2004 Nullifier - Around The Web

The Flak Viper is one of my favorite Cobra army builders.  His design resonates with me.  And, I pined for him for years as his retail absence mocked me from the cardbacks of his casemates I could track down.  While I love the colors on the 1992 and 1993 releases, they still left a lot of potential in the mold for repaints.  And, in 2004 Hasbro delivered.  Renamed as the Nullifier, the Flak Viper mold was released in Cobra Blue and black.  The result is one of the best army builders of the 2000's.  Sadly, he didn't include any proper accessories.  Fortunately, in the 2010's, there were plenty of Flak Viper rifles available for cheap prices from Asia.  So, if you have any army of them, you can outfit them with proper weapons.

This is one of the few army builders of the repaint era that I still use with great frequency.  Sadly, the figure's upper arms are extremely prone to discoloration and they will turn a dark blue that gives the figure two-tone arms.  So far, I've been able to ignore this, though.  

I would have liked a silver visor on this guy.  The entirely black helmet loses some of the depth that existed on other Flak Viper mold uses.  Aside from that, though, the figure does everything he is supposed to do.  He's a mid tier figure from the 2000's when it comes to his popularity.  You see him often enough.  But, he's not ubiquitous like some other figures from that time period can be.  Check out all the content below to see how others use the figure in their photos.

2004 Nullifier Profile

2004 Nullifiers Diorama

2004 Nullifier - Around the World

2004 Nullifier at JoeBattleLines.com

2004 Nullifier by joerizzo2025

2004 Nullifier by Night Force Tunnel Rat

2004 Nullifier by gen_liederkranz

2004 Nullifier by relena_warcraft

2004 Nullifier by dreadnokdread

2004 Nullifier by icebird

2004 Nullifer by gen_liederkranz

2004 Nullifier by classic_gijoe

2004 Nullifier by yotothejoe

2004 Nullifier by dreadnokdread

2004 Nullifier by dawghaus_

2004 Nullifier by gen_liederkranz

2004 Urban Assault Night Creeper - Random Photos of the Day

Time has been very kind to the 2004 Urban Assault set.  The blue,  black and silver figures have held up overtly well.  They seem more an example of how Hasbro could get it "right" back in the early 2000's.  Sure, the Stormshadow is still one of the worst versions of the character.  But, every other figure in the set seems to be appreciated, today.

While the Nullifier remains my favorite figure from the set, the Night Creeper has always fascinated me.  My introduction to the Night Creeper was in the comic.  And, it was years later before I acquired the 1990 figure on which the comic character was based.  The figure didn't quite live up to the comic portrayal.  But, it was really close.  In 1998, the Polar Assault version of the Night Creeper showed me more of what the mold could be.  But, the environmentally specific paint job limited him...especially as I lived in a desert at the time.

But, this 2004 Night Creeper might be the best of all.  It is a near perfect Cobra coloring with enough flair to stand apart from other figures of his era.  The cammo can be overkill.  But, it also adds depth that the figure utilizes well.  His gear was the weak spot.  But, it still made sense for a ninja.  Despite my enjoyment of the design, though, I don't use this guy all that often.  I was surprised to find, though, that I had a ton of unpublished photos of him.  Some of these are 8 years old.  It turns out he is a figure I use with a bit of frequency.  But, I never think of when it's time to write something up.

So, take a look at the photos below where I attempt to showcase my appreciate of the figure.  There's still something about him that makes him cooler than I can ever properly capture in a photo.  And, I  like to use him as something more than a simple ninja who bridges the classic '80's ninjas and the more elaborate Ninja Force of the line's final years.  

2004 Urban Strike Scrap Iron - Random Photos of the Day

This is another figure that's now over 20 years old.  I still remember this set being released.  Collectors were torn on it since it had three really awesome army builders, but also three characters.  It did help that Firefly, Scrap Iron and Stormshadow all had amazing paint jobs...even if the Stormshadow mold choice left something to be desired.  I bought my standard 7 sets at the time and thought I had a nice little army.  My local Toys R Us store, though, partook in a nationwide promotion on this set and offered it for $15 in the store for a few weeks.  At the time, I had enough.  In retrospect, I should have grabbed a couple of extra sets.

I'll now argue that the Urban Assault set was the best TRU exclusive 6 pack.  (Python Patrol is a strong challenger, though.)  While the accessories weren't spectacular, the figure choice and overall coloring was.  The dark, Cobra blue combined with black and leathery brown all made for great figures that have stood the test of time better than most of the other sets that were released.  

As Scrap Iron goes, I tend to ebb and flow with interest in him.  I'll pretty much forget about the character and his figures for a long time.  Then, I'll see someone use him in a great photo and my interest is peaked.  I then try to capture the cool essence of the figure that drew me to him in the first place.  But, I almost always fail to do so.  So, Scrap Iron goes back into his drawer until my interest is sparked once again.

