Chinese Duke

Posted on October 29, 2018 by mwnekoman

Chinese Duke

In the 90‘s, Hasbro produced a line of GI Joe figures for China. The assortment consisted mainly of assorted 80‘s and 90‘s items, but a few releases stood out for being rather unique. Of them, there was a Tiger Force Flint made from V1 Falcon, a unique Major Bludd figure, and the Duke that is the focus of this profile.

On the surface, Duke seems more similar to his original V1 figure than the Major Bludd and Flint I mentioned. And in truth, he is quite similar to the original, but the main difference is that he uses the part recipe from Tiger Force Duke, just in V1 colors. The result is a figure that’s a near perfect representation of V1 Duke, but with a few different details that really makes it an interesting novelty as well.

Just like Tiger Force Duke, on this figure the arms are from Hit & Run, while the waist is from the Cobra Officer. The legs, head, and torso are the same as V1 Duke’s however. Until this writing, I actually forgot about the waist being different, and the main visual difference here is the elastic sleeves he features over the original cuffed ones.

V1 Duke ended up being one of those expensive main characters I put off buying through my early collecting years. Eventually I came across one of these Chinese Dukes and my need for the American figure diminished rapidly. Essentially, this figure provides you with almost everything the original does, only with a few odd sculpt changes that work to provide you with a more interesting collectible.

For the most part, his accessories are the same as the original’s as well. You get the same green helmet and gun, backpack, and binoculars. I really like these parts and am glad this figure includes them without changing anything. Subsequent releases of this sculpt lost more and more of the original parts, so it’s really nice that everything was included here one last time.

I don’t remember the last time I saw a Chinese Duke for sale. It probably was over a year ago, but at a time these were pretty common. I think I payed less than $15 for mine, and, if I had to say what I thought the figure is worth now based on that, I’d say about $15, and no more than $20 even for a carded example. These are out there and in collections, but a lack of interest in the brand right now is really creating a false since of scarcity. You almost never see this figure for sale, but the same can be said for plenty of the American items released at retail between ‘04 and ‘06, so let that speak for where we stand.

Chinese Duke Links:

Forgotten Figures

Yo Joe

1985 Footloose

Posted on October 15, 2018 by mwnekoman

1985 Footloose

As it turns out, I have a pretty glowing opinion about 1985 figures. It’s a mainstream opinion, but I think a fan of this line would be hard pressed to argue against the overall quality of figures and vehicles released in this year, and by far Footloose lives up to those expectations.

Footloose is the GI Joe toy I always wanted as a kid, although as a kid I had no knowledge of this figure. Realistic (or even just reasonable) portrayals of modern and recent past military designs were of high interest to me, particularly for my GI Joe team roster. But, as a kid of the 90‘s this gave me a very limited selection of figures to enjoy from my own and my brother’s collection. When I did check out Joe offerings in the early 2000‘s, my priorities stayed much the same in this regard.

And indeed, Footloose is a fantastically realistic looking figure. He’s decked out in a camouflaged BDU that looks pretty appropriate for the time period when this figure came out. The web gear, wrist gear, and the overall uniform features a lot of detail to appreciate. I think most importantly though, is that Footloose is a charmingly mundane figure. He doesn’t have the distinguished look of Duke, Flint, or even someone like Gung-Ho, but instead fills the lines need for a figure that actually looks like a reasonable portrayal of an American soldier.

Hasbro was pretty good about not reusing heads during ARAH, but it did happen. In the case of Footloose, his head was reused in ‘86 for Claymore, and again in ‘87 for Rumbler. Both are obscure releases, but outside of the 1982 sculpts, that gives Claymore one of the more frequently reused heads right behind Knockdown.

His filecard is pretty great too:

Meyers was Valedictorian of his high school class, captain of the track team, and an Eagle Scout. He was going for his degree in Phys. Ed. on a state scholarship when he suddenly dropped out, moved to the coast and became quite weird for about three years. He was standing on the boardwalk in Venice pondering something cosmic when the utter pointlessness of his existence hit him between the eyes like a runaway freight train. “I think I’ll join the Army,” he said, and promptly did. Took basic and AIT at Fort Benning, graduated jump school and desert training unit. Qualified expert all NATO and Warsaw Pact small arms.

