1986 Mission to Brazil Mainframe

As far as I can remember, I got to go to Toys R Us quite frequently when I was a child.  Part of that was that the local Toys R Us was in the same shopping center as the grocery store my mother went to every two weeks.  So, to bribe us for helping her push the cart and bag the groceries, my mother would often stop at TRU on her sojourns.  During the fall, we also had a weird conflagration of birthdays both in our family and among our friends.  So, we were always shopping for various presents.  I also suspect that my parents took us there on some weekends because it was a free way to get all three kids occupied for an hour without having to spend any money.  Regardless of the reasons, I spent a lot of time browsing the aisles of the local Toys R Us store.  

I knew the layout of the store.  And, was familiar with how the Joe section was stocked.  One day in the fall of 1986, though, I was treated to something new: a whole endcap packed solid with a bizarre box of five figures.  The set hadn't appeared in the catalogs for that year.  It was completely new.  Of course, I immediately picked it up and found that the set was actually four repainted figures of 1986 characters along with one "new" figure that I recognized as repainted parts from prior figures.  The colors on the figures were different and not really in line with the standard retail line of that year.  And, my first impressions of the set were to leave it behind and focus on other things.

In our repeated trips to the store, though, I kept going back to the Mission to Brazil set.  Each time, I'd take a box down, read over all the text and the thoroughly review the figures as best I could through the plastic.  I'd stare at it for longer and longer each time.  But, I never actually asked for it.  I've talked before about how the fall of 1986 is this weird missing memory for me.  Usually, I was all in on the newest, biggest Joe playset that was supposed to be found under the Christmas tree.  But, I have no memory of ever really wanting the Terrordrome.  It might have been fatigue and lingering disappointment at not getting the USS Flagg the prior year.  I might have known there was no hope in getting the Terrordrome.  So, it was futile to ask for it.  But, this leaves me a hole.  I have no recollection of what my big gift for my birthday and Christmas in December of 1986 actually was.  It might have been a new dirtbike.  I got one somewhere between 1985 and 1987.  But, I paid for half of it and it seems out of character for my parents to have left the other half of an item I'd been using for a while as my holiday gift.  It's a mystery that I'm not sure I'll ever unravel.

What I do remember, though, was the other gifts under the tree.  Among them were the Dreadnok Ground Assault, a couple of early release 1987 figures that we had found at the Toys R Us in the days before Christmas (Falcon and Cobra Commander stand out.) and one surprise: the boxed Mission to Brazil set.  My parents must have seen me looking at it, studying it and assumed it was something I wanted.  So, they got it for me.  

With these new figures in hand, though, I had a dilemma.  What would I do with alternate colorways of characters that were already fairly new to my collection and still in good shape and complete with their gear?  The answer soon came to me.  I viewed three of the figures in the set (Leatherneck, Wet Suit and this Mainframe) as nameless troops who shared the same specialty as the Joes from the retail line.  I explained that the Mission to Brazil colors were actually the official colors of these specialties.  But, the Joes were so good that they were allowed to wear different colors: even though the base uniform stayed the same.  So, with this, I added acquatic commandos (Wet Suit), Special Force commandos (Leatherneck) and Science Officers (Mainframe) to my repertoire of figures.  

The uses of these figures were varied.  Often, they were the ones to die during a battle.  Other times, they would be among the few survivors.  And, in special cases, some of them were promoted to full fledged Joes.  The enduring story from childhood on this theme involves this Mainframe figure.

As a kid, I had Cobra be more powerful than Joe.  This was a takeaway from the Transformers cartoon where the Decepticons (at least, ostensibly) were supposed to be more powerful of the two factions.  So, for me, Cobra had never ending equipment and troops and always had Joe on their heels.  With the arrival of the 1986 figures, though, the tide was turning.  Joe was getting better and Cobra was losing ground.  So, I came up with a story where Cobra could gain back their edge.  

I had long neglected the 1985 Sears SMS.  I had never found the missile launcher to be all that much fun since figures couldn't really interact with it.  (Though, the red Hiss Tank was a staple of all my battles.)  But, when I found it, I had an idea.  Cobra could now launch massive missile strikes from far away on Joe bases.  The first few attacks completely destroyed the bases and resulted in the deaths of countless commandos that were represented by the Mission to Brazil set.  As Cobra got closer to Joe's main HQ, the Joes had to find a way to protect their bases.  So, the bases became nothing more than a battery of guns and anti-missile defenses designed to stop an attack.  And, in a few cases, the Joes were successful in fending off a small strike.  But, Hawk knew it was only a matter of time before their defenses were overwhelmed with dozens or hundreds of missiles and the base would fall and many Joes would die.

It was then that Mainframe discovered a hidden secret in the missiles: they had an activation code.  This numerical code armed the missiles and kept their flight path true.  But, if you could broadcast the codes, you could disarm and deactivate the missiles.  It was an astounding discovery.  But, one that was practically useless because the sheer volume of numbers necessary to find the right code for every missile was impossible to broadcast in the short attack window.  The Joes needed to get their hands on an actual missile launcher unit and grab the software that generated the codes.  They could then use that to render the entire Cobra missile launch operation moot.

