Black Dragon VTOL

Mini Review:

I've seen some ink spilled on discussion boards over what the Black Dragon isn't, which would be the troop carrier as seen in the Renegades cartoon series.  While getting a troop carrier would have been preferable due to how seldom large expensive vehicles are released, the Black Dragon VTOL is still a fantastic addition to your Cobra airfleet. 

The Vehicle has no sticker sheet so everything you see is painted to the body. While I often do like taking the time to place stickers just 'so' (since to me stickers tend to lend an authentic and busy 'military' look to a vehicle) there is also something to be said about the smooth lines and simplicity of assembling a few pieces and quickly having a complete toy.  As much as I liked laboring by placing all those SkyStriker decals on, I'm glad the Black Dragon kept it simple.  The result is a very sleek and clean looking aircraft.

On the top are two buttons, the rear-most flips the wings and rotors into flight-position.  It's a well done feature that lends the vehicle well to storage.

The forward button has two functions.  If you press it a little, the second Gatling Gun flips out of the bottom. If you press a little harder, both bays open on either side of the fuselage dropping bombs.  Mechanically, I don't think this works very well. On one of my Black Dragons it works okay, but on the second it's too touchy to manage without dropping the gun AND the opening the bays.  Note also that each wing shows two hard points in the image below, the outermost being effectively behind the rotor.  Unfortunately, the vehicle comes with nothing that fits into these posts, which is very disappointing.

As a convertible helicopter, it wouldn't have been much of an issue to equip it only with landing skids.  However, having a real gear with wheels allows the Black Dragon the capability to operate short take-off and landing maneuvers (STOVL), which makes it capable of taking off with greater payloads (a reason why having accessories to fit the hard points, or a hard point capable of fitting other Joe/cobra weapons is so disappointing).  It is armed with eight bombs -four in each side-bay- one rotating cannon under the nose, and a hidden, down-facing canon in the fuselage.  While you may not miss the lack of stickers so much, the one thing lacking from the packaging is the traditional blueprints listing some vital details, statistics, and performance information.  This presents us with the challenge of creating this information on our own.

Okay, now for the completely made-up stuff.

GENERAL:

One of the most conspicuous things about the Black Dragon is the opaque canopy.  With no way to see out, it can be reasoned that the pilot's means of viewing is entirely electronic, similar to the imagery capabilities provided by the real life's F-35's Digital Aperture System.  This provides heightened situational awareness by allowing the pilot to look 'through' the hull of the airframe to view targets or threats and feeds the image into the helmet of the pilot. The pilot then can be entirely shielded by the protective skin of the aircraft.  If this system fails there there is a backup optical scope in front of the pilot.  It's not very useful for targeting, but does allow the pilot to navigate the aircraft.

The VTOL capabilities of the Black Dragon are extensive.  Both engines can be swiveled around their axis  105 degrees (actually, 360 deg operation is possible with safety overrides overridden) ranging from straight forward for high speed flight, straight up for hover, and back 15-deg for hover/reverse.  Furthermore, the engines should be able to be angled a few degrees for sideways hover.

The Dragon can take off both vertically and perform short takeoffs when it carries larger payloads.  Conventional takeoffs are also possible, but not preferred given the inadequacy of the front gear.  The aircraft can also land conventionally in an emergency (such as when an engine is out, as it cannot hover on only one engine)

PERFORMANCE:

The Black Dragon is quite maneuverable, capable of quick transition from flying like a helicopter to flying like an airplane, or even something in between.  The controls are all fly-by-wire, which allows much easier control in difficult maneuvers since the flight computer figures out most of the complexities for the pilot.  The adjustable rotors leave a number of unusual aerobatic combinations possible: like 'Viffing', were a plane such as the  Sidley/Hawker Harrier was able to escape pursuit by angling down their thrust, which lifted the aircraft while suddenly dropping speed, allowing the pilot to drop in behind his pursuer.  It can fly sideways, use it's rotors to augment it's roll rate, and hover in the air.

