Review – Cobra Condor Z25
The Highs: Large Cobra bomber with heavy payload, separates into 2 planes, neat bomb-dropping play features.
The Lows: Looks goofy separated, some parts can be HARD to find.
The Verdict: If you’re an aircraft nut, this is a must-have for your Cobra airfleet.
Since World War II established that air supremacy is the key to winning on the modern battlefield, combat aircraft technology has improved by leaps and bounds. From the piston-engine fighters and heavy bombers of WWII to the primitive jets of the Korean conflict to the ultra-powerful, computer-controlled multipurpose aircraft of today, airpower has remained a key focus of modern militaries. GI Joe was no different, and many of its early aircraft were firmly rooted in reality. Vehicles like the SkyStriker, Rattler, and Night Raven were all easily related to their real-life counterparts. Later planes such as the Phantom X-19 and Hurricane started to wander from the reality-based aircraft of early years and incorporated more sci-fi elements, though they still had a basis in reality (the supposed SR-71 replacement Aurora program for the Phantom and Harrier-style VTOL technology for the Hurricane). There was one big GI Joe jet out there that didn’t have much basis in reality…but it was still pretty awesome nonetheless. That vehicle is none other than the Cobra Condor Z25.
The Condor is Cobra’s long-range heavy bomber. Decorated in a white body with black accenting stripes, to say its design is unique is a vast understatement. The Condor has two cockpits, one facing forward at the very front of the aircraft, and a rearward facing one just forward of the rear stabilizer. The majority of the fuselage gives the impression of being long and skinny, which it is. The forward fuselage tapers down after the bulge of the forward cockpit, and features two small “vane” wing control surfaces, similar to the nose of the B1B Lancer bomber. The rear of the aircraft features a design I can best describe as being that of a big, flat flying wing. The huge wings are swept forward and are located at the very rear of the aircraft. The rear stabilizer features a totally unique design: a rounded, closed-at-the-top design that also features a built-in weapon. The long, thin forward section combined with the forward-swept, flat wings give the Condor the impression of being huge, but it’s a well-crafted illusion. The Condor is in reality no longer or wider than a wing-extended SkyStriker, and is actually several centimeters shorter than both the Night Raven and its intended rival, the Phantom. For the record, I say the Phantom is the Condor’s intended rival because the Condor features crossed-out Phantom logos as “kill” markers on both sections.
The Condor is no slouch in the weaponry department, either. Both the tiny forward wings and the huge main wings feature a large maroon missile mounted underneath. The forward section features a bomb bay in the belly, just behind the landing gear, that can hold 7 large bombs. The big, flat wings each have a compartment that will hold 7 smaller bombs, for a total payload of 21. Finally, the rear stabilizer features a cannon, continuing the Cobra aircraft tradition of having some kind of rear-facing firepower (the Rattler of course has its bubble canopy with machine gun, and the Night Raven has its flip-up rear-facing cannon just aft of the cockpit). The cannon has easily the most unique range and mounting that you will see in the entire Joe line…it is mounted on a ring that snaps inside the rear stabilizer. So, besides being able to elevate and depress to aim at targets approaching the Condor’s six, the Condor’s rear cannon can also rotate around the ring, allowing it to fire in almost any direction to the rear of the plane.
The Condor abounds with play features. Besides landing gear that can be individually raised and lowered and the aforementioned rear cannon, the forward section has an opening in both sides with that looks like fan blades inside. Use your finger to turn the blades, and the forward bomb bay will start dropping its 7 bombs. A clear panel in the top of the wings can access the rear bomb bays. Loading them and then sliding the tab on the underside of the wing towards the wing’s edge pushes the bombs out quickly, and can create a carpet-bombing effect.
There is one final play feature, and it makes the Condor one of the most unique planes in the entire Joe line. If you examine the underside of the Condor, you will notice that instead of the usual three sets of landing gear, the Condor has five. There is a reason for this…push a button just forward of the rear cockpit and pull gently on the front section of the fuselage, and the Condor will split in two! When separated, the front section resembles a rocket plane, and the rear section almost resembles a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, with its broad flying-wing design. Those added sets of landing gear mean that once separated, the Condor’s sections can land independently.
While the separation is a neat feature, I wonder about exactly how it would be used. If the Condor is intercepted and one section takes a hit, could the pilot in the other section jettison the crippled part? Could it separate and attack different targets, then rejoin, or could it only be fit back together on the ground? How difficult would the separated sections, particularly the front with its tiny wings, be to control? All of these questions can only be answered by your imagination, of course, but they do make for interesting discussion.
Now, for the Condor’s downsides. Honestly, there aren’t many. The sections of the plane look kind of goofy when they are separated. Like all other white Joe vehicles, yellowing of the plastic can be an issue, though it seems that Condors resist yellowing better than other white Joe vehicles. Neither of the cockpits is excessively detailed, but they still look ok, at least to me. If you own one, at some point you WILL be carrying it and accidentally brush the lever to drop the bombs in the wings, leading to a shower of bombs and curses if you happen to step on one barefoot. And if you DO own one, never, EVER lose the ring that the gun in the rear stabilizer attaches to. I know, because I lost mine, and it took well over 2 years and constant scouring of the Internet before I finally found one recently on eBay, and I ended up spending almost $30 for it. Though after that long, I would probably have spent a lot more just to finally complete my Condor.
If you want a Condor, expect to drop some big bucks for a complete one. Because they came out later in the line, they are a lot more rare than say, a Night Raven. Prices for loose, complete Condors in good condition can run the gamut from a good deal at $75 to $150 at the top end of the spectrum. Personally, I never really remember seeing the Condor around all that much during the height of the original line. I bought mine the only time I saw it, at a specialty toy store back then (and oddly enough, it had a Canadian card for Aero-Viper). So perhaps Hasbro didn’t produce that many of them?
One last thing I feel I should note for new-sculpt fans out there: the Aero-Viper that came with the RoC Crimson Hydra fits in either cockpit of the Condor like he was MADE for it.
