Eiger - Weapons Specialist

I didn't like Eiger when I first started playing Shadowrun Dragonfall. And I think that was the idea. She's not supposed to be friendly and likable. She's a troll, a soldier, and someone who has seen first hand what can go wrong when you place your trust in someone that can't be trusted.

I normally don't re-play part of an RPG is things don't go my way. I choose what feels right for my character and take the consequences. Dealing with Eiger is one place where I did go back though. My initial conversations with her didn't go well because I didn't stand my ground. I replayed them, being a bit more assertive, and got better results.

She never really becomes your friend (and that would probably be out of character if she did) but she becomes a trusted ally and she learns to trust you, and that's enough.

I know Eiger is a troll and should therefore be much larger than the miniature I picked, but I just really liked this look (and the giant rifle). I started with a Reaper Miniatures Sarah Blitzer and used green stuff to add her horns and a little extra armor around her neck. I tried to add her tusks, but it never looked right so I skipped it.

Next to Glory, this version of Eiger is a little smaller than she should be, so maybe this is young Eiger?

-c

Soft Master - Arashikage Ninja Master

There's probably three ways you could go with a mini for the Soft Master. One would be in his orange kimono from the comic flashbacks. Two would be the brown suit he wears when infiltrating Springfield.

Or, you could do him in his Cuban-Chinese Restaurant outfit as he was introduced in the comic:

Odd choice aside, the Soft Master another one of the comic only characters who brought a lot of depth to the stories. And as a non-action figure character, he didn't have the Plot Shield that other characters had, so he could sacrifice himself to save others. (Spoilers?)

I used a Reaper Miniatures Bones Innkeeper and used green stuff to make his pants look more like modern trousers.

Now, I just need to make a miniature Cuban-Chinese Restaurant (with ninja bolthole.)

-c

Windblade - Cityspeaker

When the Transformers: Windblade comic came out, I had not bought or read a Transformers comic in probably 25 years. And I wasn't buying single issue comics at all. But when I read the premise, I was intrigued.

Obviously, I liked it enough to make a mini-Windblade.

What I immediately liked about Windblade is that she is an outsider who views the characters we all know and love through different eyes. She's trusting and compassionate, something that I don't think has been shown much in Transformers history. And she's a "she" and there still aren't enough female Transformers, so that's cool.

Plus, having women writers and artists on board is awesome. Mairghread Scott and Sarah Stone are doing an amazing job.

For Windblade's mini, I started with the Reaper Miniatures Marie, She-Bot and added details with green stuff. Her vehicle mode is a Micro Machines Harrier jet with new wings and additional details.

Oh, and her wings? Made from those thin refrigerator magnet ads you get in the mail. I think this one was for a home realtor.

-c

Daina - Oktober Guard Sniper

There are a lot of similarities between Daina and Scarlett: they're both smart, deadly, and often serve as second-in-command. However, where Scarlett is normally cool and calculating, Daina is bad tempered and prone to biting.

For Daina, I first considered the Reaper Miniatures Russian Sniper, but it just didn't feel right. Daina needed to be a bit...rougher. So, instead I went with Reaper's Evie, Post-Apocalyptic Heroine. I cut the brim of her cap off and used green stuff to make her trademark hat. I also filled in the missing midriff part of her shirt. I left the ponytail which, now that I look at it, does look a little weird.

Might have to rethink that choice...

-c

Colonel Brekhov - Oktober Guard Officer

I've mentioned the Oktober Guard before and how much I would have liked having them as a kid. Having a Russian equivalent to the Joe team, who they could work with or against depending on the mission, would have been a blast. It worked well in the comics, after all.

Every team needs a leader and Brekhov was the perfect Russian stereo-type. He could have been in any James Bond movie as the person leading Russia's troops against some threat that winds up reluctantly teaming up with Bond. Now that I think about it, that sure happened a lot in those movies.


Anyway, didn't need any modifications for Brekhov. Just a Reaper Miniatures General Drake with the right paint job.


I guess it is a little sad that the miniature got demoted from General to Colonel.

-c

Road Pig - Dreadnok

Each one of the Dreadnoks had a certain niche they filled in the gang and Road Pigs niche was to be the ugly one. Or possibly the smelly one. Or maybe the big one.

OK, maybe Road Pig is an exception.

In the comics, Road Pig had a dual identity disorder that caused him to switch back and forth between personalities. That being said, for a Dreadnok, he was actually pretty effective. He seemed less prone to random destruction and better at specific destruction.

I can't say for sure, but I'm just about convinced that the Reaper Miniatures Mega-Mutant is based off Road Pig. He's got the big hammer, the wrist crossbow, the weird shoulder armor. Even the boots look similar. All I had to do was add a flat top and a ball at the end of the crossbow and he was done.

On a side note, since this is a metal miniature, he's HEAVY. He is prone to tipping over, which might also be similar to Road Pip.

-c

Recondo - Jungle Trooper

Recondo was not used as much as some of the other Joes like Roadblock or Duke, but when he did show up, it was usually to do something bad-ass.

Recondo might have one of the best introductions of all the Joes in the Marvel comics run.Instead of just having him show up at the base and introduce himself, a small team meets up with him while on a mission in the jungle. Turns out, he joined up and was shipped to the jungles and had been there ever since, hanging out with the natives. He then goes on to be the baddest MF'er on the team, which includes Gung Ho, Stalker, and Roadblock.

When I first started this project, I knew which mini I was going to use for Recondo: Reaper Miniatures Jonathan Kincaide, Big Game Hunter. All it took was some paint.

