To the envy of many a 12-inch collector, I present to you my last of the great retro vehicle finds: the 1996 Action Man Stealth Jet.
I say “last,” because, well, I’ve somewhat become a victim of my own success — there are very few vehicles I haven’t been able to find, and, as a result, there’s not many big-ass birds for me to review, customize, modify, etc. The nice thing about this hobby is that there’s almost as much old stuff you’ve never heard of as there is new stuff waiting to be seen, so hopefully this anticipated pause in my big-ass vehicle series won’t last too long.
But for today, we’re going to look at one of the most notoriously difficult vehicles to find of all time. Released in 1996 as part of the last Action Man revival of the previous century, this and its accompanying helicopter were true gems in a line full of sci-fi James Bond-wannabe stuff that Action Man usually got. Sure, the giant spy cars are okay, but there’s only so many extreme sports land sails and hang gliders and such a man, even Action Man, can take. So a vehicle based on the F-117 Nighthawk was a truly wonderful change of pace.
And in the mid-nineties, there were few aircraft in the world as fascinating and striking as the Nighthawk. After being a ghost of the aviation scene for a decade, the F-117 rolled out in daylight at Nellis in 1990. My Grandad used to have a 4- or 5-shot mosaic hanging in his downstairs office that a buddy in attendance took, which was my first real look. I remember proudly owning an Ertl Force One version, and in retrospect, I’m impressed how close they were to the real thing. As deceptive to its own as it was the enemy, the only reason the Nighthawk was designated “F-117” instead of “A-117” for “attack,” and hence known as the Stealth Fighter, was it was the best way to get the top fighter jocks into the program. No self-proclaimed ace fighter pilot wanted to be in a subsonic attack aircraft. The “117” designation was maybe more of the same, skipping the logical “F-19” designation that would have followed the F-18 Hornet. This has lead to the suspicion that the real F-19 might still be out there, lurking in the shadows, unknown even in the face of the Nighthawk.
But reality in this case is just as badass as the fiction. A completely understated vehicle for an essential but somewhat less-than-glorious mission, the F-117 flew into contested airspace undetected for surgical strikes on infrastructure targets. No guns, no air-to-air missiles, and no radar (the signature would give away it’s position), the F-117 nevertheless performed very admirably in this role, with only a single combat loss in Yugoslavia in 1999. Even in retirement, the F-117 stays in a specialized “type 1000” storage, meaning they can be quickly recalled to service, and some have been seen in flight as recently as last year.
The Action Man version had to take an already awesome concept and “extreme” it, though. Through a dropping hatch that makes up most of the plane, the Stealth Jet can deploy a motorcycle off its ramp. This means, sadly, the landing gear doesn’t retract, and it doesn’t have a legitimate cockpit.
One of those problems I fixed with a sort of temporary measure — I bolted a Motormax F-22 undercarriage to it until I get something I like better.
There are some other nice features on the plane, though, minus the foam missiles and such. The wings and nose section are designed to fold for storage, and the nose piece in particular might make for some nice detailing, with some avionics set up inside. While fairly hollow, the jet is built very sturdy, and the carry handle is a little silly, but very functional. I use it to hang it in my toy room/office.
I had to scrap the stupid foam missiles and Action Man livery, replacing them all with proper USAF markings and adding a couple external pylons, though the real plane keeps all its ordinance internally. Even though it was the right color, a matte black with a little gray airbrush looks a lot more like the real thing.
Size and scale put it right in line next to my Harrier, which makes me happy as all hell to have TWO realistically scaled aircraft in my 1/12 fleet. All I’m missing now is that Fairland Toys F-22 . . . Still, remember the 16-bit game Jungle Strike? I can basically play that game. In my backyard. Eight-year-old me, eat yer heart out.
Again, this thing is tough to find. Supposedly it was released in the US, but most ended up overseas. Needless to say, you come across one, it’s worth getting. Eventually, I’d like to get a more correct-looking flat undercarriage, and figure out a proper canopy, I just can’t fathom cutting into this bad boy and getting it wrong.