But, I am pleased with the selection of photos I've gotten of the Urban Assault Scrap Iron.  I saw someone pair him up with the Battle Gear missile launcher.  So, I stole that look and have really enjoyed what it's brought to the figure.  In good lighting, you can see just how much detail was painted on this Scrap Iron figure.  And, there's an argument to be made that he might be a better visual than even the vintage figure from 1984.  

Here's some of my favorite photos I've taken of this guy in recent years.  I'll probably continue to get more because he does photograph well and classic Cobras are always popular photo subjects.

Flak Viper - Where in the World

There are figures of which I am an irrational fan.  The Flak Viper is one such figure.  In the early and mid 1990's, the Flak Viper mocked me from the cardback of every figure I was able to find at retail.  I could not find him anywhere.  As Joe disappeared, I figured my chances of ever owning the figure were gone.  Fortunately, that was not the case and I was able to build a nice army of Flak Vipers as a collector.  But, the figure still fascinates me.  I can't get enough of the mold and love all his color combinations.  The two vintage releases and the two repaint era releases offer two very different takes on the mold.

The Flak Viper mold debuted in 1992.  It and the 1993 repaint are well done.  But, they are also identifiable as originating in the 1990's.  The two 2000's repaints, though, avoided many of the trappings of army builder repaints from that time.  Usually, Hasbro overdid it and the repaints were good, but had some minor issues that prevented them from becoming iconic.  But, with the Flak Viper repaints, Hasbro kept it simple and there's a Cobra blue and black repaint along with a desert themed figure.  They are well done.  

The first release of the Flak Viper is the 1992.  The debut of the sculpt showcased solid design and decent gear.  The primary colors are a bright blue and green.  They are offset with a grey sash and pants.  

The following year, Hasbro repainted the figure.  The base of the figure is the same.  However, the blue highlights have been replaced with orange. While the figure is bright, the orange is kind of fun.  This is my favorite version of the figure just because it's odd, bright and unique.  

The Flak Viper had another use in 1993.  Toys R Us got an exclusive set of Dino Hunters figures.  It was an absurd idea but capitalized on Jurassic Park. The Flak Viper's contribution is that his backpack was modified with holes that allowed it to be held by a mount.  The pack was colored in light grey.  You can still find the packs matched up with Flak Vipers from time to time.  Though, it was much more common a few years ago.  

In late 1994 or early 1995, Hasbro used parts of the Flak Viper again.  This time, the Street Fighter Movie Edition M. Bison figure included a silver version of the Flak Viper's rifle.  The silver was a cool look and a great color for the weapon.  It wasn't really a nice match for the 1992 or 1993 figures.  But, it turned out to be a great match for the later uses of the mold.

The Flak Viper mold then disappeared for a decade.  In 2004, the entire Flak Viper mold appeared in the Cobra Urban Strike set: this time under the name of Nullifier.  This figure is colored in Cobra blue with black and brown leather highlights.  It's the best paint job on this mold.  It's only drawback was the lame accessories.  The figure didn't include any of his original gear and only came with generic weapons from the 2000's.

In 2006, the final version of the Flak Viper appeared in an Operation Flaming Moth set.  This desert version was a nicely done update to the Flak Viper and was the type of repaint that made sense for Hasbro to do.  While not as nice as the 2004 release, the desert version is useful in it's own right.  The best thing about this version was the return of the full complement of Flak Viper accessories.  The black rifle and pack are also great since they work with the 2004 version, too.

The Flak Viper never got exclusive use anywhere else in the world.  The 1992 Flak Viper was released in Europe on exclusive cardbacks.  The figure is the same, though.  The Flak Viper mold is relatively unique in that it's a mold whose potential was fulfilled.  

2004 Urban Assault Firefly - Around The Web

So, Firefly was overdone during the 2000's.  But, that doesn't mean that they were all bad.  In fact, in some cases, I'd argue that the new paint jobs were actually better than the original Firefly.  One such example is this 2004 Urban Assault Firefly.  The blue, grey and black motif works really well on the Firefly mold.  And, he now blends with other classic Cobras from the earliest years.  This version of Firefly is now my second favorite version of Firefly behind the 2005 Comic Pack release.  There's some good stuff on this guy from around the web.

