 You know we've looked at a lot of aspects of GI Joe this year We've barely looked at the part of GI Joe that's most important to me I know people like GI Joe for lots of different reasons as a reviewer. I've looked at the science fiction stuff I've looked at the neon colors. I've looked at the space aliens. That's not what GI Joe is to me this week We're gonna get back to GI Joe's roots We're going to peel back the layers of cheap gimmicks and garish colors and look at its heart I think we'll find the heart of GI Joe here in the jungle Welcome to the jungle, baby When I review GI Joe toys from the fantasy side of the toy line I struggle to find positive things to say about them to me those toys miss the point of GI Joe The very name GI Joe tells us what it is no matter how far into outer space GI Joe goes It's still a military toy line the military theme is the very reason it exists in many ways GI Joe was a way to learn about the real world the file cards were filled with real-world references the accessories were often modeled after Real equipment, but for me the education went both ways Learning about the real world was a way to learn about GI Joe I owned stacks of books about military weapons vehicles and aircraft and learning about those things gave me a deeper understanding of the GI Joe world to me the lasers the spaceships and the science fiction stuff was boring That was just made up stuff. The military toys were real At least they seemed real to me at the time I know I'm not the only one who loves the military GI Joe toys and this week we get to Unapologetically indulge in our side of GI Joe no neon no lasers HCC 788 presents RECONDO This is RECONDO GI Joe's jungle trooper from 1984 this figure was first available in 1984 and was also available in 1985 It was discontinued for 1986. This is one of my favorite figures from a pretty spectacular year We got a lot of great figures in 1984 did RECONDO have a predecessor on the GI Joe team in 1983 gung-ho was a jungle warfare training instructor according to his file card But he wasn't a designated jungle trooper did RECONDO have a replacement after the figure was no longer available Well, there are a lot of figures equipped for jungle fighting both before and after RECONDO was released But they weren't usually specifically designated as jungle troopers GI Joe was always prepared for jungle fighting and had plenty of members that could fit that role the second version of RECONDO was from the Tiger Force subset He was the pilot of the Tiger Fly, which was the Tiger Force version of the dragonfly helicopter RECONDO took over the role of wild bill another hat wearing Joe with a mustache There are some peculiarities with the file card for Tiger Force RECONDO I won't delve into that until I review that figure. Does RECONDO have a Cobra counterpart? Well sort of the closest is the range viper from 1990 Cobra's wilderness troopers Cobra didn't do camouflage very well. Even the range viper is not camouflaged for jungle fighting Of course RECONDO was off the pegs long before the range viper was introduced RECONDO was sculpted by Bill Merkline and in fact RECONDO was the first GI Joe figure mr. Merkline sculpted for Hasbro Bill Merkline was responsible for the sculpting work of a lot of popular characters from 1984 and several years thereafter the word RECONDO is a combination of two words Reconnaissance and commando it also refers to graduates of RECONDO school the US Army's training program for a long range Reconnaissance and enemy territory. Let's take a look at RECONDO's accessories He didn't have a lot of accessories, but the ones he had were appropriate. Let's start with his weapon The card contents called this an M1 4e2x rifle it is olive drab green to the best of my knowledge this rifle is based on the Beretta BM 59 mark 3. It's a variant of the BM 59 with a wooden body a Metal folding stock and a pistol grip. It also has a folded up bipod and some sculpted wrapping all around it This is a unique weapon. It looks like RECONDO has customized it for his own use I appreciate the bipod being sculpted on and non-removable Removable bipods were more trouble than they were worth this plastic can be brittle They seem to have used the same brittle light green plastic that was used on earlier GI Joe figures It's very easy to break the barrel the grip or the stock Let's look at RECONDO's only other accessory his backpack Which the card contents call a cross-country backpack and here is another cross-country backpack It's too late to change my mind about this joke isn't it this backpack is olive drab green the same color as the rifle It has what looks like it's supposed to be a metal frame and a canvas backing It's got a sculpted on canteen and a bed roll You might be able to fit this handle on the top of the backpack in