Unreleased G.I Jose Rise of Cobra Ripcord

Presenting: the G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra Desert Battle Ripcord! 

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. Supposedly it was never released. It's a factory re-call/reject. Yet here it is. No blister pack, no packaging. I got it loose. Yet it shouldn't exist. Hasbro is slated to release a figure named Skydive in March of 2011 which matches the gear seen here. But that has a different paint scheme and doesn't involve Ripcord. Also note the stand of Ripcord. It's the stand from the G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra figure line. The Pursuit of Cobra figure line uses a different stand. 

So I'm not sure what to make of this. 

In the end I feel that some enterprising Chinese found a surplus set of suits and Ripcords and merged the two. Still, it's a nice thing to have wouldn't you agree?

The suit can basically be broken down into a High Altitude, Low Opening (HALO) jump parachute suit - complete with breath mask, air supply, ammo and other supply pouches. The only thing wrong with this image is that if you're on a HALO jump, no way are you going to hold your rifle all the way down. The rifle should be slung and secured onto the jump-suit. It is not and can not.

Also, while he has the jump wings attached, there is no way that he can deploy a parachute. Actually the only visible parachute is the small spare that hangs close to his hind quarters. Unless he wants to land upside down, I believe it is safe to assume that the Jump-Wings' backpack carries his main chute.

Here's a view of the Jump-Wings - with the wings deployed - alone:

Pressing the big center button at the back of the Jump-Wings apparatus deploys its wings. Obviously that's not going to carry someone very far and I don't believe Ripcord has any delusions that he can fly with it attached. 

At best, it would help him glide. The apparatus is probably used so that he can HALO to an enemy fortification without having to be dropped directly above the target. This way he can approach the vicinity of the target and land relatively safely. Note the two rockets attached to the apparatus. They're detachable so either he can fire those or they're boosters meant to give him a temporary altitude increase - though he'd probably light up the sky if he did. To your right we see two motor like engines on either side of Ripcord's head. I believe these are there to help him steer the glider left and right as needed. 

Here he is in full uniform sans the helmet - which is very form fitting by the way. You can just see the visage of his face through the translucent material when he has it on.

Here's the figure in comparison with the Cobra Para-Viper - which is a must have if you're a collector. Note the similar outfit/tubing and weapons problem - but at least the weapons of the Para-Viper fold.

So is this something you should have in your collection? Well it's a curio. I do not think that the apparatus in reality has any practical use and actually think that it would break apart in a HALO jump, but who knows? It normally sells nowadays on the black market for PhP 850 - 1,200 - black market prices because... well.. this was never supposedly "released"

If it is a fake, its a very good one. So yes, go get it if you can. It still looks awesome in any collection.