G.I. Joe Classified Series Retro Recondo review
The G.I. Joe Real American Hero 1984 wave was when the Joes really started showing some personality with their attire. Recondo was the team’s jungle specialist and had a largely tan attire with a hat and mustache that would make Wild Bill jealous. And he carried a rifle wrapped with tape. It was a cool look and made for a Joe a lot less clean and neat than some of his counterparts.
Recondo was always a fun addition on Joe missions when I was a kid since I always envisioned him as a sneaky and cagey fighter. With most of the 84 lineup knocked out in the G.I. Joe Classified Series — it was a smaller group — and Recondo already getting a release in the Tiger Force line it was just a matter of time. That finally arrived with the latest trio of Retro Card figures.
While he might be the least anticipated of the trio, Recondo was definitely not a figure I was overlooking for the flashier Duke and Scarlett upgrades. Let’s see if Recondo was worth traipsing through the toy aisles or if he should be left in the jungle.
Packaging: Hasbro definitely listened to the complaints about the flimsy packaging used for the first Retro series. This cardstock is greatly improved and is much thicker.
The card art is a revised version of the original card art. I wonder why Hasbro needed to tweak the old art, which looks better than the update. Flip to the back for the vintage file card text and cross sell with images of Duke and Scarlett. As much as I enjoy the classic Retro card, I do miss the skill sets from the new packaging.
Thanks to the Tiger Force Recondo figure, we do know what those skills are in the CS line. He’s got a 2 in light weapons and launcher, a 3 in environmental specialist and a 4 in environmental specialist: jungle.
Likeness: Duke and Scarlett got some significant overhauls with their Retro figures. For Recondo it’s just a simple repaint. He had the benefit of being released after collectors voiced their support for 6″ versions of the RAH designs. And this sculpt is pretty much an exact transfer of the 3.75″ figure to the larger scale.
Recondo has an excellent head sculpt. It conveys so much personality of the experienced trooper that Hawk and Duke can rely on to take care of any jungle mission. His thick bushy mustache with curls at the end gives him a bit more character. His longer than regulation hair reflects a trooper that’s rarely in front of top brass.
Recondo’s shirt has appropriately higher rolled up sleeves with just the top button unbuttoned. His holster is angled to his left side while his untucked in shirt provides a slight fringe thanks to his pouch heavy belt. Note the compass on the left side. He’s also rocking a watch on his left wrist.
On his left leg, he’s got a sheath for his machete. The “biggest” departure from the RAH figure is he’s sporting boots with a top covering instead of the pants resting lower.
Paint: Recondo had a pretty sensible Tiger Force color scheme, but there’s no beating the classic look. Hasbro’s CS team didn’t have any trouble getting the colors and specifically the camouflage just right.
The shirt is a lighter tan while the pants are slightly darker with an olive-green camo pattern. This is some of the best camo work Hasbro has done in the line. It’s not faded and lightly applied covering as much space as it appeared on the original figure.
There was no issue with the detailed work like his eyes, mustache sculpt or smaller areas like his compass or watch.
MORE:
- McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse The Riddler review
- G.I. Joe Classified Series Clutch with VAMP review
- Road House (2024) review
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live – Bye review S1 E3
Scale: Recondo is right at the base height of most Joes. He’s looking eye to eye with wave mates Duke, Spirit and Mutt and looking up at Roadblock.
Articulation: As a jungle trooper or backyard specialist, Recondo needs superior articulation. That’s pretty much the norm for Classified Series provided they’re not wearing some cumbersome flak vest.
You can get some fun poses out of him including tipping his hat and slashing with his machete thanks to the butterfly shoulders.
My figure gets dinged a bit due to a floppy torso. It’s always frustrating “winning” the floppy torso lottery. Thankfully it’s not all that common for me with this line.
Retro Recondo has:
- head
- neck
- shoulders (butterfly)
- elbow (double-jointed)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- mid-torso
- torso
- waist
- hips (ball-jointed)
- drop down hips
- knees (double-jointed)
- ankles
Accessories: Recondo has plenty of worthwhile gear.
Most important is his slouch hat. It’s got a band around the crown that’s not too distracting and helps break up the all green look.
He’s got his M14 EBR rifle and the wraps are still included. This has some terrific detail as usual. Recondo also gets a smaller VP 9 HK for closer combat. Both guns are cast in a lighter green hue with the wraps getting white paint apps.
Recondo also has his backpack. It’s got some nice detail from the canteen to the sleep roll. The sleep roll does get its own paint job.
Finally, he comes with the old school black stand to aid with posing.
Worth It? The Classified Series is the one line from Hasbro where it feels like they pack as much into each figure to justify the $25 price tag. Target had a great sale when they released these figures where you spend $75 and get $15 off. Getting all three of this wave Retro figures basically made Recondo free thanks to a $10 gift card. Paying $25 definitely wouldn’t have felt like a terrible deal though.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Floppy torso aside this is a great version of Recondo with a dutiful approach to making this a classic take on the Joe’s jungle trooper.
Where to Get It? Previously, the Retro line was exclusive to Wal-Mart and Hasbro Pulse. To help more collectors access them, you can now grab Recondo from Target and GameStop as well. If you prefer the online route, Amazon and Entertainment Earth also have him available.
As an Amazon Associate and Entertainment Earth affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.