Ramen Toys 80’s Commander Jonava Taima
While I like the throwback layout of the tray, good grief, I do not like unpacking this figure from it. I had to use a box cutter to slice several bubbles open so I could return the figure to the tray afterwards. I wish they used a proper tray instead here. Sheesh.
As a Covert Operations Specialists, John Thunder uses stealth and cunning to infiltrate enemy positions. A full-blooded Chiracahua Apache Native American, and a direct descendant of Geronimo, John is very proud of his heritage.
John, along with Rex Charger, were added to the Centurion team roster very late into the series. So late in fact, their toys never made it past prototype stage before the series was cancelled.
For some reason, I can’t unsee the likeness of late actor George Hamilton in this head sculpt.
The set comes with a necklace of sorts for Jonava Taima.
Aside from his weapons systems, he is usually equipped with his handy vibro-knife, which can cut through almost anything.
The set comes with an alternate vibro-knife for Jonava to “sheath”, you can either place it on his hip….
… or place it on his left leg like in the vintage toy promotion materials.
POWER EXTREME!
Crossbow Weapons System (Silent Arrow)
In the series, John mostly relied on stealth, it’s also reflected on his weapons systems, as they don’t offer much in terms of heavy firepower.
As a latecomer to the show, John only received two weapons systems in the cartoons, the Silent Arrow (recreated here) and the larger Thunder Knife. Sadly, these were never produced as the toyline was nearing its end.
I’m not sure if this was intentional or just a huge goof on Ramen Toy’s part, but the backpack is too long and causes the figure to heavily lean forward. It’s very awkward to look at and pose around. At least it won’t tip backwards…?
The weapons system can actually fire the giant missile on the backpack. Just press on the rigth side symbol here.
The missile can also be opened up to reveal a capture net in the middle. Neat!
Forearm mounted guns.
Forget stealth! I’m goin’ in guns blazing!
Lastly, the set comes with this.. thing? I’m not sure what it is, since the instructions are next to useless and this just fell out of the tray while I was removing the weapons system. If anyone knows what this clear piece is, please drop me a line.
Overall, pretty decent. If you’ve gotten the other 80’s Commanders figures, then you know what to expect more or less in terms of build quality. The length of the backpack is the set’s biggest issue. While it’s not a complete dealbreaker, it can get awkward to pose this guy sometimes.
While not really a “must have” (since I think most folks don’t quite really remember this character unlike the original main trio), I’m still happy to get this guy and add him to the group.
I hope Ramen Toys makes Crystal Kane at some point to add a female character to the roster, and hopefully Rex Charger too. Not to mention more weapons systems for the main trio.
Gold
