Ace (1992)
This may be unpopular to say, but the 1992 version of Ace is my favorite o-ring iteration of the Joe team’s quintessential jet pilot. Don’t get me wrong, I also have a soft spot for his original 1983 mold. But for me that figure is so closely tied to his vehicle that he seems out of place if he’s not sitting in its cockpit or standing near it.
The Battle Copter Ace is in a way more generic, yet still identifiable as the Joe pilot we remember. Including this figure with a fun (and working) yet unattractive toy was a brilliant move. Like the previous year’s Interrogator, he made the purchase of the copter worthwhile. Speaking of the Battle Copter, though it’s butt-ugly, it truly is a marvelous working Joe vehicle. Unlike the Falcon and Viper gliders, the thing lives up to the promises of its packaging, and doesn’t break after two of three flights. A word of advice: don’t launch it indoors. The first time I tried it, I smashed mine into the ceiling with incredible force. Be careful with those action features, kids.
His mold would get repainted in a more military color scheme the next year as the pilot of the Ghostriker X-16 (the jet with the projector in its underbelly). Sans the head, it was reused for the 1994 Street Fighter Movie Edition paratrooper Guile figure. In 1997 it was repainted and Ace was packaged (along with General Hawk) with the A-10 Warthog. Its final usage (again, sans the head) was in 2003 for the Slip-Stream figure that came with the Spy Troops version of the Conquest X-30.
This version of the mold came with a black version of Shockwave’s uzi, while the ’93 version came with Low-Light’s.
I had the ’92 and ’97 versions of this figure at one point. It really is an Ace for All Seasons. The head sculpt is nice and the body lends itself well to serve as a pilot for any aircraft.
An excellent update to Ace. This was a welcome change to his original fighter pilot uniform and the flexibility of reusing this mold added needed pilots to the Joe team.
I always liked this figure, and I think it might be my favorite version of Ace too.
Great facesculpt!
I’m not crazy about the head (giraffe neck?), but this is a solid pilot figure. I really like the 2003 Slipstream repaint. And that’s hilarious about the Battle Copter! I did the same thing showing my kid how they work, and it ricocheted around the ceiling before tearing through the shelves! At least they’re sturdy.
I think my favorite version of Ace is the one that came with the Skystriker last year. The only other version I ever owned was the 25th Anniversary version, though, and in retrospect…well, he hasn’t aged well.
This is the best Ace mold by far. But, I think the ’93 repaint is much better. However, this blue version has it’s uses. I got a couple of them from Hasbro Canada back in the day and had them as my default pilots for a number of years. He looks pretty good in the Tomahawk, but the ’93 looks better.