Hercules (2017 Black Major)
Black Major has been producing interesting variants of Cobra troops using the 80s trooper mold for some time.
His most recent offerings include a new troop type code named Hercules. With a deco based on the Palitoy Action Force range’s SAS detachment, this new figure joins the ranks of familiar faces like Blades, Stalker and Hunter. The color scheme echoes the black, yellow and grey palette of the past, along with an accurate reproduction of the original SAS logo.
Hercules came equipped with a Dragunov rifle and Viper backpack, done up in a complementary bright yellow. Military purists might poo-poo such a bold color design choice, but I think the accessories work well, considering the brightly colored weapons of some of the Palitoy figures.
Not a huge fan of Cobra Troopers being named characters…especially if they are good guys. But, this figure does look really nice with the rest of the SAS figures.
Seriously, the Trooper/Officer molds are getting used way too much.
No factory customs maker has done the Officer mold, actually, as far as I know. A shame. It’s better in some ways.
I just don’t get buying customs like this. It’s basically in the same vein as s knockoff to me. If it’s not made by Hasbro it’s not part of the line or my collection
Confused over these too. I’ve asked before but still not understanding (and Google is surprisingly of no help) how does this black major (1) get away with making these (2) have the molds (3) is this one guy or a factory (4) do they only make figs off of cobra officers/ trooper molds? And (5) what’s the attraction except people hungry for something else to collect?
Mucho thanks
1. Hasbro doesn’t care. They’ve abandoned this format entirely and, as long as he follows a few common sense rules, Hasbro won’t bother him.
2. They recast the molds from vintage figures. They are not the original Hasbro molds. It’s a pretty sure bet those are all gone.
3. These are factory produced customs made in factories in, likely, China.
4. They have tons of molds and have produced so far: Cobra Troopers, Crimson Guards, BATs, Female Cobra Troopers, Vipers, Steel Brigades, Alley Vipers, Night Vipers, Stardusters, Cobra De Acos and a whole host of original figures using Frankensteined parts.
5. Hasbro dropped the ball and never really delivered a consistent stream of fan/collector themed figures. Most of their ARAH offerings were dreck. With these figures, we can finally get some blatantly missed army builders and expensive characters. And, now they are filling holes like unproduced figures, comic concepts and international characters. Hasbro left ARAH collectors to die on the vine. These guys fill an unmet demand. They’re not for everyone and some of the quality through the years has been spotty. But, some are excellent and I now have figures I’ve wanted since I was a kid but Hasbro, for some reason, couldn’t find a way to make.
Super Excellente reply!! Thanks so much!!
I’ve got 150 or so of the figures cataloged here:
https://repro-joes.blogspot.com/
If you have any of the tons I am missing, hit me up.
While I admit it was neat seeing a BAT that’s basically a grape soda vending machine, is there really a market for the Trooper mold painted in possibly hundreds of different color combos?
Seeing as how pretty much all of the Cobra Trooper repaints are sold out, I’d say that, yes, there is a market. Though, I do suspect that most of the more recent Cobra Trooper repaints are produced in very low quantities. Maybe as low as 250 to 500 total figures.