Static Line is another good addition to the JoeCon Sky Patrol set that could have been fantastic.  He almost is, but just falls short.

Like a few other figures in this year’s convention set, the Collectors Club decided to invest in new tooling for a head sculpt for Static Line, but  like those other figures they unfortunately surrounded that head sculpt in a non-removable helmet. The design and sculpting of the helmet itself looks really good, and I like how they took the shape and look of the Static Line helmet, but added the visor that is posed in an elevated position so you can at least see Static Line’s face.  That’s a pretty unique idea, and also means the head can likely be reused down the line, possibly for Backstop.  Even with the non-removable helmet, the actual sculpting looks pretty great, though because of how closely the face and the surrounding helmet are molded together, there is some silver paint overspray on the lower part of the face.  It’s sort of tucked down under the chin part of the helmet, so it’s not eminently noticeable, but it is there.

For what it’s worth, you can use the head from the attendee exclusive Air Raid on Static Line and it works okay, though it sits kind of low on the neck.

Minus the disappointing helmet, though, the figure build is pretty decent. Pursuit of COBRA Beachhead’s torso is always a good choice, and it’s surrounded by G.I. Joe: Resolute parts which I’ll never argue about either. It’s a very unique look to the figure that looks nicely modern, yet separate from some of the other Sky Patrol figures in the set. I’m a huge fan of the Resolute COBRA Trooper arms, which have some great modern
dymanic and are exceptionally poseable. Even though he’s got those thick Resolute Duke legs, they look okay on him and manage to blend with the rest of the figure. The color balance of blue and white is great, too, and actually jives him with Skydive’s color aesthetic quite nicely. They end up looking like a great pair, although their color schemes are pretty separate from several other Sky Patrol figures.

Accessories

Static Line comes with the Rise of COBRA jetpack, which is a very good thing, as well as a shoulder holster and submachine gun. He’s got a knife and a satchel as well, which add some nice variety to the figure.

Static Line was a figure I really liked back in 1990 and while this update has some interesting flair, the new head sculpt should be a bonus, not a disappointment. I appreciate what the Club was trying to do, and I can envision them using this head sculpt in other ways down the road, but I think in this case there was a potentially better way to handle it. The figure is really good, but could have been even better.

Check out the video review for the Sky Patrol half of the boxed set below!