It's here that I'll interject.  When I was in middle school and junior high, I was a huge nerd.  I was a voracious reader and devoured information from any source to which I had access.  In 1986, I wanted to do a science experiment showing that chlorofluorocarbons would eat the ozone layer.  I even looked in science catalogs for ozone as a way to prove out a story I had seen on 60 Minutes.  I actually had notebooks by the TV to write down dates and addresses so I could send away for transcripts of shows that had stories I had found interesting.  And, because of this weirdness, I also had very few friends.  So, I spent most of 1986 and 1987 upstairs in my bedroom each day after school and on weekends: playing with my Joes in more and more complex stories.  I also listened to the local top 40 radio station.  To this day, many songs from that era bring back vivid memories of specific battles or adventures I was having with my figures while that song played in the background.

The result, though, is that I had a lot of things that were incorporated into my adventures that were surprisingly ahead of their time.  Some of this was from the Joe comic, of course.  But, my eclectic interests brought some fun ideas to the stories.  Regardless, Mainframe had a plan.  But, the Joes had to find an opportunity where they could capture one of the missile bases.  For several weeks, the Joes had near misses.  Sometimes, Cobra would just get away, pulling the launcher behind a Hiss Tank.  Other times, the Cobras would destroy the launcher, or just erase all the data on it and render it useless for the Joes' purpose.  Eventually, though, everything went right.

On this adventure, an unlikely group of good guys were in the right place at the right time to find a launcher.  They quickly attacked.  Among the group was a nameless Science Officer portrayed by this Mainframe.  Along with his bulky computer equipment, he also carried a Low Light Uzi from the 1987 Battle Gear pack.  In fact, the backpack and computer he carried were also Battle Gear because it was just different enough to make the army building figure be a bit more distinct than the actual Mainframe character.  Many of the good guys died during the battle.  But, the Science Officer displayed immense bravery and managed to actually get the codes from the launcher before Cobra destroyed it.  He and the surviving members of the party returned to Joe HQ.  With the codes in hand, Cobra's missiles were rendered useless.  For a short time, they would try to launch them from very closely proximate locations to the Joes and just hope that the short window was enough to get a hit.  But, the Joes were able to constantly broadcast the codes and that put the SMS back into a box where it would sit for a decade before I recovered it in the mid 1990's.

The Science Office was then promoted to become a full time Joe.  Back then, I would take apart all of my brothers' figures and make them into new, custom characters.  I had an old Mainframe head that would have been the basis for this new character.  But, I don't recall the character ever going anywhere.  I suspect that using Mainframe's head made him too similar to Mainframe.  And, the computer hub in my HQ was already manned by the carded, grey Mainframe and this red and tan version  from the Mission to Brazil set.  So, the actual character who grew from this adventure was lost to time.  But, that's kind of OK.  Really, some heroes are entirely forgotten.  So, to have someone who was so vital to a key part of my childhood story end up an anonymity is probably more true to life than any heroic deification.   

In the early 2000's, I tried my hand at a dio-story.  They were the rage of the time and I wanted to tell the story of this code adventure.  I changed it up a bit.  And, I used the 1986 Mainframe instead of a nameless character and the Mission to Brazil paint job.  I went to shoot it one afternoon.  And, I quickly realized that doing a dio-story was hard.  Trying to get the shots to tell the story was tough.  I found staging some of the scenes overly tedious.  And, adding the dialogue was just a nightmare: even with a full version of Photoshop on my computer.  I have a couple of photos left from that shoot that appear here and there.  But, they are mostly lost.  Somehow, they never made it into any of the various backups that I had built.  It's not really a loss.  The photos weren't great.  The dialogue was cheesy and disjointed.  And, I relied on every hackneyed cliché in the books to move the story along since my photography had so many gaps.  But, it was an homage to a vivid childhood memory.  A memory that I  feel, now, is better captured in narrative text than any image based story could ever hope to be.

The Mainframe mold had its share of uses.  Hasbro used it for these two figures in 1986.  From there, it was sent to Brazil where Estrela released it as Mainframe, too.  This figure is nearly identical to the Hasbro release.  The mold then went to India.  There, Mainframe was a staple of the early 2000's Funskool line.  The carded figure is similar to the Hasbro Mainframe in coloring.  (Though, is microphone is a different color.)  This Mainframe appeared in various promotional incentives that Funskool produced, too.  There is even an atrociously colored Halibna promotional figure that features a blood red chest with a huge black ink stain in the center, olive pants and helmet, grey boots, and the horrible straight arms that define Halibna releases.  The mold's final appearance occurred in 2009/2010 when Funskool included it in the final run of Funskool Joes that coincided with the G.I. Joe Movie's release in India.  

All of the Mission to Brazil figures are now expensive.  They're really not that rare.  I'd say they're much more common than 1988 and 1989 Night Force figures.  But, as vintage Joes go, they are on the lower end of the production number scale.  Since Mainframe utilizes gold paint, finding a truly mint figure isn't easy.  But, Mainframe is also the least popular of the Mission to Brazil figures.  So, that helps temper his pricing a bit.  Still, though, dealers will ask for $100 or more for a nicely conditioned, complete figure.  Left to his own devices, he's about a $60 figure, though.  It helps that his accessories are the same as the much more common grey, carded figure.  The difficult find is the filecard.  All the Mission to Brazil figures have unique filecards that are tough to find.  You'll probably pay $30 to $35 for just the filecard.  But, filecards aren't something that I feel are necessary to enjoy a figure.  But, this guy is still an expensive purchase for what he is.

