Hasbro branched out with their toy lines in 1986 and '87, supporting several new brands by cross promoting with their other ones. I was big into G.I.Joe and Transformers at the time, and when I got a new catalog in a Joe vehicle I got a little memorized by it. The catalog wasn't for G.I.Joe, but for a new line Hasbro was bringing out called Air Raiders. When the toys began to trickle into the market, I was able to get the figure packs and a few small vehicles. I wouldn't be able to get any of the bigger stuff until it went on clearance some time later. But even with the few things I had, and the toys my brothers got, we played the hell out of those Air Raiders for the remainder of '87.
I have sadly never gotten back into fully collecting Air Raiders. I pick up random things here and there, but nothing major. I have never really felt like tracking down the rarer prototype bits from the 2nd series or anything. I was however surprised to see Hasbro's prototype photos for the 1st series, and the figures and elements of the vehicles were all different.
I think the protos are interesting, but much prefer the final production designs.
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