Vintage Review – Air Skiff
Everybody loves the Dreadnoks. Mean spirited and destructive, yet dumb enough for occasional comic relief, the Cobra allies and minions of Zartan who snack primarily on grape soda and chocolate covered donuts are both favorites of fans and of Larry Hama. The Dreadnoks actually had quite a few vehicles released during the ARAH line, and gained new members just about every year. Released in 1987 alongside the Dreadnok Cycle, the Air Skiff included a new Dreadnok, a wannabe pirate named Zanzibar. Unfortunately, I don’t have Zanzibar…but I do have his vehicle.
At just 5 ¾ inches long x 3 ½ inches wide by 3 ½ inches tall, the Air Skiff is one of the smallest Joe vehicles out there, and definitely one of the smallest to include a driver. A “skiff” is best described as a small, sea-going boat…either a fishing boat or a very small sailboat. I wouldn’t really call the Air Skiff a “skiff.” The best way I could describe it would be as a small airboat. If you don’t know what an airboat is (I bet a lot of you Canucks have never been to the Louisiana Bayou), an airboat is a small, flat-bottomed boat with a large, aircraft-style propeller mounted on the rear. The propeller is usually mated to a high-performance small- or big-block V8 engine. The rush of air from the propeller pushes the airboat forward, and steering is accomplished with rudders that change the direction of the air. Think of the propulsion arrangement on the Water Moccasin/Sting Raider but on a much smaller and more primitive flat-bottomed boat, and you get the idea. Some airboats have friction-reducing coated hulls, allowing them to traverse land as well as water. An airboat is the ideal vehicle for swamps, marshes, wetlands, and other shallow water areas because of its very shallow draft and the fact that none of its powerplant sits below the waterline.
The Air Skiff fits part of this description. It’s not flat-bottomed; rather, the lower hull is triangular, with what appear to be small skis on both sides. While it doesn’t have as crazy of a color scheme as the Dreadnok Cycle, the Air Skiff’s color scheme definitely isn’t subdued. Teal, black, and yellow are the order of the day here. Meanwhile, most of the vehicle’s area is taken up by the operator’s seat. There’s a standard ARAH sized-backpack peg to help hold Zanzibar or whoever is operating the Skiff seated. There are control levers on both armrests, tilted towards the front of the vehicle. There is a very small, short “nose” that sits just below the driver’s seat. Attached to the back of the seat, just behind the driver’s head, is a small three-bladed turbofan for propulsion. The fan has a post that extends from its center, so you can give the fan a twirl with your fingers.
The Air Skiff may be small, but it will pack a punch. The very front of the craft features two machine guns, one on each side. There’s also a small missile on each “wing,” mounted even with the driver. Two missiles and two machine guns may not sound like a lot of armament for a vehicle, but when you consider how small the Air Skiff is, it’s a lot of firepower.
The Air Skiff does have a few flaws. For one, some people won’t like the extremely small size. For another, it has questionable military applications and the color scheme isn’t exactly stealthy camo. I can see the machine gun barrels getting broken, bent or stress-marked if it’s dropped on its nose. The missiles are small and easily lost. And finally, I bet that with that fan right behind the driver’s head, he’d get quite the headache from the noise…not to mention that Zanzibar would have to worry about his ponytail getting sucked in to the fan, which could lead to a very messy situation!
This isn’t a bad little vehicle, and I think it’s actually kind of neat. It won’t set you back a lot of $$$ either…figure on about $7-30 for the Air Skiff. $10 will get you the complete vehicle, $30 can get you the vehicle, figure, blueprints, and box. Especially for $7, you can’t go wrong with this vehicle, because it further expands your Dreadnok forces too…and who can ever get enough of the Dreadnoks?
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