 Hey everybody! I'm recording this video at night for the debut of Night Force on this channel. I'm also trying to conceal myself. I'm reviewing Outback again, and last time I reviewed Outback, things got a little out of hand. Since this is my channel now, maybe I don't feel like talking about G.I.G.A. I feel like talking about something else, like RainbowBright channel, RainbowBright all the time. I don't want to have another RainbowBright takeover of this channel, so I'm gonna make sure RainbowBright can't find me. Fortunately, I learned perfect night concealment techniques from Night Force. I think it's safe to start the review. Hello everybody! HoodedCoverCommander788 here. It's time for another vintage G.I. Joe Toyer review. Can you see me right now? I'll bet you can't. That's because I've mastered perfect night concealment. This is the best way to introduce Night Force. Night Force is a popular subset of G.I. Joe with collectors because they are rare figures and they're also pretty awesome. They took already awesome figures and changed their colors for night missions. What can be cooler than that? I figure it's safe to do this review in hiding. When I review Outback, RainbowBright tries to take over the channel and I'm not gonna let that happen. RainbowBright is the opposite of Night Force. Can you figure out where I'm hiding? If you can spot me, I'll give you a no prize. This is a review I've been looking forward to doing since I got the figure. Night Force HCC788 presents Night Force Outback. The 1988 Night Force Outback. This is version 2 of Outback, G.I. Joe's survival specialist. This figure was first available in 1988 as part of the first wave of Night Force figures. There was a second wave of Night Force figures in 1989, but I am unclear about whether the first wave of Night Force figures was also available in 1989. All Night Force figures were available in two packs. Night Force Outback was packaged with Night Force Crazy Legs. They were also exclusive to Toys R Us, so they weren't widely available at retail. All Night Force figures were reissues of earlier figures, but with new color schemes. They were mostly in darker colors than the original, but not always. Night Force Falcon, for example, his colors are less Night Attack ready than his original figure. The first version of Outback was released in 1987 and was still on the pegs in 1988, so these figures were available at the same time, but of course you could only get the Night Force Outback at Toys R Us. There were a couple later versions of Outback released in 1993. They were wildly different from the first two versions. Yojo.com lists these as versions 3 and 4, but I consider them to be variants of the same version. Comparing version 1 and version 2, one problem I always had with version 1 of Outback was the white shirt. It was inappropriate for combat. The rest of the figure was perfect, but his shirt didn't quite fit. Version 2 fixes that. The most obvious Cobra counterpart to Night Force would be the Night Viper, released in 1989, the year after this figure. The direct Cobra counterpart for Outback would be the Range Vipers from 1990 who had wilderness survival training like Outback. The practice of recoloring old figures and releasing them as subsets became popular in the late 80s. In 1988 they issued Tiger Force, which was entirely made up of reissued figures. Tiger Force is better known than Night Force since it was more broadly available. In 1989, Python Patrol and Slaughter's Marauders used reissued figures. The accessories for version 2 of Outback are the same as version 1, but the colors of most of them have changed and for the better. They are black, which is perfect for night missions. Let's take a look at Night Force Outback's accessories starting with his rifle. I have his rifle carefully slung across his chest and over his shoulder. I do not put this rifle in his hand and there's a reason for that. This rifle, as far as I can tell, is the same as the one that was issued with the original Outback figure. If there's any difference, I have not been able to spot it. It has this strap that goes from the front to the very back and that is very fragile. Also, it connects to the back of the rifle very close to the grip. So it's impossible to put the rifle in the figure's hand without putting strain on this connection for the strap. This one, in fact, is just barely holding on, so I try not to put any more strain on it than absolutely necessary. This rifle appears to be a modified version of the Heckler & Koch HK-53. In the first Outback video, I think I had this pegged as a G3, but upon further reflection, I think it looks more like the HK-53. The next accessory is his flashlight. The flashlight is very small. It is black. It has a red dot painted on it for the lens. The paint application is a nice touch and it's an upgrade from the version 1 flashlight which was green and did not have any paint color on it. Because of the size of this flashlight, it is often missing. It pegs onto the action figure. There's a hole on the action figure's left leg and it just pegs into there. It actually pegs in pretty solidly. I don't usually worry about it falling out. Outback's next accessory is his backpack. It is very large, but that's appropriate for Outback's specialty. He's a wilderness survival specialist, so he would carry a lot of survival and camping gear in it. It is the same backpack as version 1, but doesn't it look superb in black? Even though this backpack is quite large, it doesn't seem to put the figure too much off balance. He still stands perfectly well with the figure stand. His final accessory is his web belt. The belt goes around his waist and over his shoulders and around the back of his neck. This would