Ok, after all the awesome Dusty customs lately I decided it was time to get off my ass and make my own. I had cobbled together a pretty decent rip-off of TR101AL's Dusty (even bashed a pair of Duke feet onto the SJ body) when I realized that it's 2008, and EVERYbody in the Army has been to the desert at least once, so the "Desert Trooper" specialty is pretty much obsolete. Plus, other than the Arctic guys, I'm not real big on environment-based troopers for the most part. So I figure it this way - Dusty's just a regular ol' general-purpose soldier -- think "Tan Grunt" . He got the name 'Dusty' because he's from Vegas and loves the desert (he's the Desert Survival Instructor, after all), but he's not tied to it.

So I went with a generic look that differs from the rest of my Joes. In this case, I gave him a set of ACUs (the new Army digital camo) -- I'm not super-pleased with my camo job, but it'll work. I was going to give him a t-shirt, but figured if he does go to the desert he'll want long sleeves, and they make Under Armour long-sleeve tees in tan (I've got a couple), so why not just give him one of those (since it means no sculpting or sanding )

Then to top it all off, I gave him a boonie cap, because that's what a special ops soldier would wear, not a helmet with a towel on it. Then I decided on making him blonde, since that's how he first appeared in the comics - but I gave him a "dirty blonde" look - maybe he's got some sand in his hair or something

So anyways, here's my "rebooted" Dusty - enjoy!

_________________

I like this one a lot. Not sure exactly why but it works. And kudos for saving that Ace head from "crazy-eyed pilot" status.

_________________

Great job, Chief! Excellent paint apps and gear choices. Always look forward to seeing your customs!

_________________

NICE!!!! I totally dig the regular special ops soldier re-imagining twist on this version of him. Definitely impressed here... and I think the camo on the trousers looks friggin' great!

Thanks guys!

At first I was worried about him looking too generic, but I think that's what I like about him most. It's not like I need to remember who he is, anyway

Appreciate the comments!

_________________

man i really dig him. i like how you re-imagined him. i can dig it.

_________________

Wicked cool as always Chief, but that last pic is FOW!

_________________

Nice! The topic title says it all: Dusty re-imagined! And he looks terrific! The paint aps are great, and I agree with Mysterious Stranger, nice save on Ace's noggin.

Todd
Shakka85

_________________

I think the camo looks good,,,I like this custom just doesn't say dusty to me but I know what ya mean on making a new look for established characters and that is cool. I like to do it and so does NFC sohe's a winner.
Tim

I dig it. It dosen't scream Dusty to me either, but I think that's why I like it so much.
Now post a pic with him and Chief.

He looks very realistic. I gotta go through my new sculpt stuff and pull out those guy accessories. That web gear fits great. It makes sense that it would look so different from other Dusty's since v1 and v2 didn't even look like the same guy.

_________________

Thanks guys!

Stan - glad you think he looks right. Took me forever to get a camo pattern that didn't look completely like ass. Now I just need to re-do the shirt with a lighter tan paint and swap out those crappy Duke hands....


Here's the pic you requested, Joe:

_________________

I like everything about the figure except I wish you used the more desert looking marine digital camo rather than the armies faded green. Either way it looks great. You have to tell me how you did it tough because it looks pretty good. It's about time he got mondernized too.

_________________

But Pluv -- the Army went with the gray/green to be multi-environment so we don't have to wear different colors anymore -- But I see your point. With Dusty, I didn't want him to be just a desert guy, so this scheme works everywhere (even in the arctic tundra.....) And actually, the Army ACU pattern has no green in it - just shades of gray & tan (the tan makes the gray look olive drab, though.)

As for my technique - I sprayed the legs with light gray primer and then used a combination of a dark gray and Tamiya "Film Gray" (which is almost a green) and just drybrush-dabbed on the "pixels". Took several tries to get it to look right, but using a stiff-bristled brush with just a hint of paint on it seemed to do the trick (some folks use a similar technique for making 5-o'clock shadow). The secret was letting each "coat" dry before adding another color, avoiding the smearing that happened on my first 5 tries..... And the real reason for my success this time is that I stopped just short of f@#$ing it all up at the end, as I so often do. I'm sure if I had gone over it one more time, I'd have totally jacked it up

Thanks!

_________________

Best digital camo ever!

He looks really nice Chief, very realistic.

_________________