“Some of the Joes think that Footloose is out there, but all he’s trying to do is find himself. He’s the All-American Boy who got lost on the way to the fair and he’s simply trying to go home any which way he can. Most folks think they know who they are and where they’re going…They’re the dangerous ones!”

Not quite hilarious on the level of Tripwire, but a classic characterization none the less.

Footloose’s accessories are top-notch. He included a helmet, backpack, M16 and a M73-A1 LAWS rocket launcher. The helmet actually features painted foliage on top of it, which is a fantastic detail and an unusual feature for a vintage helmet. The fact that he includes two weapons really ups his usefulness and it’s even better that he can realistically carry both at the same time with the sculpted straps they feature.

A mint complete Footloose is easy to acquire for about $10, but they commonly will go for $15 as well. For such a nice figure from one of GI Joe’s most popular years, it somewhat surprises me that Footloose goes for so little, but I guess that would be a reflection of the character’s popularity compared to Flint, Shipwreck, Snake Eyes and the Cobra army builders from that year that have remained popular and relevant characters to the GI Joe franchise.

1985 Footloose Links:

Forgotten Figures

3D Joes

Yo Joe

2006 SAW Viper, DTC

Posted on September 10, 2018 by mwnekoman

2006 SAW Viper, DTC

I’m a big fan of the DTC (Direct to Consumer) GI Joe line. The handful of times I spotted them at a TRU in 2005/06, they really caught my attention with the excellent character selection and retro styled packaging the line featured; in a way that the prior GI Joe lines had failed to do. Alas, I wouldn’t acquire any figures from the line at that time as I was already fully preoccupied collecting Gundam figures and Transformers.

A year or two after that I finally went down the rabbit hole of GI Joe collecting and picked up some of the DTC figures from years prior I had missed. Luckily for me, the lot of these figures were a simple task to acquire for small change online, giving me a healthy selection of modern styled SAW Vipers, Range Vipers, Snow Serpents and a few other figures to add to my newly growing collection of Cobras.

Apparently, the “New Sculpt” figures were at one time much the collector fad in the same vein as the Modern Era GI Joe figures. Like the early 25th Anniversary line, many of the sculpts did not age well, and once this format fell from favor, collectors were quick to dump their collections favoring only the vintage classics or the new modern figures.

I’m a really big fan of late 80‘s and 90‘s Cobras, but the 1990 SAW Viper is a figure I’ve never found it in me to love. Strange design, questionable colors, scrawny sculpt, terrible weapon… By far I think he’s my least favorite ARAH army builder. So for a figure to redesign in the DTC line, the new SAW Viper doesn’t have to do much to improve over the original.

The proportions and scale of the sculpt on this figure looks very reasonable. The worst I can say is that his head seems a bit tiny, but with his helmet on it looks passable. The chest and legs have a fairly bulky look that suits the figure well, and are a major improvement over the original figure.

The colors focus much more on black accentuated with maroon. I feel a little like this moves too far away from the figure’s original color scheme and actually makes this figure a little too realistic. Most wouldn’t view this as an issue, but perhaps keeping the purple instead of the maroon would’ve tied the figure back to the original a little more and given him some more of that 90‘s Cobra charm.

For parts, he includes his removable helmet and the original SAW Viper’s backpack, as well as a M249 LMG. Given that under the helmet all of the SAW Vipers end up looking like clones, I find this accessory somewhat redundant, but it acts as a play feature and I respect it for that. The backpack was a pretty decent choice in this case, as although I don’t like this part much, there again it ties him back to the vintage figure, which is needed here. Lastly, the M249 is a really nice sculpt and I dig the removable box magazine it features. I’ve come to associate this gun with the SAW Viper more than it’s original weapon, but that’s mainly just because the original was such a monstrosity.

If you don’t mind the construction, this figure provides a lot and acts as a nice alternative to the V1 SAW Viper. Like with many figures these days, finding them is not as easy as it used to be, but when they do show up, they remain dirt cheap. A carded figure can be acquired for as little as $7, and a loose figure or one in a lot may have the price drop to around $5. For that much, it’s definitely a figure worth looking out for.

