Unit #1: Command Jet Explorer/Kurugger 1
Pilot: Jeff Dukane [Voltron]/Manabu Aki [Dairugger XV]

The first segment of the Air team doubles up as Voltron's head. While the shape is an obvious give-away, doors slide across to hide the face, and it's a fairly convincing rocket/jet thing - the colours and design aren't actually a million miles away from Thunderbird 1, an interesting similarity considering Popy held the license for that series around this time, producing versions for their Popynica vehicle range. The wheeled trolley underneath spoils the look a little, but it's not bad. The most fragile part of this unit is the small forward-swept wings just below the cockpit - these are often broken off on loose examples.

Unit #2: Strato Weapons Module/Kurugger 2
Pilot: Rocky [Voltron]/Shinobu Kai [Dairugger XV]

The upper torso/shoulders of Voltron and one of the largest individual units, this one feels a little out of place in the Air Team - even the stubby chromed wings won't convince you this one can fly… Regardless of the cartoon, I like to think of this as some sort of ground-based air control vehicle. Once again, a heavy Gerry Anderson vibe runs through the design - you can see this thing chugging along in a model desert before dropping down a hole where its' atomic engines threaten to overheat unless International Rescue can haul it out inside 50 minutes (or an hour with adverts). Considering there are five connection points on this thing, it manages to stand up in its' own right pretty well - the head and midriff connections are nicely covered (the inclusion of a moving flap to cover the latter is a marvellous touch showing a bit of thought has gone into making these look as solid as possible), while the chrome detailing hides the chest-plate connection. Only the shoulder sockets are visible, but it's not too much of a stretch to imagine these as an air intake and an engine nacelle. This unit has the most separate moving parts, with the winglets and rear fin - the holes in the former are, apparently, the same on the Japanese version and were never firing launchers or anything. They do give the impression of a couple of launchers, though, adding to the illusion.

Unit #3: Advanced Recon Helicopter/Kurugger 3
Pilot: Wolo [Voltron]/Shota Kruez [Dairugger XV]

One of the two upper arm units, this one is loosely modelled on a helicopter, and is one of the most realistic components. The colour scheme is pretty neat, and the thing has rotating blades. The blades are quite fragile, though due to the circle around the outside they tend to go at the stem rather than come off altogether (unless all three stems go, obviously). The connectors on this one are glaring, possibly moreso than usual because the vehicles are more easily recognisable. Popy have made an attempt to hide them, though, trying to blend the elbow into the tail of the helicopter and providing a dummy post on the opposite side to the shoulder connection.

Unit #4: Advanced Recon Helicopter/Kurugger 4
Pilot: Chip Stoker [Voltron]/Yasuo Mutsu[Dairugger XV]

The opposite unit to #3, and sharing the same basic layout, Popy have at least tried to make the helicopter look different - it resembles more an attack helicopter than the rounded appearance of its' companion, and the blue band around the middle helps too. It largely suffers from the same faults, though, with the obvious connectors (though the elbow connector on this one is rendered in the same colour as the main body, and stands out a little less). I'll stress again that unlike the rest of the limb pieces, the shoulder helicopters are not interchangeable, as the dummy connectors are just that, and do not clip into the Strato Weapons Module.

Unit #5: Falcon VT Fighter/Kurugger 5 [Dairugger XV]
Pilot: Ginger [Voltron]/Patty Ellington [Dairugger XV]

Probably the hardest individual unit to find, it's also one of the most recognisable as a vehicle. While not realistic, it's a very nice design with some neat paint apps, and as it forms Voltron's chest plate, very few compromises have to be made for the combination process. The connections are two small white flaps on the underside - these snap fairly easily (always get confirmation they're present when buying a loose one, as their absence might not be obvious to a non-expert seller). Indeed, the whole thing is rather fragile, with the whole wing arrangement being cast from thin plastic. Of the 15 core vehicles, its' purpose is entirely decorative on Voltron, but it really does add a lot to the look. However, it's also the one most likely to be missing, and could set you back up to £15 to buy separately.

Strato Fighter [Voltron]/Kurugger [Dairugger XV]

The combined team vehicles aren't something I'm particularly fond of - they've always seemed like an afterthought to make the large figure easier to market for Popy (and later Matchbox) by splitting it into three sets (though both did sell the whole thing as a Giftset as well, however). The Air Team is probably the worst - it's rather obviously just the top third of Voltron. The only real changes from the robot form are sliding the doors over the face, removing the forearms and the bottom two-thirds of the figure, closing the flap over the midriff connection and turning the Falcon VT Fighter around. The result is a rather unwieldy spaceship that it's difficult to imagine having much use. It looks like what it is, five separate vehicles thrown together...