Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[canprime]

getting closer...squeeeeeeell!

And one more nice touch.

The cardboard packing holding the figures and support vehicles has printing on it, so when you open it up it makes a runway for the Skystriker!!!!!

Love these little touches.  Great work Joe Team.

Where did you see this? I love that idea although mine will be set up either at work in my office or packaged away till Christmas each year when I break out the Flagg.

I believe it was on Youtube from the Full Force channel.  Not 100% sure.  Though there are pictures out there of some unboxing of the Skystriker, and you can see the sides of the boxes holding the figures and support vehicles.  If you look you'll see there is grey with a white line down the middle like a roadway.  I also saw a picture somewhere of it unfolded and it has the number 83 on one end as well as grass at the sides.

[B]

Watched the hasbropulse video on the skystriker unboxing. It looks excellent. Can't wait. Wish I had the money for 2.

They mentioned in the video future release of a joe troop builder pack. I'm a little confused if this is classified or o-ring? it was the comment from Lenny about the troops in the pack be able to handle land and sky and Emily saying what a nice tie in to the skystriker. Its only a good tie in if its o-ring. But then she said the second classified anouncement for today... so then I think its classified.

[canprime]

Watched the hasbropulse video on the skystriker unboxing. It looks excellent. Can't wait. Wish I had the money for 2.

They mentioned in the video future release of a joe troop builder pack. I'm a little confused if this is classified or o-ring? it was the comment from Lenny about the troops in the pack be able to handle land and sky and Emily saying what a nice tie in to the skystriker. Its only a good tie in if its o-ring. But then she said the second classified anouncement for today... so then I think its classified.

They were both Classified reveals.

The Green Shirt Troop Builder pack is going to be "Land & Sky" related, and Lenny was joking about the "Sky" part being a tie-in to the "Sky"striker.  The second reveal was Agent Helix.  Both were just "name" reveals, so no pictures, release dates, or other information.

I kind of hope that the "Sky" part Lenny was talking about means we are finally getting a Jet Pack in the Classified line.

[canprime]

WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


My Skystriker just arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Can't wait to crack it open, but I have to wait until at least tonight, if not tomorrow.   Oh the agony of the wait.

[bishop]

Great! I passed on this one, but I look forward to see detailed of the figures online. It's good to see all this good stuff released!

[B]

Got mine yesterday afternoon. Just offering my first impressions on the skystriker itself. I haven't had time to look at the figures.

The nitpicks:
1. a little loose on the front landing gear closing when retracted up, likewise when the wheels are down it doesn't always lock the wheels firmly, so all of a sudden the front landing gear collapses.
2. The bottom of the wings design is very poor looking. That whole contraption for where the wing attached would have been more visually appealing had it been located inside the main body,  From the top the plane looks amazing, from the bottom I'm like "meh". Disappointing.
3 The Gijoe stamp. I don't know if I'm the only one, but I dislike having the joe logo on the vehilcles. It didn't bother me as a kid but as an adult I find it weird for a top secret military force to put markings to identify their vehicles. I would have preferred they leave that as a sticker to put on or off.
4. The blueprints. They use the 83 skystiker for the illustration so it does make some sticker placement a little weird (e.g aroudnt he cannons etc.) Also the tow vehicles illustration is for the flagg version.
5. The tow vehicle does not have a seat and is slightly undersized. Would have rather had a seat over an engine cover since I will probably keep the weapon carrier on all the time, making the engine cover pretty much useless.
6. The tail hook. A minor point here, I'm not sure how much this needs to come down. Mine hardly moves and I'm afraid to pull on it any more for fear of snapping it.
7. stickers - pass on the cobra stickers. Waste of tier there. I would have also liked to have other actual pilots names (e.g Slipstream, Dogfight etc) as an option.
 8. Its missing its ground crew. I'll chat more about that when i have time to share my thoughts on the figures.
9. I only can afford 1.

The good
1. It's an F14. Beautiful!
2. love the two seater. I haven't had the opportunity to get an origianal 83 so I can't compare. I only have the 2011(?) XP21F.  Detail on the seats is excellent
3. love the cockpit  and canopy. I like how the canopy lifts away when open and tucks away when closed, and that the front part can be removed seperately. Control stick looks nice. Hopefully it won't snap too quickly. I also love that we get 2 canopies, but i thought one was supposed to be tinted and the other clear? I got two tinted- which I actually prefer so that's a positive.
4. The stand is awesome I love it so that i can position this exactly the way I want.
5. I love the tail hook and landing gear lever. this will be put to use the next time I have my flagg set up.
6. I love that the wing sweep and landing gear are separate controls. Its an obvious like, so not really much more to say about that.
7. Its new plastic. I like that the plastic isn't 40 years old and fragile (I hope). I don't feel scared to play with this thing.
8. Let's talk about the packaging. It looks beautiful. They did a good job on keeping everything pristine, Sad that I won't find these type of boxes in my local toys r us.
I really love the runway part. Its a relatively easy play feature. Its good thinking inside the box - bwhahaha! (sorry dad humour)
9.removable panels. its excellent and adds to the potential story telling of prepping the skystriker, but its missing a ground crew to finish that story. Come on hasbro give me a 5 pack of the mechanics and deck crew.