2006 DTC SAW Viper Links:

Yo Joe

Joe A Day

Joebattlelines

1986 Iceberg

Posted on September 3, 2018 by mwnekoman

1986 Iceberg

The V1 Iceberg figure is a sculpt I’m pretty fond of, which likely comes from my frequent usage of the 1997 version as a kid. As an adult, the 1986 line-up was one of the first years of vintage figures I’d come close to completing, so eventually I made it a point to acquire V1 Iceberg even though I still had that ‘97 version and liked it plenty too.

In my youth, Iceberg was generally Snow Job’s sidekick. Any mission Snow Job was on, pretty much had to have Iceberg too. Blizzard would usually be present at first, but would typically end up a casualty early on into the play, leaving Iceberg and Snow Job to get through the thick of it on their own. Which, isn’t to say much for what kind of character I envisioned him as; I saw him mainly as an angrier version of Roadblock.

Of course, speaking of character the filecard and other media doesn’t really bring much to mind for Iceberg. He’s basically a guy who grew up in Texas and hates the heat… And that’s it. I remember the Sunbow episode where he got turned into a whale, but I don’t remember much about him other than that. I’ve always had a preference for cold-climate themed figures, but it is a shame that most of them are somewhat boring characters. The best I can think of is the Snow Serpent, but he’s not even an individual person, so that doesn’t say much for the rest of the arctic Joes.

Visually, V1 Iceberg is a very pleasing figure. The sculpt is very well detailed, well proportioned, and well colored. I think the chest sculpt is particularly impressive, with so many pockets, straps, side-arms and grenades adorning it, it gives you a lot to look at without being too busy. The bulkier shoulders are also a lot nicer than the Clutch/Breaker ones they replaced them with on the ‘97 release. For painted colors, Iceberg features three separate shades of green, light blue, some black for his eyes and a little red for the emblem on his arm. It’s really quite a nice selection of colors and a pretty large palate for an 80‘s figure.

Accessories are where Iceberg doesn’t end up so well off. He comes with only one part, that being his M60. It’s not a very impressive looking sculpt and comes with no source of ammunition for it. The best I can say is that he can hold it well, but that’s about it. To not come with any other parts than that certainly makes Iceberg a lot less interesting, and among the most poorly equipped figures in his year (the only other figure with one part being Monkeywrench).

As a side note about his accessories, if you were a cool kid in the 90‘s who bought mail-order figures, you had a chance to acquire a version of this figure with the awesome (terrible) Rock Viper riffle! The exact same gun as the one with the Rock Viper, the color wasn’t changed or anything. I guess the 2000‘s weren’t the only time Hasbro ruined figures with that horrible gun.

Iceberg’s are plentiful and cheap. Routinely, a mint, complete example can be acquired for around $6. For that much, he’s a great figure just to fill out a team of arctic specialists, and his accessory problems are easy to solve just with a spare backpack from someone else.

1986 Iceberg Links:

Bootleg Cobra Viper (Tele-Viper colors), Red Laser Army Customs

Posted on August 27, 2018 by mwnekoman

Bootleg Cobra Viper (Tele-Viper colors), Red Laser Army Customs

I’ve been meaning to get around to reviewing one of the Red Laser Custom Vipers, and the one that’s caught a lot of my interests lately is the Tele-Viper colored “Telecommunications Infantry” Viper. It’s sort of odd, as on the surface it still looks mostly like a normal Viper, but some of the nuances are what makes this color scheme appeal to me.

For the most part, this figure looks pretty much like a normal, 1986 Viper. He’s still mainly Cobra blue, but swaps the traditional black vest for a purple, Tele-Viper colored one. All of the red is replaced with either more blue or black, and like the Viper Pit Viper, the gloves are painted a separate color from his blue arm guards. It’s a pretty nice color scheme that’s different enough from a normal Viper, but still retains enough of those early 80‘s Cobra colors that he doesn’t look out of place with figures of that era.

To me, I think this figure provides a similar appeal as the different Phase II Clone Trooper regiments from Star Wars. Most Clone Troopers look a lot alike, but their regiment is distinguished typically by a single color. Normally, most Cobras come in disparate color schemes and don’t really form cohesive looking squads. The V1 Viper and Tele-Viper aren’t that different, but when a few colors are changed out like you have on this guy, it makes for a more uniform squad.

With all of these customs, a topic of high interest is usually the construction quality. With some of the other Viper customs I’ve acquired I have run into some issues, but these are pretty good. They hold their guns perfectly, paint applications are very tight and consistent, and the joints are okay. They’re not super tight like a card-fresh figure might be, but it’s reasonable enough they can hold a pose well and no modding seems necessary.

