had a chance to be in on the ground floor of carded collecting.  In 1995, the same thing happened with Star Wars collecting.  Those who had loose vintage sets simply decided to collect the new releases carded.  This bore out of both a collecting mentality (the carded would be worth more in the future) and a reality that adults don't really play with toys and having them loose didn't do anything but save space and create hassles with missing gear, falling figs, etc.  With the anniversary Joes, Joe collectors had the same chance since the anniversary packaging hearkened back to the vintage designs and was starting over.  This release, while substantially less popular than the 2002 relaunch in terms of retail sales, brought in a huge number of new collectors.  Most of these were retail toy collectors who bought anything that was based on a vintage property.  (Which is why they abandoned the line when it turned into a movie line and no longer had that retro appeal.)  For them, packaging was a key component of the release since they had no desire to open something.  With this, the club mandate of packaging became more accepted and we see their packaged options now being very popular at original release and on the aftermarket.  This is all fine and good.  But, the anniversary and vintage collectors were a very different group of consumers.  Even today, though they have merged more and more, people have different expectations of vintage figures versus anniversary style releases.  Had the club understood this, or listened to their customers who were telling them this only to fall on deaf ears at the time, they could have created multiple offerings that appealed to both groups and found success across all lines.  But, certain club members were on record about their hatred for the 3 3/4 vintage figures and seeing them fail had bring some schadenfreude to them...especially as the anniversary items worked with their vision of what collectors should enjoy.

The Flaming Moth figures were a disastrous failure that spelled the the end of the club's forays into vintage style figure releases that weren't convention sets or membership figures.  Eventually, the figures were clearanced by the club at both conventions and in their online store.  Many army building collectors cashed in at that point to fill out their armies.  Many dealers also swooped in to buy cheap stock in the hopes that it would quickly appreciate and they could make their money back.  That didn't really happen, though.  By the early 2010's, boxed sets still sold for original price or less with loose figures barely commanding $10 each.  This was aided by the fact that huge amounts of Flaming Moth figure overstock was found in Asia and sellers there flooded the American collecting market first with cheap figures (though missing accessories) and later with complete or partially complete figures.  As recently as 2018, you could find both the Range Viper and Flak Viper, mint and complete, from Asian sellers for around $12 each.  While stock has started to dry up, now, the demand hasn't caught up.  You can still buy boxed sets of the Range/Flak Viper for around $30.  To be fair, though, it remains the cheapest of the Moth sets and others do sell for more.  So, the figure's lack of popularity also hurts pricing.  But, convention figures were cheap and plentiful for years and years.  Then, since the onset of 2018, they have steadily risen in price and started to disappear from online sales.  It's possible the Moth figures will follow suit since the Asian supply seems spent and those who bought armies have already liquidated or are content to keep their figures.  But, in the end, these remain obscure repaints from a time when the collecting world was, basically, dead.  So, it seems unlikely that they will suddenly become the figure du jour in the collecting world.  But, stranger things have happened.

2006 Shipwreck - Operation Flaming Moth

It is no secret that the figures made by Master Collector far exceeded the quality of many figures released for mass retail consumption. It is also no secret that the release of the Operation Flaming Moth sets was bungled to such a degree by Master Collector that to this day, they can not be brought up without memories of the fiasco being riled up. Once you get beyond the political snafu of the sets' release, you can spend time looking at the figures themselves. While the 8 figures in the set were high quality with lots of accessories and intricate paint masks, the reality is that the figure and mold choices were somewhat bland and left collectors really wanting more. One figure in the group, though, really stood out as the way to do a repaint right. The Shipwreck figure used a tired body mold and a new head in an updated color scheme to create a figure that meshes perfectly with vintage Joes without stealing too much from the character's body on which he is based. The result was a new way to use Shipwreck and a more combat ready look for one of the line's most iconic secondary characters.

One of the sad things about this figure is that his body is perfect as a base for a lazy bastard custom of pretty much any 1982 - 1984 Joe as a crew member of the USS Flagg. The more military coloring allows for great use as the basis for generic crewmen or alternate looks for Joes. But, being a limited release, high cost figure, it was very difficult for collectors to take advantage of the feature. As such, the perfect look for a cheap crewman is actually a very expensive, limited production figure that was not available at mass retail. Had this figure been in a Toy R Us 6 figure pack, it would likely be prized by collectors today for the easy potential the mold would bring to any display of a USS Flagg. The high cost doesn't prohibit this figure from still being prominent on Flaggs. It just means that the body only appears as Shipwreck rather than a more diverse group of characters.

