Schrage - Oktober Guard Infantryman

Where Daina is the hot-headed member of the Oktober Guard, Schrage is the laconic, cool-headed one. He seems almost lazy, but he still does his part.

Maybe it's fitting that I don't have to much to say about Schrage since he is a man of few words himself.

I used a Sith Trooper Commander and file the sides of this hat down to match Schrage's hat. I based my coloring off the Oktober Guard pinup of the back of a yearbook, rather than the figure they issued in 2012.

-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

Duke - Squad Leader

I once said I wouldn't paint a miniature of Duke, but if I *did*, that it would be the version from Renegades.

So...here's Duke from Renegades...

I think most versions of Duke are kind of bland, and the Renegades version has some moments like that, but overall I think he's a more interesting character. Probably because he's a flawed character who doubts his abilities, rather than just being a square-jawed hero.

For Duke, I just did a simple repaint of the Heroclix Extremis Soldier. No real modifying necessary.

Works for me.

-c

Cobra Commander - With Battle Armor

Is this the only Joe figure that, instead of having a military specialty listed, has a "With _____"? If not, I think it might be the first. Why didn't they at least put "Cobra Leader with Battle Armor" or something?

There's a whole big discussion you can get into about who is *really* in the battle armor, but no matter who it is, suddenly Cobra Commander is even more menacing.

I wasn't sure when I picked the Heroclix Taskmaster how it would come out, but I'm pleased that it works as well as it does. I altered the head a little and added the hose with green stuff. The shoulder holster works wells as a variation on the hip holster of the original figure. And Cobra Commander with a sword? How awesome is that?

Very awesome.

-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