EQUIPMENT:

As has been mentioned, the pilot views the world outside the cockpit exclusively through the means of a Digital Aperture System (D.A.S).  This system afford the pilot a complete 360x360 view of the skies in black&white, full color of the visual spectrum, and infra red.  Various cameras are positioned around the aircraft to provide a full external view of the airframe.  These images are fed into a series of complex digital signal processors that parse together the imagery and feed it to the pilot's helmet-up-display or view screens in the cockpit.  This works in conjunction with the integrated targeting computers for the infra red search and track system (IRST) and the gunnery sighting system that controls the forward turret-mounted cannon.   It's DAS system also makes it suitable for night and all-weather operations.

The Black Dragon also has an ultra violet-based Missile Approach Warning System (MAW)s against infra-red SAM and MANPAAD threats and an integrated Radar Warning System (RWS) built into it's avionics package that informs the pilot against surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles.  It uses these in conjunction with a chaff/flare countermeasures port located at tail of the airframe.   

WEAPONS:

The Black Dragon comes configured with three weapons:  eight 150lbs smart bombs.  One 20mm Gatling gun mounted under the nose (can fire 210 degree arc horiz, and +5 to -15degrees vertical) with 280 rounds.  one 30mm Gatling gun hidden in fuselage (firing arc vertical only, 0 degrees straight ahead, to -155 degrees behind) with 800 rounds. Both guns feature advanced targeting capabilities tied into the DAS system.  The nose cannon follows the head-shift of the pilot to train on targets, while the larger 30mm can lock forwards or adjust it's altitude to train on ground-based targets to saturate them with fire.  There are four unused wing hardpoints capable of mounting undetermined weaponry.  There is no current Hasbro GI Joe accessories that fit these slots, but possibilities include: heat seeking air-to air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, rocket pods, and bombs.

ARMOR:

The hull or the aircraft is plated with a carbon nanotube-based armor to protect the pilot and vital systems from ground fire.  The armor is nearly impervious to handgun calibers and highly resistant to rounds up to .30cal at close ranges.  The armor primarily protects the cockpit and canopy, engine cowlings and fairings, the leading edges, props and hubs, and bays from enemy fire, providing the most protection from the front quarter.  Lighter armor is placed on the sides of the airframe (none on top as it was never designed to protect from air-to-air cannon).   

ANALYSIS/ROLE:

Trying to figure out where the Black Dragon VTOL fits in Cobra's Order of Battle is not too much of a challenge.  Cobra has often focused it's air fleet on assault capabilities, and the Black Dragon continues that trend.  The Black Dragon is widely considered by many to be the the Fang IV, which in a way sounds apt.  However, the Dragon is considerably larger and better equipped than the diminutive F.A.N.G line, which quite honestly strike me as limited and dubious, even in the relaxed realism of the GI Joe Universe.

So is the Black Dragon limited to being simply an attack/close support vehicle?  How would it fare against vehicles in the Joe arsenal?  

I think it matches up favorably against the Dragonfly due the advantages of being able to shift between airplane and helicopter-like flight modes.  It can hide and hover at low altitudes like the Dragonfly can, but it's airplane configuration allows for "boom-and-zoom" yo-yo dive/climb tactics that a helicopter cannot effectively duplicate and would find hard to counter.  It's DAS system provides more sophisticated visibility and greater awareness.  However, it does not have the speed, acceleration, and climb of Jets like the SkyStriker and Conquest.  It lacks RADAR, limiting it to visual range engagements only.  It's armor, like most, is ineffective vs the heavier weaponry of that consists of most air-to air and surface to air guns and cannon.

The best roles for the Black Dragon are in close-support engagements or tank hunting.  It also should do well against choppers given it's superior speed and the versatility of it's flight modes.  It's good range and ability to land vertically make it a good mission-infiltration vehicle.  All in all, it expands Cobra's already stocked attack and support capabilities by bringing a modern and versatile variable-mode aircraft to the field to do battle with GI Joe.