the figures hand, but I would not recommend it It's a little bit thick and you might break the figures thumb or you might break this brittle green plastic of the backpack There's a variant of these accessories with a slightly different shade of green The difference is subtle enough that I'm not interested in tracking it down The color of RECONDO's hat will match the shade of the accessories he came with They were probably molded the hat and the accessories together These accessories were released in battle gear accessory pack number three in 1985 in a tan color The accessory pack accessories are almost the same color as RECONDO's uniform and look really good on the figure You may prefer the tan equipment over the green I still prefer the green because it adds some color interest Let's take a look at the articulation on RECONDO He had the articulation that was standard for GI Joe figures in 1984 So he could turn his head from left to right 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 bend his arm at the elbow about 90 degrees 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 You can move his legs apart about so far He could bend his leg at the hip about 90 degrees and bend at the knee about 90 degrees Let's take a look at the sculpt design and color of RECONDO starting with the head and this head is Spectacular he has an olive drab green hat with the brim on RECONDO's left side pulled up We can see a sculpted band that goes over the crown of the hat pulling up that side of the brim This is an Australian bush hat, which is a style of slouch hat Australian soldiers are known for pinning one side of the brim of their hats up like this in addition to that wicked cool hat RECONDO has brown hair looks a little longer than regulation then he has a mustache a brown mustache It looks like this is supposed to be a handlebar mustache The portrait on the file card makes it look that way a hat like this was featured in the 1960s 12-inch GI Joe Australian jungle fighter which was in the action soldiers of the world's subset the 12-inch Australian figure was very likely an influence on the design of RECONDO He has the hat and a very similar color scheme in action force in the UK RECONDO was released in 1985 Their version of RECONDO was Australian on his chest He has an open collar looks like he's left about the top three buttons undone He has a khaki shirt He has a brown pistol holster on his left side with a black pistol in it It's positioned to be drawn with his right hand attached to that pistol holster He has a brown strap that goes over his left shoulder He also has a brown strap with a buckle that runs from the holster over his right shoulder And those details do continue around to the back. So that's nice Also on his chest a right above the pistol is a black Parachutist badge the details on the shirt are all sharp the pockets the collar the holster They all feel real for his debut figure Bill Markline hit this one out of the park RECONDO's chest and his waist piece was used for some variants of the 1987 male away figure Starduster on his arms He has the rolled up sleeves of that khaki shirt and he has a green wristwatch on his left wrist He has a patch on his left sleeve which looks like a black shield with a line or a lightning bolt through it Sources identify this as the patch for the US Army 25th Infantry Division RECONDO It doesn't look exactly like that patch, but it would make sense That could be the source of RECONDO's name on his waist piece He has a brown belt a highly detailed belt He has pouches on the left and right side Really nicely done belt buckle on that very nice very fine details And also we can see that his khaki shirt is tucked under that belt and under the shirt We can see the beginning of his camouflage pattern on his legs We have a dark green a tiger striped camouflage pattern on khaki trousers RECONDO may have painted this camel pattern on his trousers himself most of his equipment seems to be customized He has a pocket on his right leg and on his left leg. He has a black knife He has khaki boot coverings over black boots There are several variations of this camouflage pattern on some figures It's brown on other figures. It's green on some figures The lines are thick on other figures the lines are thin Here are my examples of the variations your RECONDO figure may look different RECONDO is camouflaged for a grassy environment such as a savanna rather than a dense rainforest His uniform is mostly tan with a mix of green and brown both Africa and Australia have such environments This reinforces RECONDO's Australian influence. There are no wasted details on this figure Every element is functional RECONDO looks like he's been in the jungle for some time and he's carrying everything he needs to survive and to fight Let's take a look at