The Snake-Eaters

When working on Joe customs, I often think about how a figure or set of figures might have fit in the ARAH toyline, assuming it had continued in all its glory through the years. So with the idea of the Snake-Eaters – a team of long-range reconnaissance Joes – I wanted to find a way to make them unique from other subteams. These guys are some of the baddest of the bad. They don't need reinforcements, they don't need resupply. They will stay until the job is done, no matter where it is or how long it takes. It's a small team made up of only six Joes in order to mirror the roles in the US Special Forces (officer, intelligence, communications, engineer, medic and weapons), so they could have been a box set. Maybe they would have been a set of limited-run deluxe figures, intended for the collectors among the fans.

But how to make deluxe ARAH Joes isn't obvious, since among 1980s action figures, GI Joe were already the deluxe versions, having the best articulation and the best accessories. Three things are used to make them special: wrist articulation added to each figure, putting as much detail as possible into the painting, and really focusing on the accessories. Each of the Snake-Eaters would come with an alternate weapon, to represent the fact that being out in the field for so long, they might have to begin relying on captured ammunition at some point, or even captured weapons. Since several early Cobras used Soviet weapons, that seemed to be the best route. The choice of their main weapons was also guided by the scale of the weapons, making sure to get them as close to 1/18 scale as possible - no oversized weapons here. And the weapons assigned to them were made with efficiency of ammunition in mind. The only ammo the team would have to carry into the field would be 5.56x45mm NATO and .45 ACP (plus some shotgun shells for one of them).

Since accessories are such an important part of the Snake-Eaters, I actually finished all of the accessories before starting work on the figures. Often accessories are something of an afterthought, but not in this case. And to make the accessories really deluxe, each rifle received a sling using aluminum wire and black hockey tape.

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Falcon
Snake-Eater Officer

Falcon was the only choice for the officer role in the Snake-Eaters. Unlike the enlisted troops, his alternate weapon is not an enemy capture. In addition to his usual shotgun, I gave him a Thompson submachine gun, which uses the same ammo as the pistols carried by the group (.45 ACP).

Head, torso, waist – Falcon
Arms – Crankcase
Legs – Lifeline v2

Backpack - Leatherneck
Benelli M1 shotgun – Muskrat (rip shortened, sling added)
Thompson M1928 submachine gun – Marauder Inc. (sling added)
M1911A1 pistol – Scarlett v10
Survival knife – Falcon

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Gung-Ho
Snake-Eater Weapons Sergeant

Gung-Ho was selected to be the Snake-Eaters' weapons sergeant. I used Alpine's torso so that he could still be wearing a vest – Falcon was actually able to convince him to put a t-shirt on under it. As weapons sergeant he has a shotgun in addition to the two rifles and a pistol that the others have.

Head – Gung-Ho v4
Arms – Salvo
Torso – Alpine
Waist – Mainframe (for the Corps belt buckle)
Legs – Gung-Ho v4

Boonie hat – Cross Hair v3
Backpack - Footloose
M16 assault rifle with M203 grenade launcher – Marauder Inc. (sling added)
RPK machine gun – Marauder Inc. (sling added)
M1911A1 pistol – Beach Head v5 (reproduction)
KA-BAR combat knife (serrated edge) – Duke v16 (reproduction)

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Recoil
Snake-Eater Communications Sergeant

Recoil was an obvious choice for the Snake-Eaters, given his LRRP specialty. And since his original figure's pack had a radio, he became the communications sergeant. His M16 accessory is actually slightly undersized, so assume it has a shortened barrel and is more a carbine than assault rifle. The enemy weapon (from 2008 Snow Serpent v8) isn't quite right for an AK-47, it looks more like a Norinco Type 56-2, which is an AK clone, and the accessory is to scale. Pathfinder's head was modified by sanding down the cheeks because the original Recoil head has quite a narrow face.

