As much as we all complain about it now, in the late 80s and early 90s, ninjas were freaking awesome. I still remember going to my local video store and renting Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and countless other ninja films all interspersed with the Hand in Daredevil, the Foot in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and of course Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. Back then ninjas were pretty awesome.
It was for that reason that the Night Vulture held an immediate appeal. Many folks seem to think this figure is based off Snake Eyes with the skintight mask, commando goggles, quilted vest and martial arts weapons scattered throughout. I think that’s certainly possible, but all I knew as a younger collector was that in spite of his resemblance to Snake Eyes, Night Vulture was a completely new entity and he was pretty damn great.
Yes, the figure was sprinkled with healthy amounts of purple and orange, and as such would never be able to sneak around steathily at night as a ninja should, but with the nunchuks on his legs and the all around excellent figure design, I could get past that. As one might expect, based on what we got with the Air Devil, this update is executed to near perfection as well.
The base figure here is the 25th Anniversary ’89 Snake Eyes update which is probably one of my favorite 25th Anniversary figures, which is why I don’t mind that the somewhat dated parts are being used here. The head sculpt, I believe, is from the Steel Brigade Delta figure, which looks sort of like a Snake Eyes update, but not exactly, which makes it the perfect use here, as we get a head that looks reminiscent of the goggled commando, but not like any actual Snake Eyes release we’ve seen to date. It’s a very nice update to the Night Vulture original.
Over the purple base body we have an orange version of the MARS Trooper vest, which honestly I’m not a huge fan of. This vest is thinner and less detailed than many more modern vests, but considering the skin tight nature of the vintage version, it’s a look that works. Not only that, but with it being so thin, the double trench knives fit nicely over it. The purple color is dark and muted and meshes nicely with the black, and even where
the orange sparks things up a bit, I don’t mind.
As a whole, the Night Vulture is a quality update to the vintage version. There are some differences, of course, but those differences work.
Accessories
As I mentioned, Night Vulture comes with a removable vest and the twin trench knives, which is a great touch. Like the Air Devil, he has the Resolute wingsuit, and he also comes with a crossbow. I do kind of wish he came with some kind of firearm, but I know the classic version only came with a crossbow, so I understand why they did it that way. The accessories are all well chosen and make sense.
Night Vulture was a favorite of mine back in the 90s, and this update does nearly everything right. Even using the 25th Anniversary parts gives us a figure with decent range of motion, a really nice paint deco and just the right amount of new flair. I’m not sure I like this guy quite as much as the Air Devil, but he’s a quality addition to any JoeCon collection, and I’m ecstatic to get him in modern style.
To check out a video review of the COBRA ADDERS half of the Convention set, watch below!
Cobra Night Vulture
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.7
Summary
With a terrific vintage template to build from, the updated COBRA Night Vulture works in just about every way possible. A good selection of parts, some nice updates to the vintage color scheme, and kick ass removable trench knives add a lot of fun to the base figure. I do wish he came with some other weapons, but the wingsuit is great and the figure is a great representation of the character.
Even back in the old days (if one can consider 2000 – 2002 the “old days”) I was infatuated with 90s COBRA army builders, and the Air Devil was near the top of that list. The Air Devil was that rare breed of COBRA trooper in the 1990s that had a great design as well as quality colors, decked out in classic black and red, a color pallet that was appealing to G.I. Joe fans of all era’s. In a year when many of his fellow COBRA operatives were roaming around in purple, pink, and yellow, the Air Devil stuck with the classic black and red, and as such became a big favorite of mine. As I’ve said many times, my love for the 90s figures isn’t necessarily because of their bright colors, but in spite of it. I didn’t have to worry about that with Air Devil.
Now, obviously with such a love for the classic figure, I was a little hesitant when I heard the Club was revisiting these soldiers, because I was worried that these modern versions wouldn’t be able to live up to the classics.
Well, I’m happy to say I was wrong. The Collectors Club took all of the cool elements of the Air Devil and brought them forward in intriguing ways, but also managed to inject some of their new style, and it all comes together pretty spectacularly. The majority of the Air Devil is made up of the fantastic Pursuit of COBRA Jungle Viper, which has that unique quilted style uniform that looks like a great update to the vintage COBRA Air Commando.
