Defiant Space Shuttle Complex
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Defiant component reused in 1989's Crusader Space Shuttle.
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Ahhh...The Defiant. Anyone who ever owns it or knows someone
who owns it loves the detailing. It is a massive playset
with so many nooks and crannies to stuff figures that you
usually end up losing them inside. The playset is really 3
components. The crawler/gantry, the Defiant, and the Space
station. The crawler is massive, with heavy duty wheels, but
the design is that with the shuttle on top, its weight makes
rolling kind of clumsy. It features a command and driving
station that holds a number of figures including the driver
Hardtop. It has a number of small laser pods and
antiaircraft guns that hold figures. These antiaircraft guns
are prone to snapping off of their mounts. Underneath the
gantry is a command center chock full of space for Hawk to
command. The Gantry elevates using a crank, but anyone who
owns one of these will tell you that the weight of the
shuttle eventually causes the crankshaft to snap. You can
still elevate the gantry manually though. The Gantry holds
the shuttle and Space station on top and features working
elevators to get your fugures into small work stations. The
Defiant latches onto the Space station w/ a heavy metal
latch that works quite well. (you can also Juryrig the
Crusader shuttle to snap on by taking the latch off the
Defiant). The defiant features a bottom airlock hatch, two
main shuttle bay doors, a "Canada arm" to grab those pesky
Astro-Vipers, a mount for a umbilical cord that attaches to
an included MMU, two hidden lasers that open from doors in
the front and a command bay that holds 3 figures and has a
opening cover. The Space station is a real surprise. The
main cockpit looks like something from the Enterprise with a
command chair where you can put the pilot Payload, science
station and navigation stations. There is a door in the back
that "leads" to the Space station decks. The whole back of
the Station opens up and stands out from the station to give
3 decks of playspace. There is a hibernation station,
lockers, sleeping stations, and an airlock that docks with
the Defiant, which can sit on top of the station. Below the
station, there are two gunner stations on either side, which
have seats that fold out and guns and missles that slide out
of hidden compartments. The missles and guns on the space
station are a little flimsy and are usually the first things
to break. All in all, the Defiant is one of the finest
vehicles Hasbro made for the G.I. Joe line. | Review by: Matt Perrius |
| This
Thing was awsome. I had dreams about this thing for two years before I got
it. If you thought the Flagg had a lot of pieces, this had three times
that. It took me two days to complete it in 89. Its sheer size made it
impresive. It the largest mobile vehicle ever made for GI Joe. The
Platform was divided into two separate bays. One was the engine room and
the was a command center or launch control. The two bays were guarded by a
set of twin cannons. Along both side of the base were walking platforms
that, when the shuttles were raised, blocked anyone's path. On the left
side were a set of radars that for some reason faced down. On the other was
twin machine gun turrent. At the front right was another twin cannon chair.
On the left was the drivers station which held three or four figures, I
can't remember. All I know is that it was a real bitch to get anyone in
there. The two massive doors on the launch stand were lightly armed with
quad machine guns, the only real means of defense for this entire vehicle
were the three cannons. There were also two elevators and three levels to
work on. It seemed pretty stupid since there are no stairs for anyone to
get to the bay doors. Another dumb thing was that the blast shield folded
out, which meant that you had to lift the two shuttles to set it up. On the
other side of the launch platform was another quad machine gun, why? The
shuttles were cool though. The top shuttle held two upfront. The cargo bay
had a mechanical arm with a laser or gun on it? The coolest thing was the
hatch, but I'm getting ahead of myself. The main shuttle was the coolest
thing ever. It had a four crew cockpit complete with door to the main bay.
The top of the ship swung 90 degrees to expose a three story deck. The main
floor was covered with foot pegs and the sides had body mold seats for the
side laser/missle hatch that when not in use fold into the wall. At the
bottom of the door was a sliding door thing that was either a medical
station, transporter, or shower? I can't remember what was on the second
floor. The third floor held the Space packs on the wall and at the far left
end was a swinging door that was the seal foor the outside or if you set the
other ship on top of the giant door would become the go between of the two
ships. It was cool. It came with two men, one was an astronaut, I think
his name was Ace and the other was a hard-hat wearing construction worker
dude. All I remember is on his card it said, "he can park this thing on top
of mountain if need be." I spent many an hour playing with this thing and
would gladly go back and do it all again. | Review by: Justin |
| This by far was my most favorite of the joes command vehicles. Its size was as impressive as my USS FLAG, it had another feature that made it even more usable, it was mobile. Although hard to move around once the complex was set up and ready for launch it was worth the work. When set up there was not much fire power facing forward just a few gun turrets. The mail shuttle opend up revealing a 3 story tower and engine bay area. The smaller shuttle could dock at the top of the tower and joes could go between the two crafts, great idea. Came with a suttle pilot and driver for the mobile launch pad. If your into the big complex joe toys this is a must. | Review by: Dal JockBoy |
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