HCC788 - 1986 Cobra NIGHT RAVEN and STRATO-VIPER - vintage G. I. Joe toy review! S02E41

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Sources and Information:
Retroblasting videos:
G.I. Joe Night Raven Cobra Vehicle Restoration Part 3/3 - Hasbro 1986 ARAH:
• G.I. Joe Night Raven C...
G.I. Joe Cobra Night Raven Epilogue: Tail Spin:
• G.I. Joe Cobra Night R...
1990 S.A.W.-Viper (Cobra Heavy Machine Gunner) G.I. Joe review:
• 1990 S.A.W.-Viper (Cob...
Night Raven on YoJoe.com:
www.yojoe.com/v...
Night Raven on 3dJoes.com:
www.3djoes.com/...
Strato-Viper on YoJoe.com:
www.yojoe.com/a...
Strato-Viper on 3dJoes.com:
www.3djoes.com/...
Firefox (film):
en.wikipedia.o...)
Mikoyan MiG-31:
en.wikipedia.o...
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird:
en.wikipedia.o...
Lockheed D-21:
en.wikipedia.o...
Armstrong limit:
en.wikipedia.o...
Hypoxia (medical):
en.wikipedia.o...)
Hyperventilation:
en.wikipedia.o...
Air-Viper on YoJoe.com:
www.yojoe.com/a...
g-suit:
en.wikipedia.o...
Lockheed YF-12:
en.wikipedia.o...
Lockheed A-12:
en.wikipedia.o...
Strato-Viper on Halfbattle.com:
www.halfbattle....
G. I. Joe animated series images:
www.joetoonarch...
www.joetoonarch...
www.joetoonarch...
www.joetoonarch...
www.joetoonarch...
Cylon Rader image: "Top 75 spaceships in movies and TV part 4," Den of Geek,
www.denofgeek.u...
80's Commercials - Gi Joe Cobra Raven:
• 80's Commercials - Gi ...

[@Sithman1776]

The Raven was the crown jewel of my collection!

[@generalchang2217]

One of the best Hasbro Corbra aircraft ever made at this point.

[@stephenturner757]

One of the best aircraft of any toy line ever made!

[@christianhafer9819]

Maybe the best. It's fantastic.

[@hneugiii1245]

GI Joe was all about imagination and whatever you wanted to do. On that, both of my Night Ravens are fins in!

[@Zeoinx69]

Both? Both?! Clearly that means you have an extra you are CLEARLY wanting to send me! Obey Cobra! My Shelf needs a Nightraven!

[@b-retrogamer2324]

Blasphemy

[@ExUSSailor]

This was probably my favorite Cobra vehicle I owned as a kid.

[@randaleastwood6836]

Such a flashback! I got this toy in 1986 and even as a 6 year old kid I took great care of the nightraven and the box. It was just so beautiful. To bad when my brother inherited my joes, my mother threw it away to make room for his stupid teenage mutant ninja turtles and even more ridiculous power rangers. Somewhere in the landfill around my hometown deep in the trash lies a really nice nightraven with box. On a side note, my mom kept most of the figures long enough for me to appreciate them again and retain the strato viper.

[@Senbonzakura776]

I remember seeing the commercial for this and asking my parents for it. I still have mine, and still looks great...oh, and fins out

[@MartinKronstrom]

I got a Night Raven for Xmas in 1987. I loooved it! But too heavy/big for a 7 yo kid. So the tiny plane got used way much.

[@Tr0nzoid]

I didn't take the cockpit seat out to put people inside. I just dropped it and stuck the figures in. Because it would slide out, I taped it shut. This meant I kept the Strato-Viper and someone else I didn't really care about using stuck inside all the time.

[@machiwoomiapoo]

I remember watching Firefox and just waiting for the last part of the movie to see the airplane. Also, I enjoyed watching D.A.R.Y.L. when he stole the SR-71 Blackbird. This is one of my favorite Cobra toys. It reminded me of the time I was driving out to Mountain Home, Idaho, Air Force Base and I saw the exhaust from an airplane off in the distance. It was dusk, so I could tell it was an SR-71 Blackbird taking off when it went up. It's such an amazing plane. I played with this toy all the time, and I feel the landing gear was much better than the Skystriker's. Thanks for the wonderful review and memories. Take care, Sam from machiwoomiapoo channel. Please check out my synthesizer tunes if you get a chance. Yo Joe!