Head – Pathfinder (modified)
Arms – Flint
Torso – Skidmark
Waist – Hardball
Legs - Spearhead

Backpack – Recoil
M16 assault rifle with M203 grenade launcher and bayonet – Recoil (reproduction, sling added)
Norinco Type 56-2 assault rifle – Snow Serpent v8 (sling added)
M1911A1 pistol – Beach Head v5 (reproduction)
KA-BAR combat knife (serrated edge) – Duke v16 (reproduction)

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Recondo
Snake-Eater Intelligence Sergeant

You couldn't keep Recondo out of the Snake-Eaters if you tried. I decided to go with an entirely new figure for him, rather than just repainting an original Recondo. He has Gnawgahyde's hat, painted to be an Australian leather bush hat, with a strip of animal fur to increase camouflage. Marauder Inc.'s FN FAL is too short to actaully be that, it looks more like an IMBEL MD-3, a 5.56x45mm variant produced in Brazil with a shorter barrel. The magazine was switched out for a more appropriately-sized one.

Head – Maj. Altitude
Arms – Mainframe
Torso – Leatherneck
Waist – Airtight
Legs – Crankcase

Bush hat – Gnawgahyde
Backpack – Hawk v2
Belt – Cross Hair
IMBEL MD-3 assault rifle – Marauder Inc. “FN FAL” (swapped magazine, sling added)
Dragunov SVD sniper rifle – Marauder Inc. (sling added)
M1911A1 pistol – Beach Head v5 (reproduction)
KA-BAR combat knife (serrated edge) – Duke v16 (reproduction)

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Stalker
Snake-Eater Medical Sergeant

Stalker's original figure wore a green beret, and while he wasn't specifically described as Special Forces on his filecard, his Secondary MOS's of medic and interpreter certainly suggest Special Forces training. So he's a natural for the team. Beach Head's Demro WASP carbine is to-scale, and just needed the grip trimmed down for length.

Head – Stalker
Arms – Roadblock v2
Torso – Mutt
Waist – Shipwreck v5
Legs – Gen. Flagg

Backpack – Low-Light
Demro XF-7 WASP carbine – Beach Head v4 (sling added, grip shortened)
AIMR carbine – Marauder Inc. (sling added)
M1911A1 pistol – Beach Head v5 (reproduction)
KA-BAR combat knife (serrated edge) – Duke v16 (reproduction)

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Tunnel Rat
Snake-Eater Engineer Sergeant

Frostbite's M16 is an awesome accessory due mostly to the starlight sight, which resembles an AN/PVS-4 sight. But it's about 17% too long for true 1/18 scale. However, when you compare it to a Marauder Inc. M16, the proportions are actually pretty good other than the stock, so most of the excess length is just in the stock. I trimmed that down, as well as the grip and the magazine a bit so it fits in with the Marauder accessory. Then I painted the end of the sight, and drilled out the eyepiece end.

The big thing about this figure is of course the backpack and tools. The pack has a hole drilled in one side for the radio's peg to fit in, and two hoops added to the other to hold the sledge hammer, while the axe fits naturally in the existing gap at the top of the pack, and the entrenching tool also fits nicely in the slot on the back.

Head – Tunnel Rat v2
Arms – Tunnel Rat
Torso, waist, legs - Crankcase

Backpack – Alpine (modified)
M16 assault rifle with starlight sight – Frostbite (stock/grip shortened, eyepiece drilled out, sling added)
AKM assault rifle – Marauder Inc. (sling added)
Axe, sledge hammer – Marauder Inc.
Entrenching tool – VAMP (Pursuit of Cobra)
Survival knife – Falcon
Flashlight – Tunnel Rat v2
Radio – unknown

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very well thought out and executed!

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Nice figures, all of them. Only critique I have is Recoil. That head still screams Pathfinder to me but I think that's because Pathfinder and Recoil were two figures I really like, in a big part because of their distinctive head sculpts. Otherwise, great work on them all! Tight paint apps and great choice of accessories.

I don't disagree. I love Recoil myself, and wanted to give him some better headwear. Maybe I should have just cut the hat off Pathfinder and stuck it on Recoil's head? I may do another custom Recoil in the future doing something like that.

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I love the concept and the figures! they look like it could be a cool box set.

My only critique has nothing to do with the customs per se. I would recommend wiping them with watered down modge podge to cut down on the shine. That would be about it.

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That could work. I don't mind Recoil's cap but could see how it's a bit offputting. Maybe just a cap or is there a 3 3/4" version of Poncho from Predator? Recoil always reminded me of him so maybe his hat?

I don't really mind it either. And I remember somewhere seeing a picture of a real-world military cap that looked quite a bit like it, so it may have been based on that, but for the life of me I can't remember where I saw it now.

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Those are fantastic.
Well done.

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