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09-26-2021, 10:22 AM | #191 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 330
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Quote:
HHFF,
Making a more accurate ARAH-esque Cobra and Cobra Officer were a big deal to me when working on my customs a few years ago. I used the Dollar General figures as the base for both. For the Cobra (trooper), I moved the ammo pouch from the left leg to the right leg. For the knife sheath, I took the boot sheath and trimmed it to two pieces and glued it to the left leg. The greebles on the Cobra's arms are two bullets and a garrote. For the bullets, I trimmed off two bullets from a Roadblock vest, and for the garrote, I made a simple resin cast from a Cobra Bazooka Trooper web gear. I'm probably one of the few that really like the 25th Cobra figures. Even with their smaller helmets, I think they capture that Sunbow look. So, my blue shirt army has plenty of 25th figures in the background. I also really like the Retro figure's torso. It's the fore arms and legs that kill the Retro figure for me, but I think using some 25th legs and some other fore arms that I can make a retro figure look great. I'm with you about the 25th figure's knife sheath, not only does it look cool, it's probably the best feature of the figure. One thing I would like to do with a custom Cobra is to make a removeable gun from the web gear. I have those books with the original design sketches, and if memory serves me correct, the weapon is not an actual (real-world) pistol. It's some other kind of made-up pistol. So, I should be able to take a Star Wars pistol and trim it down to fit a tab holster device. Jason
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'Tank Feedback: http://www.hisstank.com/forum/buy-se...-feedback.html TFW2005 Feedback: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/fredviii.1145024/ Last edited by FredVIII; 09-26-2021 at 10:25 AM.. |
09-27-2021, 11:07 AM | #192 |
Just a fan
Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: NY
Posts: 8,508
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Quote:
Maybe a custom would make it closer to your ideal Cobra Trooper (hint, hint). |
09-29-2021, 12:31 AM | #193 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Kansas
Posts: 981
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As mentioned in an earlier post, my MTF kneepads came in. They were slipped on by removing the lower leg boot part from the upper part of the lower leg (?). I can't remember if I had to heat the kneepads first, but I did so anyway. They're loose around skinny part of the knee joint, but can be stabilized somewhat by fitting the back strap rings around the meatier lower part of the leg. They become loose again when playing and posing, but also can be moved around to cover the knee correctly when settled in a nice action pose [now realizing I should have had a nice action pose photo ready].
20210927_205537 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr The Stalker legs in blue were a little bare before, so the kneepads help break that up. The kneepad style isn't vintage accurate, but neither was the POC version. The Retro Stalker legs has so much more flexibility in posing/playing and the feet and boot articulation let this figure stand way better than the POC version. Note that my top choice is still a tweaked POC version, but I'm looking to develop a good contender with this new build/style (and hopefully encourage others to take things another step). Also shown in the photo are other related texts and development. The figure on the left has modified arms. The upper arms are the Cobra Trooper with the piping carved off (except for the textured band around). The lower arms are extra Retro Stalker arms (leftover from Joe OG13 Rnr/Breaker/Clutch concepts). The sweater texture was removed buy using a round steel file for the grooves, and sanding pads/files are different coarseness (coarser ones first, then incremented to more fine). Right arm was my first try, where I probably sanded down the main creases too much. Left are was the second try where I was more surgical in working the main grooves individually with round steel file. It's not an easy process, but is doable on the lower arms in a few hours--whereas I am still working on an extra Stalker chest after a few weeks. I skipped on the end cuffs to see if it was decent enough without the extra work--but I think the ribs on the cuffs DO need to be removed for the next iteration. The hands and feet were switched to Retro Stalker parts as well. The original feet, hands, and lower arms seemed the most disproportionate parts of the figure, so I figured switching those out at a minimum would make this figure more comparable to modern joe builds instead of fortnite/imaginex styles. I think the figure is improved overall, but now the leg proportions become more glaring, and the upper arms may be a bit too smooth (looks too skintight). 20210927_210956 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Above is the back the Retro Stalker build, showing the matching MTF elbow pads and the back straps of the kneepads. At the knees, you'll see the inevitable paint rub that occurs at almost all the blue painted joints. I haven't worked these joints down at either front and back yet--I'll do this in the future along with some photos to show the process I use. In the meantime, you all don't see the back of knees in my photos anyway, and kneepads can cover up the rubbed down parts in the front. I'm not totally sold on using the elbow pads, but they work and match with the knees. They can also hide the rub wear parts at the back of the elbow joint but may also cause more rub off at the front. Also, the black elbow pads clashed with the previously black arm pouches in my eyes, so I painted the pouches silver (matching the silver color of the vintage figures garotte and bullets, hoping to score a half-point over the 25th and POC versions). Down the road, I'll probably replace the pouches with the more accurate greeblies as done by jlw515, but... Next phase will be trying to sand down the upper arms of the Stalker build, sanding down the cuffs, and switching the upper CT body onto the lower Retro waist and legs, using another Stalker body (would prefer and Grunt body due to the darker base green parts). Any other ideas/wishes/tests, you all just let me know and I'll consider (if I refuse, I'll let you all know why). But note that I want to keep this build in new style, at least 80% of new style parts. I can go back to old modern after I getting of this kick. 2021-09-27_09-33-25 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Easy heat and pop. Thunder thighs and lightning...
