It's a Dustbuster, an iron, a sad tomato, a hovercraft, a dopey shoe, a lawnmower, a soap dish, and a cheap, hollow, molded plastic lump of amphibious shit. COBRA!!! I forgot a fidget spinner launcher and receptacle for crippling disappointment and hate. Thanks HTC788, you made my day!
I got that toy for my birthday. Was sure it was missing the hull. Man, I was disappointed. But, HCC, I’ve had similar life/job issues... obviously, I don’t know you personally, but you’ve brought me a lot of joy through your videos. I can relate. Thoughts and prayers in your direction.
I remember seeing the commercial for it and thought it was awesome... Then, ripping off the paper on it for Christmas and seeing Firefly driving it, I was STOKED. I could use it on the water, as it'd been awhile since something like that had come out... And I already had Firefly! Putting it together was an entirely different story... Noticing that it didn't have a bottom caused a fair amount of confusion. I thought it was midmssing a piece or something, as I assumed it'd be like the Kiler Whale, with the wheels on the bottom. I actually took it all apart abmnd put it back in the box in different configurations, to see if a bottom could actually fit in there. Noticing there aren't any clip points definitely shot that down. I still liked it, but it was kind of like when you sip Coke and it turns out to be tea. Tea is good... But you were expecting Coke and the difference between the two is a bit jarring.
I haven’t really considered it before, but this might be the vehicle that ended Joes for me. I’m 5ish years younger than you, so by 92 I was doing small jobs to earn money. I remember buying it, putting it together, and being underwhelmed to the point I think I stuck it on the back of a shelf and don’t remember ever playing with it again. I also don’t remember buying GI JOES after that. A major part of my childhood was watching Desert Shield/Desert Storm every night in the news. I could suspend belief and imagine Salvo, Bullhorn, Pathfinder, ambush, etc as an elite special forces group. I had seen predator, and the Joes I liked were probably more authentic to the military than the predator cast. I started spending my money on stuff from the army surplus store, books, and clothes.
I was always disappointed with my Rat. Those front blades would never turn (glad I wasn't the only one!). This thing always screamed cheap. Having the driver's legs just hanging loose underneath always bothered me to no end. Thanks for the review!
One good thing I can see with the RAT is make project out of it. Remove the stickers, use a sheet of pastic to give it proper hull, prime and paint and use custom stickers, plus if you know anyone with spare parts you might can replace the flying lawn mow blades with suitable weaponry for a Cobra vehicle. I just saying fun project trun junk into awesome
Love your reviews! Never having had this vehicle, '92 I joined the Navy, good year, I would have hated this vehicle. I cannot even think of a single piece of plastic vehicle (not including weapons), besides the blue raft, in the entire line. A dark grey or black bottom could have had engine detail, those front spikes, and the cockpit area. It still may not have floated, but the added detail would have vastly improved the vehicle. The artwork is amazing, title card I mean, and the vehicle, in those proportions, a bit more narrow, looks like it could have been a moderate aggressor against the SHARK and the WHALE, at least if it could have submerged. Love your reviews!
I think the best line from the review was that kids "deserved better". Regardless of your opinion of the actual toy, good or bad, Hasbro should have done more for its customers in this case.
Looks like Hasbro had a bunch of bright orange plastic leftover from the Septic Tank. Looking at the bottom of the vehicle, it reminded me of the cheap plastic cars I used to get out of gum machines.
wow , i have one of these, it did seem like a major drop off from previous stuff and a cobra parasite too from the same year which was actually really cool. i had many a mad max 2 chase replay with these guys and the rest of the vehicles
Man. I really liked that vehicle. I’m surprised by the hate. I thought it was a great swamp vehicle along with the Moccasin, and the dreadnok air skiff
These adults on this site that xpect toys from our childhoods to be realistic...honestly i dont even know why i watch these..this guy is such a pretentious ass its cringe worthy...a grow ass man collecting toys...i have way more respect for people that 3d print and paint there own stuff...maybe thats what this guy should do. and then an make all the stuff he wants instead of ragging on toys from our childhood...just a thought
@Demo3456 he didn't care about realism, it's a boat that isn't a boat. He said it you liked it fine, but...considering the high quality toys Hasbro made for GI Joe....this was cheap.
@@tonyjackson1636 yeah I had this one and it was definitely disappointing. I remember taking a bath or playing in the pool trying to have it go to war with the Baricuda and it would just sink like a rock, plus the wheels were horrendous.
This guy Serginho Malandro used to have a tv show in Brazil. He would play the comandos em açao cartoon and had a deal with Estrella to promote the toys. Cobra Rat was called Rothor and Iceberg v2 was Called Pantano and marketed as the driver :D awesome video brother
Great review, HoodedCobraCommander788. The Rat is very pathetic and should not have been marketed as a water vehicle. You are right about Hasbro getting lazy as the line came to a close in the early 1990's. I hope you bought this for a reasonable price. I saw one on eBay some time back for $40 (including shipping) for one mint in box. I certainly wouldn't pay anymore than $15-$20 for it if I were to buy one whether loose/complete, mint in box, or new in the box sealed. This isn't the worst G.I. Joe vehicle in the 1990's, but it certainly can be placed under the worst vehicles list.