RECONDO's file card on his file card It has his faction as G.I. Joe a portrait of RECONDO here really nicely done He is the jungle trooper his codename is RECONDO. His file name is Daniel M. Leclerre His primary military specialty is infantry secondary military specialty is intelligence Birthplace is Wheaton, Wisconsin and his grade is E4. Though the character looks like he should be from Australia RECONDO is from Wheaton, Wisconsin not a very jungly place. This paragraph says RECONDO hates the cold He loves hauling a rucksack through the bush and sweating through his camis when he's in the jungle He owns it. Anybody else is trespassing Codremember at jungle warfare training center qualified expert M16 Swedish K grease gun M1911A1 autopistol M79 grenade launcher RECONDO hates the cold Maybe that's why he got out of Wisconsin this bottom paragraph has a quote It says a jungle is like some single gigantic hostile organism It can sense when you fear or hate it and it is wholly without mercy when RECONDO steps into a jungle It sings to him like a mother soothing a troubled child. That's pretty colorful RECONDO is at home in the jungle. This is reflected in his comic book appearances taking a look at how RECONDO was used in GI Joe Media he had many appearances in the sunbow animated series He had the most exposure in the episode jungle trap in that episode Cobra kidnaps the inventor of a device that harnesses the power of molten lava The Joe's track Cobra to the jungle where their helicopters are shot down The jungle location is convenient for showcasing RECONDO's skill He takes the lead at guiding the team around booby traps and saves them from a rhinoceros Although RECONDO is spotlighted in that episode. It really isn't about RECONDO RECONDO made a fair number of appearances in the animated series But he disappeared when the sunbow series was cancelled He didn't appear in the later deke series in the GI Joe comic book series RECONDO had an inconsequential first appearance in issue number four when the Joe's were preparing to reopen the pit RECONDO's real introduction was an issue number 38 Stalker gung-ho roadblock and ripcord were sent on a mission to Sierra Gordo to rescue Adele Burkhart a scientist introduced in the first issue of the comic book series when they arrived they meet up with RECONDO who had already been in country for months He had befriended a local tribe called Tukaros that story culminates in issue number 39 One of my favorite issues of the entire series The Joe's execute a daring plan to rescue Dr. Burkhart In the melee the Tukaros are killed by snipers as the Joe's escape through the jungle the snipers pursue RECONDO is ordered to drop back and cover their escape when he returns He's carrying two sniper rifles. He drops them into the river most of RECONDO's action is off panel Perhaps because it would be too gruesome for a young audience the implication is clear though RECONDO avenged his friends and eliminated the pursuing snipers RECONDO had a few other appearances in the comic book series He was in special missions number two, but that story wasn't really about RECONDO In fact RECONDO got in the way at one point at the end of that issue a Nazi war criminal is going to be executed And the panels zoom in on clutch's face who has zero remorse about the fate of that Nazi guy Looking at RECONDO overall, of course, this is a top tier figure. I love everything about it I love the colors. They didn't go with the obvious base green color. I love the camouflage I love the hat. I love the rifle. I love the backpack I love how RECONDO was depicted in the comic book. He was serious, smart, tough, and he took care of business This is one figure where I don't have to look past any glaring mistakes. The paint applications are sparse But every detail that seems like it should be painted is painted. The sculpting is crisp. The details are on point He looks like he's been in the jungle for a while living off the land and stalking the enemy But he keeps his mustache trimmed. Hey, living in the wilderness is no excuse to be uncivilized What a joy it has been to review RECONDO. If you enjoy the science fiction and fantasy elements of GI Joe Well, we'll be getting back to that. But RECONDO represents my GI Joe. This is a guy I could take on missions He was ready. No red football jersey. No yellow jumpsuit. No nonsense I actually have to cut myself off or I could talk about RECONDO for hours Next week we're going to look at something that isn't strictly realistic military But it's still pretty good. Don't forget to find me on facebook twitter and patreon and my website hcc788.com Now I've got to get out of these woods before I get poison ivy. Thanks for watching I'll see you next week with another vintage GI Joe toy review and until then remember only GI Joe is GI Joe