Hasbro: Hall of Fame Flint (1993): head, uniform, beret and Mountain Assault Mission backpack
Hasbro: M4 carbine, binoculars, canteen and flashlight
M&C Toys: Body, pistol, holster, bayonet, sheath, belt
BBI: boots, large ammo pouches, M4 laser illuminator
21st Century Toys: shotgun, small ammo pouches pistol magazine pouch and smoke grenade pouch (castings)
Various spare buckles, elastic strap, craft foam, fabric, grosgrain strap, leather lace and paint

If receiving Hall of Fame Duke in 1992 established me as an adult collector of GI Joe, then it was the purchase of Flint the following year that established me as a figure customizer. For several years I modified and created custom parts for Flint: scratch built ammo pouches, resin cast canteens, and an M4 carbine cut down and modified to look like Colt Commando (XM-177); all to make him look like a Vietnam era Green Beret. Looking back it was all pretty laughable but I cut my teeth, so to speak, with these early attempts at figure customizing. I reworked Flint after 2007 by moving his head and uniform to the M&C body and swapping his boots for BBI boots. I modified the M&C pistol by drilling out the barrel and laser illuminator and painting the pistol to look like it has a stainless slide on a Parkerized frame. The holster had the strap tabs removed, was painted, and had new straps added made from more pliable grosgrain ribbon with a spare buckle. The bayonet was converted to a knife by cutting off the blade and attaching a new styrene cross-guard and handle. The knife was painted and leather lace from Rio Rondo was wrapped around the handle for a grip. The knife sheath was modified slightly to remove the wire cutting tool lug and grosgrain straps were attached so it could be worn like the leg holster. The HOF pack was dyed black and had several modifications. I added pads to the shoulder straps made from craft foam, cloth, and elastic strap. To these pads I added shotgun shells made from an ammo belt from a poorly scaled grenade launcher included with 1/18th M&C Toys set. I painted these to look like shotgun shells and glued grosgrain strap to appear to be retaining loops. The pack itself got attachment tabs to add elastic straps to attach the shelter/bed roll which was made from the same olive colored fabric my "studio" is lined with. The small ammo pouches were added for additional shotgun shells and were made by grinding off the closure on a 21st Century Toys Vietnam era pouch, adding a newer looking closure and casting copies in resin. Finally, I removed the grip from the Hasbro M4 and added a shotgun from a 21st Century Toys weapon set and a laser illuminator from a BBI weapon set. Flint retains his basic Hall of Fame look, but I went all out to super-detail his gear. Thus equipped, he is ready for a rumble in the jungle.