 Commander 788 here and this week we have a special video. This may be the specialist of all of our special videos because this week we have a special guest and that is none other than G.I. Joe Berg. Now you probably already know what G.I. Joe Berg is but in case you don't it is a great G.I. Joe related podcast out of South Africa and they also do some excellent G.I. Joe Toy Review videos right here on YouTube. So for this video G.I. Joe Berg and HC788 come together and we are going to answer the tough questions. We are going to address a burning issue within the G.I. Joe community. Who was G.I. Joe's best mountain trooper? Was it the 1985 alpine or was it the 1988 hit and run? We know you have all been asking this question. You've probably had many arguments about it during family dinners. Well we're gonna take it on right now. Arguing for the 1988 hit and run will be G.I. Joe Berg. Arguing for the 1985 alpine will be Hood and Cobra Commander 788. So I ask you all to lend your focus and attention as G.I. Joe Berg provides the opening argument. The eyes. The eyes. How many vintage Joes have the whites of their eyes painted? Just one. Hit and run. But this debate has a very important very subjective topic which is the best mountaineer on the Joe team. 1985's alpine or 1988's hit and run. G.I. Joe Berg says the title belongs to hit and run and if you're undecided then this review is aimed at you. 88 was a good year. In one year you had a big green amphibious personnel carrier and a rocket ship. You had a purple dude in a bulky suit and you had a bog standard green army man. The very basis for G.I. Joe. That green army man was hit and run. Orphaned after his family was wiped out in a car accident. Absorbed into the system until he was old enough to run away from it and he ran straight into the army where he excelled enough to make the Joe team. He's sneaky, fast, resourceful, all the attributes that make him an excellent infantryman. But hit and run is also a mountaineer of distinction and the figure is well equipped for his purpose. Rope. Lots and lots of rope. And an ingenious and unobtrusive play feature for winding it in and out of his bag. Sculpted snap links. And a big old knife that sheaths on the side. One of the first improvements I made as a youngster was to up the length of the rope and the grapple claw didn't inspire much confidence with its thin plastic. So I managed to find a sturdier substitute. That's not cheating is it? I suppose you could up the length of rope for alpine but where would you put it? Hit and Run's gear makes perfect allowance for additional rope. Advantage hit and run. Forgetting the job done he packs a Colt 9mm submachine gun. The Colt has a reputation for being far more accurate than typical SMGs with an extendable stock and a closed bolt which sets it apart from the open bolt of Alpine's stockless Beretta Model 12 SMG. The Colt weapon is newer having only been first produced in 1982 specifically for the war on drugs. Alpine packs a true relic. His gun was first produced in 1962. Did you know that the Colt weapon accepts Uzi magazines? Yep you know what that means. Hit and Run carries the same ammunition as Snake Eyes. Two man infiltration team anyone? The sculpt is damn fine too. Minimal functional. He's not wearing anything extraneous. Green BDUs with a black harness and helmet. Two black fragmentation grenades. Two pouches for mags or maybe chalk. A red lens akin to low light to acclimatize his eyes to low light conditions. And a clever play feature embedded in the sculpt something which was unprecedented in the vintage line he has a belt loop allowing you to run a rope line through. He can do simulated fast rope drops or zip lining. Awesome. Lastly he means business. I loved this figure as a child but I loved him for about a week before he disappeared into the jungles of my cousin's garden. He's that good at concealment. The camo pattern is devastatingly effective in the mottled black and green shadows of the triple canopy. I don't think there's a more sneaky looking Joe in the vintage line. Nun Chuck notwithstanding and that guy's on the ninja force. How can Alpine be a true mountaineer with gloves that thick? You need to be able to feel the rock. Ask any climber. He's got an open jacket over a shirt. What possible function could that have other than looking trendy as a stand-in on Michael Jackson's thriller video shoot? The shoulder pads would fit right in. And a peak cap. Form BX257 put it best when he said Alpine's sculpt looks like a civilian hiker done up in military greens and browns. The end result is a Joe that looks the parts in color pallets only and not design. The pickaxe is so oversized it would look more suitable in a quarry breaking rocks. And these anchors are just as frail as Hit and Run's grapple but without the handy duffel storage gimmick Hit and Run comes out on top yet again. In closing the best way to summarize the difference in these figures is embedded in their names. When I think of the word Alpine, I think of downhill skiing, glue vine by the fire in the mountain resort. Basically a Peter Stuyvesant commercial. When I think of Hit and Run, I think of death. Death that you don't see coming before it's too late and gone before anyone can do anything about it. Both figures fit their names sake perfectly. I know which Joe I'd rather have on my squad. It's Hit and Run. Well argued G.I. Joe Berg but now it's time to make the case for G.I. Joe's first and best Mountain Trooper Alpine. 