Okay, having got mine assembled and everything, I have to say -- I like this plane!
Let's deal with a few of the criticisms I've heard here and there.
"It's not as big as the original Night Raven." True -- but not a lot of planes in the line ever have been. The original Night Raven is among the largest planes in the entire G.I. Joe line. The new Night Raven IS very slightly larger than the Conquest and Rattler.
"The labels are weird." I'd even heard a rumor that they were printed on paper. They're not. They're on vinyl as they should be. They DID give the labels a colored background rather than clear for some strange reason, but the color is a good match for the color of the plane itself, which is a very dark bluish-grey.
"The landing gear wheels don't roll." True, AND mildly disappointing, but to me, it's the only disappointment on an otherwise very nice plane, and it's not like I'm going to try to send it skittering across the kitchen floor, anyway. I'd expect kids to be more upset over this one.
"What's with that weird trigger?" Okay, Hasbro packed this plane full of lights, sounds, and other features, doubtless to justify the original price (and this may also explain the landing gear). However, the trigger is not really an eyesore when it's folded up into place. The Storm Eagle and the Liquidator were more glaring in this department.
On the whole, I like it. The design is impressive has a few elements of the original Night Raven in it, with an updated and in its own way more complex design, that reminds me just a little of the fancy Soviet plane in the movie "Firefox". I happened to like that plane, so I'm not complaining.
Plus, the lowering cockpit works better on this one than it ever did on the original. Looks cooler, too.
I'll admit, I wouldn't've wanted to have paid full price for this (although in fairness it's the largest vehicle in the line other than the Pit), but $24.99? Yeah, it was readily worth that.
