Review – G.I. Joe (1988) Cobra Imp

A few weeks ago I looked at the 1988 Cobra Battle Barge toy from Hasbro (review here). That older toy wasn’t the only piece in an eBay lot I won, so today I thought it could be fun for all of us to take a look at this tiny Cobra Imp vehicle. It’s a tracked missile delivery system — as you can see in the photos — but what makes it especially odd is that each missile separates to release a spread of land mines. Kaboomski!!!

Only One Use?

According to the yojoe.com entry this toy was released only once. Hasbro, known for retooling and repainting toys over and over, has never dug the Cobra Imp out to release it again in strange colors or as an unusual variant. That strikes me as very unexpected because this really is a fun little toy. Add to that it’s small size — the Imp is under 8-inches long — and I would have thought it would make a great G.I. Joe club or convention exclusive. Or, just maybe, a good store exclusive item during the 25th anniversary line of eight years ago. Woah. The 25th anniversary series is almost a decade old? Let’s not think about that.

Assembly Required

The body, tracks, missile launchers, gun, and even the missiles themselves all had to be snapped together to form the Cobra Imp. It was while piecing this toy together that I started to think we really need more vehicles scaled for G.I. Joe action figures these days. The Marauder project last year (Kickstarter page) was designed to bring us action figures, but what I really want to see is a Kickstarter project that’s focused on new vehicles. Someone make that happen!

Gun Swivels and Missiles Elevate

That forward laser cannon — a bright chunk of yellow plastic that snaps into the tank’s hull — swivels 360-degrees so whichever action figure you use to pilot the vehicle can attack anything his body isn’t blocking. The missile rack is on ratcheting arms that elevate the entire assembly up into a firing position. Brakes on the assembly seem to prevent the missile rack from elevating too high; I think I can force it, but instead I’ll just be happy and say that it all works perfectly if you don’t apehand the toy.

Not All That Popular

The Cobra Imp, as part of a lot of G.I. Joe toys, pretty much cost me about $8 including shipping. That’s a great price for a sealed 1988 G.I. Joe vehicle, but as the joeaday.com entry states:

“It’s one of those little known pieces that doesn’t have much renown among collectors . . . “

Yeah, the Cobra Imp isn’t exactly all that splashy or demanded. Too bad, because snapping the toy together and preparing it for play is fun and the end result is a squat, small tank-like vehicle that looks great with classic or modern G.I. Joe action figures.

The Cobra Imp is so unloved and forgotten that it doesn’t even appear in the G.I. Joe vs. Cobra: The Essential Guide*; did this toy not sell well when it was new and that’s why Hasbro has never reused the design? I can admit that those missiles are a bit of a pain to use — to remove them from the launcher slide the missile forward along a track — but the toy’s certainly not a bad design. It’s just not as exciting or iconic as other G.I. Joe vehicles of the eighties.

Closing Thoughts

With the G.I. Joe action figures and vehicles (Amazon.com search*) becoming tougher to find at retail it’s fun to explore the older toys, and with the inexpensive price tag older vehicles like this Cobra Imp demand these days it’s almost a better “bang for the buck” to chase down eighties toys than it is to find some of the more recent releases.

The squat, ugly, and powerful Cobra Imp isn’t the best choice when it’s time to add a new G.I. Joe vehicle to your collection, but if you can find it at a low price it will add some real variety to your G.I. Joe display. The only complaint I have is my usual complaint with a lot of Hasbro’s toys that include stickers: The stickers are terrible! I suppose if I were smart I would order these replacement stickers . . . but it sure is tough to spend as much on stickers as I spent on the actual toy.

Is it the bestest toy ever? Nope. It’s fun, though, and at the right price it’s worth grabbing.