Shadow Demon - Venger's Spy

Every villain needs a henchman, but Venger is unique in that he seems to have the only assistant in fiction that isn't a moron.

Shadow Demon is interesting not just because he is a flying shadow with wings, but also because of how helpful he is. He doesn't complain, he doesn't try to overthrow Venger, he rarely (if ever) makes a mistake that interferes with Venger's plan. He's just...helpful.

And a demon.

For Shadow Demon, I trimmed the legs off an Adaptoid Heroclix and added his tapering tail and wings with plastic and green stuff.

And a lot of black paint.

-c

Eric the Bogbeast

If I did a miniature for every time someone is in disguise or gets shape-changed to another face, well, I'd never run out of minis to paint probably.

I don't plan to do every little alternate look for my favorite characters, but this one was too obvious (to me) to pass up.

In the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon episode "Beauty and the Bogbeast", Eric the Cavalier somehow gets changed into a bogbeast. I don't remember how but he probably said or did something stupid.

Anyway, while looking at Star Wars miniatures one day I saw the Ishi Tib Scout and realized that it resembled Eric's bogbeast look. A lot.

So, I replaced its gun with a shield and voilà: Eric the Bogbeast.

-c

Kelek - Evil Sorcerer

As I have mentioned before, the Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon is my all time favorite, and it's because of guys like this.

Kelek was an evil sorcerer who was determined to take all the unicorns' horns which (in theory) would give him to power to defeat Venger.

Considering he was only in one episode, you can guess how well that worked out for him.

But, Kelek was iconic enough to be one of the action figures that TSR made in the 80's. There were a few others that made it into the cartoon as well.

For Kelek, I used the Heroclix Mandarin and some green stuff and plastic to make his beard and funky collar.

(Unicorn horns not included.)

-c

Kevin Flynn - User

There are still some Tron: Uprising characters to go, but I think it's time to go back to the beginning.

What can I say about the original Tron. I loved it, still love it. I think it blew my mind when I saw it as a kid and it's still a favorite.

One thing I like about the original is that Flynn is not really the hero type. He's more Han Solo than Luke Skywalker and he screws up a bit (especially in the sequel), but he's a character we can relate to.

For Flynn, I used the Leash Heroclix and trimmed off his leash things, then added the helmet, tunic, and disk with green stuff.

"Games? You want games? I'll give you games..."

-c

Paige - Tesler's Second-in-Command

As anyone who watched Tron: Uprising will probably tell you, the real tragedy of the series not continuing is that we don't get to see Paige's Heel-Face Turn.

And that's a shame.

Paige is one of the most well developed characters in Tron: Uprising and a great character in general. She's fighting for the wrong side for the right reasons (at least, as far as she knows.) She's been betrayed and manipulated, but still manages to show her compassionate side.

Unfortunately, that doesn't always end well (Keller).

For Paige, I sued the Heroclix Maria Hill and added a little green stuff for the disk and her hair.

Paige's hair is very hard to reproduce...

-c

General Tesler - Clu's General

I thought I was going to have trouble finding a miniature for General Tesler. At least, one that shows off his weird hand attacks.

But as it turns out, there's Weapon X.

There is a long list of reasons why it's a shame Tron: Uprising stopped after the first season, and one is General Tesler. He's such a good antagonist.

Unlike the Tron movies, which don't get much time to delve into Sark or CLU's personality beyond the surface level, Tron: Uprising was able to spend time showing the strengths and weaknesses of Tesler. We get to see how he rewards (and punishes) his troops, and how obsessed he gets about stopping the Renegade.

And of course, he's voiced by Lance Henriksen, who is awesome.

For Tesler, I used Weapon X and added the disc on his back.

I'm a little tempted to make a Tesler mini with his upgraded arm cannon...

-c

Snow Serpent (V2) - Cobra Snow Trooper

The G.I. Joe cold weather troops have always come with an assortment of cool gear: skis, snow shoes, ice cleats, etc. So it was only a matter of time before we got one with a snowboard.

The big surprise to me is instead of getting a Joe with a snowboard and a back story about Xtreme sports or something, we got a Cobra troop builder.Which means Cobra has not just one, but whole legions of troopers armed with weapons and snowboards.

That's how committed they are to their cause.

For the new Snow Serpent, I used Rocket Racer and trimmed the wheels off his skateboard.

I'm not sure what he's snowboarding on...maybe the snow is melting but he's making the most of what's left.

Radical.

-c

Scarlett - Counterintelligence Agent (Valor vs Venom)

Another version of Scarlett? Heck yeah!

This time it's Valor vs Venom Scarlett.

