 Hey, Dad. I was just looking at your Patreon page. It looks like the Cobra ASP is going to win the Patreon poll. What did you say? I just said ASP. Young lady, you know better than to use language like that. In this house, if you're going to refer to the posterior regions by anything other than the scientific name, you are only allowed to call it the booty. Sometimes you can be a real da booty. That's better! Here, it's time for another vintage G.I. Joe toy review, and this one was chosen by patrons. I was expecting the Pogo. The Pogo was in the lead of the patrons poll for quite a while. I had stuff planned for the Pogo. I had jokes for the Pogo. But you guys didn't want to see the Pogo. I guess I can't blame you. It's the Pogo. Instead, you wanted to see the 1984 Cobra ASP. 1984 was an important year for Cobra. It was really only the second year for Cobra vehicles. There were no Cobra vehicles released in 1982, the first year of the G.I. Joe line. There was a play set, a cardboard play set, but no vehicles. In 1983, we got a couple vehicles, and they were iconic. Who could ever forget the his tank and the Fang helicopter? In 1984, Cobra started to branch out. They had a jet, the Cobra Rattler. They had the Stinger, which was a black version of the vamp. And they had the ASP. The ASP isn't really a vehicle. When I think of a vehicle, I think of something that is motorized, that is driven around. The ASP is a toad weapon, similar to the 1982 G.I. Joe Howe and the 1983 whirlwind. But the ASP does diversify your Cobra forces. It gives you a way to defend your Cobra base against attacks by G.I. Joe. Thank you to all my patrons and everyone who watches these videos. Thank you for your support. You guys wanted to see the ASP, so that's what I'm going to give you. I really thought it was going to be the Pogo. HCC 788 presents the Cobra ASP. This is the Cobra ASP from 1984. It was first available in 1984 and also available in 1985. And it was discontinued for 1986. AASP or ASP is an acronym for Assault System Pod. This acronym isn't as bad as some of the other strained acronyms for G.I. Joe vehicles. Although the ASP is more of a defensive weapon than an assault weapon. There was a second version of the ASP in the vintage era. The Python Patrol ASP was released in 1989. For the 1989 version, they just called it an ASP and dropped the acronym. Thanks to Steve for giving this Python Patrol ASP to me. 1984 was the third year for the G.I. Joe toy line, but it was only the second year for Cobra vehicles. There were no Cobra vehicles in 1982. When we got the first Cobra vehicles in 1983, they were still outnumbered by G.I. Joe vehicles. We got the HIST tank and the FANG helicopter and the Viper glider. 1984 gave us a better balance of Joe versus Cobra vehicles. Did the ASP have a replacement between the discontinuance of the 1984 version and the release of the 1989 version? There was the Cobra bunker in 1985, but that didn't quite serve the same purpose as the ASP. I don't think Cobra had a gun pod light the ASP after it was discontinued. Maybe they should have. The ASP is quite useful. There are several contenders for a G.I. Joe counterpart to the ASP, depending on whether you consider the ASP an anti-aircraft gun, an anti-tank weapon, a howitzer. You could imagine any kind of round coming out of those twin cannons. In 1982, the FLAC and the HAL were both big gun systems. The HAL was a little closer to the ASP since it was a toad weapon. The 1983 whirlwind is very similar to the ASP in that it has two big guns and is a toad weapon. The wheels on the whirlwind even fold up in a similar way to the ASP. In 1984, G.I. Joe had the Mountain Howitzer, but it's a less substantial and less versatile weapon than the ASP. In 1986, G.I. Joe had the law, the laser artillery weapon, but it was not mobile. In 1987, the SLAM had similar features to the ASP in that it was mobile and can serve as a stationary gun emplacement. The SLAM is a bit of an oddity though in that it has a hitch rather than a towing loop, implying that it is self-propelled and could tow another weapon behind it. The SLAM could tow the ASP, but that just looks wrong. By the way, thank you Lawson Allen for sending this SLAM to me. Before we delve into the features, let's take a note of the color. The ASP is in the classic Cobra Blue. This is the color of the original Cobra Trooper and Officer. It's the color most associated with Cobra. I love this color. It's worthless for camouflage, but we've noted before that Cobra has adopted a strategy of intimidation. They want to be seen and they want to instill fear by their approach. There are two good colors for Cobra vehicles, blue and black. I would be happy if they all came in those colors. Yeah, there were some other Cobra vehicles that had acceptable colors, but even those vehicles would have looked nicer in black or blue. Let's take a look at the parts and the features of the ASP starting with the cannons. These twin cannons, the blueprints call them, dual synchronized 120 millimeter eliminator cannons. They can elevate more than 90 degrees and they can point downward in case you have the ASP on a hillside and want to fire downhill. It's unclear exactly what these cannons are intended to shoot at. 120 millimeter guns have been used for a variety of