G.I. Joe FSS 8 Lt Clay Moore will hunt down the traitor!

The G.I. Joe Collector’s Club FSS 8 previews continue with a look at Cobra Shock Troops Commander Lt. Clay Moore!

G.I. Joe Collector's Club FSS 8 Lt. Clay Moore

COBRA SHOCK TROOPS COMMANDER
Code Name: LT. CLAY MOORE
(Inspired by the Sunbow cartoon & 2007 GIJCC design.)
Includes: removable helmet, grenade bandolier, pistol, knife,
assault rifle, bazooka, backpack with shells x 4, and figure stand.

Well, this is certainly an interesting build… 

A quite bit of history: Lt. Clay Moore made his debut in the classic Sunbow episode of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero episode #57 – “The Traitor, Part 2.” He was an aspiring Cobra officer who was suspicious of the newly-defected G.I. Joe Dusty and saw his career suffer due to Dusty’s seemingly indispensable utility to Cobra.  In the end, Dusty betrayed his new team (as a good double-agent should), Cobra was thwarted, and Lt. Clay Moore saved Cobra Commander’s bacon at the last minute, apparently putting him back in the good graces of his former masters. Whew!

Lt. Clay Moore sweeps floors in "The Traitor, Part 2"

This would have been the end of this obscure Sunbow character were it not for his inclusion in the 2007 G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention “Tanks for the Memories” set. The 2007 version was comprised of the body of 1994’s Ice Cream Soldier and the head of the Street Fighter Balrog. It was a decent attempt to recreate and update Lt. Clay Moore’s original standard Cobra Trooper design– with the back story stating that he was now a “Shock Viper Commander”.  (His uniform choice mimics the 2002 Shock Viper repaint perfectly.)

In terms of the build, Lt. Clay Moore seems to be a bit of a franken-joe.  I’m seeing the torso and upper arms of the Pursuit of Cobra Firefly, the lower arms of Shadow Tracker, and the legs from the Defense of Cobra Island Alley Viper.  (This is all just a “best guess scenario so feel free to correct me in the comments below.)  The head, of course, is from Tombstone and the helmet is from the Retaliation Cobra Trooper. It’s an interesting build choice that doesn’t quite come together in the digital preview for a variety of reasons.  (His head looks HUGE on that torso!) However, the bigger issue here for me is that Lt. Clay Moore is a “Cobra Shock Troopers Commander” and yet his design doesn’t match a single existing trooper produced!  Even more so, he’s now a virtual twin of the distinctive Tombstone who was released only just a few years ago.

Again– the SDCC Matt Trakker head would have worked here. It’s also a better match for the animation model.

Lt. Clay Moore from "The Traitor"

Maybe I’m just being nitpicky but this one is a bit of “a swing and a miss” for me.  I’m also not alone as the comments on the Club’s preview thread haven’t been super favorable either. The head is too big for the torso and the legs, which were just used on the female trooper Vorona, look way too skinny.  Hopefully there’s still some time to tweak this build a bit more to produce a Lt. Clay Moore of the quality we know that the Club is capable of.  Or maybe not– as this is their final year of active operation.

Of course, this begs the question– is the FSS 8 Lt. Clay Moore a younger version of Tombstone?!!! #mindblown

And, for those filling out their BINGO cards, here’s the full roster for G.I. Joe FSS 8:

To sign-up for the series and get your own Captain Grid-Iron, visit the FSS 8 sign-up page before May 2, 2018 today!

2 thoughts on “G.I. Joe FSS 8 Lt Clay Moore will hunt down the traitor!

  1. The torso actually comes from the 2012 Retaliation Duke, the upper arms are from the Retaliation movie Snake Eyes, and the lower arms are from the 25th Anniversary Eel.

  2. OK with everything but the legs, as these are too skinny! Hope the club replaces them with Bullet proof’s or Red laser’s legs if they need to keep within fss8 parts. The head is actually really great and would be cool to have it with 2 eyes.

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