Serpentor - Cobra Emperor

Sure, I did Serpentor before, but that was just a guy who vaguely looked like him.

Now this...THIS...is Serpentor...

I wish I had found the Attuma Heroclix before...it's perfect for Serpentor. All I needed was some green stuff to add the little snake details, the leg guards, and the cape.

Too bad there's not an official G.I.Joe Heroclix line. That would be pretty awesome.

-c

Sgt. Slaughter - Drill Instructor

Sgt. Slaughter wasn't a new character in G.I.Joe the Movie, but he did play a major role in it. And in the regular cartoon. And in the comics. And in the commercials.

Yeah...he might have been a little overused.

Sgt. Slaughter was character I was never 100% OK with as a kid. His inclusion felt a little forced to me. So, you probably won't see every version of his figures here.

For his mini, I went with a look that is based off his second figure and his look from the movie. I started with a Heroclix Wonder Man and added his hat with green stuff. I think the pose works pretty well because the Sarge spends most of his time punching people anyway.

You know, now that I think of it. I'm not sure I remember him actually doing any drill instructing other than maybe a little in the movie.

-c

Beach Head - Ranger

I don't know why, but when I was a kid, I liked the idea of each Joe having a Cobra that they were matched up against. (Much like Snake Eyes was to Storm Shadow.)

And for some reason, I decided that Firefly's counterpart was Beach Head. I think I just liked that they were both masked bad-asses.

I spent a long time trying to find a mini with a mask that looked right for Beach Head, until the Heroclix Bane Thug came out. It had everything I needed except the mask which, I suddenly realized, I could just paint it on.

And it worked...and quite well I must say.

-c

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

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

Zandar - Zartan's Brother

Like his sister Zarana, Zandar is sadly defined by his more well know brother, not even getting a specific military function. If he was a D&D character, his class would be the generic "Commoner" type.

Another EM4 Plastic Ganger, with a perfect head for Zandar. There wasn't a spear gun though, so I gave him a shotgun. I added his pink scarf with green stuff but decided to give him a sleeveless shirt instead shirtless sleeves.

And now that I notice it...I forgot his face paint\tattoos.

*Sigh*

Another touch up job...

-c

Update:

Touched up his face and sleeves:

Monkeywrench - Dreadnok

After the original three, Zartan would go on to recruit many more Dreadnoks, including the exposives expert Monkeywrench.

I always imagined that Monkeywrench and Firefly would have a sort of professional rivalry. Firefly probably knew more about explosives from a technical point of view, where Monkeywrench probably made up for his lack of training by being a nutcase.

Another Dreadnok means another EM4 miniature, this one is 0064 Male Biker, SMG, Chain. There are a lot of little details that match up pretty well: the beard, the vest, the jeans and belt buckle.  He even has a grenade on his belt and what looks like some electronic detonator behind him.

He's missing the shades and I totally spaced and forgot about his gloves, but otherwise, a great match.

Now, I think I need to move on to non-Dreadnok pastures for a while before I start motorcycle shopping...

-c

Dr. Mindbender - Master of Mind Control

OK, getting back into the swing of things with what may be my best conversion yet:

Dr. Mindbender is one of those G.I.Joe characters that people love to bash. A crazy former-orthodontist who dresses in black and purple fetish gear? Easy target.

I always liked his costume though. Even as a kid I thought, "This guys knows how to dress to freak people out. He's aware he looks absurd, he probably planned it that way."

And again, another Joe-related figure with a sweet 'stache. What is it with Hasbro and mustaches?


For Dr. Mindbender, I started with the Heroclix Lex Luthor #008 and added a monocle, mustache, and cape with green stuff.

I left the Kryptonite because, honestly, if there were *any* Cobra villain that would discover Kryptonite, it would be Dr. Mindbender.

-c

Dial-Tone - Communications

Another week, another EM4 Miniature. (Still trying to find time to paint.)

Whenever I am prepping the pictures for a post, there is always a point that I realize I should have done something different. In this case: why didn't I paint Dial-Tone's rifle silver?

*Sigh*

Anyways, Dial-Tone was always a favorite of mine and a suitable replacement for Breaker. I don't know why, but as a kid, I always imagined him speaking with a French accent. Even though his file card clearly indicates he's from Oregon, I thought of him as coming from G.I.Joe's European Branch or something.

