I touched a little on how my 1986 GIJOE team looks now in an earlier post but really I was thinking about my Night Raven lately. That's why I thought I would look more at these 1986 Cobras now and think about my Raven some more here. So before I ramble on about my Night Raven, I'll point out some things with my 1986 Cobra's first.
This picture was taken in 2009, I wanted to see how each year looked as a whole with this easy project. Overall, this group has some of my favorite uniform/ costume colorings.The 1986 Viper is a total favorite of mine. The old cartoon did its job: I'm sold! Not so much a standard "grunt," but to me these are the motivated bad guys looking for the power and money like Cobra Commander; the base of the Cobra force.
And this year also brought in the Motor-Viper. Now, in my world, I never had a 1986 Viper until about 2000, and the rest of these not really until almost just before the picture was taken. I did have Motor Vipers back in 1986 and they lasted in my collection longer than the 3 STUNs that have passed through my possession. The Motor Viper WAS my Viper back in 1986.
Sometimes the Strato-Viper would fight along side the Motor Viper back in 1986, too.
As far as my original Cobra '86 figures go, I had the Motor Viper, the Strato Viper, and one B.A.T., and Serpentor. I was missing a Cobra Commander figure for quite some time in my collection so Serpentor really did take on the role of the Cobra Emperor. With the huge physical build on this figure, very few dared oppose him or fight him (until Slaughter joined my collection ranks!). The B.A.T. did his work, too, and offered some assistance to the Motor and Strato Vipers. That B.A.T. full card package artwork makes a person think there might be a guy in this suit...
And of course, I did have Zandar, Zarana, and Thrasher, too, back in the day. All 1986, yes, but I sorted them straight into the Dreadnok pictures. Still, overall that's SEVEN of my first 12 Cobras that were 1986 figures.
Since back in the day, I've added a few more figures that you can see in the picture above. Dr. Mindbender was one I got from my old best buddy from back in the day. This figure may not be that very figure, but Mindbender really stood out to me from the cartoon. The advertising worked. Plus it was nice to have Mindbender and Serpentor, flash-forward to my modern playing and these guys are now relegated to my "coil" faction.
I've had two Strato-Vipers since about 1991, the first from my Night Raven and the 2nd from my best buds Night Raven. (although I didn't get that Raven... ?) I'm not sure where I got the 3rd Strato-Viper now that I think about it, perhaps from a trade, or even from when I "traded-in" the bulk of my vehicles. Either way, I have a full crew for my Night Raven, which is really a nice thing for me. Not so much since it was a specific goal, but in some ways, didn't we all want fully crewed vehicles with their respective drivers?
Now when it comes to my "big vehicles," I was trying to limit myself to one of each; land/sea/air. The so-called big vehicles were the ones that individual Cobra characters were going to take ownership of.
And this is how that ended up looking. And yes, the Rattler (stinger) is small to mid-size, but with the price on that thing being so high I felt it would have to be a unique one-of-a-kind vehicle. So, Scrap iron gets it, and perhaps in some imaginative unseen way he upgraded the anti-armor capability on this one. The Hurricane is a one-of a kind vehicle, as is that Moray, each owned and operated by the world-renowned agents Wild Weasel and Copperhead.Now, the Night Raven is a big vehicle, and you may be thinking, hold on... shouldn't that Hurricane be gone, or the Night Raven be gone? If only one....?
And you're right, here's a picture of the big vehicles in 1991, that Raven is pretty big, it really only comes in second to the WHALE in my opinion here in size. The Mamba and the Tomahawk just slightly under that size.It's a big plane, but also, one of my originals. So there is some sentiment or nostalgia factor perhaps, but those terms are something I'm going to explore in a post to come. But I think these to play a big factor into why I'm keeping it.
On the other hand, the Hurricane is much more an advanced VTOL fighter which is more the even match to, say, an X-30. The Night Raven is a high and fast flyer, and with most of the weapons pointed backwards, not much of a fighter in itself. So, there's another reason why it doesn't or may not get much use in these modern days.
But, straight down to it, sentiment, nostalgia, and actual practical collection use aside: it is one AWESOME airplane. It looks goods, plain and simple.
This plane is a vehicle that technically by my own goals and such, should be on the chopping block. It really should. It's big and has its own unique fit in the overall scheme of things. I just don't want to give it up, though.
Perhaps it will be a plane that I hang from the ceiling, that's about all I'll get out of it. Back in the day, this plane and my buddies Night Raven were flying around the basement, but perhaps it is destined to simply looking cool dangling from the ceiling?
This is really the last time the Night Raven had any "play time." It must have been about 2005 in this picture, and it the adventures were pretty much limited to everything getting posed and set, a picture taken, and everything packed up right after.Look at that profile! Is it just me or do those Strato Vipers look like they have some attitude?