The Skystriker that is coming out

I'm just not excited about the Skystriker that is coming out.

I don't think I've every really, really, really wanted a Skystriker that badly at any point in my collecting, though.
It was more where I would have liked one, but at the same time, that "would have like to have" feeling really applies to almost everything. I would have liked, and would still like, to have everything.

On YOJOE.com, there was a thread where before we knew of the possibility of a new Skystriker, it was essentially asked how much would one pay to get them out on the shelf.

In it, at much higher price points, I said I was interested in it. But what would have garnered my interest in a higher-price-point Skystriker would be in the extras that would really add to the plane.

Now, the F-14 Tomcat is very much the basis for the Skystriker. And while the new on is nice, I'm not big on the single-seater. I would have preferred the twin-seater. But then the modern figures would get cramped, so I totally understand that. And the cockpit details look pretty good on this new Skystriker, too.

What would have really sold me on the Skystriker, though?

Getting all the little parts that interacted with the plane from the U.S.S. Flagg, that's what!

I'm talking the tow bar, the fuel car and tanker.

I'm thinking tail-hook.

I'm thinking boarding ladder.

All the things that would compliment a Skystriker on the ground being added into the package would have really been the kicker that would have sold me on this new one.

The optional stickers that are present are nice, though.



What else would have sold me?

Well, on top of a unique night interceptor/ fighter paint job, and everything else I mentioned above...

TWO pilot figures and at least one ground crew figure (to move the fuel, the bomb/ missile rack trailer, etc., etc.


But with everything I would want in a Skystriker, well, I would have essentially ended up with something between what we have now, and this. Or even this at BBTS.

I would guess what I would have done would have pushed the new Skystriker into the $100-plus range.




And I don't want to be a complainer, but I was hoping that there might be a "new" mutli-role aircraft that would be put out. Maybe not an F-22, or F-35, but something fairly accurately scaled that might reflect what our global pilots are flying these days.

But, it's all good. There's a lot of people that won't have to pay an arm and leg to get a Skystriker now.

That's where the fun is, we get to play, just like back in the day!!!

1986 GIJoe

Most likely, I have already mentioned a bunch of things about 1986. My first post was about 1986 and how my GIJOE team looked. And I may have mentioned how 1986 was really my "big year" when it came to how things started with my GIJoe toys.
Compare the above picture with the photo I took in 2009, and Iceberg is no longer present now since I shut down my arctic operations, otherwise everything else is still the same as it was nearly a year ago. Check out the Yojoe.com archives for more on 1986.


In some ways after getting a lot of these guys out for this go-around of pictures, I gotta say the backpacks and gear got a lot more detail and volume (size) to them. Consider Leathernecks M-16 to Footlooses M-16, much bigger, even without considering the grenade launcher.

As I look at this year as a whole, there are some neat colors that work amongst the figures. Lift-ticket is right in the middle, to his right that same green is on Beachhead and Dial tone. And then Lift-tickets tan is also on Dial tone and Leatherneck. Then from Lift-ticket to the left the red pretty much sums up Lifeline, but that red is also on Low Light and Cross Country.
Hawk takes on green, which is sort of like Leathernecks base green, but not exact, but then Hawks brown is present on Slipstream, who in turn shares a very similar gray with Lowlight and Cross country's pants. Then Cross country's hat is a lighter gray on top, which is really close to Mainframes gray.
The inter-figure color palette is really kind of neat I think.
Wet suit and Sci-fi didn't seem to have much in common color-wise with anybody, though. Wet Suit seems more suited to match the Devil Fish in my mind, and that makes some sense as he's pretty much in dive gear, ready to go. Also, orange is present as a detail color on the HAVOC.
Sci-fi is still a lot more light green than Cross country's vest, though. Other than that, I see no color connection to Sci-fi, or vehicle connection for that matter.

Also as I look at these more, there's just as much of a divide between the traditional looking "army" style figures and the more technical/ non-traditional figures.

Consider Beachhead, Hawk, Leatherneck, Sgt. Slaughter, and even Dial Tone have very battlefield dress qualities to them. Even Low light does, too, it's just not green.

On the technical/ specialty side of things, Mainframe, Sci-fi, and Lifeline really stand out. They have some nicely detailed gear between them, as well as most of the rest of the figures up there.
Of Course, Slipstream, Cross Country, Lift-ticket, and Wet suit really feel more geared toward their respective areas of battle as drivers, pilots, and a diver.

But really, with all these figure out I kind of remembered how I had the tremendous trio of Hawk, Sci-fi, and Low light taking on Cobra back in the day. Sci-fi was the big gun, and Low Light really filled the role of his best bud taking on Cobra.

Going forward, figures that most likely going to be in my collection for sure, is 1986 Hawk, 1986 Lift Ticket, Lowlight, Mainframe, Dial tone and Lifeline.