Where I find the value in this Shipwreck, though, is that he finally gets away from the Village People motif that dogs the vintage figure. This is a more combat ready version of the character, but is still true to Shipwreck's roots. In that way, I see this figure as an upgrade. (Your mileage may vary depending upon how much you like the original figure....) This is very much a way that a classic figure can be upgraded without taking away from the original. This figure is a Shipwreck that can be in the cockpit of the Whale, right next to Cutter, without seeming too similar.

Like all Master Collector figures, this Shipwreck is well detailed and painted. But, side from an intricate new tattoo paint mask, the figure really isn't that spectacular. There are some golden highlights. But, in general, the figure doesn't offer masks that much more intricate from the 2001 Cutter. In a lot of ways, that's disappointing. There isn't a whole lot that could be done to this figure, but it would have been nice for some attempt to be made to justify the higher price point. It's likely that the budget for this figure was consumed by the new head and the new Polly. So, the paint masks took a bit of a hit. But, the overall colors and look of the figure work very well. So, the lower paint masks allow for a figure that is still very useful.

Shipwreck's accessories are decent, but not spectacular. The hallmark of the vintage figure was the pirate themed gun and the rope with anchors. It was a memorable subset of gear that enhanced Shipwreck's character. This figure includes a knife as well as a new sculpt machine gun. The weapon is one of the last new sculpt accessories, so it is of more than decent quality and works well with the figure. The real calling card for this figure is the new, re sculpted Polly. Master Collector had a new Polly made up for this figure. It is neat and works well for Polly. But, even as a kid, I had no use for the bird. So, while I can see some collectors enjoying this vintage homage, it really does nothing for me and I would have preferred a figure for $2 cheaper with no Polly than for this to be the accessory Master Collector chose to remake.

The Shipwreck mold was used by Hasbro in 1985 and 1986. In the early 1990's, it was sent to Brazil where Estrela used it to produce the Tiger Force Shipwreck (or Marujo) figure. After that, Shipwreck was one of the first figures Funskool produced in the mid 1990s. He enjoyed a good life there but the mold disappeared in the late 1990's. It is not known if Hasbro reacquired it along with the rest of the figures it recalled in 1997 and then found the mold unusable or, if Funskool simply retired the mold and it is still rotting in a Mumbai warehouse. But, since the vintage mold had gone missing, Master Collector had a new head sculpted. Rather than the normal ball head, though, this one was the swivel head that was designed for use with bodies from 1982 through 1984. It is based on the original Shipwreck look. But, it is a newly sculpted piece. The Cutter body on which the head is perched was used in 1984 and then available as a mail in for many years. Hasbro released it again in 2001, but didn't really bother to make it much different than the vintage mold. Seeing the body in better colors and the new head creates a figure that is much more new than his parts would suggest and would have been a much better use of Hasbro's resources during the 2000's than much of what was released.

Despite these figures being released 8 years ago in very limited quantities, they remain both very available and very cheap on the second hand market. The Flaming Moth sets were, largely, a failure. And, Master Collector ended up liquidating many of them at conventions and online to finally clear their inventory. Today, boxed sets including both Shipwreck and Chuckles can be purchased for $18-$20. Of the two figures, Shipwreck is clearly the more popular. While Chuckles figures can be had for as low as $5, Shipwrecks tend to run in the $9 to $12 range. That's still a bit much to army build them for customs. But, is rather cheap when you consider the quality of the figure and the low production numbers. (It's also a LOT less than this figure would have cost you to buy new.) I feel it's a just fate for these figures, though, since they were created in a way that was so anti-collector to begin with. But, it is nice that a figure that meshes with vintage and repaint era Joes remains relatively cheap. If only that could be said of all the figure's of Shipwreck's quality that were released in the 2000's.

2006 Flak Viper - Operation Flaming MOTH

In the vastness of the Cobra army, there is one area that was largely ignored during the vintage line. Desert themed Cobras were few and far between during the original run of figures. In the modern era, there are still very few desert themed Cobras done in the ARAH construction style. (The new sculpts did see a few more desert characters and repaints.) In 2006, though, Master Collector offered collectors a series of 4 2-figure sets. Each one themed to an environment. Included were aquatic Joes, and Cobras from the forest, Arctic and desert. The reception to these from collectors was no commensurate with the quality of the figures. The molds were generally not overused. The colors were very good. And, most included original accessories or close enough approximations that they were acceptable. Sadly, though, the concept failed and the Operation Flaming MOTH figures were the last ARAH-style retail offerings that Master Collector attempted.