When I first saw the figure for VvsV Scarlett, I didn't think much of it. But when I saw it used on the card art for the G.I.Joe Trading Card Game (more on that later), I started to like it.

It's a different look for Scarlett, but it works.

For this version of Scarlett, I used the Star Wars Deliah Blue miniature.

I imagine the black sash is a hold over from her Ninja Force costume (which I may get to eventually.)

-c

Wild Bill - Helicopter Pilot

Who doesn't love Wild Bill?

Wild Bill was not one of my favorite figures, mainly because his head seemed too large for his body, but I've always liked the character.

If there's one thing G.I.Joe benefits from, it's larger than life characters like Wild Bill. It's no wonder he got so much time in the cartoon.

Speaking of which, I might have to do a Sunbow version...

For Wild Bill, I started with the Heroclix Hal Jordan and added his hat, guns, and vest with green stuff.

Oh, and his shades and cool 'stache.

-c

Jack - Subject Zero

I didn't get into the Mass Effect games until pretty late; far after ME3 came out. There are a lot of great characters in the series (which I plan to get to eventually) but one of the first ones I wanted to do was Jack.

Jack is bad-ass.

If you know the Mass Effect series, you know why Jack is cool. If not, you just need to play the games to find out.

Anyway, for Jack I started with the Jinx Heroclix. She's bald and doing something that looks kind of biotic-y, so a good start. Then I trimmed the skirt and tried to make Jack's pants which...kind of worked.

Then came the tattoos.

I almost gave up trying to do the tattoos, but I persevered.

As a side note, this is not the default outfit for Jack. It's her loyalty outfit. The original outfit is still a bit iffy for me.

(Don't tell Jack I said that.)

-c

Kate Wilson - Systems Engineer

Hydrophobia Prophecy (aka Hydrophobia) was not a great game. It was half game and half tech demo, with a really nonsensical boss fight at the end, but it was OK.

It at least had an interesting enough story to make me care about the protagonist, Kate Wilson.

Kate was systems engineer for the floating city Queen of the World where the game Hydrophobia takes place. As terrorists attack the city, she deals with flooding, fighting, and getting infected with a virus that lets her controls the water (sort of).

It's a weird game.

For Kate, I used the Shimmer Heroclix and tried to add her headband thing with green stuff.

You know, if you have a couple of bucks to spare, you can usually pick up Hydrophobia for under $5 on Steam. It goes on sale pretty often for half that. It's worth at least $2.50.

-c

Regina - S.O.R.T. Agent

The Dino Crisis games are kind of the little brother series to Resident Evil, I guess. Similar game play, but substituting dinosaurs for zombies.

You wouldn't think it would work, but it kind of does.

Regina, heroine of the first two Dino Crisis games, is a good example of a female video game protagonist with an outfit that just doesn't make sense. While everyone else is wearing military gear, she's dressed like she's making a workout video.

But at least it's not as stripperific as it could have been...

I picked the Sin Heroclix for Regina, which works pretty well, except for the face which is strangely lacking detail. Maybe it's just the one I have, but her face is a little too round, like a doll's.

Very odd...

-c

Duke - Sigma 6 Operations Commander

I said long ago that I probably wouldn't do a Duke miniature.

This one makes the third Duke that I've done though, so what do I know?

Sigma 6 Duke is loud, brash, and headstrong. He's a little different than how Duke is usually portrayed, but he fits the standard anime leader trope pretty well.

In a way, I actually kind of like this Duke better than other versions. The Sunbow cartoon Duke is kind of dorky, but the Renegade Duke is too brooding. This Duke is just kind of a vanilla action hero guy, which I think is what they were going for.

To make Sigma 6 Duke, I used the Heroclix Max Fury and gave him a visor.

I tried to make the Sigma 6 logo on his suit.

*Tried* to...

-c

Agent Scarlett - Sigma 6 Pilot

In 2005, Hasbro tried to revive interest in G.I.Joe with a new product line: G.I.Joe: Sigma 6. The line had an all new look for the figures and an anime-esque cartoon.

I didn't pay much attention to the line until recently when I tried watching the cartoon. I watched about 10 minutes of the first episode and quit.

About a month later, I gave it a shot again and, slowly, it started to grow on me. The voice acting is terrible, but the stories are kind of interesting.

So...

All of the Sigma 6 characters are similar to their original versions and Scarlett is no exception. Like most versions, this Scarlett is a bad-ass and quite competent leading the team if Duke isn't around. There's something more though that I can't put my finger on. This version of Scarlett seems more...innocent, maybe? Possibly because she's younger in this iteration?

Whatever it is, she seems familiar but also new.

The change in voice actors halfway through the series is jarring though...

For Agent Scarlett I used the Fairchild Heroclix.

-c