Airtight

 

I wasn’t a huge fan of the Airtight back in the day. But then again, it was different world. If anything, his role has become more relevant in a world where bio terrorism seems much more likely that nuclear Armageddon.

Appearance:

Airtight probably had the fewest alterations for his Renegades modernization. It makes sense, safety gear has really changed a whole lot in the time since he was created. Of course the Renegades version is to keep the disease he’s carrying from getting out rather than in.

Essentially, Airtight is a guy in a hazardous environment suit. An this one is extremely well sculpted. The experience Hasbro gained with the Hazard Viper must have came into play here.

I love the fact that the boots and gloves are neatly tucked in. The way they look is great. The blousing about the boots is especially good. The boots themselves look really great. They almost have a rubberized look to them. The treads are pretty darn good too.

While the suit has a fair amount of wrinkles, it’s fairly tight to his body as it should be. This is the kind of suit you don’t want extra material that will get snagged.

The other great thing about the suit is that it is that is fairly minimal in the detailing. There’s a couple of pockets on the front, but that’s about it. They really did this right and didn’t go overboard with pouches holsters and other kibble on the suit. And in this case, less is more.

 

Speaking of well sculpted, the Airtight’s head is in the same category. The elastic closure around his face is perfectly done. It’s cool to see they have went with a full hooded suit under the helmet.  The face looks good as well, and the eyes are well painted. The one down side is the bottom of the hood is sculpted to look tight to the body. This pretty much limits the ball motion to just a swivel.

Speaking of the helmet, I’m pretty impressed with it. It fits perfectly over his head. Once, it’s over his the clear lens lines up with his eyes just the way it should. Again, the detailing on the helmet is minimal, and once again that sells the realism.

Fun:

I love accessories, and this blister held a surprise. Not one but two backpacks. The first is a pure update of the vintage backpack and “sniffer” gun. At least, I’m assuming that is what that rifle thing is the angled down snout gives me that opinion. There’s a small piece of smooth tubing that attaches the pack and gun.

This pack isn’t a particular favorite of mine. It kind of looks like a mini jet pack of sorts with the fans pointing in the wrong directions. I’m sure it’s filled with all sorts of analytic gear. It just isn’t my sort of thing.

I do like the other pack much more. It’s essentially just a big o2 tank. It’s a got a great bit of paint on it. It looks like a real world label on the miniature tank. The printing/paint is exceptional.

Of course, if he has a tank on his back he needs something to do some analyzing. He comes with a small analytic unit . It looks a bit like something we have at work. There’s a display on the top and small round grill in the front. It could even double as a Geiger counter in the right display.

Of course, ever Joe needs to defend himself. And since, he’s the disease expert, you have guess he’s intended to face off against the Zombie Viper. And if you are going to be fighting Zombies, there’s no better weapon than a shotgun. Airtight comes with one that is somewhere between standard civilian and tactical. Pretty nice little weapon.

Overall:

If you’ve been reading along, you’ll realize that I really didn’t have anything bad to say here. Airtight is not only a great update of his vintage figure, he a very well executed modern GI Joe. All of the articulation you’d expect is there. The accessories, while not overly abundant are well suited to him. I really can’t say anything except else, well done Hasbro.

Engineernerd Score: 98/100

And for a second opinion, make sure to check out Richard’s review of Airtight over at Planned Banter.

Tags: Airtight, GI Joe, Hasbro, Renegades

Category: Featured, GI Joe, Toy Reviews