The 1986 Cobra STUN is a stupid, stupid vehicle. It is terrible in so many ways. I'll enumerate many of them later on. But, all of that is, largely, irrelevant. Why? Because, the STUN is a fun toy. And, that's all that it was really about. G.I. Joe wasn't about fundamental military realism. (Despite what douchy Facebook "Joe Bros" want to believe.) It was about really fun toys that kids would love to play with. And, the STUN delivered on that premise. Many of things that made it a rolling death trap were also the features that were the most fun to me when I was a kid. Even then, we realized the sheer ridiculousness of the design. But, we could forgive it due to how much play value was packed into the STUN.
The STUN features the classic Cobra colors of black and red. It's a perfect match for many Cobra vehicles from the classic era and seamlessly blends with Hiss Tanks, Stingers, CATs and Adders. And, as such, it's also a strong match for Vipers, Crimson Guards and even the Motor Viper who is its intended driver. The aesthetic and scale are different from the aforementioned toys, though. The STUN was definitely a product of the 1986 release year. But, it works perfectly with figures released along side it. Even with the colors, the STUN doesn't get as easy a pass as some other vehicles do, though. I get the reasons why. But, for me, the memories and importance of the STUN far outweigh any concerns about the vehicle's viability.
I first acquired the STUN in the summer of 1986. We went to the local Children's Palace store that was, literally, right next door to the local Toys R Us. There, they had STUNs stacked in a huge display on the floor. There were tons and tons of them. I bought one and it immediately became the backbone of my Cobra mechanized legions. The HISS Tank had been around for a while. And, it was kind of stale. The Thunder Machine was a newer acquisition. And, it was a key component of every Cobra attack that deployed against the bases I set up in my room. But, the Thunder Machine had limitations since it had just one gun. And, while it was impressive and deadly against infantry, the Thunder Machine wasn't as effective against more powerful Joe armor. The STUN solved for this. I envisioned the larger cannons as being able to easily take out more powerful Joe vehicles. And, they were still small enough to work against infantry troops, too.
The STUNs real power, though, was that it was fast. It was, in fact, the fastest vehicle in my entire collection. This was imperative because the STUN needed speed to offset the design limitations that left the crew so exposed. It would speed around the battlefield, outrunning the ability of infantry troops to track it with their weapons. Lumbering Maulers were no match for the STUNs which could surround and disable them. The only vehicle I had which could match up against the STUN was the HAVOC. At the time, the HAVOC had only been in my collection for a month or so. So, I was wont to make it as important as possible. The comic had an issue where the HAVOC was a foil to the Thunder Machine. But, I found the STUN a more worth adversary. STUNs could take out HAVOCs and vice-versa. And, since each vehicle required a full crew and had a rear gunner station, there were exponentially more play possibilities than I could have with any other two vehicles in my collection at the time.
My STUN had a standard crew. The Motor Viper took the main driver seat. These guys were nuts. They had to be in order to operate such a death trap that ensured instant death for the driver in most of the missions it would undertake. In 1987, the Accessory Pack version of the '86 Viper's rifle would join the Motor Viper to give the STUN extra firepower. The front gun pods were manned by '84 Hooded Cobra Commander figures. We had three of them. Some had broken thumbs or crotches. But, I could overlook those for guys who just sat in gunner pods. I had always used the Hooded CC's as Cobra gunners in the Hiss Tanks and ASP. So, this was just an extension of their existing duties. In the back gunner chair was my '86 Viper whose thumb had broken. I had snapped him early in his life. (Which was rare for me in 1986.) So, I had replaced the figure with another one. The broken thumb figure was perfect for the rear gunner chair. I could outfit the STUN with more figures if the need arose. But, this configuration would invade Joe bases for the remainder of my childhood playing days.
I've written about my childhood room before. It was an addition that was attached to an existing bedroom. I had tons of space. But, the entrance was a hallway that stepped down into my room. This hallway was a perfect runway for a Cobra attack. The Joe base would be beneath the step. And, against the step, I would build the security perimeter for the base. I would have the Bridge Layer bridge be the only ramp down the step. And, I'd have various ladders from old Fisher Price toys set up for the men to climb over the barrier. I'd set up old broken vehicles, TIE Fighter wings and rusting TONKA fire trucks as the remainder of the barrier. Among the gaps I'd place things like the Outpost Defender, Checkpoint Alpha and the smaller Battlefield Accessory sets with sandbags and walls. Figures would man these areas with key figures occupying other spaces.
Cobra would attack by coming down the hallway. They'd have legions of STUNS, Hiss Tanks and the Thunder Machine. (The Thunder Machine was an army building vehicle like the STUNs and Hiss Tanks...even though we only had one of each.) It was the STUNs, though, that did the damage. They'd zoom around the battlefield, outrunning the fire from the positions. The heavy cannons would knock down the barriers or blow holes through the defenses. The stationary emplacements would get destroyed. My key Joes, often occupying individual spaces instead of the playsets, would be the ones to take out a STUN or two. But, since they'd mostly do this by killing the Motor Viper who was driving, the high speed vehicles would then crash into the defenses, often opening the door for Cobra Infantry to advance through towards the actual base.
