Cobra Black Dragon

It all started with the Cobra F.A.N.G. for me but the Cobra Fang II is the go-to for my (not exactly built yet) Cobra forces.   Old thoughts on the Cobra Fang II are eight years ago already.  (WOW).

A new local toy shop popped up a few months ago and I finally stopped in.  I was expecting something more on the stuffy high-end but there is a mix of all kinds of things from mostly what are parts (I bought a parts 1983 F.A.N.G.) to in my opinion more uncommon mint-in-box items.   A nice person working was knowledgeable and made it sound like people are digging some toys out of their storage places to bring in.  So, yeah, I'm kind of excited about that, especially when it was mentioned someone reportedly had a lot of G.I.Joe stuff that was expected.   

Besides a parts F.A.N.G. that will be for my old F.A.N.G. I opted for the Cobra Black Dragon that was loose, despite a higher price than I preferred, it was in much better shape than I think I would ever find loose at the Goodwill.  It is missing one red bomb, but these are not visible at all and I don't expect to be making any bombing runs where it will make a difference.

This Black Dragon (2011) is not that old but it seems like so long ago already.   Generals Joes has it covered.

As OAFE points out, this was a G.I.Joe Renegades vehicle.  I liked Renegades, that was a nice short period where a newer, longer universe story sort of started to really unfold.   There was the unreleased Coyote, old Fred has some pictures of that here.    This kind of brings back some weird adult-era nostalgic vibes for me.  For me, the Renegades toys and some of the other figures in that short period really started to feel like a quality cohesive toy line was getting some direction.  

The Black Dragon is pretty nice, as much as I dislike action gimmicks, it's not too bad here.   The second flip-out gun underneath does absolutely nothing for me and the limited articulation and detail of the chin-gun leave me wanting a little more.

The rest comes out with some fun VTOL styling.   It is significantly larger than the FANG II but doesn't have that much more when it comes to "teeth."   Aside from the fully enclosed (armored?) canopy (has a nice hydraulic arm detail) and larger engines, and maybe more lift, is this more of a long distance fast traveler versus a close-in air support platform?   It was more of that transport in Renegades.   If it had been equipped with air-to-air rocket pods and a Cobra Rattler style nose gun, with a drop bomb in the center belly it could have made for a nice blend of FANG and Rattler/Huuricane S/VTOL capabilities putting tank smasher and chopper support in one machine.

Cobra Black Dragon and Cobra Fang II

I still think vehicle comparison pictures are huge.   Not everyone will have a Fang II, Black Dragon has the size I did not fully appreciate before having it in hand,  but it almost seems ordinary.   The Black Dragon design is solid but something that does not seem that far-fetched from real life at all.  The 30 year old Fang II has multiple wings, integrated wing landing gear, limited body (light weight), huge rockets, and a cannon that has excellent movement. 

As long as it is wide describes the Mamba next to the Black Dragon in some ways.  Maybe Interrogator should get the Black Dragon?

The underwing holes didn't stand out to me in other reviews that I came across, with two on each side.   They seemed snug for the few modern backpacks I tried in there.  The Eaglehawk door guns fit okay on the inner holes, but made contact with the rotors when placed on the outer holes.

I don't have a lot of "modern" style G.I.Joes or accessories to try here.