Dio: Range Vipers (Cobra’s LRRPs)

Who would be crazy enough to force march scores of miles just to get around the enemy camp and hit his flanks and rear, with no prospect of artillery or air support? Cobra Range Vipers.

Modelled after the US Army’s Long Range Recon Patrols (LRRPs) in the Vietnam War-era, these troops are battle-savvy enough not to engage the Joes head-on, but raid them from an unexpected quarter, are resourceful enough to support themselves with local food once their supply runs out, are proficient with both NATO and Warsaw Pact arms thus enabling them to use whatever weapons are at hand, are excellent in small unit tactics, skilled in directing air assets on designated targets and are either courageous or crazy enough (depending on your point of view) to attack in small disciplined formations once they achieve tactical surprise. Truly, they are Cobra’s lean and mean killing machines.

In my Joe-verse, Range Vipers deploy in small units of four, both for reasons of stealth and speed. They can be inserted via air or land. Extraction? It’s the last of their priorities; getting the job done is.

To compensate for their small numbers, Cobra’s behind-the-lines raiders lug a formidable firepower. The pointman is armed with an SMG. He is also the designated marksman, so he carries a Dragunov. Two of his mates carry 7.62 mm general purpose machine guns. Take note, the Range Vipers use them as personal weapons, not as crew-served ones. The fourth member is armed with an automatic-firing grenade launcher.

If these guns still won’t do the job, the Range Vipers’ skull-faced helmets would perhaps be sufficient to give their foe a fright-induced heart attack!

 

Here they are, in classic diamond formation, with the pointman ahead, a machine gunner and the grenadier on the flanks and another gunner in the rear.

 

 Tactics dictate staying within the treeline, but these Range Vipers discovered that it was mined. Between an identified threat (minefield) and an unidentified one (in this case, open grassland), they risk the latter.

 

Which is scarier, the machine gun or the gunner’s helmet?

 

This reminds me of the last scene in Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket.” You can hear these guys singing, “M-I-C-K-E-Y  M-O-U-S-E / Who’s the leader of the band /…”

 

There’s the pointman, supported by a gunner.

 

When the merde hits the ventilateur, this grenadier would start pumping 40mm rounds at the enemy.

 

With two gunners watching your back, how can things go wrong?

 

I just love this grenade launcher, though it would have been better if Hasbro retained the original design (i.e. the ‘revolver’ underneath, not on the top).

Atten-hut!

You may call me Ronin. I’ve been collecting G.I.Joe action figures on-and-off since 1984. My first vehicle was the Heavy Artillery Laser (HAL) and my first action figure was Grand Slam.  I got the set as a gift from my aunt in the States.

In July 1987, I had my first action figure bought with my own money, Snake Eyes v2. Don’t ask me what a figure released in 1985 was doing in a school supply store in San Pedro, Laguna in 1987. Believe it or not, I was able to buy a Duke v1, and first versions of the Cobra trooper and officer several months later.

I remember cutting back on my snack expenses at the time to raise enough fund and buy a G.I.Joe figure each week. To think each one was worth only P65 then gives me more reason to yearn for the 80s.

College cut short my collecting activities, as my attention was diverted elsewhere: studies, girls and reading lots and lots of books, not necessarily in that order.

Fast-forward to 2005. I was then a father of two, raising them with a wonderful wife. After several years working in a newspaper and a PR firm, I had a teaching position in a university in Manila. My Joes, along with other stuff from childhood and adolescence were all locked up in my old cabinet in my folks’ home, hibernating perhaps, until…

…In early 2005 I discovered in Bidshot, an online auction site, a bunch of Joes on the auctioner’s block. If I remember correctly, there was a Cobra FANG chopper and a complete Firefly v1, stuff I wasn’t able to add to my collection years ago.

Suddenly, I felt this urge to get my hands on my long-ago collection. I rescued the troops from my old cabinet, got re-acquainted with Snake Eyes and Timber, Beach Head and Tunnel Rat and Bazooka, and came face-to-face again with the Cobra blue trooper and his officer, their RTO, the Televiper, the Siegies and the Dreadnoks.

Before I knew it, there was recruitment once again, as through the Net I was able to reach out to fellow collectors, kindred spirits, with whom I have had no contact for almost 20 years.

Beefing up the batallions had been slow. I’m not a rich guy who can mobilize a private army at the snap of a finger. Whatever funds were left from our household expenses partly went to my acquisition efforts. To compensate for this, I had exchange programs with my fellow collectors. Soon the number of my troops started to multiply.

In 2006, my family and I went to Bangkok in search of greener pastures. Approximately two thirds of my troops were demobilized. Once in the Kingdom of Thailand, my army hibernated again.

Last year, preparations were underway for another recruitment campaign. This time, toy soldiers came from distant lands, transported within a week, facilitated through the convenient offices of the Internet.

I’m a member also of a Philippine-based forum of G.I.Joe collectors called Toysoldiers.  Anything and everything about the Joes and Cobras are discussed there, supplemented by photos.

It was this last which recently piqued my interest. I’m in my mid-30s now, too old for playing around with action figures. But my passion for collecting has found another avenue: Toy photography.

This is one of the reasons for this blog. To feature my collection and chronicle my continuous efforts to acquire more troops. 

I am aided in this regard by the G4, Supply Officer, i.e. my wife, the Chief Financial Officer in our home. Alexander the Great once said that an army marches on its stomach. My recruitment would definitely go nowhere if funds were witheld.

Also at hand is my son, acting as my adjutant. Inducted into my corps of collection two years ago, he has proven himself committed to the cause. He has also displayed skills in posing the action figures in ways I myself could not have done, and has become indispensable during photo-shoots as an able production assistant.

Lest I forget, my comrades from Toysoldier, whose friendship over the years has provided camaraderie, technical advice, professional inspiration and an efficient network for my collection effort.

To all of you, my deepest thanks.

Now, to the task at hand…