I may go with 1988 Sgt. Slaughter, then possibly the Battle Corps Cross Country and Beachhead. I may even go with the Battle Corps Leatherneck since Leatherneck (1986) isn't really grabbing my interest that much right now, but we'll see. I'm heavily leaning toward keeping my 1991 Sci-fi right now, too..., the 1986 figure is cool but hasn't been pulled out of my storage system that often in recent years.

And with almost no air superiority fighter now (the X-30 is gone), Slipstream may be out of a job. Pretty plain and simple decision making with that reasoning.
And almost the same with Wet-suit, with limited aquatic-based adventures (no WHALE now) in the near future, do I need a diver? I am considering the Devilfish coming into my collection at some point, it is a nice small mobile strike force asset and would fit on the shelf nicely. But I have to consider many of the other "sea squad" Joes.

Phantom X-19

Here is the Phantom X-19. This is a plane that I found without the small parts at a flea market many years ago. It still had the seat belts, though! I also found the DEMON (without many parts) at the same time. Even after my aggressive motor pool reduction in 2008, I found it interesting that I had kept both these vehicles over others. Both were rebuilt and both from 1988, as well.

The only real detractor on this X-19, which is now gone due to my recent large vehicle reduction, was the big scratch on the intermix chamber. The rubber bands were all rotted, too. But that worked out ok for me, as this thing spent more time just standing there on its landing gear, much like the Night Raven. Except I don't think the X-19 has as nice of a style as the old Night Raven.

It's still a unique looking aircraft, but I really didn't need a "stealth fighter" with cruise missiles right now, and I didn't think I would in the future. I can use the main force of the (imaginary) Air Force if the Joes need the support like that, besides, isn't it all about UAVs and satellites in these modern times. (not that I'm modern, by any means...)

But, take a look, see what you think. Do you have the Phantom? Can you remember the pilots name?

My "most" memory of this thing is when I was pretending it was a super-stellar space cruiser taking on adventures in the cosmos! (I know, that's out there.)

Operable Landing Gear is always cool, and I liked the group of 4 wheels on each, it gave me the impression that it could land on a hidden airfield somewhere.

It's kind of like air brakes, but also engine covers! I liked that the wings could "pull" out some more cannons, but when there were cannons already present, did I need more?


Wheel well covers are a nice touch that I appreciate, for sure!


That cockpit slide was pretty touchy, but it is a very unique system. I can't think of any other real or toy craft that operates quite this way.
And without the nose cone piece, the whole plane just didn't feel right.

X-30

The Conquest X-30 is my premier attack/ fighter jet here. The 1986 Conquest was my first Conquest (fun fact, that goop around the "eyes" on there is where I spilled fake blood on it back in the day). This version of the X-30 that I have is from 1998. While I never did buy the original Python Patrol Conquest, I did buy the 2003 version when that came out.

My original X-30 is a vehicle I had since at least 1987, but when I made my draw down on vehicles I decided one X-30 should be sufficient, so the other two had to go. Nostalgia got kicked in the knee with my decision to keep the 1998 release, though. The 1998 has a great coloring, black missiles, and little improvements that made the canopy connection hinge much better, as well as some refining in the landing gear.

I kept my original Slipstream, however. Here's a figure that has been more or less limited to being a pilot. I can't recall having him do much else, even back in the day. Decent enough, and he really fills my personal connection back to my original X-30.

Truth is, I bought the 2003 X-30 mostly for the Slipstream figure that was included with it. I don't know why. The sound attack on the 2003 X-30 really made me not want that plane, even though it does have a pretty nice camo style on it otherwise. The 2003 Slipstream is the active figure in my Joeverse, he's the pilot. Pair him up with Ace, the figure that came with that 1997 A-10 Jet and it really makes me wish for a two-seater X-30. As is, I'm considering trying to snag the new Skystriker coming out this fall so Ace will have a proper fighter. As much as I do not need another fighter.

But, I have to consider that I do have extra pilots around. I do have an X-19, but I'm considering trading that rebuilt craft in. And I do not have a Vector, nor am I about to get one, but I do have Ghostrider and Maverick available for some flight time. Perhaps a new Skystriker would be a good buy?


As much as I like a lot about the X-19, for me, my X-30 is small and fast enough to take on any air and ground opponents that may come up against it. I think with the X-19, it seems a little more "bomber" like. The cruise missiles in themselves could come from anywhere, that's a role the RPV could really fill in some aspects. Or even that imaginary attack sub just off shore that is able to assist the Joes on missions....

I think the little fighter, the X-30 is plenty good for my Joeverse. It has 4 missiles, 2 drop tanks for extended missions, but it still has that simple dogfighting aspect: guns! The twin nose guns are a detail that I've enjoyed, this bird is gonna get right up close to the action!