G.I. Joe 30th Anniversary Combat Jet Sky Striker XP-21F with Captain Ace Action Figure

Years ago Hasbro came out with a jet for its GI Joes called the Sky Striker. A generation of boys flew their Joes into combat unleashing all kinds of fury against Cobra, the enemy at the controls of this terrific aircraft. Years later, Old fans and a new generation of kids are rediscovering a brand new Sky Striker for the 21st century. The great thing about this new warhorse is that it looks so much like the original. Hasbro tweaked a few details, but essentially knew that the original was a success. The Sky Striker comes in a deceivingly small package. This is likely due to the face that brick and mortar retailers try to put as much as they can into a relatively small footprint. So, some assembly is required. But once the nose is joined to the body and the wings and tails are in place, the Sky Striker is a pretty impressive toy. Really good bang for your buck. There's a lot of detail on this jet, too. That can be both good, and bad. There is a lot of sticker work to do. I lost track of how many NO STEP decals went onto this GI Joe aircraft. Speaking of decals, there are two variants that come in the box. Joe aficionados can go with the classic red and blue Sky Striker. Or you may choose for more of a Top Gun ghost rider look with a set of yellow and black applications. Either way, this plane looks great once you've taken the time to put it together and apply all of the decals. One criticism by old-school fans is that the new version of this jet is just a single seater. The original did accomodate two figures. But honestly, I think that's a pretty minor quibble. Speaking of figures, the Captain Ace that comes with the new Sky Striker is a pretty respectable figure. The other gripe from adult fans, and its applicable to the kids, is that the missiles seem to fall off the underside of the plane fairly easily. There are solutions to that which can be found online. Worst case scenario if you don't want your little pilot to lose the missiles that go with his plane is a dab of glue. But all in all, this one is a winner. Grab it now before the next wave of toys from GI Joe 2 hits the shelves. As a collectable, or a straight up toy, you can't go wrong. Best of all, the price at Amazon is very competitive with all of the brick and mortar alternatives that are out there. Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

Owned it as a kid, now bought it for my son (although I play with it too!). It is not the same as the original, but it is really cool nonetheless. I was a bit worried at first, as some of the reviews stated how cheap it felt and that it fell apart easy. So far, not the case. Yes, the missiles fall off easy, and I do remember the original's stayed on fairly well, but otherwise, it's been very sturdy. Seeing my son so excited when he plays with this airplane makes it well worth the price.

The Sky Striker has always been the coolest part of the GI Joe line. The new version holds true. Usually an updated version is soo different & of course soo disappointing. Finally you get the black tail fins promised on the box of the original. Many Navy jets had the cool looking black tail fins in the '80s until they switched the low visibility scemes in '89. Realistically, the new Striker should have been the old one & vice versa. Even though the real F-14 is discontinued, jets were cooler looking back then. I am so glad the Striker is so close to the original, it brought back old memories. You now get an updated Ace from the old astronaut outfit, it's a one seater (no prob), & no parachutes (which never worked right, got tangled & torn easy). Finish is matte, not glossy as original. Assembly was so easy, everything fit tight & perfectly. Missles though are more removeable so don't lose 'em. You get options with the stickers now (which may be easier to put on before assembly). Don't follow the box though, because they didn't put all the stickers on correctly. You can do Duke, Flint, Snake Eyes, etc., plus other options totally up to you. This justifies getting a fleet of Sky Strikers. Good Marketing & Amazon makes it so easy.

I purchased some of these for my children and relatives. They look very nice and the kids think they are great. One drawback is that the wings and fins get knocked off fairly easily, particularly the side wings on the back (stabilizers?). The main wings fall off at least once a day through normal play. The wings also are not very easy for a child to put back on themselves since they sweep backward and tend to move as pressure is applied. The missiles also fall off too. I will quote my 4 year old son: "aaaaah, daddy, the missiles won't stay on even though I keep putting them on!!!!!" I was able to fix this a little bit by putting a piece of tape over each missle peg and then pressing the missile into place. They stay longer now. As soon as I can figure out which type of glue won't damage the plastic, I'm going to glue all the wings and fins into place. The age rating says 4+, but without glue I think it should really be 16+. The plane really displays well, so I think that it would be great for a collector. Well worth the money, but have the glue ready! edit--------- about a month later I glued the wings and fins into their slots with super glue and they stay fine now. The missiles seem to fall off less often also. My kids still have a lot of fun playing with them.

It's arguable about whether or not this thing is suitable for small children. I distinctly remember my parents talking me out of buying the original with my birthday money back in the day (and probably rightly so). This thing pretty big, comes in pieces, and has seriously like a few hundred stickers to apply (32 each of those little "No Step" bastards, which I totally remember from a friend who had one). If you don't remember the pain of sticker sheets on Christmas morning, you didn't grow up in the 80's. As a small kid it's one step away from just playing with an actual scale model of an F-14. That being said, I wanted one when I was little, now, for 30 bucks, I have one, case closed. If my 6 year old asks to play with it, I have a hard time saying no, remembering how cool it was back then.