Sludge Viper V1, 1991

Posted on March 26, 2018 by mwnekoman

At a time, it was debatable what the GI Joe community loathed more: Star Brigade, or Eco Warriors. In recent times however, many Joe fans seem to be softening their opinions on these 90‘s sub-lines, and a few figures have even attained relative popularity. With that said, the Sludge Viper is neither hated, nor spoken of very much.

I’ve had one of these for as long as I can remember, and I’ve also been through some ups a downs with the figure. As a kid, he was okay and his design appealed to my general taste, but the yellow and teal colors lead me to favor the V2 Toxo Viper over him. I didn’t have a distaste for neon, but the colors used on him had too much of a friendly vibe for me to really see him as a villain.

In my teenage years I really started to see how strong the mold was and sought to acquire a small army of the Sub Viper repaint. The colors on that figure were a vast improvement and really allowed me to appreciate the mold. Even then, his new role as a naval Cobra really limited my interest in him when there were so many other figures I preferred in similar functions (Lampreys, namely). I still like that figure, but it’s rare I have the good opportunity to use him.

This leads me back to my current stance on the figure. In large, the colors don’t bother me any more and I think they give him a rather unique and fun look. It’s not a very consistent scheme with other Eco Warrior Cobra items, although that may work in the Sludge Viper’s favor giving him some much need uniqueness that he lacks in other elements. Getting past the colors, I’m left with a figure that has solid proportions, excellent sculpted details like the various gauges on his chest, and a great helmet design that isn’t undersized.

If the figure has a critical flaw, he’s simply far too similar to the V2 Toxo Viper. They both have the same gun, the same backpack, and even the water cannon is mostly the same, just purple instead of green. The parts are still good and make for a charming figure if displayed with just his backpack and gun, but the laziness of this parts reuse can’t be ignored. It’s especially irksome given that the Toxo Viper and Sludge Viper don’t really serve roles that are all that different from each other, which I think is part of the reason why the Sludge Viper is rather forgotten comparatively.

But past that, the Sludge Viper is a quality figure and should be more than welcome in the collection of any Joe fan who’s more accepting of brighter colors. Used to, this figure ran pretty cheap, but like everything else he’s seen an increase in value. They’re harder to find and complete examples will run around $14. Without his parts, they go for closer to $8. I don’t expect that these prices will remain the same once Hasbro renews interest in the brand and you see more of them on the market, but only time will tell.

Sludge Viper V1, 1991 Links:

Yo Joe

Forgotten Figures

3DJoes

Diorama by Scarrviper

Destro V1, 1983

Posted on March 19, 2018 by mwnekoman

When I first got into completing my vintage ARAH collection in the late 2000‘s, many of my early acquisitions were vehicle drivers such as the Lampreys and other oddballs like Techno Vipers, partly because these figures were cheap and helped me grow my fledgling Cobra army. I did have some characters I sought in high priority for one reason or another, and one of said characters was V1 Destro.

As a kid, I had V3, V4, and V5 who were all frequent players in my childhood battles. In fact, Destro would more often be leading Cobra than Cobra Commander, as I preferred any villain with a robotic appearance and Destro fit that bill nicely (especially his Armor Tech toy). I also really enjoyed his appearances in the Sunbow cartoon, so he was essentially my favorite Cobra in my early days.

As such, his V1 figure was one of the first I set out to acquire after V1 Major Bludd. The ones from my childhood were nice, but the appeal quickly wore off of the Armor Tech figure, and I was never fond of the small head on the V3 mold. Most later Destros were derived from that mold as well, leaving me with only the V2 Iron Grenadier figure and this one as palatable alternatives.

Destro’s design is fairly eccentric with his open-chested jacket and medallion he wears, but the absurdities of his appearance are something I’m somewhat numb to. Compared to other early Cobras like the Cobra Troopers and Major Bludd, this is a pretty silly look for a character. But, it works for Destro and there’s no other design for the character I prefer over it. It’s odd, but when you look at him as being an 80‘s comic book antagonist, he’s far from out of place.

There are some weaker areas in V1 Destro’s sculpt. Namely, I feel as though the chest and waist details are a little on the soft side, even when compared to his contemporaries. The best element of the figure is by far his head. It’s one of the few Destro toys that wears an appropriately sized mask, and the use of chrome on it made for a very unique figure.

For accessories, he included a laser pistol, and a backpack/ gun case. I still only own the accessory pack version of his pistol, but I really dig the look of it. Not a lot of figures came with pistols in the early part of the line, so it seems to carry a sort of distinction that denotes the importance of a character. The backpack opens up and reveals a disassembled M16 in storage, a very nice detail that added a little more play value to the part, though personally I’ve always thought he looks a little strange wearing it.

Complete Destro’s range from from $20 to $30 dollars, but it’s more common you see them run towards the later. If you sacrifice the pistol, the figure can be had more easily for about $8 to $10. If you go the cheaper route and don’t care about his pistol, there’s a dark blue accessory pack version that makes a decent stand-in.

