Rip-It
At first mention of this guy, the name kinda sends an uncomfortable shiver down my spine. Rip-It is a somewhat hokey name. Still, I cannot help but love this figure. To me, this is a new Track Viper, plain and simple, and will only be known as such in my universe. Sure, the Track Viper Commander, Rip-It may show up now and again, but his troops do most of his fighting for him.
First thing to strike me about this figure is the color scheme. Anyone who does not acknowledge a nice homage to the original Cobra Troopers is fooling themselves. He has a great, deep blue uniform with a cool black chest plate and the now-classic red facemask. All the trademarks of the Cobra Troopers from yesteryear. And I cannot tell you how thrilled I am of this. Rip-It looks so nice in these colors! The original HISS Driver has always been a decent enough figure, but was very...bright. He looked a little too regal to be a mechanic and armor driver charging ahead in his HISS. Rip-It fills that bill to a T. Especially with the paint splatters that seem to have been applied. They are hard to see in the picture, but he is covered with flecks of black paint, which give him a real "down and dirty" look. Someone who is not above changing his own oil for fear of staining his pretty red outfit.
Along with the blue uniform are very nice red highlights and the belt and bracelets. Crisp, clean and very nice. The tall boots look fantastic as well, with the black on blue color scheme. Of course, Rip-It isn't perfect. He is an 83-84 figure, meaning he does look a little skimpy. But as long as he is in his cockpit, this point is negligable. Also, he is weaponless, which is starting to bug me slightly. I fear that when the awe-inspiring AWE Striker comes out in 2001 with Pathfinder, we will have lost his wide array of cool accessories. But oh well. With weapons caster extraordinaire and all around cool guy Raven around, no Joe or Cobra will ever be without a gun again!
Lastly, let me touch on the coolest part of this figure, in my opinion. His Cobra symbol. The symbol is HUGE and is applied flawlessly. It grins through the cockpit of the HISS III, shaking the faith of any man who might face it.
This figure compliments the vehicle wonderfully, and yet is still a nice touch even out of the HISS's cockpit. He is a dark, fearsome looking snake, and a great addition to any Cobra army.
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