Tuesday, December 25, 2012

G.I. J.O.E. - Ridgeback

When I saw the new Star Wars TVC Obi-Wan headsculpt, I knew it was perfect for a self-custom. Now that I've grown a beard and my hair longer, the look is just about right. The basic figure is a Resolution Beachhead. I added a 30th holster and thigh mag platform and slapped a 30th knife sheath onto the DTC Barrel Roll tac vest. Actually, that's the tactical equipment I use. I set up a Marauder Gun Runners M4 the way my own M4 looks and voilá, another no-paint custom figure.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Star Wars - Galen Marek, Starkiller

This is my entry in the recent No-paint Kitbash Contest at Imperial Shipyards. Since Starkiller figures are hard to come by in Germany (read: next to impossible) and if you manage to find one, it's prohibitively expensive, I decided to kitbash a Galen Marek figure. I didn't want just some figure, but I wanted my Starkiller to come with a bunch of accessories. He's probably not game accurate, but he's in an outfit conceiveable for the character. The base figure is an Anakin figure. The lower arms and gloves came from an Imperial Storm Commando. I found that the heads on those Starkiller figures I have in my collection don't look much like Sam Witwer, so I chose a GI JOE ROC Duke head which I think looks more like Starkiller. The blue lightsabers came from my parts box. The cape came with the Anakin figure (I think), the hood is from a TVC Darth Sidious. The softgoods cloak is from the TVC Darth Maul. I added an "action harness" which came off a ROC Red Ninja and to which I added a kama or inner robetype garment made of a piece of nylon webbing. The photos show that you can dress Starkiller in different ways so he has a lot of play value.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Review: Star Wars TVC 113 Expanded Universe - Republic Trooper (The Old Republic)

Look what the mailman brought today... Being packed only one per case, the Old Republic Trooper is well sought after and commands hefty prices on Ebay. This one I bought from a fellow collector on Hisstank.com at a halfways decent price. The then nameless Trooper was first seen in the trailer "Hope" of the The Old Republic video game when he lead a Squad of troopers into battle against Darth Malgus' Sith army on Alderaan. Needless to say, he became an instant favorite with Star Wars fans. He has now been named Jace Malcom and provided with a background story. Everybody was excited when the figure was announced and well, here he is: The figure is nicely detailed with crisp paint applications, no doubt about it. It will look very cool on the shelf and many people will probably mistake him for a Clone Trooper or a Stormtrooper. Except for the hips and the wrists he is all ball-jointed, no articulation in the waist, though. Personally, I would have preferred him to come with ball-jointed hips, too, so he could be brought into the stance we see him firing his huge Blaster cannon. One thing is very nice: his shoulders have an amazing range of movement, something which most figures with sculpted-on shoulder armor do not have. His elbow range of movement sadly is somewhat limited. You won't be able to bring him to shoulder a rifle without modifying his arms. Compared to other Star Wars figures, his range of accessories is impressive: removeable helmet, removeable crossbelt with shoulder armor attached, a knife sheath with removeable knife and a removeable ammo pouch. The pistol we see him use in the game trailer fits nicely into the holster on his left hip and the gunbelt can be removed when you pop off his torso. There is a little hole on his crossbelt and on the right side of his gunbelt into which you can stick the knife sheath and the ammo pouch. On the stock figure, I would put the knife on his belt and the pouch on the crossbelt since the knife sheath is a little bulky. I'm sure, though, that those collectors with some GI JOE parts in their fodder box will be able to find a slimmer knife sheath which will work better on his crossbelt to attain the look the Trooper has in the game trailer. I'm not too sure about the dimensions and shape of the Blaster cannon, don't think it is game accurate. It is made of too soft a plastic as far as I am concerned and I think I will shorten it or replace it with another bulky weapon altogether. Altogether he's too much of a nice figure to pass on him, so despite the little flaws here and there, I won't hesitate to recommend him.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Star Wars - Clone Corporal Aitch

Another figure I like as a basic figure for customs is the Gelagrub Patrol Trooper. On this one I took the softgoods kama and gunbelt off and replaced it with the belt/harness/shoulder armor of a Commander Neyo figure. I gave him the rifle from a Marvel Universe Cable figure, but he looks sharp with a DC-15 rifle or carbine, too. Here's Clone Corporal Aitch:

