The Story of Sky Commanders: The Toys With the String. Oh boy.

Sky Commanders is an animated television series made by Hanna-Barbera with the co-production of Toei Animation. It premiered in July 1987 as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera and lasted for thirteen episodes.
It was based on the Sky Commanders action figure line from Kenner Toys whose big play gimmick was incorporating string into the toys as ziplines used for transportation.
Shockingly it was not successful.
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[@blackjac5000]

My dad was a Kenner executive, which meant he got a copy of the annual catalog and the Sky Commanders toys were right at the beginning of their deployment year. It explained that kids had been limited to flat surfaces such as tables and floors and this gave them a new dimension to work with. To this day I've always used the term "sky commander" as a synonym for "zip line."

[@hgc7000]

You are getting closer to Air Raiders. These toys were legit, but they pissed my parents off. My entire room was a maze of string at one time with the Sky Commanders trying to bomb the Cobra Terrordrome. It was magnificent, and the parents couldn’t just barge in.

[@KEVMAN7987]

Did they have more success actually killing Cobra members than GI Joe ever did?

[@hgc7000]

I want to say “yes”, but also large rubber dinosaurs were also involved. I basically emptied out the basket o’ toys and there was an epic battle royale. Good Toys vs. Evil Toys.

[@pathevermore3683]

@@hgc7000 congrats, it's been at least 15 years since the last time someone introduced me to an 80's property i was previously unaware of.

[@hgc7000]

I think I got a few sets of each line around the same time. (on discount as others have mentioned. That 80’s allowance wasn’t much.) Air Raiders never had a cartoon, just ads and a comic mini series. But I was little kid obsessed with the line and the air launch gimmick. As an adult, with a disposable income, I have managed to track down almost all the remaining sets. Almost there.

[@jonathanboyce8741]

If it wasn't for them having different color lines it would have been impossible to play with them lol

[@andrewb8789]

"Personal Attack Gondola" may be the most perfect phrase ever crafted by man or AI.

[@whosaidthat84]

Sounds like the name of a metal band!

[@robshimer]

that's the name of my new improv group.

[@christopherwebb3517]

Assault Chair Lift!

[@Belgand]

It's only a matter of time until we get the fantasy Venice series we've all been waiting for. Until then I'll just have to keep re-reading Gentlemen Bastards and crying a lot.

[@Christopher-N]

@@christopherwebb3517: Sebastian "Doyle" Krist and his battle throne. Not the first time we've seen armed mobility for the disabled.

[@BarelyEinstein]

Riding dinosaurs is not a "gimmick", it's a god damn way of life.

[@mike7652]

Facts.

[@BugRib]

True enough, but I've chosen a way of life called "not riding dinosaurs" which has worked out pretty well for me so far.

[@PBradleyRobb]

I was the exact target demo (7-year-old boy) for this toy and somehow managed to have way too many as a kid. I've spent the last 20 years googling to make sure it existed. Thanks for this.

[@charleshunterii7157]

Dude when you described the conditions of the new frontier , I lost it when you said it hot pockets, mudslides, and gravy boats lol. Perfect comedy sir lol

[@JerryD9000]

I came specifically looking for these toys history, because of a retro commercial compilation I saw that reminded me I had these tangled messes when I was 8. Of course I find it here. I miss my childhood.

[@seancwilich8852]

I used to watch Sky Commanders & had an action figure a long time ago.

[@davidcrowe5524]

The Ascender backpack was recolored to use for the 1992 Wall Scaler Batman figure, and later for the Air Attack Peter Pan from Hook.

[@TA3DArtist]

Thumbs up for mentioning a game I worked on ! :D

[@Hughes81]

The toys were awesome. My brother had everything, even the big base.

[@heli88]

I am the only person I know who actually owned Sky Commanders toys as a kid. I remember having a string maze in my room at one time, much like a laser security system from a spy movie. Glorious! Also, battle track was great. There's something magical about a little wind up car riding down a blue ribbon. Before this video, though, I was totally unaware of the cartoon. I suspect it wouldn't change much.

