1985 Tele Viper - Random Photos of the Day

The Tele Viper should be a staple of everyone's Cobra army.  And, to a degree, he kind of is.  Pretty much everyone has a couple.  But, they have never taken on the army building cachet of other 1985-1989 Cobra figures.  On the surface, the Tele Viper is done up in Cobra blue with purple highlights.  He matches two of the three classic, Cobra colors.  He was released in a key year and was a staple of both the comic and cartoon.  His gear is very well done and matches the figure, perfectly.  

Every station in a Cobra base or vehicle should have a Tele Viper manning it.  But, that's never occurred to any great degree.  You'll see a Terrordrome with one or two Tele Vipers in it.  But, you'll never seen the entire open bay being operated by a Tele Viper army.  As one off figures, the Tele Viper is a welcomed addition in every collection.  But, he's just not a figure that collectors swarm to like they the equally photogenic Vipers and Crimson Guards.

I suspect part of that is related to Tele Vipers not being "combat" figures.  (You can argue Crimson Guards aren't, either.  But, that doesn't seem to matter to anyone.)  So, they never got the "rows of figures on a metal shelf in an unfinished basement" treatment that was afforded to more revered army building figures.  And, with that, the Tele Viper simply became somewhat of an afterthought in the collecting world.  

It doesn't help that the Tele Viper is weirdly sculpted.  His head seems too big and all his parts just appear to be mis-apportioned.  The figure still works.  He's just not at the same level of parts cohesion that you see on Eels or BATs.

Despite my feelings that this figure is underappreciated, I don't really use him, either.  Over the years, he's just appeared in a handful of photos.  And, there's many times when the Tele Viper would have greatly enhanced a scene, but I simply chose not to use him.  I guess the Tele Viper is a figure that I want to like a lot more than I actually do.  That's OK, though.  It leaves a very useful figure as one that's not overdone.

1985 Tele Viper - Around the Web

The Tele Viper is one of the background characters who is absolutely essential to the Joe line.  Without him, Cobra would not have their massive worldwide communications network nor their pipeline to the the phones that drive almost all of Cobra's revenue.  The figure is not perfect.  But, he is the right color and released in the right year to be a major part of most collections.  The figure is still relatively cheap and available, especially if you know how to touch up the flesh colored nose and silver goggles.  Here's the best of him from around the web:

Tele Viper Profile

Tele Viper Dio 1

Tele Viper at Joe Wiki

Tele Viper Dio 2

Tele Viper at Cobra Temple

Tele Viper Dio 3

Tele Viper at 3DJoes.com

Tele Viper Dio 4

Tele Viper Video Review 1

Tele Viper Dio 5

Tele Viper at Mike's Collection

Tele Viper Dio 6

Tele Viper Video Review 2

Diorama - Bat Factory

There was a time when I bought a lot of new sculpt figures.  They were cheap and plentiful and were a way to buy something at retail.  The Joe world was a lot of fun in 2002 and 2003 as the community was especially vibrant.  2004 started a downturn, though.  These photos were taken in 2004 when the single pack figures started showing up at local CVS stores.  By the end of 2004, I had abandoned collecting anything other than vintage style Joes as Hasbro made collectors jump through too many hoops to get the figure they wanted.

Ultimately, sold my entire new sculpt collection to fund the purchase of some bootleg Cobra Troopers.  I don't regret that decision at all.

You will notice the unpainted Neo Viper pre-production piece below.  At the time, it was cheaper to get figures like this than it was to buy retail figures.  How times have changed on that front.

Diorama - The Refinery

I didn't do much with new sculpt figures.  Though, I did buy them religiously from 2002 through 2004.  But, the vastness of the line coupled with low quality, poor gear and the growing distribution problems pretty much killed my interest in them by 2005.  Today, the sculpts are highly dated and really don't fit into either of the more popular eras of G.I. Joe.

Kids who played with these should now be of collector age.  But, we're not seeing lots of fans of the era come into the hobby.  The figures, though, have some redeeming factors.  Seeing the panoply of colors below reminds me of the highlights of that line.  But, seeing some of the sculpting reminds me of the limitations, too.  I took these photos in late 2003 or early 2004, right as the Wal Mart exclusive Urban Cobras were showing up.  I found both them and the harder to find Wave 8 figures at various retail outlets.  But, they didn't last for long.

The end of 2003 was really the last time that Joe had a huge retail presence.  Seeing these old photos reminds me of those days.

Diorama - Chopper Base

In the fall of 2001, I got out a Mamba and took these pics.  I've never been a huge Mamba fan, even though it was the last toy I got as a kid.  Sadly, I still have this Mamba and a companion.  But, both have been pretty much destroyed since these photos.  The Mamba's large size makes it difficult to box up and move, especially when you're in a hurry.  But, the fact they aren't worth much and aren't much fun also makes me less careful with them than I would be with something I liked more.