For parts, you get the standard V1 Viper backpack and riffle, with the addition of a removable helmet. The helmet’s nicely done, although it’s a very tight fit over the head. It’s really strange to me that despite there being almost 30 figures of the Viper, Hasbro has never once made one with a removable helmet, which heightens my appreciation for this feature.

Red Laser Customs still has some of these for sale on eBay, at the price of $12 each. If you’re into custom figures and you like these colors like I do, there’s not a very good reason to wait on grabbing some. As the market for factory customs has become more inflated with a wealth of odd and interesting figures, prices for oddball stuff like this doesn’t seem to go up as much. However, army building figures like this at a later date will likely prove challenging.

Red Laser Army Customs Viper Links:

Forgotten Figures

Red Lasers Army’s Instagram

HISS Tank

1989 Frag Viper

Posted on August 20, 2018 by mwnekoman

1989 Frag Viper

1989 was a pretty good year overall, but an amazing year if you focus on the Cobras. You had the fantastic Night Viper, the Alley Viper, the entire Python Patrol, and some other less popular, but still good quality figures. The Frag Viper falls into the later category; he’s definitely not the most popular figure from this year, but he still has a lot of positives going on for him.

I liked the Frag Viper a lot as a kid. He has nice colors and that kind of evil, robotic looking face that tended to attract me back then. A lot of Cobras from around this point were encased in so much armor and tech you really couldn’t tell they were human if you didn’t know better. So this guy, Vapor, the TARGAT, the Crimson Guard Commander and a few others were mainstays of my expanded Cobra robot army.

My enjoyment of this figure I had when I was a kid was something I couldn’t shake as an adult when I decided to go back and reunite him with his original parts. The specialty and file-card for the Frag Viper seems… a little hokey, but it’s not totally unreasonable when you think about it:

An integral part of the Cobra Viper fire-team, the FRAG-VIPER can toss high-explosive fragmentation grenades with all the range and accuracy of an M-79 or M-203 R.P.G.L. [Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher], but without the noise from the muzzle blast. The secret lies in the manual hurling basket, based on the cesta used in the Basque sport of Jai Alai. The Frag-Viper cesta is equipped with automatic feed and variable time-fuser with a cable link to the helmet’s automatic range-finder.
“A G.I. Joe armed with a M-203 40mm grenade launcher can manage a firing rate of five rounds-per-minute and as soon as he pops the first round, everybody and his uncle knows where he is. A Frag-Viper, with a fifty round magazine and automatic feeder, can deliver fifteen rounds-per-minute and you’ll never have any idea where they’re coming from!”

The manual hurling basket thing is the part that just sounds kind of silly. The stealth element of the character just seems tacked on as a way to make him more unique, but really a Viper specializing in demolitions is good enough already. And when you boil it down, that’s what the Frag Viper is: a demolitions specialist.

The sculpt keeps things pretty simple. I like figures that can look good without being too busy, but I wouldn’t say the Frag Viper has a lot of detail. My favorite part’s the head, with it’s bug-like eyes and the sculpted bolts on top of it. There’s a peg on his chin for connecting a hose to his backpack. Its a similar idea to the HEAT Viper, but I think this one does a better job of connecting the head to his equipment.

The colors are pretty decent on this guy too. Mostly a caramel brown, with some sky-blue and black to break things up. The caramel brown has a nice desert environment feeling to it, which I think is nice since the vintage Cobras are a bit underrepresented there despite having a good few Joes to fight who fit that theme.

The parts included with this figure were an SMG, grenade thrower, a unique and a generic hose, backpack and three removable grenades. The SMG is a really nice sculpt, and the Frag Viper can hold it nicely too. I sort of like the idea that one Frag Viper might use this to lay cover fire while another uses his grenade equipment. The backpack has some sculpted details showing that it’s filled with the grenades that are fed into his throwing device, which I think is a nice detail. The only real gripe I could see here is that the removable grenades could be lost way too easily, although they are a lot more fun to play with than the missiles from the HEAT Viper which face a similar issue.