Urban Assault Firefly Profile

Firefly by Fun_Time_at_Serpentors_Lair

Firefly at JoeBattleLines.com

Firefly by vader9900

Firefly by specialmissionforce

Firefly by theoldnerd

Firefly by tunnelrat83

Firefly by gvilla74

Firefly by joes_by_james

Firefly by flatline

Firefly at JoeADay.com

Firefly by fosilru

Firefly by fun_time_at_serpentors_lair

Firefly by relena_warcraft

Firefly by Flatline 54

Firefly by wigramjoe

Firefly by fosilru

Firefly by flatline

Firefly by gvilla74

Firefly by fun_time_at_serpentors_lair

Firefly by flatline 54

Firefly by silentinterlude

Firefly by gvilla74

Firefly by gen_liederkranz

2004 Urban Assault Scrap Iron - Around The Web

The ARAH style Joe repaints from the 2000's have a massive discoloration problem.  The cheap plastic isn't holding up all that well.  And, figures like the 2005 Scrap Iron are, basically, impossible to find without some discoloration.  The 2004 Cobra Strike Team - Urban Division set also has some discoloration problems.  But, the Scrap Iron that was included uses dark enough plastic that he's holding up better than many other of his contemporaries.  And, he's not a bad update to the Scrap Iron character, either.  If you give him either 1984 Scrap Iron or Battle Gear accessories, he's made even better.  There's not a ton of content on him out there.  But, what is there is good quality.  So, enjoy the 2004 Urban Assault Scrap Iron content from around the web.

2004 Urban Assault Scrap Iron Profile

2004 Urban Assault Scrap Iron at The Attica Gazette

2004 Urban Assault Team Review at JoeBattleLines.com

2004 Urban Assault Scrap Iron by icebird

2004 Urban Assault Scrap Iron by wigramjoe

2004 Urban Assault Scrap Iron by Slipstream80

2004 Urban Assault Scrap Iron by gen_liederkranz

2004 Urban Assault Scrap Iron by yovalleyjoe

2004 Urban Assault Scrap Iron by relena_warcraft

2004 Urban Assault Scrap Iron by gen_liederkranz

Rarities - 2000's Era Stormshadow Unproduced Figures

For some reason, Hasbro loved the 1992 Stormshadow mold.  After the debut of the 1984 mold in the 1997 repaint sets, Hasbro put it on hiatus for another 7 years.  In between, they, instead, released repainted 1992 Stormshadow figures.  The first, in 2000, was a nice diversion and something different.  But, then it appeared again in 2002 in the BJ's Gift Set and again in 2004 in the Urban Strike set.

Design wise, this wasn't terrible.  The figure mold is nicely done.  But, as the mold debuted in Ninja Force, it has construction and design limitations.  As a one off, it was neat to see.  As the default Stormshadow, though, the mold was frustrating.  In 2004, Hasbro got the 1988 Stormshadow mold back from Funskool and also resurrected the 1984 figure.  By then, though, it was kind of too late.

In additionl to the production versions of this mold, there are also several pre-production and unproduced figures from this time period.  The first is the unproduced 2003 Sky Patrol Stormshadow that would have been a Wal Mart exclusive.  These figures were cancelled due to the parachutes they would have included.  And, Wal Mart released some decent JvC sculpt repaints instead.   The figure is an interesting blend of blue and red.  On the 1984 or 1988 mold, this color scheme might have been fun.  On the 1992 figure, though, it doesn't do much for me.

Hasbro then followed up the unproduced 2003 Wal Mart set with the mold's use in the 2004 Urban Strike set.  All of the Urban Strike figures have unproduced variants that use red cammo.  You can see Stormshadow below.  In this case, the production figure was a better release.  But, the red cammo was available for cheap for a long time and was worth picking up for that reason alone.

But, for some reason, there are actually two different unproduced Urban Strike Stormshadows.  In addition to the red cammo version, there is the grey version you see in the team shot below.  There was no explanation given as to why there are two variants of Stormshadow but not of the other members of the team.  But, such was the nature of the era.

Of course, all these figures are now tough to find and will cost you way more than the couple of bucks they'd have set you back in 2005.  But, that's the way of the market right now.  But, if you like the 1992 Stormshadow mold, there's some fun stuff to find that will keep you occupied for a while.

2004 Urban Assault Firefly

At the 2003 Convention, Hasbro announced that Toys R Us would carry a six pack of Cobra Troopers as their 1st Quarter, 2004 exclusive.  This gave collectors great hope that Hasbro finally understood army building and that future TRU sets would be the army building bonanzas of which collectors had always dreamed.  When the first news of the 2nd TRU exclusive set leaked, a Cobra Urban Strike set, collectors imagined six urban specific army builders: maybe Alley Vipers and Headhunters with no characters to be seen.  Then, the specifics of the set came out.  It had three army builders and three named Cobra characters.  Immediately, collectors were angered over the poor character assortment and many wrote the set off due to Scrap Iron, Stormshadow and the focus of this profile: Firefly.

