The new 2020 G.I.Joe A.W.E. Striker is, was, or may not have been at your local brick and mortar dealerships.
It was not at my local one, the "Retro" figures were, and they sold through. Was it due to being cool, being there, or just the better option of whatever was left over the toy aisles generally?
I really am not a "modern" figure sculpt collector, as you know if you have followed along here, I stuck with the o-ring. And I really am more of a vehicle fan.
The FIRST A.W.E. Striker I ever had was mostly the chassis, wheels, and lower body that was pretty beat up way back in the day.
The Eco-Striker was my first real A.W.E. Striker. I mean, as much as the V.A.M.P. seems to have claimed that iconic G.I.Joe vehicle title, the A.W.E. Striker always stood out to me so much more comparatively. The Eco Striker in blue and yellow with a big water cannon did not replace the original green one in my mind.
The Stargate All Terrain Cruiser became my "go-to" A.W.E. Striker after a chassis swap. Below is how I was starting to roll it big time in 1997:
So for a few years that Eco Striker/ All Terrain Cruiser was my A.W.E. Striker. (And yes, that Street Striker was my "V.A.M.P.").
That changed up in with the 2001 A.W.E. Striker. That was my favorite and after subsequent models that I have had remains my favorite. When I slimmed down my collection I gave it a lot of thought and I tried making any "getting rid of" mistakes, and I somewhat regret getting rid of the 2nd 2001 A.W.E. Striker I had. With the "dirty" paint and wheels look, having two of the same, at the time took away from the uniqueness of an individual vehicle. Or so I was thinking at the time. At the same time, having the numerous different A.W.E. Strikers was something I also something I slimmed down one, so that there was only one A.W.E. Striker to keep as a more treasured item in my possession.
Today I took that "out of my way" trip, mostly due to me needing a reason to get some old gasoline burned out of real life vehicle that has been wintering since the beginning of December. I had checked the online checkers with the SKU's for nearby locations and I had at times considered taking a run to go grab some H.I.S.S. tanks to work toward my Cobra arsenal, even though I wanted to get away from the 1983 H.I.S.S. and make my Cobra forces seem more modern or a little less like everyone else's Cobra forces. I never made those runs.
As I did this one, the online inventory checkers indicated that the location I was headed to had 5 or more on hand. Every other location had nothing all on anything. I had the thought of using this modern A.W.E. Striker to get a few or more and give each one some sort of paint schemes to provide more transportation for the troops and be able to have a little more personalized collection.
Well, there was only one there. I am happy that there was at least this one. It wasn't a wasted Operation: Crimson Sabotage style trip (of which there were many of those that never panned out).
I did not expect much from this and I have very little excitement for new Hasbro G.I.Joe product. The box was nowhere near information and excitement filled in the graphics, the most interesting part to me was this number. I don't know what it means. I want my imagination to think I have #02811. Maybe the first 10,000 customers get something.
Just look at that rim below, as a "wannabe" G.I.Joe designer and not a very skilled one even back in the day, I would have gone a little farther than that with a marker rendering. Is it toss it into Illustrator and go these days?
This is where this figure is going to stay. The battle stand was a nice inclusion and while I got the $18.00 discounted pricing, at the original $24 and change I think a rifle would have been an easy thing to drop into the bag.
There are numerous reviews out there and I did notice the roll bar frame bend in some of these. This box was in good shape but the roll bar bend was on this one. I will say I was a little angry. But what does a consumer do at this point? Drive 30 miles back for return? I was hoping this bend wouldn't be on mine but on the upside I paid $18-ish for what is a basic dune buggy that can become parts.
It's not all doom and gloom for me, probably the largest upside of this purchase was this piece of cardboard. Really. Sure, it wasn't a full vehicle assembly, and unlike a G.I.Joe Sound Attack Spytroops flattened rear suspension, this cardboard kept the 2020 models springs tight. A total contradiction in packaging to the curved roll bar. I am going to cut some cardboard like this to put under my 2001 A.W.E. Striker now.
If you've followed along here for awhile, I have to look underneath the vehicle.
Here's a 2020 underside:
Here's the 2001 underside.
With the roll bar frame bend on the front I didn't want to look at that on a brand new vehicle. I got the old Stargate All Terrain Cruiser frame out and considered using it despite the color difference. Maybe something to paint at a later time anyway, right?
Well, the swivel and post are not the same size between the two. I didn't want to use the spring fired rocket from the Stargate A.T.C. so I went with what I got. Noticing that the top hole had that hexagon shape I haven't cared for but then realized that the Pursuit of Cobra vehicles weapons might fit on this. I have very few of these but tried some out.
The new cannon does not fit in the Stargate roll bar frame hole. No parts swapping today.
"D.T.C." is just a little smaller.
I kind of like this, if only some elevation could be had.
This gun lacks finer detail but with the hand grips it would make a third rear gunner seem really natural.
I have not seen a lot of
Cobra Black Dragon use on the internet.
I like the more gray tire look.
Here you can see that rear suspension sag. And I have tried to keep the 2001 A.W.E. Striker elevated off its wheels over the years.
There's something more iconic or natural feeling with the side mount of the cannon versus the rear mounted cannon. Having a roof-roll-bar-snap-on part like on the 1984 Cobra Stingers roof that would allow for different weapons or accessories to be used would have been a nice modern upgrade.
As much as I really like my 2001 A.W.E. Striker, I really like the green vehicles.