The Flak Viper mold is one of the gems from the last years of the vintage line. The massive figure meshes with his speciality, even if the notion of a missile firing backpack that large (which would pulp the wearer) is ludicrous. The two tone desert pattern on the upper body along with the wealth of painted details really brings the mold to life. The inclusion of the figure's original accessories was another great surprise. The mold had appeared in 2004 as the highly likable Urban Nullifier. But, that figure had not included even the solidly designed Flak Viper rifle. So, seeing the full complement of original gear, helped to make this figure more desirable.

It is impossible to mention any figure from the MOTH sets without also mentioning the public relations fiasco that surrounded their release. When originally announced, the sets were trumpeted as not being army builders. For many collectors, the idea of dropping $16 on one figure is much more palatable if that figure is a character. When the first set appeared, though, the figures were army building molds. MC quickly went into a game of word play saying these sets weren't "meant" to be army builders. As such, the result is that this figure is actually Flak Viper Andrew. This wasn't cute. It wasn't coy. It wasn't fun. It wasnt' clever. It was a disingenuous ploy by a company who lacks any understanding of their 3 3/4 fan base to exploit the collectors and then laugh at the collector's expense. As such, these figures are forever tainted by the organizational failure of their release. To this day, when these figures are mentioned, someone brings up the fact that they aren't "meant" to be army builders and reminds the collecting community of the great laughs that MC's employees had at all our expense in regards to these sets.

It is no secret that packaging adds substantial cost to a toy's release. In the case of retail stores, this packaging is a necessity from a marketing standpoint. You have to have products that are eye catching on the shelves. However, these costs can be spread out over the higher production numbers of a full retail release and are built into the retail price. However, for a product marketed only online to a dedicated fan base that is interested in pretty much any new figure regardless of design, this packaging quickly becomes superfluous. This is especially true when the packaging offers little to the collector except for increased production and shipping costs. This was the case with the MOTH sets. Had these figures been offered bagged, they would have likely cost about half of the real price. When you think about this figure at a retail price of ~$8, it is much more attractive. At $8, this Flak Viper would be competing against an entirely different group of figures at the price point then it does at $16. The worst part about these boxes, though, is that they aren't even gradable. Sealed products can be graded. That appeals to a segment of collectors and makes things like packaging worth something. Since these boxes weren't sealed, grading wasn't an option. In fact, by not sealing them, MC pretty much dictated that these figures be enjoyed loose. But, even with that implied mandate, they forced the expensive boxes onto collectors. The upside is that the market forces rendered these sets a failure and the planned vehicle was scrapped due to low sales. But, that meant that a poor marketing decision has left collectors with 8 figures that are artificially inflated in price and have reduced availability due to the way the exclusive was handled. In the end, collectors lost on this whole endeavor and the ill will generated by these sets helped to diminish Joe's popularity in late 2006.

Today, these Flak Vipers aren't overly desirable. Despite low production numbers, they failed to capture the attention of the collecting community and are still available for their original retail price from MC. On the secondary market, it is not very common to find these figures offered below that original price since anyone who bought these for resale is reluctant to take the loss so quickly. Those that are left to full market conditions tend to sell for around $10-$12 or so. Those that are priced closer to the $16 price usually do not sell at all. The reality is that those who buy every figure purchased this set when it was released. Due to the price point, few collectors army built the set, many who were marginal about the figures simply skipped the set altogether and it was hard for dealers to purchase extra sets for profitable resale. As such, the figure quickly faded into obscurity and remains the type of figure that most collectors only seek for completion's sake. Personally, at $6, I'd buy a full dozen of these guys. At $8, I'd buy about half that many. For $10 or more, one is enough. Once you cross that price threshold, there are too many other options from the line that are available for the same price, but whose figure surpasses this desert Flak Viper. That's unfortunate as this is a good figure and one that I'd like to make a larger part of my collection. Based on comments from the community both at the time of this figure's release and even today, it seems that I'm not alone in that feeling. Alas, it will likely be several years before prices on this figure fall into line with the demand of the character. When that happens, I'd like to think that I'll get a few more. But, history has shown me that I will likely be on to some new figure at that point and this Flak Viper will remain alone in my collection.