Techno-Viper (2014 Kre-O)
The Techno-Viper was for me the last gasp of Cobra Troops in my years of buying Joes as a kid. I liked the unique specialty, the colors and the accessories. What’s not to like about a Cobra who came with a giant wrench? It’s as cool from a combat engineer perspective as Tollbooth’s massive sledge. As much as I wanted to see the 1982 to 1986 figures represented, I was happy to see 1987 get some attention with the Kre-O series.
The Kreon format is a perfect canvas for the Techno-Viper design. The helmet and mask can be effectively replicated in brick form without having to stretch the imagination too much. The tools and weapon are all based on previously available molds, but they stand in nicely for the old claw, wrench and hammer. Okay, so the axe doesn’t really fit in, but it was a nice try. The thing that strikes me the most about the figure (and it became more common at the end of Kre-O’s run) was the micro-build backpack. Sure, it’s just a few parts, but the fact that an attempt was made to copy the storage system of the original backpack is a big plus to me.
It’s too bad the Kre-O series didn’t last to break into later 90s Cobra army builders. I’d love to see a Flak-Viper Kreon.
I was sortof surprised about this Kreon, but they did a great job on it. Thanks to the wrench, axe & rifle, my blind-bag feeling skills picked a few out of the box.
I want to army build them
It’s a great kreon!
Got into Joe Kreons just in time–for them to be discontinued. This guy is cool.
I loved this figure too. My name is Adrian Ward I was a designer on Kreo and was a lead designer on wave 4 and wave 5 joes as well as the kreo terror drome. A fun line to work on and good memories of my time as a toy designer at Hasbro. Connect with me on linkedin.