Haha, I have one of these in a mint box also. No need to open it up. The underbelly looks like an old happy meal from McDonalds. Remember the time when the happy meal was a plastic container that was shaped like a boat? That was a better boat then this Rat.
So...swamp based vehicle...garishly colored...outrageously gunned...covered with spikes and fronted with saws...edgy decals...likely to sink...is this when Cobra outsourced its tech design to the Dreadnoks? Great video!
I think the only way the RAT could be "fixed" is to go one of two ways and that's to make it either a land or sea vehicle. Then it occurred to me, make it both, just not at the same time. You have switchable bottoms for the RAT, one with wheels, one with a boat hull. It would be billed as a Cobra experiment in modular construction. It would still be a jet-propelled vehicle but have different configurations. You could even make a third bottom that's a pair of wings so you have one cockpit with weapons and propulsion with options for land and sea and air. More play value and less cost.
Great reveiw..not a big fan of this toy..although I've never played with it so really hard for me to have an opinion. The rotating machine guns are cool. Thanks for sharing!
I had this Firefly my grandmother gave me this I like the figure I never had the rat it looks like a decent small vehicle I probably would have got it for like a holiday or whatever and a good report card always enjoy the show thank you hooded Cobra Commander
I thought you knew. Class of '93 Rules!!!!! Although that point I was far more interested in cars and girls than GI Joe so it is nice to see what was going on at that time.
I didn't understand what was so bad about the Rat until you turned it over. Before that point, I thought it was a decent, but not amazing vehicle. Figured with a bit of black lining and spray paint you could make it look pretty good. Then you turned it over, and any desire to make it look better vanished in an instant.
I just got my first one. Since this was designed in 1992. Now I wonder if they used the Rotor Gimmick to Make the Transformers Rotor force, that came 2 years later on. It was the Megatron Hiss tank that totally got me into More Joes.
You have got to be kidding me!! This looks like a toy from the 50's with they way it's hollowed out. I can't believe they actually sold this crap. Good review HCC.
This was one of the last vehicles I ever picked up along with the 92 line. Got it in San Bernadino visiting my aunt and uncle. I'm sure I lost the spinners in my front yard during a huge snowstorm that year, among much of that years line I'm sure. I kept collecting the figures into 94 but by 92 I was done with the wacky vehicle line. 91 and 92 vehicles made me want to vomit. 89 and 90 were pretty darn good years for vehicles, but woof... after that I was starting to struggle with the vehicle line let alone the franken figures. Felt that by 91 Hasbro just didn't care and that a third-party was supplying retooled toys from another toy line. I honestly would take a pogo or buzzboar over the Rat. Even an Adder which I probably feel is above a pogo and buzzboar.
There is a small seed of an idea that has value. A one or two man fast hover craft that can be used for raids. Similar to the zodiac. However this toy fucks it up at every level. However, this toy looks like it could find redemption if a Battletech fan turned this into a Savannah Master custom toy.
It look like the creators of the RAT got inspired by the Flymo F25 lawn mower. Which was a lawnmower hovercraft invented on the 60's. Just like the Flymo this doesn't use a air bag or skirt, it has a cutting blade for the grass and even the color is the same. Now the wheels on the back shown on the instructions as number.6 has been actually use on one hovercraft called the Airboard. The funny thing the Airboard was invented in the late 90's so maybe the Airboard got the back wheel inspiration from the Cobra RAT. The Airboard use the back wheel for a more stable ride and the back wheel of the airboard goes down sort of like a landing gear on a airplane. I can see how that back wheel comes handy on the Cobra RAT when those 4 gatling guns are firing because Warthog A10 pilots use full trust on the aircraft to compensate for the amount of kickback a gatling gun produce. Now for trust The Rat seem to use turbine power like the SR.N1 hovercraft. I can seem to come up with a realistic reason for Cobra using that bright color other than they want to be seen. In superior numbers this may cause a psychological effect on the enemy by seeing clearly how outnumber they are. The other reason for the color is that on a rescue mission it would be easy to find just like the orange life vest and life saving rafts.
You can never not convince me this wasn’t the Cobra Lawnmower that was repurposed as their budget ran out, that year. I never did like that redesign for Firefly, so he could be the Lawn Viper. 😂😂😂 I bought this, but once I saw it was a shell, it went right back in the box and no idea where that got lost along the way? Like others have said, it was a breaking point for me, and with life moving me into adulthood and on my own, it was the end of an era.
Sadly at this point in the toyline there seemed to be an era of desperation to cut costs but 1992 was the beginning of the serious Kamikaze spin in the final point of the toyline where things began to fall apart. There were a few last little gems before the line ended in 1994 but I was not really buying vehicles by this point in the toyline and was just in it for a few good figures that came out as the line died on the shelves. Black Hoodie Cobra Commander and Duke were two late great gems and from 1993 no less!