I have to see if the vintage figures can go in there or not.
I also have the toughest decision to make. Which logos to put on the vertical stabilizer fins...classic Skystriker, or one of the Tomcats ones which i really like, or should I go custom stickers and get the Jolly Roger?....seriously I can't decide. Definitely want my favourite ones on the black fins.

What are your thoughts?

[akpayne]

Thanks for sharing, please share more once you get to the figures.

[martin-montreal]

@B it's really fun to read your review 👍

[B]

Figure 1st impressions (I haven't gotten them all out yet so I'm only talking about the ones I have opened)

1. Outer packaging. Great overall protection of the cards in the box. Nice sheet of vellum to separate the cards from any scuffing is good thinking. A lot of attention and money was spent on ensuring your stuff arrived safely. I think they did miss an opportunity to include a small promotional pamphlet or poster of their products. Or even dio photography shots to spark the imagination. Would have been great to see other 3 3/4" items, (maybe slip in a reveal)

2. Card backs. The thicker cardboard is very nice. The artwork is pretty good overall, although I'm bothered by the flair on cobra commanders helmet. The adhesive on the bubble was very inconsistent. On one card I almost peeled the bubble off without lifting any ink. On others, there was some alternating sections that had good adhesion to almost no adhesion. I did have one card that was properly sealed (that is until I opened it). If your a MOC collector be warned your bubbles may just fall off after a couple of years.
On the backside I like the one language file card. That missing portrait space for the cross sell always catches my eye however, because I know the crew portrait should be there.

3. Cobra commander - excellent figure, very close to the original I think. I hope to compare them later this weekend. Colour is a little flat. I honestly don't really care about the mickey mouse logo. I don't see myself using a logo that doesn't fit with the rest of my figures. I want the figures that I played with. Those figures have meaning although I always wished the OG commander has a slightly darker cobra blue as well. (Maybe I have to get the cartoon version that came with Duke.)

4. Cobra Trooper - looks very good and I think is supposed to be based on the cartoon? I do find the general troopers have almost no expression in their eyes. No soul. Its probably perfect for a cannon fodder trooper. He's just one of many. I wonder if this was done purposely? I'm not sure if I wish that the designers had somehow worked a little more expression in the eyes, or whether I think its perfect just the way it is. His hand almost were completely closed. The distance between his thumb and fingers was so thin. Hopefully the new plastic they use allows for the flex. Simple yet genuine figure.

5. Ramp Rat - pretty good figure although the arms bother me. It looks like he's wearing a jogging suit under his vest. His weapon choice is not my favourite and i would have preferred he come with some sort of tool and a normal gun. The light traffic wands are simple but neat accessory. Probably use my 25th technoviper pylons with this.

6. Fail safe - One of the figures I was really looking forward to just fell short in the execution for me. The soft helmet was kind of warped, which I don't like, but was fine once I put on his head. I am glad his face had a little more expression then what I had seen in pictures online. When I was checking the joints I thought I had a stiff shoulder so I heated it up with a hairdryer but actually it was paint that had dried between his arm and torso so as I pulled his arm to gently rotate his shoulder the paint cracked leaving a mark on both his arm and his side. I guess the paint had not been completely dry before he got assembled?  I  also have to take this figure apart and look at his head because right where his neck meets his torso I have a small thin gap because his neck doesn't extend far enough into the torso.  It looks like he had his throat slit. I assume mine just had these defects and its not that common.
 I do like that he looks more like a pilot. I prefer his outfit over Ace's all day long. It would have been nice for Ace and Failsafe to have similar outfits because I dislike that Ace is wearing a pressure suit and Failsafe is wearing a sort of traditional pilots suit. Simple firearm is a nice touch, although I'm not sure where to store it. I think I'm going to make him the default pilot because this Tomcat is a Navy F14 and he's a Navy Pilot, while Ace is an USAF pilot. If I ever change the fins to the grey then I'll make Ace the pilot.

7. Scarlett - this is a decent figure except for two things:  the weapon - Its missing its handle making it pretty much useless...that or I don't know how its supposed to work. I never had the original so i have nothing to compare to. i don't actually care for the test pressure suit design itself. Its fine looking but I just would have preferred a more traditional suit. I do like that her and Ace look like a team. hmmm after those 2 nitpicks the only thing I didn't have a problem with is the head so can I really say its a decent figure. HAHA, I don't know, its fine I guess but it could have been better.

