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12-04-2017, 10:48 PM | #1 |
Soldier of Misfortune
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Out of direct sunlight
Posts: 4,027
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By now, some of you have probably seen pics of this little beauty (or a variant of it) elsewhere on Hisstank or on Facebook, if not in person:
For those unfamiliar, this little sci-fi jet fighter set is available at Dollar General for $15. It has light and sound functionality, and includes 2 figures and various accessories. It's distributed by a company called Dolgencorp (Dollar General Corp). You can also find a white variant branded "Space Commander": An identical variant of the white jet, in more generic packaging, can be found at Family Dollar (image credit to Capt OG ReadMo). The figures in this set are a different color, but these same figures have also been spotted in sets sold at Dollar General as well. The main difference between the green and white versions--besides the figure colors--is that the green version includes additional weapon/ordnance options for the jet, whereas the white version includes a jet pack for the figures. The sets are otherwise identical. The green version is what I've purchased, so that's what I'll be covering. What's in the boooox? I'll cover the accessories in more detail later, but here's a quick rundown of the box contents:
The front missiles and nose gun are permanently attached and are not "accessories". First off, as you can probably tell, it's a pretty good-sized jet. Here's a size comparison of the Defender versus a couple of Joe fighters--the Skystriker and the Firebat. It's almost exactly halfway between the two: Not bad at all for an inexpensive vehicle. It also holds its own well in terms of form factor and detail. (Note that the camera flash reveals many small flaws and scratches that are not readily visible when viewing the jet in-hand.) The decals are simple, but not unattractive. The body cuts an interesting profile, though the small height does hamper the cockpit space a bit (I'll cover that more later). And yes, the landing gear are functional, thankfully. Here's the gear folded up. A front shot of the jet. Note that the missile racks on the front are attached via screws and washers, and aren't removable; they also don't seem to be designed to pivot. They are purely decorative and don't function. The nose gun is also stationary. There's some nice black paint apps around the intake, though the spotlessly clean decal placed atop the paint app deflates the effect a bit. Here are the buttons that control the light/sound functionality. The front button controls the machine gun; the rear controls the engine. Note that a bit of the wiring for the mechanism is visible behind the hinge for the rear cockpit, which is admittedly a bit sloppy, but still tucked far enough out the way that they should remain fairly safe during normal play. The associated lights are located in the middle of the exhaust turbines: And the speaker is located on the underside, along with the battery cover. (Note that the jet uses button-cell batteries, rather than AA or AAA batteries.) The D-shaped socket directly in front of the battery cover is used for the various ordnance items. The actual light/sound functionality is, not surprisingly for a cheap toy, not especially impressive. The machine gun sound loops as long as the button is held, but the sound cuts off the moment the button is released. The engine sound plays one full loop every time the button is pressed, and cannot be interrupted--even if you press the machine gun sound button, it will just play over the engine sound, and the engine will resume once the machine gun cuts off. On the plus side, the rear lights pulse more and more quickly as the engine winds up, and more and more slowly as it winds down. Here's a basic demo of the lights and sounds: All things taken and considered, it's not bad, but not a selling point for an adult collector. I alluded to the cockpits earlier...how are they? Well, the front cockpit is not super-large, but it's pretty accommodating. Nearly any reasonably normal figure will fit inside. You may not be able to fit especially broad figures (like Gunner 'O Grady here)... ...but if a guy like Big Lob can fit, then nearly any figure you probably want to use should work too. The rear cockpit is a little more problematic, mostly due to the narrow opening. The overall capacity is acceptable, but it is not wide at all. Relatively petite figures like this TIE Pilot fit the best... ...but average-sized figures (like this Marauder figure) will also fit, provided you can bend the arms inwards and fold the knees a bit. Note that figures (particularly in the rear cockpit) will be in a heavily reclined position. The rear canopy also doesn't fold upwards quite as high as I would like, given how flat the figure needs to be to sit inside. (It's easier to insert a figure if you unhinge or detach the canopy first.) The cockpit interiors are separate pieces from the rest of the fuselage, so if you're really serious, you can always try to disassemble the jet and remove the cockpit interiors to get a bit more space. The two small missile racks attach to the tips of the wings. They go on easily and stay on securely, but are easy to remove if you want to. Not too fancy, but they look fine. And then you have the ordnance options for the underside of the jet. Note that you only get all 5 with the green variant. The silver missile (which is also included with the white variant of the jet) is probably my favorite: The bombs don't impress me as much, but the silver one is alright. Not sure why you get 2 of the yellow ones, but hey--smoke 'em if you got 'em. The large Gatling gun is unfortunately kind of useless...not only is the plug a bit too loose to remain securely attached to the socket, but it is positioned in such a way as to shoot directly into the front landing gear and nose gun. Oops! I plan on improvising a mount system to use it as a land-based emplacement gun of some sort. So, how about the included figures? As you can see, whoever designed them has totally never heard of Halo, you guys. Also, not only are the heads a little big, but the sculpt details are fairly minimal, and there isn't much paint work. That said, although the detail level is spartan (I'll show myself out, folks!), the build quality is pretty good. The molds are extremely clean, and the paint apps are solid enough. The limbs are made out of rubbery plastic, but the torso is sturdy. They may look a bit cheap, but they don't really feel flimsy. There isn't quite enough clearance around the crotch for the legs to fold forward without resistance, but the soft plastic means the hips shouldn't break or wear out. The posture is terrible, however. Due to the extreme ankle bend, you've got to bend the torso back quite a bit to compensate--even more so if they're holding accessories. They will balance, but they will look a bit ridiculous. There's also no footpeg holes in the feet, so you can't use a stand. The figures are also a little on the small side of the modern spectrum: Interestingly, despite their small size, they're held together like a Chap Mei figure, with two Philips screws in the upper and lower back. This makes them easy to disassemble and kitbash. (Note that the neck socket is compatible with many Chap Mei figures, although the neck itself is very short.) The two guns included with the figures are a little big, but not too bad, compared to what we've seen from other brands, or even ARAH figures. There's also a sprue of cloned Chap Mei accessories. These feel like a bit of an afterthought, and a bit out-of-place. Not only is the material quality a bit shittier than what actual Chap Mei accessories use, but the large guns are kind of ridiculous-looking on figures of this size and style. The backpack doesn't even fit, since the screw hole isn't quite wide enough for the plug. Not that it's a great loss...it wouldn't look very good anyways due to the contour of the armor. The rest of the accessories fare somewhat better. Anyways, I think that about sums everything up! Long story short, I think this thing is great for the $15, even if it has a few caveats. The low cost shows through in places, but the fundamentals are very solid. The styling makes it versatile enough to use with multiple different brands. I'm having lots of fun playing around with it--probably too much fun given the size of this review--and am glad I sprung the $15 for it, even if it's not "perfect" out-of-the box. I'd give it a recommend, regardless of whether you plan to modify it or not. Questions? Want more details? Let me know in the comments!