You should have looked carefully at the bottom and realized that it was designed in 1990. For some reason Hasbro postponed the release since it is common for the copyright date indicate the year before of it's release.
Ya know for the life of me I can't remember WHY I had this as a kid?!?!? I do remember thinking that it wasn't very good, that it was a drastic step down (or several flights of stairs really) from the Warthog or Bugg (which I believe would have been the most recent vehicles I'd have had) and that it would likely be the LAST Joe toy I'd buy.....at least in childhood! I THINK...I had an Aunt in Florida....I had an Aunt in New Mexico....I had an Aunt in Colorado...another in Wyoming....2 here in Ohio where I'm from and live today...scratch that I had 3 in Ohio.... But my FAVORITE AUNT was in Florida. She was my favorite simply because she was the ONLY aunt I had that rain or shine would send me a check each year on my birthday!!! That's important to a kid....I didn't have grandparents or anyone outside of my Mom and Dad who cared enough to get me something for my birthday. And sure....as an adult I get it, life is a lot!!! But Aunt Laura scores points to this day because AS AN ADULT I GET IT, LIFE IS A LOT!!! So... Anyhow ya know how as a kid you've got some random amount of money....$15 say...and I don't know about you all BUT my Mom would tell you if I had $10 I spent $20....and it's gone....no...like GONE, I already spent it all!!! And that's what she'd tell you now....so I was worse as a kid!!! Haha so I remember that $15 stretched much further in 1992 so I probably got Pro Wrestling SOMETHING and then had some change and randomly picked up this RAT. I also had a Firefly V2 and those EELs that came with robotic sharks....so Despite being pretty much done BUYING new Joe's (I still played with them and if I saw some early say '84s/'85s at a yard sale....well then I pushed a Rolling Thunder 5 blocks home!!!) Heck in '92 I remember trading some baseball cards for a really nice Quick Kick, WetSuit and William Refrigerator Perry.....but these were the final Joe's I ever bought as a kid. I was pretty much done by 1989....I only had a few. When Hasbro released WWF Superstars and Galoob followed suit with WCW figures and with the shmaaashmortion that was the DIC animated series.....it was "Gotta get OUT, NoJoe!!!".... And it was sad... In '87 I got the Cobra Mamba in '88 I got the Phantom x-19 w/ GhostRider and Cobra BUGG and the Warthog...in '89 I got the Crusader w/ Payload v2 And the Tiger Sting....and then it obviously went waaaaay down hill. Aunt Laura is still my favorite btw. Sorry for all the LONG comments on some older videos Senor Coco....but I've honestly been rewatching some of your outstanding catalog of videos and I enjoy them as much as I did the first go round and as much as I enjoyed the toys that I had and the toys I always wanted!!! So again I say...You're a valued and important member of this community and I hope you're hanging in there. Again, just a reminder that you're cared about and we're all here with you brother! So get some rest and take your time....get well! And to wrap my rambling mess up......recent pick-ups... I got a LAW, Lazer Artillery Weapon w/ blueprints and the box in AMAZING CONDITION!!! $30.....a steal! I got a Raptor as I'd sold mine off...complete WITH FEET IN TACT on the falcon...a TRUE BEATER Outback figure....as a place sitter...I had a nice completey w/ full cardback but needed some cash so.....he's gotten so expensive lately the beater will do for now! And then this evening I picked up another MINTY MINTERSON Crimson Guard, a very nice Frost Bite, a SneakPeak because he's a CUTE chubby baby....and some weapons to complete some other figs. YoJoe And Cobra-La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La!!!!
Holy cow.....I forgot....or did I mention on another video about Dr Mindbender v2 and the Cobra Stinger? I think I mentioned them.... Oh well....oh but what about Snake Eyes V3 and Stalker V2 and an upgrade to Mercer and a new Wayne R Sneeden...yeah....I mentioned those too. Getting old is lame....but at least you get to have rad toys!
i used sonic fighters major bludd and a cobra eel as the pilots for the rat. also had the cobra piranha. I guess this toy really needed modding, at least it has space to do so. has anyone tried pimping their joe vehicles?
Wow, this thing really is bad. I guess this is what happens when CC has exhausted Destro's supply of patience. Destro churns out crappy weapons in return.
You are very considerate and generous with this awful vehicle, HCC788. It was evaluated as the absolute worst GI Joe vehicle of all time over at Toy Galaxy.
Ok, I know the 90's were bad in the toy line and that one showed it. It was as if Hasbro got a deal on bright plastic colors and decided to use them. Ugh! I have a totally unrelated question for you Commander, would you ever consider doing a review between the 12" HoF figures and the 3.75 equivalent ones? Example Snake Eyes.
I thought the Rat was a great vehicle, for Crimson squared like group. I was disappointed at the bottom of the vehicle. So I treat it as a land-jungle vehicle. I agree with what you mention that kids did not have the money to buy all toys. I try, but my parents were broke in 1980s to late 2010s.
