Look at him. I mean LOOK AT HIM.
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I can’t quite fully articulate the level of awesome that this Cobra Viper figure has achieved. The Sideshow Collectibles Production Blog has posted the above images (plus several more) and the pre-order should be live February 24th with the arrival of the Sideshow Collectibles newsletter.
Click here to check out all the details, but dammit, let me buy my Sideshow Exclusive when the pre-order goes live!
I have no idea why people get excited over these. Doesn’t even really look like a Viper to me. Pretty impressive accessories though.
How does that NOT look like a Viper? Its got the helmet with visor, padded forearm guards, blue uniform… hell it even comes with a 3 3/4″ style rifle and the goofy goggles to go on the helmet.
I’m in for two of these, both the exclusive version. I need that extra headsculpt to kitbash a few more Vipers.
Why couldn’t the upcoming POC viper be like this?
Oh well, got better shit to spend my money than action figures.
I got plenty of real live action men to play with. Why the hell am I buying action figures? Besides Techno viper PRIDE.
The figure looks cool, as does most plastic stuff. Heidi Montag action figure. Oh, the toy geeks would ruin it.
and this is why i have not bought any SSC GI Joe figures.
for the record the Viper is nice.
but……
come on..just give us the classic Viper. it rocks.
No SSC has to turn it up to 11 on this figure and have him crammed with ordnance and junk.
whats wrong with giving us one in the Flak Jack and cargo pants.
i would really enjoy this line more if SSC would offer up extras like the OG parts like flak jacket and pants and not something like an extra head(?) that looks like a reject from a Apollo Astronaut figure.
and i have to admit, i tell them (SSC) that everytime i see them and im not talking at cons. i party with these guys and bring it up all the time, but the numbers are solid and im in the very very minority when it comes to staying true to the ARAH roots
@ Mysterious Stranger.
I can never tell with you guys if you are being sincere in what you write or just scribbling down the first thing that pops into your head because you’re pissed off not everyone is jumping up and down for joy about something you so obviously really like.
I’ll indulge you though:
-The vest is completely wrong.
-The arm guards aren’t even remotely close ( should be strap on impact padding, NOT velcro tie around athelic crap)
-The inner thighs have impact padding on the real Viper, it’s there to absorb movement and protect the wearer for when manning tank guns and the like, in cases where you straddle armamments and so forth, NOT stick on patterns.
– The boots……do I really have to go into this? There isn’t even anything REMOTELY connecting these to the Classic Viper except the fact that yes, they are indeed boots.
– Backpack is not accurate either.
– the rifle is closer, but still not accurate.
So all in all, the helmet, goggles, shoulders and basic color scheme are all that’s close to the real Viper. By that standard, you can say all men around 6′ with dark hair and a mustache wearing a blue shirt are all the same as well.
So yeah, while I’m not dissing the quality here, it’s pretty far off from what I would of liked it to be, an actual figure based on a Cobra Viper.
To each his own. If you are liking them, maybe this collection has served its purpose. But I feel the same way about this as I have their other G.I.Joe offerings. As a design for a 3 3/4″ figure, it would be awesome. But as a 12″ Sideshow figure, I see it as a *bit* of a failure.
A friend of mine has a large Sideshow and Hot Toys collection. And among them, I see the Joe stuff as the least exciting. All the others *capture* a character in a way that really can only be appreciated in person. The Joe stuff tries too hard to reinvent and therefore fails to capture. Even looking at ones that come close, I think, “Stormshadow doesn’t have long sleeves.”
These are cool toys. But they aren’t the quality of the other stuff I’ve seen. I constantly get the feeling that companies are forward loading the lesser-desired item so that they can sell it in addition to the one everyone will want later.
This is a great-looking figure. But where is that 12″ 1986-style Viper I’d rather see?
Still running with my previous example, the long sleeves look cool on the upcoming 3 3/4″ Storm Shadow. But that is less than a $10 investment and takes up less space in my home. I expect a premium format 12″ Joe to be the definitive version of the character. That is where these fail.
I guess I can see why people would be disappointed that the Sideshow figures aren’t perfect representations of the RAH figures, but I think updating them for current times is a much better idea. It’s the same reason I like POC figures more than 25th. POC are updated for “near-future” times, and that fits in with how I view GI Joe.
