 The subject of this review was voted on by my supporters on Patreon. I am grateful for every viewer on this channel. The names you see scrolling on your screen have helped keep me going, keep the show going, and keep Cobra Convergence going. I could not do it without their help and I am deeply grateful. Thank you to all of you. This Cobra Convergence 6 video is dedicated to Hello everybody hooded Cobra Commander 788 here. This is the show where we review every vintage G.I. Joe toy from 1982 to 1994. We are still in Cobra Convergence 6 and this is my final review of the event. The Techno Viper was designed by Mark Pennington. We often associate Ron Rudolph with early G.I. Joe action figure designs. Ron Rudolph has rightfully been elevated as the toy designer that made G.I. Joe famous in the 80s. G.I. Joe fans should also recognize and appreciate Mark Pennington for his contributions. Mark designed a lot of the figures you probably recognize from the late 80s including Gyro Viper, Destro version 2, and Hit and Run. Can I identify a stylistic difference between Mark and Ron? Well based on the figures it seems like Mark Pennington leans towards layers of technical detail and sharp lines but he designed Hit and Run which feels more like a Ron Rudolph design and Ron Rudolph designed the Stratoviper which feels more like a Mark Pennington design. Their styles mesh remarkably well together. Can you tell the difference between a Ron Rudolph and a Mark Pennington figure? Let's take a look at one of Mark's designs and see if we can tell the difference. HCC 788 presents the Techno Viper. This is Techno Viper, Cobra's battlefield technician from 1987. This figure was introduced in 1987. It was also available in 1988. It was discontinued for 1989. This is the first version of Techno Viper. It was designed by Mark Pennington for Hasbro. It was a single carded figure. This is one of Mark Pennington's earliest designs for GI Joe and it's a really strong one. Mark remembers it as the second figure he designed. Ron Rudolph will always be remembered for creating the iconic early figures but Mark Pennington deserves credit for giving us some well-remembered characters. Mark Pennington went to the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art from 1982 to 1985. He was also in the U.S. Army briefly. His experience in a plastics factory and in the Army got him the job with Hasbro. Hasbro was looking for a replacement when Ron Rudolph was ready to move on from GI Joe. Mark Pennington worked for Hasbro from 1985 to 1988. He did a lot of the 1987 lineup. There was a second version of the Techno Viper in 1994. It was a vehicle driver. It was packed with the Cobra Power Fighter. The Techno Viper is not a combat troop exactly. He does come with a weapon, his plasma rifle. His main purpose though is to repair equipment and vehicles in the field. This isn't entirely unprecedented in 1985. The Televiper was released as Cobra's communications trooper. He didn't include any weapons at all. He had a scanner. The Techno Viper is in the same lineage as the Televiper. They are support troops, not frontline combat troops. They are technicians. Specialists like these and others would definitely exist in the Cobra ranks but not all would get action figures. These guys mostly would have been working on weapons systems created by Destro. I would assume they would get training from Destro's organization. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some didn't come from Destro's organization. Figures like this may not have been as exciting for kids since they didn't take direct part in the battle. In fact, I can't think of a later Cobra support troop in the vintage line. They are important for world building though. Cobra would need specialists like the Techno Viper to keep Destro's crazy inventions running. It also helps that the Techno Viper feels like a deluxe figure with all the silver paint and the accessories. Let's take a look at Techno Viper's accessories. He comes with several tool accessories that attach to the backpack. These tool accessories are not articulated. They're just solid plastic. They each have a peg for a black hose that connects them to the backpack. Mark Pennington, the figure designer, also designed the accessories. Let's look at this tool first since I have it in his hand. I'm going to remove the black hose. This is the hydraulic clamp. It is in silver plastic. It's kind of claw like and it has a peg in the back for that black hose connector. We look more at the backpack in a minute, but for now the backpack has three slots for each of the three tool accessories. So all three of them can be stored on the backpack and that is nice. Let's set this one aside for now and look at the next tool. This is the Forged Steel Sledge Hammer. It is also in silver plastic. It also has that peg for the hose. So you can connect the hose to this one as well. I don't know exactly what all this technology is for and I don't know why it needs to be powered. It is a hammer and the final tool accessory. This is the Vario Wrench. It is also in silver plastic. It has kind of a wrench