I think...yeah, I think it's the mustache. The mustache kind of makes him look like Inspector Clouseau.

-c

Hawk - G.I. Joe Commander

Hawk is one of those characters that I figured I would do eventually, but wasn't high up on my list. And his original incarnation was not that...inspiring when it comes to mini painting.

His second version though...

I happened to run across a good deal on the Captain Ben Daimio Heroclix mini and it's a great match.

In fact, I could have almost gotten away with just painting camo on his pants and calling it done, but that wouldn't have been as much fun.

-c

Zarana - Zartan's Sister

Speaking of Mainframe, next up is his star-crossed love, Zarana.

Poor Zarana. While other Joes and Cobras had some special title, she was just "Zartan's Sister". In fact, other than one figure released in 2004 which listed her as "Dreadnok Leader", every other figure has been described as "Zartan's Sister", "Sister of Zartan" or "Sister to Zartan".

While her toys haven't been very imaginative, Zarana is one of the few characters that had some pretty choice roles in the cartoon and in the comics. She even replaced the Baroness at one point!

For her min, I picked the Heroclix Aphrodite IX. Another pretty good match, although I kind of wish I had tried to remove the skirt completely and just painted her legs as pants. Sadly, the picture makes the pants look a bit bluer and more plastic looking than the fig turned out.

C'est la vie.

-c

Update:

Removed the skirt and added the shoulder pads\plates:

Mainframe - Computer Specialist

OK, this one is going to take a little explaining...

Mainframe is one of those Joes I liked not because of his speciality, but his back story. In the comics, Larry Hama played this well by making not making him a nerd, but instead showing how he was still a military man at heart, playing more on his Airborne experience than his hacking skills.

So, for Mainframe, I wanted a mini that reflected that too, which is where the explaining comes in:

I found this Star Wars mini, Rebel Marksman, and not only did it have a similar uniform to Mainframe's, it even has a similar helmet.

"Perfect!" I thought and ordered.

When I got it, I glanced at the card that came with it and noticed something:

My "he" was a "she"...

I never noticed anywhere before that that is was a female trooper and, after looking closely at the mini, I can sort of see a more...pronounced...chest area.

But you know what, it's not that noticeable and who cares about the supposed gender of a piece of plastic anyway!

Rather than scrap it and start over I decide that it will stay and I think it does a great job of looking like Mainframe.

So, take that, I guess!

-c

B.A.T. - Cobra Android Trooper

The original B.A.T. was a figure that just made sense to me. Instead of a faceless army of goons for the Joes to beat up, why not a faceless army of unthinking machines. Brilliant!

The B.A.T. has a very specific look, one that is not easy to duplicate. I considered quite a few different minis before selecting the Star Wars Mini: Republic Commando - Scorch.

Scorch has two things going for it to make it B.A.T.-like: it has the T-shape visor, and the backpack with those two posts sticking up. I put a little green stuff on one to make a crude claw, leaving the other as-is to stand in for the laser attachment.

Of course, the best thing would be to pick up an original B.A.T. micro fig, but they tend to sell on eBay for a little more than I want to spend.

Maybe someday...

-c

Sci-Fi - Laser Trooper

For some of the Joes, finding a miniature that matches the look and feel can be quite a task.

For others, I just see a mini and think, "Hey, there's Sci-Fi."

For Sci-Fi, I ran across this Star Wars Miniature Human Mercenary.

He's got the helmet, the rifle, the boots. The only difference is the mini has kind of long outer coat look instead of the silver and green vest. But still a pretty good match.

In fact, the hardest think to find for Sci-Fi was a nice bright green paint. I ordered a bottle of Reaper Moth Green and it looks just about perfect for Sci-Fi.

Don't worry though Flash fans, I plan to include the original Joe Laser Trooper down the line.

Cheers!

-c

Viper - Cobra Infantry

To me, the classic Cobra grunts represent a more traditional army, where the Viper was a more modern interpretation.

For the Cobra Viper, I picked the Heroclix SCU Veteran. With the vest, machine gun, and helmet, this worked pretty well for my Viper.

I just noticed that I neglected to pain the red inner parts of the pants.

Hmm.

-c

Serpentor - Cobra Emperor

Not too much to say about this guy:

I've seen this done before by others, Heroclix Kobra as Serpentor.

Unfortunately, the picture didn't pick up the gold very good.

But hey, genetically created warrior!

Yay!

-c