Billy - Cobra Commander's Son

Ah, New Years. The time for reflection and for fresh starts. Just like Cobra Commander had for about thirty seconds before being shot in the back and then turning evil again. And it's all Billy's fault.

Actually, while Cobra Commander in the comic *did* blame Billy for his being shot, he really brought it on himself.

While he started as kind of an annoying kid, Billy grew to be an interesting character in the Marvel comic. His training with Storm Shadow and then loss of his eye and leg in the car crash\rocket attack (spoilers) were pretty gripping to me.

Since he dresses similar to Storm Shadow a few times in the comics, I thought this Master Bruce Wayne Heroclix would make a good conversion choice and I think it did.

Plus, doing it this way meant not having to figure out how to make his artificial leg.

-c

Hooded Cobra Commander - Enemy Leader

Sure, I've done Cobra Commander before, but not Hooded Cobra Commander.

This might be Hooded Cobra Commander, or it might be a Pac-Man ghost sitting on someone's head.

Hooded CC was made from a Heroclix Kryptonian Soldier with a wad of green stuff on his head. I mainly used the Kryptonian Soldier because a) I had him already and b) his pose was useless for most characters other than a leader type. And it didn't seem right for Hawk.

In order to make the hood fit right, I had to trim the head up a little. So, under his mask, this Cobra Commander's face might be even worse than the horrible snakelike abomination face he had in G.I.Joe the Movie (depending on if you take that as canon or not.)

-c

Interrogator - Cobra Battle Copter Pilot

Wait, shouldn't "Interrogator" be his function instead of his name? But then what kind of name is "Cobra Battle Copter Pilot"?

Another figure that I never had but liked the look of. His Battle Copter is kind of silly looking though, so I guess he upgraded to a winged jet pack.

I used a Heroclix Mach 1 for Interrogator. I used green stuff to give him the crossed straps and space for the Cobra logo. I guess I could have tried to give him that weird egg beater gun, but...nah...

-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

Michelangelo - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

Michelangelo, he's one of a kind,
And you know just where to find him when it's party time...

Michelangelo was the hardest of the turtles to convert, mostly because of his nunchucks. I tried modding the Zerboz Power Ranger's sword to nunchucks with moderate success. I also tried to give him a bit of a smile...I'm not sure that was good idea either.

Not sure what else to say about Michelangelo. Every one likes Mikey.

BOOYAHKASHA!

-c

Raphael - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

Raphael has the most attitude on the team...

Raphael was never my favorite turtle. I think they sometimes tried a little too much to make him a Batman or Wolverine type. The 2009 TMNT movie was especially bad about that.

So, I was happy to see that the 2012 Nick version seems to have toned that down a little, while still keeping his attitude.

Again, another green stuff covered Zerboz Power Ranger. I tried to trim down the White Ranger Samurai's sword to resemble a sai, but I'm not sure how well it works. I also tried to give him a slight scowl, but his mouth looks a little like a moustache.

Maybe he's been watching Magnum P.I. reruns.

-c

Donatello - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

Donatello is a fellow, has a way with machines...

Why is it always when I'm cropping the photos that I see my sloppy paint job?

*sigh*

Anyways, Donatello is the only turtle whose figure I actually had as a kid. I never got into the other toys that much but Donatello was instantly my favorite. In the old cartoon and comics, I felt like he never really got as much character development as the other turtles.

Obviously, the writers at Nickelodeon must have thought so too...

Another Zerboz Power Ranger conversion. His staff is a piece of a paperclip. I probably could have made his staff holster thing a little better looking...

But I didn't.

-c

Leonardo - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

Leonardo's the leader in blue,
Does anything it takes to get his ninjas through...

After over 80 G.I.Joe conversions, it's time for a little change of pace.

TMNT was always hit or miss with me. I never watched the original cartoon, I had only one of the toys (Donatello), but I did have a few issues of the comic.

When Nick started up the new series, I was curious..and after seeing a couple of episodes, I was hooked. But, there were no minis available other than the ones from the 80's which are...pricey.

So, a little green stuff on a Zerboz Power Ranger and you have a ninja turtle.

-c