The Frag Viper is not a remotely valuable figure. I have seven or eight of them I’ve acquired almost solely by chance due to the frequency that I find them in lots. With that said, the figure is almost always missing at least one grenade, and truly complete examples will go closer to around $13. However, missing any number of parts pushes the price down to around $5. Even MOSC figures can barely crack $30; a telling example of just how apathetic the GI Joe community is to this figure. All things considered, it’s a really nice army builder you can acquire with little effort.

1989 Frag Viper Links:

2006 Viper (Cobra Viper Pit 6-Pack)

Posted on August 13, 2018 by mwnekoman

2006 Viper (Cobra Viper Pit 6-Pack)

I’ve thought about discussing this set for awhile, and being that my blog shares a name with this set, it seems right to talk about the Cobra Viper Pit at some point. The amusing thing is, I really just liked the name and thought it seemed unique for a Joe blog, but I’m not the biggest fan of the set. That isn’t to say I dislike the figures by any means, however.

The Cobra Viper Pit set and it’s Vipers are somewhat infamous in the GI Joe collecting community at this point. Namely, the reason for that is due to how incredibly fragile the figures are, and how poorly they’ve aged in comparison to other delicate feeling figures no one thought would last long.

The main problem with this Viper is that the crotch, sans modification, will almost be guaranteed to break. This is because the thighs are newly recast Viper thighs, while the waist is the same one from the BAT that Hasbro used on all Viper repaints from ‘97 onward. As it turns out, these parts are not a great fit, and the t-bar puts enough pressure on the crotch that sooner or later, it breaks.

The problem is compounded if you leave the factory o-rings in this figure, though twelve years to the release of the set and it’s mildly hard to find any still intact. Hasbro used undersized o-rings in these and they should be immediately replaced upon acquisition of the figure.

To correct the crotch issue, one can use a nail-file and grind down a portion of the inside of the figure’s crotch. This alleviates the pressure issue and seems to help the range of motion in the figure’s legs. I’ve owned four of these Vipers for about four or five years now with no problems thanks to this, though it’s a serious shame a figure needs modifications just to prevent it from breaking.

It should be mentioned as well, that these Vipers inherit the neck bar from the 1997 line, a modification intended to limit the head movement down to left and right like all of the pre-1985 figures. It’s dumb, and has been an annoyance on all of the Vipers released since then, and it’s present here too.

These glaring quality issues are a huge damper on what could’ve otherwise been one of the best GI Joe items of it’s era. A set of 6 Vipers, all in classic colors with decent parts and great painted details, it’s a premise that’s hard to screw-up, yet Hasbro somehow found a way to do just that.

The painted details of this figure is where they really shine in my opinion. The colors are very similar to the V1 Viper’s, but a lot of details are highlighted on this version that were easily overlooked on the original Viper. The goggle lenses, gloves, vest buckles, grenades, they’ve all been swapped out from large swathes of red and black for additional colors. I think it looks so good, I’d dare to say they’re an upgrade to the V1 Viper, visually.

The parts really aren’t bad either. 2000‘s GI Joes are known for coming with random, tired and terrible parts (good example: The Cobra Infantry Forces), but these guys come with a little variety of new and old guns in appropriate colors. Four of the Vipers in the set have Ambush’s bullpup in light gray, while the other two each got a black LMG from the DTC SAW Viper, and a light gray MP5 like the one from the DTC Range Viper. As well, the set included four backpacks from ‘92 Gung-Ho.

With all that said, these should be great figures. But, requiring modifications just to work as intended makes them a failure of a product. Still, I really like these Vipers and enjoy using them in photos from time to time. With current Joe market pricing, I see full sets of these, carded or loose, running between $30 to $50. Like all of the other mid-2000‘s GI Joe sets, the supply of these have really dried up, and prices have gone up accordingly. Personally, I think you’d be well advised to spend your collecting dollars elsewhere, as at the moment these just have too many problems and cost way too much.

2006 Viper (Cobra Viper Pit 6-Pack) Links:

1987 HISS II

Posted on August 6, 2018 by mwnekoman

1987 HISS II

I’ve been contemplating the first vehicle to review here on the Viper Pit. Of my potential options, the HISS II seems to stick out as an item that’s both interesting and iconic (or rather, derivative of an icon). Plus, it’s a darned fun toy, and that gives me some things to say about it.

