Retelo

An action figure 33 years in the making!

Stage 1: The Pitch! (R. Carson Mataxis, 1989)

Retelo was submitted to Hasbro in 1989 by ten year old collector, and future 3DJoes curator, R. Carson Mataxis. Katy Ranallo of Hasbro Direct, Inc. returned the pitch with a letter stating the submission was neither copied nor reviewed. Carson then turned Retelo into a member of the Steel Brigade.

Stage 2: The Pitch! (R. Carson Mataxis, 2020)

Undaunted, Carson pushed forward 30 years later. This time he went straight to the creators that invented so many of the toys that enriched his childhood. The deck below shows the pitch which was shared with Ron Rudat and Kirk Bozigian in the spring of 2020.

Stage 3: Design (Ron Rudat)

With the initial pitch in hand, Ron Rudat was ready to dig in and create several loose sketches illustrating various figure and accessory options. Ron introduced some new concepts including pigeon armor, a robotic pigeon, and a pigeon shaped drone. He also added more tactical gear. Click the images below to view these designs full screen. 

Stage 4: Design Review (Kirk Bozigian)

Once Ron illustrated several figure and accessory options, it was time for Kirk Bozigian to review. The video below captures a working session where Kirk reviewed Ron's ideas and Carson typed up revision notes. Kirk combined some of Ron's ideas and brought some new ideas into the mix.
The images below show Kirk's input in red and the meeting notes that Carson sent to Ron.

Stage 5: Design Revisions (Ron Rudat)

With Kirk's feedback in hand, Ron was ready to dig in and finalize Retelo's design. This round included revised character art and engineering input drawings that the sculptors would use to create the figure and his accessories.
Next, Ron photocopied the finalized line art and created six color studies.

Stage 6: Design Review (Kirk Bozigian)

Kirk Bozigian then weighed in on the color studies, combining a few options.
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Stage 7: Design Revisions (final color study) and Presentation Art (Ron Rudat)

With Kirk's color feedback in hand, Ron created one final color study, and then create Retelo's presentation art.
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Stage 8: Additional Research for File Card Development (R. Carson Mataxis)

Before kicking off file card development with Larry Hama, Carson researched modern day tactical radio over-the-air operations (click here) and real world United States Army carrier pigeons (click here). He also provided the summary below: 

Retelo is a high tech communications trooper and comes geared up with state of the art communications technology, but he’s also equipped with old school gear that would work in the face of an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack. 
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EMP-proof comms gear: flare gun, smoke grenades (red/yellow/blue), keyboard on right forearm that attaches to his Tactical Cyber Equipment-C5ISR/EW CMOSS (Modular Open Suite of Standards) Chassis, and Retelo's trusty sidekick: a real carrier pigeon! 

New high tech comms gear: tactical helmet with compact microphone and heads up display visor (HUD can display 360 degree camera system on backpack perch), IR signal light on grenade bandolier, 360 degree IR signal light on backpack perch, quad copter drone with carrier pigeon inspired design (attaches to backpack), bird shaped head houses zoom camera lens.

Weapons: SIG Sauer MCX Rattler (with removable suppressor and magazines, and a folding stock)

Stage 9: Dossier Writing (Larry Hama)

Specialty: HIGH TECH COMMUNICATIONS AND ANTI-CYBER WARFARE SPECIALIST
Codename: RETELO
File Name: Kirby, Theodore C.  
Branch: Army
Rank: SP-7
MOS: 25W (Communications Operations Chief) 
POB: Raleigh, NC

Retelo was tapped for the GI Joe Team from the 12CEWS* detachment to oversee secure comms over the tactical radio net in the field, and extrapolate hostile jamming and penetration of computer resources to prevent hacking. He started out as an infantry RTO,** went on the be a 25C (Radio Operator-maintainer before qualifying for advanced NCO training under the auspices of the Army Signal School. He spent a year attached to the 915th Cyber Warfare Battalion, and another year teaching at Cyber Support Training Center at Fort Irwin, CA. He did his airborne at Fort Benning, and is a qualified expert with M4A1 SOPMOD 5.56mm carbine, and M17 9mm modular handgun system.
*Information, Cyber, Electronic Warfare, and Space
​**Radio Teletype Operator

Retelo is 3rd generation military, so instead of learning his ABCs as a toddler, he learned his Alpha, Bravo, Charlies. He took a computer science class in high school because he was interested in gaming, and became fascinated by the whole concept of programming. Family tradition, and a sense of obligation to his country led him to enlist, and available training programs opened up new possibilities to pursue his personal interests while serving. His teammates know that they can rely on Retelo to maintain their lines of communications under the most rigorous conditions, and overlook his tendency to get totally absorbed in online gaming.
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His main piece of equipment is the EMP-resistant C51SR/EW CMOSS chassis that is a backpack that combines wide-spectrum comms gear with anti-jamming, and cyber-attack modules. It can carry the MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone, that has both surveillance and attack capabilities. The pack also sports a perch for “Homer” the carrier pigeon for use when all other systems are down.