EDIT: 12/4/12 - Looking at the purpose and best functions of the Black Dragon again, it strikes me that it would be great at a particular modern day role among the forces of Cobra: Counterinsurgency [COIN].  Of course, this may go beyond the normal sphere of typical Cobra activities as seen in things like the A Real American Hero cartoons (though I'm not sure about the comics).  Usually, members of Cobra are the insurgents, complete with secret bases to keep their operations clandestine while they plan to take something or take something over (or build something nutty).  Counterinsurgency is an action normally taken by a legitimate army or an openly occupying force.    For an organization like Cobra, it would consist of things like intelligence gathering and searches for members of an underground resistance faction or political dissidents.  If Cobra conducted itself like more of an influential international security force (with terrorist associations/underpinnings) than an organized crime syndicate,  COIN operations would be a huge portion of their work.  Imagine: a small force of GI Joes operating a sabotage/Espionage ring trying to promote freedom  in a land where the ruler has enlisted Cobra to provide security and control the population while building a war machine.  Scarlett and Chuckles hide in a basement of a house while Shock Troopers go door-to-door searching for them and other enemies of the state.  They must get influential leaders of the resistance movement and rightful political leaders of this country to the safety of the United States or face execution.  Outside, a squadron of Black Dragon VTOL aircraft patrol the roads and countryside while troopers check every vehicle that passes.  A flight Black Dragons break patrol to engage a vehicle reported to charge through a roadblock, with orders to destroy....

Unofficial (missing) specs:

Black Dragon VTOL Specs Weight (empty): 14,123lbs Weight(max vtol&hover): 21,600lbs* Weight(maximum stovl takeoff): 25,000lbs Power Plant: two 2000hp turboprop engines Rotors: two variable pitch/variable speed Performance Max Speed: 365nph (420mph) Cruise Speed: 280nph (320mph) @ 18,000ft Range @100% fuel, 1250nm Combat Radius: 500nm Service Ceiling (cruise mode ): 35,000ft Hover ceiling (vtol max weight) 10,000ft Hover ceiling (minimum wt) 16,000ft *with normal armament of 2000lb ordinance, guns &ammo, 75% fuel.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

If you have a stock of Rattlers among your Cobra forces, you don't really need the Black Dragon.  The Rattler carries more ordinance and weaponry and is competitive in it's speed, armor, and firepower.  The Rattler lacks the Dragon's more sophisticated flight modes, hover performance, and advanced avionics, especially the situational awareness granted by it's DAS.   However, it has a lot of advantages over the over-weaponized FANG autogyro: speed, range, altitude, maneuverability, electronics, etc.

While I'm fairly certain the Black Dragon VTOL will only have a single release from HASBRO given it's from the cancelled GI Joe Renegades line, it would be nice if they released an updated version including missiles or rockets that would fit the hard points in the future, but I doubt that will happen.

Tiger Snake Find, and Variant Notice

Ha!  I found several more Tiger Snakes while romping around looking for Retaliation figures at a different Toys R Us.  They  were selling for $5 a piece and I bought them all.  I'm actually happier that I found these than anything I could have found for wave 1 of the upcoming (And delayed) film.

This is a good find for me as I like the vehicle and am particularly happy to be able to assemble the Street Vipers into a small squad now.

I think I have found a variant that's gone unnoticed.

Out of the seven Tiger Snakes I now have, five of them have a matte finish, but two others have a smoother gloss finish.  In the image above, you can see the gloss finish on the rip-launcher of the top-most box.  The other four it rests on are matte-coated.  It's not easy to tell the difference in the images.

The gloss coat also covers the main body of the vehicle itself, here is the best I could do to display that below:

You can barely tell with my camera and lighting, but the one on the top is the gloss Tiger Snake.  I find the gloss significantly nicer looking than the matte finished one below it.

Rise of Cobra: Tiger Snake

Okay, Hisstank recently ran a "Second look" type of review on the Tiger snake, which kind of steals some of my thunder.  Honestly though, I was going to include this at some point in a "review" anyway (or whatever shtick it is that I am doing).  Check it out.  The pictures are going to be much better than mine.

Sometimes things get overlooked because you can only bring yourself to focus so much when you're glancing over a bunch of crap.  GI Joe: Rise of Cobra featured some toys that caused such deep and reverberating distain that many wrote off much wrote off the line as being unworthy of their time and money (although, to be fair, some always do this).  For example: Pouty-lips Snake-eyes, Oversized spring-loaded crap everywhere, and it's not like Tatum Channing made Duke any more likeable.....

