Dial-Tone (1986 Special Mission: Brazil)
Store exclusives. Often times the bane of a collector’s existence. The experience of looking for an exclusive can be frustrating. Sometimes the store gets the item once or twice and it’s gobbled up before you can get there. That stinks. Sometimes the store in question isn’t located within a reasonable distance. That really stinks.
Unfortunately, my hometown didn’t have a Toys R Us in 1986 (we had Children’s Palace) so I didn’t get a chance at the Mission Brazil set back then. I probably would not have bought it anyway, since I already had all the figures in the set. Well, except for Capt. Easily Broken Crotch himself, Claymore. But I didn’t come here to talk about him. I came to talk about the variant of one Jack S. Morelli.
When a select group of GI Joes were sent to Brazil in 1986, they were all given a new set of duds to wear. That’s a mighty impressive display of military spending. I’ve often wondered, does the Department of Defense see and approve of all the uniform color changes the Joes go though, or does Hawk just conveniently leave those line items off his budget? I don’t mind the recolor, but I also don’t find it as useful as the iconic first version. Maybe it was the latest fashion in 1986 Brazil. Mrs. Joe A Day added her own review of the outfit with this little nugget: “Dial-Tone? How about dial it down a tone?”
I looked at this set for weeks at tru before I decided I wanted it. But it was a great pickup. Give this guy flint or footloose legs and you’ve got a great lbc.
I think this was also the first Dial-Tone repaint with black hair instead of brown, a trend that continued with the 2000 figure, the 2002 figure, and the 2003 Tiger Force version that wasn’t the brown-haired, flesh-tone variant.
Also, regarding the SMB team’s outfits–this got explained in the Devil’s Due Special Missions series, in #4. In the flashback that starts the issue, it’s stated that the colors are meant for them to be taken by the enemy for being members of a local guerilla fighter squad native to Brazil.
He’s rocking those red trousers, geez-louise.
That SMB comic did a great job of making this set of repaints canonical. I was bummed that Mainframe didn’t turn up alive at the end, though.
I remember when this set came out. The cassette tape seemed kinda cheesy, much like the red Tripwire from around then. I wasn’t big on repaints either and this was the first time I’d noticed the practice after glossing over Tan Grunt & Clutch or Silver Pads Grand Slam. I did like the colors on Leatherneck and Wet-Suit, but this version of Dial-Tone only works from the waist up. In the end, I preferred the single carded versions better and never brought home the Brazil set.
Huge-O mistake, Clutch-O. 😉
What’s wrong with the red pants? Is it a crime for a man to want to fight terrorists by day and then transition into a night in the favelas? More like Special Mission: Get Ur Freak On.
Or 2000 Dial Tone legs. The SMB set is kinda cool, but I can’t get past the red on Dial Tone and Mainframe. Almost any other color would’ve worked. The famous Claymore is pretty loud, too.
Awesome character!
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