[HissHissFangFan]

[05-28-18 Note: Breaker should have followed Rock`n Roll, then Grand Slam, if you're keeping score. I guess I got overexcited for this guy...]


8) GRAND SLAM
I’m sure we can all agree that Grand Slam is THE GREATEST G.I. JOE FIGURE/CHARACTER OF ALL TIME, and A TRUE GRAND SLAM FOR THE LINE if there ever was one. In the comics, Hama knew this and had to bottle him up after the epic mano e mano takedown of M. Bludd in comic issue 17 (and GS was holding back), and quickly prop up Snake Eyes four issues later. In the cartoon world, Friedman and later Dixon would not fall into that trap, and would wisely stay way clear. In the toy world, we would get a commemorative SILVER edition just one short year removed from his premiere. And lastly, how fortunate for me that he would be the first GI Joe figure I ever owned—he effectively halted my Star Wars collecting when I was a kid.

Given his history, I was SHOCKED that for the 25th Anniversary, GS would show up as a limited Target release, with a strange choice of vehicle for pairing. And they seemed to forget his stand. And Flash looked somewhat exactly similar to him. Well at least now, they shared the same head sculpt—he would be able to continue is GRAND SLAMMERING in the modern age with additional stealthery!


GiJoe_O13-GrandSlam-Classic25th_2017-1028b by J Perez, on Flickr

Build:
•All: FSS Grand Slam
•JUMP Back: Target Ultimate Battle Pack Stalker
•Visor: 25th 3-pack Skyduster
•Webgear: 25th Snow Serpent, sans front parachute pack, with 25th Zap belt holster glued on
•Pack Control Arm: DVD set CLAW

Paints:
•Gloves, boots, trim: Testors Flat Black
•Padding: Citadel Runefang Steel

Notes:
A Target exclusive GS painted similar to this version worked fine for me for many years, but I really dug the molded shade of green of the FSS version, so ended up paying up for that 13th mystery figure (ended buying another to keep for an orange pad version). Also I think that the FSS version actually came out a little shorter, so I didn’t do the shorter leg mod for this final version that I did for Flash. The Runefang steel and black trim results in a less shiny look overall. The smoky clear visor was used to give all the visor guys a unique color/look.

The extra webgear felt appropriate for the heavy JUMP pack, and helps hide the dreaded torso joint. The parachute was stripped because it made him look just a bit too geared up for the streamlined O13 look I was going for. The JUMP pack control arm was something I always associated for real life jet pack prototypes during the time period. For his head, there are probably better options, but the original works for me on GS, and not too many other heads fit the small helmet required for the 25th visors.


GiJoe_O13-7GrandSlam_2018-0418b by J Perez, on Flickr

The desert versions would basically follow the same build and paint patterns as the classics, but switch out the JUMP backs with the FSS Grunt glider backpack, continuing the homage of the original Falcon glider. The comic versions again follow my classic builds, but switch up lower leg boot pieces.

The desert and comic 25th versions use the 25th Steeler heads. Those heads were pretty good, just never screamed “Steeler” to me, so I tried them here, and like how they work for GS. The comic O-ring version uses a Valor vs Venom or Spy Troops Duke head I had available at the time (with modified peg to torso), and a 2004 Comic Steeler helmet for a reuse and fit that worked out surprisingly well. For my “vintage” O-ring version, I went with a repainted 1984 Ripcord head for some head diversity.

I retain a pair of orange pad classic versions, O-ring and 25th, outside of the 7 sets I’ve shown. They come in handy when feeling more nostalgic, especially when paired up with my old trusty HAL—which, if you didn’t know, could also fly around and blow up quickly aging Star Wars figures with ease.

No last minute changes to these guys. So here’s a Grand Slam’s Greatest Hits Jam:

GiJoe_O13-GrandSlam-BonusPic1_2018-0527f by J Perez, on Flickr

[jlw515]

I never owned a Grand Slam (or HAL or JUMP) as a kid. So, I never really could appreciate this figure as a kid. Always thought the HAL looked super-cool. And as much as the JUMP pack was used in the cartoon, I always wanted one.

Great job on your modern updates. I love that you added the throttle/handlebar to the JUMP pack! Plus that Grand Slam greatest hits photos is just amazing! I like how it captures the various aspects of this Artillery Expert.

Jason

[nighthawk]

Grand Slam's another home run here. Great job!

[HissHissFangFan]

7) BREAKER

Who doesn’t like Breaker? In the comics, he was like the go-to third wingman, and got a lot of run during the first 2 years. He also got good use in the cartoon—at least in the first mini. And his vintage figure was pretty good. Maybe the lack of rifle or pistol hurt him in this category, but the first Accessories Battle Pack would quickly remedy that (and the grey gun colors of this set didn’t scream “cheap replacement” like later packs and their awful colors). Though I never had him as kid, If I had to whittle down the O13 to an Essential 7, Breaker would definitely be in that pack. It feels like he would be the first choice for all the O13 A-listers.

