Head: ARAH Alpine
Chest/back: ARAH Gung Ho v3
Arms: ARAH Wild Bill v2
Waist: ARAH Cutter
Upper legs: ARAH Firefly v1
Lower legs: ARAH Torch
Backpack: Chap Mei?
Rifle: ARAH Recondo
Design:
Another Plague character. Like "Infrared", he's stuck with a stupid name, but what can you do? Without a Range Viper head or body to work with, I decided to cheat it using an Alpine head and other parts that were somewhat similar to the original Range Viper.
I normally don't have specific weapons in mind, but in this case I wanted the Recondo rifle because of the sculpted cloth wrapping on it. The oversized, super-loaded backpack also adds to the extreme durability of the character. In fact, this figure doesn't really work without the back back and rifle combination.
Colors and painting:
As with the other Plague customs, this one steps away from the monotone look in WWIII and instead uses a charcoal uniform with "dirt smears" and a few other brighter colors. To make this character seem a bit more "hands on" then the other Plague members, his skin is shown on his neck, chest, and under his rolled-up sleeves. As an added touch, it also is shown on his trigger fingers.
The brain pattern on the sides of the hat/head are simply painted on. Not as impressive as if they were sculpted or carved, but it gets the idea across.
The open shirt might be a bit too macho, especially with no painted t-shirt underneath. However, I see this character as a testosterone-dripping bad-ass, even among the ranks of the Plague troops.
The bright aluminum colored skull mask is a big departure from the charcoal colored one in the comic, but a bit of zazzle was needed.
Sculpting and modifying:
I sculpted the mask and removed the hair from the back of the head. The mask is far from perfect, especially the crooked nostrils, but hopefully works well enough to pass for a Range Viper.
To make the contour of the backpack mesh better with the shape of the back, I added some bulk with hot glue. As with Jinx, I added chest/back straps so that the backpack wasn't a magically attached one.
I also filled the elbow rivet holes with epoxy.
Thanks for looking.