Lol, as far as the blueprints go? Imagine being the cobra officer trying to make sense of them. Looking at the instructions from the standpoint of being in cobra, as a character, this totally fits their ineptitude. It's a cobra lawnmower...with guns. I was out of the collecting by this time as well, but I saw this in stores and had a smh moment. It's Sunday, January 27th at 11:57 pm. I've just found your channel this week and I subscribed. They really phoned this one in. Such an awful toy. I may have gotten it in 1983, but no later.
I really didn't like the "Rat" , it just didn't excite me for a vehicle. Not very realistic looking to me and I thought it was just kinda corny. Now that I see how lazy and cheap it was, I'm glad I never got one. I don't plan on getting one in the future. For one, as a hovercraft it doesn't function as one, nor does it even float. Plus the bright neon red color is just way too much of a target. The flying disc launcher is just a gimmick that will easily break. Kids had to feel ripped off for sure. As cool as Firefly is, I don't think he would ever hop inside a brightly covered death trap as the Rat. Good review. Thanks for sharing. The 90s for the most part was an ugly decade for GI Joe. They really lost sense of themselves and really cheapened thier product line so badly it's laughable.
to be brutally honest, it wasn't too bad; it just needed to be re-coloured. Maybe black or COBRA/oxford blue w/ red decals instead of that HIDEOUS funky-ass neon orange!
I know it wasn't your purpose but this review is fitting considering all crap Hasbro is putting out these days in Transformers toy lines and selling those to far higher price than those are worth.
So I actually got this toy as a kid. (92 I was eleven, got it for my birthday) let me tell you. I loved GI Joe and I played hours on end and had very fond memories of this vehicle. At the time, I loved the black and red scheme, I loved the 'flak launchers', I loved the roto blades on the front (mostly for mowing down the enemy). The fact that it didn't have a bottom didn't really bother me. Now I did play with other vehicles of the line, i.e. Night Raven, Snow Wolf, Asp, Sea Ray, and a few others so a I did play with quality toys. My room and the plush 80s carpet served as the 'swamp'. Anyway, I did enjoy this toy, and it is rather disappointing to see someone bash a part of my childhood that I held so dear. But, I bet you and I won't lose an hour of sleep over it. Good reviews, and have a nice day.
Flipping over a vehicle and seeing its hollow and has no undercover is a disappointment to be sure, but this vehicle was the absolute worst. no other was this bad. The design team from 1983-1985 probably cringed when they saw this.
I always thought the Rat was a bumper car for the Cobra Amusement Park.
I’m glad I was born in 75. I got the golden years of GIJoe.
It's a Dustbuster, an iron, a sad tomato, a hovercraft, a dopey shoe, a lawnmower, a soap dish, and a cheap, hollow, molded plastic lump of amphibious shit. COBRA!!!
I forgot a fidget spinner launcher and receptacle for crippling disappointment and hate. Thanks HTC788, you made my day!
I actually had the cobra rat as a kid, got it for Christmas. I did find ways to play with it.
I got that toy for my birthday. Was sure it was missing the hull. Man, I was disappointed. But, HCC, I’ve had similar life/job issues... obviously, I don’t know you personally, but you’ve brought me a lot of joy through your videos. I can relate. Thoughts and prayers in your direction.
Absolutely savage review and I loved it! I was a 80s and 90s GI joe kid and your channel brings back memories of a great deal of joy. Thank you.
I remember seeing the commercial for it and thought it was awesome... Then, ripping off the paper on it for Christmas and seeing Firefly driving it, I was STOKED. I could use it on the water, as it'd been awhile since something like that had come out... And I already had Firefly!
Putting it together was an entirely different story... Noticing that it didn't have a bottom caused a fair amount of confusion. I thought it was midmssing a piece or something, as I assumed it'd be like the Kiler Whale, with the wheels on the bottom. I actually took it all apart abmnd put it back in the box in different configurations, to see if a bottom could actually fit in there. Noticing there aren't any clip points definitely shot that down.
I still liked it, but it was kind of like when you sip Coke and it turns out to be tea. Tea is good... But you were expecting Coke and the difference between the two is a bit jarring.
I remember seeing this at Target when I was just getting in high school and thinking to myself wow I got out GI Joe at the right time.
I haven’t really considered it before, but this might be the vehicle that ended Joes for me. I’m 5ish years younger than you, so by 92 I was doing small jobs to earn money. I remember buying it, putting it together, and being underwhelmed to the point I think I stuck it on the back of a shelf and don’t remember ever playing with it again. I also don’t remember buying GI JOES after that.
A major part of my childhood was watching Desert Shield/Desert Storm every night in the news. I could suspend belief and imagine Salvo, Bullhorn, Pathfinder, ambush, etc as an elite special forces group. I had seen predator, and the Joes I liked were probably more authentic to the military than the predator cast.
I started spending my money on stuff from the army surplus store, books, and clothes.
Those figures you mentioned are some of the best. Especially Ambush. Phenomenal.