[@ClaytonGambrel]

I had to make my own set of them with kite string, still saved the world at the end of the day

[@leyenda6149]

This show's concept was kinda one-note, but darnnit if they didn't look cool. I always enjoyed watching it. Toys were hella cool too

[@leyenda6149]

If TG one day does the Pole Position cartoon I will be so pleasantly surprised. BTW, who remembers the ExoSquad toys & tv show?

[@batmandalorian5504]

@@leyenda6149 Dan and Producer Greg remember Exo Squad > kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpqogImHgdFshrs

[@Godravage]

I freakin' LOVED this cartoon when it came out. I loved the whole concept. It was something different.

[@JohnMorris.77]

Thanks for this. I thought I was the only one who watched the show and collected these toys.

[@kafkasvulture]

As a kid, I had a few semi permanent strings diagonally stretched across my room for my GI Joes to use to slide into action (their c shaped grips were perfect for this). When Sky Commanders came out, I thought they ripped off my idea!

[@50megatondiplomat28]

I did this too. Handkerchiefs and dental floss also made great parachutes. My Joes probably bailed out of more aircraft than the entire 8th Air Force in WW2. Parachuting of of their rappelling lines was also a great way to get over on COBRA.

[@planetschlock]

Wait, there's a character named Mike Summit but not a single one named "Cliff"? Pfffft no wonder why this line failed.

[@217techguy]

Definitely needed a bad guy called “Clift Pfallen”!

[@johnpauldeguzman823]

Might as well give the comic relief to Rolling Stone

[@drewlovelyhell4892]

There was a SkyCommander called Cliff Baxter.

[@wwetnabamafan194]

@@drewlovelyhell4892 Yes, aka Books

[@drewlovelyhell4892]

@@wwetnabamafan194 My SkyCommanders OC is named 'Willy Dangle'. 😆

[@ShadowACE1998]

Sky Commanders didn't have a Trapper Keeper. That's why they failed. If your Toy didn't appear on a Trapper Keeper in the 80s you were doomed to fail.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

I miss Trapper Keeper. Yeah, there are clasping and velcro-fastened binders, but they're not the same. I hope THAT'S the next big property to see a revival. I'm sure Lisa Frank is rubbing her hands in maniacal expectation.

[@SkragorSkumdreg]

They *DID* get a THERMOS brand lunch box

[@Loremastrful]

I know the feeling. A much younger me and my brother played a game of cat and mouse at a Firestone while our Mom's car was getting fixed. His Starscream vs my Powerglide among the stacks of tires imagined as spires and peaks of an alien world. The thins you can imagine when you are bored.

[@jroe0820able]

This has been one of the properties I’ve been waiting on you to do. I loved the toys. Getting the zip line to finally work was such a big achievement as a kid.

[@LogicDerp]

My parents called them "String Guys" I remember setting them up all over the living room and my bedroom with strings zigzagging all over the place. fun!!!

[@edwarddillon5886]

My poor dad, untangling these back in the 80s.

[@OBZRV82]

Damn it man this is bring back deep childhood memories. This channel keeps taking me back. Peace to all my 80's babies.. We're the last of a dying breed..

[@occamsrazor4370]

You finally did it. Made me the “holy cow, I remember thous, I had thous” guy. I totally forgot about this line.

[@derbyjames240]

Private Pete Peaks here, you forgot to mention how the best part of the show was when they said "Skycommanders" in that cool synthesizer voice.

[@Heretic1373]

These were my absolute favorites growing up.

[@jaywaii3187]

My god, I suddenly remembered having some of these toys way back when I was a kid. All I remember was playing with these orange vehicles that you can clamp to tables. Thanks to Toy galaxy, now I know what IP they were from!

[@Dorelaxen]

Amazing! I, too, love string! Regardless of how goofy it was, Robert Ridgely voiced good ol' Mike Summit. You may remember him as the hangman in Blazing Saddles. Also Paul Eiding and Charlie Adler. Hell of a voice cast.

[@electricgecko8997]

I totally forgot about these. Wanted the toys desperately at one point in my childhood. Then promptly forgot of their existence without ever getting any. Such was the 80’s.