1988 was a good year but 1985 was a great year. It introduced some of the most iconic characters of the line. That year reintroduced Snake Eyes in his most memorable uniform. It introduced new character dynamics such as the relationship between Flint and Lady J. And it also introduced G.I. Joe's first dedicated mountaineer Alpine. Hit and Run is an excellent action figure. I've said so before. I think it is a top-tier figure. Although this figure came out at the tail end of my collecting experience, I did have it as a kid. It was one of the few figures from 1988 that kept my interest in G.I. Joe alive. The question however is who is the better Mountain Trooper? The answer is not a slam dunk. Hit and Run has some good points but Alpine comes out on top. Let's compare their weapons. Alpine had a Beretta Model 12 and Hit and Run came with a Colt 9 millimeter submachine gun. In reality Mountain Troopers used weapons more similar to Hit and Runs. However Alpine has also made a good choice of weapon. Mountain fighting could often be close quarters. The enemy may be just a few feet away, just around the next ridge. A short barrel light submachine gun would probably work well in that environment. Both Alpine and Hit and Run's weapons have the same flaw. No straps on the weapon. No way to sling them over the shoulder or store them while the figure is climbing. Both could have used that feature and neither had it. So they come out even in that respect. Let's talk about their climbing equipment which is important because we are talking about mountaineers and look at all this climbing gear that Alpine came with. He came with a grapple hook launcher and these do exist in the real world. This would extend Alpine's reach beyond just how far he could throw a hook. Hit and Run lacks this Alpine came with a pickaxe and this pickaxe is probably more for use on ice rather than rock which would allow Alpine to gain a handhold above the snow line. Hit and Run lacks this which would limit his climbing range. Alpine had a grapple line with hooks on both ends. This grapple line works great in conjunction with the pickaxe which has this little notch and if you run the line through that notch Alpine can use his pickaxe to zip down the line. Alpine's backpack has a space to hold the pickaxe and accessory storage like this is always a bonus. Hit and Run's duffel bag does hold his knife so in that respect they both come out even. Looking at Hit and Run's climbing equipment it is all in the duffel bag which is very large and it has to be to accommodate the hook and real gimmick but with it on the figure it makes the figure top-heavy and difficult to balance. The duffel bag has one hook and a pretty good amount of black line and it can be reeled in that's the gimmick. Now it doesn't have the double hook that Alpine has but the strap of the duffel bag could be hooked on something so you could still get the same effect. The figure does have that loop on his harness but that is not an accessory. The only accessory that he has that has anything to do with mountaineering is this duffel bag and this duffel bag as nice as it is is very large. It's so large that it can interfere with his primary duty to which every other part of the figure points which is jungle warfare and if he drops his duffel bag to fight range vipers and night vipers then he won't be climbing anything. Let's look at the sculpt and color of these figures and this is where Alpine really shines. He does wear gloves as he should. Real mountain troops do wear gloves similar to Alpine's if they didn't the ropes would shred their hands. The paint deco on Alpine is so well done it's hard to believe Hasbro even did it. It must have been very expensive including the base plastic color there are five colors on Alpine's chest. There are three colors on his head. They even painted the carabiners on his left leg silver even though there is no silver paint anywhere else on the figure. The color choices are also excellent. He has a variety of colors that would fit with the lower wooded foothills of a mountain the rocky area above the tree line and even a bit of lighter color for when he approaches the snow line. In short Alpine is colored as a mountaineer. The sculpted details also reflect his specialty. The additional ropes long across his body tells you exactly what his job is. The long sleeves