I knew about the HISS II as a kid, but I don’t have a clear recollection of where I discovered it. It was one of the few items from ‘89 onward that neither me nor my brother owned, so I was never able to personally experience the toy. The premise captivated me though, that being a more heavily armed HISS tank, with a three man crew and troop carrying capabilities. It seemed like the perfect upgrade to the fun, but somewhat limited HISS Tank.

Into my collecting years, I contemplated acquiring one for a long time, but somehow it continually eluded me. Either they’d always be going out of my price range, or I’d somehow forget about it. It seems as though not only Hasbro but collectors have a penchant for ignoring the HISS II, so it rarely shows up in photos or discussions. The mold was only used one other time as an obscure convention exclusive in 2003, and never again after that. Which really burns, since apparently Hasbro had the mold too, but chose never to bring it back.

As a kid, I envisioned the HISS II as being the perfect version of the HISS tank. Since then however, the V1 HISS tank has grown to be more or less my favorite GI Joe vehicle, so it’s up against some tough competition were I to compare them. Generally though, I feel like they are fundamentally different toys, where one represents the early line’s simplistic charm, while the other favors big guns and gimmicks that were the trend of the later line.

The overall design of the HISS II is very similar to the original HISS. The basic shape, turret and canopy are all very similar and it’s a very solid updated design in that regard. It’s colors on the other hand are a rather drastic departure, now featuring a grey-blue color very similar to the Maggot, a lot of red on the weapons, and a red tinted canopy. These colors really aren’t bad at all, but a better repaint in the 2000‘s would’ve been appreciated. While the original HISS was a very sleek design, the HISS II puts a bigger focus on small, mechanical details all over the tank. Personally I prefer this busy, detailed look, but that’s all up to preferences.

It’s most appealing feature is it’s ability to carry troops in the back of the tank. Like a lot of folks, I really enjoyed vehicles as a kid that could support a large number of figures, or at least a decent squad. Admittedly, the execution of this isn’t the best on the HISS II. The troop bay is a very tight fit, and even getting figures to all sit nicely in it is quite a chore. The retaining bars that go here in particular constrain the amount of leg room for figures. It looks detailed and has enough play value, but isn’t as nice as say the Monster Blaster APC or the Parasite.

The HISS II also supports two drivers in the front of the tank. I assume the second guy must be operating the the side guns and missiles, so that’s fairly important. It feels slightly like a superficial role for a figure to have on the tank, but it gives you another opportunity to use a figure, and that increases the play value nicely.

The last guy goes in the turret just like on the first HISS. I think the first HISS Tank’s turret had a slightly more interesting construction, and looked better when you pose it’s guns in different directions. However, it was also a lot more delicate, whereas the HISS II doesn’t have anything terribly fragile going on. I think the sculpting is a lot nicer on the HISS II’s gun barrels as well.

All things considered, the HISS II’s puts a lot of focus on play value while maintaining a high degree of quality. It’s a nice in-between of the style of vehicles you saw in the early 80‘s that were often simple, but aesthetically pleasing, and the 90‘s vehicles that focused a lot on gimmicks, but sometimes went too far on that.

HISS II’s aren’t the easiest to find 100% complete, but they’re also not very expensive. Typically they seem to float between the $20 – $30 range, and sometimes you can even get one with the Track Viper without increasing the price very much. The most commonly missing pieces seem to be the missiles and the clips that go inside the cockpit seats. If you want to save a few bucks, neither seems really essential to me, especially the clips.

1987 HISS II Links:

Yo Joe

3D Joes

1985 Snow Serpent

Posted on July 23, 2018 by mwnekoman

1985 Snow Serpent

Although the ARAH line was long and prominent through the 80‘s and early 90‘s, 1985 sticks out as probably the zenith year of the line. This year gave us some of the most beloved characters and figures, like V2 Snake Eyes, Flint, and Shipwreck, as well as the most iconic playset, the USS Flagg. The toys were great, the cartoon and comics were going strong, and the Snow Serpent is no exception to the high quality standard we saw that year.

Army builders don’t always have the best bios, but the Snow Serpent’s filecard is pretty cool. It establishes from the get-go that these are the most highly trained, dangerous soldiers in the Cobra hierarchy. “Snow Serpents are the Arctic Specialist branch of the Eels (COBRA Frogmen)” I really like the continuity this set’s up with one of his contemporary figures. The focus on their rank also helps give the figure some substance beyond being another niche Cobra.