[@Autocon609]

I remember my grandmother buying a few of these for me at Clover. Remember Clover?

[@ColtonFultonUK]

I loved Sky Commanders! I had all of them! Only toys I kept into adolescence but still got rid of them when I got tired of all the strings being tangled.

[@phreakazoith2237]

never had one. may you tell me about the quality? was it reliable and stayed smooth or did it turn into a mess after playing with it? I rememeber that Master of the universe spider dude who had this hook on a string for climbing which was fun at first but it kept jamming after a while.

[@derekmccord3798]

yeah these were fun, I had a fun and remember stringing them across my room

[@tonyjackson4078]

They did have that Kenner "this doesnt look like any of our other stuff" effort. The vehicles definitely looked otherworldly and specifically for mountainous areas. The individual figures had the neat "rescue bungee cords" when Bungee Jumping was a really new and cool thing. But yeah, it was too specific, just like many lines you listed. Joe, Transformers, and He-Man had a more generalized basic theme that allowed them to experiment more and let kids imaginations run wild.

[@nathaniellao4743]

Heh, I remember this cartoon series pretty well.

[@Tattoosandjorts]

I feel like that slimer going around Dan lasted longer than this property

[@TomTubesYou]

Holy smokes, I had the Rapid Deployment plane thing with the flip-out wings made of plastic squares. I never knew what it was and hadn't thought of it for YEARS.

[@nullterm]

I loved these toys, but totally forgot about them. Until you reminded me, and I thank you guys at Toy Galaxy for that! Had no idea there was a cartoon too.

[@Lastjustice]

Yeah I recalled them, but never saw the cartoon air when I was a kid. It doesn't surprise there was one though.

[@isabellenicoleherman6816]

Thank you so much for that I truly appreciate the history of Sky Commanders. I was one of the kids that had a few for the Tangled Up strings. I would use my GI Joes to hold on for life LOL thanks again

[@toddfraser3353]

I loved those as a kid. Even though I had 3 pieces. I would build additional sky commander toys with my constructs. My room was a trip line hazard.

[@archangel5627]

As a child of the 80’s, why am I not familiar with Sky Commanders!? I would have loved this back then! The toys look really cool and the cartoon looks to have good animation! We use to play with our action figures a lot while we were in the backyard. I would have loved to have zip-lined vehicles and figures! I definitely would have mixed these toys with my GIJoe’s and my superhero action figures! Thank you for sharing this toyline and it appears that I have some extra research to do on Sky Commanders!

[@bradleymayse]

These were my favorite action figure series as a kid. I had about two thirds of the vehicles and figures and I gave them to my neighbors when I moved so they could let their grandkids play with them when they came over. That was back in 1991 but when I saw, in 2000, what they were going for on eBay when I tried to buy some more for nostalgia, I was amazed. I went back to my old neighbors house and she still had them and was glad to get rid of them since her grandkids were grown. I finished the collection through eBay, buying vehicles I either never had or some that were beyond repair. I remember finally getting the Cable Cannon and how underwhelmed I was when the bullets it shot along the string didn't go but a few inches. In 1989, the figures were $1, the vehicles were $5, and the Vector Command playset was $13. It's a great feeling to have the entire collection and even better knowing these were the exact ones I remember playing with for hours after school.

[@evolved326]

I've been looking everywhere for this. I always had it in the back of my mind but didn't know what they were called. I was so into these things.

[@jamese3169]

I remember the toys but never knew they had a cartoon. I guess that's what I get for growing up in the boonies in Virginia. Not only are you bringing back great memories from childhood but you're bringing down the walls of ignorance one person at a time. I know sounds like one of those" the more you know commercials".

[@Weap0]

My friend had these. I remember setting them up in his basement. I was more an air raiders fan.

[@jonpower9728]

Brings new meaning to the term "toy line"

[@Drayton42677]

This show had a wicked theme intro

[@kekzilla6669]

The early broadcast version of the intro had no hurried voiceover narration (subsequently added to explain the backstory concept), just music. It's not available on the DVD release. ☹

[@davistalhone9482]

I requested this one but cannot take the credit as Dan informed me it had already been filmed by the time I was bugging. Great stuff like always.

