G.I. Joe Classified Series Dial-Tone action figure review No. 149

Dial-Tone has been a figure I wasn’t entirely sure was going to be joining the collection. I pre-ordered him along with wave mates Leatherneck and Zandar, but it took many, many months for him to finally get processed. No problem since he is now set to join the rest of his 1986 squad mates.

While my main Joe communications expert is and will always be Breaker, I did like Dial-Tone’s design from his snazzy beret to his cool backpack. He was one of the first four Joes I picked up from this wave alongside Gen. Hawk, Beach-Head and Wet Suit so it’s pretty cool to actually have him represented in the Classified Series line with Wet-Suit arriving any week now.

Let’s see if Dial-Tone was worth the dial-up sized wait or if I need to call someone and gripe about him.

Packaging: Dial-Tone is a standard release figure with the usual setup of the slightly obscured window, the QR Code to nowhere and small stat break down on the left side and a large portrait on the right side. I really dig his portrait as it shows him in action clearly listening in to Cobra’s plans.

Over on the back is a rendered image with Dial-Tone patrolling a crash site with Leatherneck in the background. He’s posed in a way that suggests he could be using his cell phone to communicate and show the wreckage behind him.

His skill set rankings are 3 in telecommunications device and electrical engineering and a 2 in communications and cryptography.

Likeness: Following the trend of the 1985 lineup, the Joe designs got more intricate with the 86 series. Dial-Tone had one of my favorite designs of the 86 crew with the aforementioned beret, his slight mustache, his flared collared shirt draped over his deep turquoise vest with a shoulder strap loaded with two grenades and a pair of communication devices on either wrist. Throw in some green kneepads and boots and you’ve got a sharp-dressed Joe.

The Classified Series team really didn’t have to do much to modernize that design. Instead, they just opted for adding a few more details like really emphasizing the vest with some texturing and paneling.

His shoulder strap has a bit more variety with the arrangement of the pouches although it’s a bit too fidgety and doesn’t really “lock” in place anywhere causing it to ride up closer to his collar and neck. His right wrist device has mini tools for Dial-Tone to handle any maintenance on the field. His left wrist has a watch now.

A cool addition is a throat microphone and earpiece sculpted into his left ear. That’s a nice touch. Dial-Tone also has a pouch on his belt to hold some of his gear. His right leg has a holster for a comms device that is not removable while his left boot has a sheath for his knife.

As you’d expect, the beret is removable showing a short and tight haircut for Dial-Tone. It fits him perfectly as he’s not a Joe that would verge far off from the standard military style.

Scale: Dial-Tone was definitely a regular height and size guy so he should be looking General Hawk, Lowlight and Beach-Head eye to eye. He definitely shouldn’t be doing the same with Roadblock or Sgt. Slaughter.

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Paint: Dial-Tone has a strong paintjob with enough color variety to provide some visual pop. The face print is excellent with particularly nice work on his mustache.

The light tan shirt sports a telecom badge with a horse and a lightning bolt on the left arm. That is a modern tweak to the Real American Hero design.

His arm band is black to match the all-black gloves. The CS team toned down his brighter colors mostly by swapping out the silver paint elements with black. His tool kit is still silver while his watch is black with a painted faceplate.

Dial-Tone’s belt is mostly brown besides the green holster that matches the shade of his vest.

Hasbro painted the pouches brown and the grenades silver for a nice contrast with the black shoulder strap. His right thigh strap is brown while his kneepads and boots retain the vintage green to match the vest and belt pouch.

Articulation: Dial-Tone reflects the standard articulation scheme of the Classified Series line. The vest naturally does limit some of his articulation, but the far more annoying deal is his shoulder strap as it keeps riding up.

He’s able to hit plenty of fun action poses and can comfortably sit at a desk and handle communications issue as well.

Dial-Tone 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: Dial-Tone has a bunch of gear like his Real American Hero counterpart. I’m so glad the Classified Series team didn’t ditch some of his traditional gear in order to make it more modern.

He’s got his 9mm Parabellum submachine pistol with silencer. It’s now painted black instead of grey. I do kinda miss that color scheme as it helped to break up his black gloves and pants. The detail of course is sharp with all kinds of paneling to make it look as authentic as possible.

It also has a clip for a new accessory — his cell phone.

It’s locked in a play/pause mode, but this is a sensible addition and the ability to include it with his SMG shows that even on the field, Dial-Tone is focused on his specialty.

Dial-Tone also has his listening device with the dish attachment. This is a new accessory from the RAH figure but makes a lot of sense to include.

Finally, he’s got his communication rig backpack. Half of it is silver while the lower half is brown like it’s in a protective casing. Like the original figure, the mic does raise and lower so it can be close to Dial-Tone’s mouth. In a really cool plus, the base opens to reveal a laptop. This is an awesome modern device incorporated into the classic design.

Worth It? Dial-Tone is the normal price of $24.99, but he’s somehow become one of the harder figures to track down since the Cobra Island days. That’s artificially inflating his value for sellers, although it seems like more retailers are getting him in stock so don’t pay double for him just yet.

At the normal price, he’s an excellent value since the Classified Series team always delivers so much with each figure.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Dial-Tone gets a pretty good Classified Series update. I wish his shoulder strap could lock in place better, but otherwise this is a great take on one of the core 1986 roster members.

Where to Get It?  Dial-Tone is listed as sold out over on Hasbro Pulse, but he is still available for pre-order at my affiliate Entertainment Earth. My other affiliate Amazon has available from secondary sellers although he occasionally is available at the regular price.

As an Amazon and Entertainment Earth affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.