I'm sure most everyone looked at the Tiger Snake with that same distain, after all, with it's rip-attack launcher it was clearly intended for kids rather than collectors or army-builders.  This is unfortunate given that it's a unique little vehicle that is sort of unique and has a plausible purpose.  Plus, it's driver, the Street Viper, is a stripped down version of the ROC Elite Viper, which is my favorite army builder of the ROC line.  Just pick up a sidearm and a few other goodies at http://www.marauderinc.com/servlet/StoreFront and you're golden.

Let me be clear, in my opinion, this toy is not really worth the $15 normal retail price.  However, I found two at TRU for $5 each which was a really great bargain.  Now that these toys are over a year old, it might be hard to find that way, but you never know.  If you find them for under $10, you might want to consider picking a few up.  If I could find a stack of 10 for $5, I would pick up all 10 just for the Street viper since it fits my idea of the "faceless" Cobra army-building I gravitate towards.

Once you possess it , it's hard to notice the potential until you take the launcher and set it aside.  By all means, annoy the cat with it's RIP ATTACK functionality a few times before doing so, if you must, but then put it away.  You probably won't want it again after five minutes of using it as the manufacturer intended.

The box comes with the vehicle, the Street Viper, the ripcord, launcher, instructions, and a pre-cut file card, which is a nice touch.  What the whole thing lacks, however, is some sort of blueprints that gives us a brief run-down of what all this means.  This entitles me to make my own:

 

In case the print in the images are too small, I'll list them out:

Overhead View:

1) Battery heatsink/Road Ploy

2) Diagnostics access panel

3) Main battery cooling system (armored)

4) Steering rack guard

5) weapon release/ammunition feed actuator hatch

6) Access hatch

7) Instrument panel

Side View

1) 40kw driveshaft mounted DC electric motor with regenerative breaking.
2) 2x 15kW driveshaft mounted electric motors with regen breaking
3) .60 cal machine gun with active cooling
4) Ammunition belt and can, 210 rounds
5) Steel reinforced canopy
6) Lithium/polymer composite body
7) Recoil limiter

Weight full:       1435lbs
Weight empty:   1200lbs
Top spd:             125mph
Accel 0-60:        4.1 sec
Accel 60-100:    8.5 sec
Range:               110 miles
Recharge time:  2.5 hours

Some of you may notice that overhead #2 looks conspicuously like a gas cap and ask why I made this an electric vehicle.  After all, a gas-powered vehicle would have made this thing much cheaper for Cobra to field and support logistically, but given the space constraints I didn't see where there was room to fit anything more than a very small single-cylinder motor in any place you would think a gas engine could have been placed.  The only really significant spaces on this small vehicle are the small areas above the drivers legs and in the wheels themselves, which to me limits this to some sort of advanced electric design, which I took the liberties of adding regenerative braking to.  Think about it, three independent motors located in the wheel housings, allowing the rotating wheels to act as a cooling mechanism.  Furthermore, electrical engines have a distinct advantage in low-rpm torque allowing for better acceleration and maintenance is more simple.  Plus, three engines provide three wheel drive that give it great traction against various road hazards.

The Tiger snake is powered by two sets of batteries: the main battery and the high discharge battery system.  The high-discharge battery is contained in the front of the vehicle behind the instrument console and above the driver's legs.  This battery engages when pushed above normal cruising speeds or when the main battery has worn down sufficiently.  The main battery is integrated into the polymer body.  It can by itself maintain a cruise speed of about 35mph before the high discharge battery is engaged, which then supplies power incrementally.  The vicious "cowcatcher" like ram at the front of the vehicle fits two purposes: It's a heat sink for the cooling system and clears road hazards out of the way.

The obvious drawbacks to an electric design is that you would have to have a way of supplying electricity wherever the Tiger snake operated, along with a few hours at a time to let each unit recharge, and the range of electrical vehicles tends to be limited.  The best environment for the Tiger snake to operate in would be an urban setting close to a depot and it's best use is as a patrol or assault vehicle.

For the weapon system I chose to make the machine gun something with a little more punch than a possible joe equivalent, the Browning M2.  At .60 cal, this gun should be sufficient to penetrate and inflict damage to lightly to medium armored and unarmored vehicles. The thickness of the barrel suggests water cooling and sighting would be provided by straight-head iron sights that flipped up out of the dashboard.


