JoeDeclassified.com

Notpicard pointed out that the new Swamp Viper uses a previously unreleased Clutch mold, now with less articulation…but it’s pretty clear that’s where the mold came from. It looks like the Data Viper legs are making it to a Retaliation figure as well [Ghost Hawk II pilot Duke].

What is the likelihood that these were actually tooled up as originally intended…fully articulated, then modified later on? Is there any reason to believe that these original molds [if they existed] will see the light of day? I believe Hasbro said in the past that the Data Viper never received any tooling…but the parts on Duke look to say otherwise. Is it more likely that they never made it to that stage of tooling and Hasbro simply took the proto/test shot [I don’t know what terminology would be appropriate] and based the unarticulated molds off of that?

To go one step further, is there any likelihood that some of the other figures in the Retaliation line that feature new body parts were originally designed with the articulation we’ve all come to enjoy? I’d like to hold out hope that we still may see some of these parts…used on different characters I’m sure…eventually make it out.

R&D is a big use of resources, so most companies don't like to waist things if they can avoid it. Un used concepts and designs get recycled into other things all the time. Look at the original Scrap Iron, he was intended to be a Mountain Trooper, that's why he has climbing spikes on his legs. Bottom line, if the company spent money on it, and it can be used somewhere else, it probably will be. This could potentially be true at just about any stage of development.

Unfortunately that doesn't really answer your other question of just how far along the Data-Viper got. But it obvious got up to a resin mold at the very least. Not a huge jump from there to making Duke legs.

Roger

Could someone point me in the direction of the discussion about the unreleased Clutch figure that became the Swamp Viper?

An answer to this came up somewhere at the 2012 Convention.

Basicly no, the full sculpt hasn't been tool... but the full sculpt has been completed... so because that major cost has already been finished and accounted for it would be very easy to just go back to the file and make the fully articulated version.