SCC Figure Spotlight - TOXO-VIPER (Version 1)

     COBRA HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT TROOPER - TOXO-VIPER  (VERSION 1)

    The G.I. Joe Team got their Hostile Environment Trooper, Airtight, in 1985, cleaning up the gas or chemical messes made by Cobra agents.  In 1988, we finally got the figures behind those disasters - the Cobra Toxo-Vipers.  It is the job of the Toxo-Vipers to go in and make the environment as nasty as possible for their enemies.

    While not one of Cobra's more glamorous roles like the Crimson Guards or Strato-Vipers, the position of Toxo-Viper is actually dished out as a punishment for troublesome troopers.  The file card tells that Cobra Leaders outfit these troops with mediocre safety equipment, which is basically their way of saying "get in and get out".  It's this shotty equipment that has gotten this branch of Cobra Trooper the nickname "the leaky suit brigade".

    The figure for the Toxo-Viper has a uniform with an odd mix of colors.  He wears a light purple hazmat suit with red gloves and black boots.  He has some teal gear and equipment on his chest.  With the helmet removed, you can see the hazmat suit covers part of his head, but some of his face is showing, and it appears he is wearing a respirator.

    The Toxo-Viper's helmet was large and had multiple paint ops on it.  The base color was the teal which matched the gear on his chest.  Other colors included brown, red and a yellow eye-slit for him to "see" through.  He was also outfitted with a black backpack, hose and rifle-ish piece to dispense the toxic chemicals.

    The Toxo-Viper was definitely not one of the more flashy figures on the shelves compared to other villainous characters offered in 1988.  In that year, however, with the war between G.I. Joe, Cobra AND now the Iron Grenadiers, he had quite a dangerous role.  His presence on the battlefield could easily turn the fight in favor of Cobra if the opposition was not properly prepared.  So you couldn't deny he could be an important trooper to add into your battles.

    I liked the Toxo-Viper okay.  For Cobra coloring, I preferred the blue, black, red scheme they typically used.  While it worked with some figures, I felt Cobra was using a lot of purple around that time - Hydro-Viper, Sea Slug, Techno-Viper and now the Toxo-Viper.  I think this figure could have really benefitted from the standard Cobra paint scheme.

    So the coloring wasn't all that impressive... but the sculpting of the figure was very well done.  I also thought his gear was cool too.  I thought it all went well with the figure for his job duties.  And again, he could be a key player in your battles with your figures.

    I think that's where I was at when I bought this figure.  There were some great figures that year, but Toxo-Viper just didn't stand out among them.  He was still a good figure though and I knew I wanted it and would buy it... it would just be after I had acquired all my top picks first!  

    So for Toxo-Viper I'm going to hit him with a rating of 3 out of 5 Stink Bombs.  He falls straight down the middle.  Not awesome, not horrible, just alright.

    So what did you think of the Toxo-Viper?  Did he have a bigger role in your battles?  Or did you pass on picking him up because he was overshadowed by the other great figures on the shelves that year?

UP NEXT......  TOXO-VIPER, Version 2 - ECO-WARRIORS!!