1989 Python Patrol Tele-Viper

The 1985 Tele-Viper is an iconic Cobra army builder.  While the mold may be a bit odd, the release year and the prominence of the character in both the comic and the cartoon have kept him popular.  With Cobra's reliance upon technology, the Tele-Viper remained important long after the figure had disappeared from retail.  In 1989, Hasbro somewhat rectified that problem by offering a new take on the Tele-Viper mold.  Instead of iconic Cobra Blue, the character was incorporated into the Python Patrol subset.  The result is a figure that is bright, busy, but not altogether terrible.

Python Patrol was meant to be a "stealth" unit of Cobras whose uniforms made them invisible to radar and other technology.  To make up for that advantage, they chose bright yellow as one of the primary colors for the Python palette.  This unfortunate choice severely limited the quality of Python Patrol as a group.  The subtle grey and black used as a base for most of the figures was a great foundation upon which to build.  But, the bright yellow really holds the subset back.  Instead of being a valued member of the Cobra army, they are mostly useful only as a group and when displayed with the full complement of figures and vehicles.  In this group, the figures do look good as they mesh well and really look like a specialized team.  It's just that the bright colors limit the usefulness of the overall group.

Python Patrol originally consisted of 6 members: the Crimson Guard, Cobra Trooper, Cobra Officer, Viper, Copperhead and the Tele-Viper.  Made by Hasbro in their normal factories, the Python Patrol was a way for the line to be expanded beyond the traditional standard carded figure mix at retail.  The reuse of popular molds was a way to make the figures cheap enough to justify the truncated production run.  Tiger Force in 1988 had laid the groundwork for the success of such a concept.  And, Hasbro stepped it up in 1989 with both Python Patrol and Slaughter's Marauders.  As Joe moved into the 1990's, Hasbro went subset crazy and the line became more centered around the multitude of subsets they offered rather than the standard carded line.  By 1993, Hasbro even branded the main carded line as Battle Corps.  This loss of identity helped the line fade into oblivion.

The Tele-Viper has an interesting companion piece that was released in Brazil.  The criss cross cammo pattern on the figure's legs is a match for the Brazilian Python Patrol Ripcord: Relampago.  It's likely that Estrela simply used the paint sample to help design Relampago.  But, it does help tie the Brazilian figure to the American Python Patrol and makes it much easier to integrate the figures from the different lines.

In my collection, Tele-Vipers are basically the technological support for the Cobra legions.  The remain the type of character who isn't overly combative, but will see combat when they are embedded with Cobra Infantry units.  Beyond that, Tele-Vipers are the standard Cobra base troopers.  They man the communications stations in Terrordromes and will be assigned to work on vehicles and aircraft as well to ensure their communications systems are working.  Usually, though, these roles are always filled by the V1 Tele-Viper due to the Cobra blue.  The Python Tele-Viper is usually only seen in support of Python Patrol units.  But, these are few and far between.  The bright yellow limits the figure's ability to look good when paired with Cobra vehicles or aircraft.  If you expand into some of the vehicles from the line's later years, the bright colors become less of an issue.

Still, the figure has it's appeal.  I've always found the Tele-Viper head to be overly large.  The entire mold appears...bloated.  But, when you consider the amount of gear Tele-Vipers haul around, they would tend to be bulkier individuals.  So, I can look past the puffiness.  The base grey and white with the black accented head are a great start to the figure.  The Python cammo pattern is intricate and detailed.  Even the maroon goggles work within the context of the figure's specialty.  The bright yellow undershirt and base helmet, though, are a bit too much.  Even the more muted green from the Python Officer would have been better.  It makes the figure overly bright.

The Python Tele-Viper includes the same accessories as the Version 1 figure.  The pack, gun and hose were highly advanced for 1985.  Unlike the accessories from Mainframe, though, the accessories hold up fairly well.  The pack still has an antenna to link to Cobra satellites and the general size of the pack is consistent with the increased functionality the modern Tele-Viper would employ in his duties.  The figure's "gun" is an iconic look.  In the comic and cartoon, it worked as a 2 way camera that could both record and play back video.  As a kid, I also used it as a radiation gun that would project radioactive or microwave beams.  It was a group of Tele-Vipers who basically cooked a team of Joe aligned custom figures I used as a child.  Once that event occurred, the Joeverse that I still have today was born.

The Tele-Viper mold was not overly used.  After the 1985 figure was released, the chest was used in 1986 to make Claymore.  This Python Patrol version appeared in 1989.  After that, the mold was sent to Brazil.  In the early 1990's, Estrela released a Tele-Viper in colors basically identical to the American Version 1 release.  After that, the mold disappeared.  Despite collector demand for its return during the repaint era, Hasbro was not able to come through.  So, collectors are left with just three releases of the figure: two being basically the same and the third being a highly specialized subset.