This, though, was a mistake.  The 2004 Urban Strike set was actually extremely well done.  The army builders in the set were all great.  The Stormshadow was a cool paint job: but of a bad mold.  It was good to see Scrap Iron again.  But, the lack of accessories and too similar to the vintage coloring didn't do him any favors.  Firefly, though, was the class of the set.  But, because collectors were burned out on Firefly after Hasbro had used the mold too many times, the amazing figure that was included for the Firefly character was largely ignored.  So, the Urban Strike set languished.  It was even discounted from $20 to $15 in Toys R Us stores.  This was the first real sign that the Joe line was already in trouble after a tremendous 2003 and was a harbinger of the line's impending decline into cancellation over the next year.

As for Firefly, though, Hasbro dropped a convention quality figure into a retail release.  While the TRU sets were mostly known for poor accessories, the level of paint application was, usually, pretty strong.  This Firefly, though, includes his full array of gear.  And, on top of that, he features a full seven colors on the figure mold.  The selling feature is that Firefly's base is Cobra blue.  It's the only Firefly ever released with blue as part of his color scheme.  This immediately allows him to better integrate with classic Cobra Troopers and Officers.  He also heavily utilizes grey and black.  So, you have an homage to his original release, too.  The figure is adorned with rich brown details that make his straps and pouches appear to be leather.  It's a subtle feature that makes the mold pop even more than it did before.  You can fully see the details of the Firefly mold that even the vintage version left unpainted.  Toss in some white, flesh, silver and red and you see the amount of color that Hasbro used to give this figure a chance to be appreciated by collectors.

The figure might be taken as a little busy by some.  There is a lot going on with the overall coloring and camo.  The real black mark against this Firefly, though, was that it was too much, too quickly.  But, almost 14 years after his release, I find that this is pretty much my go to version of Firefly if I'm not using the vintage version.  He meshes well with many Cobra army builders and even looks good among the vintage Cobra hierarchy.  The full complement of gear also gives a sense of legitimacy to the figure.  In short, it feels that Hasbro gave Firefly his due with this release, even if other figures in the set were shortchanged on paint applications or accessories.

For me, this figure wins on a couple of points.  First, it's a great look for Firefly.  If Hasbro had to repaint a character nearly 10 times, I'm glad they offered at least a couple of versions that were of great quality.  Secondly, though, 2002 through 2004 was a pretty good time to be a Joe fan.  You could walk into Toys R Us stores and find the Joe exclusives without too much trouble.  The sets were readily available online, too, for collectors who didn't live near a TRU store.  And, while a lot of the releases weren't Hasbro's best work, there were a lot of good figures that did see release.  Hasbro was releasing over 100 figures per year back then.  So, it was very easy to find something that appealed to every collector.  In some ways, Hasbro's attempts to be all things to all collectors backfired.  But, when they took a more focused approach in the anniversary era, the results were actually weaker than they had been in the early 2000's.

Like all the Urban Strike figures, Firefly has an unreleased variant.  The unproduced Firefly uses more red as a basic camo color.  In the grand scheme, it's a vastly inferior figure to the one that was actually released.  What was once a common variant to find, though, has gotten rather tough to track down and overly pricey.  It's not a great figure to own.  But, if you're looking for something different that will set a Firefly collection apart: it's definitely something that's different and relatively rare.

Hasbro used the Firefly mold too many times.  In their zeal to capitalize on a fan favorite character for whom they had the mold, they gave us too much of a good thing.  The 1998 version was an awesome repaint since it moved Firefly into an environmental theme.  The 2000 figure was less great.  The cammo was good.  But, the bare hands and paint wipes didn't do him any favors in the long term.  The 2002 version is so terrible that it's fun.  The 2003 Convention figures are excellent.  But, are hard to find and will cost you quite a bit of money.  The Tiger Force Wreckage figure is interesting and a cheap way to get another Firefly in a different scheme.  The 2005 Crimson version is just this Urban figure with the blue replaced with red.  And, the 2005 Comic Pack figure has a pretty good argument as the best overall Firefly figure of all time.  In between that, there is also a Funskool release and all the slight variants that accompany any vintage Funskool figure.  Collectors have their pick of Firefly figures.  I think this version is great.  But, realistically, can only rank it as the third best Firefly figure.  But, it is nice to have a Cobra blue version that can blend with more classic Cobra troopers.

Urban Firefly figures have gotten somewhat tough to find.  Dealers routinely get between $10 and $15 for a mint and complete figure.  You don't fine too many open market sales.  But, that's because the figure doesn't generate much interest in that regard.  If you can find such an opportunity, you might pick up this figure for under $5.  Hasbro's overuse of the mold rendered this version superfluous and pretty much killed any aftermarket demand for the figure.  That means, though, that a patient collector can get an excellent Firefly figure (maybe the best) for a pittance.  I never scoff at quality figures that are cheap.

