Ahhhh yes, the ‘80s. GI Joe, Transformers, and He-Man were all going strong both in the stores and on TV. Also, there was an unprecedented run of iconic vehicles in prime time. The Dukes had the General Lee, Michael Knight of course had KITT, Hardcastle & McCormick had the Coyote, Airwolf prowled the skies…and a black, dark metallic gray, and red GMC van carried the A-Team on their adventures.
Only during the ‘80s could something like a full-size van (normally the transportation of choice for plumbers, painters, and the like) be considered the “thing to have.” Particularly popular were the big full-size conversion vans, which featured such creature comforts as fold out gaming tables, plush velour bucket seats, shag carpeting, and a rear seat that could be folded into a bed. I know that for a fact. My parents had an ’83 Ford E-150 Anaheim conversion van, cream, black and brown with a tan and brown interior, that I traveled many a mile in the back of. There was even an episode of Full House where the guys freaked out because DJ had a date with a guy who had a tricked out van. So anyway, though you may laugh at the sheer absurdity of a full-size van being the hot ticket, remember it…because people in 2023 will probably laugh at your Tahoe.
But I digress. The A-Team tooled around in their big, black, tricked out GMC Vandura van. The van had mag wheels, fender flares, running boards, a grill guard, driving lights on top, a sunroof, and a big red spoiler on the back. Why a van needs something that normally is used to keep sportscars stable at high speeds on its roof I don’t know, especially considering the abysmal horsepower ratings of the day, but man did it look cool in ’83. With the current summer movie theme of “everything old is new again” continuing into 2010, of COURSE we would receive an updated A-Team movie. Which of course requires the release of a line of action figures in the good ol’ 3 ¾ inch size, as well as a compatible van…because what else would your A-Team figures tool around in?
The toy A-Team van (manufactured by a company called Jazwares) closely mimics its 1983 predecessor. The only major external cosmetic changes I can see are that the wheels are now black instead of bright red, and this van has side pipes instead of running boards. Everything else though, from the spoiler to the black and dark metallic gray color scheme (with separating red stripe) is consistent with the old van. The front has a grille guard, which itself is further accessorized with driving lights, eyelets for towing, and a small, non-functioning winch. The headlights and parking lights in the actual grille are blacked out, though the big red “GMC” is still emblazoned across the grille’s middle. Just above the windshield sits a sun shade, which has driving lights mounted on top of it. Above the front seats is a sunroof, which is actually tinted translucent plastic. I should note here that the windshield, driver and passenger windows, and sunroof ALL share the same tinted translucent plastic. A nice touch, even if a fully tinted windshield is pretty illegal (the rear windows have louvers on them, preventing Jazwares from having to spring for more of that tinted plastic). Continuing along the van’s roof, the roof features the ridges in it that all those old vans had, another nice touch that pleases me. At the rear of the roof sits that big red spoiler. It’s not TOO obnoxious, only sticking up slightly above the roof…but it’s still a spoiler on a freaking VAN.
The van’s sides are dominated by the fender flares and side pipes. One nice touch, which often gets overlooked on vehicles like this, is that both doors actually have mirrors on them. The passenger side of the van features a sliding rear door that opens and slides back realistically. I really dig this feature, because it allows for easy access to the interior and looks pretty cool. The rear of the van has those louvered windows I mentioned earlier, as well as non-functioning rear doors and taillights with louvers over them.
The van’s interior is black and gray…the dash, steering wheel, and seats are all molded in gray, while the floor and center console are black. There’s a mixture of good detail and BAD detail here. The good is in the center console. The A-Team is apparently pimping a 4x4 Vandura, because the center console has two sticks protruding from it. One would logically be the shifter, while the other one would have to be the 4 wheel drive selector. There’s even cupholders molded into the center console between the front seats. The bad detail is the dash…there are a few vents and buttons molded into it, but there’s not a lot of detail here. There are no stickers or anything of that sort for the speedo and other instruments. And the steering wheel is both huge, molded with almost no detail, and sits way too close to the dash. The other bad detail is in the seats themselves. They’re molded like the same big, cushy buckets I remember from our conversion van…but they just flat look CHEAP. The sides and base are all squared off with no detail, and while there are a few lines molded into the cushion and the seatbacks, they still look cheap. Even the plastic on them feels cheap.
There is one more feature…the van has some electronic features. A small button molded flush into the driver’s side activates the headlights (which flash) and quotes and sound effects from the movie. There’s not a whole lot of variety here…the sound effects range from BA Baracus/Rampage Jackson saying, “Sup girl? You miss me? Cause I missed YOUUU!” to an explosion to someone saying “We’ll need a plan” to a machine gun firing (which also kind of sounds like a helicopter) to a rowdy burnout/blaring exhaust sound effect. And that’s it! I will say that the sound effects are pretty clear and also pretty loud. There is a switch on the bottom, so you can turn the sound effects off in case you’re worried about the button on the side getting accidentally held down during storage and draining your batteries.
The highs? I love the tinted “glass,” the sliding rear door, the (mostly) solid construction of the thing, it’s size, the exterior detailing, the paint (especially the metallic above the stripe) and how loud the sound effects are. Plus, even though it’s a tricked out GMC Vandura, it’s still kind of cool in an ‘80s kind of way. It will easily hold four figures in the seats, and several more can be stuffed in the back. I can see customizers running wild with this thing…stripping off the side pipes and giving it an all-black paint job would make it a nice SWAT van, AND I can just see the Dreadnoks doing something evil with a van like this.
The lows? The grille guard and mirrors are surprisingly made of some soft plastic, which makes it very easy for them to get bent out of shape…even if they are more durable and less likely to break that way. The interior detail is pretty crappy, ESPECIALLY the seats. They look like something that belongs in one of those crappy dollar store plastic cars, not a detailed 1/18th scale vehicle like this. Plus, Joes don’t sit in them too well, and even if you can get them to sit halfway right it’s almost impossible to make them stay. The rear door does not sit flush when closed, and can be prone to flopping around, which is pretty annoying at times. It can also fall off easily, though I suspect this was done more in the interest of durability (less likely to break off the door if you drop it or play rough with it) than being a design flaw. The sound effects aren’t very varied or memorable, though I did kinda like the burnout. I don’t like the way the headlights flash when sound effects are played…if anything they should just come on and stay on. Though the button to activate the effects on the side is small and not too noticeable, I still wish they could have put it somewhere else…you know, like maybe making the SPOILER the button? And finally, in a move that I just freaking HATE and that screams CHEAP, especially considering what this costs, Jazwares does not see fit to send the required two AA batteries with your A-Team van. I HATE electronic toys that don’t include batteries, especially when it’s something measly like AA s.
The A-Team van is currently selling for $25-40 bucks. Your feelings of nostalgia will probably help you decide on how much to spend. Is it worth $25 bucks? Yeah, I’ll give it that. Is it worth $35-40? I don’t think so, considering the very crappy interior and the lack of frigging batteries. Buy it if you must, but after getting my hands on it, I wish I had waited for the inevitable movie merchandise clearance sales. And I can’t WAIT to see what the customizers do with this thing!
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