By Loran
Like I said in the Alley Viper review, I love urban combat. Gray, white, and black camo; shotguns; close-quarters combat; ducking in and out of alleyways-it all just hits me in the right places. Now, I’m sure a lot of people might find the idea of a tank for urban combat kind of… silly. And it is! A tank is probably the last thing I’d bring to such a small battlefield—it’d just be a big rocket magnet! But this is COBRA we’re talking about, and even when their ideas seem kind of stupid on paper, after trial and error, they make ‘em work.
The Cobra Rage is a vehicle I’ve had my eye on for a few years now but could never really find for a good price. The older one is probably the cheapest, but the color scheme is kind of ugly. The 1997 version has an awesome color scheme, but it’s way too expensive! Well, the Cobra Fury manages to not only find a middle ground, but to actually surpass both.
The Fury manages to take the idea of a “city tank” and make it work. It has a very flat design and looks sleek. I guess the HISS set the precedent that Cobra’s main artillery vehicles need to be fast on top of, y’know, artillery.
By and large, this thing is identical to the original in terms of presentation and construction. However, it makes one change that greatly affects the appearance of the vehicle and makes it superior to it’s predecessors—the wheels. The original versions of the toy had these bizarre wheels that were almost cone shaped. One had to wonder how it even moved with them. This takes the same basic idea and makes them look like actual tires. It really makes a difference.
Naturally, this thing is armed to the teeth. A giant machine gun on the driver’s side, a double-barreled turret with two extra missiles, two more missiles on the driver’s side, a gatling at the front of the vehicle, two gatlings that swing out from the back, and even three landmines! You can swap out two of the missiles for a spring-loaded launcher that actually looks pretty good, but I still prefer the classic missiles.
Be careful not to force the turret up too far-it isn’t designed to lock into place. It would be nice if it did, but it supports itself well enough. It’s the same case with the machine gun on the driver’s side.
I’ll never understand the cockpits on some of these Joe/Cobra vehicles. What’s up with the whole Venetian Blinds look on them? It looks even more dangerous than the HISS tank’s clear canopy. Why aren’t they both like the one on the passenger side? Wouldn’t that be safer? Oh, Cobra.
Cockpits included, this vehicle has enough spots to place 9 figures. Not as impressive as the Mega Marines/B.A.T. APC but still good for hauling around Alley Vipers.
Okay… one thing you may have noticed about my Fury is the lack of stickers. Well… there are a LOT of these buggers-almost 70! Seriously, I’m going to need a whole afternoon to take care of these…
One strike against this vehicle has to be the driver. Obviously, he’s an Alley Viper, so for my opinions on that figure, check out that review. However, instead of using the awesome stylized head that one did, it just uses the ugly head the 25th Anniversary one had. On top of that, the color scheme is pretty bland. If his body was colored like his helmet, I might like him a bit more. He doesn’t even come with any accessories besides the bare minimum, but that’s no surprise. If you’re gonna get this vehicle, I wouldn’t recommend getting it for this guy.
This was my first Pursuit of Cobra vehicle purchase, and I can safely say it was well worth it. You get an update of a classic vehicle with a great color scheme and an okay figure. These things are hard to find, so if you come across it on FPNYC’s shelves I’d suggest grabbing it at first glance! I st
ill need a few more Alley Vipers…