I was always disappointed with my Rat. Those front blades would never turn (glad I wasn't the only one!). This thing always screamed cheap. Having the driver's legs just hanging loose underneath always bothered me to no end. Thanks for the review!
Other vehicles had the dangling legs, though. Slaughter's Triple T Tank, for example. The gondola portion of the Thunderclap as another.
One good thing I can see with the RAT is make project out of it. Remove the stickers, use a sheet of pastic to give it proper hull, prime and paint and use custom stickers, plus if you know anyone with spare parts you might can replace the flying lawn mow blades with suitable weaponry for a Cobra vehicle. I just saying fun project trun junk into awesome
Love your reviews! Never having had this vehicle, '92 I joined the Navy, good year, I would have hated this vehicle. I cannot even think of a single piece of plastic vehicle (not including weapons), besides the blue raft, in the entire line. A dark grey or black bottom could have had engine detail, those front spikes, and the cockpit area. It still may not have floated, but the added detail would have vastly improved the vehicle.
The artwork is amazing, title card I mean, and the vehicle, in those proportions, a bit more narrow, looks like it could have been a moderate aggressor against the SHARK and the WHALE, at least if it could have submerged. Love your reviews!
Seeing the underside makes me think of the cheapo Mego General Lee.
Wow, it should have been the Crab Grass. Cobra Lawn Mower. :P
Love this review! Hate the toy! But I idolized its image in the catalogue back in the day.
And thanks for recommending our Barracuda vid!
I think the best line from the review was that kids "deserved better". Regardless of your opinion of the actual toy, good or bad, Hasbro should have done more for its customers in this case.
Washing lawns and mowing toilets lol!
I found that funny as hell too; HCC788 has always been a total gas! (even when reviewing a P.O.S. like this RAT thing...)
Looks like Hasbro had a bunch of bright orange plastic leftover from the Septic Tank. Looking at the bottom of the vehicle, it reminded me of the cheap plastic cars I used to get out of gum machines.
What you said!!! Lol
I recommend the HISS II as a rebound review. 👍
Terry Turner this...
Thats going from the worst cobra vehicle to easily one of the best.
Yeah that's a good one.
wow , i have one of these, it did seem like a major drop off from previous stuff and a cobra parasite too from the same year which was actually really cool. i had many a mad max 2 chase replay with these guys and the rest of the vehicles
Man. I really liked that vehicle. I’m surprised by the hate. I thought it was a great swamp vehicle along with the Moccasin, and the dreadnok air skiff
These adults on this site that xpect toys from our childhoods to be realistic...honestly i dont even know why i watch these..this guy is such a pretentious ass its cringe worthy...a grow ass man collecting toys...i have way more respect for people that 3d print and paint there own stuff...maybe thats what this guy should do. and then an make all the stuff he wants instead of ragging on toys from our childhood...just a thought
@Demo3456 he didn't care about realism, it's a boat that isn't a boat. He said it you liked it fine, but...considering the high quality toys Hasbro made for GI Joe....this was cheap.
@@tonyjackson1636 yeah I had this one and it was definitely disappointing. I remember taking a bath or playing in the pool trying to have it go to war with the Baricuda and it would just sink like a rock, plus the wheels were horrendous.
This guy Serginho Malandro used to have a tv show in Brazil. He would play the comandos em açao cartoon and had a deal with Estrella to promote the toys. Cobra Rat was called Rothor and Iceberg v2 was Called Pantano and marketed as the driver :D awesome video brother
Great review, HoodedCobraCommander788. The Rat is very pathetic and should not have been marketed as a water vehicle. You are right about Hasbro getting lazy as the line came to a close in the early 1990's. I hope you bought this for a reasonable price. I saw one on eBay some time back for $40 (including shipping) for one mint in box. I certainly wouldn't pay anymore than $15-$20 for it if I were to buy one whether loose/complete, mint in box, or new in the box sealed. This isn't the worst G.I. Joe vehicle in the 1990's, but it certainly can be placed under the worst vehicles list.
Haha, I have one of these in a mint box also. No need to open it up. The underbelly looks like an old happy meal from McDonalds. Remember the time when the happy meal was a plastic container that was shaped like a boat? That was a better boat then this Rat.
So...swamp based vehicle...garishly colored...outrageously gunned...covered with spikes and fronted with saws...edgy decals...likely to sink...is this when Cobra outsourced its tech design to the Dreadnoks?
Great video!
I think the only way the RAT could be "fixed" is to go one of two ways and that's to make it either a land or sea vehicle. Then it occurred to me, make it both, just not at the same time. You have switchable bottoms for the RAT, one with wheels, one with a boat hull. It would be billed as a Cobra experiment in modular construction. It would still be a jet-propelled vehicle but have different configurations. You could even make a third bottom that's a pair of wings so you have one cockpit with weapons and propulsion with options for land and sea and air. More play value and less cost.
I had it, I think it was just a surprise budget gift from my mom. I remember putting it together as an 8 yr old in my driveway in the summer of 1992.
Great reveiw..not a big fan of this toy..although I've never played with it so really hard for me to have an opinion. The rotating machine guns are cool. Thanks for sharing!
