Dragonfly XH-1

This is not the Dragonfly XH-1. No no, this is the year 2k's 'Locust XH-1'. Practically the same vehicle but with a slightly inferior plastic quality and a tan plastic colour that looks a little too close to flesh for my liking. Wanna see what I mean? I love the Dragonfly, and it sees a lot of use (possibly as much as my Tomahawk, since they are normally deployed together) but my 1983 version is a little beat up. I had also never been in possession of a nose gun that elevated as I had the fixed, swivel-only variation. So when the opportunity to own a mint in box 'Dragonfly' for only $20, I bit. Straight out of the box, I sprayed it with a light grey primer. Figured grey would be the way to go for a chopper destined to operate off the deck of the USS Flagg. I was doing bloody well too - successfully masking certain areas I didn't want grey-ed, no fingerprints of clumping, clean work. Then I got it in my head to spray the molded canopy frame. I thought my masking skills were up to the challenge, exposing only the frame and masking the clear bits... I was wrong. But to add salt to the wound, fool child, I thought turpentine would be able to remove the paint.

If it were this colour,I might not have needed to paint it. The prototype seems a bit darker. Pity, it would have fit better with the Tomahawk if the release was the same.

No dice. Not only is mineral turpentine useless at removing Dulux primer, it is very efficient at melting plastic, something I should have remembered from my model-building days. Within moments, a crystal clear canopy had been reduced to a cloudy mess.

Determined to save my 'new' canopy, I was directed to a number of guides on how to sand, buff and polish clear plastic in order to remove scratches and starring and restore its clarity. This involves sanding the canopy with incrementally less gritty sandpaper until you are essentially buffing it. Then you go on to use Brasso (?) and/or toothpaste (??) to get the shine back. Crazy. I sanded that thing for two days straight and presented it in my then severely calloused hands to my buddy Paul who proceeded to declare it a write off. Shit.

But you know what? That just gave me the idea to paint over my fuckup and make this Dragonfly a remote drone attack helo. And I think it looks pretty spiffy. Thanks to Paul's airbrush wizardry, this Dragonfly drone looks very tough indeed. I don't even want to decal it. Nice!

Tales of woe and triumph aside, the Dragonfly must be securely within my top 5 G.I. Joe vehicles of all time. I think I'm a sucker for helos tho. The Tomahawk also has a place in my top 5. I can't decide which is ranks higher. While I love the huge play possibility of the Tomahawk, being both a gunship and a troop transport, the fun of cranking the Dragonfly rotor mechanism is pretty hard to beat. The smoothness of the mechanism and the weight and balance of the blades make for a very realistic rotation, even when you've stopped cranking. I get such a kick out of simulated take-offs and landings, and I dare say I am very proficient in performing them.

She is a light attack chopper, small but devastatingly well armed and crammed with features. Six missiles of anti-armor, structure or anti-personnel use; a cannon mounted portside and a chin gun housing both a chain gun and a grenade launcher. While I choose to ignore it, there is a sculpted detail resembling a gun barrel on the portside nose.

Those sweet guns swivel AND elevate. Wished my vintage could do that. But then where would the gunner's legs go? The non-elevating versions are naturally hollow and I jam the figure's legs into the cavity. Good thing it's a drone! And also pictured is the bizarre extra nosegun. Does the barrel poke into the already cramped cockpit? It's like the Skyhawk... 

As already mentioned, a button spins the blades, very efficiently. Well they do on my original Dragonfly. This 2000 version's mechanism broke on the first day out the box. Sliding the button forward does rotate the blades but the button doesn't return. Very frustrating, made more so by the fact that the mold halves are glued in place and I have no desire to risk separating them. Rounding off the features, the cockpit holds two (when she's not a drone!), and the engine covers are removable. So clever, unnecessary but such vanilla. A mark of a design company that want kids to be able to play the hell out of this toy, and sadly a notion we are unlikely to see again.

Came with this guy. Rehashed Battle Corps Wild Bill.  That's why he stays in the box. Though I must say the colouring trumps the Battle Corps Bill. And he doesn't come with a gun that looks like a log. But I'm spoilt for choice these days. Nothing beats V1 Billy!

 Lastly, there is a winch with a great deal of lead. You spool it out and reel it in manually. I love this feature, and it adds a utility aspect to the Dragonfly and it was used in Marvel comics on more than one occasion. notably in issue 18 where it airlifted a Vamp and five persons out of a pretty hairy situation. Pretty tough bird, isn't she?!

Ya done good Paul, very good. Notice the subtle shading? The weathering? Beaut!

Why does it make the top 5, you may ask? Get one. See what you think. The real-world element is hard to miss, the olive green Dragonfly evokes the Vietnam War era so well, and also works well with all of the initial Joe vehicles being that great, dark hue of green. My grey Dragonfly is a shot at the Huey SuperCobra, still very much in active use by the US Marine Corps. BBI do a pretty nice Cobra, yet it is accurately scaled and HUUGE. The Dragonfly's underscaling is a plus in my book (yeah I'm probably just trying to hard to justify myself). It is small enough to handle and enjoy, it still holds two figures (mind you, not all modern era Joes will fit), and it will still be able to fly through a doorway. But seriously, get one, and let me know what you think. She's a goody.