[@inmjoh]

Fins out fins in... you spent so much time on that, you didn't realize the missle pods on your Raven are on backwards lol

[@standepain]

I think the reason it probably wasn't armed with any forward facing weapons is it would have shot itself down just like the SR-71 wasn't armed since it traveled faster than any projectile.

[@patrickmckown5996]

I think those weapons are more defensive, since probably it's being chased more. It can outrun most Joe plane's. I'm not sure about the X-19 Phantom.

[@sovetskyskaiyastrigon1750]

The stabilization wings are called Canards

[@chrismayer3919]

I'm a fins out kinda girl! FINS OUT FOREVER!

[@HCC788]

I agree!

[@jamiesands3331]

The drone reminded me of the shuttles from the 80’s NBC series “V.”

[@billislois]

all planes have the fins out for better maneuvering and so is much more space for the drone to land easier on the raven

[@patrickmckown5996]

I'm surprised that you didn't compare the Night Raven with the X-19 Phantom.

[@TJ347]

As a high speed, high altitude bomber, the Night Raven has no need for forward facing weaponry. All weapons are supposed to be rear facing, to deal with pursuing aircraft or incoming missiles. Accordingly, the Skystriker is not it's equivalent in any way, as the Night Raven really isn't outfitted for dogfighting despite being used in that way in GI Joe media. As to the Strato-Viper... I seem to vaguely recall them being surgically equipped with a "shunt" to make them more resistant to whatever, but maybe that was another figure... Anyway, it's interesting that the role of the Night Raven is so misunderstood by collectors, yet the inward/outward fin placement is what they argue about. Curiouser and curiouser.

[@jfunk14]

G.I.Joe got a Skypatrol Raven in the late 80's early 90's.

[@mikaelschaefer7720]

This is still my favorite I was hoping haslab would have done this instead of the joes skystriker

[@TJ347]

The missile rack... It's actually a bomb bay, no?

[@JediDB]

I love my Night Raven with its fins IN. Lol. Great vid.

[@jakubbuszko3089]

Am saw the G.I. Joe " Sky Patrol Raven . " piloted by " Sky Dive " in 94 ...

[@Mlopez_602]

I had this up until I joined the ARMY in '94. Came back after basic training and everything was gone.

[@JoeMotionVideos82]

The nose reminds me of a snakes mouth, when it is closed.

[@mikaelschaefer7720]

Fins out on mine since the day I got it in the 80’s

[@Sammydx1]

Such a great play value. Plus that recon jet. Above and beyond for us

[@chrisnwi1209]

fins out, fins out !!!!!!! great review to a great toy from a great guy. which is great lol.

[@HCC788]

+Chris Michalec Great!

[@johnwinters3666]

Main craft is stealth penentrator subcraft is attack

[@dirus3142]

The strato viper complements the cobra eel figure well. They both have the same color scheme that makes the cobra specialist soldiers stand out.

[@heatherburger1666]

This was a Christmas gift from my parents. I really enjoyed this toy. Thank you for bringing back some great childhood memories

[@lemonthardeman]

I like the fins in, it looks cooler.

[@giovannideldio]

My all time favorite GI Joe vehicle that I owned. Too bad it longer exists, s someone threw it out. ☹️ Oh and it's fins out BTW.

[@ChiMTB]

The A.V.A.C. Firebat pilot (included with the Cobra Terror Drome) is the Air Viper. According to Michael Mercy, A.V.A.C. stands for "Air Viper Advanced Class".

[@jimmerzink4726]

Great review! Thanks for the detail and for the pictures of real world jets. My sons and I had a great argument over the missiles facing backwards. lol

[@christianhafer9819]

Why do you prefer the Skystriker? The Night Raven is better, I think. More play features, cooler, black color. It's a beautiful vehicle. One of the 10 best in the line, for sure.

[@christianhafer9819]

Strato-Viper might be the best pilot/driver figure. Definitely the best on the Cobra side. He's a gorgeous figure.

[@evanscott9473]

I recently ordered a Night Raven still in box. Since the X-19 had fins in, that's probably how I'll configure the NR.

[@bobastu]

Easy counselor, we all love GI Joe here. The tube on top of the STARBOARD vertical stabilizer is a pitot tube for real time instrumentation data to be received by the aircraft Caution: NEVER touch or lean on that tube after the plane lands. It has a heater and will burn you. Nuff said on that. I had two of these, one for Joe and one for Cobra. I played out the Firefox story so my Joe's got one too. Mine were always wings out! I award you the coveted "No Prize" award for successfully arguing the validity of wings out.