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HissHissFangFan(g) Flickr | Facebook GI JOE: T13 O13//1982 1983-? | COBRA: O13//1982 1983 1984 1985-? Last edited by HissHissFangFan; 10-10-2021 at 01:54 AM.. |
09-30-2021, 04:04 PM | #194 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 3,025
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Oh man! Your blue paint job and subtle customs did wonders for the Retro Cobra. You've got me thinking on those MTF knee pads and wondering how they would look covering the Retro Cobra's knees. Hmmm....
Jason |
10-01-2021, 12:38 AM | #195 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Kansas
Posts: 981
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Quote:
2021-09-30_09-36-45 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Without any mods, the kneepads sit low, and don't fully cover the original kneepad. On the Stalker leg, the lower legs were a little thicker and let the pad strap ring rest up higher. The kneepads should probably be glued to original, back to front on the front side. Then the strap ring can be cut off if it sticks out weirdly. 2021-09-30_09-36-35 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr For the picture above, the temporary stuck a leg screw between the back knee and strap ring to fill in the gap, allowing the kneepad to be positioned as the desired location. I threw the MTF matching elbow pads on as well to show how they restrict the bending--can only go 90 degrees. I don't like posing this particular figure in vanilla poses, as that is not it's strength but felt it was necessary here to show how the kneepads look and fit. And I should have but the helmet on but wanted to change the photo up. But: 20210930_220115 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Time for one more photo above, freshly opened CT unmodified and unpainted (oh, that face) but with the kneepads (and temporary filler screws in the back). I forgot how much modding I did in earlier photos, didn't want people to get this figure and order the kneepads with unrealistic expections. Let me know if yall want to see different combos on the modded CT (with helmet, Retro webgear, painted Retro CT lower arms, etc), but be really specific on all the parts. And know that late Saturday night, it may be too late, as I'm pulling that figure apart for new tests. |
10-11-2021, 07:08 PM | #196 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Kansas
Posts: 981
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This again...
2021-10-11_12-13-50 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Close to wrapping up my adventures with WM Retro CT... |
10-11-2021, 07:10 PM | #197 |
Reptilian Ninja
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Jacksonville, Fl
Posts: 15,954
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Did you try to take the head off? I can get it off the neck peg and end up up with the whole thing. Haven't tried warm water.
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B/S/T http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...nja-b-s-t.html B/S/T Feedback http://www.hisstank.com/forum/buy-se...adowninja.html Will trade multiples from my haves for the Scarlet and/or Biggles Jones figures from Crossover Set. Same with Fss 5.0 Jane, FSS 6.0 Dojo, Retaliation Red Ninjas, and Hiya Colonial Marine Figures |
10-11-2021, 07:18 PM | #198 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Kansas
Posts: 981
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I took the head off to trim the head mold around the back, to allow more up range. Heat and pull. If the peg stays with the (usually does with CT, not Stalker), I heat again and pull the peg out with pliers. I also dremel the head hole with a 3/16" engraving ball to make the base whole wider--less or no heating required for later removals.
