Valkyrie Hunter D Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 "This ship is equipped with a forward-mounted, twenty-millimeter electric cannon. Its six barrels are capable of firing four thousand rounds of ammunition per minute. And that, gentlemen, is one hell of a sh!t-storm in anybody's language!" This movie was so awesome, and still is IMO. I was going through my old files when I found a forgotten treasure of sorts. I can't remember the website I found this on, but IIRC, the son of the man who supplied the original Gazelle helicopters for the movie uploaded a huge set of photos that his dad had taken on the set. These include the best reference pics I've found of Blue Thunder itself and also stills of the movie's helicopter dogfight in the streets of L.A. I thought the album is too cool to not share: Blue Thunder Flickr Album. And check this out, I know there are many out there but this is arguably the best scale RC model I've seen of the beast itself: Quote
Loop Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 I used to love this film growing up in the 80's. I had a matchbox toy that was very much like blue thunder even if it was not marketed as such. I don't really remember if it was labeled as a blue thunder toy or not, it's been a long time. Quote
spanner Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 That is the most epic RC helicopter EVER! I absolutely loved the movie to bits! Haven't watched in a few years now so I'll have to go get it now! Thanks for posting that vid Valkyrie Hunter! Was good to jolt my memory of forgotten treasures! Quote
myk Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 Blue Thunder is my favorite chopper; yes, I chose Blue Thunder over Airwolf in that debate. I'll try to post pics of my toy, although it pales to that flying model... Quote
TangledThorns Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 I loved the movie and the TV series too though the latter only lasted several episodes however it did have Garth from Wayne's World starring in it Quote
derex3592 Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 Blue Thunder was an awesome thing in the 80's. However, I was always an Airwolf fan over Blue Thunder. Quote
Kyp Durron Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 Blue Thunder was an awesome thing in the 80's. However, I was always an Airwolf fan over Blue Thunder. I liked them both, but if I had to choose, it would be Airwolf every time. Quote
no3Ljm Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 Back in the 80's, Jan Michael Vincent rules! That's being said, I love both chopper but I prefer Airwolf. Cool video by the way, Valkyrie Hunter D. Quote
Valkyrie Hunter D Posted July 30, 2015 Author Posted July 30, 2015 (edited) I had fun watching both Airwolf and Blue Thunder in their respective screens and I think both designs are great. It's like comparing an A-10 and a F-14, both are beautiful in their own ways. I loved the movie and the TV series too though the latter only lasted several episodes however it did have Garth from Wayne's World starring in it Dana Carvey looks so young in that show. Cool video by the way, Valkyrie Hunter D. What really blew me away was how it sounded, it just didn't like a typical RC heli. Edited July 30, 2015 by Valkyrie Hunter D Quote
myk Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 (edited) Aw c'mon guys-who's with me on the Blue Thunder vs Airwolf debate lol. Actually I think comparing Blue Thunder and Airwolf is like comparing a Charger versus a Corvette. I like my machines raw and uncivilized so that's why Blue Thunder appeals to me. The "Lady" is too sophisticated and refined ha ha. Watching that video, I thought the chopper was going to crash at 2:00 or so; man that thing moves out! Edited July 30, 2015 by myk Quote
Valkyrie Hunter D Posted July 30, 2015 Author Posted July 30, 2015 Blue Thunder is my favorite chopper; yes, I chose Blue Thunder over Airwolf in that debate. I'll try to post pics of my toy, although it pales to that flying model... Which toy do you have? Is it the one by ORGANIC? The only toy I had was a huge one I got as a gift from a DOOLEY's in L.A. It was big enough to fit GI Joe figures and I loved it to bits. Quote
myk Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 Mine says "Columbia Pictures" and "Multi-toys" on the side of it, built in 1983. I believe this was supposed to come with a 3-3/4 pilot as well, but I don't have him... Quote
Guest davidwhangchoi Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 Blue Thunder is my favorite chopper; yes, I chose Blue Thunder over Airwolf in that debate. I'll try to post pics of my toy, although it pales to that flying model... i had a blue thunder model when i was little and it got me attracted to SEGA's Thunder Blade in the arcade but no comparison... airwolf would kill blue thunder. everytime i watched blue thunder on abc there was always some problem with the chopper. It may have made for tense drama for the show but made the heli look weak. airwolf was smooth. Quote
myk Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 i had a blue thunder model when i was little and it got me attracted to SEGA's Thunder Blade in the arcade but no comparison... airwolf would kill blue thunder. everytime i watched blue thunder on abc there was always some problem with the chopper. It may have made for tense drama for the show but made the heli look weak. airwolf was smooth. Lol how right you are. But that's why I liked Blue Thunder-sure you had a kick ass helicopter but you still had to fight the good fight. Airwolf is like Superman-how could you possibly lose? You knew as soon as the ADF pod dropped and the machine guns popped out it was over for the bad guys, lol... Quote
