G.I. Joe Classified Series Cobra Night Attack 4-WD Stinger and Driver review

The Stinger or the Cobra Night Attack 4-WD is a rarity in my Classified Series collection. I’m avoiding vehicle repaints especially ones where the Joes repurpose a Cobra vehicle and vice versa.

There are enough alterations to the weapon rig and some aesthetics beyond the paint job to warrant adding to my quickly getting cramped Classified Series display.

With some decent sales going on the Stinger is currently available for less than three figures. Not a bad time for a splurge pickup. Let’s see if this Cobra ride was worth grabbing.

Package:  I really have enjoyed the artistic presentation of the Classified Series vehicles with the dramatic action shot like the old Real American Hero vehicles. This one shows a pair of Stingers in action with a Ferrett riding along on the side. It’s an intense setup that has my imagination running wild wondering what’s happening in this latest battle with Cobra and G.I. Joe. There’s a small window on the right side showing off the Stinger Driver.

Along the left side, we get the QR Code that still leads to a 404 page. Hasbro should really get on that. Course it’s not as bad as leading to a not-so-family friendly website. There’s the fun blueprint style shot of the Driver and his skill stats. The right side features a larger shot of the Driver holding his larger machine gun. On the back, we get the full rollout of the Stinger, Driver and all of the accessories.

The Driver’s skills sets are as followed: 1 in driver, light weapons and hand-to-hand combat and a 2 in artillery.

Likeness: The Stinger Driver is a repaint of the Cobra Officer with the torso of the Python Patrol Officer. That’s a solid mold that looks sleek with this color scheme.

He’s got the Officer harness for that classic look that matches up well with the RAH design. There’s nothing new to mention about the figure, which is a great base for the standard Cobra troopers.

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Paint:  Like the Ferret’s Scout, the Stinger Driver has a grey color scheme with black gear along with a touch of red accents.

The greys have a two tone to accommodate the outfit design with the ribbed chest section. With the RAH figure, the tips of the shoulder harness were painted red along with the lone red pouch on his left side. I wish the CS version kept the red on the shoulder section as the red pouch looks out of place on its own.

His skin tone is also black, which shows out better here than with the Tele-Viper and Python Patrol Officer.

Scale:  The Stinger Driver is an average height guy and since he uses the same parts, lines up just fine with the other Cobra Troopers and Officers. There’s no need to mix up the height for this guy.

Articulation: The Driver should mostly be behind the wheel, but in case situations get rough you can get a slew of fun poses. This articulation scheme is so well engineered that even the vehicle drivers are super poseable and can join the fray when the Stinger is disabled.

The Stinger Driver has:

• head
• neck
• shoulders (butterfly)
• elbow (double-jointed)
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• mid-torso
• torso
• waist
• hips (ball-jointed)
• drop down hips
• knees (double-jointed)
• ankles

Accessories: Hasbro loads out these driver/vehicle sets and this one isn’t any different. The Driver comes with the same accessory rollout as the Python Patrol Officer sans the laser pointer.

He’s got the AK-47 style machine gun with removable clips. The stock is red making for a nice contrast with the otherwise black weapon. You can store this in the included red backpack with the Cobra logo on the back to fit the AK-47.

Additionally, he’s got a smaller submachine gun that comes with a removable clip.

He also has a modernized broomhandle Mauser for shorter distances.

For close combat, he’s got a knife with a red hilt.

That was the small stuff. Now let’s break down the main attraction of this set — The Stinger.

In most ways, the Stinger is the same impressive vehicle as the VAMP. It’s got a sizable frame that you have to have in hand to fully appreciate. The chassis is well designed making for a cool darker contrast to the Joe’s hard-charging vehicle.

I love the color scheme with the jet black with grey accents. That matches up nicely with the Driver. The dashboard has a red paintjob to simulate an LED board. In a nice nod to the original, the red triangle sticker with a black widow is replicated and the BW-04 tag is brought back as well.

The engine block can be opened to show some of that detail and attention. And the shovel is back although for maybe more sinister purposes than if Clutch was using it. There’s two hooks and a winch cast in red, which pops nicely against the black.

Easily the most obvious change from the VAMP is the enclosed armored-plated canopy, which covers the roof and doors.

The dark windshield also helps to make this look far more sinister. On the downside this also makes it so you don’t actually see the driver inside all that well.

In lieu of the HISS Tank, you can use the rear tow hook to pull the Cobra HISS HMS. The Stinger’s fire extinguisher is yellow that pops against the black too.

Thanks to those big springy wheels and suspension set up, you can get a good bounce and riding feel with the Stinger. The doors raise, but the hand bar element of the VAMP is not needed.

While the VAMP had twin-mounted 50-caliber machine guns, the Stinger has a missile launch system to blast four missiles or four ground to air rockets. Even better, the fun missile blast effects, which we’ve seen with Scrap-Iron are included.

There’s a long and shorter blast effect piece. The CS team also included the ground exhaust blast effects although they’re not as practical here. It’s definitely a goofy thing to complain about so I won’t.

In an improvement on the VAMP, this has a foot peg to have figures on the back of the Stinger though it’s not as useful as it could be since the peg isn’t long enough to grip the figure’s foot hole snugly. And it’s hard to get Cobra troopers to fit on it in a way that makes sense due to the missile rack.

Worth It?  Originally, the Stinger set was $99.99, which was a great value since it made the Stinger just $75 with the driver the usual $25 figure price point.

Currently, the Stinger is $99 with a coupon that knocks it down to $69. That’s a great deal that definitely makes it worth getting if you’ve been on the fence.

Rating: 10 out of 10

With its foundation being the excellent VAMP it was going to be hard for the Stinger to disappoint. This makes for a great addition to the Cobra ground forces.

Where to Get it? The Stinger is wide open for various retailers including Amazon and Entertainment Earth.

As an Amazon and Entertainment Earth affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.