Diorama - Nullifiers

The Cobra Urban Strike set is just about my favorite Toys R Us 6 pack that was released.   The Nullifier figure was just excellent.  In those days, I was up very early to beat the traffic to my office.  In the mornings, I'd go out and water the plants, though.  Usually, the sun was only partly up.  So, you can see the shadows and lack of light on the periphery of the photos.

This was also a way to highlight my recently acquired Paratrooper Guile.

Rarities - Alternate 2004 Cobra Urban Strike Set

In 2004, Hasbro came through for collectors of vintage Joe molds.  The year started with the highly anticipated Cobra Infantry and collector favorite Night Force sets.  This lead to great speculation that the follow up sets would be similar.  When the Cobra Urban Strike set was announced, collectors quickly got angry that Hasbro had abandoned the 6 army builder theme that was used for the Cobra Infantry.  In their rage, they overlooked a quiet gem of the repaint era.  The Urban Strike set was a nice mix of molds that hadn't been seen in a while coupled with excellent repaints of collector favorite molds.  But, the original design for the set was quite different.  And, many of these original figures showed up and were available from Asian Joe sellers in the mid 2000's.

The set below showcases the differences for the figures.  The main inclusion is the red color on Firefly, Night Creeper and the Nullifier.  While red is a standard Cobra color, Hasbro was seemingly on a quest to crimson-fy every Cobra character during the repaint era.  It was annoying.  So, them removing it from this set was a huge improvement.

In the end, this is definitely a set that was improved before it went to production.  The red creates flaws on each of figures on which is appears.  And, the superfluous cammo on Scrap Iron and the Alley Viper overly complicated otherwise solid paint jobs.  The grey Stormshadow is nice.  If that mold didn't suck and hadn't been used so many times in 2004, I might have a stronger opinion of it.  But, since it was generally a bad figure either way, I call it wash between the two versions of that character.

These figures were readily available from 2004 - 2006 or so.  Usually, they'd sell for under $20 each with the characters getting even cheaper.  Like all these figures, the alternate Urban Strike set has gotten much harder to find and more expensive in the ensuing decade.  But, it hasn't found collector interest on par with the alternate Anti-Venom figures who would have been their contemporaries.  I'm glad Hasbro made the modifications to the set that they did prior to production.  These figures are interesting.  But, they are also inferior to the production set.  And, the Urban Strike had so much good stuff in it that it remains one of the few bright spots for ARAH molds from that era.

2004 Urban Strike Nullifier

While 2003 ended on a whirlwind of G.I. Joe releases, 2004 was equally frenetic.  Hasbro bombarded retail with massive amounts of product.  Sadly, the general retail line was met with relative malaise and stagnated badly.  But, the vintage style exclusives that were offered at various retailers were more successful.  The year started with a bang with both a Night Force set and the collector favorite Cobra Infantry Forces.  The next wave of 6 packs at Toys R Us were greatly anticipated, but were unknown until very shortly before their release.  While the initial reception to the packs was cool, collectors came to realize that Hasbro had put together a couple of solid sets in the Cobra Urban Strike and the G.I. Joe Anti Venom releases.  Of the 12 overall figures, though, it is the Urban Strike Nullifier who stands as one of the stronger vintage repaints Hasbro ever offered.

Hasbro released the Flak Viper in 1992.  This version is decent enough.  The mold is great, but the colors are non-traditional Cobra.  The 1993 repaint added orange highlights.  Neither figure stands among the Cobra army building greats.  But, like many of the 1990's molds, the Flak Viper had a lot of potential.  Hasbro decided to use the mold again in 2004.  Only, this time it was not the Flak Viper.  Instead, the figure was named the Nullifier.  The original Nullifier was an Iron Grenadier character released in 1988.  Why Hasbro chose to use the Nullifier name instead of the Flak Viper is unknown.  It likely had to do with copyright issues since the figure retained the Flak Viper's specialty and filecard info.  The confusion somewhat obscured the quality of the Nullifier's release.

But, as a figure, the 2004 Nullifier is top notch.  The best part was the classic Cobra coloring.  (Though, oddly enough, the figure's filecard seems to show him in the 1992 Flak Viper color scheme.)  Hasbro had heavily avoided Cobra blue prior to 2004.  But, it came back in the Infantry Set and made another appearance in the Urban Strike set.  The Nullifer features a rich, deep Cobra blue base color.  He's a perfect match for the early days of Cobra and perfectly complements the Hiss Tank.  He is offset by black highlights.  It's tough to go wrong with blue and black for a Cobra army builder.  But, this figure really worked.  As a slight added bonus, the figure also has a leather brown colored shoulder pad and thigh pouch.  It's just enough color to break up the blue and black combo without being intrusive of the figure's overall palette.  The result is a figure that fits perfectly with 1998 Cobra Troopers and can enhance the backbone of your Cobra army without straying too far from the classic color scheme.