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"Wazard" with an "A" Currently trying to sell off a ton of my Joe collection, across all eras, and some other odds and ends. Please take a look! B/S/T B/S/T Feedback My 3D-printed battlefield props and dio accessories thread (mostly on hiatus) Photo albums on Flickr: Battlefield/Diorama/Scenery Accessories Weapons Restoration & mod parts "WHY is HissTank?" Last edited by MagicWazard; 12-05-2017 at 06:16 AM.. |
12-04-2017, 11:14 PM | #2 |
Yee Ha!
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 1,273
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Very thorough review, Nice jog Magic!
Dolgencorp is pretty much Dollar General. It's on the labels of pretty much any of their store brand stuff.
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12-04-2017, 11:19 PM | #3 |
Soldier of Misfortune
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Out of direct sunlight
Posts: 4,027
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Ah, I get it. Dollar General Corp. Does the model you got from Family Dollar have the same branding on the jet or package?
__________________
"Wazard" with an "A" Currently trying to sell off a ton of my Joe collection, across all eras, and some other odds and ends. Please take a look! B/S/T B/S/T Feedback My 3D-printed battlefield props and dio accessories thread (mostly on hiatus) Photo albums on Flickr: Battlefield/Diorama/Scenery Accessories Weapons Restoration & mod parts "WHY is HissTank?" |
12-04-2017, 11:31 PM | #4 |
Yee Ha!
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 1,273
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I didn't get the Family Dollar one because I'd gotten the same white version at DG the week before. As far as the box of the one I got DG, I'm pretty sure it's the same Space Commander package you showed. However, I did unwrap one end(Xmas present) last night and looked at the figures you'd asked about before and they are orange jumpsuit version too and not the white.
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12-05-2017, 12:13 AM | #5 |
B and H Comics
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 2,579
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Saw these and thought a few of them might scale pretty great with the FLAGG. Some Skystriker stickers to Joe them up and some different middles and you have a pretty cool jet to go with the Joes or Cobra.
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12-05-2017, 03:16 AM | #6 |
Soldier of Misfortune
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Out of direct sunlight
Posts: 4,027
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Quote:
I didn't get the Family Dollar one because I'd gotten the same white version at DG the week before. As far as the box of the one I got DG, I'm pretty sure it's the same Space Commander package you showed. However, I did unwrap one end(Xmas present) last night and looked at the figures you'd asked about before and they are orange jumpsuit version too and not the white.
__________________
"Wazard" with an "A" Currently trying to sell off a ton of my Joe collection, across all eras, and some other odds and ends. Please take a look! B/S/T B/S/T Feedback My 3D-printed battlefield props and dio accessories thread (mostly on hiatus) Photo albums on Flickr: Battlefield/Diorama/Scenery Accessories Weapons Restoration & mod parts "WHY is HissTank?" |
12-05-2017, 11:36 AM | #7 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Iowa
Posts: 4,255
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Interesting. This jet's was released in different colors years ago, and is kind of a bootleg of the Sigma Six Firebat.
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12-05-2017, 11:59 AM | #8 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Houston
Posts: 2,449
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That's actually pretty nice, reminds me of the Adventure People jet I used to love as a kid (blue with a white pilot I think, I used to use it as a Cobra jet). I might try to find the spaceship for the kid for Christmas, he's just entering action figure age but I don't want to get him stuff too pricey yet.
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12-05-2017, 12:02 PM | #9 |
SurveillancePort.com
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: M.A.R.S. EVERGLADES ARMORY
Posts: 21,464
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Wow, may get this and make a new Firebat. Thanks for the review, Itch!
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12-05-2017, 12:04 PM | #10 |
Tiger Force member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Here with my boy , Jacob , and Mama:)
Posts: 5,374
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Very cool review! Thanks for putting it up!
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