Tiger Claw (2005)
Just how many apprentices has Snake Eyes had over the years? The guy’s had more students than Prince has had girlfriend/proteges. Seems Snakes has been picking up students throughout his time as a Joe. If he were a shrewd businessman,he could have sold his secluded cabin in the High Sierrras, opened up an Arashikage ninja dojo at a Staten Island strip mall and had a nice little side business for himself.
The file card states that Tiger Claw is a recent recipient of a GI Joe code name, which reminds me of the Steel Brigade concept of nameless neophyte Joes who graduate to the main team. He’s also dedicated to the cause of reuniting the Arashikage (meaning Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow). Sheesh, won’t those nutty ninjas ever get along? With the on-again, off-again allegiances of Stormy in the various toylines, it’s become like a wrestling storyline.
The Kamakura mold reused here makes sense from the standpoint that the character is a Snake Eyes apprentice. Maybe Snakes had some left over uniforms from his last trainee and had them altered to fit a new student. I still like this mold in comparison to a lot of the new sculpt era. It’s very well done in terms of proportion and articulation. The change up of paint scheme functions well, and doesn’t look too similar to Kamakura, with its reduced paint apps and long sleeves. He even gets his own logo on his outfit, a tiger claw, naturally. Quite impressive for a new guy.
On the weapons front, he gets an uncharacteristic sword for a ninja. It’s not the usual katana, and its scabbard has a handy dandy handle to boot. For some reason, this ornate sword reminds me of the ninja-centered DIC episode The Sword, in which Night Creeper Leader, Slice, Dice, and the Joe ninjas are after a powerful (you guessed it) sword. Oh, and Snake Eyes is revealed as the world’s greatest ninja. He’s also pictured balancing on the tippy tippy top of a mountain spire at the end. Track it down if you’d like a few intentional and unintentional laughs. I love it, but I’m strange like that. 
Still need to look out for this particular figure, AND get season two of the DIC series (for completion’s sake).
Oh yeah, you guys would NOT believe the jackpot I hit at my local flea market….
What did you score, Acer? I figured out what I don’t like about some of these new sculpt figures. The shoulder joint “ball” is too big along with the forearms tending to be too thick .
To answer your question:
-1 original carded (factory-fresh) 1991 Heavy Duty, $3.
-The two remaining Renegades (Mercer and Red Dog), $1 each.
-The 1993 mail-away version of Major Altitude, $1.
-1991 Cesspool (I already had his accessories), $1.
-1990 Metal-Head and 1988 Skidmark for spare parts, $1 each.
-A small bushel of needed accessories, $1. These included Wet-Suit’s fins and flashlight, Captain Grid-Iron’s missile launcher (with 1 missile), Torch’s backpack and torch, Ripper’s rifle and jaws of life, Spirit’s rifle, Road Pig’s shoulderpads, BAT V1’s claw hand, Dr. Mindbender’s generator, V2 Stalker’s rifle, Charbroil’s helmet, V3 Shockwave’s helmet, V2 Clutch’s helmet, Night Creeper curved sword, Beachhead’s ammo pouch, and the rifle, hammer, wrench and backpack of a Techno-Viper.
-A stack of four issues of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Master Edition, $1 altogether.
Awesome figure, great mold and colors. The sword is one of the best in Joe’s weaponry.
That’s a great score. I’m always looking for cheap joes for customs, and the best part of 0-ring collecting is finding the original accessories. I just got Longe Range, Avalanche, Backstop, Downtown, Sub Zero, and two vintage V1 Cobra Eels for a dollar each! By the time you get all the accessories, I spend about as much as if I’d just bought them complete. Right now, I have a boogie board looking for it’s lost Muskrat…
Funny you mention that, one of the accessories the guy I bought my haul from had was Muskrat’s boogie board!
Half the guys on this site I’ve never even seen, like this guy, but half the fun is reading you write about them. And dare I say it, “And Knowing is half the battle”, I do dare.
Another satisfied reader. Thank you sir!