Here we go, my second wave and second week of my 10 days of GI Joe customs.

Day1
Today we take a look at;

Stretcher











This was a figure that always seemed like he was “close” but juuuust missed the mark in making him an awesome figure. Parts of the figure were just too sci fi for me. My first build used a Life Line figure but in reading Stretcher’s bio he is supposed to be a big dude who runs onto the battle field to lift up a fallen trooper and carry him back to safety. The fact that the file card said Stretcher wanted to use his strength and size to help people made me realize I had to make this guy bigger. Thankfully the Rock played Roadblock and we at least got a pretty sweet figure from that movie. I went about looking into what parts of the vintage figure I liked, wanted to erase, alter, or add to. I came up with keeping his harness to hold his big ass backpack. But wanted to add some medical pouches to him that he could grab with minimal effort when tending to wounded. I also did not want his holster to be up by his heart as it made more sense to me to be low closer to his center of gravity and hands when running…so if he needed to take out some Cobras while holding a buddy on his back he could. The medics in Gi Joe are always portrayed as very supportive and non-threatening. I wanted a tough guy here. A guy who will run into a hale of gunfire and explosions to grab one of his guys. Then take out his handgun and take out any of the enemy that gets in his way as he tries to get his buddy back to safety. I wouldn’t want to mess with this version of Stretcher.
Parts:
Head-Marauder Gun Runners
Torso,Arms,Legs,Belt-Retaliation Roadblock
Helmet-modded Endor Luke helmet
Harness- Retaliation Parachute pack-came with various figures cut off the top straps
Holster, Pouches, Medical bag-a variety of figures
Medic Backpack-Rise of Cobra Heavy Duty, antennae Star Wars Clone Trooper, Hand Raido-21st Century Toys WWII figure, Pouches variety of figure.
Rocket gun-Vintage figure came with Joe vs Cobra figures. Held to backpack with a magnet.


Day2


Darklon









I felt like post Hasbro post ’86 was really trying on adding new elements to the G.I. Joe story. They had introduced the sci-fi element which didn't bother me but shot themselves in the foot with the move to DIC and the low quality they would spill into the brand. As fans it was harder to get a grasp of some of the characters with there not being a cartoon (or a cartoon of quality) and all we could get our media from was either the file cards (always activated my imagination) or the comic which if Larry Hama didn’t like a character there wasn’t much hope for deep exploration. Darklon I feel fell into that abyss of media but activated my imagination. The upstart cousin who needed to be drafted (or bribed) into helping Destro to combine forces. I also found myself really captivated with Darklon’s look…except for those pants! One of the first things I did was to take an extra Law that I had and switch out the pants. In fact my vintage Darklon still has them over 30 years later. When I was designing my custom I had seen a lot of amazing customs to this character using his original design but I really wanted to go with my “custom” from back in my childhood so went about finding parts that I felt would give me the similar look and build that my vintage custom had/has.
The ribbed sweater that we got for so many Pursuit of Cobra figures was perfect from the start and something many other customizers used. I bought a casted head from this custom probably about 4 years ago. I sculpted a few extra harness details, communicator on left wrist, and other minor odds and ends and called it a day…for the figure. His gun was another matter. I had considered just buying a vintage gun but in looking through my fodder of weapons and parts I felt I could make something updated that still called on the original weapon-which I felt look a little too plain for what I was going for. I measured out the parts and was very happy with how his gun ended up coming together. Some crazy glue, a tack, and paint and Darklon had his updated weapon for the 21st Century.
Parts
Head-cast (don’t remember from which caster)
Torso,Arms-Various Pursuit of Cobra figures
Legs-Iron Grenadier heavy gunner figure
Gun
Barrel:gattling gun from a POC or ROC figure I can’t recall
Main body:sniper rifle Lowlight
Rifle stock-Gnawgahyde rifle
Joined together with a tack and crazy glue