The figure in the photos of this profile are my childhood figure.  I've never bothered to upgrade him.  Mostly, it's because I don't much care for the figure's coloring.  And, even when Joes were cheap, Mission to Brazil figures were more expensive and I'd always opt to get something new than upgrade something that was good enough since I didn't really care about him.  And, to be frank, the sentiment of knowing this is my childhood is enough for me to hold off on an upgrade.  I'm not usually the sentimental type and have long sold off my childhood Joes who were replaced by higher quality specimens.  But, this Mainframe is a figure that makes sense to remain in my collection for, at least, a little while longer.

1986 Claymore

My first recollections of the Mission to Brazil set come from the fall of 1986.  The set showed up at my local Toys R Us store and was a mainstay of the Joe aisle for the rest of the year.  Eventually, the sets found their way to an endcap where they were stacked so high that they would fall of the shelves if you took down a box to look at it.  It was here that I held the box in my hand on each of our family's trips to Toys R Us.  I looked over the figures...unsure if I really wanted them.  The odd colors and familiar molds seemed a bit out of place in the Joe world of the time.  But, the more times I saw the set, the more I wanted it.  Despite, this, though, I never actually asked for the set.  But, my parents must have seen me staring at it, reviewing the contents and reading over the storyline.  Because, on Christmas morning in 1986, the Mission to Brazil set was under the tree.

1986 is an odd year.  Every year, at Christmastime, I got a flagship gift.  It had been the G.I. Joe HQ in 1983.  I got a Whale in 1984 and a Moray in 1985.  (I tried for the Flagg, but it was not to be.)  In 1986, though, I didn't get a large toy as a present.  In fact, I have no recollection of even asking for anything like the Terrordrome.  I had bought myself a Tomahawk in October of that year.  And, my youngest brother did get a Night Raven, too.  But, I have no memories of my large gift that year.  I do know that I got a new dirt bike around this time.  I paid for half of it, though, as a deal with my parents.  Maybe that was the gift.  But, it was out of character for me to have to pay for part of my own Christmas gifts.  Family photos offer no clues as we rarely took pictures on Christmas morning.  (A mistake I'm not repeating with my kids.)  So, I don't know why I didn't get a big toy for Christmas that year.  But, I did get the Mission to Brazil set.  (There was also a Dreadnok Ground Assault set.  Maybe that was my "big" gift.)  And, that ended up being a gift that helped define my Joe world until my final days of childhood.

By the end of 1986, my Joe world had turned into a complex, ever running story.  My adventures would stretch for weeks with character growth, death and defeat as central themes.  To prevent this from exhausting my supply of Joe characters, I had to come up with army building figures for the good guys.  This was where the Mission to Brazil set fit in perfectly.  The recolored Mainframe, Dialtone, Wet Suit and Leatherneck all became nameless specialty troopers who could die with impunity and not affect the main characters of my Joe story.  Each was integral to my story as the Joes could now withstand the might of Cobra, suffer casualties and not cost me one of my favorite figures or characters when one of them perished.  I have profiled all of the figures in the set (and, now, Claymore twice!) due to the importance this set played during my final year of childhood play.  

But, the cornerstone of the playset, this Claymore figure, never got the chance to take a place of prominence in my collection.  I had some stories in mind for him as I stared at the mountains of sealed boxed at my local Toys R Us stores.  And, when I got the set, Claymore was really the highlight.  But, he simply didn't last.  His crotch snapped almost immediately.  And, the character of Claymore never got a chance to really join my collection.  Instead, he was an idea.  But, that idea never blossomed into anything more since the character didn't have a figure to play out his role.  So, Claymore remains one of those figures that got away.  He would have been great and probably a key player in my childhood collection.  But, the fragile figure prevented that.  And, by the time a nice Claymore came around, I had far too many new figures to really take time to explore the character that Claymore could have become.

Claymore's construction is problematic.  He features Footloose's head (that would also later appear on Rumbler), Flint's arms and waist, Dusty's legs and the Tele Viper chest.  On one level, seeing so many different figures used to create this amalgamation helps distinguish him from any of the originals.  But, the Tele Viper chest is both rather distinctive and oddly proportioned.  This gives Claymore an asymmetrical appearance.  But, the bigger issue is that the parts were not engineered to work together.  If you have ever looked for Claymore figures, you see a high number of them with broken crotches.  This is due to the fact that the Dusty legs are larger than the 1985 Flint's legs.  So, they are much more likely to break the crotch on the Flint waist than the legs originally designed with the waist piece.  By 1986, I didn't break figures.  But, I broke Claymore just trying to sit him into a vehicle.  And, I did it damn near the day I got him.  (The crotchless figure you see in the photos below is my actual childhood figure.  His joints and paint are almost pristine because I broke him so quickly.)  With that bit of bad luck, Claymore was relegated to second or third tier status among my Joes of the day.

Claymore's colors are interesting.  The bright yellow base can be troublesome for collectors.  On the 1993 Leatherneck, the color is ridiculed.  But, on Claymore, the 1986 release year makes the community more forgiving of the banana colored pants.  But, the figure is amazingly detailed and features intricate paint masks that place layers of brown, black, silver and green onto the various features of the figure's parts.  The brown and green are earthly and grounded.  This offsets the yellow and makes the figure appear less bright than he actually is.  I do feel that were Claymore a carded release, he would not be as well regarded.  Collectors are always more forgiving of harder to find figures.  But, Claymore is a nice match for the rest of the class of 1986 and looks right at home with them when on display.

