G.I. Joe Convention 2016 Sky Patrol Skystriker

I still remember when the launch of the Skystriker during the 30th Anniversary line was considered a monumental event, something to be celebrated and cheered from the rooftops, and to be fair, it was a pretty damn awesome event.  The first new iteration of G.I. Joe’s flagship aircraft was a pretty major thing, and Hasbro knocked it out of the park.

However, it’s been a few years since then…a few years and more than a few more Skystrikers.  In fact since its debut in 2011, we have seen this vehicle used as Starscream & Jetfire, used by the Collectors Club as a Night Boomer, and used in the 50th Anniversary as the Wolf Squad Sky Striker and as the Cobra Scythe.  So yes, since this vehicle’s debut 5 years ago, this is the 7th iteration of the Sky Striker.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?  The vehicle is awesome.  It continues to be a great update to the classic vehicle, but especially when you’re looking at a price tag north of $150 you can’t help but wonder how much “new” is here, and is it worth the steep price.  I know throughout many of these reviews I will reference “cost” and “value” because that’s a tough thing to get away from.  I think many will agree that purely from a design and execution standpoint, much of what the Collectors Club does is very good, but at Convention prices (which could be justified due to low production runs) you need to consider such things as what you get for your money.

Just from a design standpoint, the Sky Patrol Skystriker is a heck of a cool vehicle.  The metal surface isn’t chrome like the old school Sky Patrol vehicles (a limitation due to environmental hazards according to the G.I. Joe Collectors Club) but the polished shine of the metal paint is pretty impressive and does a great job almost approximating the same silver look.

For whatever reason I find the silver color exceedingly appealing, even though I was never deep into Sky Patrol as a kid (not the vehicles, anyway, I LOVED the figures).  It’s polished, shiny surface really draws the attention, and the dark tampos on the plane contrast really nicely, giving you a vehicle that looks sharp, clean, and very nice.

Like the previous versions of this venerable vehicle, the missiles work well, and stay on a bit better than some of those first released versions of this plane.  It’s only a single-seater like every other one is (but I’m totally okay with that) and has the same swing-wing functionality.  It’s a really nice plane that unfortunately does suffer somewhat from a lack of excitement due to the fact that so many iterations of this vehicle have come and gone in the five years since its initial release.

That being said, for Sky Patrol fans, this is a nice addition to your vintage line up, even if it’s not quite as shiny as its predecessors.