Storm Shadow - Cobra Ninja

Back in the Eighties, there were ninjas in everything: ninja movies, ninja TV shows, Ninja Turtles...

So, it's not surprise G.I. Joe got a ninja to fight. I wonder if Hasbro had any idea how popular and influential their first ninja would be?

Introducing this figure changed a lot about the G.I. Joe universe. After this, anything was possible and soon half the teams would be made up of ninjas, but in the beginning it was just Storm Shadow.

I did his second outfit already, but I wanted to go back and do the iconic first outfit.

I could have picked just about any ninja mini for it, but I liked the pose of the D&D Miniatures Sun Soul Initiate and the fact that he had nunchuks  was a bonus. After all, I've done a few sword guys already, but no non-turtle nunchaku users.

The main conversion I did was cutting off the topknot and adding a mask with green stuff. If you're a stickler for accuracy, you could use green stuff an trimming on the boots, but I felt like it worked well enough.

-c

Gung-Ho - Marine Dress Blues

After a break of almost a month, it's time to get back into some G.I. Joe miniatures. And today's repaint is an interesting one.

Gung-Ho's Marine Dress Blues is the first time I remember a figure being issued purely for decorative or ceremonial reasons. After all, if he's going into battle, I'm sure Gung-Ho would feel more at ease in his usual fatigues. But in this outfit, he's ready for a parade or perhaps as a guard.

For Gung-Ho, I used the Heroclix Happy Hogan miniature. I'll admit, I'm kind of forcing the jacket, but the pose works as well for a salute as it does for...well..whatever the heck Happy Hogan was doing.

-c

G.I. Joe and Cobra Updates

I wasn't happy with a few of the minis I did in the past, so I went back and updated them.

The following have been updated:

Mutt
Mercer
Psyche-Out
Wild Weasel
Scrap Iron
Zarana
Zandar

-c

Venger - Force of Evil

No miniature version of Venger is ever really going to be good enough because Venger is such a bad-ass, but I tried.

Much has been made of the idea that Venger is Dungeon Master's son. (Hinted at in "The Dragon's Graveyard" and confirmed in "Requiem".) This revelation puts Venger in the same "fallen hero" category as Darth Vader. Which is kind of cool.

The three main things I looked for when searching for a Venger mini were wings, a skirt, and horns. The Mage Knight Astrus figure had two out of three, so I added a horn with green stuff.

Ideally he should be a little bigger so he can tower over the gang, but we can't have everything.

-c

Dungeon Master - Guide

The obvious comparison people male is to say that Dungeon Master is the Yoda of the D&D Cartoon, but at least Yoda sometimes makes sense. And for all his other faults, at least Yoda didn't keep a bunch teenagers hostage in a foreign realm, making them do his work for him.

You know DM could have sent the kids home any time he wanted...

Seriously though, DM obviously had a goal in mind when he brought the kids to the realm. (OK, I know it's never revealed that he did it...but he must have had something to do with it.)

Anyway, for DM I had considered using a dwarf or gnome wizard if I found one with the right look, until I ran across the Heroclix Emp miniature. He's even pointing like Dungeon Master!

-c

Presto the Magician

If it weren't for Eric, Presto would probably be considered the comic relief character. As a kid though, I found Presto to be the most relatable of the gang. He was unsure of himself and clumsy and never could get his magic hat to work. But he was earnest and tried to help as best he could.

Truly, a role model for the eighties.

Finding a miniature that looked like a wizard but without a beard or really fancy robes proved a bit challenging. Finally, I decide to stick with a simple mini I had used before, Heroclix Jason Blood.

My general rule is to avoid using the same miniature for a different character, but are from different continuities (in this case, the DnD Cartoon and G.I.Joe) then I think it's alright.

I added the magic hat, glasses, and belt with pouch using green stuff. I can't find the reference image I used before, but his belt looked like that in the image (more or less) and his had was kind of slumped over too. Maybe he was running?

Would He Stay or Would He Go?

Presto, more than any of the other kids, has more reason to stay than to go. For one thing, we know he wants to be a magician but his tricks usually don't work. And from the episode "City at the Edge of Midnight" we know that even the younger neighbor kids look down on his tricks. So for that reason alone, I think he would stay.

But more than that, Presto has a girl waiting for him in the Realm: Varla. From what we are told in the episode, it seems like True Love between Presto and Varla, so why would he go home to a world that scoffs at his dreams when he can stay in the realm with a girl who loves him and the chance to learn magic for real?

Presto totally stays, becomes an apprentice to a magician (maybe a reformed Venger after the events of "Requiem") and settles down with Varla.

-c

Bobby the Barbarian

Let me be honest here: when i was a kid, I hated Bobby the Barbarian. He was everything I dislike about kids in cartoons: loud, snarky, and stupidly fearless.

As an adult, I can see his merits and kind of appreciate the role he plays in the group. But it took a little time to get to that point.

But every team needs their Raphael, and Bobby fits the bill.

The hard thing with finding a mini for Bobby was deciding if I wanted to lean more childlike or more barbarian. I considered a few gnome and halfling fighter minis, but most looked tougher than I wanted for Bobby.

In the end, I settled on the Heroclix Gee figure and added details with green stuff. Now that I look at it, his shorts didn't really come out right, but it's close enough.

I tried to find a way to put the club in his hand without major remodeling of the hand, but finally gave up and put it on the ground at his feet.

I kind of wish I had taken the time to model a locket in his upraised hand. The pose is similar to the ending of "The Girl Who Dreamed Tomorrow".

Would He Stay or Would He Go?

Even though Bobby whines about not getting home in "The Dragon's Graveyard", I think he would stay. For one thing, Uni can't leave the Realm, but more importantly, I think he just loves smashing stuff. I can see him growing up and taking over some barbarian clan somewhere. Yeah, he's staying.

-c