I’m starting to get sold. Just a little.
I haven’t been wild about the Jungle Viper since day one, simply because he’s got so much gear, he seems like he might lack some playability. But the more I see about him, the more I’m getting converted. A fan of the site Jack Sparrow only further fanned the flames by sending along some great pictures of Jungle Viper “in the wild”. This figure is looking cooler and cooler. We’ll see what I think once I get him in hand. Check out the images below.
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Don’t be a skeptic…accept the AWESOMENESS that is the Jungle Viper! IMO, best figure of the line. Remove the backpack and arm-camo, give him a smaller scoped rifle and viola…night-viper. So much awesome it’s hard to contain. Awesome articulation, awesome gear, and great colors. I’m a huge fan of this fig, for sure.
He’s got those blind white eyes under the visor, but everything else is pretty great. It may be the single most involved figure to pose, set up an army, or handle for the accessories sake, but it does give you a lot of options. Everything moves or is movable and still it can hold it’s place. They are just amazing for a 3.75 action figure and none of it is poorly done.
Except for those eyes.
I believe someone had asked about the eyes when the figure first premiered and the designer said that Jungle Vipers were genetically altered like that, to allow them to see better in the dark.
Wish stuff like that was on the filecard, though.
This is hands down the figure I’ve been the most excited about from POC. I can’t begin to comprehend how someone couldn’t like this figure. I definitely agree with the Night Viper comment, NAS. That was a figure that truly should have seen a 25th anniv release, but the Jungle Viper looks to fill the role well.
I like the look of the pupiless eyes. Pretty freaky, actually.
i love that figure. i do not army build…but the jungle viper’s design forced me to buy two…
one to display with the camo vanes fully enveloping him, with just the scope protruding. one to display with the vanes splayed open, scope in the up position and sniper-cannon in hand.
not sure why everyone is so up in arms about the eyes…….didnt you guys enjoy “chronicles of riddick”?
I sorta see what you mean about playability, but:
1) As Nas said, simply take off the back-pack and you’ve got a perfectly poseable, cool looking fig. (The only downside in this configuration IMO are the nobs on his forearms. Wish those weren’t there, especially since the forearms blades aren’t really necessary–the blades on this backpack are fully sufficient in camo’ing the fig. They can envelop him almost completely.) He makes a pretty good NV update this way. (In fact, I have one of mine posed with the original NV accessories.) In fact the choices this fig affords you — full camo blades, no camo w/just webgear, webgear off–actually enhances play IMO. More options=good.
2) This fig–all geared up–actually calls out to be played with like few others I’ve owned. Once you’ve got the backpack on you can’t help but mess around configuring the blades in different ways –the blades are very poseable and *hold* the positions you put them in–and hiding the fig around the house, the yard, etc. The whole package can be a bit cumbersome–that the blades are so tight helps alot though–but the pluses really add up IMO.
i agree with Fred that the only thing about this figure that bothers me is the arm blades. they’re hard to pose and get in the way when he holds his sniper rifle, and they tend to get in the way of posing the backpack blades as well. plus the arm knobs are the only kibble that remains when the backpack is removed. the figure as is is good, but just not having the arm blades/knobs to deal with would make him nearly perfect.
if i was less anal about keeping my figures pristine and complete, i’d cut the knobs off and ditch the arm blades. still, a very solid figure. and definitely a nice night viper update/homage.
playability? is that really an issue?
sorry…but, that word fell out of my vocabulary when i was 12.
at 37yrs old, all figures are to me are $7 statues.
wow….that number looks so high when typed out!!!
and before anyone goes apeshit thinking im making fun of them….im only trying to make the point that as long as the figure looks good just standing there (or hanging if they have a jetpack) then im perfectly happy with it.
I think by “playability” most of us mean something along the lines of ease of poseability. For example: what’s the range of motion like on the fig? Do accessories like vests, sculpted on armor, etc. inhibit achieving certain poses? Can the figure stand on its own in a range of poses when all geared up? Do accessories stay on tight or fall off when posing the fig?
Probably few of us actually “play” with our figures in the manner we did as kids, but many of us do set up our figs and vehicles, build dioramas, shoot dio-stories, and the like. And for those of us who do these things, ease of poseability–or “playability” if you will–matters.
ps
Monkey Boy, the thought of cutting off the arm knobs crossed my mind too. Perhaps if I get enough of these guys (just two so far), I feel comfortable trying it with at least one.
And Justin, here’s a quick pic without the camo blades:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/davidundelise/DSCN0234.jpg
if i wanted statues i’d collect high end statues. i like figures that can move, switch out accessories, have different display options. i don’t stage tiny battles (at least not when anyone’s looking) but i like to have the option to change the figure’s look and pose.
figures that are basically statues (like mcfarlane product that isn’t halo-related for example) aren’t interesting to me because i can’t do anything with them. i want options, at the very least the ability to pose them differently in my display.
monkey…you missed my intended point….
when i call them statues, i open, pose, and display and rarely revisit that second step.
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also….playability and poseablility are, clearly-cut, two different terms entirely.
I’m not sure about that, 788. If how a person “plays” depends heavily on how well a toy can be posed then, then playability and poseability are very closely connected, if not perfectly coextensive, for that person. Articulation is as much a “play feature” as anything else IMO.
Yes, folks should keep in mind that these opinions are based solely on viewing images of this figure, as I have not laid a single finger on one yet…your mileage most likely will vary, and of course, I’ll probably be sold the minute I crack ‘im open. As is, he looks a bit “busy”, but I’m eager to be proven wrong.
788, the guys are pretty much right. I may use the term “poseability” and “playability” interchangably, because they are relatively interchangable, I think. As a 36 year old guy, I’m not sitting in the sandbox going “pew pew” with my figures, but during reviews I’m posing, moving, balancing, standing, etc… and the ease with which a figure can achieve these different poses (and hold them!) impacts the review, for sure. It’s all part of the process.
And heck, if I ever in my life have the time to do it, I plan on getting back into the “dio-story” game, and in those cases, poseability and playability are infinitely important to me. If I can’t pose a Jungle Viper in numerous ways while stalking through a jungle, he will be useless to me in that way, and that also impacts the review.
Does that make sense?
Justin
Hasn’t this figure got the new wrist joints (for a 1/18 Joe figure) so he can rotate AND pivot the hands?
I play with little plastic men and I play with big men who aren’t plastic.
Oh, is that vomit coming from your mouths?
one final clarification on my end….
playability, rooted in the word “play”, is a term I reserve for the kids angle.
a toys “playability” is measured by how much interest and thusly how much playtime it will garner from a kid.
action features, shooting projectiles, rolling wheels…all contribute to playability.
yes, articulation is also a part of playability…however, a figure can have posable fingers……but if the toy is otherwise boring to a kid, or has no features that interest him…it has no playability.
i see playabilty measured by how long it takes for the toy to hit the bottom of the toychest.
@DrSyn yep, and it helps him a LOT in holding his big ol’ sniper rifle.