First of all, big thanks to AutobotC5 of COPS HQ and COBRA Command Online fame. He has become my new source and "dealer" for the new G.I. Joe stuff, hopefully resulting in much quicker reviews for these new items. Drop by his site and say thanks! You're the man, C5!
Well, you can’t really mess with perfection…and any Alley-Viper classic mold released after Wave 1.5 is attempting to do that. The blue/urban camouflage Alley Viper is far and away the best representation of that mold, and any of them released after that just don’t hold up quite as well.
But that’s not to say that this figure doesn’t have it’s own merits…I’m not sure what purpose I’ll find for him, but he’s an appealing COBRA Trooper that may eventually see some screen time.
First of all, I like the 90’s Alley Viper mold quite a bit. While a lot less large and imposing than the classic ’89 version, he still has all the right elements of a great urban assault trooper. The great snake-like helmet/mask combination…the large, wrinkled flak vest nicely adorned with those shoulder pouches and very cool knife sheath. Those patriotic COBRA armbands add a beautiful touch and even those oversized metallic gauntlets look great. It’s quite unfortunate that every Alley-Viper since 1998 has been saddled with the ’83 Duke’s legs, which are far too small and undetailed for the post 90s top half of this figure. That mismatch doesn’t wreck the figure, fortunately, but I really wish that they still had the legs of the 90’s figures, which complimented the urban trooper well.
That being said, and even though this figure doesn’t really compare to the Wave 1.5 version, I do like this one as well. The base blue color is a really nice, appealing blue. Dark, but not too dark, with a great black compliment on his vest and mask. He’s got some great silver highlights where they belong on the weapons, and the splotchy black camo, while not nearly as defined as the Wave 1.5 version, does add some great flair to what would be rather bland paint scheme. However, it would have been nice to see some dark colors on the gauntlets. That blue shade just blends in with the rest of the uniform and those wrist guards don't really have the same impact. Still, a minor problem...
It’s obvious that this was a cost-cutting Wave for Hasbro, as I’ve said…but even only using four main paint masks, Hasbro was able to create a very appealing figure in a much darker hue…I can easily see these guys as COBRA’s night urban operations troopers. They come in after dark and clear the streets in preparation for the main force of Alley Vipers to come through. These guys are powerhouses, but are the silent and deadly type as well, capable of full on nastiness, or sneaking through the shadows, cross trained by the Night Vipers. I can definitely find some uses for these neat additions to the Alley Viper corps.
I’m certain that army builders will be all over this 2-pack as Hasbro finally answers fan wishes and releases a pure Troop-Builder pack, and I say it’s definitely worth picking up a couple of these packs. I only wish the weapon compliment was better…I couldn’t think of a worse possible assortment of guns and accessories for these two…although at least there’s nothing spring-loaded involved. :/ Buy these packs and start the troop-building, I have a feeling (and a hope) that these molds won’t be seen much in the immediate future.
But that’s not to say that this figure doesn’t have it’s own merits…I’m not sure what purpose I’ll find for him, but he’s an appealing COBRA Trooper that may eventually see some screen time.