Python Tele-Vipers aren't overly expensive.  Mint and complete with filecard versions typically run around $12.  While the Python Patrol figures tend to be a bit tougher to find than the originals from which they were created, the decreased collector demand for them helps keep the prices in check.  As a subset, the figures are interesting.  But, individually, the bright colors make them less useful.  So, you don't see too many Python Tele-Viper armies out there.  I've found it's always good to have a different take or two on classic Cobra army builders.  But, the quality of the original Tele-Viper so outweighs the colors of this version that having multiple versions isn't as useful as it is in some other cases.  As an element to complete a collection, the Python Tele-Viper has value.  But, as a be-all/end-all supplement to the Tele-Viper character, though, the figure is somewhat lacking.

2003 Tele Viper

Several years ago, I profiled the original Tele-Viper. In that profile, I remarked at how important this character would be to any organization like Cobra. However, I was less enthused about the figure's actual design. Now, that has all changed with the release of this new sculpt Tele-Viper. He has all the functionality of the original with a look that should make this figure one of the more popular new sculpt Cobra army building molds.

This version of the Tele-Viper is both an homage to the original figure and an improvement upon him. You will note that the Tele-Viper's distinctive vest is still present on this version. It is, however, more subdued and is just the base for the figure's design rather than the entirety of it. Added are a number of small details that make this figure look more handy. You can tell this figure's specialty just by looking at his body. Gone is the original Tele-Viper's less than stellar head. This version features a sleeker design with a movable comm device and smaller goggles. He still has some of the Cobra blue base, but now features more purple. The visual effect is still the same and you can place this figure as a Cobra with only a quick glance.

The Tele-Viper is nicely accessorized. He includes a small pistol that is now becoming a bit too common along with a well proportioned grenade launcher. Instead of including a traditional backpack, though, the Tele-Viper sports a custom fitted shoulder mounted communications pack. It fits into two holes molded onto the figure and looks decent. However, as this item was custom made for the Tele-Viper, it means that this accessory can not be shared among other figures. One of the hallmarks of the original line was that almost every accessory worked on every figure. The new line is moving away from that as we are seeing more and more custom accessories. The Tele-Viper also includes one of the smallest accessories ever released. He has a small, hand held radio. If, fifteen years from now, there is the same type of nostalgia for the new sculpt Joes as there is now for the original line, I can see this accessory being among the hardest to find. (Assuming it isn't released again at some point.) It's a neat feature, though, and makes the Tele-Viper a figure that has lots of play value.

One thing of note is that the Tele-Viper has a packaging variation. He is available with either a figure called Halo Jumper or Sgt. Airborne. A lot has been made of this and some people have gone bananas trying to get both versions. I'll just say this: this is a packaging variant and, historically, those have not proven to be all that collectible in the long term. Sure, people will pay more for a carded Cobra Red Star, but not a whole lot more. And, he is hardly a sought after figure. Every figure from 2002's Wave 1 had a packaging variation, but no one is really interested in those. As such, I don't put much stock in a variation like this. Were I looking for something that will be significant down the road, I'd be on the lookout for the Gung-Ho with the variant facial hair. Actual figure variations tend to have much more collectibility than packaging variants.

Normally, this is where I tell you how this recent release should be widely available at retail outlets as well as online Joe dealers. However, that is not the case. The Tele-Viper joins the rest of his wave as well as the infamous army builder wave as figures that were not fully produced. The production runs seem to have been cut short and many collectors have not had the chance to acquire these figures at retail. Adding insult to injury is the fact that online dealers only got a fraction of their army building wave shipments and no shipments of Wave 8. This means that, for the most part, foreign Joe collectors were totally frozen out of these figure waves. The worst part about this is that these two figure waves were the most anticipated new figures of the year. The army building wave was probably the most anticipated figure wave ever and, due to some odd decisions by Hasbro, has become the one wave that a lot of people do not have and most people do not have enough of. This is incredibly frustrating as Hasbro produced the army building wave as a way to appease collectors. Now, it has turned into another black mark against them. There is a lot of anti-Hasbro sentiment among the collecting world at this time. (Much more so than normal.) It is running high due to the perception that Hasbro has really treated collectors like the proverbial mud on their shoe. The problems with the army building wave, Wave 8 and the Crimson Guard 3 pack seen to indicate that collectors aren't high on Hasbro's priority list. As this has happened, though, there is little we can do at the present time. I think that this version of the Tele-Viper is one of the lower produced molds in the current new sculpt figures. As such, I think it is a certainty that we will see this mold again in some form in the next 6 months. It may be a repainted figure or this color scheme again. As Hasbro spent a lot of money developing this mold, though, there is no way they are going to let it collect dust when there is still collector demand for it.