I had this Firefly my grandmother gave me this I like the figure I never had the rat it looks like a decent small vehicle I probably would have got it for like a holiday or whatever and a good report card always enjoy the show thank you hooded Cobra Commander
I thought you knew. Class of '93 Rules!!!!! Although that point I was far more interested in cars and girls than GI Joe so it is nice to see what was going on at that time.
So this vehicle is Flintstone powered.
😏😁😂😂😂
this thing makes me appreciate the mini-rigs
17:48 Hahahaha... Ahh even in '92 as a 12 year old I knew something was off when I opened the box. I was sure there was a missing piece too.
The Rat is my favorite toy ! From 1992 ... that you’ve reviewed ... today ...
I didn't understand what was so bad about the Rat until you turned it over. Before that point, I thought it was a decent, but not amazing vehicle. Figured with a bit of black lining and spray paint you could make it look pretty good. Then you turned it over, and any desire to make it look better vanished in an instant.
I just got my first one. Since this was designed in 1992. Now I wonder if they used the Rotor Gimmick to Make the Transformers Rotor force, that came 2 years later on. It was the Megatron Hiss tank that totally got me into More Joes.
The one word that springs to mind when looking at this is 'cheap'.
The Hasbro of this period LOVED rotors. In '94 there were 4 new G2 Transformers that featured such rotors.
And boy did some of those designs suffer for it. Remember the ones with mini squirt-guns and a color change gimic?
@@Alverant the light based sword ones were pretty good
That post credits ending...I loved it!
You have got to be kidding me!! This looks like a toy from the 50's with they way it's hollowed out. I can't believe they actually sold this crap. Good review HCC.
But there were some figures that year that made me think "wow do I really want to grow out of this?"
The "Like" is for the video, the vehicle is trash. I loved my Moccasin boat and Copperhead figure back in the day.
This one reminds me of those UFO happy meals or an oversized 70s free cereal box toy.
I loved the Can it Float segment :D
Great review. Hilarious yet still honest. Love the wrap up and ending. Too funny
This was one of the last vehicles I ever picked up along with the 92 line. Got it in San Bernadino visiting my aunt and uncle. I'm sure I lost the spinners in my front yard during a huge snowstorm that year, among much of that years line I'm sure. I kept collecting the figures into 94 but by 92 I was done with the wacky vehicle line. 91 and 92 vehicles made me want to vomit. 89 and 90 were pretty darn good years for vehicles, but woof... after that I was starting to struggle with the vehicle line let alone the franken figures. Felt that by 91 Hasbro just didn't care and that a third-party was supplying retooled toys from another toy line. I honestly would take a pogo or buzzboar over the Rat. Even an Adder which I probably feel is above a pogo and buzzboar.
17:34 as a kid, I bought toys way more sophisticated than this from the village corner store. This should not even cost a dollar even today.
There is a small seed of an idea that has value. A one or two man fast hover craft that can be used for raids. Similar to the zodiac. However this toy fucks it up at every level. However, this toy looks like it could find redemption if a Battletech fan turned this into a Savannah Master custom toy.
I'm guessing this was going to be a cool vehicle before the modelers were interrupted and forced to quit working before they were finished!
It look like the creators of the RAT got inspired by the Flymo F25 lawn mower. Which was a lawnmower hovercraft invented on the 60's. Just like the Flymo this doesn't use a air bag or skirt, it has a cutting blade for the grass and even the color is the same. Now the wheels on the back shown on the instructions as number.6 has been actually use on one hovercraft called the Airboard. The funny thing the Airboard was invented in the late 90's so maybe the Airboard got the back wheel inspiration from the Cobra RAT. The Airboard use the back wheel for a more stable ride and the back wheel of the airboard goes down sort of like a landing gear on a airplane. I can see how that back wheel comes handy on the Cobra RAT when those 4 gatling guns are firing because Warthog A10 pilots use full trust on the aircraft to compensate for the amount of kickback a gatling gun produce. Now for trust The Rat seem to use turbine power like the SR.N1 hovercraft. I can seem to come up with a realistic reason for Cobra using that bright color other than they want to be seen. In superior numbers this may cause a psychological effect on the enemy by seeing clearly how outnumber they are. The other reason for the color is that on a rescue mission it would be easy to find just like the orange life vest and life saving rafts.
You can never not convince me this wasn’t the Cobra Lawnmower that was repurposed as their budget ran out, that year. I never did like that redesign for Firefly, so he could be the Lawn Viper. 😂😂😂
I bought this, but once I saw it was a shell, it went right back in the box and no idea where that got lost along the way? Like others have said, it was a breaking point for me, and with life moving me into adulthood and on my own, it was the end of an era.
My brother got one for his birthday. It was cool...