Claymore's gear is not good.  He includes a green version of Footloose's helmet that is not painted.  It is often mistaken and you see many, many Claymore figures with an incorrect helmet.  (Sometimes, you can find a Footloose with a Claymore helmet, though.)  The helmet matches the green color of Claymore's vest.  So, it's a nice match.  Claymore also included an Uzi.  My version included a 1985 Snake Eyes Uzi.  It is indistinguishable from the original release of the weapon.  There are also reports of Claymore's that included the 1986 Uzi that was originally packed with the 1986 Low Light and would show up again with Law in 1987.  In the late 1990's, there were a great deal of sealed Mission to Brazil accessory sets that were available from various dealers.  These mostly included the 1986 Uzi. But, seeing as how these were sold 20 years ago and I'm the only one who remembers them, it's possible they are another false memory.  I have not seen a sealed set with the 1986 Uzi in a long time.  Every collector has their preference on weapon.  But, I feel Claymore looks out of place with the 1986 Uzi and that his filecard art shows the 1985 version, too.  As a kid, I needed Claymore to have a backpack.  The excellent 1986 Hawk backpack is a color match for Claymore's green helmet and body.  So, to this day, I consider this pack an essential part of any Claymore figure.

Claymore was released just this one time.  (There may be a European variant that does not have the cammo pattern on his pants.  But, I'm still not convinced these aren't production errors rather than variants.)  The character never returned in the vintage line and was even ignored in the repaint era.  He didn't appear until a convention set in the 2010's.  All of the figure's parts were eventually released in Brazil with their original molds with some then moving on to India.  In the early day's of online collecting, repainted Claymore's were a staple of customizers.  Some used parts from the 1985 figures.  But, Claymore's were easy enough to find that customizers would even repaint an extra that they might have lying around.  It's a shame that collectors didn't get to see Claymore return.  A repaint of this parts combo in different colors would have been nice.  But, a new take on the character would also have been welcomed in the 1990's.  

There are very few rare G.I. Joe figures.  But, there are some that are rarer than others.  And, Claymore (along with his set mates) is probably the least produced 1986 figure release.  (AVAC would take the honor.  But, later mail aways increased his availability.)  And, while there are figures from the 1990's and 2000's that were produced in far fewer quantities than Claymore, his key release year raises his desirability far over those other figures.  So, you'll pay a substantial premium for the figure.  While Claymore was always expensive, he got a nice boost in the 2000's when he starred in a comic.  This appearance spiked the figure prices.  While they did subside when Joe hit pricing doldrums in the early 2010's, the price of Claymore's has since skyrocketed and he's one of the most expensive vintage, American figure releases.  A mint and complete version with the correct helmet will fetch $100 to $225 depending upon the filecard's inclusion or just general sentiment at the time.  The helmet is the key accessory, though.  And, you can get a nicely conditioned Claymore with no gear for around $70.  Since Footloose helmets are good enough and his uzi is easily findable, that may be the way to go.

Aside from rarity, though, I don't see a compelling reason to own the figure.  Claymore didn't appear in the vintage comic nor the cartoon.  If you didn't have the Mission to Brazil set, you would have no knowledge that this character even existed.  But, for many collectors, having a complete set from their childhood years, even if that includes figures they never owned as kids, is a priority collecting goal.  And, since Claymore is both prone to breakage as well as paint wear, you get premium prices for premium figures.  I own a nice one because I had a childhood connection to the figure.  But, even my Claymore broke quickly and he was never a vital part of my childhood adventures.  The four repainted figures from his set were far more key to me and they remain more relevant from a memory perspective.

1986 Mission to Brazil Wet Suit - Around The Web

Despite this figure being the best Wet Suit version that's available, much of the content that's available on him is relatively new.  But, the orange and blue Wet Suit figure is more photogenic.  And, the orange accessories do clash with this silver figure.  So, it kind of makes sense that this version was ignored for many years.  I had this figure as a kid and wish I had more photos of him as he's a great version.  I just don't have much occasion to get divers out into the water.  I keep waiting for a rainy day when I also have time to get a photo.  It will happen at some point.  Until then, enjoy the best of the 1986 Mission to Brazil Wet Suit from around the web.

1986 Mission to Brazil Wet Suit Profile

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by wigramjoe

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by thevintagetoylife

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by thedustinmccoy

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by wigramjoe

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by thevintagetoylife

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by purplecobra75

Mission to Brazil Wet Suite by Bodie Collection

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by the.faceless.master

1986 Mission to Brazil Leatherneck - Around The Web

The Mission to Brazil set is a mixed bag.  Dialtone and Mainframe feature some weird colors.  Claymore is OK, but still looks like a cartoon giraffe.  Then, you have Wet Suit and Leatherneck.  Both figures have a case of being better than their original releases.  G.I. Joe didn't get too many environmentally themed repaints in the vintage line and this Mission to Brazil Leatherneck shows that might have been a bad thing.  The colors work well with the mold.  All that's missing is a backpack in a better color.  (That would be solved in 1989.)  Here's the best of the Mission to Brazil Leatherneck from around the web.

Mission to Brazil Leatherneck Profile

Mission to Brazil Leatherneck by specialmissionforce

Mission to Brazil Leatherneck by WigramJoe

Mission to Brazil Leatherneck by nwargo44

Mission to Brazil Leatherneck Custom by atticagazette

Missison to Brazil Leatherneck by PurpleCobra75

Mission to Brazil Leatherneck by WigramJoe

1986 Mission to Brazil Mainframe - Around the Web

The Mission to Brazil set is a childhood favorite that was instrumental in the formation of the stories that make me a collector today.  The Mainframe figure is probably the weakest entry of the set.  But, he's still visually appealing for something different.  Here's the best of him on the web.