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10-16-2021, 03:21 PM | #199 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Kansas
Posts: 981
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COBRA TROOPER [RETRO REBUILD]
20211009_140419 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr PARTS: • Helmet, head, torso, webgear, knife: 2021 Retro Collection Cobra Trooper (painted) • Arms, hands, legs, feet: 2021 Retro Collection Stalker (painted) • Elbow pads, knee pads, small armor panel, knife sheath: Marauders Task Force • Paints: Tamiya Flat Blue, Tamiya Flat Black, Tamiya Chrome Silver NOTES: This is my final modification iteration for the Retro Cobra Trooper for now. My goals were to stay with the Retro new build parts (a library of basically two figure builds), replace the more exaggerated body parts of the original build, emulate the original vintage figure, and create overall figure worthy of replacing my previous modded 30th/POC style CT’s. Previous posts showed some incremental mods to share progress of ideas and get feedback and more ideas. PhotoGrid_Plus_1633828753926 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr The first of final touches for this iteration was the addition of the left hip knife and holster. It turned out that the JoyToy thigh wear from a few years—included with various figure sets as well as with the unpainted figure kits—fit well on the Stalker Retro legs once the sculpted-on hip pouch has been carved off. Upper leg construction of both figures is very similar in construction and size. I cut a groove where the MTF knife sheath is located to thin down the whole assembly and glued the pieces together. I replaced MTF knife with the Cobra Retro knife for a shorter handle. Since I had the knife on the hip to match the original figure and card art, I removed the knife location at the left torso harness. The two loops on the harness were cut off, and the exposed holes covered up with an MTF smaller armor panel (large armor panel shown in some photos replaced smaller one for final). The small armor panel was the smallest and thinnest piece available that would cover both holes in the harness. The panel’s peg was cut down to fit into one of the holes to keep the piece secure beyond the glue’s strength. 2021-10-10_04-44-22 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr The second (and hardest) mod of this iteration was sanding down of the Stalker arm’s knit texture. Previous iteration had the lower arms done, this iteration completed the upper arms and cuffs. For the upper and lower arms, I first sanded down the valleys of the major grooves and creases using a pointed and semi-round steel file. The valleys were done first so that they wouldn’t be lost when sanding down the rest of the surface. I found it best to work down every single valley you could see, no matter how slight, and to not be afraid of working it done too deep—when working down the rest of the surfaces the valleys get shallow (sometimes disappearing). After a first pass at the valleys, I sanded down the main surfaces with various non-steel sanding file sticks. Using the coarsest first I went from 100 coarse to 180 medium to 240 fine, finally to a worn down 400 for final sanding (before a final rubdown with felt). 2021-10-11_10-57-08 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr I took multiple passes on the whole process above for each arm piece to get an acceptable finished piece, taking multiple breaks. The precision filing/sanding work wears on the hands and fingers. Also, the plastic is soft, and takes some hard pressure to remove the tiny knit groove lines. The soft plastic also starts to absorb your pressure after a while so you have let it rest for a bit to reform. For my next try, I am testing freezing the pieces makes the process easier and faster. I did the cuffs at the hands last, and at that point wanted to try something different. At the cuffs I did a hybrid process of sanding and filing as described above but dialed that work back, and tried to finish off with Citadel liquid green stuff. This would be the first time really using the product, but may be an alternative to the sanding for rest of the arms. Also, I was not getting good results trying to use regular green stuff or other two-part sculpt material—the thin-set properties of the liquid green stuff worked a lot better for small a texture. 2021-10-10_02-53-34 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Above, the final pictured with his two original father figures. I think the main driver of the final was to swap out those exaggerated “fort-nite” pieces of the original Retro CT (lower arms, hands, boots and feet). The CT legs also weren’t choice. Also, the translucency of the blue plastic overall looked cheaped, especially when bits were left unpainted. I felt the keeping the collar was important (see previous fascist posts), and fortunately the smaller CT torso looks good with the Stalker arms and legs. 20211009_112313 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Above is a comparison shot with preceding Cobra Troopers—modded POC/30th and 25th. Staying on par with the POC/30th was important. Pros and cons with both become more evident here. The POC/30th clothing is sculpted looser and had become a sort of benchmark look for the modern Joe/Cobra figure. However, the neck was sculpted lurching forward instead of straight, and the helmet now starts to look oddly wide and low. The Retro helmet though has a long and tall dome top, but the figure overall looks a lot tougher and sleek without being too smooth. The unmodded Retro figure has too much toddler toy aesthetic, not great for vanilla poses with previous modern Joes. The 25th diaper crotch will never go out of style. 