So today I got in the preproduction Skystriker and compared it to the original. Now we already knew that this one wasn't made from the same molds but rather from new molds made from a vintage skystriker. Still, I thought it might be interesting to see the differences. Also, after I took most of the pictures, I went out and found a Skystriker at retail so intersprinkled in this comparison will be the differences between pre-production and original (There's not that much difference)
Here's the pre-production version on the left and the original on the right:
Looking inside the engine covers, you can see a few of the details have been sharpened up and slightly changed (most notably, the wire in the upper left corner became a straight line and lost the "knots" in it)
ORIGINAL:
PREPROD:
The tabs to take off the engine covers were also changed slightly (The original is on the right closest to the camera)
The slider switch for the wings/landing gear has been changed for all three Skystrikers.
ORIGINAL:
PREPROD:
The switch was moved further forward and the ridges adding resistance to the switch were removed completely
RETAIL:
Once it got to retail though, they added some smaller resistance ridges
The tail fins plug in a bit differently now
ORIGINAL:
PREPROD:
The underside of the tail wings now have panel details instead of being blank like the original
ORIGINAL:
PREPROD:
The attachment pegs for the rear tail fins was changed from preprod to retail. The preprod version had alternating ridges (outer pegs had ridges on bottom while middle peg had one on top) The retail version now has a little tab in place of the ridges.
Also, the starboard tail fin has the code “WL2B” stamped/burned into it. There is nothing stamped/burned into the retail version and I’ve heard other preprod versions do not have this either
The main wing attachments were also slightly changed from pre-production to retail. The preprod version had two vertical reinforcement bars on the underside of the two outermost horizontal bars and there was a third horizontal bar in the middle. The retail version has done away with the reinforcement bars and the middle bar was changed to an L shape part.
The landing gear areas all lost some details to the fuselage in front of them
REAR ORIGINAL:
REAR PREPROD:
Also the triangle near the rear landing gears has been sharpened up (like most of the details)
FRONT ORIGINAL:
FRONT PREPROD:
Also, the area between the main fuselage and the intakes has been widened. The front landing gear is no longer a two part piece.
Between the pre-production and the retail versions, all the landing gear covers have been painted to match the fuselage, as have the wing connectors.
The landing gears themselves are also new
REAR ORIGINAL:
REAR PREPROD:
FRONT ORIGINAL:
FRONT PREPROD:
The rear underside of the fuselage has gained all the typical legal company information and a new screw hole when it went to retail. The preprod version on top just has the vehicle details molded on it.
The nose tip is larger than the original and it looks like the fuselage is a little wider (I'm not mentioning the grid behind the nose gun since I know that was added sometime in the vintage line)
The front of the canopy underwent a little change
ORIGINAL:
PREPROD:
This little tab on the front makes the canopy much easier to open than the original one ever was. Unfortunately that helpful little tab went away with the retail version
RETAIL:
The underside of the cockpit looks a little deeper and the screw hole has moved closer to the end
The retail version got an extra screw hole added further back on the nose
Pre-Production on the left, Retail on the right:
The Exhaust has been significantly changed. It's a little longer, the tip of the turbine is a little duller and the end has details added to it along with some small round tabs
Other than the ends being painted, the Retail version also has the inner ridge near the back thinned down to allow the part to be instered into the Skystriker fuselage
Pre-production on left, Retail on right:
The missle connectors appear to all be in the same positions as the original one
The 4 rear-most connectors have all been bulked up
However, the ones on the intake closest to the center of the plane recieved some extra bracing in the Retail version
Pre-production on left, Retail on right
Here’s a closer pic to show the length difference of the Missile pegs on the Phoenix missile attachments. You can also see how it’s wider closer to the fuselage on the retail version than it is on the pre-production version.
The length issue continues with the Sparrow missile attachments…
…and the front most Sidewinder missile attachments. Here you can also see that they added a little bit of plastic in the corners where the pegs attach to the fuselage making less room for the missile to sit on the peg.
