Author: European Joe

Crashing through the sky
Comes the fearful cry…
COBRA!
COBRA!

Armies of the night
Evil taking flight
COBRA!
COBRA!

The intro to the amazing G.I.JOE movie from 1987 is also the perfect introduction for the cards we’ll be discussing today. Check it out on YouTube (below) or pop in that DVD I know you own!

First up is the #14 card, the Night Raven.

The Night Raven is Cobra’s answer to the Skystriker. The plane was first released in 1986 and came with it’s pilot Strato-Viper and a Reconaissance Jet that could be attached to the rear of the plane. I can’t remember ever seeing this small jet depicted in the cartoon or the comics. On the Impel Trading Card, the cockpit is depicted with a blue lining, which is also unique I believe. It does look good on the plane. Please correct me if I’m wrong, cause I’d like to know and … yeah, guess you know the rest, cause it’s half the battle after all 🙂

I didn’t own this one as a kid, but it was one of the first bigger vehicles I acquired as a collector. I really like this plane, it has a very basis paint scheme of black and red, but it shows Cobra means business.

In 1990, the mold was reused (without the recon jet) to create the Sky Raven for the Joes. This shiny piece of kit, still settled cosy without it’s box, is one of the highlights of my growing collection.

The next card is #15, the Cobra Rattler.

Again a stunning plane. The colors of the toy is the deep Cobra blue that contrasts so good with the red Cobra logo.On the card though, it looks more greyish, even black. Still not bad, but I like the blue better.

The Rattler was released in 1984 and had Wild Weasel as it’s pilot. I still remember the amazing battle in the Marvel comic book (issue 34 – Shake Down!) where Ace and Wild Weasel battle it out high in the skies and low to the ground and in the end they — well, no spoilers here. If you haven’t read it, go do so, it’s one of the best issues. If you have, I’m sure you’re remembering this epic battle and you should re-read it as well 🙂

I’m really bummed that I don’t have the blue version in my collection (yet, I’m sure of that). I do have the 2002 repaint in gold with the Sound Attack feature and no turret cover. Still a very cool piece, but nothing like the 1984 original. Certainly not the Wild Weasel figure, that is just one generic looking Cobra Viper. The figure shown on the box, is actually far better looking (more like the Strato Viper than Wild Weasel, but still nicer than the one that’s in the box), but this was sadly never produced.

 

That’s all for this time. We’ve conquered the skies, so next time we’ll take on the land and seas with Cobra!

 

Happy collecting and Yo Joe!

Okay, I’m back with the review of the Impel Trading Cards and to make up for lost time, we’ll tackle 3 cards today.

First up is the #11, the Mauler M.B.T. (Mobile Battle Tank).

This is one of the more realistic looking toys that were more common in the early years of the 3.75 inch run. I didn’t own this tank when I was a kid. It was released in 1985 and I don’t think it made the trip over the Atlantic to be sold in stores here. Fact is, I still don’t have this one in my collection. I do have the 2003 Patriot Grizzly Tank, which can be seen as the M.B.T.’s successor.

Next we have card #12, the Snowcat.

 

Now this is something else. The Snowcat (or is it Snow Cat?) did make it’s way into Europe, but as the Tiger Cat, part of the 1988 Tiger Force. I had this in the tiger striped version and later on during my collecting, also acquired the original white version. Come to think of it, I also had the Tiger Force Blizzard figure and never really knew there was a white version of this until I started life as an adult collector. One does wonder how on earth you’re going to camouflage yourself (or your snow vehicle) when it’s bright yellow with orange and black detailing. Then again, maybe the Cobra Soldiers were all colorblind.

 

The last one for today is the #13 card, the A.W.E. Striker.

 

There are like 9 gazillion versions of this vehicle released (okay, so maybe more like 10, but still) and I’m a bit sad to say that the only one I have in my collection is the 2012 Ninja Commando version. The vehicle doesn’t really stand out for me. I do like the fact that the top mounted cannon can be remote controlled (as seen in the comics). I can see this working as a fast response vehicle, but other than that, there’s no real protection , heck there even aren’t any doors.

 

That’s it for this one. Join me next time when we take to the skies Cobra style 😉

 

Happy Collecting & Yo Joe!