Picked up the 3 Target Exclusive vehicles yesterday (thanks to my girl
) and wanted to share my thoughts on them.
The packaging is nice and the art has a real retro feel to it. The figure art on one end and the vehicle on the other is a very nice touch. The filecards on the bottom of the package was a bit of a letdown but the ones I got weren't scarred up so I'm happy.
The AWE Striker was the first one I opened. Never had this vehicle as a kid and I was anxious to get it out and play with it. I have to say I'm quite impressed. The detailing and construction is everything I remembered from other Joe vehicles I had as a kid. One of the antennas on mine had some stress marks from being bent in the box but other than that no flaws whatsoever.
Crankcase is a nice figure given he's all repaint. The Breaker head works with the painted beard and honestly doesn't look too oversized. The Shipwreck upper body is a great sculpt and I'm glad to see it get some love (and that the Duke/SE torsos got a break for at least this figure). There is one downside to the Shippy mold and that's the crotch. Its a bit diaper-like though not as bad as Duke and CC. That makes it hard to get him to sit right in either seat. With some trimming I'm sure I can make him ride nice and comfortably. The Cobra trooper legs are great and I love their use here.
The running boards have been retooled with the smaller footpegs though it was a bit tough to get Crankcase's foot onto it completely. I think that's just the foot mold though and not the running board. Crankcase comes with a helmet (Breaker's minus the comm gear) and the Trooper knife but alas no other weapon or figure stand. The weapon I'm not too bummed about because its only a $10 set but the figure stands have been a very nice touch and really make this line collector friendly. Though I have a lot of extras I can use for him should I display him outside the drivers seat.
All in all the AWE Striker w/ Crankcase is a great set. With a few tweaks to the crotch to get the figure to sit in the vehicle better and a figure stand it would be perfect.
The HISS tank is another I never had as a kid but I do own the DTC model so I knew what I was getting into with this one. The mold is nice and definitely has that retro feel to it. The detailing is pretty basic compared to later ARAH vehicles but its a simple design so it really works. The dual cannons look great and I'm anxious to see how they look on my DTC HISS.
The HISS comes with a repainted Cobra Trooper with Officer helmet and webgear. He's painted in Stinger gray with black and gray camo pants and looks very cool. The black really looks good and while I would have liked to have gotten an actual HISS Driver with this tank, this guy works in a pinch. He'll be going to my Stinger crew though once the single card HISS Driver arrives. Sadly he doesn't come with his knife which is really wierd. I have extras though so its not a big deal.
The cockpit has been retooled but the figure has not so while he does fit in the drivers seat, some adjustment in the crotch area will be needed to get him to sit more comfortably.
The rear running boards have been retooled to fit the new footpegs and troopers ride nicely there. Not sure I'll be using the HISS for troop transport but its nice to see that the option is there.
Again, for a $10 vehicle set its very well worth the money. I have a nice tank to add to my Cobra motor pool and a neat repainted Cobra officer to command my Stinger drivers.
The Night Spectre is a repainted SHARC and the SHARC I definitely had as a kid. I used it a lot as a space ship, submarine, fighter etc on countless Saturday morning missions. So even though its not the most elaborate vehicle ever made the nostalgia factor is definitely kicking in for me here.
The Night Spectre comes with Grand Slam. While I would have much prefered a new version of Deep Six, getting one more of the O13 is a very good substitution. Granted he is all Flash with a new paint scheme and the head really doesn't look different enough like Crankcase/Breaker's do. He'll be getting a new head at some point and a JUMP pack as well (like everyone else will be doing) Other than the repaint factor there's absolutely nothing wrong with this figure. The sculpt and articulation all work incredibly well.
The Night Spectre would be a pass for most people I think if it weren't for Grand Slam. I wanted one for the nostalgia factor alone so it was a buy for me eventually. Having another of the Original 13 just makes it more enticing.
All of these vehicles come with a few of the stickers already applied (on the side facing out) but the rest are included along with new application instructions. I didn't put all the stickers on these yet. Some of the warning stickers are a bit smaller than I remember and I want to take the time to put them on right. And they of course come preassembled. I would have LOVED to put these together myself but the common kid these days doesn't have the patience for that so having to put on some of the stickers lets them get away with the assembly bummer.
Figure stands and seperate filecards would have really sent these over the top. But for the price they really can not be beat. Highly recommended to any Joe collector.