2021-10-10_07-32-21 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Above: penultimate with reference figures/art The extra body accessories were a chance for me to study and emulate the original figure and card art. I never had the original, only versions that came with the 2004 comic packs. When the 25th and POC/30th versions came out, I was never invested in trying to match the original vintage. I only wanted to correct and mod parts for better look and articulation range, and mostly stayed with the 25th look as the basis. I also had the MTF elbow and knee pads on hand to experiment with but never really found a good place to use them. 2021-10-10_11-13-11 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Above is a composite of various iterations from previous posts, with the penultimate in the center (large armor plate on chest harness instead of small). I was basically playing with two different figures simultaneously—Stalker build and CT build—knowing that in the end the final would be a hybrid of the two. Otherwise, the composite is a reference for others interested in modding their own CT’s, based on how far they can go or want to go. Over the next several months, I plan to do at least two more of these builds, one being an Officer using one that I just got this week. I’ll still need to order more kneepads and elbow pads for those additional figures, but will continue to look for ways to improve the arm smoothing process. I'll also consider options for the shoulder gribblies (ammo on left, garotte on right), though nothing clean enough looking lurks in the back of my mind. 2021-10-10_04-09-39 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Above is a comparison of the face paint apps. As produced, the eyes are two wide open and look to closely spaced while the eyebrows are two thick and short. But the sculpt below the paint is really good, including at the face mask. Also the hair is painted short at the sides and burns—making it look like he’s bald even when the helmet is on. 2021-10-10_04-27-41 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Above, I took the image on the left and used a basic photo paint tool on my Samsung to do the corrections virtually. On the right is the actual application of the corrections. Eyeliner drawn in thicker and longer towards the sides (almost beyond the actual sculpt edge). Eyepaint scraped from bottom eyelid to delete white below the pupil and on the lower eyelid. Eyebrows extend further out to the sides. The extended hairline below the helmet doesn’t show directly well, but works with the shadows to reduce side face bare flesh. Finally, inside of the helmet was painted black to reduce translucency through the helmet. 2021-10-11_12-13-50 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Finally, with these new “Vietnam mold” retro figures, I was itching to get do some card art recreations, taking advantage of the increased articulation points and range of movement for these figures. They also pose easier than previous modern shows as they don’t lock up so much at ratcheted increments, and the newer foot articulation (included on some previous modern figures) makes it possible to pose these newer figures without hidden prop support from behind. 20211011_214135~2 (1) by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Final, taken on Samsung 9 phone, edited first in Lightroom, then Google Photos, then back in Lightroom PhotoGrid_Plus_1634010117816 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Unmodded photo, final, previous 30th/POC final version. Back then I didn’t know or use Lightroom as well as I do now—for better or for worse. PhotoGrid_Plus_1634009938408 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Study composite with original Garrido artwork (right from new Retro card). I gave up on trying to match the position of the right leg, as recreating that position kept looking awkward when not side by side with the original work. I was happy with everything else. PhotoGrid_Plus_1634009768047 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr I went through 3 additional tries previously in the last few weeks. For each one, I liked the finished look, but the poses would always bug me after stepping away for a few hours then reviewing. The shortening due to perspective has always been an issue (not always reflected in the original art). When posing, I want the figure diving/driving toward the viewer, but results in little legs in the image (first). When you try to straighten the figure out, the proportions are much better, but the figure looks awkwardly static (third). The fourth finally got a balance of the two that I could tolerate, but had to shift the right leg different from the Garrido art. 20211009_140419~2 (3) by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr Working on this figure for the last few months was nice. We really only have two or four figures to mess with, but there are opportunities with this limited set for other figures (see OG13). It’s also been fun to explore and dissect these new build figures. I got a late start on the Cobra Trooper because of the loose leg issues with my first coupled with its largely unappealing look, but needed something interesting and new to do while we all wait for more of these figures. 20211009_191530 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr 20211009_184009 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr 20211009_191404 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr 20211009_200903 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr PhotoGrid_Plus_1633812365670 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr 20211011_214135~2 (1)~2 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr 2021-10-11_05-59-46 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr |
10-16-2021, 10:01 PM | #200 |
Just a fan
Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: NY
Posts: 8,508
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I'd be interested to see you try to kitbash a Joe Trooper of your own design. As is evident in my collection (see my signature) I like to kitbash trooper type figures. I imagine you'd be able to take that concept and run with it.
Maybe something along the lines of this: https://www.hisstank.com/forum/5446586-post9.html Last edited by AWOL; 10-16-2021 at 10:04 PM.. |
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