The splits of red and black are perfect, and the silver pouches are a great link back to the grenades that the classic sported on his thick quilted chest. The arms here are the Pursuit of COBRA Alley-Viper which are great, and I never get tired of the removable knife on the wrist.
Where the original Air Devil had a clear plastic mask that flipped down over a mostly exposed face, the new version goes completely covered, which was an excellent idea, especially considering the goggles of the alternate Ultimate Duke head are a good match for the classic. Joints are nicely poseable and the figure feels exceedingly well put together. All of the great colors and design aesthetics of the original are represented here with some excellent updates, and this feels like a true evolution of the original rather than just a carbon copy.
Accessories
COBRA Air Devil is a terrific figure and he comes with great accessories. To mimic the look of the original, he has the head piece with clear facemask, along with the Retaliation Snake Eyes firearm that I love. He also has the removable pistol and knife from his ankle holster and wrist sheath.
But obviously the focal point accessory here is the wingsuit. Originally released with G.I. Joe: Resolute Snake Eyes, the Collectors Club repurposes here for their COBRA Air Commandos, and it is wonderful. Each wingsuit is color matched to the requisite COBRA air trooper, and the appropriate COBRA logo is decoed on the cloth surface of the wings. Air Devil’s wingsuit has the unique Air Devil logo with the COBRA and arrow tail, and it’s a great look. I absolutely love the concept of this wingsuit, and they executed it spectacularly well.
Air Devil is a fantastic introduction to the COBRA A.D.D.E.R. team. Great colors, excellent figure build and nearly flawless accessories bring this figure into the 21st Century with plenty of vintage throwbacks, but a nice helping of modern twists. Great, great stuff.
To check out a video review of the COBRA ADDERS half of the Convention set, watch below!
Cobra Air Devil
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.6
Summary
A great figure build surrounded by good accessories and a nicely updated color scheme gives us another excellent modern interpretation of a 1990s classic. The Air Devil was one of my favorites back in the day and now this version slots in as one of my favorites of the modern era. A great, GREAT update.
Doing these Con Set reviews is always a bit of a mixed blessing. I generally love the convention sets, but at the same time I’m still trying to do nearly 20 reviews simultaneously which is exhausting. I’ve lost track of how many hours I spend each year putting these together, but that’s why they pay me the big bucks, right?
Wait… I don’t get paid for this crap?
Ah, well. Good thing I enjoy it, eh? So, the 2016 “Project: Downfall” Convention Set hit my hands a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been spending nearly all of my free time behind a camera, behind Photoshop, or behind Microsoft Word writing up the reviews! Today I am starting the week of right, with SIX, count ’em SIX of the reviews hitting today alone! The entirety of Sky Patrol is being reviewed today with the rest of the set sprinkling out throughout the week.
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!
Sky Patrol Static Line
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.6
Summary
With an intriguing choice for a new head sculpt, and a pretty unique build of G.I. Joe: Resolute themed parts, Static Line has a recipe for success, that much is for certain. He’s got a really nice paint scheme and a decent accessory compliment, and ends up being a pretty nice addition to the Sky Patrol roster. A removable helmet would have put him way over the edge and possibly even landed him on my favorites list, but as it is, he’s not quite there.
One look at Skydive back in the day and you immediately wanted to eat all your vegetables and do your homework, he just had that kind of a-hole dad look to him with his close-cropped hair and tightly manicured lip fuzz. Still, it was a head sculpt that had a ton of character, and even on top of a really bizarre figure like the COBRA Gyro-Viper he looked like he was on top of his stuff.
This new version manages to take what was great about the classic version and make it even better, with some interesting twists along the way.
Essentially the modern Skydive is 25th Anniversary Mutt’s head on the G.I. Joe: Retaliation Data-Viper’s body from the neck down. Thick, padded uniform, amazing articulation, and a really great overall figure gives you a look and feel of a flight suit. Heck, the Retalition Lift Ticket’s already wearing it as one. The great thing about the Data Viper parts, too, is that with the right paint, the trim work jumps off the blue background
of the uniform and almost ties together as the classic version did with those strange hoses and ports of the original Skydive.
Even though there are no new parts here, the parts were obviously chosen with a specific look in mind and they work eminently well. Silver trim on the torso, and the white colored padding are both nice and bright and break up the royal blue underneath very well.
