Medi-Viper (2005)

By Past Nastification The Medi-Vipers’ origin date waaaay back to the Marvel Comics run, where they popped up from time to time. They wore the old-fashioned head mirrors on their masked faces. If you’re wondering what a “head mirror” is, it’s the reflective circle on the metal band going around the Medi-Viper’s forwhead. Doctors used to wear them and I’m

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Munitia (2009)

By Past Nastification Munita was a delayed figure that ended up being released as a Direct to Consumer figure through the GI Joe Collectors’ Club. Maybe because of the delay, or maybe because Hasbro had moved on to the 25th Anniversary style figures at retail, Munitia just didn’t catch on. The character was intended to be a ruthless bounty hunter,

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Spirit Iron-Knife (2005)

Wait, didn’t we just cover this guy recently? Sort of. He was part of a comic pack in 2006, but before that was a single carded DTC release. This original figure features a really large Freedom sidekick as well as a unique belt and rifle. All three elements add more interest to the character and I prefer this one to

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Cobra Viper (2006)

The Viper has a storied history of releases during the new sculpt era. One would think such an iconic Cobra trooper would have been a slam-dunk success, a license to print money where army builders were concerned. Not so, thanks to weird mold choices and color schemes. Blue gave way to greens, browns and greys, and the 1986 BAT legs

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Scrap Iron (2005)

By Past Nastification They can’t all be winners. Before the Iron Grenadiers existed, Destro’s organizational presence was MARS. The only MARS/pre-IG character figure to gain action figure status was the 1984 Scrap Iron, somewhat erroneously presented as a Cobra figure. With an amazing no-frills dark blue uniform and red padding, the figure didn’t look like an employee of Destro. It

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SAW Viper (2006)

By Past Nastification I usually despise head-to-toe repaints (httr). Thankfully, this new sculpt figure has the arms of Barrel Roll added to the… everything else of the 2005 Rollbar, narrowly escaping the head-to-toe label. But even though I know it’s not an httr, on some level the addition of the different arms just isn’t enough to convince me it’s not.

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Cobra Viper (2006)

I was stoked when I first found out about the DTC Cobra Viper Pit set. Here was an army builder pack of Vipers that not only gave us something close to the old color scheme, but also looked to have solved the problem of the funky leg molds that plagued the previous re-release versions. Well, sort of. While the thighs

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Major Barrage (2005 DTC)

Major Barrage, like some other later new sculpt line figures, pioneered some construction elements that were later incorporated into the 25th Anniversary and modern series. The pinless shoulder joints and ball jointed head were improvements that carried into successive lines, abd are still in use. He also breaks away from the generally standard figure height, and towers over other figures.

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Medi-Viper (2005 DTC)

The Medi-Vipers, in the Marvel comics, were the kind of troops that made for great ancillary detail among the well-known Joes and Cobras. I had wanted a figure version since I first saw them. Though the design was obvious and the old style doctor’s reflector on the head was a bit out of date, the concept was brilliantly simple. I’m

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