AWE Striker

I passed this toy up for a very long time.

The reasons, if I can recount them and marvel at their absurdity were the following:

1. It looked like a little toy buggy;
2.  It only held a driver and single passenger; 
3. It had one gun and not a great deal of features.

Allow me to obliterate these points one by one. Firstly, to say it looked like a little toy buggy is to level criticism at one of it's greatest advantages. It is small, powerful and compact. And in the final analysis, perfectly scaled. It's not suffering from the oversizing that one could argue the Ferret does, being a quad bike with similar dimensions to a VW Beetle. Don't get me started on that other stalwart of Honey I Blew Up The Toy, the Deadnok Cycle. It'll devastate ya.

The AWE Striker scales well with other Joe vehicles of the time and occupies a vital niche as a very light two-man all terrain vehicle. You could jam four of these comfortably into a C-130. Even a Chinook or Osprey could deploy them. And thanks to Chap Mei, we have such toys.

Point #2 is a bit trite. But a fair argument. When you're in the market for a jeep, you want to be able to transport four figures at the least, right? For a long time that is why I always vetoed the AWE Striker in favour of something like the Desert Fox 6WD. Well guess what, if you are in a bind and need to ferry a four man squad in or out of a combat zone, the AWE Striker still delivers. Broad side sills with footpegs offer room for troops and gear.

 Hell, they can even have a seat on the mudguards and hang onto the antenna mounts for dear life. Granted, the Striker is gonna start looking a little crowded, but it's all part of it's very utilitarian design, and I like the look of a laden AWE Striker.

Number three is the most ignorant of all the dismissals of this beauty. For its size, the sheer number of design elements is staggering. Working from front to back,

Clear plastic lights. Gorgeous touch there, and one that didn't stick around much passed 1985. A hallmark of that year's toys like the Snowcat, Silver Mirage and Moray.

Real working front suspension and turning front wheels. Both function supremely well, and without springs. They are robust functions and look and feel like the real thing. Already this is shaping up to be a beautifully designed and intricate toy folks.

Highly detailed crew section. The steering wheel has the look of an aircraft yoke. Or Kitt. But it doesn't turn. Wouldn't be able to with a figure's legs in the way anyway.

 

The gun cam offers a plausible way to control the top mounted recoilless cannon.

The VAMP's turrets were always a head scratcher and the comic inconsistently placed a gunner behind it sometimes; other times not. Here we see a successful attempt to explain remote control of a turret - the crewman lines a target up with the camera, hits that 'fire' button, the target 'goes away'. The fact that they design incorporates the infamous black hose to link the camera and gun is pure vanilla.

Rear suspension. While slightly less successful than the front, it's a welcome inclusion. It's not quite as springy as there is more weight at the rear of the vehicle, so I feel some extra friction is needed to raise the chassis up a bit more and beat the sag. The removable engine cover is a Joe standard at this point in the line. 

What is not standard however is the completely removable engine. Brilliant.

 And if you thought that was cool and clever, only two years later we received a mobile workshop diorama complete with spare engine.

Now that's some impressive synergy.

Because of the added loop for Greased Lightnin' crane action, you can't snap the cover in place. Meh. 

I love so much about this vehicle. There is so much to love. The forethought and attention to detail that has been focussed into this diminutive piece of toy perfection never ceases to amaze me. There is even joy in the mundane. The wheels are two-piece with green hubs and dark grey tyres. That's pretty standard up to 1985. But unlike the VAMP or APC, the Striker's tyres aren't hollow. And get this, since they're not molded onto squeaky metal axles, you can remove and interchange them. The perfect toy? Quite possibly.

Crankcase is another gem. An infinitely better figure to Clutch in molding and paint apps (FANTASTIC gold Eagle belt buckle, and silver Pegasus design on his sleeve). He will sadly always occupy a place in obscurity. Hence no picture. I'm spiteful like that. And so is Clutch. Clutch will never relinquish his spot as the Joe's most memorable wheelman;

and also Crankcase is dead.

But he's a pretty sexy looking corpse of a figure, let me just say.

And his rifle is possibly one of my favourite vintage weapons. And they gave it to a vehicle driver?! That's how cool GI Joe was in 1985.  Look how sexily it fits into the basket on the side:

Crankcase can totally wield that big old battle rifle left handed if he wants to. Because he's hard.

And dead.