COBRA Neo-Viper (Attack on the Pit)

Welcome back guest reviewer Carlos, who's stepping in to give us his thoughts on the new Neo-Viper!

CARLOS: Neo Viper, how to handle this new faceless Cobra Trooper that we are sure to see several times during the ROC line? He is sure to get some screen time as seen on the ROC movie preview. This figure is tough for me to review. When we first saw pictures of him online long ago, I was not happy with what I saw. He seemed very strange, definitely not your blue shirt Cobra Trooper or your standard ARAH Viper. So has my mind changed while holding him in hands?

JUSTIN: Before you even go into this, I have to give a caveat right now...I do not own this figure. In fact, I don't own any of the Rise of COBRA Troop Builders yet (except an Ice-Viper I received as a gift), simply because I have yet to be convinced that they're worth the money. I do love the sinister looking head sculpts, but I bought the MARS 3-Pack, and I just didn't really like the "feel" of the body. The arms didn't work real well, the leg joints were clunky. I just didn't like 'em. Well, the Ice-Viper changed my mind a bit on the arms, but I'm still interested to see what Carlos says about the rest.

CARLOS: I'll confess that my first 'on hand' impression was that I did not like him. I just could not get past the new design. It seemed too 'out there' for my tastes. The skull like mask, the bulging chest armor, along with the hitech huge weaponry seemed too sci fi and less military or terrorist. But after playing around and getting a second one of these figures I started to get a soft spot for the design.

JUSTIN: I echo this sentiment. My first glimpse of these troopers (the Neos and the normals) was a genuine "WTF" moment. I really couldn't get my head around them. But the more I see them in pictures, and the more I read about them in various books and comic adaptations, the more they're growing on me. And I really LOVE those masks.

CARLOS: Accesories wise he does come with a decent assortment. He has two MARS Tech PULSE Rifles. A standard Cobra issue pistol, which is seen in other Cobra figures, is also included. Followed up with a Body Armor vest and a backpack. The Body Armor vest is removable. The backpack is pretty detailed and has two pegs which can hold the Pulse Rifles. Figures that can hold their gear are a big plus and I like that feature in this backpack. Unfortunately his pistol has no holster or anywhere to be stored in. He also comes with a big spring loaded missile launcher which is forgettable.

CARLOS: Lets get to his sculpt. Like I said before, this mold is going to be the standard buck for a lot of future ROC Cobra troops, so how is it? With the body armor off the torso looks to be the Resolute Trooper's body but its not, it is a new sculpt. It looks good and has some nice detailing. He has layers of armor around the shoulders, heavy gloved hands, strapping boots, all very modern/futuristic looking but looks like a soldier ready for battle. The colors are simple, black base with silver/gray hi-lites. I love the drybrushing which helps give those parts that armor/metal look.

JUSTIN: The gear helps, for sure...as does the drybrushing. I love the amount of wipes these movie figures get, it really does give them some extra detail and an almost more "real" or solid feel to them. You can tell their armor has been through the ringer, they're not just pictures on a page or screen. That bulky vest, though, kinda kills me. I'm all about the realistic firing hands, so I'll have to see what I think about those. I am pretty much in love with that backpack, though.

CARLOS: The headsculpt is very sinister. Not something you would want to run into as your enemy. It looks like a skull with those blackened out eye sockets. It does have a good size to it in which you could imagine a real head underneath. It has some unique lines around the mouth area adding to the sci fi-ishness of the figure.

CARLOS: With the Body Armor on him he gets some added girth around the torso. This does limit his arm articulation, which is too bad. He is able to get some good two handed posses without the armor on but once on he is very limited to what he could do with his guns. To make it worse one of the Pulse Rifles has an odd enclosed handle which also makes it very difficult for him to hold it well.

JUSTIN: Yeah, I already said my piece about this. I like the look, I love the armored collar, but I hate it when figures can't move the right way because of the armor they're wearing. Granted, he'd be restricted in real life, too, but I like my evil nanotech commandos to be able to shoot in all directions.

CARLOS: My final thoughts are still mixed. He looks very intimadating at times but sill walks the thin line of looking absurd at others. He looks very top heavy with the armor. Without the vest he still looks good and can hold his gear adequately but with it on he can just do one handed gun handling. Playability is a bit lost on him. Maybe its the actual weapons that hinder him as they do have oddball handles and stocks and hence make them difficult to hold in a realistic manner. He is an average figure, to me. Not a worthy contestant to army build, in my opinion.

JUSTIN: Agreed again...we're going to have to disagree one of these times just for the heck of it, or these reviews will get pretty dull. :)

In all seriousness, yeah, I'm thinking along the same lines. I have no drastic urge to stock up on companies of the Neo-Viper. He just doesn't seem that cool. Strange detailing on the arms, oversized rubbery torso armor. Just not loving it.

BUT.. as I said...he is growing on me. I blame Alexx in some ways, blame the books in other ways, and just my own damned fascination with re-enacting the movie on my display shelves. Once I get one of these in hand, I'll probably jot my feelings down again, but for now, it's not wow'ing me. Great thing about the way Hasbro's doing this, though, is that even if you just get one of everything, you'll still end up with a whole COBRA Island nation worth of these troops.

Buy this figure at Big Bad Toy Store!

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