head on it and it has that peg for connecting to the backpack just like the other two accessories. This may be one of those metric adjustable wrenches. Let's move on to Techno Viper's weapon. This is his Phase Pulse Plasma Rifle. It also connects to the backpack. It has a peg in front of the grip that connects to one of those black plastic hoses. The plasma rifle is in silver plastic. This is the only true weapon. I'm surprised Techno Viper includes a weapon. This could be a laser welding tool or something like that. It is very wide and flat and it has this big flat scope or something on top of it. As you've already seen there are these black connector hoses that connect the accessories to the backpack. There are two of them and they connect to two points on the backpack. Next we get to that backpack and it is pretty spectacular. It is in black plastic. Toward the bottom there are a couple tanks or maybe they are fuel cells. Then there are the pegs for connecting the accessories. At the top there is a handle but it's a little too thick to fit in the figure's hand. Then of course there is the rack for the three tools. To put the tools on the backpack you just kind of slide them in from the side. This I like very much. This is going the extra mile. I appreciate getting storage for the accessories. With those accessories out of the way let's take a look at the articulation for Techno Viper. He had the articulation that was standard for GI Joe figures well before 1987. So he could turn his head from left to right and look up and down. He could swing his arm up at the shoulder and swivel at the shoulder all the way around. He had a hinge at the elbow so he could bend his arm at the elbow about 90 degrees. He had a swivel at the bicep so he could swivel his arm all the way around. This was an o-ring figure meaning the figure was held together with a rubber o-ring that looped around the inside. That allowed him to move at the torso a bit. He could move his legs apart about so far. He could bend his leg at the hip about 90 degrees and bend at the knee about 90 degrees. Let's take a look at the sculpted design and color of Techno Viper starting with his head. His head has a very interesting helmet. He has a purple helmet with black strips around the crown and the brow. He has a silver strip along the top center. He has small black eye lenses. They look kind of like sad eyes. Under the eyes there is a layer of silver with a layer of dark purple under that. He has a light purple mouth vent and a light purple neck. Mark Pennington has stated this helmet was inspired by the Battlestar Galactica Cylon helmet. Looking at the chest he has a light purple uniform with a dark purple chest plate lined with black. He has a silver cobra emblem at the center. He has silver shoulder pads that wrap around the back of his neck. He has a silver hose over the left shoulder. And another silver hose connected to the lower front torso that wraps around to the back. What do these hoses connect to? You can imagine they connect to the backpack. Looking at the arms he has dark purple upper arms with black piping. He has light purple lower arms and black gloves. And he has silver hoses that connect from the gloves and wrap around the forearms. That is an amazing amount of detail for such a small area on the figure. These arms were later reused for the 1992 Hella Viper, the pilot of the Cobra Battlecopter. But they look a lot better on the Techno Viper. The waist piece is light purple with a black belt. The belt has what may be a stylized cobra at the center. I can't really tell. There is a black strip down the left side that connects to the holster. With all the other gadgets on this figure, I would expect him to have a utility belt. But this is more like a decorative belt. His legs feature a light purple uniform. He has a black pistol and holster on the left leg. He has unpainted ridges on his knees. He has tall black boots. And the boots have these diagonal stripe details all around. There are no pockets or pouches on the legs. I would expect a more utilitarian uniform for a technician. The pistol on the left side suggests he could be left-handed, but is unlikely to have an entire unit of left-handed people. This figure is amazing. The amount of detail, at least on the upper half of the figure, is impressive. It has a lot of paint applications and the color choices work really well together. It's a little unbalanced since most of the details in silver paint are on the top half of the figure. Even so, this is a figure that will really stand out among cobra forces. But he still looks right. He stands out yet blends in. Let us turn our attention to the Techno Viper file card. It has his faction as cobra. It has a portrait of Techno Viper here. And you can see on the card art, the helmet is more flared and layered than it appears on the figure. His codename is Techno Viper. He is the cobra battlefield technician. This paragraph says, Modern battles involve expensive complicated machines, and it is inevitable that these machines sustain enemy inflicted damage, succumb to driver error, or simply