[@NavySharkz]

G.I.Joe was the best toy line of the 80s! Also, f--k Retroblasting! That guy is a smug douche! Your channel is waaay better and you have a new subscriber.

[@chrismayer3919]

You never had a Night Raven, HCC788??? I feel REALLY bad for you; GET ONE! You won't regret it!

[@afrtricolor]

I'm from Brazil, and I had this Night Raven in my childhood, but in Brazil almost all vehicles came with no pilots, so I never had the Strato Viper.

[@beauyerks7413]

Best Xmas ever!! I got Night Raven....and TERROR Dome❤❤❤

[@mi777ke777]

The Night Raven and Ghost Striker are my two all time favs.

[@timh3794]

Sir you are by far better than retroblasting channel. I unsubscribed and refused to watch any of his over analytical jargon. Your channel is fun and you keep it real! Keep doing what you do HCC! Cooooobraaaaaa!

[@mattlerch531]

cobra never had a great airforce. rattler, night raven, condor, fang, fang2, trouble bubble, claw, sea ray, jet pack, fire bat, stiletto, mamba. only a few were practical to fight against an air force like joes.

[@josephskiles]

I got this for Christmas the first year it was out, I don't think there was a happier kid in the world that day. Of course my cockpit broke the first time I played with it. Snake Eyes constantly stole that jet from Cobra

[@greglemieux9809]

I got that for Christmas when I was 9 years old. You wanna talk about a happy kid. Man I wish I never got rid of my cool toys.

[@lonesquiff6551]

I know the drone was reused for the Crusader's Avenger scout craft but are the guns on both identical? I see the Night Raven ones up for sale a lot online but the Avenger ones seem harder to come by.

[@stephenturner757]

I imagine the Night Raven is for high altitude flying and had no need for a lot of weapons. Dropping bombs and recon.

[@codyneuburg1825]

My frist big toy , after a Enterprise, and Hi Ho Sliver with L. Ranger and Tonto

[@Daimosfather1]

I would say that's case closed counselor. Nicely done. but i have always been a fins out kinda guy. I wonder if you could gauge someones psychological disorders by how the place the fins on their night ravens?

[@johnperry9287]

+David Jones oop's i wrote this and for some reason my computer had me logged in as my nephew? just know that i did comment and liked your video HCC plus i threw in a like while i was logged in as david jones! :) great review!

[@HCC788]

+john perry Thanks! If anyone can figure out who to sue, I'll represent them!

[@matthewchicchi7262]

Fins out. And Rumble is blue. I'm saying that with peace 'n love.

[@mariogasparotto]

My Night Raven (Aeroforça Noturna in Brazil) are fins out!!

[@Klebersoaresmelo]

The only person qualified to finish the “fingate” is Destro.

[@davidtagilala5040]

ive always wondered and now i know and knowing is........ i got 2 of these suckers and both have stickers of the raven 1 with it in and 1 with it out even the toy add showed with it out

[@fatcat8033]

you and retro blasting are awesomE!

[@delvis7842]

I looked back at this after Night Force came out, and wondered if (NF) was actually inspired by this toy

[@cloudm.6337]

missiles are supposed to face backwards

[@HCC788]

+Leeroy Poop Do you really want to start missile-gate?

[@mgvillanmp478]

don't do it man hahaha

[@HCC788]

Oh, that would be hilarious, wouldn't it? For the next year the entire Joe Community will be obsessed with Night Raven controversies that all end it "-gate." We'll have "slot-gate," and "cockpit-gate," and "drone-gate" (it's not a drone!) Friendships will be broken. Joe Con will be cancelled. IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT??

[@hector1011]

+Leeroy Poop I agree. Fins out and the missiles face backwards (as shown on the box and the instructions). Good call Leeroy !

[@mgvillanmp478]

sonic360 uh oh here we go... missile gate ...hahhahaaaa

[@airfre]

I love this plane the best G.I. Joe vehicle ever made in my opinion I own 2 & 2 strato vipers they are 99% complete the only thing that is missing on them both is the air brake that attaches to the top gun. Those little pieces are hard to come by & when I find them they are always some outrageous prices. I have a third one but I'm restoring it & have a few more parts to get I prefer my fins out it looks better to me awesome vid as always

[@dubuyajay9964]

What about the X-19?