As the front line fell apart, the heavy Joe vehicles would come out. Here, they'd engage with the STUNs with success that varied on my mood. For me, Joe was always the underdog. They were outmanned and outgunned by Cobra. So, their victories were never guaranteed. They'd often sustain losses, too. But, I could have different figures become the major heroes of the day. And, I could have Cobra "lose" while still completing their objective like capturing key Joes or simply acquiring intel from a breached base. As the STUNs would roll down the bridge over the stair, they'd encounter far more individual troops. Here, the massive wheels on the STUN became another weapon. STUNs moving an incredibly high speeds would run over Joes in the melee. It was a fear tactic and an effective additional weapon the STUNs could wield. And, due to this, the STUNs were the most dangerous adversary the Joes could face.
This all sounds like STUNs were unstoppable. But, here's where we get into the ludicrous limitations of the STUN itself. The STUNs front features a rounded gun pod. They slant upwards...towards the driver. So, the Joes would just have to target their fire onto the front of the STUN. While the small arms couldn't penetrate the armor to kill the gunners, the bullets would be deflected directly at the driver. So, Motor Vipers were pretty easy to kill. They had no protection and were the highest point of the vehicle. As soon as the driver was hit, the STUN would go out of control. At their high travel speeds, the resulting crash would kill the remainder of the crew and destroy the vehicle. It would also take out anything it hit. Sometimes, that was the Joe defenses. Other times, it was another Cobra vehicle.
These limitations prevented the STUNs from being a game changer. Even a couple of guys with minimum weapons could take one out because the driver was so vulnerable. The STUNs main danger was en masse. While individual STUNs could be taken out quickly, a large group of them could inflict massive damage before they could all be neutralized. So, Cobra would send in a wave of STUNs who would do passes at the defenses until all the STUNs were gone. Then, the more stable Hiss Tanks and Thunder Machines would come in and handle the remainder of the battle. It made the STUN a super valuable part of my Cobra army. But, it also prevented it from making Cobra too powerful.
In addition to this flaw, the STUNs gun pods can open. While this gave the STUN a great zone of fire for its main weapons, it also slowed the vehicle down. And, with the pods open, the Motor Viper was still brutally exposed. Slower moving STUNs were easy targets, especially with the exposed driver. The flailing gun pods also made the three wheeled STUNs unstable. So, they couldn't turn with the precision that the drivers were used to. This would also result in crashes. These would, often, be less devastating events and the driver or gunners could survive. This is why the Motor Vipers got the rifles. They needed heavy weapons to assist in the battle when their STUN was disabled by a foolish gunner who opened his pod at an inopportune time.
STUNs were also a useful transport for Cobra hierarchy. Here, the STUN wasn't an attack vehicle. But, instead, a manner for key Cobras to quickly move between fortified Cobra positions and secret bases. These adventures with the STUN were less frequent. But, they showed the versatility of the STUN. Cobra lacked any aircraft that could hold more than one passenger in addition to the pilot. And, those planes were large, brittle or unwieldy. So, for me, land transport was the only real option for Cobra high command to travel between bases. The STUN could hold 4 of them with no issues. And, if I wanted, could even take a few more on the foot pegs. (Again, accuracy be damned.) So, the STUN had an additional purpose that made it useful, even when it wasn't just a fast attack vehicle taking out a base.
You can't talk about the STUN without discussing the flags. These two pieces are problematic because the slim plastic hasn't aged well. The flags have become brittle and prone to breakage over the past 40 years. On top of that, the flags were positioned on the vehicle in such a way that typical kid storage in a toy box would have bent them over and snapped them even back in the '80's. On top of that, the engine covers can also be brittle. But, they are more likely to be lost due to their smaller size. The rear gun can also be missing as it was also rather small. But, if it was properly affixed, it was harder to remove. It's not hard to find a STUN that's complete with the exception of the flags. But, the flags are a premium piece, now. You'll see an alarming number of high quality STUNs sold with broken flags...showing even kids who were meticulous with their toys ended up with broken STUN flags.
The STUN got two vintage releases: the 1986 original and a Python Patrol repaint in 1989. Somehow, the flags on the Python version are even more fragile than those from 1986. The STUN never got any foreign exclusive releases. But, in 2004, it got a surprise release as a convention exclusive. This version was colored as an homage to the vintage Dreadnok vehicles. But, the quality was poor. Collectors didn't find the vehicle to be of much use. There was a feeling that it was a bad match for the look of the Dreadnoks. And, the repaint never took off in the community. It's a shame there was never a retail STUN released during the repaint era. But, the original was colored perfectly. So, there wasn't a lot of potential left in the mold. And, since vintage STUNS were pretty cheap through the 2000's, a repaint was unlikely to have become a popular choice for a retail release.
STUNs are one of those vehicles that can be had cheaply...provided you don't care about certain elements of completeness. A nicely conditioned, fully complete STUN with unbroken flags is about an $80 item. However, take just the flags away and they run between $20 and $30. Personally, I don't find the flags to be all that imperative a part to the STUN. Others will disagree. But, for the price disparity, it's a no brainer to forgo them and add to your Cobra convoy with a couple of, otherwise, nice STUNs. For me, the STUN remains a childhood favorite. Despite this, I've never upgraded my childhood version. As I got it out from time to time, I realize the value the vehicle has for photos and displays. So, I probably need to look at getting a better version than the one I bought at Children's Palace nearly 40 years ago.
