Description:

Pictured above is a hand painted prototype Cobra Officer as shown in the 1982 insert catalog. The figure has several notable differences when compared to the full production version. While the final Cobra Officer has a silver Cobra symbol painted on its chest, this earlier version instead has a red decal. Note that the rifle accessory is also slightly different.

Additional Images:

The figure also appeared in a 1982 Hasbro product catalog. Click on the above image for a closer look.

Another preproduction version of Cobra Officer appeared in the 1985 catalog. Listed as "COBRA Soldier: THE ENEMY," it is possible that this is not a preproduction figure, but rather an altered figure used in place of Cobra.

Action figures usually start as "Hard Copies". These models are used to create the molds, that are used to press out a run of "First shots" or "Test shots". These test shots are done in many different colors and lack a date stamp until the production run begins.

Pictured above is an unpainted test shot of the 1982 straight-arm Cobra Officer. The entire figure is molded in a lighter blue than the figure that was released. There is no date stamp on the figure.