Riding the topic of the Cobra Parasite from Forgotten Figures, the mention of the Parasite with different colors having the potential to kick the coolness factor up is what originally inspired me to paint up a used Parasite I must have found at a Goodwill years ago. (It seems like a lifetime ago already!)
I have not been one to really paint original ARAH-era vehicles or customize them much, there's always been something about taking away from the original toy, especially if it something that is in really decent condition (or mint, like the one I had originally bought in the store). However, I have found some used vehicles over the years that were less than mint, often missing parts and pieces. These typically were vehicles that were (and sort of still are) not really highly valued by collectors for potential trades or sales. A couple of these later ARAH vehicles I did some quick paint jobs on.
One old custom, for examples, was the custom Cobra Devastator (Cobra Detonator), and another one was a flat-black painted Badger.
The used Parasite I found was missing the mines and catapult lever. The Parasite was a vehicle that with the purple-blue and sandy-orange-yellow colors never really bothered me a ton, but I had really wished it was a more drab military color. I probably thought this used Parasite would make for a great test subject to see if I liked it black. And probably to see if I could paint it well enough to attempt a paint job on my original mint Parasite at that time. (However, the stickers were all on my original-bought-and-built Parasite, not something I wanted to scrape off or paint over...)
The Parasite was one of the vehicles that I traded or sold during my 2005 vehicle trimming. The used painted Parasite has hung around, however, and the "junior Joe" of the HQ has been able to get some use out of it. It currently resides in the general toy motor pool, and squares off against the 2010 VAMP. (Why it was easy for me get this Parasite out for pics today, too.)
This is one of those vehicles that even at a really young age the "junior Joe" could play with. There was no way that the W.H.A.L.E. was getting into his hands, for example, just too fragile. But the Parasite was something that we could load some figures into and it was sturdy. (not that the man plays hard with things, sometimes it is just the wrong place for some play pressure or the over-opening or extending of a hinge or moving part....I have been surprised on how things play wear, needless to say!) So, I guess I'm saying it's a fairly rugged vehicle.
But there is also a lot of interesting detail packed into what is a fairly simple vehicle. I thought I would snap up some shots of the painted Parasite since it is at hand right off the "junior Joes" collection shelf.
I don't know why I didn't paint the bottom. But one can see there is a nice ground clearance and the large wheels roll over carpet, blankets, or backyard grass with ease. Despite being catapult-less, this Parasite still has eight barrels of armament, the top four have a very nice elevation angle, too. Sure, it is an open seat, but the ball shape sort of takes on a little wrap-around protection..., to an extent. Figures fit into this seat easily, too.
A feature of classic GIJOE vehicles that I have always liked is the use of interlocking tabs. In the photo above, the two "hinge tabs" make for an almost head light look, or some sort of vents. Not that I dislike screws, but, here is a vehicle with none of those, something that more modern vehicles seem like they can't do without.
At the time of me painting this, I think I was using some old enamel paints from possibly 10 years prior to this point in time. I thought some silver on the details that looked like screen vents would "pop" those details more. I also used the same silver for "paint wear" detail, that's what the silver mess is on the gun turret ball, and on seemingly random spots on the gun barrels. This was definitely more of an experimentation painting project at the time, one can see where I was painting the rim of the front left tire to see what that looked like.
For a simple form, there is lots of interesting layers of armored panels, and screen vents. The guns have a lot of shape to them, even molded wires and hoses. One of my favorite little details are the suspension springs on the front wheels. They're painted (what else...) silver in the picture above.
The little open slots are another neat feature. It could have been just as easy to make it one flat surface, but the slots are fun. On my original Parasite, I remember posing to have the passengers in the inner compartment shooting their rifles out these ports. This is a very IFV-style feature, something not often seen, ... off-hand I think the Warthog was another vehicle with little windows like this.
On the back, on either side near the inner wheel axles are details that made me think these are where the motors are. Another simple, but interesting detail. There are even tail pipes just above each one. There's room for two figures on the pegs, but I'm almost surprised not to see a tow hook there, it would seem like a natural location to me.
Would I buy one of these if it were produced today? Maybe. There's a few things I would probably re-design if I could.
With such an "off-road" style to the vehicle, and in scale, these are some hefty tires, I would definitely re-think the long gun barrels sticking out from the bottom front. Perhaps a new turret, maybe something like is on the R.O.C.C.?
The side running boards are perfect locations for some gun stations like the 1990 Hammer has, don't you think?
While I like asymmetrical design, do you think the current compartment hatch is the best egress point? Perhaps two slimmer hatches that are off-set for opening on each side? And then the interior seat that faces away from an opening door would have the slotted weapon window, enabling covering fire from either side for the disembarking troops?
Instead of a catapult, perhaps a mortar launcher on the back deck angled slightly forward, even spring loaded?
Now, I'm not sure about you, but this is a vehicle that I questioned just how it was driven. It would seem like the guy in the turret is the man in control, but when it comes to battle, that guy is going to be busy targeting and shooting.
Back in the day, sometimes I would imagine the guy in the front is in his own little gun nest, that's the whole purpose to the front gun turret on the Parasite. In the back compartment is where the important troops would be, perhaps even Cobra Commander himself. I would imagine one of the seats in the back was the actual driver seat, entirely enclosed and protected. (All the normal troops were riding on the outer boards.)
The big vehicle mass sometime in late 2004. My original Cobra Parasite can be seen in the back lower corner on a shelf above the Tomahawk.
