STEVE-O!!!!!
Yo my man great to see some new work from a fellow JC OG! dude I'm really loving all of them you did a great job on them. the straps look great I did notice those as well as I kept looking at those like how the hell?:)
I get the PMC feel from them and thats great new take on joes I think. great bio work looks like a lot of thought went in to them and Stratton he just looks like a D**K!

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Truly amazing set of figures. If you're ever inclined, a parts recipe for the whole line would be much appreciated. You've done some amazing part selection, modification, and painting.

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I am truly amazed that you would even consider these "lazy boy" customs! I wish I was this lazy. These sir, are really excellent customs. I too would love to see a recipe list for each one of them. One again, AMAZING!

Yeah, these look like they've been custom-cast -- especially the legs on Pierce & Rich.

Too much goodness, but for some reason Cobra and Pierce really steal the show for me. The only thing I'm not feeling is the head for Stalker - seems kinda big to me, but that's a small gripe considering the scale and awesomeness of this set.

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Wow, just to echo the praise, the mods here are super impressive. They seem so simple but really give new life to the pieces and all look straight from a factory. It was fun trying (and mostly failing) to figure out where the pieces were from and what you might have done to them. The only critique I have follows pluv's, in that I think Stalker needs either a mustache or the beret. I like you're idea that he'd be an exceptionally calm operator.

WOW. Between this and chief's GiJoe Reboot, I don't think the bar has been raised. I think we left the bar way back in the distance somewhere.

Calling these production quality would actually be bringing them down a bit I think. I do miss a touch of blue on "Cobra" to tie him into his roots, and wouldn't Firefly have silencers on all his weapons? But these critiques barely matter.

Those Bios are really clever, I especially liked Firefly's. I also think your character choice is unique and cool. Pierce is an original character based on Solid Snake? He's really well done.

I'm hoping to see some more characters from you before too long, and a complete parts list too!

Those are some serious lbcs. I was trying to figure out the parts too, fantastic craftsmanship.

The legs threw me off the most. I really thought that they look like the Rebel Guard figure, but I didn't expect them to be modded to fit Joe style thighs. Even better that the color matches. I'll have to keep that in mind for the future

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As before, thanks for the comments and feedback! It's always great to hear what's working and what isn't.
TR1ER wrote:


Thanks for the kind words, man! With both of us posting new customs, it's starting to look like 2004 around here. I'm glad the PMC feel came across: I looked at a lot of pictures of both PMC guys and modern spec-ops personnel (the reason for the research into PMCs will come up in the next couple of waves), and got a lot of ideas from both. And, it sounds like the Stratton figure worked as intended!

Chief wrote:

LeeMarvin80 wrote:


I might have to give the mustache another shot, just to make sure I can't make it work. I really appreciate the compliments, too: coming from a couple of excellent customizers, they mean a lot.

ben1138 wrote:


Cobra's sweater is a navy blue, but I see what you mean. I toyed with the idea of using a brighter color on the sweater (specifically, the Resolute Firefly figure that used the 25th Beachhead mold), but in the end I kind of liked the darker color palette. And, you're right: Firefly would indeed have silencers on his weapons, and I actually made them but foolishly forgot to include them in the photos. In one of the pictures you can see a hole in the end of the pistol; that's the insertion point for a removable silencer. The submachine gun has a Marauder silencer that I modified to fit. I'll try to get a shot of them in action when I photograph the Wave 2 figures. Thanks for the praise, as well!

chad_ghost wrote:


I was thrilled when I discovered that the colors on those two figures were a perfect match, because I hadn't figured out how I was going to handle the pants on that figure. I ended up sanding off all of the texture on the Honor Guard legs so they would match up with the Joe parts.

Thanks again for all the thoughts and for taking the time to look at these figures.

And, the aforementioned parts list. Most of the figures have a variety of belt and pouch pieces added, and while I could probably remember where all of them came from, it doesn’t seem all that necessary.

