As a set, the Value Pack is a great idea as you get three figures and a helicopter (though it's a crappy one!) for around $11. The good news is that it is available online. Not every retailer out there, though, ordered this set so some collectors, depending on their local source for toys, may not have adequate access to this item. This Sand Viper has (at this point at least!) only been released in a special 3-figure value pack. I think he will be useful in that role and that type of scenario lends itself to smaller numbers of this figure as he is more elite than your typical infantryman. In the long run, though, I think this Sand Viper will end up as a specialized Cobra infantry trooper who will be above the rank and file Neo-Vipers but not quite to the elite levels that define the upper echelon of Cobra's organizational structure. I have yet to fully determine this guy's use in my collection, but the sheer sense of danger created by his color scheme has me wanting to find some special place for him. I think that if Hasbro followed a similar scheme, then you would hear less complaints about the repaints and I think you would actually see some excitement over a properly done repaint.Īs this figure is crimson, a lot of collectors will use him as the Sand Viper leader or as a smaller squad of elite Sand Vipers. Each repaint should be at least 8 months removed from the prior and the repaints should be packaged in different ways to help promote the diversity of the different color schemes. One should be a themed paint job like Night Force, Tiger Force or Python Patrol or an environmentally specific paint job such as desert, jungle or arctic and the final should be something completely different from either of the other two paint jobs. I am of the feeling that any one mold should only be repainted a maximum of three times before it is retired. I will say that Hasbro has been very repaint happy in the new Joe line. Done in basic crimson and black, this Sand Viper is at home in most any combat arena and allows the Sand Viper mold to move beyond his desert intentions and truly utilize the sheer evil promoted by his design. That limitation, though, has been alleviated with the release of this Crimson version. However, the desert theme on the original Sand Viper meant that this figure was somewhat limited in his role. The mold was just too cool to not buy in bulk. As a testament to his overall desirability, many collectors have army built the original Sand Viper in numbers that far outpace their intentions for a figure who is so limited by his specialty. As a figure, the Sand Viper offers a superb sculpt, intricate detail and quality design. A great example of this is the Crimson Sand Viper. In many cases, the repaints are something drastically different from the original figure's paint scheme and allow a mold to be used in more areas. My opinion, though, is that, done right, repaints can add a vital element to the Joe mythos without expanding the character base at too great a rate. I know that many collectors are down on repaints as a method to expand the Joe line. One area where Hasbro has succeeded, though, is in the fact that they repaint their great molds frequently.
A few molds have been terrible, but an equal number have been great. For the most part, the new sculpt figure that Hasbro has produced have been decent.