What do you think of Hasbro's recent decisions regarding figure availability? Let me know.

1985 Tele Viper

1985 gave the Joe collecting community the class of Cobras that it holds as the best group ever offered. While there is incredible nostalgia for this group, most of it centers around the Crimson Guard or the Eel. You even get a few people who are really ga-ga over the '85 version of the Snow Serpent. What you never see, though, is any great sentiment for '85's lost Cobra: the Tele Viper.

As figures go, the Tele Viper is as basic as you can get. Frankly, he is only a glorified Cobra trooper who wears just as plain a uniform, but carries some flashier accessories. It is easy to see why the Tele Viper would be overshadowed by his more famous classmates. It is upon deeper inspection, though, that the true value of this figure appears. The Tele Viper is spectacular in his simplicity. He is basic Cobra Blue and has a mold, that while lacking in some respects, is very simple and realistic. He has all the trappings of a communications trooper. I think that is why the figure works so well. While he isn't drop dead awesome cool, he is a figure that fits his specialty and provides the backup to make the other figures seem that much better.

I think of the Tele Vipers as the ultimate in how avant garde Joe really was. These guys were used to absolute perfection throughout the comic series. The modern military's reliance on high tech communications and computers required an organization like Cobra to have a branch of specialists like the Tele Vipers. Unlike many other genres, though, where "techie" characters are relegated to supporting roles, Cobra used the Tele Vipers as its front line in the assault on the American family. They were the ones sneaking into sewers to tap phone lines. It was also the Tele Vipers who were right next to the Commander during any battle so he could remain constantly updated on the situations that arose. I've always kind of forgotten about the Tele Viper. I didn't like his lack of battlefield flash. Now, though, I consider Tele Vipers, or his counterpart, the Python Tele Viper, to be essential to any Cobra offensive. I use them on my Detonator, or other large Cobra vehicles. They look very nice in this capacity. At some point, I would like to have a Terrordrome. If this day should come, I see it manned with original blue Cobra troops with the Tele Vipers manning all the computer stations. I think the look would be great.

Tele Vipers are an interesting figure. There are many aspects of him that make me think he was originally slated for a 1986 release rather than '85. First off, he is a Viper. The basic Viper, and variations upon him, did not appear until 1986. It makes more sense that this guy would, originally, have been part of that class. His mold also suggests a hurry up job. His head could have been much better. This looks like it was an earlier design that hadn't had time to be fine tuned. Also, his color scheme. Hasbro was moving away from the basic Cobra Blue. To put this guy in it was a throwback in an era before collector nostalgia. It is also a very simple, easy, and basic color scheme that the designers knew worked. All of these things point to a figure that was rushed, rather than allowed the proper time to mature. Rather than take the time to hand paint up a bunch of mock ups, they took the easy road out with the color scheme. Of course, I have no hard evidence to back this theory up, but I am throwing it out there since this figures seems so out of place among other '85's, '86's or even '87's.

The Tele Viper was released in the US in 1985 and again in 1989. Parts of him were used in 1986 on the Claymore figure. In the early 90's, the Tele Viper mold was then used in Brazil where it was released in colors nearly identical to the American version. That was the last time it was seen, though, as the mold has never appeared again. Many of the Brazilian Tele Viper's contemporaries eventually made their way to India where they were released by Funskool. But, the Tele Viper never saw such treatment. The mold may simply have died in Brazil or may have been left to rot in India for whatever reasons. Personally, I think the mold is nice, but not one that is a necessary repaint. The original Tele Viper is in strong enough colors and is easy enough to find that there really is no need for the mold to return. Instead, I'd prefer to see the Tele Viper character amalgamated out of several existing, '90's ARAH Joe molds. I think it would a great update to this mold and make a nice, more modern companion piece.

Of all the '85 Cobras, Tele Vipers are far and away the easiest to find and cheapest to buy. In fact, as Cobras from any year go, the Tele Viper is substantially cheaper than many of the later army builders. His lack of combat accessories seem to doom him to common bins and bargain prices. Of course, this means he is one of the last cheap army builders. Unfortunately, I don't see him staying this way for much longer. The Techno Viper, a similar specialty figure who isn't as cool as this guy, is already starting to become rather expensive. I see the Tele Viper following suit over the next year. As people move away from play and more into display and diorama building, figures like the Tele Viper who look good manning the support, gun, and maintenance stations will start to disappear. Lately, there have been a rash of Tele Vipers offered for sale. While I have yet to really take advantage of this surplus, I don't think the Tele Viper is a figure of whom you can ever have enough. As other collectors are starting to see this as well, I think the days of the cheap Tele Viper are nearing an end.

I have several Tele Vipers, but can always use more. If you have any you would like to trade, email me.