Viper (1990 Sonic Fighters)
The ’86 Viper mold. A fan favorite design that continues to resonate to this day. It’s also a mold that’s been repainted more times than my uncle’s 1974 Monte Carlo. Speaking of the 70’s, what’s more representative of the horrid decor of that decade than brown and gold? I think Cobra Commander was pining for his days as a young plaid stallion of a car salesman when he outfitted the Sonic Vipers.
These unfortunate souls are not only decked out in the finest poo brown and harvest gold, but are also responsible for field testing Cobra’s knock-off versions of the GI Joe team’s sonic weapons technology. Talk about double jeopardy.
I told a bit of a lie about the mold being repainted. I should have qualified that with “from the waist up”. Dr. Mindbender performed a leg-ectomy on the Viper mold when he created his new Lobot Locutus look for 1993. The Viper legs were too embarrassed to show themselves again until 2006 when the thighs showed up as part of the Viper included in the Viper Pit set. In the intervening years between 1993 and 2006, the Vipers’ legs were replaced with those of the original BAT, and the resulting abomination was repainted seven times. Taste the rainbow!
My first Viper!
such a gross repaint
The gold is questionable and the dayglo visor is a shame, but I like this guy for some reason. They team up well with WORMS from the Maggot as some high desert, mountain teams (nevermind the baby blue tank).
I like it. I saw them as desert outfitted Vipers.
I hadn’t thought of that. Makes sense.
These Sonic Vipers go for a lot of dough right now and are among the hardest to find from that sub-group. Probably because of the army building factor and because everyone loves Vipers, no matter how many times they’re rehashed and repainted. It’s a classic to be sure, but at least we never had the ’86 originals go through the neon phase. Naming cyborg Mindy “Lobot Locutus” is a stroke of genius, btw. You nailed it right there.
The Viper thighs from 2006 were not the original mold, but a too-large recast, which is why they don’t work with the waist. We were better off with the BAT legs, at least they didn’t lead to broken crotch strips.
I thought about building a squad of 6 of these Vipers, but after losing a couple of Ebay bids due to ridiculous prices, I think I’m going to give up. Too bad too because I actually like the brown and gold together.
When my brother’s original Viper broke back in the day, this sonic Viper in all his brown and gold glory stepped in to fill the void of Cobra Grunt.
Plus he had Hit and Run’s kick ass M-16 Colt. Him and Doger my 2 favourite Sonic Fighter re-paints.
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