Topic: Darth Optimus' Custom Nerdery! STRIDER HIRYU, fully kitted

[Darth Optimus]

Thanks for the support!

WB...blue is yer favorite color, hmmmm?  Stay tuned, then.

The Lin Kuei ninja clan "Frozen Souls" squad is inbound!

[Luke Sprywalker]

Heck yes! That new BAT design is really cool! Love the new head and added bits. I love that you cut down those lower arms. Works great and looks less flamboyant, very nice!

[Darth Optimus]

Thanks, again guys!  Here is probably one of the easiest mods I've ever done.  While parts fittin' in the ol' fodder bin, I came across this maroon vest.  I then pulled out a Zartan cowl and they were the same color.  *IDEA!*  I put them on a DG Cobra Trooper and changed out the arms.  The head is from a DG Storm Shadow, the scabbard and sword are from an old skool Snake Eyes.  I color matched a maroon for more details and threw a little red in as well.  The result is below:

Bloodloss, leader of the mercenary squad Blood Syndicate, currently employed by Cobra.  Rumor has it that Bloodloss was an apprentice of Snake Eyes that went rogue.  Bloodloss himself will not speak of his past.  He employs SE's signature combat style (ancient martial arts techniques combined with cutting-edge technology) so well that Storm Shadow had Dr. Mindbender run a DNA test on him to ensure Bloodloss wasn't SE in disguise, or a clone, offspring or sibling.





Like I said, super simple to make...almost a "no paint kitbash".  Almost.  It's also my first attempt at painting a stand's faction sigil.  It was fun, I may have to do it for the rest of his team.  Anywho...thanks for tuning in.

[Clonehead]

Buddy, that guy looks awesome. It would be a no brainer for me to pick this one up if I seen it on the pegs.

[BlackThorne]

I don't usually like ninjas very much, but this ninja turned out very cool.

[TakeshiInhaba]

Great work, i would buy him if it would be in a regular hasbro series.

[Tamer]

Looks good. Back on the front page.

[Luke Sprywalker]

Awesome stuff Michael! You just can't beat quick customs like this that look so good!

[RebelScum1138]

Really cool figure!

[Darth Optimus]

Hey, Yarders!  Time for another episode of "Darth Optimus' Customs"!  Today we have a "roboty" offering.

First up is a BADJER Trooper from the Joeverse. 

This fig was directly inspired by my all-time favorite customizer, John Mallamas aka Jin Saotome...http://www.jinsaotomesdangeroustoys.com/.  If you aren't familiar with his work, has a look at his site.  He does all franchises, has useful tutorials and does figure reviews.  Anyhow, on to the show!

"First Sergeant's log:  The tech boys have been loosing their collective minds ever since they got wind of the Cobra BAT program.  "Why can't we make robots?  We can make robots!  Please can we make robots, too?" is all I hear, day and night.  After several months, the fervor died down...until Hit 'n' Run brought back intel of two new BAT varieties, the Bat-n (Ninja Type) and the BAT-p (Pilot Type).  Holy cow...you'd think somebody cut the line to their WoW server.  I relented and allowed the nerds to build a prototype Joe android.  They are calling it the BADJER (Battlle AndroiD Joe, Enhanced Recon).  *sigh*  I am willing to let them have their fun as long as it doesn't interfere with the battle with Cobra.  I even went as far as to tell Sci-Fi "If I even THINK that this thing is gonna stage a robot revolution and kill all of humanity, I"ll have Snake Eyes dismember it".  He reluctantly agreed.  End of log entry, Duke out."

BADJER unit 01






The BADJER is made of the following:
Helmet: Old school GI Joe
Head: Superhero Showdown Iron Man
Torso: TCW Magna Droid
Hands: TFU Evo Trooper
Legs: GI Joe 25th Tunnel Rat
Backpack: TCW Snow Clone Trooper
Belt: TCW Clone Trooper
Assorted Pouches, Greeblies
Machine Gun: 25th GI Joe BAT
Underslung Heavy Machine Gun: PTE gun cut down, ammo belt from a Iron Man 2 War Machine

This lil' guy was fun to make!  I may sacrifice another Magna Guard or two to build more.

Next up:
You remember the "Terminator Salvation" figs that Playmates put out a few years back?  Overall they were neat, but lacked articulation.  I had a handful in storage and decided it was time to do something with them.  I hacked one apart and using a small wooden dowel, created simple cut joints.  The points of articulation (POA) on the fig now stands at 14, up from the standard 8.




The extra goody is that the T-700 can now be "sliced up", as our good friend Ryu Hyabusha shows us.

[Wookie-Balls]

Oh yeah loving that T800 Mike! Great, great work! :-)

I could just see you doing a partly battle-damaged skin job with one of those too - perhaps rocking an old school
Joe Uzi???

Great work buddy

[Tamer]

I like the Badjer, but that T800 articulation work is just outstanding. Thank you for sharing it with us. I could definitely see this being used for any figure that needs improved articulation. It works so well for any type of robot that needs blown up too. So simple yet so effective.

I am thinking that what we might need is a super articulation custom contest where you have to take a figure with 5 points of articulation and do some type of treatment like this to get into a pose that needs at least 14 poa. Thanks again for the tutorial and on the front page.

[spudafett]

BATs are probably my favorite thing in the joe-verse.  I love your take on the pilot bat.  I may have to add that to the list of bat variations I need to get done!  I also love the magna guard turned "joe-bat" that's a great idea.  One that you would have thought they'd have done in the cartoon back in the day!

[Mandalore_1992]

Nice work on the Joes , and thank for the tutorial to make the T-700 superpossable

[Luke Sprywalker]

Very ood idea with the T800! Really like the Badger and he write up you did!