The Missiles themselves also had some changes from vintage and from pre-production.
All Missile pictures are as follows:
Vintage – Far Left/Top
Preprod – Middle
Retail – Far Right/Bottom
Phoenix MissilesThe peg hole on the preprod is a little thinner in the middle than the vintage and the retail is wider with a soft plastic insert instead of just a shaped hole. You can also see that the lines on the missiles are thicker on the new ones than on the vintage one.
Looking at the rear of the Phoenix missiles you can see that the new ones have slightly different seams where the two halves join together at the base of the tail fins. Also there have been two bumps added to the exhaust.
Sparrow MissilesJust like the Phoenix missiles, the peg hole on the preprod version is a little thinner in the middle than the vintage one and this time the retail version has a beveled edge inside the peg hole. You can also see that the ridges on the body of the missile are more squared off on the new versions than the vintage one.
The tail fins are shorter than the vintage version and there is now a bump in the center of the rear of the missile.
The nose cone is very close to the same but now it extends a little further past the start of the body ridges. You can also see that the fins are a little more squared off just like the ridges are on the new ones.
Sidewinder MissilesJust like the Sparrow missiles, there is a beveled edge on the retail one, but you can also see that the area around the peg hole is more squared off on the new ones than on the vintage version.
The tail fins are also smaller than the vintage version and there is that bump again.
The nose cone on the new missiles is a little blunter than the vintage one and again we can see that the fins are also squared off more.
Now for those of you with a Flagg, there are a few parts from it that interact with the Skystriker. Here's how those compare.
Arrestor Hook:
ORIGINAL:
PREPROD:
RETAIL:
It fits loosely on the new Skystrikers but it does still work (even though it also sits a little closer to the ground)
Tow Vehicle:
ORIGINAL:
Fits nicely and perfectly, just like it was designed for
PREPROD:
The hole is too small for the peg and the nose is too high for the peg to reach well.
RETAIL:
When I saw the second screw hole on the retail version, I had hopes that it would work, but just like the Pre-production version, the hole is too small. Also this time there isn't enough clearance to allow the peg to go in the hook so the vehicle pops a wheelie due to the weight.
Now for the most drastic change, the cockpit:
ORIGINAL:
PREPROD:
Pre-production on bottom, Retail on top
As you can see, there's a lot more detail in the new one and once painted and everything, it really looks good.
Now for those of you who want a dual seater Skystriker. I will say, it's doable, but I think you will have to give up almost all detail in the cockpit. Remember, the original one was very bare-bones. Just and empty fueslage and two plain seats. (CORRECTION, I just looked at the construction and the back 1/4 of the seat is where the nose and body connect so that's unusable room. A two seater may not be possible)
That said, the original one can hold two 25th joes just fine (although, they are striped down of any cumbersome webgear and there is almost no room left in there
Here's a few shots of all three on the flight deck
Comparison Part Two (Stickers)
So first off, the wing stripes. On mine and a few others' the blue looks purpleish. I don't know if this is just the way we see it or if it's a slight print error as others say theirs just look dark blue
Many of the stickers are reproduced well although slightly smaller as seen with the 100, GI Joe logo and the Air Force logo. The yellow box is now a shade of orange
Some stickers got completely changed like the intake stickers
Other stickers got updates like the danger triangle
Like the 25th Vehicles, all those vintage stickers that were just lines, now have paragraphs of writing on them
Two of the tail stickers had their colors changed completely due to the color change of the tail fins themselves. There was also a small update to the sticker on the fuselage by the front bombs.
The Eagle Tail Fin stickers are basically the same, but they have lost one of their feet along with the black outline
They also replicated the same difference between the cockpit pilot sticker and the filecard that the vintage one had (Sticker says J. Brad while filecard says Brad J.) but they changed the color
The filecard is basically the same as the vintage one with some different wording and the took out some of the details about what Ace is proficient in
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