Star Wars - Clone Commander Arrow

I went through my parts box today and found a TAC Clone Commander as well as a TVC AOTC Clone Trooper. Off came the pauldron and the belt/kama from the Commander and went onto the Trooper. I also added a spare rangefinder to the Trooper's Phase 1 helmet to create one of the Clone Commanders who received ARC Trooper training after the Battle of Geonosis. I like the combination of the Phase 1 armor which starts to show individual touches by adding coloured markings, pauldrons and kamas. Here's Clone Commander Arrow:

Knights of the Old Republic - Shadows of Corruption

When it comes to fan-made films, there are those filmed with the cam of a mobile phone to semi-professional productions that have the look and feel of Lucasfilms. This one is definitely awesome. I found it on youtube - no, I ccannot take any credit for this movie. Enjoy.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Star Wars - Alliance Special Forces Brigade Officer

Was it Spudafett whon said that GI JOE was the best thing that ever happened to Star Wars customizing? Guess he was right. This Rebel Alliance Special Forces Brigade Officer, Codename: ROCK, consists of the torso, crotch and upper arms of a 25th Clutch, lower arms of a POC Recondo, head from a RET Roadblock (likeness of actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), legs from a Resolute Flint, vest from a Marvel Captain America, helmet from a Rebel Endor Commando, gunbelt from a TVC Luke in Bespin uniform, demolitions kit from a ROC Firefly and the rifle from a 30th Law. Again, it is a no-paint kitbash. I wanted the Commando Officer to have the rugged look of a seasoned fighter and therefore went for the Bantha hide vest and the muscular lower arms with the gauntlet and the cloth wrap.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Star Wars - Sgt. Kane, 41st Long Range Reconnaissance Platoon

Sergeant Kane is an original character created for the non-canon 41st Long Range Reconnaissance Platoon. It would be safe to assume that the Grand Army of the Republic had other specialized units besides the ARC Troopers, Republic Commandos and ARF Troopers, so I came up with the 41st LRRP unit. Hooah! He has been spliced together from an TVC AT-RT Driver and a ROTS Commander Gree figure using the boil'n pop method. Helmet, head, torso, upper legs - TVC AT-RT Driver Arms, lower legs - ROTS Commander Gree Holster - Marvel Universe Black Widow Pistol - Marauder Gun Runners Carbine - custom made from the stock and breech of a DC-15 rifle and the barrel and optics of an ARC Trooper rifle Hatchet - GI JOE POC Recondo

Thursday, August 9, 2012

G.I. J.O.E. - Codename ELSA

Elsa is another original character, based on the ROC Cover Girl figure. She got lower legs from a ROC Gen. Hawk figure to give her bloused trousers and combat boots for the rugged look. She got hands from a Renegades Scarlett figure, the head is from a Marvel Universe Sue Storm. this makes Elsa a pretty easy kitbash without painting. I glued a dropleg holster from a Marvel Universe Avengers Movie Black Widow to her left hip, the pistol is a customized 25th Anniversary line Beretta, the rifle came off a POC Recondo. The Tac vest was taken from a Retaliation GI Joe Trooper, the waistbelts removed and mag pouches from a Marauder Gun Runners Tac vest glued to the front like a chest rig.

G.I. J.O.E. - RIDGEBACK reloaded

This custom figure is based on the Retaliation Wave 2 Roadblock figure. He got a Retaliation Clutch head, Retaliation 3-pack Roadblock Tac vest and Retaliation Wave 1 Roadblock forwarms and hands. I took off the huge battle kata holsters on his thighs and glued on a spare pistol holster and a set of mag pouches from the spare parts box. The combat knife came off a Resolute Duke, the pistol is a ROC FN, the silencer was on the holster, the AK rifle is from Marauder Gun Runners. The watch is custom made.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

RIDGEBACK - Version 3

This version is the most basic as it is pretty much the stock Retaliation 3-pack Beachhead figure. Just as much as I like POC Night Fox, I like this Beachhead figure. I just cut off the support straps on is webgear and gave him a ROC FN pistol and a BBI OICW rifle. The loop on the tactical holster for the pistol's silencer was cut off this time.