Stage 10: Accessory 3D Modeling (Adam Freeman)

Before moving into package design, Carson collaborated with Adam Freeman to create 3D models that the packaging director and package painter could reference when creating their illustrations.
Tactical Cyber Equipment-C5ISR/EW CMOSS (Modular Open Suite of Standards) Chassis
Approximate backpack dimensions: wide: 1”  tall: 1.25”  deep: 0.9”
Quad copter drone with carrier pigeon inspired design (attaches to backpack), bird shaped head houses zoom camera lens.
Approximate drone dimensions: wide: 0.75”  tall: 0.35”  deep: 0.75”
Retelo's trusty sidekick: a real carrier pigeon! Pigeon wears a flak vest and a helmet for protection, a backpack, and a traditional U.S. Army Signal Corps aluminum PG-14 message holder (for attachment to a war pigeon's leg).
Approximate pigeon dimensions: wide: 1.25”  tall: 0.6”  deep: 0.6”
Tactical helmet with compact microphone and heads up display visor (HUD can display 360 degree camera system on backpack perch).
Approximate helmet dimensions: wide: 0.6”  tall: 0.5”  deep: 0.6”
SIG Sauer MCX Rattler (with removable suppressor and magazines, and a folding stock)
Approximate gun dimensions: wide: 1.5”  tall: 0.5”  deep: 0.1”

Step 11: Accessory 3D Printing (Mike Syfritt)

Before moving into package design, Carson collaborated with Mike Syfritt to translate Adam Freeman's work into printable 3D models. Many changes were made along the way. The final printed accessories are shown below.

Stage 12: Package Layout (R. Carson Mataxis)

Once accessory design was complete and we had individual accessory measurements (step 10), it was possible to determine the optimal package layout. Two options were created, one featuring the 1985 branding and one featuring the 1986 branding. 

Stage 13: Package Art Layout Sketches (Ed Morrill)

Next, Ed Morrill (packaging expert, partner at Hasbro's external packaging agency, and Hasbro collaborator from 1969-1989) created four package art layout sketches on vellum paper. These sketches compared and contrasted different poses and accessory positioning.

Stage 14: Reference Photos (R. Carson Mataxis)

Once the package illustration was complete, and the optimal sketch was selected, it was time for Doug Hart to begin painting the final package art. He would translate the figure, accessories, and sketch into a polished painting. But before he began, he requested some reference photos. Carson grabbed his camera, his Kel-Tec SUB-2000, and got to work.  

Stage 15: Package Painting (Doug Hart)

Over the course of several weeks, Doug shared the process images below, and Carson helped provide feedback and additional references. Below you will see several process photos as well as the final painting. Be sure to roll over the images for more information, or click them to view full screen. ​
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Step 16: 2up Figure Sculpt (Bill Merklein)

Seen here is a copy of an original buck used in the creation of G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero action figures. Sculptors would add clay to this armature to bring a new figure to life, all while ensuring their clay did not limit the the play value of the toy.

Carson brought Ron Rudat's engineering drawings and presentation art, Doug Hart's package painting, and Adam and Mike's 3D printed accessories (both at 1:18 and 2up scale) to Bill Merklein, prolific miniature sculptor, painter, and the man behind over 70 G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero figure sculpts from 1983-1989.

Over the course of 14 days, Carson filmed the entire sculpting process, from bare buck to final figure. Below you will see several process photos as well as the final sculpt. Be sure to roll over the images for more information, or click them to view full screen. 

​Below you see the Retelo 2up sculpt by Bill Merklein, and the 3D designed and printed accessories by Adam Freeman and Mike Syfritt.

Step 17: Molding and Casting (Lightbeam3D.com)

Traditionally, after Hasbro received the sculpt, a mold would be made. This was done because sculpts tended to be fragile and would degrade over time. It was also done so that resin hard copies could be created for several purposes. We are working to adhere to the old process as much as possible, so we partnered with Scott Andrews at Lightbeam3D.com to mold and cast several copies. These will be used to create two paint masters (one for the factory and one for marketing), and the third unpainted one will be used to help create the steel molds. 

Step 18: Paintmasters (Matthew LeCroy)

Historically, 2-Up resin hard copies were hand painted and used as a final color reference. At least two of these "paintmasters" would be made. One would be sent overseas to the factory for reference as they created the final paint masks, while the other would be kept at Hasbro for reference and cataloging. We partnered with Matthew LeCroy to create the beautiful paint master seen below. 
Below you see the figure and accessory paint masters, painted by Matthew LeCroy.

Step 19: Branding and package design (Shawn and Ed Morrill)

As we inched closer to the final product, we decided to create an all new brand for Retelo and Homer (in case Hasbro did not want to license and/or manufacture this product). The name Operation: Recall was was selected, because in the U.S. retired servicemen and women can be recalled to active duty in times of national emergency. In an era of action figure stagnation and replication, we’ve recalled to duty an unparalleled squad of seasoned veterans of the Toy Wars. They’ve returned to bring us all new and unforgettable characters!

We once again partnered with Ed Morrill (packaging expert and Hasbro collaborator from 1969-1989) to develop the Operation: Recall brand. Ed called in his son, and fellow brand building and package design expert, Shawn Morrill.​ The two believe in developing logos in the context of the final package, so they skipped right over isolated logo design and moved into holistic package design. 

Next up: Final revisions and manufacturing! 

Stay tuned to OperationRecall.com for updates on the Operation: Recall mission!