One thing I noticed is that none of the figures can move their heads up or down. No ball joint heads so far. That is a shame. I'm hoping Ripcord will not have this problem since I know Ace will not have that head movement.


I'll edit this message when I get to Ace and Ripcord.

EDIT:
8. Ace - this is an excellent figure in so far as he seems pretty faithful to the original when I look online, but as I mentioned earlier I don't have an original to compare too so I'm sure there are some differences. I only wish they had found a way to give him a swivel head so you can pose him looking whichever way in the canopy.  I also would have loved if he had come with Failsafe's body in any of the v2,v3 or v4 colour patterns. Including a weapon is great. I honestly don't know what else to talk about and that seems a bit sad because I feel he should be the star figure since he is the pilot. Maybe its better that way as the star really is the skystriker and Ace is the accessory...Not sure if I agree with myself. Regardless, solid figure!

9 Ripcord - I really like this figure overall. The black outfit with the nightforce logo on the arm is quite nice. I have to say though that I much prefer the original camo pattern over the nightforce colours, maybe its because the black doesn't have the gloss that I've used too, or maybe the camo pattern is just a little more eye catching. I'm still not sure if he was the right choice to be included with the skystriker. You would never have halo jumper eject from a skystriker for a mission. Don't get me wrong I do love the figure but I wonder if he would have been better served in another vehicle. (Haslab we could use a C-130).
The green parachute pack is also nice. Its definitely a softer plastic, my one issue is the mask does not plug into the parachute pack very well, I can't get that hose to stick in. Maybe its just me though. His gun is excellent but would have been great if he had a place to store it or a strap so it could be slung over the shoulder (normally i hate straps but in this case it makes sense). I like that the weapons are all black. The helmet is soft plastic too, and I think that is a bit of a miss. Strapping the soft plastic mask to the soft plastic helmet is a bit of a challenge to my non-dexterous fingers and getting it to sit right is a bit annoying. As i mentioned earlier I have a hard time attaching the mask to his pack. Also, the helmet is a bit too loose on his head and can come off very easily. Finally the biggest miss I have is that he should have came with another parachute, with the nightforce logo on it that could attach to his parachute pack. That would have been awesome! Overall I'm very pleased to add Ripcord.


So final thoughts: I think I  complain too much and after re-reading through my thoughts I feel like, maybe, I come across negatively. This is farthest from the truth.  I feel this was a good project overall. Yes, there are a few quality issues, and while I would have loved a few changes here and there,  I'm definitely happy with what I have received and do not regret backing this. I've always wanted a skystriker and had hoped one day to actually get an original,  but when this came up I knew I had to find a way to back it (and I did by selling off all my 200x MOTU figures.) This thing fixes some major play issues I have heard people have about the original. I have waited 40 years to get a skystriker and I need to wait another 20 years before I will actually have  space to set it up on my flagg  (7 kids means no empty rooms for a long time) Even my wife, who begrudges the space my toys take, admitted it was pretty cool looking. This was the piece that got me excited for the first time since the 25th anniversary line. The 3 3/4 - 4" scale will always be my gijoe. I've been flying my skystriker through the house every day so far and having a blast, and that's the most important thing for me.

Anyways, everyone has their opinion and maybe yours is different. I'd love to hear it. Thanks for listening.

Have fun everyone! (Back to my usual lurking)

[akpayne]

Once again, thanks for sharing.  Sucks about the bubble adhesive.  I look forward to your views on the the last two figures.

[canprime]

Well it seems I lucked out.

Finally got around to fiddling with the Skystriker, and much like B it was a fun experience.

I was a bit worried after reading about a bunch of problems online.  Things like CC with two right arms, the wings not snapping in properly and leaving a gap, Scarlett missing her handle on the crossbow, etc.   Things that, once again, shouldn't be happening with such an expensive piece.  So far, outside of Scarlett's crossbow, they seem to be the usual "ones & twos" problems that come with mass manufacturing.

My only real problem is with Failsafe.  He was not properly put on the card so he was kind of rubbing against the plastic, and his face looks off.  I don't know if that is from the poor placement, or just a bad design.

Otherwise everything seems to be in great shape, and I love the Skystriker.  I especially love the option of putting the black tail fins on to match the box/early cartoon.  I like all the little details they added, especially the ladder attachment to allow for easier access.  The flight stand is a great touch and makes displaying the Skystriker so much easier that I'm sure it will be on display for a while compared to some other jets that just sit on the shelf.

Anyway, those are my early impressions.  Great job overall, with only some minor nitpicks on my part (so far).

[B]

anyone got their flagg setup and have the new skystriker and willing to take a risk? I'd like to test whether the flagg arrestor cable will actually pull the landing gear down once the arrestor hook snags it? I'm not sure if you want to risk that on old plastic or not. If no one has it setup or willing to test I guess I can try it out next Dec.


I also did add my last comments on the 2 missing figures in my previous message earlier in this thread for those who are interested.