[@douggalent4858]

Yes!!! I was waiting for the Sky Commanders to get a mention.

[@ixiahj]

I loved this series. I wanted the toys as a kid but knowing about the "string" part of the toys made me realise its not gonna last long. The series was Attack on Titan omni directional gear before that manga made it popular. Phata 7 was also basically Tiberium before Tiberium. I thought the series made a lot of sense. The land mass wasn't just hellish, it also had monsters. Wildlife mutated by the Phata 7. You also couldn't use conventional flying vehicles because the weather of the continent always had strong winds. You needed powerful engined VTOLs that could attach themselves to mountanous rock faces when landing. I also thought the characters were explorers or scientists, not soldiers.

[@mdgrono]

I had totally forgotten about these toys until I saw the thumbnail. I’m positive the only reason we had Sky Commanders and Sectaurs growing up is because they were failed shows/lines and my mom picked them up on clearance. Thankfully, I never knew the show existed.

[@delmusdugan]

Sky commander name : Commander Canyon Base of operations : Sky Summit

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

I never doubted that Dan's chiseled features and on-point facial hair were a holdover of his childhood. I do, though, question why there was so much blood in his grandparents' house. The fire I understand.

[@robynryan7473]

I freaking loved shooting those things from one end of my house to the other. One of the coolest toys I owned. Dont recall the cartoon much though.

[@edge7799]

Thank you!Its the last toys I bought in the 80's.You are definitely the master of verbal mastery.Admiral Dino Dan.

[@jameskwiatkowski7202]

I loved WUTV Buffalo 29. You knew you were cool when you could get that channel and see GIJoe and Transformers

[@fununclenerfs]

I had exactly one toy from this line (very common with my toy collection during the 80s)

[@greenlanternhg5141]

I love those toys! And since they were almost the same side I could use my Dino Riders & M.A.S.K. figures 😂 it’s was gimmicky but loved them Great video Mr Larson, Producer Greg 👍🏽✌🏽 and no Dan, I think I’d call you General Rope just to keep it simple 😁

[@JTManuel]

I love skycommaders! I saved up my allowance to get the toys/playset of this show.

[@dbeane43]

If you mixed these guys in with Spiral Zone and Centurions you'd have yourself a heck of a little universe.

[@AntoineJenkins80sChild]

Great cartoon, loved the toys even more. As I was approaching 11 years old MOTU, G.I. Joe and Transformers were kind of boring me a bit, when I got these I had them strung up all over my room, but had even more fun with them in the back yard from tree to tree and the clothes lines. They were even cooler than Starcom toys. Great "The History of..." as always Dan! For the record my Sky Commander name would be... Major Lift.

[@kagemaru259]

I got these for Christmas back in 1987. HOT WIRE!!!

[@jumpcutreviews1545]

Loved this toy line as a kid! and I am a huge Raiders fan, so seeing Derek Carr and the boys was nice nod!

[@towj79]

Loved these toys as a kid!!!!

[@rankosaotome]

I remember this cartoon. I had most of the smaller vehicles and a couple of the bigger ones.

[@Keichimaru]

I had these as a kid, but I always thought they were called 'Line Riders." Haven't seen them since I was little, but these things were a blast to play with... At least until the nylon strings and ribbons eventually got tangled together.

[@drewlovelyhell4892]

Sky Commanders were frikken sweet! The wind-up/gravity-powered antics really encouraged some elaborate play. Another casualty of the toy-saturated eighties. Just like Centurions and dozens of others, they hit, then by the time next christmas came around, they had already been cancelled.

[@Aegelis]

At first I didn't think much of this toy line when I saw it come out on TV. I then went over to a friend's house where he had the second floor of his house fully populated with an awesome zip-line battle arena. The display was enough to make the spiders poop their web, and I was much more impressed on how the toys looked & played in person.

[@Statsy10]

I think my Sky Commander name would be General Altitude.

[@Jeremiah3-22]

I had nearly all of these.. they were on clearance. I couldn't find the cartoon back in the day, I think it only aired on Sundays.. so wierd. I had these tied up all over the dining room table and chairs.. ;)

[@Axolotl_Mischief]

This 80s kid loved string, and these toys!

