It is with a great sense of joy and "fulfillment" that we present here today the "Rise Of Cobra" movie Night Raven (box) variation, the "Nightbird" with its pilot, "Aero-Viper", also a variation from the US market "Air-Viper".

I still can´t believe this "baby" landed here. I still remember our search in France for this particular item. We were hitting the stores there last summer for it was announced "released" in a couple of retailers. For our misery, that release had been postponed for 15 days. And we were leaving in the very next. Well, "good things come to those who wait" and while searching for more Chap Mei "novelties", this "little bird" was sitting there. And once again, an angel told me that wouldn´t leave my grip and would soon be sitting in the midst of Cobra legions in a base far from there.

There is no (present) need of a detailed review, since we all know where to go for that one. This is a box variation, so the airplane itself is exactly the same as in the original 2009 "Raven" box. However, I must add a couple of details:
- Number 1, the Raven (Night or Sky) was one of my very favorite "G.I.Joe Universe" airplanes EVER. I remember the day I purchased the Sky Patrol version, and the day I got a mint loose Night Raven. To this day, I still consider those 2 to be a major PLUS in ANY collection.
- Number 2, this was also (and I believe based on the previous point) my favorite moment from the 2009 movie. The XXI century adaptation was flawless, certainly on of the definite "bull´s eye" moments of this movie. I had mentioned it when I wrote a movie review for a local newspaper(Please refer to
Back from France with "Rise Of Cobra" in our bag post for the whole movie review). For those main reasons, I must say this was the item that could certainly NOT get away. And it didn´t. And it´s here.
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It's a great vehicle homage to the original.
ReplyDeleteThat thing was not an homage to the original, it was a huge cheap and very offensive failure. To put it back in the box, you have to separate the two main pieces without breaking them. The wheels do not turn (huge failure). The sounds buttons are not the same color as the top part of the plane. And the trigger button was molded in red. Did Hasbro thought that kids would not be able to see the trigger if it was the same color as the rest of the handle? They should have just re-issued the original Night Raven, and called the pilots by their real name, Strato-Vipers. Actually, for that movie, Hasbro should have just re-issued all the best old vehicles from the 1980's and 90's (including the U.S.S. Flagg), with just three new G.I.Joe and three new Cobra vehicles. That would have been better. -James
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, James. I´m a ARAH fan myself. Also, I understand ToneGuns view and comment. I´d say European´s version with a new name for both plane and pilot would be a better option in the sense it would feel like a "Raven" based design, but NOT a remake of the ´86 original. as you can see in a post I wrote for the portuguese GIJOE blog - http://gijoeportugal.blogspot.com/2011/08/acelera.html - the differences are too many to compare or even call them the same name! Thanks for the comments, guys! YoJoe
ReplyDeleteAlso, the way I found to put it back into the box was to unscrew the 8 (I believe) screws and assemble it back.
ReplyDelete