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This is one of the most recent vehicles I have bought for my collection. I am not very interested anymore in vehicles, since they take so much space, but at the time, I didn’t thought about that so much. Many G.I.Joe collectors do collect only figures, and only look for a few iconic and realistic vehicles like the Tomahawk or the Killer W.H.A.L.E.
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Vehicles that are imaginary or fantasy based like this one are only for “completist” collectors, and can usually be found for very little money. I decided to buy it, since this vehicle is from 1991 And I had no vehicles from that year, so buying it would also bring me a new catalogue with new and exciting vehicles and illustrations to look at.
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The vehicle itself is quite big, the black part has space for three seated figures, and the launcher is also quite long. The small plane is made of very thin plastic, so it could actually fly, but that made it extremely fragile… I guess if somebody had this vehicle as a child, the small plane (we would call it today a “drone”) has been damaged or lost. Without it, the vehicle doesn’t have much interest; it becomes a lame tank with some guns at the sides.
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Another factor that collectors usually hate is bright neon colours (as I explained in entry #4). And this vehicle has a lot of neon green… at the time it might have looked like a good idea, but today most people would say the designers got everything wrong.
No matter what I write, I like the vehicle as it is, since it brings me back to those years when those colours were trendy. Take a look at that cover illustration: the figures that drive or ride it have also nice and colourful outfits.
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The European catalogue that was included here featured among others: the Ninja Force, the Talking Battle Commanders, the Super Sonic Fighters plus the European variants of many figures from wave 10 (that included missile launchers instead of “ordinary” plastic weapons). There were always slight differences between American and European assortments, and in those later years, Hasbro's European subsidiaries released only what they though it would be more attractive and would sell better.
Attack Cruiser Blueprints:
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FACTS and FIGURES:
- Name: ATTACK CRUISER
- Toy Line: G.I. JOE (Wave 10)
- Year: 1991
- Company: Hasbro (U.S.A.)
- Size: Around 25 cm long
I had this fresh from retail back in the day. I thought the off set seating arrangement was kind of fun. A little futuristic/ sci-fi feel. Three different stations for figures, one driver, one gunner, one drone pilot?
ReplyDeleteBut back then, "drone" wasn't really in my thoughts, the actual glider that was included left me underwhelmed in action. Although, that launcher did fling the rockets a good distance.
I was not happy with the more limited range of motion on the guns, having one that went up and down and only straight, and the other only swiveling with no elevation. The mine dropping mechanism didn't add or detract for my fun, but the Cobra Rage (1990) had a much more refined system for mine deployment; so one could argue sometime in 1991 "quality" or at least something went down.
In the end, this was a vehicle I was alright with departing with early on.
On the Attack Cruisers main body, the tail part where the launchers pivot point connects did crack on me when I was taking the launcher off for storage in a box at one point.
Hi IceBreaker!
DeleteMany thanks for your comment, and the great review, much better than mine. In my defense, I have to say that I never played with the vehicle, I keep it as it appears in the pictures, so your details and impressions suit perfectly my text above.
The problem which you mention with the pivot-system is the same as in the Cobra I.M.P. Do not try to disassemble it!
And the Rage seems to be a great vehicle, but I have only seen it in pictures.
See you!