Overall, I think the Tiger snake fits well into an urban environment where there is power infrastructure.  It's size and speed make it suitable for patrol and pursuit against hostile vehicles on boulevards riddled with hazards that would prohibit full size vehicles from passing through.  It's downside is that it has only limited frontal armor, limited range, and is probably fairly expensive to field compared to say, gas powered RVs. 

The Vamp Mk 1

I'm willing to bet that most anyone who collects GI Joe and organizes their own Table of Organization features the VAMP in some way as their basic ground transport, recon, and mission vehicle for the Joe side. It may be the most ubiquitous vehicle in the Joe motor-pool from the old cartoon series, and as a toy has been re-released a number of times with a number of modifications and repaints.

Cobra also has it's own line of vehicles based off the VAMP mold called the Stinger.

Yeah, the pictures aren't great (and yes, I know the couch is ugly). but anyways, there are a lot of other reviews out there with great photos.  I'm more concerned with the information found on the blueprints:

Let me type this out:

1) OFF-ROAD TIRES ON ALLOY WHEELS

2) URETHANE FENDER FLARES

3) CONCEALED AID KIT AND TOOLBOX

4) 4-WHEEL DISK BRAKES

5) 4-WHEEL INDEPENDENT SUSPENSION

6) 4-WHEEL DRIVE

7) 4.8 LITER V12 FUEL-INJECTED TWIN-TURBO ENGINE; RANGE: 550 MILES; TOP SPEED: 140 MPH

8) REMOVABLE FIBERGLASS HOOD CANOPY

9) HOOD HOLD-DOWN PINS

10) HEAT EXTRACTORS

11) HEAVY-DUTY WINCH

12) TOW BAR

13) HALOGEN HEADLAMP WITH ELECTRIC DEFROSTER

14) MACHINE GUN: 7.63MM/COMPUTER SYNCHRONIZED

15) RAPID-INDUCTION AIRBOOST HOSES

16) CANNON VENTILATOR INTAKES

17) ROLL CAGE

18) BULLETPROOF GAS CANS

19) TOW HOOK

20) PORTABLE GEAR PACK

21) UTILITY SHOVEL

Basically, someone looks like they knew what they were doing when they built this as a high-performance off-road vehicle. It's not a huge stretch of the imagination to conclude that a vehicle like this with that sort of engine could go 140MPH on a straight-away, but for some reason it doesn't give a HP rating. It has good brakes, good suspension, and has of course, four wheel drive.

Now, taking a look at what's under the hood:

I appreciate that someone at Hasbro seems to be doing some thinking about where thing go mechanically. You may have noticed from the outside that the front seems a bit small for the V-12 listed in the blueprints, which would suggest that the VAMP might have been intended as a rear-engine'd vehicle.  This is confirmed when looking under the hood, which doesn't really look like what you would expect out of engine detail. Instead, this appears to be a very large cooling system separated from the engine in back. There are two separate coolant overflow reservoirs, possibly indicating the colling system is divided in two for redundancy (in case one gets shot out, or something).  This suggests the VAMP was designed to go full throttle, all the time.

THE MISSING INFORMATION AND STATISTICS:

Earlier, I mentioned that no HP ratings were made for this vehicle, nor are there any torque ratings (that would have at least given us the hint whether this was gas powered or diesel). This means that we'll have to make them up based in the information we have. First thing: we have to decide what sort of fuel this thing uses.

The military uses a Jet-rated fuel for much of it's combat vehicles called JP-8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JP-8. JP-8 can be used will a lot of diesel engines, so presumably with a diesel-powered VAMP. So, I am envisioning a diesel powered vehicle for the simple reason that it's what the military prefers. Given that diesel engines are rather flexible in what they can burn, it likely can fuel up at some base and also at civilian pumps where diesel is available.

It was difficult finding a twin-turbocharged V12 diesel engine as small as 4.8L. The closest match I could find was this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_R8_Le_Mans_Concept . The Audi was planned to have a 6liter engine that produced nearly 500HP and over 700lb-ft of torque. I'm going to go with this as a baseline for the VAMP and downsize it based on displacement, and estimate something a little more conservatively tuned for military uses: 350HP with 500lb-ft of torque.