purposes. They've been used for tanks. You could imagine the ASP protecting the terror drone from armored assault. They've been used for anti-aircraft guns. The ASP kind of looks like an anti-aircraft gun since the operator faces skyward. I imagine the ASP being used in any role that it's needed, anti-aircraft, anti-armor or anti-personnel. It would have been able to switch ammunition types on the fly. It has what the blueprints call shell proof deflector shields. They are removable and they are the most frequently lost parts. I don't think they add very much to the ASP. They don't really shield the operator. It has a roll cage canopy which opens. It has a very small instrument panel with a couple of gauges there. The plastic on this roll cage canopy is quite thin and could break or warp. But I don't see a lot of Cobra ASPs missing the canopy so it must not be too fragile. We have the cockpit. It has a sculpted seat, a bit of a texture pattern there on the floor. There is no obvious control panel or trigger grip so I'm not exactly sure how the gunner fires this weapon. Although you can place a figure in the reclining position, the box for the ASP suggests there's another way the gunner is supposed to board. The pod tilts up so the gunner can board in the standing position. You can tilt the pod up but it only works in the forward position. If you rotate it then it will run into the legs. But in the forward position you can flip the pod up. You can place the figure in and you can close the canopy. But I have noticed that putting the figure in is not very easy. The canopy tends to run into his feet so you have to push him up and have his feet poking through the canopy and also his head is poking out too. So placement of the figure in the ASP is not quite perfect. As a kid I was a little confused by this feature. The gunner reclines and faces up when the pod is lowered, which is fine for anti-aircraft. But if the ASP is firing at a target on the ground, raising the pod lets the gunner see what he's shooting at. Of course you wouldn't really want to do that because it makes the ASP a bigger target. Now let's look at the pod itself. It has sort of a snake head shape. You can imagine the cannons as fangs. It has a snake logo on the sides. And that snake logo reminds me of the sticker on the 1984 Cobra Water Moccasin. They both have pretty cool snake logos. The pod fits on a base and it hinges on that base. Under the pod there is some additional technical detail including breaker access. I think this is good. Kids can pretend that they are repairing the damaged ASP after it has been hit by GI Joe. This base rotates 360 degrees. In fact we have a Cobra logo and we have a removable engine cover with some engine detail there. Based on the blueprints and details on the ASP, the ASP appears to be gas powered. It's got a fluid pump sticker there on the engine that's normally covered up by the engine cover. But still, that's a nice attention to detail there. So far all the features we've looked at could be on a stationary weapon. The bottom half of this toy is what makes it mobile. The base for the pod is connected to this chassis and this is more complex than it looks. In the front we have what the blueprints call stabilizer pads. They have these little feet here. And they lock down in the stationary position and they lock up for the mobile mode. It has two wheels, one on each side and they fold down for the stationary mode and then they can pop up and lock into place for the mobile mode. When these wheels are locked out in mobile mode, they do roll freely. These are in fact the same wheels as the 1983 whirlwind. The whirlwind wheels were dark gray and the ASP wheels are black. The locking mechanism for the ASP is slightly different than the whirlwind. The whirlwind wheels did lock out in the mobile mode but in its stationary emplacement mode they do not lock down. They just kind of hang like that. And of course you place the weapon on the wheels for its emplacement mode. The ASP wheels lock in both the mobile position and the stationary position. They actually lock down under the vehicle. To complete the transformation from stationary to mobile mode, these two feet here in the back which are connected by a bar swing up. And now the ASP is ready to be towed. Connected to the chassis in the back is this keyhole shaped tow loop. And once it is in mobile mode it can be towed by a vehicle. Which vehicle should tow the ASP? In 1984 there were only two options. Cobra had the hiss and the stinger for land vehicles. The ASP looks a little small when towed by the hiss tank. I like to have it towed by the stinger. If I can swing the stinger around and connect it there. I like that. I think the sizes match up better. I do like the blue with the black. Nice color contrast. The stinger has missiles rather than guns so it can use some additional firepower. Who should operate the ASP? I typically use a Cobra Trooper. That's not ideal since the color on the figure closely matches the vehicle. He kind of blends in. An alternative would be a spare stinger driver. The ASP does not need an officer to operate it but from an aesthetic point of view the lighter color of the figure really pops against the dark blue. As you may have noticed in my review the Taradrome has guns that go almost