[@edwardjacobs4042]

Hey HCC788, The S3P stand for three times the speed of sound

[@chrismayer3919]

S3P= Stratospheric, 3rd mach limit, Power-to-speed ratio- I.E. reconnaissance jet

[@generalchang2217]

Chris Mayer I think this Viper had been specially gentic modified or taking special Steroids to endure the high altitudes, but yeah I would say more of a recon jet or serving a role like the Mig -31

[@chrismayer3919]

general chang in my world, the Stratovipers are in fact CYBORGS 😏

[@joeyoung7732]

I gave 100 bucks for mine 95%complete

[@agnethaladuff8559]

Cool review of the Cobra Night Raven and the pilot Strato Viper.

[@Buff88]

Cool Jet and Pilot. Whoa never seen such a discussion about fins! Lol

[@MrDeengels]

You really have to wonder who was funding cobra 🤔

[@f.d.english5080]

Has to be in my top 5 favorite cobra fig Edit: and vehicle

[@shaider1982]

This aircrafy does look like you need to think Russian to fly it.

[@elkhills1]

I wonder if Wild Weasel was the original Air Viper?

[@wasabi-in-my-eye3134]

I love strato vipers. Hope this get made in 6" scale and single release.

[@white-dragon4424]

We never got this officially in the UK...:(

[@sibylsaint]

The strato viper is a woman in the cartoon, and it's one of the better episodes.

[@Karnegis]

I got this for my birthday when I was a kid. The fins went out.

[@joeyoung7732]

I'm using mine to take photos as the mig 31 Firefox

[@edwardjacobs4042]

I just got a Night Raven only missing one drone gun and my fins are out lol

[@samfrito]

Great review HCC. and once again, you go to the head of the class for "clear-basin' sum truth". awesome toy and figure and once I got it way back then, I doctored the hell out of that bright orange and made it Tamiya's metal blue, and detailed the engines beneath the covers, and the recon pods cockpit. I pulled it out a couple of months ago to show it off to my son (9 years old Tformer fan) and he dug it. yes, fin-gate is going to shroud this amazing aircraft in debate for years to come, but it's fins out. that's how dad did it, that's how hasbro did it, and that's how HCC does it. and I can live better knowing blame is to be placed on the decal instruction sheet and other less accurate media.

[@HCC788]

+sam torres Blue would be a good alternative color to the orange. The kids don't have toys as cool as we had! I'm not surprised your son liked it! Thanks for watching!

[@kassandraodessa2633]

Wouldn't the replacement be hurricane vtol?

[@Thor13332]

One of the coolest Cobra vehicles ever. I think maybe the 1990 Cobra Hurricane Vtol could be considered a replacement but I think they performed different roles. The Night Raven is a nicer vehicle imo. The Hurricane has YELLOW missiles and a yellow main gun...

[@HCC788]

+Thor13332 Hmm... yellow.

[@jmsberetta]

nice and amazing review. I ACTUALLY have both versions of the raven. I have the sky patrol raven and the cobra raven

[@HCC788]

+james strickland No-prize for you!

[@darthmaul33]

I got a bad feelin' Road Pig will have a tough time fitting in that drone

[@GeoffreyToday]

You know, thinking about it today I've started to wonder: Was I a huge Night Raven fan because I was a big SR-71 fan as a child. Or was I huge SR-71 fan as a child BECAUSE of the Cobra Night Raven? It's so long ago now I can't recall which came first. I remember being a huge fan of the SR-71, but I can not recall exactly what lit that fire in me as a child.

[@HCC788]

+Geoffrey Today! I can't answer your dilemma, because I am not psychic. But the Blackbird was a big hit with kids because it look so futuristic and stylized. It was a sci-fi jet that was REAL! And there were legends about the Blackbird. They may have been Cold War apocrypha, but the stories added to the mystique of the jet.

[@MrDEMarq]

This would've been a good idea for a Haslab.

[@brainysmurf74]

I still thik the wings are backwards

[@affoster79]

I never even heard the whole controversy about the fins. What I always wondered is which direction the missile pods are suppose to be pointing? Forward or backward?

[@HCC788]

+affoster79 The missile pods are supposed be facing rearward. You can't trust ol' HCC788! I don't want to perpetuate missile-gate.

[@codyneuburg1825]

Best way to find out is watch this channel forsure

[@tonyjackson7610]

It should be noted the Strato-Viper was the first rank and file Cobra pilot. Wild Weasel, who came with the Rattler was a stand alone "gun for hire" type, the Rattler never had a cannon fodder pilot beyond the cartoon throwing blue shirts in the jet.

