So as many of you know, with the recent slump in Star Wars toys, I have recently gotten into modern G.I. Joe collecting. I was a big fan of Joe toys from 1982 to about 1987. I had bought some 25th Anniv. figures and customized them into Star Wars characters, but never really considered collecting Joe toys in and of themselves. Then late last year I did a trade on ISY for a Baroness figure. I customized her with a new face (pictures soon), and that was it – the Joe customizing bug bit me!
Anyway, here are some custom G.I. Joe vehicles I’ve done recently,
A.P.C.
custom “blue prints” I made based off of the Type 92 IFV
The stickers were made using Photoshop and Power Point. I printed them off on Testor’s transparent water decals. They worked out alright, but they are not as “transparent” as I was hoping for. I probably wouldn’t recommend these to anyone. I’d suggest buying the clear vinyl stickers from Cobra Stickers.
That’s my custom Cover Girl in the driver’s hatch!
The weathering was done by spraying a mist of dark army green and/or black in various areas. I also used the “salt method” on the sides and back, and then sprayed a mist of beige over the salted areas to give it a dirty, dried mud look. In the back are Stalker, Resolute Flint, custom Gung-Ho, and custom Scarlett (that’s a Black Widow face with Resolute Scarlet hair on Resolute Scarlett body).
DRAGONFLY AH-64 ATTACK HELICOPTER
This is a True Heroes Longbow Apache (TRU exclusive) painted dark army green with black overspray around the engines, underbelly, and tail.
“blue prints” actually they’re black, but you get the point. I loved making these “blue prints” for each of these customs!
Once again custom decals made with Photoshop & Power Point. I drew the “Dragonfly” logo. Decals were printed on Testor’s water decals. You can see they are more translucent than transparent.
painted the cockpit grey and gave it a wash in black to bring out some of the details.
I had to cut the floor out of the gunner’s seat for the figure to fit right. Otherwise the Joe figures fit great! Hasbro should really take some lessons from these True Heroes toys and World Peace Keepers!
As you can see Wild Bill fits just fine with either his helmet or cowboy hat on. I just recently purchased the BBI Elite Force 1:18 scale Apache Helicopter! Man that thing is awesome! So this custom will probably be re-customized into an AH-64 “Fang” Cobra ‘copter. I’ll post images soon of comparison between the BBI Apache and the True Heroes Apache, you will be amazed!
Abrams MBT (MoBaT)
Obligatory G.I. Joe Issue 1 homage shot. I don’t own a “Flash” figure, so I substituted my custom Snake-Eyes. I like the black mixed with green – it focuses more on his “military career” than him being a ninja. Also in this pic are a custom Steeler I purchased from ebay, my custom Zap, and again my custom Scarlett.
All the blue prints are based on actual real life vehicles.
As always comments, critiques, and/or concerns about being discouraged about SW collecting, or not being all that impressed with Dune (little joke there for Jules) are welcome!
Jason
