I typically don't army build, I will squad build every once in a while with Cobra troopers or close quarters oriented vipers such as Alley vipers or Shock troopers or whatever. But then there are some vipers that I really only need one of because they're such a specialist in a highly technical field such as biology or engineering and will probably answer directly to someone like Cobra Commander himself, or Destro, as oppose to an officer relaying orders to them. The Hazard and Techno Viper are perfect examples of that.
I finally opened them up today after finding dome shelf space for them, and I have to say, the Hazard Viper is a little over rated. With all the hype and good things that alot of people have said about the figure coupled with the great visual aesthetic and idea behind the figure, I began having high expectations for the quality of the figure. That's not to say that it sucks, it's a pretty good figure, but there are a couple things that urk me about it. Predominantly the hands, the left hand is sculpted in a crooked manner, disallowing it to hold the brief case he comes with at all and the right hand is barely able to hold it. There are no holsters for his two 9mm pistols, which are important if he needs to defend himself against potential attackers. I have no idea what the third pistol is and the card doesn't explain it very well, I assume it either sprays or injects people with either compound Z or a potential antidote. Furthermore is the water gun toy that he comes with that once belonged to the infamous Arctic Destro. The inclusion and idea behind that weapon/accessory makes since, and I find it to be a nice throw back to the early 90's G.I. Joe figures like the Eco force dudes that often had silly water cannons/guns, but the execution is poor. It's difficult to get the weapons in his hands because the hands are silly, disallowing him to hold both the signature weapon and the brief case, the two most distinctive and important accessories that support the figures concept. The clear tubing is also ridiculous, as it is often wildly shooting up into the air from the back pack and suddenly bends back down toward the gun, disallowing it too look like gravity effects it. Lastly, this figure was a great chance to retool the backpack to allow the water gun to attach to the side of it, allowing the Hazard viper to hold his other accessories. Ultimately the left hand knocks the guy out of any perfect rating in my mind therefore limiting what kind of poses and scenes that can be depicted with the figure therefore leaving me to feel that he's a little over rated.
The techno Viper on the other hand is perfect. Like the Hazard Viper all of his accessories make since for his specialty but he can hold all of the accessories he comes with in both hands and have all of his accessories on his being at the same time. All of his tools attach to the back of his back pack, and the tube he comes with can attach to your choice of two pegs on the backpack allowing it to lead to an accessory in either hand easily, unlike the Hazard Viper which only allows the gun to be held in the right hand. The tubing also appears to be affected by gravity and goes down from the backpack and then bends back up into whatever accessory he is equipped with. His aesthetic is a nice throw back to the original Techno-viper, but doesn't become too corny because the figure has a dark shade of purple making his design not so unrealistic making him appeal alot more with older fans. I'm most impressed by the fact that his vest doesn't hinder the range of motion his arms of capable of, unlike action figures like Low-Light. This means you can easily have him holding an assault rifle with both hands is the situation calls for it.
I finally opened them up today after finding dome shelf space for them, and I have to say, the Hazard Viper is a little over rated. With all the hype and good things that alot of people have said about the figure coupled with the great visual aesthetic and idea behind the figure, I began having high expectations for the quality of the figure. That's not to say that it sucks, it's a pretty good figure, but there are a couple things that urk me about it. Predominantly the hands, the left hand is sculpted in a crooked manner, disallowing it to hold the brief case he comes with at all and the right hand is barely able to hold it. There are no holsters for his two 9mm pistols, which are important if he needs to defend himself against potential attackers. I have no idea what the third pistol is and the card doesn't explain it very well, I assume it either sprays or injects people with either compound Z or a potential antidote. Furthermore is the water gun toy that he comes with that once belonged to the infamous Arctic Destro. The inclusion and idea behind that weapon/accessory makes since, and I find it to be a nice throw back to the early 90's G.I. Joe figures like the Eco force dudes that often had silly water cannons/guns, but the execution is poor. It's difficult to get the weapons in his hands because the hands are silly, disallowing him to hold both the signature weapon and the brief case, the two most distinctive and important accessories that support the figures concept. The clear tubing is also ridiculous, as it is often wildly shooting up into the air from the back pack and suddenly bends back down toward the gun, disallowing it too look like gravity effects it. Lastly, this figure was a great chance to retool the backpack to allow the water gun to attach to the side of it, allowing the Hazard viper to hold his other accessories. Ultimately the left hand knocks the guy out of any perfect rating in my mind therefore limiting what kind of poses and scenes that can be depicted with the figure therefore leaving me to feel that he's a little over rated.
The techno Viper on the other hand is perfect. Like the Hazard Viper all of his accessories make since for his specialty but he can hold all of the accessories he comes with in both hands and have all of his accessories on his being at the same time. All of his tools attach to the back of his back pack, and the tube he comes with can attach to your choice of two pegs on the backpack allowing it to lead to an accessory in either hand easily, unlike the Hazard Viper which only allows the gun to be held in the right hand. The tubing also appears to be affected by gravity and goes down from the backpack and then bends back up into whatever accessory he is equipped with. His aesthetic is a nice throw back to the original Techno-viper, but doesn't become too corny because the figure has a dark shade of purple making his design not so unrealistic making him appeal alot more with older fans. I'm most impressed by the fact that his vest doesn't hinder the range of motion his arms of capable of, unlike action figures like Low-Light. This means you can easily have him holding an assault rifle with both hands is the situation calls for it.