for colder higher altitudes, the gloves for handling rope, the carabiners on his leg, the goggles. Everything about this figure says that he works in the mountains. In contrast Hidden Runs paint is minimalist and not suited for mountain climbing. Hidden Run is an excellent action figure. I love the figure. I want to make sure I emphasize that. I think most GI Joe fans do but he is an infantryman equipped to fight in the jungle. Nearly every millimeter of the figure is specialized for that purpose. The camouflage, the helmet, the red preservation goggles, the face paint, the knife. With the helmet and harness Hidden Run looks more like a paratrooper to me. In fact the target exclusive version of Hidden Run was a paratrooper. Alpine however has numerous sculpted details that work nowhere other than the mountains. He has multiple accessories not just one that enable him to do his job. His coloring fits his job as well. Although Alpine would welcome Hidden Run's assistance up to a certain point I'm sure he would ask Hidden Run to bring some additional equipment and a change of uniform if he wants to join the advanced class. That includes my opening argument for Alpine. GI Joe Berg, have you a rebuttal? Hooded Cobra Commander you make some formidable arguments but I have a few problems. In terms of weapons you say it's a dead heat both weapons are equally matched and yes they both fire nine millimeter ammunition both have an effective range of a hundred meters and are both SMGs but that's where the similarities end. The Colt weapon fires from a closed bolt it has an extendable stock a longer barrel and greater muzzle velocity therefore it has greater accuracy ensuring effective kills. Also Hidden Run carries two fragmentation grenades and a big old combat knife for the silent kill. I doubt Alpine could do much better with his pickaxe at taking out the guards discreetly. In terms of color you say that Alpine is perfectly suited to his role well in Sephora's he wears greens and browns that may be true but then he tops it off with a crisp white shoot me right here t-shirt then again his best buddy runs around the battlefield in a red football jersey so I guess the guys back in 85 weren't taking their jobs too seriously and production value be damned. Hidden Run only has five colors on him but they are perfect for his purpose of concealment. I still can't find my childhood Hidden Run who went MIA 28 years ago in my cousin's backyard. Huda Cobra Commander you also say that the sculpt of Alpine is perfectly suited to mountaineering yes he does have a nicely sculpted rope across his chest but there's one important missing feature something that Hidden Run has in spades and that is a very prominent load bearing harness. Finally the topic is which is the best GI Joe mountaineer. There are two important terms in that topic the first is mountaineer the second is GI Joe you cannot take the one in isolation of the other. Hidden Run is not just a mountaineer he's a good infantryman he's a solid runner he's a parrot trooper he's also a demolitions expert he's lethal and clearly proficient in concealment Alpine might be able to scale rocks but at the end of the day he's just a finance clerk playing soldier. Happy Thanksgiving everyone and have a great November. Oh yeah well Hidden Run is green now it's assumed that he is Caucasian wearing green face paint but is it true is there any evidence of that not only is his face green his neck is green his hands front and back are green his arms are green every bit of exposed skin is green I suspect that that is his true skin color and everybody knows that nothing good has ever come from someone with green skin except for this one and this one and this one and this one and this one and this one okay that may not be my strongest argument. So now GI Joe Berg you are asking us to accept Hidden Run as GI Joe's best mountaineer for reasons now that have nothing to do with mountaineering I would say you are describing Hidden Run as a jack of all trades but that is not the full expression the full expression is a jack of all trades an expert at none and I would agree with that assessment of Hidden Run. He may be competent in many areas but Alpine is great in one he is the greatest GI Joe mountaineer. Now ladies and gentlemen of the jury you have heard the arguments and it is up to you to decide who was the greatest GI Joe mountaineer was it Hidden Run or was it Alpine. Deliberate carefully and we await your decision. Thank you GI Joe Berg this was a fun idea I hope everyone enjoyed it don't forget to look for GI Joe Berg on YouTube and subscribe to their channel and listen to the GI Joe Berg podcast it is filled with GI Joe goodness and make sure you check back on this channel next week for another GI Joe review and next week I have planned something a little different something a little special I hope you like it and until then remember only GI Joe is GI Joe.