Project 1:18 Action Man: #11 27th April

steel bonnet · **Joined:** Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:19 am

WOW the Latest TWO are truly amazing and Kudos for going OUTSIDE the box too.

I am looking forward to what is next of Regt's that actually never had been covered by ACTION MAN. However would Have eventually if they continued.

Kambei · **Posted:** Wed Apr 02, 2014 12:32 pm

The Gurkha is up next. I am 60% complete on the paints. The I am finishing up the Hussar and the Military Police. After that I am working on some more difficult customs. Looking at some other nationalities as well

Kambei · **Posted:** Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:28 am

First of all, I have put some new pictures up of the Sikh on Page 1. Wasn't happy with the colour of the arms, so I repainted them.

next:

9th Gurkha Regiment:

Head: Clone Trooper
Hat: Cast of 25th Recondo
Torso/Upper Arms/Upper Legs/Shoes: Indiana Jones
Lower Arms/Lower Legs: Indiana Jones Ugha Warrior
Webbing Packs: Sculpted
Canteen/Backpack/Pouch: BBi
Kukri/Sheath: Sculpted and cast
Sten Gun: Action Force/Q-Force modded with Lanard MP5 magazine
Grenades: Marauder

This figure stems from a conversation I had with my father. We were talking about outfits that Palitoy should have added to the Action Man range. We were both amazed that they never made a Gurkha outfit. They have served as a unit of the British Army for over 150 years with distinction in many campaigns and various theatres of war. They have received 26 Victoria Cross medals to the regiments during their history and are famous for the curved Kukri knife.
I started out with The basic Crystal Skull Indiana Jones figure as the base. Looking through my box of heads, I found a Clobne Trooper head that was perfect. I had various BBi parts that would fit and just sculpted over a cast of the 25th Wild Bill butt pack to make the webbing pouches. I had a couple of Action Force sten guns so I went with that. The Kukri was more of a problem. I was originally going to use the long curved PTE knife. I was sculpting a sheath for it out of milliput, and I had a revelation. I was looking at a Kukri and sheath on the computer screen while I was sculpting and suddenly realised that what I was making looked more like the knife than a sheath, so I made a couple of minor changes and then made a mold and cast it.

steel bonnet · **Joined:** Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:19 am

Now that is a Fantastic WW2 Gurkha.
The Jungle Green BDU is excellent.
That a Jerry canteen you modded for the 44 pattern British canteen? Works nicely.

You do know Kambei, you need do a Gurkha in Dress Uniform now

Fantastic job with the Kukuri and scabbard too.
Like the cloth Gurkha patch on the cap.

If only the Enfield .303 Rifle was done 1/18th scale :/

Kambei · **Posted:** Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:41 am

The patch on the hat is actually a small piece of vinyl coachline trim with the crossed kukris painted on. It is indeed a Jerry canteen. Not easy to see, but I put a nozzle in the top. I agree about a 1:18 Lee Enfield. I have a couple of BBi rifles that I might try modding.

MJTanner · **Posted:** Thu Apr 03, 2014 12:17 pm

Kambei wrote:

And now for something completely different.

Action Man back in the 1970s was unique. As well as the international uniforms such as the German Stormtrooper, Russian Soldier and Foreign Legionnaire and American outfits that were taken straight from the GI Joe collection, they produced uniforms specific to the British Army. These were some of the most popular. At the time, many regiments of the British Army were petitioning Palitoy to make their uniforms. I firmly believe that if the line had continued, they would have made historical uniforms as well, to go with the WWII British and German army sets.

I am contiunuing the tradition. Been working on three non-original Action Man figures. First two are finished:

Sikh Regiment, Indian Army:

Head: Star Wars Legacy Bail Organa
Torso/Waist/Upper arms: 25th Duke
Lower Arms: Indiana Jones Ugha Warrior
Legs: 25th Roadblock
Sash: inkjet cotton

There have been Sikhs servng with the British Army since 1846. The modern Sikh Regiment traces its lineage back to the 11th REgiment. This version is the modern Indian Army uniform. The first head I considered was the Legacy Bail Organa. The skin already had the perfect skin tone. I sculpted the beard, moustache and turban. I could have used the head from the IJ Thuggee, but I wanted it accurate. I knew I had a 25th Duke minus the lower arms, and I dug out a pair of 25th Roadblock legs. I had to create the pattern for the sash as I could not find it online.

King's African Rifles:

Head: RoC Heavy Duty
Torso: Indiana Jones Russian Soldier
Upper Legs: Indiana Jones Cemetary Warrior
Lower Legs: Indiana Jones Ugha Warrior
Rifle: BBi

The King's African Rifles was a multi-batttalion regiment gathered from colonies in East Africa that served with distinction with the British Army in Africa from its inception in 1902 through to independence in the 1960s.
The Heavy Duty head was the obvious choice for this custom. The fez was quite an easy sculpt. I was originally going to go with a 25th Wild Bill for the torso, and the jacket bottom from the IJ Russian Soldier, But I eventually decided to use the whole Russian torsoas it has exactly the look I was going for.