Gear wise, though, the Nullifier's accessories stink.  None of the mold's classic gear is available.  Instead, Hasbro threw in 3 rather non-descript weapons.  One is a black version of the 1986 Lifeline's pistol.  It's not a great fit, but also not a terrible weapon.  The second is a new sculpt mold that is a weapon without a stock, but including a grenade launcher.  Personally, I detest this weapon.  But, many collectors really like it, as well.  But, it came with so many figures in its era that it seems generic.  The final weapon is based on an AR-15.  It's also a new sculpt weapon that was most famously included with the 2005 Crimson Guard set.  I like this weapon quite a bit.  But, again, it was so ubiquitous that it's lost any real connection with the Nullifier.  You will see a silver version of the Flak Viper rifle in the photos below.  This version of the rifle was included with the M. Bison figure from the Street Fighter Movie line.  It's tough to find on it's own.  The Flak Viper's full complement of gear returned in 2006 on the desert Flak Viper.  This figure featured a black version of the classic rifle.  It should be impossible to find these loose.  But, large amounts of Asian overstock has appeared and into 2016, you can buy overstock versions of the black, 2006 Flak Viper rifle for very reasonable prices.  So, these are options to re-accessorize your figures should you so choose.

The Urban Strike set was both popular and unpopular.  When it was announced, collectors were less than enthused.  Hasbro was coming off of the collector favorite Cobra Infantry set and anything that was not 6 army builders in classic colors was going to be met with derision.  Once the set came out, though, collectors warmed to it.  The characters were decent and the army builders were excellent.  But, for many collectors, buying three characters for the three army builders made the set less attractive for mass accumulation.  Shortly after the set's release, though, the first signs of trouble in the Joe line surfaced.  Toys R Us dropped the price of the set to $15 in their brick and mortar stores.  It seems this was a promotion, but it was indicative that Joe's popularity was dipping.  For this reduced price, many collectors were enticed into an extra set or two.

Personally, I find this figure pretty much the best repaint of that era.  He had everything you could ask for from a repaint with the exception of accessories.  (Which, by 2004, were pretty much never again going to happen.)  The Nullifier looks great in the Hiss, manning an ASP (Though he is a bit large for the cockpit.), or holding down a gunnery position on any number of Cobra vehicles.  He also looks good as a general infantryman.  Sure, the helmet is a bit Robo Cop.  But, the design still works on a lot of levels.  It Hasbro had released every army builder in this color scheme, they would have become a sea of banality like the drab green color did for that era's Joes and even red did for the Cobras.  But, as the releases in the classic blue were so few and far between, those who got it really stand out.  More than a decade later, this Nullifier rises above nearly all of his contemporaries as a figure that every collector should have.

The Flak Viper got decent use.  There were the two vintage versions from 1992 and 1993.  Hasbro released this figure in 2004.  Then, in 2006, Master Collector used the mold (this time with his full complement of accessories) in the Flaming Moth series of figures.  This desert colored Flak Viper is another solid repaint and has the bonus of the original gear.  While I would have, personally, liked to have seen another repaint or two, this is a case where Hasbro really took advantage of a mold.  Collectors have the vintage figures to showcase the potential and the modern figures to fulfill it.  I can't really ask for anything more from the mold at this point.  This is a rare case where Hasbro really got it right and gave collectors satisfactory repaints.

Urban Strike sets have gotten somewhat popular on the aftermarket.  Finding boxed sets can be problematic these days.  And, when you do find them, they are often $60 or more.  Individually, the figures can be equally popular.  Right now, the Alley Viper appears to be the figure du jour from the set.  But, that seems to fluctuate quite a bit.  Finding excess Nullifiers can be tougher now than it was a few years ago.  As the figure's accessories suck, you can get incomplete figures for under $5.  But, complete with filecard versions tend to run between $9 and $12.  That's a lot for a modern army building figure based on an obscure 1990's mold.  But, it's also a testament to the figure's quality and the desire of collectors to integrate the figure into their classically colored Cobra armies.

2004 Urban Strike Alley Viper

To say that the Alley Viper was overdone in the repaint era would be an understatement. In 7 years, the figure was released in 5 unique color schemes. Each of these were designed with collectors in mind and each was army built with some gusto by the collecting world. In 2004, though, Hasbro put out their last Alley Viper incarnation. By that time, collectors had feasted on three retail Alley Viper figures in the prior two years. And, as such, were somewhat burned out on the mold. This lead many collectors to overlook what might be the best Alley Viper repaint of them all: the 2004 Urban Strike Alley Viper.