break down of their own accord. It is the mission of the Techno Vipers to provide field maintenance support and combat engineer capability to frontline cobra troops. Techno Vipers can repair his tanks, build bridges, and retrieve large heavy machines from seemingly inaccessible places. This paragraph has a quote. It says, Just because the Techno Vipers carry wrenches and jacks, don't underestimate them. They work their way up from the ranks of Vipers and each one is a qualified cobra infantryman. They also function as sappers, they plant explosives, and are always called on as the first wave in assaulting a heavily fortified position. The first paragraph, very matter-of-factly, states the need and the primary function of the Techno Vipers. The second paragraph expands on that and gives him a combat role. If the Techno Viper is in the first wave assaulting a heavily fortified position, he should probably carry more weapons and fewer tools. I just don't see him filling that role. It may not seem obvious from the figure, but based on the file card, the closest GI Joe equivalent to the Techno Viper would be 1985 Tollbooth, the driver of the bridge layer. Tollbooth is a combat engineer. His primary function would be building bridges and other engineering tasks in the field. Looking at how Techno Viper was used in GI Joe media, he had no animated series appearances. He was only animated for commercials. Looking at how he was used in the GI Joe comic book published by Marvel Comics, he first appeared in issue number 63. One of them talks with Serpentor when they are discussing locations of GI Joe bases. Techno Vipers are seen again in issue number 68 in Fruisenland during a meeting with the Prime Minister. Oddly, they are shown moving pieces around a map table. That is not related to their specialty. I think they're doing that for their own amusement. Techno Vipers were not very prominent in the comic book series. They appeared in the background once in a while. They weren't depicted repairing vehicles and equipment. One time, they were shown flying a helicopter. They could have been used more for their intended purpose. Looking at the Techno Viper overall, this is a really great figure. It's no wonder it's well remembered. It's a rare thing that I like a purple figure, but this makes the purple look good. It's the mix of the light and the dark purple sharpened by black and silver. I have to note how brave the design and the sculpt are. Some of the details on the arms could have turned out to be a disaster if they weren't sculpted as well as they are. GI Joe arms don't have a lot of real estate for details like hoses that are connected in two different places. But it works. It was brave to design it that way and brave to sculpt it that way. The accessories are remarkable. There are a lot of them, for one thing. They are appropriate for the Techno Viper's job. They all connect together. There are slots on the backpack for the tools and pegs for the connector hoses. It's a pretty intricate system. Are there downsides to the Techno Viper? Well, he's a Techno Viper. He's a technician. He's a repairman. He's a mechanic. There's nothing wrong with any of those things and Cobra would definitely need those specialties. But these guys are not charging at GI Joe with guns and grenade launchers. You can always give them that duty, but you can do that with anyone. Out of the package, they're not designed to do that. For fans of GI Joe now, the Techno Viper is a beautiful figure that looks great on a shelf. It's one that would be relatively easy to army build. It stacks up well with other Cobra figures of the era. By going with purple instead of blue, it looks unique, but not out of place. Thanks to Mark Pennington for the Techno Viper. We don't talk about Mark enough on this channel and we should. In the future, we will. Throughout Cobra Convergence, I have asked you to participate and I have shared your Cobra creations and videos every week. And to everyone who did that, I asked for their thoughts on the Techno Viper. This is what they had to say. Hello, all. Welcome to GI Joe's first figure review. I am Agent Chuckles. Alongside me is my son and G1 Joe podcast co-host Connor. Connor? What's he doing? What's that music? Connor, we're supposed to be doing a figure review. What are you doing? I'm wiping the windows. What? I said, I'm wiping the windows. Why are you saying it like that? That's how you said. No, I said we were reviewing the Techno Viper, not Techno wiping. I don't know the difference. All right, let's go to the figure review. So pros love the colors on the guy. I really like purple. He's purple. Two, he's a troop builder, so you can have a thousand of them. You're fine. Three, he's a knee rolling Cobra. You need someone to fix their his tanks and there's no one else that can do that. Techno Viper is the thing. And the cons. I can't get the tools to store in his backpack very well. And Connor doesn't like his helmet. Other than that, top notch figure. That's it. That's it for us. So just remember only Hooded Cobra Commander 788 is Hooded Cobra Commander 788. Cobra! Hey, it's