G.I. Joe Star Brigade Starfighter (1993) Review
By: Karl Stern (@dragonkingkarl, @wiwcool, karl@whenitwascool.com)
The box as it arrived from amazon. there is some sort of ebay sticker on it and the box is dented but it came amazon prime from a third party seller.
This is another gift from my wife to add to my classic era G.I. Joe collection. This is one of the later vehicles and figures I own as the G.I. Joe Star Brigade Starfighter was released in 1993. This ship was released after G.I. Joe had already began it's fall from being one of the top toylines of the previous ten year period. Weirdly enough, I did not find this boxed Starfighter on eBay but on Amazon of all places with several left in stock and at a reasonable price. My wife snapped it up for a gift.
This later day version of sci-fi is much plainer than the original version but still pretty interesting. he comes with a totally different gun than pictured on the box.
I thought it was still going to be new and sealed in the box but I was only partially right. The ship arrived with the outside shrink wrap gone and some random stickers stuck on the box and the box was heavily dented in. That's no big deal to me as it isn't like the Star Brigade Starfighter is some ultra-rare investment toy. All the parts were still inside and the ship had never been assembled and the Sci-Fi figure was still sealed in a plastic bag.
Be back of the box is detailed and shows the working missile launcher and file card.
The ship was simple enough to put together. It took less than ten minutes from package to finished including placing the stickers on the craft. The two halves of the ship don't fit perfectly together toward the front. I assume this is because the plastic has warped slightly over the last twenty-three years but it's not enough to be a big deal.
The contents of the box. The missiles had already been broken off their holder but everything else was untouched.
Sci-Fi is much plainer than he appears on the box art and then gun is totally different. the helmet also doesn't fit snug.
The ship is small and a pretty basic little aircraft. The Sci-Fi figure is also a simple figure in color and style especially compared to the first version of Sci-Fi with his striking green and silver paint scheme. I do like the removable helmet but it doesn't really fit down onto his head very well. By this point in the G.I. Joe line they were in free fall and the toys, in general, had declined, opting way more for gimmicks like Star Brigade and Eco Warriors than in military styling and character design.
G.I. Joe Star Brigade Starfighter front view
The finished G.I. Joe Star Brigade StarFighter ASSEMBLED and stickered.
In the end, however, I was pretty pleased with the outcome. I was already an adult by the time this ship came out so I don't have any nostalgic childhood bonds to this toy but it is cool to have something new from the later part of the G.I. Joe line-up which my collection really lacks.