Mission to Brazil Mainframe Profile

MTB Mainframe at JoeDios.com 1

Mission to Brazil Mainframe at JoeADay.com

MTB Mainframe at JoeDios.com 2

Mission to Brazil Mainframe at 3DJoes.com

MTB Mainframe at JoeDios.com 3

Mainframe at Joe Wiki

Mainframe at Destonnes2Toys (French)

1986 Claymore - Around the Web

Claymore was the only original character in the 1986 Toys R Us exclusive Mission to Brazil set.  He has potential as a character.  But, the figure is bright yellow.  Were he a 1994 release instead of 1986, collectors would have a very different opinion of him.

1986 Claymore Profile

1986 Claymore at Joe a Day

Claymore at 3dJoes

Claymore at Wikipedia

Claymore at JoeDios.com

1986 Mission to Brazil Leatherneck

I have often chronicled my Mission to Brazil figures.  In fact, with the addition of this Leatherneck figure, I have now profiled all five figures that were included with the set.  The reason for this is that the Mission to Brazil figures were among the most important items in my collection during my final year of playing with toys in 1987.  They hold a special spot with me for that reason.  The sentimentality likely obscures the fact that this set is mostly less than stellar repaints.  Had this set been released in 2006, I would likely have lambasted it for the terrible color choices.  (Though it would have gotten points for the molds.)  But, vintage paints a different picture for me and the fact that these figures were an important part of the tail end of my childhood Joe experience forever makes them important to me.

The Mission to Brazil set featured 5 figures (Leatherneck, Wet Suit, Dial Tone, Mainframe and Claymore) and a cassette tape all boxed together in a nice presentation for retail shelves.  My local Toys R Us store stacked them on the front endcap of the Joe aisle during the holiday season in 1986.  There were stacks and stacks of the sets sitting there.  I would pick up the set and look at each time I was at the store.  And, each time, I would notice the stacks getting smaller and smaller.  I never, specifically, asked for the set.  But, 1986 was an odd year.  Usually, I got a large G.I. Joe toy for my birthday.  In 1983, it was the Skystriker.  In 1984, it was the Whale.  In 1985, it was the Moray.  But, I didn't get such a present in 1986.  The Terrordrome was out.  And, while it was more expensive than the other toys, it was not outlandishly so.  But, I have no recollection of even wanting a Terrordrome.  (I had bought myself a Tomahawk in the fall when I got $50 for house sitting for a neighbor while they wintered in Arizona.)  Something else must have occupied my time in the fall of 1986 to take my focus off of Joe.  I can't recall what it was.  But, on Christmas morning, I found the Mission to Brazil set under the tree.

1986 was a huge Joe year for me.  I had tons of lawn mowing money and bought up each and every figure I found.  I completed the full run of '86 figures by summer and then focused on vehicles.  (I got both the Havoc and Stun by calling local toy stores to ensure their stock.  The local Children's Palace said they had Stuns in stock, but couldn't guarantee how long they'd be there.  I went a few days later and found them, literally, stacked half way to the ceiling.  I guess they overestimated short term demand.)  I spent my time developing a rich alternate world in which I could immerse myself for hours.  Each and every figure I owned had a more than superficial characterization.  And, the newer figures all got the largest roles.  As such, getting repainted versions of characters I already owned didn't really excite me.  What did excite me, though, was that I now had figures who could be used as representations of Joe army builders.

I needed Joes who could die.  But, I didn't want to kill off major characters as I had a long going continuity and killing someone meant the figure would then be useless.  (I would kill off Joes whose figures broke or wore out, though.  When I got newer versions of those figures, though, I was left with a conundrum of how to bring the character back.)  The Mission to Brazil set gave me four new army building figures.  Wet Suit was a nameless diver who could die at the hands of Eels.  Mainframe was a scientific trooper builder who would man command posts, gunnery stations or missile units.  Dial Tone was a hybrid.  I liked the figure and made him more of a character.  But, he broke early and didn't get the attention the other figures did.  This Leatherneck became my de facto special forces trooper.  Armed with the excellent M-203, these troopers were the equivalent of the Cobra Snow Serpent (the best trained troopers in Cobra!) and were nearly Joes.  Many of the later characters of my own creation had their roots in these special forces units.

In this capacity, the Mission to Brazil figures saw great amounts of use.  This Leatherneck was often the final wave of reinforcements who would arrive to save the Joes.  There were times when he was a lone commando who was paired with Joes.  He would then fail to impress and die, or become someone whom the Joes would watch for eventual membership.  Somewhere along the line, I assigned the Leatherneck figure the grey Zap bazooka from the Battle Gear pack.  This made the special forces more deadly as they carried assault rifles, grenade launchers and the bazookas.  When the brown version of Leatherneck's rifle was released in a later Battle Pack, I gave that to this figure.  This allowed me to give the grey version to the 1986 General Hawk figure.  Hawk then became a younger, combatant General rather than an older, figurehead type character.

Throughout 1987, the Mission to Brazil Leatherneck figure was an essential part of my collection.  He went with me to my Grandparents' homes.  I actually created an entire storyline for the character around a huge, underground Cobra prison that was defined by the limestone terraced walls of my Dayton Grandparent's home.  As 1988 began, though, my Joes were put away.  I was too old to be playing with them.  Leatherneck was among the last figures to be packed into sandwich baggies inside some old shoe boxes in my closet.  He retained his relevance for quite some time.  But, once the figure was packed away, his importance slipped.  When I restarted my Joe collection in the mid 1990's, the special forces army builders were trumped by a new series of special commissions troopers.  These characters relegated special forces to 2nd class status and this Leatherneck figure has never again gained the popularity he enjoyed in my youth.

