Cloudburst (1991)
It’s rare that I feature a figure from my collection who’s incomplete. Sad to say, since I started the blog, my disposable income has diminished, and there are some figures and vehicles I probably won’t be able to complete. Such is the case with Cloudburst, one of the fantastically colored and interestingly accessorized Air Commandos. So right off the bat, you’ll notice that the poor guy is missing his visor. Oops, sorry folks.
The Air Commandos figures feature some of the most unique gear of all the 1990s figures. Because of this, something is lacking in the look of an incomplete vs. complete figure. It’s also nigh impossible to pick up one of their individual accessories. If you want a complete copy, be prepared to shell out.
The design and color of the figure is more akin to a high-tech civilian hang glider pilot than a military operative. He’s not as far-out looking as Fisher-Price’s Adventure People hang glider pilot, but not as utilitarian as good old Tan Grunt.
The poor guy didn’t see much action in either the comic or cartoon. He appeared in just one issue of the Marvel series. Though the Air Commandos showed up in several DIC episodes, Cloudburst only spoke in one episode. Finally, I find it important to point out that he’s also the unfortunate recipient of one of the most unintentionally hilarious manly names in the entire Joe mythos–Chuck Ram. Notice I didn’t qualify that as all 80s toy names. No, for me that honor goes to Jake Rockwell.
At the rate these bootleggers and customizers ( not to mention 3D printing) are going recently, I can see more and more rare Joe accessories being made.G.I Joe figures are strange in that some times their accessories are crucial to their identities (Breaker,Pathfinder,Big Boa) or looked horrible without them (Fast Draw,Skystriker, Charbroil and Starduster come to mind).
These 90s figures are so hard because less made/sold or less were kept around (trashed)?
I got a couple from the Hasbro Canada find in 1999. But, those bagged figures came with no accessories, either. This figure would have been a great candidate for a repaint in the 2000’s, too. Don’t know why none of the molds from this series of figures found their way to re-release, though.
He’d be a good partner for Mace. Black and yellow. Maybe their Batman fans….
They’re accessories are hard to find alright. Pink caps also suffer wear on the brim due to ‘rough’ landings and plugs designed to hold compound bows have a tendency to snap off. Sometimes boomerangs don’t come back when you throw them too.
Yeah, I can only imagine how impossible it would be to find one of those loose visors. I have definitely bought complete figures from time to time just to get that one aggravating part that was missing when I got my figure, but is impossible to get without buying a complete one. Thankfully, I’ve got the air commandos figures and their accessories, but the one thing I’m missing from my collection right now is the file card for Sky Creeper. I can never find it loose. Only on the back of a still MOC figure and it’s always in the $40 or $50 neighborhood it seems. I need that card!!!
The only Air Commando I had was Air Devil. I would’ve bought Spirit as he’s always been one of my favorite characters, but as a kid, I didn’t really like the look of the figure and never could convince myself to buy it.
Arms have a netting texture but his vest (?) doesn’t. It’s odd. Figure definitely needed a recolor.
I never figured out the file name. Was it a joke?