Hasbro make the best figures. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, even their less celebrated entries into the GI Joe toyline are more commendable than the figures produced by their rivals, or even the figures produced by Hasbro for their Marvel and other properties. The new vein of vehicles have been pretty jazzy too, with some new concepts mixing in with re-decos of old molds and some great new blood too. The new VAMP and HISS are solid vehicles. The Ghost Hawk II, not so much. But gone are the days of the big vehicles. The kind of largess we were accustomed to in the 80's and early 90's is long gone. And even then, every large vehicle was some kind of event. What I mean is, plastic and molding would go into a very specialized large item. A General, a Rolling Thunder, an MCC. Each year had them and they were always hi-lights the more spoiled kids among us got hands on. There was never anything as pedestrian as a large transport plane or chopper. And while we can't argue with the economics of making your big ticket items really pop, it always left big holes in GI Joe and Cobra's operation.
The comics were first to fill these holes by including non-toy vehicles into the Joe and Cobra arsenal. Planes (typically the C-130 Hercules), ships (the 'Jane'), choppers (that fantastic purple Cobra re-imagining of the Sikorsky Skycrane) filled the necessary logistical demands of the forces. But we were fated to never be able to work these into our gametime. We had no tangible versions to cram with Joes on their way to their missions in the far-flung corners of the globe. The door was wide open for one of the competitors to fill this gap. It only took 18 years.
In the early 2000's a Hong Kong based company called Chap Mei produced this.
And this.
And most recently this.
And I was sated. They are not without fault. They are of course 'generic' toys (it seems I use that term to encompass toys that give you more for less, as such it's not meant as a dirty word). The cockpits are vast and lacking controls and glass. The proportions can seem a little dumpy and downscaled. But I am overjoyed to have them. These toys see more action that a great deal of legit Joe vehicles in my possession. They fill a vital role and fill it well. So how do they each break down?
The 'Chinook' is vast. Possessing the biggest interior space, you can drive a VAMP up the gate and into the belly, and still have room for a pair of paratroopers. Functioning side door and winch that ingeniously winds itself back in. The Tomahawk begins to pale in comparison as a transport chopper.
The Chinook has some easily ignored sound and light features. And for offense a port side-mounted cannon. Boom. Boom. Boom.
Why did I paint it black? Because I missed the initial military camo iteration of this toy. I missed the dark blue police version. The red rescue version. I only jumped on the Chap Mei train when this was released in their 'Wild Quest' series. It came with a gorilla in a cage. The gorilla has a chest-beating feature. So much of fun. But the chopper was rendered in a lumo green a la the Badger. It had to go. I think I used enamel wall paint that was lying around so don't scrutinize the job too much. But hey, I was a young teen and didn't give no fuck.
Moving right along then to the Osprey. To date, released only once by Chap Mei in about 2004 if memory serves. It's pretty sought after. I should have bought them up and scalped. Not!
Once again it has mandatory arb sound and light features. I think the one button unleashed a flurry of machine gun fire, the other button a police siren. Odd. So I gutted them and maximized on interior space, because them batteries have got to go somewhere. Since it has no side door, the battery door must of necessity be made functional.
The sculpting suggests it to get out your damn screwdriver and make it so!
Easy conversion to dorsal gunner port if you want to risk your Osprey in a close air support role. Hey, the Joes have to be ready for anything right? It is a little shorter than the true V-22 dimensions and will hold fewer troops or equipment. A pair of ATVs are the best I can do, or the equivalent number of troops. The interior is also unsculpted, which is a sad departure from the great texturing they gave the Chinook interior. It mounted a cannon in much the same way the Chinook does, but I chucked that in favour of keeping her sleek.
As a carrier-based plane, it really functions well. And fits (un) surprisingly well with GI Joe's dumpiest and disproportionate playset, the USS Flagg. It's why I sprayed the Osprey grey. But look how compact it can get with its realistic folding wing. Tiffany Valentine wants to get in on the action...
As for the transport plane? I never can remember the designation they gave it and I threw away the box the second I had taken all the bits out. This happened at a MacDonalds as curious children surrounded me. So it's called 'transport plane' as far as I care. It surprisingly has the smallest capacity. It does however have the best proportions so it is clearly just a victim of simply not being big enough. You can't drive anything up the ramp, even if it does have the hull space enough to hold a VAMP. But it is a meaty toy and one that I have had more fun than I initially expected simulating take-offs and landings. Its nice to play with a non-jet I realise. There's just something about a big rugged turboprop plane that makes it more adaptable to landing on less than perfect runways and there are plenty of those surrounding where I live.
The plane does mark a shift in Chap Mei's vehicle design however. There are more bells and whistles allowing for better interior play. With the Chinook and Osprey, the interior is a cavern with no access. With the plane, the flip of a lever allows the wings and roof to be detached from the belly of the craft to reveal seating and a removable navigator/radioman station. Curiously the panel has no way of attaching so it will tumble if you put the plane through some acrobatics. There are even rifle racks, something I always praise. Bombs and additional guns can be mounted on the wings and even a row of dorsal guns to poke out of the portholes! And a table. With a map decal. A welcome inclusion, but I think more fitting back at base than on board. If I cared to play with the included Chap Mei action figures, I would laud the new knee and elbow joints. But I don't and I don't.
There is an opening side door and back gate and the standard sound and light B.S. It's a bit more invasive on the plane as there are two light up cannons on either side of the fuselage. In opaque orange. Begging to be painted.
And the lever allows one to do this! Fun!
These vehicles throw me into a bit of a quandary. Okay, because it's carrier-friendly, the Osprey defaults to being a Joe plane. But the chopper and plane? I can hardly decide. I guess they are too standard military to be Cobra... but maybe I like my Cobra operatives to use more conventional military equipment than the flashy, freaky, fang fiascoes? Perhaps because their faction is not printed on the box means both can use them ad infinitum. And that just means I get to play with them twice as much. Awesome.
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| Something strange strikes me about the plane. It is clearly too small for four engines. The propeller arcs mesh, and paratroopers deploying from the side door would most certainly receive a close shave. But I do like that with four engines, it emulates the configuration of the Herky Bird. |
I fit a tree in the Chinook. Now you know it's beeeeg, Very beeeeeg. And you can see the original colour peeking out. Great job, Steve.
I would like to buy the chap mei osprey
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