Day 3

Steam Roller






Such an interesting character. I always felt that this guy would just be a total A-Hole to deal with. He kind of struck me as a “Mr. Scott” for the Joes but a rough talking, crude version who was likely to hang out with Dreadnoks. His concept art with the shaded sun glasses really pushes him to another place and I’m happy that we got a guy who comes across the way that he does. A little friction on the team is always interesting for story purposes. Anyway I once again ended up using the very nice Boss Fight Blank figure for the arms and torso. I also ended up picking up one of their medieval red knights and used the head here. It seemed like the perfect fit for me. I also knew I really wanted big ass baggy pants and big work boots on this guy. After sculpting the waist piece of his pants I test fitted larger baggier upper legs until I found one that I liked. I then looked for the bottom piece that would compliment the top and the bagginess I was going for with the waist sculpt. In making his hat I really wanted one of those beat up frayed hats you see people wearing sometimes. I don’t think I nailed it quite as much as I was thinking but did fray the left side of his hat a bit to get this look. Finally I had been holding onto a MCU 3.75” Absorbing Man for a Big Boa custom and didn’t have any use for the boots on that figure. I originally was using the Tunnel Rat boots that came with these lower legs but it just didn’t feel right to me. I ended up switching it out and the final piece came together. Yes he has a sculpted wallet in his back right pocket like the original figure although I ditched the chain to the wallet. I thought about doing it but personally I hate that look and just decided to drop it.
Parts:
Head, Arms, Torso (sculpted waist)-Boss Fight Studios Knight Head
Upper Legs-Rise of Cobra Desert Attack Duke
Lower Legs-Renegades Tunnel Rat
Boots-MCU Absorbing
Gloves-Snow Job lowers, sculpted uppers
Hat-Shaved down Joe Vs Cobra Gung Ho
Holster-25th Anniversary Hawk.


Day 4
Iron Grenadier Trooper






I really liked the idea of the Iron Grenadiers, Destro striking out on his own. Holy crud could you imagine what this would have been like had Sunbow handled this storyline. Man. I really liked the original designs of the Iron Grenadiers and felt the 25th figures just missed the mark. Although I could buy that Destro outfitted his troops in a stripped down version of Cobra Commander’s battle armor the character went from looking streamlined to bulky. I didn’t like it. When I started thinking about this figure I was pouring through tons of pictures of the Iron Grenadiers, everything from official to fan art. I came across some of the original card art and realized that the character looked like he was wearing a tight body suit. I grabbed a spare Torpedo and started to quickly cobble it together. After modding the knees to fit into the upper legs of Torpedo, I was amazed at how much better this looked for me. A call back to the original figure’s design but with a modern and more grounded feel. PLUS the silhouette of the character was lean and tough looking, something that made sense to me based on how I felt Destro would have his Trooper’s train. I’m so happy with this I’m going back and altering all of my Iron Grenadiers figures right now, with three done and the final two left to go.
Parts:
Head, Lower Legs, Pauldron, Belt/Sword-25th Iron Grenadier
Torso, Arms, Upper Legs-25th Torpedo
Uzi-various figures over the years.



Day 5

It's been a fun 10 days posting up these new figures. I hope people enjoyed looking at them as much as I did in making them. I currently have about 15 new Joe customs on my WIP area of my bench, along with other figures from other lines. I post those up somewhat frequently over at my Instagram account, leaving my Facebook for the finished figures with finished pictures.

Anyway Day 5 brings us one of my personal favorites out of this group. Description and parts breakdown are after the pictures. Thanks again for taking a look!

Sneak Peak








Sneak Peak was a figure that always got A LOT of use during my stories as a kid simply due to his periscope! I was never crazy about the slightly chubby guy in the padded bright suit you is supposed to be sneaking around to relay coordinates and Intel to his teammates. Like many people I think the Night Force Sneak Peak works much better but Sneak Peak fell into the same personal challenge for me as Scoop. Can I make this figure look cool ? I started to go about thinking what elements could be used. The basic build here I think has been done multiple times by other customizers. I wanted to make my Sneak Peak fall into the “gritti-verse” I’m going for with my Joes and Cobras but still retain the “feel” of the original design. I had been holding onto the head here since the Joe vs Cobra Steel Brigade three pack came out. I had honestly gotten to a point where I didn’t think I was ever going to make this guy. I was all set and ready to go and then realized that I didn’t have an extra Scrap Iron chest padding piece. So after getting that I realized the grenades didn’t make sense but since the original came with binoculars I could simply put them in the spot of the grenades. I also was challenged by the idea of where to place what colors. I had originally had red on the underside and top of his sleeves but it didn’t look right to me. I ended up keeping it on the underside but pained the top pockets a dark greyish green. I also liked the idea of giving Sneak Peak a holster and some ammo clips on his thighs. I wanted him to look battle ready. Although he may not be the “chiseled” hero we’re used to. I kind of like the idea of the average guy standing up for his country and carrying around his big piece of equipment to help his team. Finally on his periscope, I had wanted to make something smaller taking into account 21st Century technology but fell in love with the combination of parts. I realized that placed a certain way the missile launcher that came with I think Joe vs Cobra Salvo made an awesome periscope. If I had casting and shrinking capabilities I’d probably reduce the size by half and have it built to store on his backpack, along with his walkie talkie but I don’t so we get a bit of 20th century technology here.
Parts:
Head-Steel Brigade three pack
Torso, Upper Arms-Standard Retaliation Joe and Cobra type Troopers
Lower Arms-Marauder Gun Runners
Upper Legs-25th Beachhead (probably one of my favorite sculpts to use)
Lower Legs-25th Dr. Mindbender
Helmet-25th Airborne
Backpack- Rise of Cobra Pit Trooopers
Walkie Talkie-Avacs Lab
Gun-An alternate version of 25th Airborne with a trigger guard. I cut off the extra Airborne parts to get a closer updated version of his original rifle.

