Here in 2016 copyright trickery with character names is a common occurrence, though one that Hasbro usually resolves with a “SGT”, “CAPT”, or “AUTOBOT” precursor. Or they just throw the code name in quotes within the character’s file name. Back in 1990, though, characters with similar names (or the same name as the case may be) seemed pretty strange. That was definitely the case with me when Sky Patrol debuted and my favorite figure in the subteam happened to share a codename with a pretty familiar character from 1983.
But this clearly wasn’t Franklin Talltree.
Poor Franklin seems to be in the midst of these kinds of weird naming issues. First, this Sky Patrol name steal, then, with the 2016 convention set, a new “Air Raid” comes along, which stole the name from the previous Rise of Cobra “Air Raid” who happened to be named…
Franklin Talltree.
Talk about an identity crisis.
Anyway. For this modern update to the venerable Sgt. Six (as I called him in my own little G.I. Joe stories) we get a pretty spectacular looking combination of really interesting parts. A brand new head sculpt tops the figure, though as what will be a running complaint throughout, I would have thought a removable helmet could have been squeezed in here somewhere. Evident from the first glance at the head (and a fact that the Collectors Club
even backed up) they designed this head with some future use cases in mind (namely Scoop) but honestly, I would have appreciated it far more if they could have worked out the helmet actually coming off.
Beyond that minor complaint, this figure hits all the right notes. Retaliation Firefly’s torso, 25th Anniversary Lift Ticket’s arms, and Shock Trooper’s legs all form a very nice base for the figure, looking unique and interesting. Several different textures are used, but blend nicely, looking reminiscent of the vintage version, but with plenty of modern twists. Articulation is excellent, and the look of the figure is, well…among the best of this year’s Convention set, to be sure.
Airborne’s paint scheme is pretty spectacular as well. With very tightly applied urban camouflage, he has the same spirit of the 1990 version, but applied to the figure in a much cleaner, more modern way, giving us an update to Airborne that is terrific all around. His colors are immediately evocative of the previous version of the figure, but far from repetitive.
Accessories
The Collectors Club, for whatever reason, split the Sky Patrol figures so three of them come with jet packs and three of them do not. Airborne is one of the latter, coming with a military backpack instead of the cooler looking jetpack, but still nicely equipped. He also has an assault rifle, knife, satchel (totally not a man purse) and the shoulder harness comes off as well.
Airborne is very nice. Great parts combinations, a nice looking new head sculpt, and immaculately developed camouflage all come together to form a great update to the classic Sky Patrol character. Great start to this thing.
Check out the video review for the Sky Patrol half of the boxed set below!
Sky Patrol Airborne
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4
Summary
With a unique combination of parts and fantastic new urban camouflage deco, Sky Patrol Airborne is an excellent entry into the G.I. Joe Collectors Club’s long and illustrious group of Convention exclusive figures. While I wish he had a jetpack and his helmet was removable, the figure is still an excellent one with a unique look and full of personality.
The guys over at ToyVerse.com have gotten their hands on the upcoming 3-Pack Agt. Airborne from the G.I. Joe: Retaliation line and have posted some great pictures of the figure. It’s awesome finally seeing some great close ups of that Data-Viper tooling and the figure really looks fantastic.
Kudos to ToyVerse for getting this sample in hand and providing some great pictures. I mirrored just a couple of images below, make sure to check out ToyVerse themselves for the rest of the images and the write up.
EDIT – Some of my part breakdowns were horrifically inaccurate. They have been adjusted to reflect more accurate source material! I apologize.
Invariably when plans change and retail offerings don’t pan out as expected, some items generally hit the production chain and end up in the after market stream in Asia. It happened a few years ago with the first run of Pursuit of Cobra figures, and it is happening now with G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Occasionally, these after market samples will be the first time we get a glimpse at some of these figures, as is the case here with viperkingdom. While folks who went to Toy Fair got a brief and fuzzy glimpse of the second wave of G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3-Packs, this is the first real up close and quality series of images, and I gotta say, these look to be right up there with the impressive first run. More new characters, some great parts choices and some interesting character tweaks. Check out the mirrored images below, and I’ll do some parts breakdowns as well.
no images were found
G.I. Joe: Retaliation “Tactical Ninja Team”
Sgt. Airborne (Previously cancelled Data Viper body, cancelled 30th anniversary Law alternate head, Renegades Ripcord helmet and Para-Viper webgear)
Agent Mouse (looks like a new head and vest, the cancelled 30th Anniversary Lifeline alternate helmet with G.I. Joe Trooper body with some different arms)
Firefly (New head, torso, and webgear with 30th Anniversary Lifeline arms and legs)
Cobra Para Trooper (Shock-Trooper in red with Retaliation Cobra Trooper parachute pack)
Storm Shadow (mostly a Rise of Cobra Storm Shadow) repaint
I know many folks are likely going to complain about more repaints and rehashes, but holy crap I think these two sets look pretty amazing. Airborne is fantastic and it will be really awesome to get that Data-Viper figure in hand finally. I love the G.I. Joe Trooper, and since Mouse pretty much IS a G.I. Joe Trooper it makes sense for this figure to be built off that. Not really sure about that bright vest, but… Snake Eyes has the perfect base figure, and I am loving the fact that they are finally using that cancelled PoC Storm Shadow webgear! I have to admit, though, the colors of the webgear and the base figure clash big time. The straps are just a bit too bright for the sheer black underneath.
Firefly looks astoundingly cool. A great modern update to the original, with a great use of PoC/30th Anniversary parts. The Para Trooper is probably my least favorite. I really like the Shock Trooper, but that torso looks really plain even with the parachute pack on top. Too much blank area. Storm Shadow is okay, and looks like a more movie-accurate version compared to the Wave 1, but overall, I much prefer the futuristic and sleek look of the first version in Retaliation.
All in all some very cool pieces, especially for being more or less kit bashed together. If these end up being $20 for three figures like Wave 1 is, that is a freaking bargain, especially because these look to have more new characters and new imaginings than Wave 1 did. Good stuff.
