I know this topic has come up a number of times, and I actually do this quite often, but I wanted to share my latest that is kind of fueling my fire right now. I was fortunate to luck into a Topside at Joe Con and I really like the Super Scientist/Dr. Quest feel I get from him. I just need to come up with a different name/bio.

What are some recent character rewrites you've done?

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Just about every PoC figure I have that hasn't been turned into some kind of custom has been repurposed in some way. Mostly into some kind of Adventure Team. It's all very loosely formed, but I really only keep the 'anniversary style' tribute figures as who they were intended. Everyone else is, at this point, some generic adventurer, or has been turned into a custom or five.

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Rise of Cobra Desert Footloose. It was barely passable as Footloose before the Club released their Footloose. After they released him, I ended up using the RoC version as just another Desert ops background fodder guy. Then I came across one of those cheap walmart sets and one of the 5 poa guys came with a tan rubbery helmet. I put it on the RoC Footloose and BAM...Peach Pants McGee aka Rumbler.

I'll have to snap a pic when I get home.

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Do that! I'd like to see it.

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I'd just like to say I like the way you posed Topside in that picture, it looks like he's motioning a "Volunteer" over to get jammed inside that exo suit, nicely executed.

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Thanks! That was kind of what I was going for.

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For the most part, I use one iconic version of a character in my universe, with very little use of alternate uniforms.

Some re-purposed characters I've done.

Any other Ace figure are another pilots
All other versions of Wet Suit and Torpedo are other Navy Seals.
Female Dial-Tone is Landline
Ace v5 (gray version from 1998) is the pilot of the Night boomer, codename Mooch.
Ghost Hawk VTOL Duke is a Steel Brigade Pilot
2005 Comic Pack Firefly is a Demo-Viper, Firefly's hand-picked squad of Explosives Experts
Comic Pack Cobra Commander (Fred) is ARAH version of Wraith
Comic Pack #76 Flint is Longhorn, a new Ranger
2002 Serpentor is Reptilcus, a second attempt using new sources of DNA
Frostbite v9 is used as a HYDRA or other Marvel universe type mercenary soldier
Shipwreck v3 is Stinky Diver
Shipwreck v2 and v4 are other Navy Seals assigned to the JOE Team, based on the USS Flagg
RoC Breaker is a Foreign Languages Specialist or Drone Operator assigned to the JOE Team
Astronaut Flash is a new Astronaut that is assigned to the Defiant
Payload v2 is a headswap away from being another Astronaut
Ozone v2 and v2 are headswaps away from being JOE shuttle crewman
Silver Pads Grand Slam is a new JUMP Specialist/Trainer
Cobra Vipers (green with BAT legs) are Cobra Sea Snakes, the members of the Cobra Navy assigned as crew to various Cobra water based vehicles
Big Bear (black version) is a new character
98 Colonel Brekhov is a new character
98 Lt Gorky is a new character
Convention Dragonsky is a new character
Iron Bear is not the commander of the Oktober Guard. Might be the Political Officer assigned to the team to keep them pure from Western vices...
Sonic Law was given a Drop Zone head for a new character

I take various Tiger Force characters, disassemble them, and then put them together in matching paint schemes for entirely new characters:

Duke upper and Lifeline lowers
Dusty uppers with Bazooka lowers
Tripwire uppers and Roadblock lowers
Roadblock uppers with Flint lowers
Lifeline uppers with Frostbite lowers
Frostbite uppers with Duke lowers
Recondo uppers with Skystriker lowers
green Jinx is a new character

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I use the RoC MARS Troopers as the Red Skull's personal guards and I use PoC Beach Head as Wreckage. Retaliation Roadblock is my Major Barrage.

Apart from those, I don't have many straight-up repurposed figures anymore. Everyone else is customized to some extent.

...okay, has anyone cast that Topside head? Because that would make a perfect Hank Scorpio.

On the topic at hand, some simple ones like using the 3-pack Red Ninja as Slice, RoC Cover Girl as Daina, and an LBC of PoC Quick Kick with Retaliation Kamakura head and hood as a 'training' Storm Shadow.

