Lifeline - Rescue Trooper

Lifeline was not one of my favorite Joes, until the Special Missions issue that explained his pacifist beliefs and showed off his Aikido techniques. I know some people didn't like that, but I found him more engaging after that issue.

For Lifeline, I wanted a figure that did *not* have an obvious weapon, but had a similar uniform and helmet. This turned out to be pretty difficult to come by, so I would up going with a Star Wars Miniature Rebel Officer, which works OK.

I added glasses via green stuff, but they look more like another pair of goggles. This mini does have a pistol-like tool on his thigh, but it's sci-fi looking enough to pass off as some kind of medical injector, instead of a pistol.

The pose of this mini is a little weird. What is he doing exactly? I guess he's giving a speech? Rallying the troops?

Lifeline could do that, I suppose.

-c

Mercenary Wraith - Counter Intelligence

Counter Intelligence sounds like a fancy name for someone who remodels kitchens.

I really don't know anything about Wraith. Never had the figure. Never saw him in a comic or cartoon. All I know is he has some kind of invisibility suit that works like a Predator or something.

But, when I saw the Deadshot Heroclix I thought, "Hey, that looks familiar."

So, Mercenary Wraith.

I tried to make him sort of look "phased", which is why I went all silver...but I'm not sure that worked. Need some bright neon blue...

-c

Steeler - MOBAT Driver

Steeler stands out in my mind for two reasons: he wore a gold shirt (!) and, in the cartoon, he hooked up with alternate reality Baroness. (No wonder he stayed in that reality.)

Actually, Steeler has a third defining characteristic: his funky space visor. That's why I picked the Heroclix Hulkbuster Soldier for Steeler: the visor.

I'll admit I went a little heavy on the ink wash...but hey, he's a motor pool grease monkey, right? He *should* be a little dirty looking.

For those keeping track, I've done almost all of the original sixteen figures. Only a couple left...

-c

Low-Light - Night Spotter

Let's face it: we all know what Low-Light's *true* role on the Joe team was...he was the sniper. But I guess that's a little too intense for a kid's toy line, so they called him a Night Spotter, which makes him sound like a bird watcher.

Low-Light is probably the easiest conversion you can make. The Horrorclix Base Field Agent already looks like a lot...enough to almost make me suspicious.

I added some red for his shoulder pad and goggles, a little blond hair, and green on the grenades for a little extra color.

That's it!

-c

Grand Slam - Laser Artillery Soldier

Some G.I.Joe figures never got popular because of questionable designs or due to being sold with outlandish vehicles. Some never get a chance due to the order you buy them.

Grand Slam never got a fair shake from me for two reasons: 1) He shared Grunt's head and 2) he had Flash's body. Since I'm pretty sure I had Grunt and Flash before I got Grand Slam, I kind of felt like his figure was a change of outfits for Grunt. It wasn't until that silver pads version of Grand Slam came out that I used him much.

For Grand Slam, I picked the Star Wars Miniatures Human Soldier of Fortune mini. He's got a pretty similar look, with shin armor instead of thigh pads. But close enough.

And for once, he doesn't just look like a repaint of Flash.

-c

Scrap Iron - Cobra Anti-Armor Specialist

Scrap Iron wears blue and red. Superman wears blue and red. Gangbuster is a hero from the Superman comics and kind of resembles Scrap Iron. Coincidence?

Probably...

Scrap Iron was a figure that I actually sort of didn't like. I felt like his head was a little too big. His usual job, therefore, was to fire his rockets at the Joes before getting jump kicked off a cliff.

A simple repaint of the Heroclix Gangbuster, it would be easy to go beyond that and add his rocket launcher. He's already holding a nightstick that could easily be converted to a launch cable for his rocket launcher.

If you felt like it, that is...

-c

Update:

I wasn't totally happy with my first pass at Scrap Iron, so I added a little detail with green stuff:

Dr. Venom - Evil Scientist

Long before Dr. Mindbender, there was Dr. Venom.

Dr. Venom was unknown in the cartoon and didn't have a figure for many years, but he was the source of many plots in the early Marvel comics run. He's probably most known for his Brainwave Scanner, which would be used time and again in the comics, and also for his rivalry with Kwinn and Snake Eyes. Considering all his plots, the M.O. "evil scientist" seems appropriate.

Dr. Venom is a simple design. All you need is a guy in a long coat. I used a Doc Ock Heroclix, removing his robo-arms and filling the holes with green stuff.

Easy!

-c

Snake Eyes - Commando

Sure, I've done Snake Eyes already, but that was the Renegades version. Before he was known as a super ninja, Snake Eyes was just a commando.

The popular story is that Snake Eyes' design came from a cost savings idea: reuse existing parts, painted all black, and give them a new head. From that simple idea, came the most iconic G.I.Joe around.

For my commando version of Snake Eyes, I used the Heroclix Johann Kraus combined with Punisher's arms. Add a little green stuff for his visor and instant Snake Eyes.

So, for this mini, I took the same approach and painted him all black. If only Punisher had been holding an Uzi, it would have been perfect.

-c

Raptor - Cobra Falconer

Raptor is one of the most maligned figures of the original G.I.Joe run (possibly second only to Crystal Ball). I for one, think that's just not fair.

Raptor has a classic comic book origin story: the accountant who gets a little *too* into his hobby and tries to make money doing it. He could be a Batman villain.


When I was a kid, I imagined he used those talons on his boots as his weapon...that he would swoop one a Joe and give them a good clawing.

That being said, I do like how Larry Hama portrayed him in the Marvel comic. He was basically a falconry otaku who dressed up as a big bird to calm his falcons. Otherwise, he was kind of a spaz.

Raptor was on my list of "Figures I'll Paint if I Can Find a Cheap Enough Option", and I did find such an option: the Mage Knight Wereraven. Again, this is a mini that almost asks to be turned into a Joe: he's got the gloves, the necklace, no shirt, the talon feet. Of course, the wereraven head *is* his head, not a mask, but close enough.

At the risk of tooting my own horn, I think I'd made Raptor a bit of a badass.

-c