Airwave (1990 Sky Patrol)
I hope everyone’s not tired of my gushing over the Sky Patrol figures. To me, they’re all just wonderful examples of the effective repurposing of parts. Maybe they all work so well because, aside from the heads, they were each taken from an entire existing figure. As such, each figure was at least assured a unified look from the neck down.
What do you do when you create a force of six paratroopers? Having six guys who simply jump out of perfectly good airplanes would get redundant, so they wisely spread out some other specialties among the group. Airwave is a radio man, and one who is able to make do with whatever materials he has on hand. Just creating a slight difference like this in characters really helps the set stand out.
For a repaint of the Motor Viper mold, the figure carries a lot of interest. I’m not a big fan of the original use of it, I think mostly due to the blue on blue color scheme. But here, the paint choices are such that the mold comes alive, and I can see details hadn’t previously noticed. The unique head sculpt, helmet and weapon also help differentiate the figure from others of the time. All of the Sky Patrol heads have a lot of personality to them, even with the helmets off. I do find it a little strange that he doesn’t come with any sort of radio equipment, considering his specialty, but I suppose he could get a cast off from Dial-Tone if needed.
Well done color schemes, original accessories (don’t forget the working parachutes!) and a variation of specialties helped to make Sky Patrol my favorite of all the GI Joe sub-teams. If they ever get a revisit in the modern line, I’ll probably keep on gushing about them.
One of the few sky patrol I had. Not bad but not awesome. There is an old custom Air Viper that uses the helmet on Star Brigade Cobra Commanders head. That was awesome.
I like Sky Patrol, so I’ll have to look out for the figures as I go about my convention/flea market-going. Sky Patrol is probably the first sub-team in the GI Joe line where all the members were new characters.
It would technically be the only one… if not for Airborne. In fact, every subteam had existing characters (except Battle Force 2000).
– Eco-Warriors had Flint, Barbecue, not to mention Toxo-Viper.
– Sonic Fighters were all existing characters.
– 3/4 Battle Commanders were existing characters
– DEF had Cutter, Mutt, et al.
– Ninja Force had Storm Shadow, Scarlett, Snake Eyes, and on the other side Zartan, Night Creepers.
– Star Brigade had loads on the Joe side, Cobra Commander on the other side.
– Mega Marines had Gung-Ho, Clutch.
Feel free to keep on gushing, Rob. I am a huge Sky Patrol fan and it is also my favorite sub-team by far. The colors on Airwave are indeed a huge improvement over the Motor Viper’s bluish double punch. The head has a lot of personality and makes him appear to be the most laid back of the group. I know Hasbro has revisited Skydive but I wish they would pay homage to all six members in their vintage outfits. That would so rock.
I totally agree with your gushy post! I also loved the Sky Patrol when I was a kid. I only had Dropzone but I thought he was incredible. Loads of character in the head sculpt and the most mental chest machine gun weapon! We need a Sky Patrol boxset, I’m looking at you GIJCC!!
Good figure, but there’s something a bit to distinct about Motor Viper’s body to use it on a Joe, maybe the chest and those upper arms, and with his visor down, he looks more like some sort of Cobra viper.
Man, I want to get my hands on the Sky Patrol figures, but they’re tough to find on Ebay or the message boards even without their parachutes. Hopefully I’ll get ’em one day…
Cool team, I love the Sky Patrol!
Great figures, well worth a gush! The repaints are such that you hardly notice what the mold is.
Awesome figure! ..one of the best, if not THE best sub-team ever created..