Continuing my “Top Ten” countdown of the items we saw last weekend in the Concept Case at the G.I. Joe: Convention. With my number 10 entry, I focused on the G.I. Joe: Renegades Scrap Iron with his melted face and awesomely animated body style.
For my ninth entry, I went back into the archives… generally I’m not a fan of simply re-releasing figures as they appeared two decades ago, with only minor alterations, but the figure I saw in the case made me rethink that idea. Besides, I’m a huge fan of those crazy 1989 army builders, so I couldn’t help myself.
9 – G.I. Joe: 30th Anniversary HEAT Viper
HEAT Viper is just one of those crazy figures you can’t help but love. Bright yellow, purple, and with his trusty missile-boots he has all the earmarks of the wacky Cobra Troopers of the late 1980’s. I was actually pretty amazed at just how well Hasbro translated that crazy design to the modern style.
Using the 30th Anniversary Airtight tooling and what appears to be a resin sculpted HEAT Viper helmet, Hasbro is able to replicate the look and feel almost perfectly. It does appear that some sculpting modification was done to get the purple strip down the front of the figure, but beyond that, this would be a pretty straight forward kit-bash. In talking to Dave, one of the genius sculptors for Hasbro, the HEAT Viper head was sculpted and appeared in his display case at the Convention, but it has not been “tooled” yet. However, he also had sculpted a Crimson Guard head for a tour in Providence a few years back, and that head ended up getting tooled and used.
Anyway, since we have Alley-Viper, and will soon have Night-Viper, it seems only appropriate that we add HEAT-Viper to the growing ’89 trooper ranks. Can Frag-Viper be far behind?
Check out the images below.
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Heat Viper is the ugliest Cobra trooper ever and the very last one I ever would’ve wanted to see updated in the modern line.
Nice choice. I still think that the updates to “figures just as they appeared 2 decades ago” are things that are much-needed but also need to be trickled in. Toss this figure in a wave with some equally well-built new designs and he helps ground the new with the old while giving us an update to a figure that has been pretty well ignored. Plus, this one has some great custom potential. I think I would like some way to attach a hose to the helmet though.
I agree. I will admit, too, part of why I want them to make this guy is so we can see an easily made Fast Blast Viper down the road as well. 😀
I’d rather they just do the Fast Blast Viper.
I will never ever understand why they can make accurate recreations of figures like this, but Falcon, Law and Order and especially Jinx get the wishy-washy, 50/50 treatment.
IMO the SDCC Jinx and 30th Law Hasbro made were huge improvements over the original designs.
Falcon on the other hand is still waiting for a good modern figure. Still waiting.
I agree with you about Jinx and Falcon, but I would still love to see Law with a red shirt and light blue vest.
Jinx and L&O are great looking figures, but they’re not true ARAH updates in the vein of Airtight, Sci-Fi and Lifeline. Jinx especially, given that she is getting 4 figures this year. I really wish the SDCC figures were a true ARAH update and then the modern red version.
The HEAT-Viper is actually my #1 concept figure that I want to see released, on account that he was one of my favorite COBRA troop-types. Unlike the modern era version of the Techno-Viper (another favorite of mine) which the designers in my opinion made too bulky and over-accessorized, this ME interpretation of the HEAT-Viper looks like a direct copy of a ARAH HEAT-Viper figure in every way, shape, and color. Sometimes less really is MORE, and I think this modern version of the HEAT-Viper is a prime example. Of course true to Hasbro’s form it’s one of those figures we need to petition, nag, and beg them to actually made available to the fans. Really hoping this one makes it from concept to retail product.
This is my #1 concept as well. Something no one seems to have mentioned yet is how this figure’s head has been made to resemble the original’s card art, and not the figure’s. Personally I wish they had gone the other way around, but I’ll take either. Worst case I’ll have to match that orange and paint it myself.
HEAT Viper is one of those figures I know I should hate but I love. I think I bought it at just the right age that it imprinted on me as some kind of awesomeness.
I’m all in favour of seeing the Heat-Viper return, but I’d be happier to see a Pursuit Of Cobra-style makeover rather than straight remake.