[@billpagan3070]

Awesome! Another cool show I had forgot about! Thanks Dan and Greg for bringing this show back to light👍😁

[@hiyazaki09]

i love this Series when i was a kid i like the good guyz flying drill ship.

[@drillerdev4624]

Ok, Sky Commanders AND Air Raiders: two lines I didn't even know existed until a couple minutes ago.

[@ChenowethGames]

I loved the Sky Commanders toys and the Air Raiders toys.

[@NESADDICT]

Very cool! I remember wanting these so bad as a kid!

[@robgable2426]

I frickin Loved these toys!!! I had a couple sets of these!! I think I was like 6.

[@mostlyjoe]

I actually had the battle track projector toy. I got it for my birthday before we went on a family vacation. I remember spending time in the hotel room trying to get the thing work on the hotel room furniture.

[@pmcpencil]

Awesome vid! Totally had a neck tie death trap of Sky Commander lines in my room back in the day.

[@darthphayde508]

The 80s had so many great one hit wonders. I only had a single figure from this line, always wanted RJ, thought he had the coolest Sky Commander thingy.

[@Linus89]

Wow! I remember seeing this as a kid, but haven´t heard anything about it since. I almost started to think I had dreamt it all.

[@_JPP_]

Such a brilliant line, and the toys fit in well with Dino Riders and MASK figures

[@Wis_Dom]

Honestly, I created DIY zip-lines for my toys before Sky Commanders. I think they kind of just capitalized off of what kids with were already doing with there GI Joe's at the time.

[@Bearded_Toy_Guy]

I had multiple figures and vehicle things for this and I had never once seen a clip of a cartoon for this or knew it existed until now.

[@lawsonallen7741]

I Loved this series. It would be cool to see a reboot.

[@timvanboening9432]

I thought these were so cool! I had two, the main good guy and main bad guy, I think. BTW, nice Action Force shirt, Dan!

[@mikestoolfun]

I loved these toys as a kid.

[@Tremain]

I love that you picked Skidmark as your GI Joe

[@JDSleeper]

Oh, hey. I actually found an ancient box of old toys that had a few of these. I had the bigger jet and a few others. One of the many toys I loved a as a kid that ended up very obscure.

[@fcm3d]

Oh man I remember this show it was awesome!

[@santastabber]

I have fond memories of these toys

[@hightde13]

These were some of my favorite toys. got help any cat burgler that busted in to my room in the dark.

[@broxgarrick1457]

I freaking loved these toys! Had all of them and use to get up at 5:30am every sunday to watch the cartoon. They use to piss my dad off so damn much cause I would have the stairs covered in lines from them. Pretty sure I made him fall at least 15 times.

[@larkhainan]

I feel like this is the episode where the valiant struggle to take all this 80s being 80s with a straight face is beginning to actually melt your face off.

[@Starpilot17]

Awesome! I had several of these and would have little zip lines set up in my room. Now I live in the Rocky Mountains. Go figure.

[@brianjl7477]

I had one of these jokers. It was a pretty fun toy, but you're right, finding attach points wasn't always easy. If I recall, one side was like a gun-chair thing that would hook over a chair - but the width was too thin for amny chairs. The other side was just a plastic belt that could lock aorund a pole with varying tightness loops, but it was never tight enough. It was kind of weird, but it was fun to zipline the thing and it shot missiles along the line in either direction. I think they all basically did that though so there was no variety. Please do one on Air Raiders!

[@JohnLoeffler78]

When I was a kid the floor was ALWAYS lava!! The floor is still lava...

[@caseysanborn1953]

I totally had these! They captured my imagination for awhile, but they were no ThunderCats, SilverHawks, Jem, She-Ra, He-Man, G.I. Joe, Ninja turtles, DinoRiders, or even Popples, LOL!

[@josephsweeden91]

I was just wishing for a new Toy Galaxy! Thank you! Thank you! Looks like a good one, too!

[@stranger59]

Always appreciate a shout out to Rico, a true hero.