be the load bearing equipment for his backpack. We didn't get this kind of accessory very often in GI Joe and it's nice that they gave us this for Outback. It's nice to have straps for the backpack. Usually the straps were just sculpted onto the figure, or sometimes they were omitted. The belt connects in the back with a buckle and it is a tight fit. It just has a tab that fits into a loop that can very easily be removed. The belt itself has some nice detail with a stitching pattern for the belt and pouches. With the accessories out of the way, let's take a look at the articulation on Night Force Outback. He had the articulation that was standard for figures in 1988. He could turn his head from left to right and look up and down. He could swing his arm up at the shoulder and swivel at the shoulder all the way around. He had a hinge at the elbow that allowed him to move at the elbow about 90 degrees and he had a swivel at the bicep that allowed him to swivel his arm all the way around. The figure was held together with a rubber O-ring that looped around the inside. That allowed him to move at the torso a bit. He could move his legs apart about so far. He could bend his leg at the hip about 90 degrees and he could bend at the knee about 90 degrees. Let's take a look at the sculpt design and color of Night Force Outback. And of course, they did entirely reuse the mold from version 1 of Outback. They even still have the copyright 1987 stamp on the inside of the leg. On his head, he has ginger hair, kind of long hair, a full beard, red eyebrows and black eyes. He has a black bandana tied around his head. The knot is there in the back. His hair color is pretty close to the same as version 1. But on version 1, that bandana is green. A lot of collectors think this face looks like Chuck Norris. And I think that's what they were going for. He bears a resemblance to Chuck Norris in missing in action. It's not a perfect likeness, but it's close enough. On his chest, we have the most significant difference between this figure and the original. He is wearing a green t-shirt instead of the white t-shirt that was on the original. But he still has survival printed across his chest. The source of this survival motto was printed on the file card for version 1. It is not on the version 2 file card. It is an excerpt from the US Army Ranger Handbook 1969 edition. Survival stands for S. Size up the situation. U. Undo haste makes waste. R. Remember where you are. V. Vanquish fear and panic. I. Improve your situation. V. Value living. A. Act like the natives. And L. Learn basic skills. The color change for this shirt is the best upgrade from version 1. Outback looks battle ready. I see this figure as Outback's combat uniform, whereas his version 1 figure seems more like a training uniform. Moving on to his arms, we have the biggest flaw on this figure. He's wearing short sleeves, green. He has a muscular build. He has black gloves, and he has a black watch on his right wrist. And the odd thing is, the sleeves are a different color green than the rest of the shirt. The shirt on the chest is kind of a dark olive drab green, whereas the sleeves are more of a kelly green. There's no good reason for this. This is the only place where this green color appears on the figure. Doing it the right color would not have required another paint spray. They just did it the wrong color. It's distracting. On his waist, he has a black belt, a couple pockets in the back. His belt buckle has a sculpted eagle on it. On his legs, he has green trousers, the same color as the green on the chest. He has a black pocket on his right leg. On his left leg, he has an unpainted pocket. And of course, he has the hole where the flashlight pegs in. He has a sculpted stripe that goes down both legs. On his left ankle, he has a black knife. He has a strap that kind of goes around his left shin. Then he has black, pretty standard-looking combat boots. Obviously, the only difference between this figure and the original is the color. So that's what we're looking at. But this is night force. The obvious color that they could have gone with would be black. But they didn't. They went with a dark green. And I think that's really smart. The green works well with this figure, and not just for night missions. You can use Outback on any mission in this color scheme. Let's take a look at the file card. This file card is partially the same as the original. The biographical and specialty information is the same. We have his faction as G.I. Joe, and there is the night force logo there. We have a portrait of Outback, and as you can see, they did try to reflect the different colors of the sleeves in the portrait. It just doesn't look right. His name is Outback, and he's the survivalist. His file name is Stuart R. Selkirk. Primary military specialty is infantry. Secondary military specialty is survival training instructor. Birthplace is Big Piney, Wyoming, and his grade is E-5. His first paragraph is mostly the same as the original. It says, Outback was an instructor at both the survival school and jungle warfare training center. He has had extensive experience in Central America and may or may not have participated in clandestine operations in the Middle East. Most people are intimidated by the wilderness, and here's where we have a difference from the original. On the version 1 file card, they had a typo there. Well, they fixed that on version 2. It says, they do not feel comfortable in an area where there is no sign of human life for miles. Not Outback, exclamation point. That's another change on the version 1 file card. It's just a period. He believes in being part of his environment, not its adversary. This bottom paragraph is entirely different from the version 