Cobra Carabinier
Close-Quarters Infantry

Red Laser made a couple of Cobra troopers using Joe parts, which look very nice in classic Cobra blue. A few additional painted details improved the look even more. Figure names like “Cobra Soldier” or simply “Cobra” are not very evocative, so I wanted to give each type of faceless Cobra from the early years of the line unique names, much like the -Vipers of later years. In naming these troopers, imagine that Cobra Commander has a Napoleonic view of himself and so uses many terms from the Grande Armée. So the Carabiniers are troops specialized in close-quarters battle, like progenitors to the Alley-Vipers.

Head – Cobra (Red Laser reproduction)
Arms, torso, waist – Grunt etc. (Red Laser reproduction)
Legs – Airborne (Red Laser reproduction)

Backpack – Airborne (Red Laser reproduction)
Carbine – Marauder Inc.

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Cobra Cuirassier
Heavy Infantry Officer

I received a set of Red Laser custom figures and decided to use them largely for parts, sometimes combining them with parts from a set of White Elephant Toyz figures as well. I don’t really remember which parts of this figure came from which set, it’s a mishmash of various parts. Figure names like “Cobra Soldier” or simply “Cobra” are not very evocative, so I wanted to give each type of faceless Cobra from the early years of the line unique names, much like the -Vipers of later years. In naming these troopers, imagine that Cobra Commander has a Napoleonic view of himself and so uses many terms from the Grande Armée. So the Cuirassiers are officers who lead heavy infantry into battle.

All parts - Red Laser and White Elephant Toyz reproductions (Cobra, Clutch, Snake Eyes)

Shotgun – Marauder Inc.

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Cobra Eclaireur
Advance Recon

Since I was doing another batch of Cobra troopers I grabbed a Night Trooper in order to do a few paint upgrades. Specifically, adding a couple of colours to the camo pattern to make it more interesting. Figure names like “Cobra Trooper” are not very evocative, so I wanted to give each type of faceless Cobra from the early years of the line unique names, much like the -Vipers of later years. In naming these troopers, imagine that Cobra Commander has a Napoleonic view of himself and so uses many terms from the Grande Armée. So the Eclaireurs are advance recon troops.

All parts - Cobra Night Trooper v2

Rifle - Marauder Inc.
Backpack - Viper (reproduction)

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Cobra Ecuyer
Aide-de-Campe

Black Major made a light blue Cobra Soldier figure with a nice black Cobra logo, but it’s a bit plain by itself so that called for a nice dark blue camo pattern to improve the look. Figure names like “Cobra Soldier” or simply “Cobra” are not very evocative, so I wanted to give each type of faceless Cobra from the early years of the line unique names, much like the -Vipers of later years. In naming these troopers, imagine that Cobra Commander has a Napoleonic view of himself and so uses many terms from the Grande Armée. So the Ecuyers are aide-de-campes, assisting various officers in performing their duties.

All parts - Cobra (Black Major reproduction)

Rifle - Cobra Officer (Black Major reproduction)
Backpack - Cobra Viper (Black Major reproduction)

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Cobra Ensign
Communications Trooper

This trooper is inspired by Cobra communications troopers seen in several early issues of the Marvel comic. Signals are an absolutely vital part of a military or paramilitary force, so Cobra certainly needed some commo guys before the Tele-Vipers arrived in 1985. It needed a basic Cobra uniform but unhelmeted head to allow a removable headset as an accessory. It took a while to find a really good headset – the ones that came with the Eaglehawk are perfect.

Head – Crimson Guard v4
Arms, torso, waist, legs – Cobra Infantry Trooper

Pistol – Marauder Inc.
Headset – Lift-Ticket v3

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Cobra Grognard
Warrant Officer

Cobra needs more variety in its early troopers. But names like “Cobra Soldier” or simply “Cobra” are not very evocative. Each type of faceless Cobra from the early years of the line should have unique names, much like the -Vipers of later years. Imagine that Cobra Commander has a Napoleonic view of himself and so uses many terms from the Grande Armée. So the Grognards are veteran infantry troopers that have earned a promotion to warrant officer. They have done what very few of the Cobra infantry have ever managed to do – they have survived long enough to actually qualify for a pension. Of course, the Cobra pension fund is unfunded (the money having been diverted to a number of high-yield offshore accounts under various fictitious names), so Cobra Commander uses his veteran Grognards to lead the most dangerous missions in an attempt to reduce future pension payouts.

All parts – Red Laser and White Elephant Toyz parts

Submachine gun - Marauder Inc.

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Cobra Maraudeur
Long-Range Reconnaissance

Black Major made a grey camo Cobra Soldier figure, but it’s a bit plain by itself so that called for a little extra colour in the camo and various other painted details. Figure names like “Cobra Soldier” or simply “Cobra” are not very evocative, so I wanted to give each type of faceless Cobra from the early years of the line unique names, much like the -Vipers of later years. In naming these troopers, imagine that Cobra Commander has a Napoleonic view of himself and so uses many terms from the Grande Armée. So the Maraudeurs do long-range reconnaissance, like progenitors to the Range-Vipers.

All parts - Cobra (Black Major reproduction)

Rifle - Marauder Inc.
Backpack - Cobra Viper (Black Major reproduction)

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Cobra Sabreur
Grenadier Officer

Red Laser made a couple of Cobra troopers using Joe parts, which look very nice in classic Cobra blue. A few additional painted details improved the look even more, and on this one I did a head swap as well to make it seem more intimidating, Figure names like “Cobra Soldier” or simply “Cobra” are not very evocative, so I wanted to give each type of faceless Cobra from the early years of the line unique names, much like the -Vipers of later years. In naming these troopers, I imagine that Cobra Commander has a Napoleonic view of himself and so uses many terms from the Grande Armée. So the Sabreurs are officers who lead the shock troops into battle.

Head - Cobra Trooper v4
Arms, torso, waist - Short-Fuze etc. (Red Laser reproduction)
Legs - Airborne (Red Laser reproduction)

Submachine gun - Marauder Inc.
Sword - unknown

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Cobra Tirailleur
Machine Gunner

I received a set of Red Laser custom figures and decided to use them largely for parts, sometimes combining them with parts from a set of White Elephant Toyz figures as well. I don’t really remember which parts of this figure came from which set, it’s a mishmash of various parts. Figure names like “Cobra Soldier” or simply “Cobra” are not very evocative, so I wanted to give each type of faceless Cobra from the early years of the line unique names, much like the -Vipers of later years. In naming these troopers, imagine that Cobra Commander has a Napoleonic view of himself and so uses many terms from the Grande Armée. So the Tirailleurs are machine-gun-toting infantrymen.

All parts - Red Laser and White Elephant Toyz reproductions (Cobra, Rock’n Roll)

Machine gun – Marauder Inc.

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really nice group. I was expecting "cobra cars" lol but wasn't too disappointed!

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I should use that as my tagline. "I looked at some of his customs and wasn't too disappointed."

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not at all! I meant not too disappointed because I was hoping for a bunch of cobra cars! the variety of blue cobra soldiers you make are astounding.

what about a every cobra in your ranks group shot?

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I'm just having fun with you. I have a few more ideas for Cobra troops, and next time I do some I'll try to remember to take a big group pic with all of them to date.

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These are a solid round of figures, but I already used my alliterative response on the LRRP set. How about, Kudos on a commendable collection of colorful COBRA combatant customs?

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Delightfully done, Dan.

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