Art Design: The Forward Air Controller is featured in a window box which allows prospective buyers to push the radio button and hear some of the messages that can be sent from the front line. The back of the box has another excellent illustration of soldiers in action. While these realistic paintings are nice, perhaps the old photos of kids setting up a diorama would be nice now and then!
Figure & headsculpt: a Classic Collection figure with Gung-Ho hands and a red-hair pinhead sculpt.
Outfit: a modern Operation Iraq style desert camouflage outfit with a web-belt, knee-pads, helmet, and the best boots that GI Joe has ever done. The detail and exact paint-ops on these boots is stunning. They are as nice as anything Dragon or Blue Box has done. If GI Joe issued these kind of boots more often, a lot of people would who choose Blue Box or Dragon might choose JOE! The fatigues are very well done too. Overall it is an excellent outfit.
The Gear: lots of interesting pieces are included with the Forward Air Controller. The backpack is another outstanding milestone for GI Joe. It has a full back support and hip pad, shoulder and hip straps too. The backpack has several pockets and is a cut above anything that GI Joe has issued in recent memory. The computerized scope & scanner sits on a large sturdy folding tripod and connects by a rubber cable to what looks like a battery box. The radio has a long audio wire that hooks up to the webbed headset that goes under the helmet. The headset looks like a wrestler's headgear, and is another new piece! The radio also has a handheld phone with a curly wiring that stretches just like a hand-held phone does. An antenna attaches to it, and the radio fits into the backpack, which is where the illustration indicates that it should be. All of the wires fit properly, and it is not hard to put the wires and parts together. Like most GI Joe items, it is sturdy and does not break or fall apart when it is being put together and then strapped onto the GI Joe figure. Nothing broke or snapped off, and that is a real plus when dealing with small 1:6 scale phones, wires, headsets, radios, etc.
Price and Availability: The MSRP is $29.99 and it is available at Toys R Us, Target, and online retailers. This set is well worth the price, but GI Joe needs to give the red-headed pinhead a rest for a while!
Grade: B+