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another great figure! so much detail crammed in, but done in a really cohesive and accurate way.

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That is a great figure and the Roadblock base is a no-brainer now that you've used it. I expect to see this recipe copied by myself and others in the near future.

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Thanks I appreciate that


Thank you, I'm looking forward to seeing your figure and the work other people do. Always what makes the community enjoyable for me.


I also updated with Day 2. Unfortunately I forgot to add separate sections for each day so I'll be adding the updates to the initial post each day. Today brings us Darklon. Enjoy!

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darklon looks long,lean, and mean at first i was stumped by his gun, but looking at his mask i realized a lowered stock would be the only way he could shoulder it and see through the scope. there is the same problem present with older warsaw pact rifles, American shooters complain about short stocks and poor cheekwelds. those weapons were designed for soldiers wearing big rubber gas masks

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That's a great buck to build Stretcher off of.

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I thought you just swtiched up the barrel on Darklon's gun until you should the close up and I started recognizing all of the bits to it. Flipping amazing! Seemless, totally seemless. Way to update something, making it cooler and more detailed in the process.

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"LASER BLAST", now I gotta have Stretcher.

Darklon rocks, but he needs them calf grenades to really be locked in as Darklon, imho.

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I wish I could take credit for the design but I really just tried to copy the look of the original, giving it the same profile as the vintage gun. It does make sense to have the lower stock would allow him to get the scope up to his eye and past his mask. I'm personally curious what the kickback would be to the kind of gattling gun Darklon has. I would think he could smash his face or knock his back out but that's the joy of the fictional Joe guns, physics don't exist!


Thanks Chad, I appreciate it! It came together nicely.


Pluv thanks! Yeah the more I looked at the original I felt that I really liked it for back in the day but felt it just looked too plain for what I was going for and the aesthetic of the custom figure I was making. I gathered about 15 different guns looking at the gattling gun sections, stocks, scopes, etc. Finally found a combination that I thought would work well and give it the look I had in my head.


Thanks Adrien, glad you like the figures. I had thought about it but the idea of the character running with this huge gun and then calf grenades bouncing around just felt like it didn't work for me. I added the grenades to his left arm after finishing the figure since there was that empty band there and I felt that was a good place to call back to the original design a bit and still keep it inline with what I was going for.


Thanks again for the views and comments. I updated the first post with Day 8's figure, Steam Roller. An interesting character that I've wanted to make for years. Enjoy!

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steam roller, dang! you got an eye for parts. this guy looks strait out of roadhouse or some male strip club. your posing is really selling him as a real richard cranium who thinks he's hot laserpoo! really great custom, and like stretcher he will be the mark to hit when someone makes this character.

i have to ask abbout his shotgun, and huge revolver/holster. where and how much ?

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Haha thanks, I wasn't going for a male stripper, more of roadhouse but now that you've said it I can see it, unfortunately I can't unsee it! I hadn't heard the name Richard Cranium before but after looking it up YUP, that was totally what I was going for with this guy. Joe has had their characters who were difficult but what about a guy whose just an a//hole? Then give him control over one of the team's strongest and most important vehicles and you have a real recipe for some "interesting team dynamics". Thanks again!

Updated in the original post with Day 9's entry, the Iron Grenadier Trooper. One day left!

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IG looks great. before i read your write up i was thinking he looked feminine. after reading the why and how i dig him. kind of like destro had charge of a youth core .maybe CC put him in charge of it. then destro turned them against CC and broke off,

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Amazing work.

sneak peak was never a character i was drawn to, but you did make him cool!

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Thanks! Glad you enjoyed them.


That's a cool idea regarding the youth core, would make for a cool story. Yeah my feeling was that Destro was much more picky in his choosing for his troops. He expected a dedication to diet, fitness, regiment, and due to being more selective he could pay his troops better than Cobra Commander. Iron Grenadiers "Lean and Mean. A True Fighting Machine".

Thanks again to everyone who has taken a look and commented over the last 10 days of my posts. I've updated the first post with the final figure for today, Sneak Peak.
Enjoy and have a great weekend!

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