The Leatherneck mold was used just three times.  The first for for the original figure.  This Mission to Brazil repaint followed in the same year.  The final release came in Brazil.  There, around 1991, the figure was released in colors based on the version 1 figure, but using a little brighter green base color.  That figure (Oficial De Reconhecimento) is also named Leatherneck  The mold disappeared from there.  Most of the figures released contemporarily with the Leatherneck in Brazil have also never reappeared.  Hasbro might have had the mold, or they might not have.  Either way, collectors only have two distinctive appearances for the character with a third, derivative, variant from the International marketplace.

Mission to Brazil figures are more expensive than their retail release counterparts.  There was a time when they were $30 figures with some going as high as $50.  But, the fact that they include the same accessories as the retail release helps keep the prices tempered.  These days, you can get them between $12 and $18 depending on the people in the market.  Most dealers still try to get $30 or more.  And, those do sell from time to time to impatient collectors.  The distinctive filecards for the set are the harder find and tend to raise prices up.  But, if you just want the figure, they are much more affordable than they were a few years ago.  I have a sentimental attachment to the Mission to Brazil set.  Without that, it's doubtful I'd have all the figures, or maybe any of the figures.  But, the set is worthwhile.  It's nice to have an environmentally themed Leatherneck figure and it's nice that some of these great molds say at least one vintage repaint.  In this day and age, many collectors have space as a premium.  If I'm making cuts, only the Mission to Brazil Wet Suit would beat out his original paint job for a spot in my collection.  But, that's an imperfect argument.  I'd keep this Leatherneck figure over many other figures released both before and after him.  It was nice to have him out to remind myself of younger days.  The value in that is immeasurable.

1986 Mission to Brazil Dial-Tone

In the fall of 1986, I wandered into an endcap full of new Joe figure sets at Toys R Us.  These figures were not in the '86 catalog, but were definitely Joes.  My first impression of the Mission to Brazil set was not overly favorable.  It was mostly repaints of figures I already had.  And, they weren't great repaints.  But, there was one new figure.  Over the next few months, every trip I took to TRU resulted in me staring at the sets, watching as the endcap slowly dwindled due to Christmas shoppers.  I never got around to asking for the set.  But, my parents would have been hard pressed to not know I wanted it since every time they came to get me, I was holding one in my hands.  On Christmas morning, I found a Mission to Brazil set under the tree.  I quickly opened it and added the figures into my collection.  I had no idea how I would use multiple paint jobs of figures who were already major players in my Joe world.  But, that soon worked itself out.

Within a few days of Christmas, I determined that the repaints in the set would become army builders.  They would be soldiers with the same specialty as the characters from whom they were repainted.  But, they were nameless army builders who could die with impunity.  For the next few months, this is how these figures functioned...except one: Dial Tone.  For whatever reason, I retained this figure as a new character.  He was a sniper who used Frostbite's rifle.  He wasn't named, but he became an important player in my collection.

However, Dial Tone's existence in my collection was short lived. On a rainy day in early 1987, I was out playing with my Joes in the loft of my parents' garage.  The garage door was open and it provided a great platform from which a sniper could play an integral role in whatever adventure I was devising.  I placed Dial Tone on the door and promptly forgot about him.  I got done playing and took my Joes inside.  That night, I was sent out to close the garage doors before we went to bed.  The door went down about half way and got stuck.  I pulled and pulled to no avail.  I lifted the door back up and the cause of the jam was apparent: my Dial Tone figure.  In reality, he wasn't too bad for wear except one of his feet was broken clean off.  Unfortunately, an injury like this ended the figure for me...to a point.  A few weeks later when trying to come up with some new figures from my broken parts, I added Flint's legs to the Dial Tone upper body.  The result was awesome and this figure joined my collection as "The Lieutenant" and remained an important character for the rest of youthful Joe playing days.  That figure actually still remains in my collection.

Dial Tone is actually one of my all time favorite vintage Joe molds.  There is something about the colors, head, details, proportions and accessories that combine to make a great figure.  The brown, green and black on this version makes for a great upper body.  The red pants, though, really take the figure down a few notches.  I'm not sure why red was the color of choice.  But, it was out of the line for the time and really didn't fit with other figures from that era.  For that reason, this figure isn't that popular outside of being necessary to complete the Mission to Brazil set and the general rarity of the figure when compared to his standard retail counterpart.  This figure's accessories are identical to those of the retail figure.  But, his filecard is unique in coloring, though the text remains the same.

Dial Tone got a lot more vintage love than his predecessor, Breaker.  The figure was released twice in 1986, once in 1990 and the character got a redo in 1994.  In the modern line, Dial Tone was nearly done to death.  He appeared in 2000, as the body of the Night Rhino Dusty in 2001 and in the BJ's set in 2002.  The figure was planned to be released in a desert color scheme in 1998, but that figure was never produced.  There are between 4 and 6 of those figures that managed to slip out and the "Chocolate Chip" Dial Tone is the rarest figure in the entire history of the American line.  There are enough flavors of Dial Tone now that there is no reason for any more.  But, since this is one of my favorite molds in the entire line, I would actually welcome any repaint that's ever offered.