Wilkinson:
Head: Star Wars Roth-Del Masona figure
Torso and arms: 25th Comic-Pack Duke
Hands: RoC Flash
Legs: Resolute Duke
Boots: 25th Breaker
Vest: Resolute Duke
Pistol and Holster: Intoyz SWAT (Thanks, Phil!)
Rifle: Marauder, Inc.

Rich:
Head: Star Wars Joker Squad guy
Torso and arms: RoC Hawk
Waist and upper legs: 25th Recondo (Cobra Island pack)
Knees: Resolute Duke
Lower legs: Avatar Jake Sully
Feet: RoC Duke
Vest: Resolute Duke
Belt: 25th Zap (Cobra Island pack)
Pistol and rifle: Marauder, Inc.
Briefcase: RoC Hawk w/ RoC laptop and styrene

Stratton:
Head: RoC Duke
Chest and upper arms: RoC Storm Shadow
Forearms: RoC Hawk
Hands: Star Wars Bail Organa
Waist and legs: Resolute Duke
Boots: RoC PIT Commando
Vest: RoC PIT Commando
Holster: RoC Grand Slam
Knife sheath: 25th Zartan
Pistol, knife, and rifle: Marauder, Inc.

Pierce:
Head: Star Wars Dagger Squadron B-Wing Pilot
Torso, arms, and upper legs: 25th Breaker
Forearms: RoC Hawk
Hands: RoC Flash
Knees: Resolute Duke
Lower Legs: Star Wars Rebel Honor Guard
Vest: DTC Barrel-Roll
Shoulder rig: RoC Hawk w/ BBI clip pouch
Holster: Star Wars Imperial Scanning Crew
Pistol, silencer, knife, and sheath: Marauder, Inc.

Stone:
Head: RoC Sgt. Stone
Torso and upper legs: RoC Paris Pursuit Snake-Eyes
Arms: RoC Hawk
Lower legs: RoC Cobra Commander
Feet: RoC PIT Commando
Shoulder Holster: RoC Hawk w/ BBI holster
Holster: Resolute BAT
Knife sheath: 25th Zartan
.45 Pistol: Wolverine: Origins figure
Pistol, knife, and rifle: Marauder, Inc.

“Cobra:”
Head: PoC Night Fox
Torso: RoC Elite-Viper
Arms and coat: Wolverine: Origins Sabretooth
Hands: PoC Snake-Eyes Wave 3
Waist and legs: Iron Man 2 Nick Fury
Briefcase: PoC Destro Wave 4
Detonator: PoC Shock Trooper
C4: RoC Firefly
Pistol and submachine gun: Marauder, Inc.

Bludd:
Head: DTC Major Bludd
Torso, arms, and legs: RoC Duke
Boots: 25th Breaker
Vest: Resolute Duke
Scarf: Resolute Comic-Pack Destro
Holster: Indiana Jones Colonel Vogel
Knife sheath: 25th Zartan
Rifle, pistol, and knife: Marauder, Inc.

“Firefly:”
Head, torso, arms, and legs: RoC Firefly
Hands: Star Wars Captain Needa
Boots: RoC PIT Commando
Vest: RoC PIT Commando
Pistol and holster: Intoyz SWAT
Backpack: 25th Comic-Pack Firefly
Gas Mask: RoC PIT Commando
Sniper rifle, submachine gun, and knife: Marauder, Inc.

I really wanted to give you a full write up on these Steve, cause honestly, they are fantastically amazing.

Stalker: Great take on the character, the head actually doesnt bother me, reminds me of Don Cheadle a bit and I can see him as Stalker so it helps, i dont need a stache to cement it i guess.

Rich: Something about the head doesnt sit right, yet I like it if that makes sense at all. He has that Daniel Jackson viva stargate feel.

Stratton: Basic tough guy feel and the movie duke head works real well with hit. The shirtless with tact vest looks really cool

Peirce: I got two favorites and he is one of them, the story along with the mods and the look really strikes me right. Some where between solid snake and Liam Neesons Hannibal. Old hardcore tough guy who has a bit of class about him.

Stone: I highly enjoy this guy and applaud the lack of eye patch

Cobra: perfect terrorist look great backstory. awesome.