On paper, the Urban Strike Set looked like a winner. 3 major Cobra characters combined with three army builders should have been strong. The actual release lived up to the hype. Done in shades of black and blue with a bit of grey thrown in, the set was classic Cobra colors with strong molds. The Alley Viper, though, was fairly plain. But, there are times when less is more and this all black body with a few silver details and brown highlights was a perfect swan song for the mold. It was a simple and effective look for a character whose primary duty would be urban combat, likely under the cover of darkness. Despite Cobra's affiliation with evil, they rarely featured figures that were clad in solid black. (The repaint line featured more and more of them, but it was still relatively rare to see.) So, those who do appear in that color can be very useful, especially when paired with the large volume of black Cobra vehicles that are available.

The Urban Strike set suffered from it's release window. In late 2003, Hasbro had created the Python Patrol set. This set included 5 vintage army builder molds, all with their original accessories, colored in a decent homage to the Python Patrol theme. In January of 2004, the Cobra Infantry Squad was released. This set of 4 Cobra Troopers and 2 Cobra Officers was the high point for army builders. It was an immensely popular set that sold through very quickly. When the Urban Strike set appeared, collectors were hoping for a repeat of 6 army builders for their Cobra forces. But, Hasbro disappointed them by including only three army builders in the set along with Firefly, Scrap Iron and Stormshadow. This disappointment caused many to overlook the set and not realize that the Firefly was the best Firefly released up to that point, Scrap Iron had not been seen in 20 years and the Stormshadow was decently colored, even if the mold was lackluster. It was in the army builders, though, that Hasbro really outdid themselves. The Nullifer was nothing short of amazing. The Night Creeper was the best use that mold ever saw. And, the final figure, the Alley Viper, was one of the great, unheralded army builders in the repaint era.

Like most TRU sets of the time, the Urban Strike set had an unreleased variant that was available from Asia. While Firefly, Scrap Iron, Stormshadow and the Night Creeper all had fairly obvious differences, those on the Nullifer and Alley Viper are minor. Really, the only difference is some red paint cammo patterns applied to the figure. It is not a major variant, but one that is worth tracking as a squad leader for a group of retail released Alley Viper.

Today, these Alley Vipers are the main unit that's left outside of the 1997 Alley Viper contingent. The black color makes them one of Cobra's most effective quick strike units. The fact that they included the shield, face mask and pack helps flesh this out. (While the Alley Viper's weapon in the set sucks, the Stormshadow figure includes an all black uzi from the 1989 Snake Eyes mold that works perfectly with this figure. (You can see it in the photos below.) The figures are fully armed and ready for battle. While they are not perfect matches for the Rage, they work well enough and are right at home on Hiss Tanks or Stingers. It's a versatile figure that meshes well with vintage Joes and shows that sometimes, a simple repaint can be incredibly effective.

These Alley Vipers can fluctuate in price. In recent years, they have gone as high as $12 per figure to as low as $4 per figure. These days, you can get them in the $6 to $7 range, and less if you are willing to buy lots that include this figure and others. Many of the TRU exclusive set, including the Urban Strike, have taken on a bit of aftermarket appreciation. But, considering it's been a decade since this figure's release, that's not unexpected. Especially when you consider that this set likely only had around 20,000 units produced. Collectors have realized that sets like the Urban Strike did have some very redeeming qualities and are now willing to pay a bit more to add them to their collection. If you passed by this set at retail, that can be a bitter pill to swallow. But, the figures in it are top notch and this Alley Viper is certainly no exception.

2004 Urban Assault Night Creeper

It is known that Hasbro has a wealth of ARAH molds at their disposal. Unfortunately, they have chosen to ignore a large part of their library and focus on the same molds over and over again. Every now and then, though, they dust off one of the lesser used molds and accidentally create a figure for the ages. It has been a rare occurrence since 1997 but has happened enough to keep collectors around. When they do produce a gem, though, there are usually circumstances in the collecting world that cause the figure to be overlooked or quickly forgotten. Such is the case with the subject of this profile: the 2004 Urban Strike Night Creeper.

Night Creepers are an odd duck in the Joe world. They, technically, are not Cobras. Instead, they are independent contractors retained by Cobra Commander. As such, many collectors have fewer uses for Night Creepers than they do other, officially Cobra ninjas. From their first appearance in the comic, though, I was enthralled by the Night Creepers. I didn't, necessarily, like their origins and characterization. But, I did enjoy how they were used: ninjas who were also soldiers. They were not the ritualistic ninjas to which I had become numb from their overuse in the comics. They were more like ninja Major Bludds. That aspect I did like. The fact that the figure was really nice just helped them become more important in my collection.

The original Night Creeper figure is well done but very purple. The Snow Creeper is perfect for the arctic but the white color isn't that useful in other climates. This urban version is the best paint job released for the Night Creeper. The black, blue and white combined with the urban cammo paint job make this figure useful in many more environments than the previous releases. The dark colors are reminiscent of the traditional Cobra appearance but different enough that the figures don't blend into the multitude of Cobra blue figures who have been released. The judicious use of brown really brings out the small straps and details that hold the figure's chest armour in place. (The leather-brown is really well used on the Urban Firefly, too. The detail on that figure is near convention quality.) The overall look of the figure is dark and menacing and is more in line with the characterization of the Night Creepers that we saw in the comics.