All of the Mission to Brazil figures are somewhat hard to find.  Of the 5 figures in the set, Dial Tone is no more popular than Leatherneck or Mainframe.  But, is definitely less popular to Wet-Suit and Claymore.  This leaves Dial Tone as a solid $22 figure.  With his real filecard, the figure may go over $30.  Were this figure not one I had owned as a child, he would likely not be worth the money.  But, the nostalgia factor alone made an updated figure a high priority for me...regardless of price.

1986 Mission to Brazil Mainframe

While the notion of a mainframe computer is highly antiquated in today's client-server world, the character of Mainframe was on the cutting edge of 1980's computer technology. Of course, while computers play a vital role in modern military operations, they really aren't all that much fun to play with in a military toy setting. The result is another forgotten figure who modern collectors seem to have just skipped over. Mainframe, though, is due at least some recognition.

I was torn between which version of Mainframe to profile. His original grey version is a much cooler figure and one with which the collecting community is far more familiar. The Mission to Brazil Mainframe, though, is a figure that I, as a child, used extensively. The original Mainframe was the master, but this figure represented the hordes of field science and computer troops who would tag along on various missions. He was my cannon fodder while the original was the hero. Of course, I quickly created storylines where the nobody computer officer saves the day, but the figure also suffered his share of terrible deaths as well. By using the figure as a common bloke, though, I made Joe more fun. I could still use the main characters as themselves, but also had the ability to expand the Joe ranks and have Cobra assess a few casualties. I think this was why Joe was so endearing. The figures lent themselves to whatever a child could desire. Without limits, the line was free to last for as long as it did.

Mainframe's accessories were pretty nice. (Note, the uzi is an accessory that I added. Neither the original nor this version came with any type of gun.) The pack and computer were realistic enough. The computer, though, had holes around the edges. It seems that at some point Mainframe was either going to also come with a stand for his computer, or some other vehicle or playset would have done so. I think that would have made the figure a little more fun to own since he always had to kneel down to use his bulky version of a laptop. The microphone is also nice, and is an oft-missing accessory on most of the Mainframe figures you now see for sale. Had they attached it to his helmet, though, I think this guy's appeal would be greater. Mainframe's main problem is that he is not usuable in very many situations. He doesn't look good as a pilot; can't really be used as a field combat troop; doesn't have the acoutrements to be used in specialized situtions (like Airtight); and doesn't fit in as a vehicle driver. The figure is really only useable as a computer operator in the Headquarters, Tactical Battle Platform, or some other similar playset. As I pigeon-holed him into such a ting role, Mainframe's popularity was short lived. After mid 1987, both versions were put away and still have yet to really see the light of day again. Perhaps if I get a shuttle complex, they will find more use, but right now, they never leave their drawer.

Like all the Mission to Brazil figures, Mainframe is a bit more expensive than he is worth. This color scheme is terrible and the figure has no weapons. Really, he isn't much fun. Still, mint complete specimens will run you over $15.00. Frankly, that's too much to pay. Had I not owned this figure as a child, I doubt he would be part of my collection. This is a figure that many collectors do have, but only due to his perceived rarity. Unlike the MTB Wet Suit, this guy is about useless except as a filler figure at the Headquarters computer terminal. There are much cooler, and cheaper figures that can easily be used for that purpose. He simply no longer holds my fascination like he used to. Should you spend a large amount of money to acquire this figure, I think your opinion of him will be the same after only a short while.

I don't need anymore of this guy, but would like a Claymore with an intact crotch. The rest of the figure can be trashed, as long as the Crotch is okay. If you can help, email me.

1986 Mission to Brazil Wet Suit

We've already discussed the infamous Mission to Brazil set when I profiled Claymore. While I wasn't too impressed with that figure, I thought it time to showcase the one figure that made me want the entire set, the Wetsuit. The original Wetsuit was awesome. This guy, though, was off the charts. They had finally cast a diver in colors that were perfect for military operations. I was always hesitant to use the original figure in combat situations was I thought his orange highlights could be a bit detrimental if he were trying to sneak up on someone. This figure kind of solved that. The only problem with him was that they included the original Wetsuit's accessories! You now had a dark silver diver with bright orange tanks. I managed to somewhat fix this by giving him a pack from a spare Eel. It worked, but wasn't the best solution. I had to wait until 1998 before Hasbro finally released these accessories in black. Since the Navy Seal Teams are still ubiquitous at all my area Toys R Us stores, you should be able to get some of them before they disappear as well.

This guy was one of my most used figures. For most of 1986 and early 1987, I had a running sea based story line going. This figure was the common diver troop who did most of the fighting against Eels. Since the color scheme matched, they worked perfectly together. The original Wetsuit was the sometimes leader, but this guy got most of the use. (You can still see his battle scars in the worn paint on the face of this specimen.) I used all of the Mission to Brazil set as specialty troopers. It made it fun to actually allow Cobra to kill off good guy cannon fodder. It kind of evened things out. The dark silver wetsuit with the black and olive drab highlights were very realistic. At least once, I swapped this guy's head and made a custom figure that was a diver after he boarded a ship, discarded his helmet, and was using his assault rifle. This guy, like the Eel, has such a good color combination that you just want to find excuses to use him.

