Skystorm X-Wing Chopper

This article is dedicated to an odd person called Icebreaker who I do not know. I read his blog. It is equally as odd as mine. But where I ask for comment and have provided the appropriate box for ya'll, he makes a habit of asking for his readers thoughts but has no comment box, provided email address - nothing, zilch, nada, niks. So when he asked the internet denizens whether he should add a Skystorm to his collection, our pleas were never heard. You fool! Well read on, Icebreaker. This one's for you.

Joe attack helos 1983-1988 and beyond. Clear evolution from evoking Vietnam, to a splash of creative license, to complete science-fiction. If there is one design gripe I have with the Skystorm, it's that I wished the guns were more flush with the fuselage. 

The Skystorm X-Wing Chopper is a personal favorite of mine. Of course it's been elevated by having a cool story attached to it. I couldn't afford it on my pocket money back in the day, in spite of the fact that it wasn't a rarity. Okay, if I saved up, it could have been mine. But who was gonna save their bucks when there were so many Joes to buy? That and the fact that as a child I couldn't get my head around the extending blade thing. So I passed it up. Flash forward 10 years and I find it at a beach flea market. Guess how much it cost?

R50! MISB. I shit you not friends.

I must admit at the time it felt like the find of the decade. It quite possibly was. I frantically opened it up in the company of my bud Alastair, assembled her and applied the decals. Marveled at the loud colours the accompanying pilot rocked. And the fantastic size of his included revolver. It became Rob's weapon of choice, with Al and I jokingly calling it the elephant gun or 'boom-boom' gun. Windmill, the pilot got far less use. I recall my mainstay hero figure, Shockwave was at the controls of the Skystorm. SWAT operative you say? No way, Shockwave could fly/drive/do anything. And did. Regularly.

Captain Edward J. Roth. I always thought that was a cool name. And that name plus a gun like that stops anyone from questioning his choice of wardrobe.

This vehicle was a whole lot of fun. It could lift off, hover and maneuver like a chopper but - and I quote Windmill's filecard, '[it] clocks at 345 mph in its stopped rotor mode and can carry a bigger payload than a Dragonfly'. I guess since it's on the filecard, it's canon. To the casual observer the Dragonfly and Skystorm are on par re: payload. Six pieces of ordinance each. But the Skystorm's two air-to-ground anti-tank missiles are larger than any of the Dragonfly's weapons. Dragonfly has more gun and cannon but I imagine the Dragonfly to be more of an endurance air support provider, able to loiter in an area for a while pouring on the pain; whereas the Skystorm's role is to get in, deliver its payload and get out. The fact that the Skystorm has two guns is really just for show. This is G.I. Joe, kids. Too much is never too much. And I'm glad they did it, nothing's more fun than a good ol' strafing run.

Comparison between the Skystorm's payload (left) and the Dragonfly's (right).

Another element of supreme fun is that the Skystorm is allegedly a stealth helo. '88 was the year stealth became a G.I. Joe priority. I guess they were sick of losing to the Cobra Night Raven, so they started operating the Phantom X-19. And to take care of them pesky Mambas, Fangs and Rattlers, the Skystorm X-Wing project got green-lighted. You doubt its stealthiness? Check this panel from G.I. Joe #119.

This appearance enhances the Skystorm in two ways and I dare say they are the two things that I wish reflected in the toy. The overall size is increased, allowing Windmill to sit more upright in the cockpit; and the blades are fully extended when the knob is down. On the toy, the knob is raised when the blades are extended and flush when the blades are retracted. Nothing is perfect, right?

That issue wasn't even written by Larry Hama. It and #9 (also not a Hama) are two of my favourite G.I. Joe issues. Does that make me a blasphemer? In the issue Windmill is tasked to track a Cobra seaplane to their secret island base without being detected. Sadly it happened between the pages -  could have enjoyed a bit more of the issue detailing his mission. But the issue was killer nevertheless. But for the Skystorm to fly after a big cargo plane, it must have pretty outrageous range too. I can dig it. I mean, if you can accept the Sky Hawk or Tubble Bubble have more than ten minutes of flying time, anything is possible.

Engine detail. I never can get enough of it. While I agree it could do with a splash of paint, I do love the minty minty whiteness. And don't knock it. That is one super economical hi-tech engine, friends.

So what can't the Skystorm do? It can engage infantry with guns, structures and armor with missles, aircraft with missiles, it is a perfect stealth infiltrator able to approach quickly and then observe in chopper mode for what seems like a good long while. I absolutely love it and have a blast playing with it. I think it's the speed. I love the idea of a chopper, but sometimes I just need to kick it up a gear. The Skystorm delivers the kick.

VOOOOOOOSH!

And if you think the stopped-rotor concept is sillyness, I give you:

Yes friends, this could have existed. For whatever reason, it didn't. Personally I would be very interested to see the conversion from helo to stopped-rotor mode and back again. Thanks to Icebreaker for uncovering this pics. But I hope you return the thanks when you get your hands on a Skystorm and realise how much she rocks.

Comparison between the extended and retracted blades. Not much of a difference. To be honest, I could do without this feature, and I typically ignore it. But it's a toy! It needs a fun feature! The tradeoff is that the blades bend as they get pulled into the housing, making them either saggy or broken. Take care! Leave them extended, or modify your Skystorm. If I had the guts, I'd crack mine open and detach the blades from the shaft so that they can be extended with the knob down and flush. Maybe if I pick up another. Come on Hasbro! Re-release this!