G.I. Joe: The Cobra Stun - "WimpLo's Debut!"

Greetings fellow ravers! I am WimpLo, Aaron (aka AT543)'s counterpart and co-founder of this blog website. While Aaron covers kaijus, Japanese wrestlers, and whatever else he decides, I will be dealing with the likes of Transformers, Star Wars, G.I. Joes, anime, K-pop, etc. But enough about me, it is time for my first toy review: The Cobra Stun w/ Motor Viper!

This toy was released in the U.S. in 1986 (series 5) and the vehicle itself appeared in the second season of the GI Joe cartoon show. They are mainly driven by Motor Vipers.

"Why is Cobra Commander using Stuns? They're fast but they don't have the armor or the punch of the old Hiss Tanks." ~ General Hawk during the Stun's first on-screen appearance.

Although it was never explained in the cartoon why Cobra decided to use the Stun more often than the popular HISS tank (they probably did in the comics), I speculate that it was money issues and Cobra high command decided to use fast-attack vehicles that were lightly armored yet still had acceptable firepower. Makes sense since why spend so much money on vehicles that end up getting trashed on the battlefield? Especially when you look at Cobra's success record...

Anyways, on to the toy itself! Well, the first expression I had when I received it in the mail was "Woah, this thing's HUGE!" When you look at the size comparison of the vehicle and the figure, it dwarves the Motor Viper. The reason why I was so surprised was because when I watched the cartoon, it didn't look that big when characters rode or stood next to it. Despite this, I really love this toy. I've always wanted one ever since I was a kid. Unfortunately, I was born in 1986, so by the time I got into GI Joe, there were no Stuns being sold in stores. With its enormous size, this baby is armed with two twin-barrel cannons on its sides and one rear-mounted machine gun (perfect for those "COBRA RETREAT!" moments). The side cannons are able to rotate up and down to either shoot down those pesky Joe aircrafts or to set up an ambush on top of a cliff and shoot down on the unsuspecting Joes! The rear gun can rotate 360 degrees, but for some reason it's angled up. This kinda bothered me since it looks like it is made to only shoot down something that is in the air. But what if I wanna shoot at enemy troops or tanks!? Oh well, like it matters since it's not their main weapon. The Stun has two seats in the front, one for each gunner who controls the weapons, a driver's seat in the middle, and a seat for the rear gunner. You could also call the area next to the rear gunner a seat as well, but it looks like a bad idea to use it as one, especially with the lack of seatbelts.

The Stun also came with some cool features. One was when you rotate the cannons, the seats move up and down with it, to give the gunners a clear view of what they're aiming at (now, all Cobra troopers need to learn now is to AIM!). They're two flags on each side and I consider myself fortunate to find one that still had them, since I heard that they broke off easily or often got lost. The three wheels also has this cool gimmick where the tires roll, yet the hubcap stays in place with the Cobra symbol staying upright. There are also these panels on each side of the vehicle, and they can be removed to reveal parts of the engine. Also included were stickers that had "warning signs" that gave GI Joe toy vehicles a "realistic" feel. Picture below is one such example.

However, its greatest gimmick is the ability for the front part of the Stun to split in two and face in opposite directions, giving the gunners a wider range of fire and turning the Stun into a battle platform! Surprisingly I have only seen this used once in GI Joe and it was only for a couple seconds during a battle in the GI Joe 1987 movie.

To sum it up, I am very satisfied with this buy. This toy is in the mid-range of rarity. They're usually up on ebay, although be very careful to make sure all the guns, flags, and engine panels are included. Don't expect to find ones that includes a Motor Viper too often that isn't overpriced, unless you're lucky (I already had one since I was a kid). Looks great on a shelf of any GI Joe collector. I especially love the red and black color! Here's pic of all the seats being occupied:

This is WimpLo with his first ever review on The Rave Corner! Until next time, COBRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!