Cobra CLAWS (2004 Walmart Exclusive)
I’m a sucker for interesting repaints. The Walmart exclusive Valor vs Venom two packs paired some of the more mundane molds with a couple of the better figures of the era. The Cobra CLAWS I found to be an odd concept. The toy itself features a unique character design, but bears the mark of many new sculpt era figures–weird proportions.
The intricate urban camo paint job on the shirt at least serves to distract the eye for just a moment. In the end though, he’s still a squat little example of a Cobra. I wonder if that’s a recruitment tool. Are you a little short for a blue shirt? Become a CLAWS. You might even get to wear a cool camo shirt. Who knows, you might even get mistaken for Firefly. Or maybe not.
That paint job on the mask makes me think of an ‘early Image Comics’ Darth Vader.
I never understood the pairings on those WalMart packs. All the Joes were in desert colors (tan) while the three Cobras had the urban camo pattern like the CLAWs pictured above. Its like each team prepared for a completely different mission and just happened to bump into the opposition on the way to their intended battle.
The Urban/Desert packs were a last minute replacement for the cancelled vintage style Sky Patrol packs. So, I don’t think Hasbro had a lot of time to throw them together. The Joes were pretty awful. But, the urban cammo on the Cobras was pretty intricate.
I was shocked to find these at my local store right before Christmas in 2003. Hasbro kept them pretty well under wraps. They sold through very quickly and most stores didn’t restock.
There was a time when the Cobras were $15 figures. But, I think time has definitely reduced collector interest in these figures.
Cobra CLAWS are coming to town…
That head look outright mutant! Nice camo though.