Scorpion (1994)
The Real American Hero era came to a close with a whimper in terms of the number of vehicles. Just four were released in that last year. However, within this small group were I think some real hidden gems. The Scorpion is one.
Obviously, this isn’t the first time Cobra had added an ATV to its arsenal. The Ferret is one of the truly iconic vehicles of the line, and a fabulous little toy. The Scorpion, while also an all terrain vehicle, has a different sort of vibe. It doesn’t strike me as much as a fast attack vehicle, as it’s quite a bit bigger than the Ferret. The driver and rider can sit down in it, rather than straddling it like a motorcycle. The Scorpion also surpasses the Ferret in armaments, with a machine gun and (firing) missile launcher. It also has some armor plating and sturdy bumper up front. There’s a spare gas tank, just in case, and an engine lurking under the flip-up hood.
There were two variations to this vehicle. The body and attachable pieces were cast in opposing colors. One version is black with tan pieces, and the other is tan with black pieces. Pick up both, and you can make an all tan or all black Scorpion. What a cool touch. A lot of the later vehicles get flak, (often justifiably so) from collectors for not matching up to the quality of the earlier 80’s offerings, but the Scorpion rises above others of its era as one of the nicer late line vehicles.
I dig this vehicle. Never owned one, forgot it even existed. Sweetness.
I may have to look for one of these at some point–it would look great with a trio of Desert Scorpions riding it: one to drive, one to man the missile launcher, and one to man the machine gun in the back.
I remember my local toyworld being overstocked with these in ’95. They were all marked down to $4.50. I’m still kicking myself for getting that Lego set instead
I bought the first one for just under $5 tax at that time, and then the 2nd one for a little less, I believe.
It was my attempt at “army building” some jeeps for Cobra.
I ended up with one of each color variation, though. THAT surprised me at the time and tossed by uniform looking army build out the window!
I wouldn’t mind taking another attempt at army building this vehicle, it is pretty solid, despite less than intricate details. Only thing is that I hate to think when so many people were able to buy this for less than $5, and then want to sell it loose for so much more…., just can’t do it.
This is probably (at least in my opinion) the best of the last offerings of Joe vehicles. I didn’t have it, but a friend of mine did. I had gotten out of buying vehicles since they had gotten pretty chincy in the last couple years and so few came with drivers, but this thing just impressed me. It had some solid bulk to it and its missile launcher wasn’t nearly as obtrusive as some later ones. It’s solid, intimidating and yet still looks like it could be a good, fast-attack Cobra vehicle.
I think I had one of these for a couple of years but never got around to opening it. That bit of news about the black and tan parts inversions just made the Scorpion 50% cooler in my book.
Nice vehicle 1994!
I got one of these (still have it; I’m surprised it didn’t get sold on eBay when I was selling off all my Joes and Transformers in 2007). It was indeed a great vehicle; perhaps one of the best ones since the mid-80s. With this and some of the fantastic final Joe figure offerings (Flint, Shipwreck, Dial-Tone), it seemed like Hasbro wanted the ARAH line to go out with a bang, old-school style.
Once I learned about the Scorpion, I had to chase one (two?) down. It’s a bit wacky in design, but not overly so. I parts swapped to make a night attack and desert version. Cobra can’t drive Stingers all the time, right? And the Battle Corps detailing on this is fantastic. Even Cobra sigils pressed into the seat leather. That’s class!
This is a decent vehicle. I would spray paint the machine guns/missile launchers black or switch parts between the two different versions.
Seemed unfinished to me, later vehicles were like that. They used as few parts as possible.
The Barracuda Sub also has a reverse color version. You can make all blue or all black, but the yellow parts remain yellow.
You know, along with the Mudbuster, this could easily be a Dreadnok vehicle. Oh, and both could benefit from steering wheels.
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