Christopher, aka the Bronze Age Nerd. And today we're talking about the Techno Viper, Cobra's elite battlefield technician, which honestly, I was never excited about as a kid. And the reasons were pretty simple. It was a weird color scheme with the purple color to the figure. The role never interested me. It wasn't something that I thought was important for my Cobra team. I wanted soldiers. But looking back on it and reading the file card, I actually realized the Techno Viper is really more than a battlefield technician. It's a combat engineer. And that's pretty cool. I wish it had been marketed a little bit differently. I probably would have liked the figure a lot more. As it is, a Techno Viper for me kind of looked like it should drive the Fang 2 vehicle. I thought that was a good fit for them. As an older adult, I can definitely appreciate that figure a little bit more. And it does seem like a pretty cool figure overall. What's going on, everybody? This is Corps Commander Cody on Instagram here to hit you up with some more figure opinions on the 1987 Techno Viper. Now, the Techno Viper is a pretty cool guy. You can think of him as sort of a specialist, but I feel like they do a lot of different things. I got inspired by my friend, General Leader Cranes, who did a whole series every Tuesday for a year. He posted a new photo of something that the Techno Viper's could do by weapons testing and field repair. And, you know, they can be involved in so many things. The color is pleasing. They've got nice lots of little shades on there that are fun. Not only that, they have a backpack that can hold all of their tools. I don't have that, but I know it exists. And not only that, they have a gun as well, which is kind of unusual for a non-combatant kind of guy. But I sort of see them as the kind that would either shoot you with the gun or they could beam you with a hammer, you know, just as easily. He's about to do this to me, I think. I don't have a perfect one, so this is the one I'm using. But anyway, Techno Viper, pretty cool guy. You should get one. Several. A lot. Hello, this is Adam with DreamMade Productions. Hooded Cobra Commander 788, I would consider it an honor to share with you my opinion of the Cobra Techno Viper. For me, the Techno Viper is something of a bittersweet memory. The Techno Viper is from the 1987 line. For me, the beginning of the end for GI Joe. From my very first GI Joe through 1986, I wanted every single figure and vehicle. There was nothing I did not want. Sure, some I thought were cooler than others, but they were all awesome. 1987 was the first year GI Joe had toys I did not care for. And worse, a few figures and two vehicles I openly did not like. On the other hand, it also contained a toy I had wanted ever since I saw the space shuttle battle and the Pyramid of Darkness miniseries. The move from the cartoon to the movie to the geek years hit my interest in GI Joe hard and 1987 was the year it started. At the time, the Techno Viper kind of faded into the background. That year, the vehicles were what piqued my interest the most. Kind of ironic given that the Techno Viper is a mechanic and combat engineer. It is fair to say that I appreciate the Techno Viper far more today than in 1987. Cobra has some crazy tech and obviously someone has to repair and maintain it. The sculpt of the figure is pretty good. The helmet looks very cobra and the wires or hoses on his suit does make it look like something is going on there. For me, the dislike starts to come in with the colors. The kind of pink mixed with the kind of purple is an odd choice even for Cobra. For years, Cobra had their colors, blue, red, black, and a dash of others here and there. This figure really breaks from that. It's sad because if they had stuck to traditional colors, this figure would have fit right in. On the other hand, you come to his accessories. This is where the figure really shines. That big gun just looks cool. Something Cobra would have. A laser or plasma tool weaponized. The tools are a nice bonus. In the early days, such things would have just been details on a backpack. With this figure, they gave them to you to put in the figure's hands, letting him work on vehicles or smack GI Joes in the face with them. Finally, you come to the backpack, which is super awesome. It has carrying capacity for his tools. He can easily carry everything with him. The hoses also add to the figure, making the weapons and tools seem super powered. If I had Techno Viper as a kid, I know I would have gotten some use out of him. His weapon is cool enough that, as a fighter, he would have seen use. His tools interesting enough that he would have seen many melee fights as well. Using HCC 788's old system, I would place this figure, well, I would place the figure in the mid-tier, but with an asterisk. For me personally, this would be closer to the top of the bottom tier. Aside from the colors, this figure is nice. Had it been colored closer to the more classic Cobra Trooper, I would have placed it firmly in the middle tier, perhaps even in the top tier. But the colors are more than just a bad choice on this figure. It was, let's call it an omen of what was to come. The neon future that would drive me away from G.I. Joe. Well, those are my thoughts on the Cobra Techno Viper. Before I go, I just wanted to say, hoody coco, thank you for opening up Cobra Convergence 6 to all of YouTube and me specifically. It has been an honor to be part of this event. I'm already looking forward to CCC 7. Thank you for giving me the chance to entertain you. And as always, I hope you enjoy the battle reps that are to come. This is Phil, codenamed Treasures for Trigger, reporting for Cobra Duty and reporting on the Techno Viper 1987. 