Building an army of Snow Serpents has been a long and hard task, and I still don’t have that many. So in my army, these guys remain an elite, highly trained force like in their file cards, while some of the V2‘s and few other later arctic Cobras function as the cannon fodder of their division.

The detail present on this figure is amazing. The Crimson Guard and Eel were both pretty nice, but the Snow Serpent is simply in a league of his own. There’s just so many folds, pockets, pouches and buckles, he seems to have a greater sense of depth to his sculpt than many of his contemporaries. The head has a particularly great look, with it’s face mask, goggles and ridges along the top of his helmet. It’s really neat how much this design has going on, and how well the figure represents it.

One of the best aspects of the Snow Serpent are his accessories. He includes a parachute, backpack, mortar, snow shoes and AK-47. This is a lot of parts, especially since most figures at the time just included a backpack and a gun. Like the figure, the parts feature a lot of nice sculpted details, especially the detailed folds in the backpack. Sadly I’ve still not acquired a 100% complete example, but most of these parts were reused a few times, so it’s pretty easy to augment one with some similar parts.

Snow Serpents are not cheap, but that’s to be expected for a figure that comes with a lot of parts and hails from such a popular year. Complete figures routinely go for around $25, and even without parts they can go for around $9. My personal strategy for acquiring these is to buy cheaper ones that still have a part or two, and slowly acquire enough parts to complete a few while gaining some extra figures for filling out my army and using in dioramas.

1985 Snow Serpent Links:

1993 Keel Haul

Posted on July 16, 2018 by mwnekoman

1993 Keel Haul

If you own a V1 Keel Haul, I think it’s fair to say you might be lucky. You might have a lot of money now, or you might’ve lucked out and acquired one from Hasbro Direct in the 90‘s. If you were extremely lucky, you had rich parents who bought you the USS Flagg as a kid. But in the case you never acquired one in one of those scenarios, there’s this Battle Corps Keel Haul from ‘93, the one for us poor kids.

This figure is another one I had frequent access to as a kid. He was always there, always in the Joe tub, and yet I have hardly any memories of him. When I was young, the only figures I especially went for were robots and ninjas. Occasionally, a few other interesting looking soldiers would get thrown into the mix, but Keel Haul was far too mundane to really fall into that criteria. At most, I think I used him a few times as a drunk boat captain who was haplessly murdered by the Frag Viper and Vapor, but that’s about it.

It’s sort of odd, because Hasbro didn’t resurrect too many early 80‘s molds for single card releases at this point. We got things like the Steel Brigade and Ninja Viper as mail away items, or a few repaints from as far back as ‘88 with the Astro Viper, but nothing as old as an ‘85 mold.

Thankfully, there’s not a real loss of quality here. The figure’s colors are mainly blue, dark green and some brown. Not quite as nice as the original, but perfectly fine in its own right. I could imagine a lot of ways that a 90‘s repaint of this figure could’ve gone wrong, with unwanted fluorescent colors tainting the sculpt, but everything’s kept surprisingly reasonable looking here.

There’s a cool little variant of this figure regarding the logo on his back. Normally, the logo is large and takes up most of his back, but on certain figures it’s small and is placed just below his neck. I’ve acquired both figures by chance, but at the moment I forgot what I did with the tiny-logo variant (hence, no picture yet). According to Yo Joe the smaller logo is rarer, but I don’t know by how much. It’s a cool thing to look out for if you’re into variant collecting though.

The weapons he includes are okay overall. Cloudburt’s MP5SD is a nice gun, and I never mind it’s inclusion. The knife and Eco Warriors Flint’s gun are forgettable at best, though at the very least the knife seems like it’d be somewhat useful. It’s a very generic lot of parts, but he doesn’t lose much from the original, and isn’t a character in great need of an arsenal anyway.

Keel Hauls carded or loose, seem to go for around $10. Carded examples are quite common, but don’t go for much more than a loose figure. I really enjoy having Keel Haul in my GI Joe roster, but he’s not a character I have much investment in, so this figure is perfect for my needs. Someday when I’m really bored, and have a lot more money and space, I’ll bother getting the V1 and USS Flagg. Until then, this version fills the void nicely.

1993 Keel Haul Links:

Yo Joe

3D Joes