Thursday, January 16, 2025

Wrapping Up 2024: Rip Cord (Night Force) from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 
   
   Here comes the third team member of the Haslab Dragonfly crew: Rip Cord in his Night Force gear. Rip Cord was the first tier/ stretch goal figure unlocked (at 13,000 orders) and, since he's decked out in his Night Force gear and was part of the 1984 series, we'll likely see a standard version (or Retro version) at some point in the near future. While Rip Cord isn't one of the A-list Joes like Snake Eyes, Duke, Roadblock, Scarlett, Flint, or Barbecue, he definitely has some recognizability due to appearing in one of the most popular years of the vintage line, appearing in the Sunbow animated series, having a pretty well remembered storyline (when he date Candy Appel, A.K.A. Bongo the Balloon Bear, and goes on a solo mission to rescue her from Cobra Island), and appearing in 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra where he was played by Marlon Wayans. Rip Cord / Wallace Weems is an interesting character as he has all of those accomplishments and appearances and yet he only received one vintage figure and seems to often be confused with other characters, or intentionally renamed. Also, sometimes his name is written as Ripcord with no space, while other times he's Rip Cord (with a space). Has Rip Cord received any action figures since the vintage line? 

   Yes, has. In 2003, as part of the G.I. Joe Vs. Cobra: Spy Troops, there was also a figure that was named HALO Jumper, Ripcord's MOS, with the file name Wallace Weems. The name was changed during the run, however, and the figure became Sgt. Airborne instead, now with Airborne's classic name of Franklin Talltree. Airborne wasn't a HALO Jumper but a helicopter assault trooper. In 2009 as part of the 25th Anniversary Collection,  Airborne was released in the Assault on Cobra Island set....just kidding, no he wasn't. It looked like Airborne but the figure was named Spc. Altitude and given the file card name Phillip Arndt, like the Sky Patrol Altitude figure with the file name of Freefall. Who the heck was this guy supposed to be anyway? That same year there were four Rip Cord figures released as part of the Rise of Cobra line, all called Wallace "Ripcord" Weems and based on Marlon Wayans' likeness. None were outfitted as paratroopers/ HALO Jumpers, though they were pretty cool, especially the one outfitted in full camo. Lastly there was a Ripcord figure in 2011 based on the short lived G.I. Joe: Renegades who did have paratrooper gear and favored the Marlon Wayans take on the character over any other previous versions. While he wasn't part of the vintage Night Force subset, a Night Force Rip Cord did come out as a 1/18th scaled figure with the Haslab Skystriker a couple years back (2022), which seems to be what this figure is based on. Why'd I spend all that time on this? I just find it interesting. Thanks for sticking around! Let's dive in to the main review after the break...





The Facts:

Height: 6 1/4th inches

Articulation: Double swivel/ hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed drop down hips, ball jointed waist, balljointed mid-torso, butterfly pecs, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, ball jointed neck base, and a barbell jointed head.

Accessories: Helmet, visor, goggles, air mask, parachute container, pistol, long rifle, short rifle, 2 magazines, altimeter, and suppressor.  

Non-Scalper Price: N/A- Stretch Goal with the Dragonfly (XH-1) HasLab.



Comparison:

* Night Force Rip Cord is on the left while the Classified Series Action Pilot: HALO Jumper is on the right. I didn't review that figure back in October when I received him but I did note that he shared a lot of parts with Rip Cord. They're not the same figure, though. Much of the body is different; the Halo Jumper shares a body with Airborne mostly while Rip Cord shares much of his body with Wild Bill.


The Positives:


* Even without his parachute container and straps on, Ripcord still has a lot of OD green on him thanks to his main harness. It's a separate piece but not removable or anything. His flight suit/ jump suit has plenty of pockets and zippers and the harness has plenty of buckles and little rings and such. With no camouflage, Rip Cord's simply wearing black and green, though his grey t-shirt poking out of his suit does give him just a bit of color, I suppose. 





* I think this headsculpt makes Rip Cord look a bit younger than his vintage figure looked. That seems fitting, though, as while Rip Cord is highly trained and skilled, he's also a bit brash. I mean, he assaults Cobra Island on his own to rescue Candy Appel. That takes guts and a little bit of ego. He's a redhead and Hasbro did the hair well, even giving it a wash to bring out some more detail rather than making it look flat. 