I love both of these. Stellar work.

Kambei · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 12:27 pm

This figure came from a conversation I was having with a friend who is interested in World War 2 history. We were discussing the direction my customs were taking, and the fact that most toy companies only seem to trot out the same German and American army figures time after time. I started thinking about the auxilliary units that the German amry used, and their allies. I immediately thought of the Cossacks and started to do some research. I found the uniform specifications for this particular look and put the parts together in my head. I went for the RoC Duke head as he has a slightly Eastern European look that I was aiming for.

Cossack, von Jungschultz Cossack Regiment, I Panzer Army, XXXX Panzer Corps 1942 - 1943:

Head: RoC Duke with sculpted hat
Torso/Arms/Hands: 25th Wild Bill
Pouches: BBi
Jacket waist: Star Wars Lt Jundland
Legs: Bail Organa
Sabre (sculpted scabbard): cast from Papo Sabre
MP40: Marauder

pluv · **Posted:** Wed Apr 09, 2014 12:48 pm

I'm liking all of these. The Cossack could use another coat of tan but otherwise these are fun. One thing I do when I have to use paper or sticker labels instead of decals is to color with marker or paint the edges so the white paper edge isn't so obvious. Not something you need to do in every case but something you may want to see the results of later on.

steel bonnet · **Joined:** Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:19 am

Outstanding Kambei, Outstanding.

Truly are bringing forth a whole new range not seen at this scale

Kambei · **Posted:** Mon Apr 14, 2014 6:28 am

Three updates coming. One today, one Tuesday, one Wednesday.

Flying Tigers Pilot:

Head/Torso/Arms: RoC Zartan
Hands: Tatooine Sandstorm Han Solo
Legs: Build'n'Brawl

I have been fascinated with the history of the 1st American Volunteer Group, nicknamed 'The Flying Tigers' for a long time. I have read the
published diary of one of the pilots and General Claire Lee Chennault's account of the China/Burma/India campaign in the air. I made a Stikfas figure many years ago, but have always wanted to make a 1:18 version. There was no bomber jacket on an existing figure that I liked, so I sculpted it. I used the patch for the Second Pursuit Squadron 'The Panda Bears' as it was the one that printed out best. The patch on the left sleeve is the CBI (China/Burma/India) patch. I went with the kepi type cap on the Zartan head as it is the type of hat seen in many of the photos of the Tigers, rather than an officers peaked cap. I got the image of the blood chit off the net.

steel bonnet · **Joined:** Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:19 am

The Flying TIGERS.

Awesome job Kambei.

Kambei · **Posted:** Tue Apr 15, 2014 6:24 am

As promised, update 2 of 3.

Field Marshall Sir Bernard Law Montgomery.

Head: Star Wars Episode 1 Chacellor Valorum
Torso: RoC Duke (K-Mart)
Legs: Build'n'Brawl

As I have been making customs inspired by the original Action Man sets, I have been going through the Opsrey Men-At-Arms books looking for the unique and unusual. I was leafing through a few at random and came across the volume on Allied Commanders. Just looking at the cover, my immediate reaction was: I have to make Monty! The parts were an easy choice. I had a K-Mart Duke torso to hand and the first head I thought of was the Episode 1 Chancellor Valorum (cue shouts of "Rommel! Kneel before Zod!" :-D

). I originally used a set of Harry Potter legs, but unfortunately they were far too short, so I fell back on a set of Build'n'Brawl. The medal ribbons, patches and epaulettes are authentic.

Spin Doctor · **Joined:** Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:19 am

The level of detail on all of these is just amazing.

Great work!

Kambei · **Posted:** Wed Apr 16, 2014 5:57 am

Update #3:

Women's Royal Navy Service, Second Officer (Wrens)

When I started doing some Action Man inspired customs, I decided that I had to do at least one female figure in the tradition of the GI Jane Nurse doll. My first thought was the Women's Royal Navy Service officially known as the Wrens which was the women's branch of the British Royal Navy, formed in 1917 and finally fully integrated into the Royal Navy in 1993. I based it partly on the character of WRNS Second Officer Anne Davis (played by Dana Wynter) in the 1950 film 'Sink the Bismark'.

I was originally going to use a Golden Compass Mrs Coulter (Nicole Kidman) head, but I found a 25th Lady Jaye head minus baseball cap in the same box. It was perfect to sculpt the hat straight on top without any modding. I was also going to add the Mrs Coulter skirt, but I could not get it to sit right, so I sculpted the skirt.

I have another female figure in progress, and a couple more in the ideas stage.

raptor · **Posted:** Wed Apr 16, 2014 9:34 am

Such a great project. I would hit up the tans on pretty much everything with another coat, but otherwize, this is flat out amazing.

- R

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Project 1:18 Action Man: #11 27th April

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