[Itchweed]

SB what did you get?

[Steel Brigade]

Itch! I ordered 14 bodies to start with Itch! Pretty much all Contract-Ops! As I have some very specific characters in mind when the new heads drop & didn't want them to be sold out of the bodies I need by then! ;-)

[Itchweed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steel Brigade

I ordered 14 bodies to start with Itch! Pretty much all Contract-Ops! As I have some very specific characters in mind when the new heads drop & didn't want them to be sold out of the bodies I need by then! ;-)

Cool I cant wait to see what you cook up. I wonder when the new heads will hit, because I need em all.

[Steel Brigade]

^^^ I hear ya buddy! I have 7 new figures already complete and a few more near complete, & will be trying to complete as many of the new bodies that I ordered as I can before the new heads drop! I will be making another order tonight to see what I can finish off, then start compiling the next batches of 5, (then another 5, etc.) for the thread! As always thanks for your enthusiasm! =)

[Lifeline 71]

SB are those Flight Ops legs on Evac?

[Steel Brigade]

NEW RECRUITS!!!!!

#161 PARAGON (based on GI Joe ARAH Cloudburst)
Marauder Task Force
Origin: USA
Season 7

*FYI, I have 12 "New Recruits" completed & several more ordered, but I'll be starting the releases off with a mix of a group of 5 that ended the "Great Drought" & started the "Great Restock!" lol... So a lot of the ideas in today's batch have been around in my head/bin for quite some time & are all Season 7 characters!*

I'm always trying to use my parts bin stuff, & I had a yellow remainder torso that needed some purposing! Cloudburst has been on my radar for a bit but I needed to decide on a final build for him, following the look of the ARAH figure & having some modernization ideas from the Club's version + his color choices makes this one really stand out on the shelf! I've had him in my "waiting area" for a while though as MGR didn't send me the waist I ordered for him so he was originally planned a couple batches ago lol.

PARAGON is a member of the MTF'S AIR DEVILS (aka WILD STRIKE SQUAD 3). A last resort ariel squad created to make a final assault on the Grendel Island Gunrunners labs if VINDICATOR'S WILD STRIKE SQAUD 1 & DUTCH'S WILD STRIKE SQUAD 2 maneuvers both go south. The team is made up of 8 members, that also include ATHENA, SKY BUSTER, & CHOPIN. PARAGON started as the MTF liaison tech for the precuring of the the Jet Packs the MTF have been using since the TOKYO DARK mission. PARAGON has been tinkering with the dynamics and has been improving them ever since. They have a new "silent mode" that enables them to glide on fumes for great distances thanks to him. He eventually became so good at flying them that the MTF promoted him to a front line recon soldier. With his current involvement as a now active member, he has formed a new strong comradery with CHECKMATE, SHAMAN, & CALAMITY JANE.

[Steel Brigade]

#162 ATHENA (AIR DEVIL VERSION) (based on GI Joe 25th Anniversary "Pilot Scarlett")
Marauder Task Force
Air Devil Version/Version 4
Origin: USA
Season 7

I thought I wasn't gonna do this Scarlett (after I did the "Terminator Pilot" version) then I still did this Scarlett anyway lol. Fact is, Scarlett is one of my top Joes and I loved this version of her in 25th. But as an "MTF emergency" order figure - I needed to find a way to separate her more, because of my previous pilot version & the Glenda homage that are already in my ranks. I took all of the visual queues from the 25th figure, used the male legs, and then really liked how she turned out after futzing with her for a while & coming up with the German web gear as the final touch!

ATHENA'S piloting skills are well known & are among the best of the MTF ranks. Knowing that the team my have to make one last desperate attempt to compromise the mysterious tech labs and development bases on Grendel Island, she devised and created a ariel strike team to make one last calculated effort in case of mission failure on the land/sea stages. Although the highest ranking officer on the AIR DEVILS team, she takes on more of the role of strategist as she appointed ariel expert SKYLINE as the team's leader. With heavy hitters like VINDICATOR & DUTCH taking the front line's first, ATHENA adds "air cred" to the DEVILS upon deployment as a new team!