I went ahead and painted his rifle green instead of a normal color to match his figure's rifle.

Why not?

-c

Blowtorch - Flamethrower

Pork Chop Sandwiches!

OK, now that that's out of the way.

Blowtorch was the first of many flamethrowers that joined the Joe team and, to me, the only one that stands out.

When I was flipping through the Reaper Miniatures catalog (and why don't more mini companies have printed catalogs?) I saw Torch McHugh and was like, "Well, there's Blowtorch".

I never noticed until painting this that, other than the green flamethrower and his head, Blowtorch's figure is just 2 colors: yellow and orange.

Not too hard to follow that pattern. I went ahead and made his tanks orange though...they just didn't look right all yellow.

-c

Agent Courtney Krieger - Armored Vehicle Expert

Hey, wait a minute! Who am I trying to fool here? I already did Cover Girl!

Of all the characters that might get a second version, Cover Girl wasn't my first guess. But the previous attempt just didn't really work. She looked a little too much like a cop (considering the mini, no wonder) and not like a tank expert.

So, back to the drawing board with the Veronica Blaze, Agent of G.U.A.R.D. mini from Reaper Miniatures.

I tried to match her outfit this time more to the Tim Seeley illustration, and to the 2006 Agent Courtney Krieger figure.

The mini even has some goggle for her, which is perfect for a tank driver. This version of Cover Girl looks tough enough to handle Cobra and hopefully not die stupidly like in the movie.

Ahem...*Spoilers*

-c

Side Note: A Sense of Scale

Something I haven't mentioned much before is the scale of the miniatures I've been using.

Most of the miniatures are in the 25 to 28mm range, but honestly the variation is all over the place. Many of the Reaper miniatures are closer to 32mm, in fact.

For example, here are four miniatures: Heroclix - Star Wars - Heroscape - Reaper:

As you can see, Jinx and the Tele-Viper are pretty small. They barely come up to Zartan's chest. And if they stood straight up, they would still only come up to his shoulders.

Cover Girl matches Zartan's height better, but she has part of her Heroclix base on top of the normal base.

Why bring this up?

While it doesn't really bother me, I know from other sites that some people can't stand it!

So, be aware that even within one product line, the sizes can be a little different.

Cheers! 

-c

Torpedo - Navy SEAL

Back in the early G.I. Joe days, when Snake Eyes was still a commando and not a ninja, my go to guy for martial arts adventures was Torpedo.

After all, it's right there in his filecard: "Attained black belts in three martial arts by age 19 (Wu-Shu, Kenpo, and Go-Ju-Ryu)."

No real modifications necessary for this one. Just straight paint job on the Reaper Mini Navy Seal Diver (50058).

Now, I just need to find a good mini for a Cobra Eel.

-c

Zartan - Master of Disguise

The famed mercenary: Zartan.

Pretty much any mini that is a dude in a hood could work for Zartan, but I chose Talathlan, Elf Ranger (03198) from Reaper for my Zartan.

Admittedly, the boots and skirt are more fitting for an elf than a mercenary, but what can you do?

One note about this mini: it's HEAVY. Lots of metal in that cloak, I think.

-c

Scarlett - Counter Intelligence

Hmm. This one should have been an easy one to knock out the park, but alas, my painting skills weren't quite up to task:

Another Reaper Mini, this time Tara the Silent (02743).

I went a little too heavy around the eyes and kept the coloration a little too cartoony.

I may decide to redo this one later. Right now, I have a different plan for this iconic Joe...

*foreshadowing*

Cheers!

-c

Destro - Enemy Weapons Supplier

Some G.I. Joe fans point at Series VI (1987) as a turning point for the toy line moving away from the military background and into a more science fiction \ supernatural direction. Characters like Psyche-Out, Crystal Ball, and Raptor are common examples.

And yet, in Series II (1983) we got a guy with a steel plated head:

For Destro, all you really need is a bald guy with an open shirt, and Reaper Miniatures' Boris Barayev, Five Suns Smuggler (50002) really fits the bill.

I suppose I could have tried to green stuff on a little medallion for my version, but then maybe some things are better left undone.

Cheers!

-c

Storm Shadow - Ninja

You can't have Snake Eyes without Storm Shadow.

And not just any Storm Shadow, but Version 2 from 1988:

For this mini, I tracked down the Reaper Miniatures Ninja Bowman (04419).

(Sorry the picture is a little blurry, but I was trying to take a picture of a Ninja after all.)

Unfortunately, this mini is no longer for sale from Reaper, so you'll probably have to find it on ebay or elsewhere.

If you prefer the original Storm Shadow look, well, there are *tons* of Ninja minis out there for you to choose from.

Good hunting!

-c

Snake Eyes - Ninja Commando

If you're going to paint a bunch of minis based on G.I. Joe, where else do you start but with the most iconic personality in the line: Snake Eyes.

Picking a specific mini and\or costume could have been a challenge. After all, he did have about sixty different figures to choose from.

Thankfully, Reaper Miniatures made things a little easier with their totally-not-a-Joe figure Cobra, Modern Ninja (50082).

For my version of Snake Eyes I based it mostly of the Renegades version of his costume, as opposed to the all black original. The visor is a little different, and my ham-handed attempt at making knee pads with green stuff didn't work too well, but I think it came out OK.

Another possible option, if you want a slightly more dynamic pose, would be the Heroclix Black Tarantula figure:

Cheers!

-c