80's Joe Vehicles in Real World

[John Missal]

I always imagined that the Flagg was a re-commissioned older carrier put back into service for the Joes as an after thought. Such as the Forrestal-class http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest...rcraft_carrier

[Shogi]

I think the BUZZ BOAR was inspired by the Monowheel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monowheel

[Rooster3D]

That would make a very good USS Flagg, indeed. There are pics of the USS Forrestal itself with several F-14s on the deck. I had never heard of this class of carrier before. In fact, the obscurity of it is what makes it even better, because intell on GI Joe is supposed to be mostly TOP SECRET. Good call.

[DPrime]

I always imagined that the Flagg was a re-commissioned older carrier put back into service for the Joes as an after thought. Such as the Forrestal-class http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest...rcraft_carrier

I know it doesn't look like one, but I always thought of it as an amphibious assault ship, like the Tarawa-class or Wasp.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarawa_...s_assault_ship

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasp_class

It's the only way I can get over the size. Still not exactly 1/18th of course, but closer. I wish they had done it with a straight deck.

Anyway, I remember reading a Popular Mechanics magazine back in the '80s, and it had some drawings of a concept fighter much like the X-Wing (the GI Joe one)... Anyone remember that? Actually, it had pics of something a lot like the GI Joe Stealth Fighter too... can't remember what that was called...

[the doctor]

The USS Flagg was designed after this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_H...rcraft_carrier

[Rooster3D]

The USS Flagg was designed after this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_H...rcraft_carrier

That is also a good contender. You seem so confident. What's your source?

[the doctor]

I don't remember exactly where I read it. As we all know the Flagg is designated number 66. This was in honor of the carrier it was designed after. The number 66 was the USS America. The USS America is a Kitty Hawk class aircraft carrier. They did make obvious improvements on the design but it is based on that class carrier.

[DPrime]

I thought the Flagg was no. 99?

The configuration of the Kitty Hawks, Forrestals and Nimitzes are all pretty similar, especially compared to a simplified toy like the Flagg. It's hard to say which one it was specifically designed after, if it was in fact designed after only one class. Given that the Hasbro team those days tended to look ahead more than back (given the prototypes and stuff like the JUMP, Skyhawk, etc), I would say they probably looked most at the most modern of the three, the Nimitz. However, they could have just as easily taken a bunch of photographs of all kinds of carriers and based their designs off of all of them. In fact, that's probably the most likely case.

[the doctor]

Nope the Flagg is 66. You read from the command tower's perspective. So looking down it is 66. I actually just found this to help supoort my claim.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Flagg

[Rooster3D]

Nope the Flagg is 66. You read from the command tower's perspective. So looking down it is 66. I actually just found this to help supoort my claim.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Flagg

Aw come on, that wikipedia page looks just like what you wrote. Did you edit that page? Hop back in your TARDIS, go back in time, and fix it.

EDIT: on the box art, there is clearly a "99" on the bridge. Are you going to tell us that we should have been standing on our heads when we read it?