Cobra Eel (1993)
Hasbro went redeco crazy with some of 1993’s Battle Corps figures. Call it the last gasps of a once fabulously successful toyline, or a cheap way to extend the line for another year, the fact remains that, repaints aside, the year’s output in terms of single carded figures was immense. With Battle Corps and a host of offshoot sub-teams, there was a lot to choose from.
The 1992 Eel was one of the Cobras tapped for a redeco. The result is a similar, yet slightly less detailed paint scheme. The blue wet suit has been changed to a shade of purple, and the formerly painted ab section is now molded in yellow. Another cost-saving measure? Since this is a Battle Corps offering, the figure gets a missile launcher and some random weaponry. Why the cool trident gun wasn’t included is beyond me, but the shape of the Toxo-Viper rifle somehow seems to work in this context. I also find the yellow fins to be an improvement over the 1992 silver versions.
The biggest missed opportunity here? A repainted robo-shark missile launcher. I would have flipped for a neon orange or aqua colored version of the sidekick/weapon. I also would have liked to see this figure turned into an Eel officer, something missing from the line since 1985. The officer concept could have also been a chance to give the missile shark a good GI Joe animal sidekick name. My recommendation, based on the most famous robotic shark of all time–Bruce.
I have an idea–give this figure the prior one’s harpoon gun to match his flippers, and give the blue one the silver version of said harpoon gun from the Street Fighter Navy SEAL Guile. What do you all think?
I may be in the minority, but I think the 1993 Eel has better colors than the 1992 Eel (even though they look very close. I think the relatively subdued colors of 1993 work better than the loud colors of 1992) though no Eel can beat the 1992 Eel’s missile-shooting robot shark. LOL, do all those new rifles this Eel carries work underwater? The accessories for the 1993 Eel were definately a big drop down. Not sure why Hasbro changed it as the other 1992s kept their accessory (except for Roadblock, who was given a copy of Cross-Country’s accessories IIRC).
The 1993 repaints of 1992 figures seems to be Hasbro trying to spice up reissued figures. Up through 1990, every regular carded figure was available the next year, just in lower quantities. In 1991, most 1990s were available, then in 1992, only some 1991s were still available. By 1993, there were no figures from last year available (unless they shelfwarmed), thus Hasbro jazzed them up, giving Wild Bill new pants, giving salmon-loving Flak-Vipers a color to suit, Gen. Flagg changing his jacket, etc. The real weakness of 1993 is the cookie-cutter accessories. That reduced the individual identity of each figure along with the everybody-brings-a-rocket-launcher dynamic. I’d say the reduction of the color palette of each figure or the fine paint touches to highlight details was the second biggest weakness. But 1993 had such a glut because on top of that, it had so many new figures. 1992 was famine, 1993 was feast. Makes me wonder if some figures were delayed, originally intending to be a part of 1992 (like one of the cold Joes, Iceberg or Frostbite).
Hmmm. Perhaps we can have a photo of the 1992 & 1993 Eels side by side for a good color comparison? Too often it seems like lighting or the angle might affect how we see it with individual photos.That might be nice for each repaint actually. It would make for a nice compare and contrast and make the differences as plain as day.
Oh, your talking about the “Bruce” from Jaws, not my old philosophy teacher.
Nice mold!
This Eel would make a great officer if he were in the gray, black & red Eels colors. Or really, just a great Eel update.
The ROC Eel reminded me of this guy a bit. A couple fins on the ROC Eel’s helmet would have made a great throwback.
I really liked this Eel design, but the yellow on both this and the ’92 was not a high point for me.
I think what kept the ’92 version as my favorite was that the abdomen was not painted to blend in with the torso armor.
Also, something about the 1992 figures that really stuck out to me at the time was the Cobra insignia that was coming on figures arms, much like they did back up to 1985. So, little things like that tied what was new to me back in ’92/’93 to what I had from near ten years prior to that.
But I also agree with what you say in the post above where the yellow ’93 fins kind of fit the overall wetsuit, makes it feel like one piece of gear. The ’92 silver fins had an almost mechanical or metal feel to them, perhaps since those matched the shark launcher in all the colors from that figures package.
I think if the yellow had been replaced with the exact shade of red from the Crimson Guard Commander, this simple color switch would have made this a huge figure.