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I have a list of about fifty headswap/straight up character repurposes -

Ultimate Roadblock sans vest is my Big Brawler atm.
Reactive Armor Duke w/ Budo head is my Budo
Agent helix head on a movie cover girl body is Jane Colton

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These are really just the renamed figures or figures with maybe just a head swap.

Battle Corps Keel Haul - Admiral Ledger (eventually want to customize him to make him look different)
War Machine - Advanced Battle Android Trooper, programmed with battle tactics and control the other BATs in combat
Roc Breaker - Agent Shaz, Comm officer for my Urban Assault team
Air Raid - Air Raid, not a renamed Airborne
Cancelled Desert Riprord - Altimeter
25th Night Watch Troops - ARBCO Troopers
RoC Desert Ambush Duke - Arroyo
Bench Press - Bench Press, not a renamed RnR
Temple Guardian SE - Black Dragon
PoC Recondo - Blaine
Battle Corps Countdown - Booster
VvV Recondo - Bull Dog
Resolute Alley Viper - Cobra Officer equivalent to Resolute Trooper
Comic Pack Gen. Flagg - Col. Sharpe
RoC Gen Hawk - Gen. Quaid
Battle Corps Cutter - Cruiser (one of Cutter's prototype names)
Lady Dial Tone - Dial Up
RoC The Doctor - Dr. Rex
Canceled RoC Arctic Duke - Drift
O-ring Night Watch - Driver Corps, vehicle crew members
PoC Dusty - Dune (slight customizing)
RoC EEL - EEL Commander
Shipwreck - Flagg crewmen with all differntheads
RoC Duke from the five pack - Ghost
VvV green Shipwreck - SEAL Grease Gun
Desrert RoC five pack Footloose - SEAL Grease Gun
Pilot Scarlett - Glenda
RoC Nano Vipers - Gunship Commando
Retaliation Trooper - Gunslinger (named individual character)
Hammer Drones - Anti-BAT Task Force
Lava Viper - Hazard Viper Commander
RoC Rampage - Heavy Metal
HISS Scout Driver - HISS Driver Commander
RoC Flash - Cobra Laser Trooper "Hot Spot"
PoC Spirit - Iron Knife
PoC Desert SE - Javelina
Desert five pack Repeater - Mac
Grey Big Bear - Wolf
RoC Zartan/RoC Grunt - Pit Commando
RoC Beach Head - Rampage (with RoC Ripcord head)
Spc. Altitude - Ripcord
Ret Road Block - Rock
GvC Lowlight - Rooftop
Ret Red Ninja - Satan
PoC Zartan - Scorpion
PoC Desert Storm Shadow - Shadow Wind (with unmasked SS head)
Shockwave v2 - Shock Blast
PoC Shockwave - Shock Blast
Battle Corps Lifeline - Siren
Jungle Viper - Sniper Viper
PoC Hawk - Sparks
The Jurassic Park big guy - Taiaha
Ret Red/black ninja - Torri
RnR v2 - Trailblazer
RoC Wet Suit - Wet Down
RoC Jungle Ripcord - Wreckage (with RoC Beach Head's head)

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A couple of things I forgot to mention. A JOE only gets one codename for life. That name is never re-used by any other JOE.

I do not have any duplicate codenames. Airborne is Franklin Talltree, the Sky Patrol guy has a different codename.

Benchpress is not Rock 'n Roll with a new codename. Benchpress is actually Benchmark, He is former Army Airborne, currently serving as either a Forest Ranger or similar role as a Smokejumper on a Hot Shot crew.

Claymore runs Tiger Force, with his right hand men, Sabretooth and Wreckage.

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The only one I recall off the top of my head was repurposing the Roadblocks as a kid... since I didn't have an 84 Roadblock, I used the heck out of my 86 figure. However, I always put the original design on a bit of a pedestal and when the Tiger Force Roadblock came out, he became my definitive version of the character. I still like the 86 figure, so I re-christened him. I forget what I called him though, as it didn't last too long. 88 was my last year to be "into" Joes as a child.

As an adult, I do recall repurposing the BC Gung Ho and calling him "Jarhead." This changed a bit when I used his head as a custom Zap and gave Jarhead Salvo's head. He got repainted into Desert Camo and was unfortunately killed by Sidewinder, my Desert Scorpion repaint

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