[Steel Brigade]

#163 CHARLATAN (ESCAPE ARTIST VERSION) (based on IDW GI Joe comics character "Ronin")
Marauder Task Force
Escape Artist Version/Version 2
Origin: Hong Kong
Season 7

Charlatan is back! One of my first 5 characters finally gets her long overdue 2nd version lol. I had planned on having her in my "Season 2" lineup but kept pushing her forever back, as I was undecided on which of the varying looks Ronin has had, (in her short tenure in IDW), was going to be my MTF homage! I finally went with kind of a lean look for her inspired by the JoeConcepts web page. For those not in the know, Ronin was previously known as Chameleon in the IDW comics, which is why the characters are also linked here. One fun thing with this "parts bin" figure was I used the Contract-Ops legs to give her that baggy pants look on the female waist!

When CHARLATAN was revealed to be a deep undercover agent working for the MTF & infiltrating the GUNRUNNERS, her life was considered over. Stripped and sent to the deepest, dankest hole the GUNRUNNERS could find in their prisons until a proper interrogation & torture session could be performed, CARDINAL was so disenchanted with her betrayal that he just wanted to leave her there to rot, as he could not bring himself to kill the girl he thought of as a daughter. In her time spent in prison she befriended & formed a strong bond with a guard named CHICO that was also in deep cover for the MTF, but he couldn't reveal himself to her & she didn't know that they were both working for the same team. Later he secretly aided her when the lunch tray she was served contained a pair of pants with a universal pick for the locks on her holding cell. When she managed to escape from the prison, she killed 31 of the GUNRUNNERS troops with her martial arts training & escaped back to Hong Kong to meet at a secret rendezvous point, then went to Japan to reunite with the MTF during the mission TOKYO DARK, and was vital in the SPECIAL OPERATION UNDERGROUND IDOL that lead to the capture of RAINMAKER. It is unknown what has happened to BLACK JACK, her former bodyguard & trainer, some say that he was shot immediately & left for dead, but his body has never been found & it is unconfirmed. Later CHARLATAN was assigned as the MTF liaison for the Russian Defense Squad W.A.S.P. when the two forces came to agreement & had members from both teams represent each other on both sides. Now during operation WILD STRIKE she is supposed to aid (AGENT) CHICO after he makes his escape, he will recognize her by the trademark pants he gave her the day that she first escaped.

[Steel Brigade]

#164 AGENT CHICO (based on GI Joe ARAH Chuckles)
Marauder Task Force
Origin: USA
Season 7

I had thought about adding Chuckles to my roster with the gray dress shirt & doing a Night Force (aka Phantom Force) addition first, but when MGR revealed the new light blue dress shirts I saw this as a great opportunity to do a standard addition instead (as I am sure many of us did)... He's been in the works for some time but needed the "Great Restock" to complete him!

AGENT CHICO has been under deep cover with the GUNRUNNERS since the MTF formed and set their sights on bringing the enemy down with the help of inside intel. CHICO was recruited and volunteered instantaneously and was one of 2 agents that remained undercover for years. Starting as a prison guard and moving through the ranks with charisma, likability, stamina, and a right hook that was hard to match, he has seen many of the GUNRUNNERS elite fall from grace. He eventually wound up as SCORPIO'S bodyguard and has managed to get close to both him and his "forever girl" MISTRESS EVE. Now, ATHENA has decided that the last of the GUNRUNNERS elite is at it's breaking point and that it is time to pull CHICO out! He will attempt to escape with years worth of evidence during the OPERATION WILD STRIKE'S climatic battle!

[Steel Brigade]

#165 DRIFTER (ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT VERSION) (based on GI Joe ARAH Collection "Dusty '00")
Marauder Task Force
Environmental Expert Version/Version 2
Origin: USA
Season 7

Continuing with my year 2000 GI Joe characters, the '00 version of Dusty was actually the 1st one I had planned, but had a long wait to get all the parts I needed to complete him with the "Great Restock!" Dusty is one of my favorite Joes, the original figure, (& the 2nd & 3rd versions) being all among my favorites, but this version (4), sticks close to me because of my fondness for grabbing all of the year 2000 characters at TRU ...as well as his rather unique color scheme. Hope you like him as much as I do!

DRIFTER has continued to move up the ranks over the years becoming the MTF's top environmental specialist. Even though he started his military career as a desert trooper, he has pretty much conquered all of the environments possible & has offered his expertise in the key planning stages of the jungle assault for operation "WILD STRIKE!" Now part of DUTCH'S second wave of troops, DRIFTER will help in leading the platoon through the tough wilderness on Grendel Island getting the squad both safely in & out of the unknown!