When I first saw the Mission to Brazil set, I kind of wanted it. Claymore looked kind of cool. This guy was awesome. The Leatherneck had uses and I wanted another Mainframe for my headquarters. The Dialtone had a great upper body, but his red pants kind of killed him. As weeks wore on and I went to TRU more and more, the set began to wear on me. I always looked at it, but could never decide if I wanted it or not. Since I was very up on all the figures and had completed the 1986 series much, much earlier in the year, I didn't have much of anything to look forward to at Christmas. (My parents had already made it very clear that the Shuttle was out of reach. There were no other medium to large vehicles that came out that year.) I finally broke down and asked for this set. Of course, Hasbro released many of the 1987 figures in time for Christmas of 1986 and I would have gotten some figures anyways. At least this worked out, though, as I got the set I wanted. Once I had it, it was a decision I never regretted. I used the MTB figures more than I used their original counterparts. For whatever reason, I just wanted to have some common figures that weren't already characterized. The Wetsuit character already had a figure. With this guy, I got a free figure to use as I wanted. What resulted were some of the best memories I have of my entire Joe collection.

The Wet Suit mold is a Hasbro favorite. It was used twice in 1986, in 1998, 2001 and 2002. His arms were used in 2004 on the Anti-Venom Mutt The character has continued to appear in more modern Joe lines, too. Wet Suit does not have any foreign variants (which is probably why his mold was so commonly used by Hasbro in the first few years of the line) and was only released with Hasbro created figures. Of all the colorings of this mold, though, I still hold this version to be the best. He does look a lot better when you give him the black accessories from 1998 or 2001. But, the overall figure is probably the strongest of the Wet Suit versions. At this point, there isn't much need for additional renditions of this mold. It has been done well enough through the vintage and modern years to satisfy most collectors.

These guys, like all of the Mission to Brazil figures, are pretty tough to find. While this guy isn't nearly as expensive as Claymore, he is still pricey. (I really don't get the dramatic difference in prices of the MTB figures. They were only available as a set. While Claymore is the only original figure, I, and many other collectors, consider the Wetsuit to be the far and away best figure in the set. He is usually the second most expensive figure, but is still about three of four times less than Claymore.) This guy is worth the money. He is an awesome figure that makes an excellent army builder. Unfortunately, his price is a bit prohibitive of my doing so. Nonetheless, this is a figure of which I would like to have a couple more. The Navy Seal Team helped me a bit, but this guy has sentimentality attached to him and that keeps him as my all time favorite Joe diver.

If you have any questions, comments, or not so constructive criticism, email me.

1986 Claymore - Mission to Brazil

Most people know of the Mission to Brazil set that was available in 1986. While many people consider this piece a must for their collection, the figures that came in the set left much to be desired. Of the five, only Wetsuit and Leatherneck really had playable versions. Claymore, the only original figure in the bunch, wasn't much better. This figure isn't very good. They took spare parts, repainted them, and turned them into one of the more forgettable figures from the line. What is sad is that they took a good character, and a great idea and implemented it poorly. (Kind of a foreshadowing of the entire 1992-4 editions.) The arms, head, waist, and legs are great. The repainted Televiper chest, though, makes this figure look not quite right. I never liked figures with open necked shirts. In some cases they worked. In this case, well, you be the judge.

I really liked Claymore, for the two weeks I used him. You will notice that the sample below has a broken crotch. This happened almost immediately after I first got him. The Crotch piece, originally designed for the 1985 Flint, has skinny legs, like Flint's, in mind. The reuse of the fat Dusty legs on this figure ensures that the broken crotch affliction is rather common. As such, it's hard to find a loose figure that is completely mint. This was a fun figure to own. Claymore was cool and his color scheme was very different from other figures of that year. His accessories kind of suck, but they could easily be changed out to make a more combat ready figure. I never used him as a covert operative, but as another ordinary joe. I managed to find some use for him after the "accident" but I never really have been able to use a broken figure. Since I broke him so early on, though, this figure is in otherwise excellent condition. I've always wanted to put together a Claymore from his original parts and see what he looked like. I can't imagine it would be pretty.

While the Mission to Brazil set as a whole remains a holy grail for many collectors, the individual figures are rather forgotten. Claymore gets little press. He was never used in the comic and I don't think he ever appeared on the cartoon. As with most repaints, he is hard to find for completists, but is often overlooked by casual collectors. In my opinion, Claymore is only the third or fourth best figure in the whole Mission to Brazil set. This is pretty bad considering that the set as a whole doesn't much measure up against the figures that were available on the shelf. This was Hasbro's first attempt at bizarre color schemes. The bright yellows and dark and light reds didn't really make figures that people wanted. I think this set's sales were a disappointment as Toys "R" Us did not have an exclusive G.I. Joe boxed figure set again until 1997.

Unfortunately, Claymore is one of the more difficult to find Joes. He is rarely found mint and complete. (This is why I have yet to upgrade mine.) His crotch was brittle and they are often seen in this condition. There are also reports that he came with two different guns. Since the accessories were packaged separately from the figures in the set, though, it's hard to determine if your Claymore has his original accessories. Claymore is rather expensive. Like all the Mission to Brazil joes, he was only available for a very short time at Toys "R" Us stores. Collectors, though, seem to misinterpret his rarity. At the time, Toys "R" Us was filled with these sets. They didn't even sell them out during Christmas, which is the originally marketed season. I don't think this figure is as rare as some people would have you believe. Granted, it is difficult, but there are still many Mission to Brazil packs still Mint in Box out there. The production run, while definitely less than other carded figures, is probably in the realm of many of the vehicle drivers from the $25 and up vehicles of the time. Of course, when you pursue this figure, you're also chasing it's mystique. There are very, very, very few truly rare joes. As such, sets like this tend to get a bit more press than they deserve. When it comes to individual figures, though, many people forget about Claymore.