It’s not often that I disagree with notpicard, but I do in this case. I can certainly see the appeal of making extremely accurate 12″ renditions of the small figures, but I think some details don’t work quite as well in the 12″ scale. Let’s face it, the Sideshow Joes have some skinny arms..I think Storm Shadow might look a bit ridiculous with short sleeves.
I think so far, Sideshow has done a really good job of bridging the gap. Taking the classic elements and making it look more “real world”. Let’s not forget that the Star Wars figures are based on already live action renditions of these characters. You know what you’re getting into by making 100% traditional recreations in a more “real world” scale. Just using 3 3/4″ figures as a base, it’s impossible to tell how cloth will drape, how straps will look, and how everything comes together when it’s a “real” material instead of sculpted plastic.
Also, while I think there is obviously a segment of Joe fans who are truly only invested in 100% recreations, I think so many of the fans of the Joe property are interested in a more “real world” looking military figure. Some of these funky designs have to be tweaked a bit to fit this scale and this format.
Of course I can say all of this because I’m not 110% married to a totally accurate vintage representation. I don’t mind the tweaks and updates as long as the spirit remains intact, and so far, in my opinion, the spirit has been totally intact.
For the record, this viper isn’t nice.
[QUOTE] Twink Viper said : Why couldn’t the upcoming POC viper be like this?
Oh well, got better shit to spend my money than action figures.
I got plenty of real live action men to play with. Why the hell am I buying action figures? Besides Techno viper PRIDE.
The figure looks cool, as does most plastic stuff. Heidi Montag action figure. Oh, the toy geeks would ruin it.
For the record, this viper isn’t nice.[/QUOTE]
Dude, lay off the caffeine. 😉
I would be 100% into this figure if it wasn’t for the fugly boots, and scarf. Also, the secondary head should be the IDW version, not that particular head…
@Hawkwinter
I haven’t drank any caffeine or snorted coke lately. Just ate a lot of…this morning.
@some guy
I am upset that we didn’t get PoC vipers that were newly designed. Oh well, at least I can make a Karl Lagerfeld figure. He’s fanning his flames. OMG OMG OMG!!! I JUST SAID HE’S FANNING HIS FLAMES!
OMG!
I can respect some folks wanting a 100% accurate version of figures from their childhood but Sideshow hasn’t and isn’t doing that. They are taking the ARAH design and giving them a necessary update. There is really no pleasing everyone so they aren’t even trying. If they did 100% ARAH in 12″ scale then people wouldn’t buy them because they are the same old same old. If they update them to make them unique and exciting then they are ignoring the purists. I personally really like their modernizing of the ARAH designs and think what they are doing is great. Its putting a fresh coat of paint and some new shutters on the house you grew up in.
That said, I got my preorder of 2 of the exclusive version in. I considered getting a third of the non-exclusive but I think I’ll wait and just pick up a Cobra Officer on the cheap to put one of the exclusive heads on and kit him out as an off duty or gearing up Viper or something.
Just saw that the Viper comes with multiple boots as well, with bent toes. Did any other of the Sideshow Joes come with that feature?
The thing for me is that I don’t see the “Necessary update” as necessary at all. The success of the 25th line proved beyond a doubt that there is a strong market for the old GIJoe designs in a new level of detail.
I am certainly not a purist. I just think that if you choose to do something, you should do it right. If you choose to make a classic look, it needs to match that classic look (this is the frustration felt with many 25th figures that did not look enough like their vintage counterparts). If you choose to make an update, then what that entails is a more tricky thing because you now need to identify what is an is not important. What must stay the same to capture the character? Where is the freedom to add something new?
Personally, I think Sideshow made the wrong choice by going with updated styles. Some of their figures veered a little too far imo. I’d rather see a level of detail on old designs that have never been reached. Snake Eyes is a good example. The original figure was designed to have a british commando sweater. The level of detail at the time couldn’t quite represent that. But it comes across in the new PoC figure. This, to me, is the way to look at the old designs and realize them now.
They limit numbers, so which style would have been more demanded is kind of a moot point. I just think that the freedom of new designs may also be the easy way out. Taking the time to do the original designs right while adding the detail needed to make a larger scale interesting would be a challenge. As Justin pointed out with the arms of Storm Shadow, getting bare arms to look right would be difficult. But imo, that just means they need to look at it from the ground up to get it right. Hot Toys Wolverine actually still looks awesome when he is just in a t-shirt.
It is possible.