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As such, the frantic pace caused more than one collector to acquire something and not get the time to integrate it into their collection and gain the appreciation of the figure's design because there were new items with short shelf lives that had to be acquired.
That is so very true of a lot of releases and is quickly coming true now.
I actually think the BJ's set had 4 great figures that were diluted by the fact that the less desireable figures in the set shared many of the same colors. As you said, Dial-Tone, Fast Blast Viper, and Wet-Suit are all good figures. But I'd add to that Storm Shadow. When not used as Storm Shadow, he can really serve as an army builder for a Red Ninjas team. While not quite as nice as the later TRU Red Ninja (aka Red Ninja Viper), it was definitely an improvement over the 1993 Red Ninja.
It is also a shame that they didn't stick with the bizarre green Snake Eyes for the BJ's set. It wasn't that nice, but it at least adds variety.
For my rationalization of the FB Viper, I try to think of times in the original line when red (not necessarily crimson) was used exclusing Crimson Guards. In this case, I look to the HISS Driver. And I imagine that perhaps Fast Blast Vipers in red uniforms were once HISS drivers who changed specialties, using what they learned in the armored division to understand tank weaknesses and exploit them. It is kind of like Bazooka's filecard.