* Rip Cord has a pair of blue goggles that fit really well over his eyes or up on his forehead. He can wear them under his helmet, too. While red seems like a more Night Force color for goggles (blue seems to be more tied with Slaughter's Marauders/ Mad Marauders), blue looks pretty good, too. There are some vision benefits to blue lenses (enhancing the contours of objects, aiding in color perception, reducing glare), so maybe he's wearing them for one of those reasons. 








* For HALO (High Altitude, Low Opening) jumps, Rip Cord needs to protect his head. His armored helmet has a moving visor (it's removable, too) and matches the rest of his gear. It's pretty cool looking and really adds to his look. There's also a piece of gear on the side, maybe some sort of scanner or a camera. 









* On the back you can see a pouch which seems to hold more gear that's attached to the scanner or camera. 













* To really finish up Rip Cord's look you can add on his breathing mask. It attaches securely to his helmet and the cord plugs in to a large pouch on the right hip of his harness. This must be where his oxygen is stored. No oxygen hypoxia for Rip Cord!













* Rip Cord has two patches on his shoulder: A Night Force logo on his left and the griffin logo on his right shoulder that seems to be a special symbol for the Night Force unit.










* There's also an altimeter on Rip Cord's wrist. If you pop his hand off you can remove it. It's quite cool and even has a very legible dial with little needles and such visible. 





* The parachute container doesn't plug into Rip Cord's back like the rest of the backpacks in the line. Instead, it actually has straps that fit around his shoulders.


* It even opens up. Rip Cord doesn't come with a parachute, though. This is the same parachute container as the 60th Anniversary HALO Jumper, though that figure came with a parachute. I guess you can use it to store extra gear inside. Kind of like the old Sky Patrol backpacks. I never was a huge fan of parachutes with figures as the tended to get tangled up pretty easily. The parachute containers were great for storing gear, though. 







* The way that the legs on Rip Cord's jumpsuit go down over his boots looks pretty cool. Lots of zippers and such here, too. It feels like a pretty authentic look. I think he shares his main body with Wild Bill, so this might be a default flight suit we see going forward. I'm sure we'll see Ace at some point, right? 






* Doesn't Rip Cord look awesome jumping into battle? Yeah, that's a Mezco stand (from one of the Harley Quinn figures) but  had it close at hand and thought it was a cool way to show off a different pose. Even with the slightly bulky flight suit and all those straps, Rip Cord still looks very fluid. I love him in this pose! I need to find a way to keep him like this. Either him or the HALO Jumper. Or maybe when the standard Rip Cord comes out. That would be a way to nicely differentiate them on the shelf, wouldn't it?





* We've seen this rifle quite a few times now, though I still do like the sculpt and the color scheme used here is pretty nice. This rifle clearly looks like some variation of a SCAR designed for a marksman. 



* This compact carbine version is also one we've seen, though it now has that nice green and black color scheme. The plastic on the accessories feels great. Not brittle but not at all rubbery or bendy. Perfection.







* Both rifles have the same removable magazine, too, so you can change them out. Or just give Rip Cord one rifle and have him carry an extra magazine. 






* The suppressor for the SCAR-ish weapon is also included and it can fit in either weapon's barrel. 











* This pistol is one we haven't seen in quite some time, isn't it? It's the pistol so many of the early figures came with. I like it, even though it doesn't look like any specific model. It's still kind of futuristic yet looks like it would really function.





* There's a holster built onto the left leg strap of Rip Cord's harness, so he's ready to drop into battle with his sidearm at the ready.




The Negatives:


* My only negative here is that the opening flap on the parachute container really looks like it already has some stress marks. While it's cool to store his gear in here, be careful opening and closing it over and over. it might eventually just snap off. 






   Rip Cord turned out to be an incredible figure! I like him a bit more than Crazylegs (who was a vintage favorite of mine), though I'm not sure if I like him more than Glenda. Maybe just by a hair. He looks incredible all kitted out with a rifle, helmet, goggles, air mask, harness, and his parachute container. This guy just rocks. I'm really curious to see if we'll see the standard Ripcord in the basic line or if Hasbro will include him in the retro carded series with a FN FAL battle rifle. I could be fine either way. This guy, though? He's Epic. I'm loving the Night Force squad in the Classified Series and he's another excellent addition to the ranks. 



This is the first figure of Rip Cord/ Ripcord/ Wallace Weems that I've reviewed. For more G.I. Joe: Classified Series reviews check out the following:

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