all the way around it but it does have a blind side. Even though the ASP was not released at the same time as the Taradrome I think they go really well together. I would definitely have the ASP defending that blind side. As I've mentioned before space is an issue in my collection. I have trouble finding space for everything but if I could have the Taradrome out in a diorama I would definitely have the ASP defending it. Taking a look at how the ASP was used in GI Joe Media the ASP's animated appearances were minimal. It appeared in the Sunbow series a few times but never more than a few seconds at a time. That's not surprising. The ASP isn't really a solo vehicle. It's meant to be used in conjunction with something else. Either defending a Cobra Base or being towed by a Cobra vehicle. Surprisingly the ASP made the transition into a sneak animated series but only so it could be converted into the Python Patrol version. The ASP got a little better use in the comic book published by Marvel Comics but of course it wasn't usually the star of the story. The first appearance as far as I can determine was in issue number 36 and it was a spectacular debut. It even made the cover. In that issue the ASP defended a mysterious island in the South Atlantic. The Joes approached the island and the ASPs instantly opened fire on the hovercraft. The Joes managed to defeat the ASPs with superior tactics but the ASPs prevented the Joes from discovering the purpose of the island. I liked that issue. There's a lot of good action in it. ASPs were used in issue number 41 to defend the newly formed Cobra Island. In that issue they were used as anti-aircraft guns. The ASP reappeared in the Cobra Civil War where they defended the airfield. The ASPs were used as anti-aircraft guns and anti-killer-whale. Unfortunately their moment of glory was brief. They were destroyed with satchel charges. The comic book appearances showed the ASP being used in all its potential roles. Anti-aircraft, anti-armor and anti-personnel. Looking at the ASP overall it's a middle tier vehicle even for its size class. It has some merits. It's very useful. It also has a few drawbacks. I did have this vehicle as a kid. I don't remember the figure being that difficult to fit in the cockpit. Maybe I'm doing it wrong but I did try it several ways and it didn't fit well any way that I tried. The ASP has a few good points. For one thing it's very versatile. You can use it as an anti-aircraft gun an anti-tank gun an anti-personnel gun really anything you need. You can defend a cobra base from any form of attack. I imagine the ASP as designed by Destro and his innovation is that it can switch ammunition types on the fly. So if the gunner needs to shoot at an aircraft he can have anti-aircraft fire. If he needs to shoot at a tank he can switch over ammunition types and use it as an anti-tank weapon. I very much like the color. I love that classic cobra blue. It doesn't exactly match the color on the old Cobra Tupper and Cobra Officer but it's pretty close and if you look at it and you instantly know that's a cobra vehicle. Its main limitation is the same limitation as with any toad weapon. It doesn't go anywhere on its own. It's only mobile in conjunction with another vehicle. But that's okay. I like it as a stationary gun in placement. Although it didn't have a lot of great moments in the cartoon series it actually did have a few good moments in the comic book series. Some memorable moments. Cobra Asps in the comic book but I appreciate that the Asp was able to get revenge and take out the killer whale. And that's all I can think of to say about the Asp. A review like this is actually kind of difficult. These small toad weapons without a lot of features it's hard to make a full review out of them. There's really only so much to say about them. So next week I think we'll do a figure and we're gonna do a really great one. That was my review of the 1984 Cobra Asp. I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave it a thumbs up on YouTube and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Please like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter and support the channel on Patreon. Thanks to all the patrons who voted on this one we'll be doing more of these patrons choice reviews throughout the year. If you'd like to find out how to get involved just check out the Patreon page. Thank you very much for watching. I'll see you next week with another vintage GI Joe toy review and until then remember only GI Joe is GI Joe. And they had the Asp I'm gonna say something important about the Asp here. The thing I'm gonna say is that it's not really a vehicle. A vehicle implies that you drive it around, right? But it doesn't drive around, it just gets driven around. The Cobra Asp I'm leaving that one in. I'm gonna use that clip, that tape right there. I don't care, I don't even know what to do again. It's an Asp but I'm gonna call it a vehicle again. I just can't help it. It's classified as a vehicle like on Yojo.com. It's not technically a vehicle. I don't think it's a towed weapon of a different thing. Just call it a vehicle, that's fine. Somebody in the comments can just say hey, you called it a vehicle here but you said it wasn't a vehicle there. So in a few minutes we'll find out who that guy is.