1987 was peak G.I. Joe time for me and my younger brother. And we absolutely love the Cobra. And unfortunately, I lost the battle my younger brother got to the Techno Viper. I was very, very jealous. So yeah, what's not to love about the Techno Viper? He's black and purple from top to tail. And he's just packed full of accessories. We nicknamed him the purple walrus with his look. And yeah, he's just awesome. And as a bonus, he can also fix the old Cobra his tank as well. So the Techno Viper gets a technical lay from me. Such an awesome figure. And yeah, 1987. What a great year to be a G.I. Joe collector. Hey, everybody, this is Rob Vegas, and I am checking in from Melbourne, Australia. And it's a real quick video today. Now, sometimes when I post on the YouTube, I get a bit of heat from some people. And then I might get a bit more heat. A lot of people know I'm a big fan of rock. And some might say I'm a bit of a metalhead. Something we don't talk about enough is Techno. And we've got Techno Viper here today with us. And this was the second ever figure that I got back in the 80s when I was growing up. And I absolutely love him. He is amazing and brings back so many memories just having him here on the show in, you know, like really awesome colors, really awesome design, like so much detail on the figure, they really went for gold on these vipers back in the day. And, you know, it also made you sort of like I got my first figure was the original viper. But when you got one of these guys, it kind of just went, wow, these guys are hardcore, and they can do just about anything. And then, you know, this sort of opened up the universe of Cobra and how they could just have all sorts of specialities and really cool stuff going on. So shout it out loud for Techno Viper, really cool figure. And I'm, yeah, amazing detail and awesome accessories. Let's see if we can't get him to fix up some Cobra vehicles. And yeah, go from there. Thanks Techno Viper. So thanks Techno Viper for being such an awesome figure and expanding the GI Joe universe and making everything awesome. And thanks HCC 788 for inviting me into this video and cheers everybody. I will catch you soon. Hey everyone, this is Rod and Todd and HCC asked me to talk about my thoughts about Techno Viper version one, which I don't know really very many vintage Joe figures. So based off of Google images, I have to say Techno Viper is fine. I don't really know what the bright purples for but out of all the 87 guys, I'd say is probably the best behind Cobra Commander version three. Because out of all the other 87 Cobra guys, you have a Birdman, a Crocman and Doctor Strange. So yeah, kind of a no brainer. I do think he kind of fills an essential role in the kind of thing and the kind of Cobra command structure is like a tech guy. But overall, it's, he's just an all right figure. I don't know. I don't know him, but just looking at pictures, he's all right. Definitely one of the better 87 Cobras, at least appearance wise. Hi Cobra Convergence fans, I'm Rod and Joe, and this is my review of Techno Viper. Like his predecessor, this one doesn't remove his helmet, but he has a lot of hydraulic tools connected to his backpack, which has two pressure pumps, one for the tools and the other connected to his plasma cutter. Anyway, all of his equipment are fantastically detailed. His only sidearm weapon is a laser pistol. The figure has a removable chest protector. I don't remember who said this, but the main colors of the Cobra legions are the blue and the purple, which is a good contrast between the Joe's army green and the blue and purple of the Cobra. The tall boots and the protective gloves are fantastic too. Another realistic detail of this figure. Well, that's it. I want to thanks Mr. Hooded Coco for allowing me to share this clip and I will prepare a future review of the Techno Viper in my YouTube channel, Rod and Joe. See you soon. Cobra! That was my review of the Techno Viper, thanks to everyone who participated, thanks to all the patrons who voted on it, and thanks to 3djoes.com for the Mark Pennington Creator Profile. We have more Cobra Convergence presenters coming up this week. We have Cobra Lange, Rob Vegas, Joe Colton, Podcast from The Pit, Fun School Ronnie, The Order of Battle Podcast, The Skull Reviews, and Articulated Points. Thank you for watching. When next we meet, we will be wrapping up Cobra Convergence for 2022. I'll see you then. And until then, remember only Cobra is Cobra.