Awesome review! Yo Robo Joe!! 😁🤣😋
Sadly at this point in the toyline there seemed to be an era of desperation to cut costs but 1992 was the beginning of the serious Kamikaze spin in the final point of the toyline where things began to fall apart. There were a few last little gems before the line ended in 1994 but I was not really buying vehicles by this point in the toyline and was just in it for a few good figures that came out as the line died on the shelves. Black Hoodie Cobra Commander and Duke were two late great gems and from 1993 no less!
Nothing worthwhile came out after 1990. That's when I stopped.
I agree with you. There were some great figures in the 90s. 1992 had good figures. Shipwreck in 1994 was another outstanding figure.
Hoodie Co Co once again nice review
Like the flintstones!
"1992, I'm gonna come through the camera and choke you out!" lol that was awesome. Keep it up Super Hoodie CoCo :)
They must've had some huge mutant Moles/Gophers on COBRA island if they need such a heavily armed mower.
Hey! It was floating!
If they'd ropped the spinning blades at the front and remolded it with battleship grey i might - MIGHT - have given it a look.
ok so you did that one and now we never have to do that again!
You should have looked carefully at the bottom and realized that it was designed in 1990. For some reason Hasbro postponed the release since it is common for the copyright date indicate the year before of it's release.
Didn't know Cobra made a lawnmower 😁
Ya know for the life of me I can't remember WHY I had this as a kid?!?!? I do remember thinking that it wasn't very good, that it was a drastic step down (or several flights of stairs really) from the Warthog or Bugg (which I believe would have been the most recent vehicles I'd have had) and that it would likely be the LAST Joe toy I'd buy.....at least in childhood! I THINK...I had an Aunt in Florida....I had an Aunt in New Mexico....I had an Aunt in Colorado...another in Wyoming....2 here in Ohio where I'm from and live today...scratch that I had 3 in Ohio.... But my FAVORITE AUNT was in Florida. She was my favorite simply because she was the ONLY aunt I had that rain or shine would send me a check each year on my birthday!!! That's important to a kid....I didn't have grandparents or anyone outside of my Mom and Dad who cared enough to get me something for my birthday. And sure....as an adult I get it, life is a lot!!! But Aunt Laura scores points to this day because AS AN ADULT I GET IT, LIFE IS A LOT!!! So... Anyhow ya know how as a kid you've got some random amount of money....$15 say...and I don't know about you all BUT my Mom would tell you if I had $10 I spent $20....and it's gone....no...like GONE, I already spent it all!!! And that's what she'd tell you now....so I was worse as a kid!!! Haha so I remember that $15 stretched much further in 1992 so I probably got Pro Wrestling SOMETHING and then had some change and randomly picked up this RAT. I also had a Firefly V2 and those EELs that came with robotic sharks....so Despite being pretty much done BUYING new Joe's (I still played with them and if I saw some early say '84s/'85s at a yard sale....well then I pushed a Rolling Thunder 5 blocks home!!!) Heck in '92 I remember trading some baseball cards for a really nice Quick Kick, WetSuit and William Refrigerator Perry.....but these were the final Joe's I ever bought as a kid. I was pretty much done by 1989....I only had a few. When Hasbro released WWF Superstars and Galoob followed suit with WCW figures and with the shmaaashmortion that was the DIC animated series.....it was "Gotta get OUT, NoJoe!!!".... And it was sad... In '87 I got the Cobra Mamba in '88 I got the Phantom x-19 w/ GhostRider and Cobra BUGG and the Warthog...in '89 I got the Crusader w/ Payload v2 And the Tiger Sting....and then it obviously went waaaaay down hill. Aunt Laura is still my favorite btw.
Sorry for all the LONG comments on some older videos Senor Coco....but I've honestly been rewatching some of your outstanding catalog of videos and I enjoy them as much as I did the first go round and as much as I enjoyed the toys that I had and the toys I always wanted!!! So again I say...You're a valued and important member of this community and I hope you're hanging in there. Again, just a reminder that you're cared about and we're all here with you brother! So get some rest and take your time....get well!
And to wrap my rambling mess up......recent pick-ups...
I got a LAW, Lazer Artillery Weapon w/ blueprints and the box in AMAZING CONDITION!!! $30.....a steal!
I got a Raptor as I'd sold mine off...complete WITH FEET IN TACT on the falcon...a TRUE BEATER Outback figure....as a place sitter...I had a nice completey w/ full cardback but needed some cash so.....he's gotten so expensive lately the beater will do for now! And then this evening I picked up another MINTY MINTERSON Crimson Guard, a very nice Frost Bite, a SneakPeak because he's a CUTE chubby baby....and some weapons to complete some other figs. YoJoe And Cobra-La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La!!!!
Holy cow.....I forgot....or did I mention on another video about Dr Mindbender v2 and the Cobra Stinger? I think I mentioned them.... Oh well....oh but what about Snake Eyes V3 and Stalker V2 and an upgrade to Mercer and a new Wayne R Sneeden...yeah....I mentioned those too. Getting old is lame....but at least you get to have rad toys!
i used sonic fighters major bludd and a cobra eel as the pilots for the rat. also had the cobra piranha. I guess this toy really needed modding, at least it has space to do so. has anyone tried pimping their joe vehicles?
