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Club
Exclusive Talking Commander
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The
Figure
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As the third accurate reproduction of the original Adventure Team figures, the GI Joe Talking Commander is a very special figure. The Commander, after all, led the team. To do so, of course, he needed to speak. True to the original, the Club Exclusive Talking Commander (price $63.00 shipped) is a talking Joe.
Dressed in reproduction uniform, featuring military green pants and four-pocket (8-buttons total) coat, the Talking Commander looks dashing. Typical of the Adventure Team, the Commander wears a black shoulder holster with reproduction revolver. The AT logo sits above one pocket. As an alternate, this could be placed on the left breast pocket, as some of the originals were.
The head is flocked with full beard, the hands the nose-pickers, rather than Kung Fu Grip, as the original AT figures didn't have KFG until 1974.
As a special treat, this figure comes with an extra AT sticker and a pin that reads "I've got a tough assignment for you..."
Also included are reproductions of the original boot removal instructions, instructions on how to make Joe talk, and a booklet on the history of the Adventure Team by Barry Kay.
The dog-tags are metal cast tags with the AT logo on the front and the increasingly inappropriate text: "1970-2000 30 Years of adventure" which was ideal for the Land Adventurer the club produced in 2000. However, in 2004, GI Joe is now 40 years old, and the Adventure Team is now 34 years old. The only difference between the Commander's tag and the Air Adventurer's and the Land Adventurer's is the chain. Like all of the vintage talking figures, the chain is shorter, and is tied to the string used to activate the voice box.
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The
Sounds
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The Talking Commander uses newly recorded sound segments voiced by the original performer. Press the sound icon below to hear the audio segments.
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Select from the sound clips below to listen. |
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I've got a tough assignment for you!
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This is going to be rough. Can you handle it?
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We must get there before dark. Follow me!
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The Adventure Team has the situation controlled.
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Set up Team Headquarters here.
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Contact Adventure Team Headquarters right away!
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The Adventure Team is needed in Africa!
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Mission accomplished. Good work, men!
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The voice mechanism, unlike the clumsy original with plastic record and string wind-up, is less prone to bad sound quality and breakdown. The original function, pulling the string, is no longer necessary, and is added as a nostalgic feature. You can pull the string a miniscule amount and get the vocal segments, which play in order. The string can be pulled all the way out, however, and a spring-loaded mechanism will draw it back in. Very nice touch if you are after a faithful reproduction of the original. And if that's not what you wanted, this is not the figure for you.
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The
Box
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The box is a gorgeous reproduction of an original Talking Commander box, with the exception of ad panels for modern items available through the club. The cardboard is quite sturdy, unlike the flimsier boxes I recall that came with my original Joes.
The box has a red insert listing the audio features. This picture shows the entire contents of the package:
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The
Paperwork
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As with most vintage GI Joes, this one comes with instructions for boot removal:
The reproduction instructions on how to control the figure are now anachronistic. The instructions are included for nostalgic value, but they no longer apply. They show how pulling the string to various indicated marks can cause the Commander to say specific phrases. This is not the case with the reproduction.
Also included was a leaflet with some historical information about the Adventure Team Talking Commander:
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Check behind the red insert. I found an extra copy of the brochure and instructions in my box.
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The
Replacement Head
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When this figure first came out many people complained because the flocking wasn't right. It seemed to be shorter than it should be and was thin in places. Some people said theirs was fine, but enough people wrote about the bald patches in various places that the Club had new heads made to replace the faulty ones. Mine had a balding area in the beard dead-center of his chin.
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This is the original head. Note the balding spot on
the chin.
(Click for larger image) |
This is the replacement head. The flocking is thick
and even. Quite an improvement.
(Click for larger image) |
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Assessment
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I was given my Commander by my wife and daughter for my 40th birthday. And as this year is also GI Joe's 40th anniversary, this is the most appropriate give I could have asked for!
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Overall Rating
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