G.I. Joe Convention 2016 Skydive
Ahh, Skydive. You mean, mustachioed SOB…
One look at Skydive back in the day and you immediately wanted to eat all your vegetables and do your homework, he just had that kind of a-hole dad look to him with his close-cropped hair and tightly manicured lip fuzz. Still, it was a head sculpt that had a ton of character, and even on top of a really bizarre figure like the COBRA Gyro-Viper he looked like he was on top of his stuff.
This new version manages to take what was great about the classic version and make it even better, with some interesting twists along the way.
Essentially the modern Skydive is 25th Anniversary Mutt’s head on the G.I. Joe: Retaliation Data-Viper’s body from the neck down. Thick, padded uniform, amazing articulation, and a really great overall figure gives you a look and feel of a flight suit. Heck, the Retalition Lift Ticket’s already wearing it as one. The great thing about the Data Viper parts, too, is that with the right paint, the trim work jumps off the blue background
of the uniform and almost ties together as the classic version did with those strange hoses and ports of the original Skydive.
Even though there are no new parts here, the parts were obviously chosen with a specific look in mind and they work eminently well. Silver trim on the torso, and the white colored padding are both nice and bright and break up the royal blue underneath very well.
I admit to being a little surprised that the Mutt head works as well as it does. With the brown hair, moustache, and especially with the silver helmet on, you can barely tell it’s Mutt (or Bazooka for that matter).
Accessories
Like Drop Zone, Skydive comes with the really fun Rise of COBRA jetpack done up in a great blue/silver color scheme. He’s got Agent Mouse’s tactical helmet, which is fantastic, as well as goggles that can slide over the helmet to replicate his vintage look, or even pull down over his eyes for added realism. Finishing off his gear is a military assault rifle. His accessory compliment is pretty much perfect, with the right balance of offensive
weapons and accessories that work well off his vintage version.
Skydive is fantastic. Yes, Data Viper has become a defacto standard for modern figures, the same way Shock Trooper and Snake Eyes were before him, but when the base figure is that good, it’s very difficult to complain. The paint work is nearly perfect, the parts choices work to near excellence, and the accessories are just right. This is a very well done update and an excellent addition to your modern era officer corps.
Check out the video review for the Sky Patrol half of the boxed set below!
Sky Patrol Skydive
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Character
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Sculpt
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Articulation
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Paint Deco
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Accessories
Summary
This update to the hard as nails Sky Patrol leader hits all the right notes and gives us a suitable modern update. While I obviously love the Pursuit of COBRA version of the character, this one feels much more true to the vintage roots, and even though it’s mostly a Retaliation Data Viper, the figure works on all fronts. The paint deco is great, his accessories rock, and pretty much everything about this figure is a win.
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