So essentially it’s cobras lawn mower
I like how u can talk a half hour about just one joe.good show desteuctarr put me onto your channel
HCC788, blame HASBRO, not the year; THEY are the ones who got lazy-ass on us all...
Well said
It looks cool from the outside but I agree the underside is cheap looking. Maybe Hasbro cut cost because of thw windup feature.
Wow, this thing really is bad. I guess this is what happens when CC has exhausted Destro's supply of patience. Destro churns out crappy weapons in return.
You are very considerate and generous with this awful vehicle, HCC788. It was evaluated as the absolute worst GI Joe vehicle of all time over at Toy Galaxy.
Love the review, The Rat just couldn't cut it as a toy.
One good thing you could say about the Rat...at least it didn't give you a rash! lol
Ok, I know the 90's were bad in the toy line and that one showed it. It was as if Hasbro got a deal on bright plastic colors and decided to use them. Ugh!
I have a totally unrelated question for you Commander, would you ever consider doing a review between the 12" HoF figures and the 3.75 equivalent ones? Example Snake Eyes.
The barracuda was way better too.
I love your channel and I already subbed !!! Keep the great videos COMING !!!!
I thought the Rat was a great vehicle, for Crimson squared like group. I was disappointed at the bottom of the vehicle. So I treat it as a land-jungle vehicle. I agree with what you mention that kids did not have the money to buy all toys. I try, but my parents were broke in 1980s to late 2010s.
Lol, as far as the blueprints go? Imagine being the cobra officer trying to make sense of them. Looking at the instructions from the standpoint of being in cobra, as a character, this totally fits their ineptitude. It's a cobra lawnmower...with guns. I was out of the collecting by this time as well, but I saw this in stores and had a smh moment. It's Sunday, January 27th at 11:57 pm. I've just found your channel this week and I subscribed. They really phoned this one in. Such an awful toy. I may have gotten it in 1983, but no later.
I really didn't like the "Rat" , it just didn't excite me for a vehicle. Not very realistic looking to me and I thought it was just kinda corny. Now that I see how lazy and cheap it was, I'm glad I never got one. I don't plan on getting one in the future. For one, as a hovercraft it doesn't function as one, nor does it even float. Plus the bright neon red color is just way too much of a target. The flying disc launcher is just a gimmick that will easily break. Kids had to feel ripped off for sure. As cool as Firefly is, I don't think he would ever hop inside a brightly covered death trap as the Rat. Good review. Thanks for sharing. The 90s for the most part was an ugly decade for GI Joe. They really lost sense of themselves and really cheapened thier product line so badly it's laughable.
I love the video keep up the great work
I’m thankful I grew up just as the toy’s quality declined.
to be brutally honest, it wasn't too bad; it just needed to be re-coloured. Maybe black or COBRA/oxford blue w/ red decals instead of that HIDEOUS funky-ass neon orange!
Wrong.. there’s no polishing this turd
It's like a riding lawnmower with machine guns.
Looks like a toddler's toy. What keeps the driver from falling through?
Great review, the cobra rat is a very big let down.
BEST....VEHICLE......EVERZZZZZZZ .....
I'll go with the water moccasin.
I bet when that crap didn't sell, someone at Hasbro blamed it on "wear and tear on the G.I. Joe brand"...
PLEASE REVIEW THE COBRA EARTHQUAKE!
Yes, It has flaws, but I like It. :-)
I know it wasn't your purpose but this review is fitting considering all crap Hasbro is putting out these days in Transformers toy lines and selling those to far higher price than those are worth.
Talk about building a vehicle on the cheap.
So I actually got this toy as a kid. (92 I was eleven, got it for my birthday) let me tell you. I loved GI Joe and I played hours on end and had very fond memories of this vehicle. At the time, I loved the black and red scheme, I loved the 'flak launchers', I loved the roto blades on the front (mostly for mowing down the enemy). The fact that it didn't have a bottom didn't really bother me. Now I did play with other vehicles of the line, i.e. Night Raven, Snow Wolf, Asp, Sea Ray, and a few others so a I did play with quality toys. My room and the plush 80s carpet served as the 'swamp'. Anyway, I did enjoy this toy, and it is rather disappointing to see someone bash a part of my childhood that I held so dear. But, I bet you and I won't lose an hour of sleep over it. Good reviews, and have a nice day.
I usually don't agree with Hoodie. I find him overly critical of some of what I think are excellent toys. But, I agree with him on this one. It's 💩.
As I kind, I cut a piece of styrofoam to fit under it to make it float
Note: don't aim it at your kid brother!🤣
I really like this toy for every reason except yeah, looking underneath does bum me out a bit.
wow that thing is....hollow
Nothing screams water vehicle like "rat".
It's a vehicle inspired by a common roma tomato, what gives, Hasbro?!
Flipping over a vehicle and seeing its hollow and has no undercover is a disappointment to be sure, but this vehicle was the absolute worst. no other was this bad. The design team from 1983-1985 probably cringed when they saw this.