Action Figure #911: G. I. Joe Classified Series Crankcase & A.W.E. Striker

 I did say I wanted more vehicles...

 And, well, Crankcase & A.W.E. Striker was the largest one I could find, the price not being too harsh on my wallet.

 So, the vehicle itself looks pretty nice, all things considered. Technically there's room for three characters, two in the front seats and one sitting on the backseat, but there are some pegs on the sides so that some other figures can ride along too! I slotted a Jada Street Fighter, a Loose Collector and a Black series figure to show that pretty much any Bucky-Cap sized figure can fit on it... with a caveat.

 What I didn't like, is that the two pieces of grid-cage that go at the top don't hold very well. I saw a comment from just one guy saying that 'unlike reviewers' he could hold his' from it... I claim he was lying. The two little green antennas love to fall off too.

 For you see, inside both sides of the vehicle there's this weird plastic column that blocks about a third or a fourth of the total space for the characters' legs. This means that thick-legged figures, such as Jada's or Storm ARENA's Ryus and Kens cannot fit on the front seats. They also need to be able to squish their legs together a bit, so no such luck with Anime Heroes' figures either. It's such a weird design choice. Oh, and the driving wheel? I had to glue it on because it kept popping off. Love the interior detail, however.

 The vehicle comes with a few objects you can spread around, such as ammo crates, a tool box and this little cupp-a-coffee. There's a slot inside the cabin for it! Speaking of objects, the two bazookas on the top of the grid cage LOVE to pop out, so I glued them on.

 There's a tow cable at the front of the car too!

 A design choice I didn't like at all is that the  second part of the grid cage won't let you put a figure on the back seat, it's the only reason I didn't glue down the grid cage. If you want the figure to sit on it, you have to remove the back part of the grid-cage. You could also remove the seat, and why not? More room for figures at the back, they can still hold the gun on top... and due to how little space their is for the back there, characters tend to look odd sitting on it, even Crankcase himself!

 It comes with a set of stickers... which I hated. I hate stickers. But it does allow some degree of customization. I decided my Striked would be Shark themed.

 Crankcase is... an average Joe, literally. I found nothing too exciting about him. The knife and gun holsters were loose so I applied some glue.

 He comes with a pistol, a knife, two bandolier scarves, two helmets, a pair of goggles, a suncap and some binoculars.

 The binoculars look kinda odd on him due to the way they are sculpted. I see no use for them, to be honest. He looks weird with them on his neck.

 This might be an issue with my figure in particular, but it seems the waist peg is too long, so he ends up looking gappy at the waist.

 Articulation is the same as with any Joe. Double jointed elbows and knees, with swivels on his biceps, boots and thighs. He has drop-down hips, a hinged ab crunch, butterfly joints and a ball jointed waist, so he is pretty articulate. He is a bit taller than Bucky Cap.

 To be honest... I couldn't care less about the Crankcase figure, and the A.W. E. Striker was rather disappointing. Too many pieces that don't stay on very well, the poor design choice that makes it impossible to put a figure on the backseat without removing the grid-cage at the back, and the fact that sitting on said back seat doesn't look ver well... and don't even let me get started on the gummy front-machinegun that came bent out of the box and it's as soft as chewing gum. Look, it's not a BAD vehicle, it's just not... not quite as epic as I expected.

6.0