Bludd: all kinds of perfection, this is my other favorite of the bunch. It screams Bludd, from the fatigues to the eye patch and flak vest. Outstanding take on one of my favorite characters.

Firefly: All the best of firefly rolled into one.

Always, amazing work with the paint, the sculpting is amazing, bios and characters. Im so impressed with your work as always my friend. You sir are a customizing genius.

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04 man people are gonna think we are old farts or something!

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Yay. New customs from my all time favourite customiser. Happy days.

It seems churlish to have any critiques on such a fantastic group of customs but I have noticed a couple of wee things:


Stalker- I love the last pic that showcases the dual mags. Just fantastic.

However Im not sold on the head. I agree that a tache would tie him in more to his classic look, but I think the issue I have is that that head makes him look just too young. I agree with the characterisation of a cool, calm warrior and while the facial expression sells that I dont get a crusty vet feel from it.

Psyche- Out- always had a soft spot for him and I like this rendition. I also get a pmc feel from him.

Mercer- another of my favourites. Im not completely sold on the characterisation because of that, but it does make perfect sense. And the sculpt reflects his personality superbly.


Pierce- my only critique would be that at that age, Id expect to see some 'salt' in his hair. Its a fantastic custom but I feel a greying look would reflect his experience.

Stone- I do like the eyepatch on him but I can see your rationale for not having it here (and Im glad you binned the robotic arm crap). Your straps are fantastic but iirc Stone always had two underarm holsters. And IMO it would look good here.

Cobra- great bio and solid custom.

Bludd- outstanding. My favourite of the group. Perfect redition of him.

Firefly- love the bio. Great justification for the character. I agree with the suppressed weapons though- tho that is just a personal preference. One thing I do miss is the dual pattern camo rather than a monochrome colour scheme.


As I said, these are merely observations. As they stand they're an outstanding gruop of customs and I cant wait to see more.

More comments, more thank yous. I'm really glad people are liking the Bludd figure; that custom was a rare case of Hasbro making a figure that was 100% perfect for a design I had in my head. When I saw that RoC Duke, I was beyond excited to get my hands on one to make my Bludd. Strangely, even though they look nothing alike, I actually got the idea for him from a figure that Livevil made several years back (a beret-wearing Bludd), so I just want to tip my hat to him for an amazing custom that jumpstarted my thought process.

SNAKE wrote:


Doug, it's awesome to see you pop up on here, and I'm glad you liked this bunch of customs. I had the same thought about the head when I saw it: it's somewhere between Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor, two actors whose work I enjoy.



I'm glad to hear that, because he's my favorite figure of the bunch, too. He was also probably the most challenging to make, even though he might not look it. It sounds like you got exactly what I was going for with him. Thanks for your feedback early in the process, too; it was immensely helpful. Now when are we going to see some new ones from you?

bigtattoo wrote:


First off, thanks for the compliments! While I think the head looks a little younger in the pictures than it does in real life, you've got a point about it looking a bit too young in general. I think I'll take another crack at giving him a mustache and see if that ages him at all (a bit of gray in it might make a difference somewhat), but if not, I might have to begin the search for a new head.



I based him on two pictures I found: one of a PMC operator in Iraq and one of a CIA advisor in the mid-80's. I really like the idea of plainclothes operators, so it was fun to finally have an excuse to make one. More to follow on that front, including a whole slew of PMC guys; that's kind of a theme in this whole project.



I was wondering if someone would bring that up. I've been debating about that for a while, and the only reason that I held off was because I was concerned the figure would start to take on too much of a Nick Fury look. It's still a strong possibility, though, and I'm leaning toward doing it. To be continued.

As I've said ad nauseum in this thread, thanks a ton for the feedback. I've been working on these guys for so long that getting a fresh group of eyes on them has been fun.

Wow. Just wow. Those customs are incredible. I love them, especially the Mercer custom.

And is Snake Eyes in the Wave two of Operation Mongoose? Sorry but it seems weird for him not to have a custom in a revamp/reboot like this.