In my collection, these Night Creepers are Cobra's initial strike force. They are the commando units who are sent into an area first to undertake "softening" missions like destroying power plants or damaging infrastructure. They may also be used for on the spot intelligence. They are not full blown combat troops. In fact, if they are caught in an all out fire fight, they call for backup or retreat. Their edged weapons are a function of their purpose. These Night Creepers are not supposed to be seen. Any unfortunate soul who does come across them is quickly...and quietly eliminated. The Night Creepers will perform their work and coordinate their explosions with the arrival of the Cobra combat forces. Their targets never knew the Night Creepers were there until something explodes and a target goes dark. By that time, the full Cobra combat force is arriving and the Night Creepers are never noticed as they slip away. This makes them the type of figure that does not get used for long stretches of time. (Which is how they dropped from my collecting radar.) but then start to appear as major parts of intricate story lines. I find myself using my Night Creeper team as a pre-cursor to Cobra's targets in South America and Africa. In this setting, a successful mission means a more deadly strike is coming while an unsuccessful mission means that a target is spared...for now. It is a nice niche for the Night Creeper as it allows me to use the figure enough to keep it interesting but not so much that I never want to see another version again.

This Night Creeper's accessories are passable. Unfortunately, the two most distinctive Night Creeper weapons (the crossbow and the pronged stick) are missing from this version. The signature curved sword is also MIA. However, the 2 included swords with the figure do work and are acceptable. Not distinctive, but ok when taken in light of most of the other, contemporary accessory choices Hasbro dropped into the Toys R Us 6 figure sets. The nice thing is that you can take the uzi from the urban Storm Shadow and give it to the Night Creeper to make him more of a commando than a swordsman. The Night Creeper mold has only been used for Hasbro based releases. After the original figure appeared in 1990, the mold did not show up again until the rather interesting Snow Creeper in 1998. Hasbro didn't use them mold again for 6 years, though, and this Urban Night Creeper remains only the 3rd time this mold has seen production. The unexplained gaps in release dates for this figure are an oddity for Hasbro who seems to like to repaint molds ad naseum. But, in this case, it works well as it leaves the Night Creeper mold as one that is nice to see from time to time but not...at least not yet...overused.

One thing of note in regards to the Urban set: there is a complete variant color scheme for the figures. They were not, officially, released. But, Asian Joe sellers offered a set of urban Cobras who featured different paint masks and red highlights. You can see the alternate Night Creeper in the photos below. The origin and purpose of these figures is unknown. It is likely, as some figures featured unused paint masks, that the figures were the original plan for the Urban Strike set. For whatever reason, the colors were not approved and the entire set was redesigned with the white highlights. The alternate urban figures are relatively cheap on the second hand market and are one of the more unique ways to expand your urban Cobra armies.

The Urban Strike set probably had a production run of ~20,000 units. Even with a run that low, it hung around at retail for a while. In most markets, it was mostly sold through by the late 4th Quarter with the Christmas season finally taking them off the pegs. Collectors really didn't warm to the set even though it featured two army builders (this Night Creeper and the Flak Viper mold) in their best ever color schemes, a high quality Alley Viper repaint (though the Alley Viper is a bit overdone), the first Scrap Iron figure in 20 years and offered what is still the most detailed paint job for a V1 Firefly that we have seen. (Until the '05 Comic Pack Firefly, the Urban version was probably the best overall Firefly Hasbro had ever released.) The Storm Shadow figure is a bad mold in acceptable colors with decent accessories. As such, it really made little sense why this set got such a bad rap among collectors when it was so well done. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that collectors were still on the high from the '04 Infantry Team and saw anything with less than 6 classic army builders as a complete let down. It was really an unfair comparison but one that has left these Urban figure affordable even while other, lesser figures have appreciated.

Urban Night Creepers are cheap. Mint and complete, you can get one for about 7 bucks. You can buy an entire Urban Strike set for about $30 if you want one right now and can get them cheaper if you have a little patience. The reality of the Joe world is that collectors do not reward ingenuity by Hasbo in terms of figure releases. We fawn over repaint after repaint of the Viper yet let high quality repaints of great, later molds go unsung. Since the Night Creeper is not the Cobra Trooper/Officer, Crimson Guard, Viper or BAT mold, collectors largely don't care about it. This is nice as this urban version remains incredibly cheap and available and is easy to aquire in multiples. For a figure of this quality, that is a rare combination. As the collecting world matures, we might see more figures like this become appreciated. Until then, I'll take advantage of hidden gems like this Night Creeper and quietly build my collection.