[@HCC788]

+tony jackson That is true.

[@rtd1409]

FINS OUT! I think one of the things that Hasbro was asked to change in comparison to the SR-71 as maybe they feared the Soviets would find design features of our toys tactically important. I also remember the 1986-1987 catalog makes reference to what the S3P means "Three times the speed of sound" like a mathematical equation Supersonic 3 OK wheres the P? Symbol for speed of sound??? No read closer matey boy it refers to the drone as a "Piggy Back" so coded Supersonic 3x speed of sound Piggyback??? Kind of alike to the odd symbols used to identify Cobra vehicles. I wish there was a patch of the Night Raven logo. www.yojoe.com/catalogs/86/7.shtml I didnt have the exotic plane as a kid besides a beat up yard sale find of a shell (That later gave good parts to a incomplete one I picked up in the ebay era) and in 1987 I would read that catalog and would sit in my bed posed like I was in the drone seat and drift off to sleep dreaming of adventures in that drone.

[@galaxyoftoys]

Another excellent review. I never had a Night Raven, but maybe someday...

[@HCC788]

+Galaxy of Toys "It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine." -Wayne Campbell, 1992.

[@Tr0nzoid]

Ah, flag points. I saved so many, but never used them.

[@adamverwolf9499]

Me too

[@JayFamous13]

I really wanna take credit for coining the term "Fingate". Even if I wasn't the first person to suggest it I'm gonna pretend I am.

[@HCC788]

+JayFamous13 We can give you the credit! Why not? No-prize for you!

[@mikewilson858]

The most beautiful GI Joe vehicle

[@turdfergusonn4590]

I got back into collecting Joes a few months ago, and with that I'm also checking for your reviews when I pick up a new piece. I haven't picked up a Night Raven yet, but this was my favorite toy when I was a kid so I had to watch it. I always assembled my Night Raven fins OUT. But like others have stated, the missiles are supposed to face backwards. So *why* are all the weapons on the toy facing backwards, you may ask? EASY ANSWER! Because it's faster than anything else in the sky! The Night Raven gets IN FRONT OF THE ENEMY TO SHOOT IT DOWN!

[@brainysmurf74]

the bomb pods are also backwards

[@cadetkirk762]

What was your first gi joe toy/play set

[@terrancechilds3049]

I would love to have had one of those when I was a kid

[@patrickmckown5996]

I do have 2 complete Night Ravens, each with different landing gear slides. The landing gear doesn't stay down very well with the straight slide. With the drone, fins out. But, since the Sky Raven didn't come with one, I do fins in.

[@jongaulthero]

MAN!!! I loved this one. I really, really wanted one bad back in '86 but just couldn't. Plus, I'd been in the Army for 2 years and didn't think I could keep it in my barracks room.

[@douglasbrownell2704]

Thank you for another nice review. I never had the original night Raven but I had it skyraven under Skype patrol. As far as I'm concerned Fin's outer end is just a matter of what you prefer.

[@Laceface080880]

I played with mine so much .

[@sirkowski]

In the commercial the animation seems to have the fins in and on the actual toy sequence the fins are out lol. When I received the toy for christmas back I only realized the mistake after applying the stickers. I think there's a subtlety in the mold that fits better with fins out, but it's easy to miss. Also, my cockpit was always very loose when pulled down, but at least it meant it wouldn't break off.

[@HCC788]

+sirkowski The animation is all over the map on this vehicle and others. But from what I can gather, the toy designers intended the fins to be out. You got this for Christmas-- that's a nice Christmas gift. I didn't have one of these back in the day. I had to familiarize myself with it after I got about a week ago.

[@christianhafer9819]

@@HCC788 What took you so long to get one?

[@b1r6989c]

I saw Michael French's rant on facebook about the fins out. I told him to check the instructions, and his response was for me to look at the blueprint section. I agree with the fins out. I pointed out one other thing to him which he did not respond to, and that was the placement of the missile pods. I believe somebody already mentioned it, but yeah, missiles point so they shoot behind the jet. couldn't help but notice yours fire to the front.

[@b1r6989c]

+Blake Cabrera (b1r6989c) Well I should have read more comments, because this was mentioned several times.

[@HCC788]

+Blake Cabrera (b1r6989c) Yeah, we got that covered. However, I think the Night Raven already has enough rear-facing armaments. It doesn't make sense to me to have most of its missiles facing aft as well. But the correct way to orient them as facing to the rear.