I admit to being a little surprised that the Mutt head works as well as it does. With the brown hair, moustache, and especially with the silver helmet on, you can barely tell it’s Mutt (or Bazooka for that matter).
Accessories
Like Drop Zone, Skydive comes with the really fun Rise of COBRA jetpack done up in a great blue/silver color scheme. He’s got Agent Mouse’s tactical helmet, which is fantastic, as well as goggles that can slide over the helmet to replicate his vintage look, or even pull down over his eyes for added realism. Finishing off his gear is a military assault rifle. His accessory compliment is pretty much perfect, with the right balance of offensive
weapons and accessories that work well off his vintage version.
Skydive is fantastic. Yes, Data Viper has become a defacto standard for modern figures, the same way Shock Trooper and Snake Eyes were before him, but when the base figure is that good, it’s very difficult to complain. The paint work is nearly perfect, the parts choices work to near excellence, and the accessories are just right. This is a very well done update and an excellent addition to your modern era officer corps.
Check out the video review for the Sky Patrol half of the boxed set below!
Sky Patrol Skydive
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.5
Summary
This update to the hard as nails Sky Patrol leader hits all the right notes and gives us a suitable modern update. While I obviously love the Pursuit of COBRA version of the character, this one feels much more true to the vintage roots, and even though it’s mostly a Retaliation Data Viper, the figure works on all fronts. The paint deco is great, his accessories rock, and pretty much everything about this figure is a win.
By all accounts, Drop Zone feels like a figure that really shouldn’t work, yet somehow does. G.I. Joe operatives are human (well… I guess they are, right?) and it makes sense for them to have some different body types, and it was an interesting choice to make Drop Zone so skinny. If I had to bet, they probably wanted to use the Strato Viper legs to approximate the vintage figure, but those legs are pretty slender, so they took that as a theme going forward and the entire figure looks really tall and thin, a nice and different look, to be honest.
Using the Retaliation Flint torso and Retaliation Storm Shadow arms (thank god they didn’t use Strato Viper’s!) the figure looks almost scrawny, but still packed with great sculpting detail. I’m one of those fans who really loves the Retaliation Storm Shadow update, and the arms are a big reason why. They work here for some unknown reason, even though the intricate detail, by all rights, shouldn’t necessarily jive with the rest of the
figure’s look.
Articulation is quite good with Drop Zone, especially with Storm Shadow’s narrow, unencumbered arms, allowing for some great poses and weapons firing stances. You wouldn’t think that various shades of brown color would make for a very interesting color scheme, but it works for Drop Zone, built nicely off of the vintage color scheme and mixed in with some great gray colors. For some reason I really like the texture and color mix of Storm Shadow’s biceps and the way the layered padding looks with these added colors on the arms. It’s really very nice.
Accessories
Now we’re talking! With Drop Zone, the Sky Patrol figures start coming with jet packs, and they are really great jet packs to boot, based off the fantastic Rise of COBRA pack that came with General Hawk back in 2009. With the wings that spread out and the poseable rear angled rudders, this is more than just a slapped together piece of plastic that resembles a jet pack. I love that the Collectors Club included them here, though I do wish
all six Sky Patrol members came with them.
Along with the pack, Drop Zone has the removable Strato Viper webgear from the 25th Anniversary, which kind of hangs off his skinny torso. As a word of warning, the holster/pistol on my webgear was separated in the baggie, and I had to super glue it back together, but once I did that, things stayed together fine. Complimenting the jetpack and webgear is a helmet (Pursuit of COBRA Ashiko helmet like Airwave), and two guns. I really like both weapons, and actually think I like Drop Zone’s accessory compliment the best out of the entire Sky Patrol.
Drop Zone is an interesting figure. With a tall and slender build, baggy webgear, and odd textures throughout the figure, it’s a formula that you wouldn’t expect to work, yet it does. He bares a decent resemblance to the original, but with great articulation and really fun accessories, he’s a worthy update for the modern era.
Check out the video review for the Sky Patrol half of the boxed set below!
Sky Patrol Drop Zone
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.2
Summary
While not one of the more exciting additions to the Sky Patrol Convention set, Drop Zone does what he’s meant to do, carrying forward the character from the vintage era and making some much needed aesthetic updates. He’s tall and lanky and really stands apart from the other members, which is cool in a way, though the Strato-Viper legs still a look a little dated compared to others.
