Karai - Shredder's Daughter

Or maybe I should call this entry "Miwa - Splinter's Daughter"?

Oh, spoilers, I guess...

I'm classifying Karai as a villain since she is still in the Foot Clan (so she's posed on the villain background) but I suspect that won't last forever.

I tried approximating her hair style on a Heroclix Scarab miniature, but you know what? Her hairstyle is kind of hard to do.

I know she normally only uses one sword, but hey, she a ninja. I bet she can use two just as well.

-c

Alpine - Mountain Trooper

Finally, the other half of one of the biggest Bromances in the G.I. Joe cartoon: Alpine and Bazooka.

When the figure came out, I would have never guessed that Alpine and Bazooka would become such prominent players in the G.I.Joe cartoon. I didn't think to much of the character when he first came out, but I think the cartoon helped me warm up to him.

Plus, he came with a sweet pick-axe that I bet saw way more action against Cobra than it did against a mountain.

For Alpine, I used the Star Wars Miniatures Antarian Ranger. He resembles Alpine pretty well and even has a gun that looks like Alpine's sub-machine gun.

The one thing I did skip though was Alpine's dorky goggles. Never liked that look.

-c

Tollbooth - Bridge Layer Driver

The Hard Hat party continues with Tollbooth, the Bridge Layer Driver.

Tollbooth is another one of the many Joes who probably had one line in the whole cartoon series, maybe a couple of panels in the comic, yet he's still fondly remembered.

Like Hardtop, I first tried to find a mini in a hard hat, before realizing I could just make a hat.

Turns out, the Star Wars Miniatures Peace Brigade Thug is almost perfect for Tollbooth. All he needed was the hat.

And maybe a sledgehammer...

-c

Hardtop - Crawler Driver

When talking about Keel Haul, I said I thought the U.S.S. Flagg was an urban legend. The Defiant Space Complex, another HUGE play set, I know was real because this one I had. Yeah, really!

The Defiant was so big, it came with two figures: one to pilot the ship, and one to driver the gantry. And I got it for Christmas when I was...honestly...too old to be getting toys for Christmas anymore. (Or so they say.)

Anyway, Hardtop was the driver and it is surprisingly hard to find good miniatures with hard hats. Hardtop was kind of an experiment then, to see if I could make a hard hat, and it came out pretty good, other than the back being uneven where I tried to make his earpiece thing. I was glad I had a chance to use the Lex Luthor in coveralls that I've had sitting around for a long while.

I suppose I could have made him more baby blue, but I think the darker blue looks pretty good on him.

-c

Keel Haul - Admiral

The U.S.S. Flagg was the granddaddy of all play sets, one of the Holy Grails of G.I.Joe collectors.

Or so they say...

Personally, I'm not sure it even exists. I think it's an urban legend.

I never had Keel Haul of the U.S.S. Flagg. In fact, I never knew anyone that did and I never saw it at a toy store. The only proof I have that it ever existed is pictures on the Internet. And we all know how trustworthy that is.

But, I won't let that fact that I didn't have it stop me from making miniatures.

For Keel Haul, I used the Heroclix Dick Grayson. I think what makes this match really well is that he's talking on his radio and the U.S.S. Flagg came with a radio speaker as part of the toy. That's synergy!

-c

Hard Master - Arashikage Ninja Master

How's this for an obscure Joe-related character? In most Joe continuities, the Hard Master is already dead and we only see him in flashbacks. And yet somehow he did get and action figure, although that one looks a bit too much like Yul Brynner instead of an old Japanese man.

Ya know, I say the Hard Master is an obscure character, but the Marvel comics spent a good amount of time dealing with who murdered the Hard Master and why. Enough time that I felt like he deserved a figure.

He's just a quick repaint of the Heroclix Karate Kid. The only modification I needed was cutting away the pile of broken robot from around his feet.

Does the mean I'll be doing the Soft Master, the Blind Master, and the others?

You better believe it.

-c

Zanzibar - Dreadnok Pirate

Maybe I should have saved Zanzibar for 'Talk Like a Pirate Day". Then I could do the whole post in pirate jargon. That wouldn't be annoying at all.

Much like Crystal Ball, when I was a kid and they introduced Zanzibar I  was like, "Sure, why not?" Why *wouldn't* the Dreadnoks have a pirate? If G.I. Joe and Cobra can both have ninjas and other stuff, why not pirates.

Now, I just wonder why we didn't get more showdowns between Zanzibar and Shipwreck. These guys are made for each other!

Oh well.

Anyway, for Zanzibar I used another pirate, the space pirate Raza. I added Zanzibar's shoulder pad things with green stuff and also used some to make his pants more like the figure. I neglected to add his purple handkerchief around his leg, but I think I got the other 95% close enough.

Oh yeah...

Arrr...

Crystal Ball - Cobra Hypnotist

According to many sources, Crystal Ball is the "most maligned figure" of all the vintage G.I. Joe line. I've never really understood why though. Sure, he's a hypnotist with red eyes who dresses like a wanna be vampire. But is he *that* different from a shape-changing biker, a chrome-headed arms dealer, or a ninja? Last time I checked, those were exactly everyday professions either.

I never had a problem incorporating Crystal Ball into my Cobra lineup. I figured he and Dr. Mindbender would get along great.

Oh sure, at first I bet they hated each other: Dr, Mindbender is a man of science, where Crystal Ball favors pseudo-science and mysticism. But I bet after a while, they came to appreciate each others approaches and they probably became friends.

The rest of Cobra probably kept their distance from the pair though...

Anyway, I had considered using a Ra's al Ghul miniature for Crystal Ball at first, but this Doctor Strange Heroclix had his mystic circle thingies, which I thought could stand in for Crystal Ball's hypno-shield.

I thought about trying to add his fur collar thing with green stuff but...to much trouble..

-c

Spirit - Tracker

Let's face it: Spirit was all set to be a horrible depiction of a Native American and in the cartoon, that's kind of what he was. Thankfully, in the comics Larry Hama was able to portray him as someone deeply connected to his native heritage without sounding too much like Tonto.

I never understood why Spirit was often paired against Storm Shadow in the G.I.Joe cartoon. I guess they just decided it was easier to pair up the racist stereotypes. Oh well, it could have been worse...they could have had a Cobra cowboy for him to fight.

When I went looking for a miniature for Spirit, I ran into some similar problems. Most Native American gaming miniatures are of the 'Savage Indian" type. Not what I wanted for Spirit.

Thankfully, the Star Wars Miniature Jariah Syn already had most of the look I needed. I added the headband and shirt details with green stuff, and removed the weird throwing star. Too bad I don't have a little eagle to perch on his arm.

Oh well...

-c