ARMOR AND PROTECTION

I find it strange that a vehicle with a fiberglass hood and urethane fenders would so distinctly mention armored gas-tanks. Fiberglass is light, and urethane can resist the occupational hazards of off-road racing, but it's not anything that would have much effect in resisting damage from small-arms fire. I guess bulletproof gas tanks is something at least since if you're going to come under fire in a VAMP, it's best done with your rear exposed. Though sometimes plastic model toys lack clear plastic for windows for practical reasons, I don't think the VAMP MK I was intended to have a windshield. Likewise, there are no doors. The protection for the rider and driver is almost nonexistant.  With such an exposed interior, taking the time and adding the wieght to armor other parts of the vehicle wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. What does make sense is that the VAMP's defenses depend on mobility and speed instead of armor.

WEAPONS:

I saved the VAMP's armament for last because it's the most vexing thing about the vehicle. I'm glad the blueprints ignored the laserbeam likeness of the weapons on the turret and listed it as a pair of 7.63mm machine guns. I like sticking closer to reality with joeverse munitions, and while i am willing to give more lattitude to COBRA to pursue more sci-fi weaponry, I try and keep GI Joe itself within orthodox NATO supplies. As glad as I am to see the mention of a machine gun instead of some far-flung plasma weapon, this caliber actually makes no sense if we are going with the closest available NATO round.   The 7.63mm mentions I could find on-line seem to suggest something like the the 7.63x25mm pistol cartridge, which would be too ridiculously underpowered to necessitate being placed in a vehicle turret. It's much more likely something like the 7.62x51mm which itself was a follow up to the old .30cal, making it a suitable light machine gun for use against personnel, emplacements, and unarmored vehicles.   So, we're going to go with the 7.62 caliber machine guns on the VAMP.

However, the big problem with the turret is how it's supposedly operated. I'm not sure what "computer syncronized" is supposed to mean, but there is an entry about it at http://gijoe.wikia.com/wiki/V.A.M.P. :

"The computer is smart enough to choose its targets via pre-programming thus allowing the driver to concentrate on maneuvering."

From a technology standpoint, this is nonsense. Having a computer think about what it's targeting, or to be able to target something with a vehicle that lacks any complicated targeting system is too far gone into science fiction for me.   It is much more realistic that there is basic visual imaging built into the turret that feeds info into the passenger's station console.  This sounds like this would be rather crude and disorienting if you fired at something too far off to the sides.  Also, note that the air-hoses that seem to be responsible for aiming the turret would prevent 360 degree rotation and it looks like it's only capable of firing in about a 160 degree arch. This would seem to match, more or less, the usefull line of sight of the passenger.  Now, if there were some sort of helmet that provided a 360 targeting view that would be great, but there's not.  This certainly limits the use of the weapon to targets in front of the vehicle, but you might say this was a reasonable and intended compromize for a low-tech vehicle that has enough speed and agility to keep it's targets in front of itself. 

ROLE

To me the VAMP Mk I serves as a fair basic transportation and utility vehicle. In combat it's something better suited to reconnaissance, pursuit, and hit-and-run tactics than direct engagement.  If I were to change anything I would probably remove the turret and replace it with a rear-firing machine gun mounted up top, and a forward firing machine gun mounted on the hood -both operated by the passenger.  But that's just me.

What this is about: not just your ordinary GI Joe reviews.

Monday, March 26, 2012

What this is about: not just your ordinary GI Joe reviews.

This blog is inspired by a combination of two interests I have had since adolescence: G.I. Joe and real world military equipment.  I don't know that I'll be doing much in the way of actual toy reviews, rather, the plan is to examine weapons and vehicles of the Joe Universe to establish performance specifications, perform head-to-head comparisons, speculate on effectiveness, and also look at overall plausibility. For the record, I am not current or ex-military. Nor am I any sort of engineer or fancy myself a closet Tony Stark. I am some guy who flies a few flight simulators now and then and collects GI Joe. Is this presumptuous? Probably, but since I don't see to many other people doing it I thought I'd give it a shot and see how far I get. Worst case, when it comes right down to it, I'm just trying to formulate a 'joeverse' that possesses some basis in reality.

Please note that I welcome any reasoned and cordial feedback, particularily from people who actually know what they're talking about. Here goes:.......