Valkyrie Hunter D Posted July 30, 2015 Author Posted July 30, 2015 Mine says "Columbia Pictures" and "Multi-toys" on the side of it, built in 1983. I believe this was supposed to come with a 3-3/4 pilot as well, but I don't have him... Yup, that's the one I had. It has a foldable main rotor right? I used to make it fight my Dreadnoks. Quote
myk Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 Yup, that's the one I had. It has a foldable main rotor right? I used to make it fight my Dreadnoks. Yes it does. I need to clean mine up though, and now the gatling gun is loose. The only thing wrong with mine is that one of the surveillance mikes on top of the cabin have broken off. I'll have to tear into it soon... Quote
Valkyrie Hunter D Posted July 30, 2015 Author Posted July 30, 2015 Airwolf is like Superman-how could you possibly lose? You knew as soon as the ADF pod dropped and the machine guns popped out it was over for the bad guys, lol... That's when you pit it against an evil laser-armed version of itself with a red two tone paint scheme. I gotta admit though, Airwolf had a sweet opening theme song. Quote
myk Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 That's when you pit it against an evil laser-armed version of itself with a red two tone paint scheme. I gotta admit though, Airwolf had a sweet opening theme song. Oh yeeeeeah. Was that Redwolf, or something? Oh and I loved the music, especially the track they play when Airwolf first breaks free from that army and proceeds to wreak havoc in the pilot episode... Quote
EXO Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 Airwolf had me when String blew that lady away in the pilot episode. After watching Knight Rider and all the vehicle shows on TV, I was surprised to see someone actually get killed especially in the hands of the main character. Airwolf's lair was awesome too... but it seemed like a ridiculously long drive. Blue Thunder was one of my favorite 80's movies though. Metal Skin Panic reminded me of it. The show wasn't good though. Speaking of lairs, I always think of Blue Thunder when I pass by the police copter lot next to the freeway... I keep thinking I'm going to see it there just like in the movie. Quote
TangledThorns Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 When I pilot a attack copter in Battlefield 4 I sometimes hum out this music from the Bluethunder soundtrack. Especially if its on a city map Quote
Agent ONE Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 That is awesome. The BT film was better than the show. Quote
Valkyrie Hunter D Posted July 30, 2015 Author Posted July 30, 2015 (edited) Airwolf had me when String blew that lady away in the pilot episode. After watching Knight Rider and all the vehicle shows on TV, I was surprised to see someone actually get killed especially in the hands of the main character. Airwolf's lair was awesome too... but it seemed like a ridiculously long drive. Blue Thunder was one of my favorite 80's movies though. Metal Skin Panic reminded me of it. The show wasn't good though. Speaking of lairs, I always think of Blue Thunder when I pass by the police copter lot next to the freeway... I keep thinking I'm going to see it there just like in the movie. Yes, Airwolf had a real good dark vibe going for it. Too bad the show went down the drain when String's brother took over. Is that heliport right by the 101? I do the same damn thing when I drive by. When I pilot a attack copter in Battlefield 4 I sometimes hum out this music from the Bluethunder soundtrack. Especially if its on a city map That scene was excellent. Aside from the piloting, they did some pretty crazy stuff to get those shots. I think they even strapped cameramen outside a heli to film certain scenes. I also distinctly remember my uncle complaining how the streets were closed to film the city dogfight. Edited July 30, 2015 by Valkyrie Hunter D Quote
TangledThorns Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 Roy Scheider was a great actor for the role too. Man, he is timeless! Quote
F-ZeroOne Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 Has to be Airwolf for me, I'm afraid, because: a) Stringfellow Hawke. Seriously. Thats why you no longer have people named "John Heroguy" in T.V. anymore, they knew no-one would ever be able to top that as a character name. b) Real men play the cello whilst weeping into the setting sun. Quote
myk Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 Both Frank Chaney and Stringfellow Hawke had some stones on them; I just remembered that they both stole their respective super helicopters, lol... Quote
derex3592 Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 I'm seriously about to pull out my Airwolf season 1 DVDs and watch it now... I did have the big folding rotor almost GI Joe size Blue Thunder toy as a kid. It was epic. There was a big metal Airwolf made by Ertl I believe that I always lusted after, but my parents never got it for me....so years later, like 2 years ago I happened upon this pre-order on HLJ and hit buy instantly. Made by Aoshima, I didn't even realize it has working motorized rotors until I got it. Best 1:48 Airwolf ever! Quote