1 file card. The version 1 file card of course has the survival acronym from the U.S. Army Ranger Handbook. It says, a covert team that functions at night and lays low during the daylight hours has its own peculiar survival problems. A nice cozy spot to set up an ambush could also be a preferable nesting place for poisonous snakes. A dry stream bed might be an inviting place to pitch a shelter if one didn't know about the possibility of flash floods. It's Outback's job to get the night force team to their target intact and healthy. This night force file card is really good. It's an update from the version 1 file card. It doesn't just copy and paste. It also vividly describes Outback's role on the team. It's well written. It's gritty and realistic. Taking a look at how Outback was used in G.I. Joe Media, he didn't appear in the animated series at all. He was only animated for commercials. Looking at the G.I. Joe comic book series published by Marvel Comics, Outback first appeared in issue number 59, but he had more important appearances later. In issue number 61, he took part in a mission with Stalker, Quick Kick and Snowjob in the fictional country of Borovia. The mission went badly. Stalker, Quick Kick and Snowjob were captured. Outback was the only one to make it out. Special missions number 6 tells the story of Outback's escape from Borovia. He has to use his wits and survival skills to escape the pursuit of the evil Colonel Ratnikov. Outback had a few scattered appearances later in the series, but he didn't have much impact on the story. Looking at night force Outback overall, this is easily a top tier figure. It isn't perfect though. Miscolored sleeves are a problem. They're not so badly miscolored that you can't overlook them, but they're still wrong, and there's no good reason for them to be wrong. We also lose the camouflage from the original figure, making this figure mostly monochromatic. The good points far outweigh the minor flaws. Going with dark green was not an obvious choice. You would expect them to go with black for night force. I'm glad they went with the green though. They gave us an Outback that is ready for any mission, not just a night mission. The black accessories are absolutely perfect. It's not easy for a reissued figure to make it to the top tier, but this is how you do it. This adds something special. The color change makes the figure more functional for his job. I honestly can't decide which I like more, the original or the night force version. Not every night force figure is as great as this one, but I am a night force fan. It's a great idea for a sub team. It makes more sense than Tiger Force. That was my review of Night Force Outback. I hope you enjoyed it. And I'm sure no one was able to see me in my night concealment, so nobody gets a no prize. But someday, you may need to hide in the dark, so I will reveal to you my secret night hiding technique. I was standing behind the camera. That is the secret. If you need to hide from your enemies in the dark, simply stand behind the camera. They will not be able to see you. If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up, leave a comment, and subscribe. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon. And I have a website, hcc788.com, where you can find all of my G.I. Joe reviews. Thank you for your patience when I was sick. My illness took me out of commission for almost two weeks, at a time when I really needed to be working on videos. But I'm back up to speed now and I'm catching up on my work. I'll see you all next week for another vintage G.I. Joe toy review. Until then, remember, only G.I. Joe is G.I. Joe. I better hide again. Susan, I wanted to talk to you a minute about my favorite special memory, Rainbow Bright. Rainbow Bright is a doll that came out in 1983 by the Hallmark card people. And her first episode came out in July 27th, 1984. And that's a very special date because in 1984, that was my very first memory. You know how when you don't remember anything or you have what you think of the dreams, but you're not really sure, but you have little snippets, but you're just not sure. Well, mine was Rainbow Bright. And on December 25th, 1984, I distinctly remember having a nightmare of a pirate ship in a pirate map. And I woke up and I was like, that was really scary. I don't ever want to see that ever, ever again. But keep in mind, I was sharing a room with my sister in an attic. And when you're four, everything's really huge and it was dark and I was scared. And so I went downstairs, but I was also thinking, oh my God, I'm actually seeing things. I'm not really aware of what things are and where to go. It was just weird to me. But the lucky thing is when I was going downstairs, I saw a big Christmas tree and it was Christmas. And I was like, yes, awesome. Well, I go downstairs and I'm doing opening up stuff. But this was my very first memory, my very first gift I ever opened. And I screamed and I freaked out. I was so happy that I got this. But not only this, I got starlight and I got some star spreads that I don't have anymore. And as I grew older, this was the very last thing that my mom packed up and gave to Goodwill because that's what she always did, just to get rid of kids stuff. So it's very special to me. It just brings back so many good childhood memories. And I just wanted to take a minute and take over Brian's channel and to review it like I promised you guys that I would. But this will not be the very, very bright channel. This is Brian's and he's letting me use it just this one time. So I hope you enjoyed and I hope I fulfilled your curiosity because I know some of you have been. So this will not be the very, very bright channel. This is Brian's and he's letting me use it.