We’re used to seeing Alex’s unique viewpoints on various Rise of COBRA figures, but now he’s tackling a vehicle as well with the very cool G.I. Joe Sky Sweeper. A Firebat repaint/retool, this is an awesome minijet plane with some very cool details that I hadn’t noticed before.
I especially love those landing skids with the heavy firepower mounted on each ski. A very cool touch that I hadn’t noticed previously. Anyway, I’ll let the rest of the pictures speak for themselves. The original thread can be found on JoeBattleLines.
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that is one crappy looking toy.
Was this ever listed in a computer as Barrel Roll? It sure looks like him. But when I saw that it is Air Raid I couldn’t remember when someone called it Barrel Roll and if that was just speculation, if it was how it appeared in a store computer, or if it was in a Hasbro product list.
I fail to see all the excitement that some repainted figures generate these days; i mean, for the ice-cream soldier’s sake, this is just a repainted resolute duke on a repainted firebat! a repainted storm shadow in blue also made a lot of fuzz just ’cause it has slapped the “kamakura” name on it; and this one isn’t even supposed to be barrel roll! c’mon guys, admit it, hasbro is pulling our legs here…
Sorry Neon Viper, but repaints are going to happen whether you like it or not. It’s the best way to make use of molds. New molds cost money, so why not use the ones they have as much as possible? It’s even better when they put some thought into those repaints, and this one in particular is great! The painted head make him look different from Duke, so it’s an easy Barrel Roll. On top of that, even if it looks too much like Duke to ya, why not just use him for something else? For everything you might not like, imagination can take that away and make it something else. Heck, I’ve made a bunch of my own figures with gear and headswaps!
C’mon man, admit it! When you change the color and swap out the parts: it’s a new figure! Kamakura isn’t Storm Shadow because he’s not the right color and has the new body armor, and this isn’t Duke ’cause it just doesn’t look like him! Good repaints and swaps are very much welcome!
There are so many errors in this set it is easy to overlook what you really get: a really cool little toy airplane and loaded action figure.
What you have to accept is a short list of head-scratchers from Hasbro.
1. The landing skids have shock absorbing struts that use the gun-barrels for their mount points. You cannot fire a bullet through a bent barrel!
2. The center jet engine intake is open to the cockpit, a design flaw dating back to it’s 1986 roots in the Firebat.
3. Air Raid is a confused figure with Airborne’s file name, Resolute Duke’s flight suit body and Barrel Roll’s character background. And I can’t get the helmet to fit his head either.
4. REPAINTS and team switching vehicles bug most of the Zebra’s in the zoo.
Beyond that, the Firebat/Sky Sweeper jet is swooshable and downright pretty when you get it in your hands. It’s box photo features it as aerial support for the Arctic Assault on M.A.R.S. Base. Not only is that a great off-camera idea, but the landing skids and colors make perfect sense for that mission. I bet the engines are souped up to filter harsh cold and ice from the intake mixture for better cold-weather performance. And Air Raid does make a PERFECT 25th/RoC/PoC Barrel Roll figure for those of us who love the character.
She may not look like much in the smaller box, but this Firebat is the same price as the 25th COBRA version, but with a much bigger bag of goodies. It seems like only yesterday when we were all wishing for this vehicle to resurface anyhow since the last time they shipped was back in the 1990s. I for one am glad they found new life, even with errors, for the post VR Trooper Firebat.
Now, if only we could get a Terrordrome with this much work done on it to update it… Just please let someone else do the filecards and blueprints.
Another thing, don’t put the large number sticker over the engine rivets as Alexx did, it won’t stick. Put it on the fuselage behind and aft of those engines where the trailing end of the wing meets the main body at the center engine outlet. Much better looking that way.
Well, the stickers are sticking to the rivets, but I didn’t want to put them there! Wish I had seen your suggestion beforehand! Sad thing is, I think I was planning on doing what you said at first, but then decided to go for what the directions said! Ah well.
Anyway, yeah, I mentioned that the whole back of the plane is resting on those skiguns! It’s hilarious, but it doesn’t bother me. Still awesome! As for Air Raid, well, I like Barrel Roll so much that it wasn’t even question. Even if they had gotten the name and info right. Now that you point that out though, I guess I feel bad for folks who follow the filecards! That is a confusing chunk of info.