Valkyrie Hunter D Posted July 31, 2015 Author Posted July 31, 2015 There was a big metal Airwolf made by Ertl I believe that I always lusted after, but my parents never got it for me....so years later, like 2 years ago I happened upon this pre-order on HLJ and hit buy instantly. Made by Aoshima, I didn't even realize it has working motorized rotors until I got it. Best 1:48 Airwolf ever! That looks familiar Makes me want to get it out of storage and make whooshy-howly noises again. Aoshima followed it up with a 1/48 Blue Thunder, but sadly only in kit form. Quote
spanner Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 Watched Blue Thunder last night! Just as good as I remembered it! Airwolf is cool but I'd always take Blue Thunder any day of the week! Quote
myk Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) That looks familiar Makes me want to get it out of storage and make whooshy-howly noises again. Aoshima followed it up with a 1/48 Blue Thunder, but sadly only in kit form. I have the 1/48 Airwolf as well, however I dropped mine and it broke one of the wheels off; I'm still heartbroken about that one. What about the 1/32 Blue Thunder? I've been seeing this on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORGANIC-Blue-Thunder-Helicopter-1-32-Dream-Machine-Project-Diecast-Vehicle-NEW-/111325635648?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19eb866440 http://www.collectiondx.com/news_item/11408/diecast_blue_thunder_organic_and_dream_machine Edited July 31, 2015 by myk Quote
spanner Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 I have the 1/48 Airwolf as well, however I dropped mine and it broke one of the wheels off; I'm still heartbroken about that one. What about the 1/32 Blue Thunder? I've been seeing this on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORGANIC-Blue-Thunder-Helicopter-1-32-Dream-Machine-Project-Diecast-Vehicle-NEW-/111325635648?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19eb866440 http://www.collectiondx.com/news_item/11408/diecast_blue_thunder_organic_and_dream_machine Awww yeah!!! that 1/32 scale Blue Thunder model is friggin sweet! And its HUGE! 350mm long! Im sooo tempted to buy one! Quote
Dobber Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 Helicopter to Helicopter, Airwolf would own BlueThunder hands down. Wouldn't even be close. However, the BlueThunder movie was far better than Airwolf. It still holds up fairly well today. Looks-wise, I like them both, but I just love the "mean" look of BlueThunder. The AirWolf pilot movie is also very good and IMO holds up pretty well today too. Too bad the rest of the show got pretty silly really quick. I'd love to see a modern take on Airwolf. Like I said the pilot would work pretty well today with only minor tweaks. Chris Quote
derex3592 Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 Ohh daaaamn, that Blue Thunder is friggin sweet...must...not...buy!!! Quote
Valkyrie Hunter D Posted July 31, 2015 Author Posted July 31, 2015 What about the 1/32 Blue Thunder? I've been seeing this on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORGANIC-Blue-Thunder-Helicopter-1-32-Dream-Machine-Project-Diecast-Vehicle-NEW-/111325635648?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19eb866440 http://www.collectiondx.com/news_item/11408/diecast_blue_thunder_organic_and_dream_machine There's one thing about it that irks me, and it was a deal breaker. The whole tail assembly needs more mass, and it's angled way too high: Otherwise, I would've jumped on buying it because 1/32 is pretty big. Damn shame. Quote
myk Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) Helicopter to Helicopter, Airwolf would own BlueThunder hands down. Wouldn't even be close. However, the BlueThunder movie was far better than Airwolf. It still holds up fairly well today. Looks-wise, I like them both, but I just love the "mean" look of BlueThunder. The AirWolf pilot movie is also very good and IMO holds up pretty well today too. Too bad the rest of the show got pretty silly really quick. I'd love to see a modern take on Airwolf. Like I said the pilot would work pretty well today with only minor tweaks. Chris Oh for sure. Again, I liken their comparison to say, Superman and the Dark Knight. Airwolf, like Superman is beyond Blue Thunder on terms of paper with stats and whatnot, but there's a "roughness" and a down-to-earth quality that I more easily relate to with Blue Thunder. Blue Thunder, like someone else mentioned, is mean and nasty looking and on that note alone it wins with me, aesthetically speaking. It also sounds cooler? And that Gatling gun! There's one thing about it that irks me, and it was a deal breaker. The whole tail assembly needs more mass, and it's angled way too high: bt.png Otherwise, I would've jumped on buying it because 1/32 is pretty big. Damn shame. Yeah that is angled pretty high;. I think I could learn to live with it though. If I hadn't just bought a pair of Alpinestars gloves I mighta' jumped on that thing. I will research more about it though, as I don't know anything about it and I'm determined to eventually buy it, lol. Some good angles here: http://www.collectiondx.com/toy_review/blue_thunder Edited July 31, 2015 by myk Quote
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