Destro V1, 1983 Links:

Destro by RTG at ARAH Gallery

Destro Diorama by Outrider

Destro Diorama by Scarrviper

Destro Diorama by Xander

1984 Wild Weasel

Posted on March 12, 2018 by mwnekoman

Overall, I’d have to say 1984 was one of the strongest years in the line for ARAH. The GI Joe and Cobra characters introduced in this year would remain icons for the brand in the decades to come, and are probably among the most popular. Today’s subject, Wild Weasel, may not be as beloved as Firefly or Zartan, but is still probably the most highly regarded Cobra pilot.

No doubt, part of his appeal is likely the fact that he was included with the Cobra Rattler, which is by far one of the coolest aircraft in the line. Larry Hama also made good use of the character, with some memorable issues of the comic featuring Wild Weasel such as #34. Wild Weasel comes of as a competent and serious adversary, a nice contrast to the simplistic and thug-like nature of a character like Copperhead.

The actual toy itself is a good one. He’s cast in crimson red plastic that really stands out through the canopy of his Rattler and other vehicles. The details are also really strong on the figure, with his black accents, silver Cobra sigil on his arm, blue undershirt, and the detailed maps featured on each of his legs. I think comparatively, the painted details are standard for the year he came out in, but the tampographed maps really set him over the top.

Like a lot of the 1984 Cobras, Wild Weasel’s sculpt is very detailed. The torso in particular is covered in seams, belts and pockets with my favorite detail being the open collar. The open collar was one of those kinds of details that helped define him as an individual with a bit of personality and helped set him apart from generic troops like the HISS Driver.

Similar to other early vehicle drivers, Wild Weasel came with no parts. I still don’t have a Rattler in my collection, so this can make Wild Weasel a little tricky to use from time to time. Personally I think V1 Destro’s pistol is generic enough that it can make a decent side-arm for him, though Scrap-Iron also provides an alternative weapon that could compliment him from the early line. Regardless, it’s nice that the production budget for the figure went more into his painted details then a forgettable gun most examples wouldn’t have anymore.

Wild Weasel’s are dirt cheap oddly enough. Mint figures with their filecard on occasion will go from $5 to $10, but usually the former. Even without his Rattler, there’s plenty of Cobra planes he makes a sweet pilot for, so I can’t imagine not acquiring one. Compared to his contemporaries that’s really cheap, making me wonder if I overrate his prominence a bit. More likely, it’s a good example of this figure being overshadowed by collector favorites like Zartan and the Stinger Driver.

1984 Wild Weasel Links:

Yo Joe

3D Joes

Forgotten Figures

JMM’s Comics Home Page

1990 Sonic Fighters Viper

Posted on March 5, 2018 by mwnekoman

As ARAH moved into it’s final years, Hasbro started experimenting more and more with adding different gimmicks to figures. One example, is the Sonic Fighters from 1990. Unlike the later Super Sonic Fighters and Talking Battle Commanders from ‘91 and ‘92, the Sonic Fighters were comprised entirely of repaints, such as the Viper of today’s profile.

The Sonic Fighters Viper is fairly memorable for being the last appearance of the 1986 Viper mold in it’s entirety. As many fans didn’t fancy the use of the BAT legs on every Viper release there after, this adds some significance to the piece despite the relative obscurity of his sub-line.

The Sonic Fighters Viper has been a lot of things in my collection. For a while, it was the only version of the original Viper sculpt I owned, so for that alone he was a tad more interesting. By and large though, he’s flipped between two roles I think he works well as. The first, is as a body guard for 2002 Headman. It’s a strange idea and I’m not the biggest fan of that figure, but as he is technically a Cobra, I think it’s interesting to match him with some similarly colored Vipers. The second, is as a desert version of a normal Viper. That idea may be a bit less original, but the colors are well suited for that role.

Speaking of colors, it’s a rather eye-catching figure. He’s largely caramel brown, with black and gold details, as well as a orange visor. These are attractive colors, and also likely the most unique ones the Viper’s ever been featured in. Some might be bothered by the orange Visor, but I think it adds to him somewhat, and doesn’t seem like an unreasonable color just for the visor.

The parts are an interesting mix on this figure. They’re all cast in gold plastic, and you get Shockwave’s pistol, Hit&Run’s carbine, the Annihilator’s SMG, Downtown’s mortar, and the gigantic backpack with the sound gimmick. The pistol is a notorious thumb-breaker that looks dumb if you can get a figure to hold it, but the other guns are both pretty good as is the mortar. It’s a figure worth having most of the parts to, and if you want to army build them, one complete figure can arm a few other incomplete examples, which isn’t bad.

Of course, I guess I could comment on the backpack too. The Sonic Fighters backpacks are hilarious monstrosities. They’re so heavy it’s impossible to stand a figure with one; and difficult even if you use a figure stand. It makes 4 different sound effects, which are amusing for a few seconds but get boring after that. Doesn’t seem like much to be worth pushing the price of a figure up a few dollars, but they kept the gimmick for two more years so obviously kids at the time liked it well enough.

At a time, this figure wasn’t as expensive and collector’s didn’t like him much. Clearly, opinions have changed as his Sonic Fighter contemporaries have stayed relatively cheap while this Viper has seen an increase in value. Complete figures often run between $17 and $30, while the seldom incomplete example may go for $5 to $8. Oddly enough, that’s a pretty large disparity in value between the complete and incomplete example, especially for a figure who’s parts aren’t that hard to find. At the moment, it remains a figure you’ll have to hunt for to get one at a fair price.