RIDGEBACK - Version 2

I always liked the POC Night Fox driver figure. He's nicely basic, nothing to write home about - yet that's what makes him one of my favorite figures for customizing. I gave him the legs of a 30th Steel Brigade SE version and slapped the chest webbing of a Retaliation 3-pack Snake Eyes on him. The combat knife came off some Marvel Universe figure and the M4 with universal key is a Marauder Gun Runner product.

RIDGEBACK - Version 1

The basic figure for this version is the Retaliation GI JOE Trooper in the tan version. The lower legs came off a Steel Brigade Delta, the chest webbing is from a Retaliation 3-pack Snake Eyes with the useless support straps cut off. I cut the gunbelt off the webbing of the Retaliation Trooper and glued the right hand holster of a Movie Avengers Black Widow on. The pistol is a ROC FN, the sniper rifle is from the Retaliation Trooper.

G.I. J.O.E. - Ridgeback

After the debacle which destroyed a major part of the G.I. J.O.E. force, General Joe Colton called upon some retired Joes. One of these old geezers was Owen Cain, Codename RIDGEBACK. Therefore, Ridgeback is an original character, an off-screen character in the Retaliation storyline. I dig the Retaliation driver figure headsculpt and have 3 of them, so I made Ridgeback in 3 different versions.

Friday, July 20, 2012

G.I. J.O.E: - Agent Tasha Hawke

Tasha Hawke is an original character who specializes in covert operations.

Friday, June 1, 2012

How G.I. J.O.E. should be

I always thought that G.I. J.O.E. should be darker, grittier. Take the main characters and put them into this kind of scenario: THAT's what I mean.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

G.I. J.O.E. - Delta Leader reloaded

I decided to give my Delta Leader a change on his vest. Although I was quite happy about the modded Steel Brigade Delta tac vest, I like the less bulky look of the regular Steel Brigade body armor better. I had a set of chest rig mag pouches floating around my parts box so I shaved the anaemic mag shingles off the front of the body armor, glued the pouches on, added a knife sheath, a pair of canteens and a radio to the body armor and now I'm truly happy with this guy's look.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

G.I. J.O.E. - The Night Foxes

I really like POC Night Fox. It is a simple yet great basic figure for customs. Easy to upgrade with the SE-style legs of the variant Steel Brigade, all he needs is some webbing/body armor, maybe a headswap and a rifle to look majorly cool.

G.I. J.O.E. - Kodiak

After the debacle which destroyed a major part of the G.I. J.O.E. force, General Joe Colton called upon some retired Joes. One of these old geezers was Brad Armstrong, Codename KODIAK. Therefore, Kodiak is an original character, an off-screen character in the Retaliation storyline. Kodiak is based on a 30th Stalker body with added accessories such as the South African M83 webbing, a custom-made backpack and a Marauder Gun Runners AK47. The head came off an Avengers Thor (minus the blonde wig), the ball cap with lip mike is a Raginspoon custom casting. The goggles, I think, came off a POC Gen. Hawk.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

G.I. J.O.E. - Raider (Urban Warfare Specialist)

Raider is a core member of G.I. J.O.E.'s City Strike Urban Warfare Squad.
He specializes in covert surveillance and Close Quarters Battle tactics.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

G.I. J.O.E. - Grizzly

After the debacle which destroyed a major part of the G.I. J.O.E. force, General Joe Colton called upon some retired Joes. One of these old geezers was William Garrett, Codename GRIZZLY.
Therefore, Grizzly is an original character, an off-screen character in the Retaliation storyline.

Grizzly is based on a 30th Stalker body with added accessories such as a combat vest, scarf, rappelling harness with custom-made belt loop for a machete. The strap of the goggles on his ProTec helmet has been replaced with elastics and fits snugly around the helmet.


Friday, January 6, 2012

G.I. JOE - Delta Leader

Delta Leader is made up mainly of the Steel Brigade Delta figure with the head and upper legs from the 30th Law figure. The Steel Brigade vest was modified by taking off the M4 clips, the binoculars and the knife sheath in the small of the back. Added were a small pack and two canteens.