Cobra (The Enemy)

Flash forward 25 years, and we see the re-launch of the RAH brand.With a movie just around the corner, the timing is perfect.But does the new line revive the excitement of their vintage cousins?

Appearance:

I will say this, in the store, I was going either get Cobra (Trooper) or the Cobra Officer.I didn’t have either of them as a kid, so either would be a welcome addition to my collection. Looking at the officer’s light gray plastic harness and gun, I made the choice to get the standard Cobra infantry trooper. The gray just looked cheaper quality than the black.

Now, since there’s never been a live action show or film to go with the RAH line, it be hard to miss on his appearance.He has the basic form the comic and animated show versions had: Blue uniform with a stylized helmet.

The detailing for the most part is good.The lacing on the boots has to be one of my favorite things with this guy.

There is a large pocket sculpted on to his right leg and some straps to hold his knife on the left.For being a functional knife sheath, they don’t really detract from the overall look of the figure.

There is a silver Cobra logo in the middle of his chest.
This is one of three small issues I have with this guy’s
appearance.The logo looks two small to me. Maybe that’s just me, but I think it should be a tad larger.
Also, for the purists, in the vintage line the Viper glider pilot had a silver logo and standard Cobra had a red one.

My second issue is pretty minor, but it might be worse on other figures.The plastic the arms are molded in is a slightly different shade of blue that his body.It took awhile to see this, and it wasn’t until I took his harness off that I really noticed it.

One thing that came as a surprise was that his helmet is removable. I guessed in the store it wasn’t but turned out it was.Underneath is a bald head. Which is fine with
me, since I shave my head every day.

With the helmet off I noticed one something else. Either
his head is a bit too small or his neck is a tad too long.
I’m not sure which, but it’s not a big issue either way.

I also was a little disappointed that he seem to be a slight bigger scale than the vintage figures.He’s about half a head taller than my vintage Duke.I like to mix vintage and modern stuff in my displays, and I’m just not sure if this going to look right.

Fun:

One of the coolest things about GI Joe for me was the posability. Since most of my collection was Star Wars figures, the RAH figures were very articulated and well armed.

The new figures are the modern equivalent with added wrist and ankle articulation. The o-ring construction of the old figures has been left in the past. It’s been replaced with a chest joint.I have to say, I’m not a big fan of this. Yes it may be a more realistic way to move, but on this figure it doesn’t do much more than swivel.

Now, this might work with say a Clone Trooper who has an armor split to hide the joint.But on a cloth shirted sculpt, it almost makes the figure look as if he has a sports bra on to me. Speaking of joints that have limited movement, the ball jointed head on my trooper doesn’t really work.He can turn left or right and that’s about it.This may be related to the head and neck sculpt thing mentioned above.

One last thing to note about articulation. I had one of
his hands pop off two seconds out of the package. They don’t seem to be in there real tight, so watch him with small children and dogs.

Cobra does provide some decent equipment for their soldiers, though. A silver knife with painted handle, that looks to have a blunt tip. I’m guessing child safety laws at work.

A blue helmet with a black painted interior. I’m guessing the new Joe helmets aren’t interchangeable like back in the day. This looks to be specific to him, but since I only have a Snake Eyes or Hooded Storm Shadow to compare him against, the jury is still out.

His weapon of choice is a black rifle with a wood grain stock and handle.The rifle was what sold me on this guy over the Officer version.

On top of that, there’s a Cobra logo base.I like the labeled bases, but I really wish Hasbro would have went with something more generic like the old battle pack bases or a maybe terrain bases.

Last but not least, this dude has a removable harness.
there’s some silver detailing in different spots.It would
have been nice if the sculpted pistol would have been removable.

Overall:

In general, a good figure, but not a great figure.GI Joe figures to me should be a little more durable that this guy feels.

The overall look is GI Joe, but I really expected a more solid figure in scale with the vintage line. Yeah, I’ll buy some more of them, I’m just going to be very selective which ones.

Engineernerd Score: 85/100

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