G.I. Joe: Cobra C.L.A.W. / Covert Light Aerial Weapon (Hasbro, 1984)
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| Cobra C.L.A.W. (Hasbro, 1984) |
When G.I. Joe re-launched in the 3 3/4" scale in 1982, I thought they were the most amazing toys that I had ever seen! When I saw the first wave figures and toys on the shelves, I wanted every G.I. Joe piece that Hasbro made. Waves two and three seemed just as appealing; although I have to admit that I didn't play much with the S.H.A.R.K. and the Deep Six figure sucked. The G.I. Joe Slugger and Cobra A.S.P. didn't see much action at my house either. But in 1984 the Cobra C.L.A.W. was a definitely "Must Have" vehicle for me! It was one of the vehicles from wave 3 that I played with a good bit!
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| How many Cobra Troopers does it take to launch one of these things? |
The C.L.A.W. (or Covert Light Aerial Weapon) was a Cobra air vehicle that could either be piloted by a person or controlled remotely like a drone. When piloted by a person, there wasn't much protection for the pilot...not that Cobra really cared much about that. However, the advantage to this vehicle was that it was small enough to make it difficult to pick up on radar. If it was controlled remotely like a drone, a Flashfire bomb could be mounted where the pilot would have been and the C.L.A.W. could delver its payload without endangering a pilot. In addition to the Flashfire bomb, the C.L.A.W. was armed with a 7.6mm machine gun and two HE-8 Venom missiles.
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| Paperwork from my original C.L.A.W. from 1984 |
I was already sold from the first time I saw the C.L.A.W., but just in case I was undecided, Hasbro pushed this particular piece hard. It was featured on the G.I. Joe cartoon. There was a commercial for the toy and it made two important appearances in my favorite issue of the G.I. Joe Comic Book: #21 "Silent Interlude." Additionally, it was also on the cover of issue #24 and featured heavily in that story, plus there was a commercial for issue #24 of the comic book that featured the C.L.A.W.
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| TV Commercials, Comic Books, and Cartoons promoted the C.L.A.W. heavily in 1984! |
The C.L.A.W. was right up there with the F.A.N.G. helicopter and H.I.S.S. tank when it came to the Cobra vehicles that saw the most action at my house. Only the Cobra Stinger Jeep beat out the other three to be my #1 Cobra vehicle. Those four vehicles were easily the biggest modes of transportation and attack for that ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world. By wave four I was still very much into the figures, but I barely had any vehicles or accessories. As a result, I completely missed out on the Cobra Night Landing Raft which still seems like a great piece.
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| This Cobra Trooper is carried to battle by his Cobra C.L.A.W.! |
As with many collectibles, the price of a Cobra C.L.A.W. varies, but as of this writing, you can pick up a loose, complete C.L.A.W. for $20 to $30 pretty easily. There were several later versions of the C.L.A.W. released in 2008 and 2009 which are actually more difficult to find than the original from 1984, but I'm happy with the one I had as a kid!
Do you collect G.I. Joe figures? If so, what do you think of the Cobra C.L.A.W.? Which vehicle is your favorite? Tell me below in the comments!
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