I think the biggest excitement I had about this figure when it was revealed was that would be a based on the comics, in that he wouldn’t have the full beard and that he’d have his trademark bubblegum bubble—a nice and welcome change from previous iterations. I kinda felt bad for those who had the original figure and/or were more cartoon oriented, but the comic no-bearded Breaker was more interesting for me—and let the beard be Rock ‘n Roll’s signature feature. Honestly, Hasbro should have changed the head to a Clutch head for the RAM release to satisfy everybody.

I didn’t hate the body use on this figure as much as I did on Rock ‘n Roll, which used the exact same parts except for head and helmet. Later Breaker releases would use improved shorter arms, and his overall height (helped out by the larger head and helmet) didn’t work against this character. Therefore most of my tweaks were personal preference tweaks more than fixes.


GiJoe_O13-Breaker-Classic25th_2017-1028b by J Perez, on Flickr

Build
•Body, helmet: 25th Comic 2Pack Breaker (except per below)
•Upper legs: 25th Armadillo Steeler
•Head: Retaliation 3-Pack Mouse
•Webgear, headset: 25th Comic 2Pack Breaker (webgear repainted)
•Backpack: vintage Breaker, modded back peg
•Weapon: Mac10 (POC Desert Battle Snake Eyes)

Paint:
•Webgear, boots, straps, retouches: Testors Flat Black
•Buckles, Knifeholder: Citadel Leadbelcher, Citadel Runefang Steel

Notes:
Upper arms shaved at bit at the elbow for increased range. I didn’t mind the longer sleeve length of the Duke figure, though it didn’t exactly match the original vintage figure, and was preferable to using the beefier forearms used for Rock’n’Roll. Upper legs were switched out, because the Duke ones lacked the wrinkles added leg straps and accessory detailing that were becoming the norm for the 25th aesthetic.

I wanted a different portrait then the one given by Hasbro (no offense Aaron Archer! Aaron Archer To Attend NJCC Sunday August 17th | New Jersey Collectors Con) , and found a worthy substitute in the Mouse portrait. It fit the large Breaker helmet (needed for the comm headset) and had the right facial expression I envision for Breaker. Like the Hasbro 25th version, I went with a 5 o’clock shadow comprise between the full beard of the cartoon/toy and the shaven look of the comics. Also, I love the bubble gum accessory, but didn’t like the way it blocked the face for most views and pictures, so that accessory would have to find a different home (oh, but where?).

I felt Breaker finally needed to have an O13 signature weapon, apart from pistols and standard M16s. I felt the MAC 10 would be perfect, since it was relatively small, and was called out on his original file card (another reference weapon, checkmarked off the list!).

In earlier versions, I painted the figure Vallejo Olive Drab (unexpected dark and almost brown, and not as green as I though the name suggested), and later, a dark grey, before I had an extra Steeler for the green molded upper legs. The darker and/or grey colors harkened back to the cartoon coloring, but my preferred head sculpt wasn’t cartoon based, and the figure stuck out too much from the other green based figures. So Breaker got the 25th default mold green in the last few years. Finally, I try to add as much secondary color (black here), as “naturally” possible for all the 25th Classics to break up all the green. This would be a general 25th visual style preference of mine, which overrides a strict reproduction of the vintage figure.


GiJoe_O13-7Breaker_2018-0416b by J Perez, on Flickr

The desert o-ring pretty much follows the vintage classic and keeps the original head, whereas I used a repainted vintage Ace head for my o-ring. The desert 25th follows my classic 25th build, but uses a repainted Clutch mold (actually from POC Lift-Ticket) for the classic bearded look, serving as an alternate replacement for my classic 25th whenever I’m in the mood.

The comic o-ring, my first kitbash back in 2004 aside from the Hawk arm replacement, consists of arms from 2004 Comic Pack “Classified” Snake Eyes, head from 2004 Comic Pack Duke, remaining body parts from 2004 Comic Pack Breaker, headset and backpack from vintage Breaker, helmet from vintage accessory back #2, with bubble gum from 25th Comic Pack Breaker added later. The comic 25th version uses the same build as my classic 25th, but keeps the originally packed head. This one features a Colt rifle, which I use to have for my classic 25th before we got those neat Mac-10 molds from POC desert(/winter?) Snake Eyes.

No last minute changes for Breaker, nothing figure-wise to really highlight, and Rock ‘n Roll took his RAM. So for a bonus pic, why not a homage to that iconic scene/panel of Comic that was included with the 2008 Breaker/Destro pack? Issue 17 or 31—I forget…


GiJoe_O13-Breaker-BonusPic1_2018-0525b by J Perez, on Flickr

[jlw515]

Nice! Man I am really liking the Desert version of Breaker the best! Also, great choice using the Mouse head.

Hey, back to Grand Slam, do you have a pic of how you attached the throttle arm-thing? Thanks.

Jason

[HissHissFangFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nighthawk

Grand Slam's another home run here. Great job!

Thanks NH. And I can't believe I missed that home run pun. Good save! I'll also note here that using the 2000s DTC Grand Slam head similar to what you did has been VERY tempting, but I cant sacrifice my favorite figure of that era. This reminds me that I should also pick up the Sigma 6 version...

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlw515

Nice! Man I am really liking the Desert version of Breaker the best! Also, great choice using the Mouse head.

Hey, back to Grand Slam, do you have a pic of how you attached the throttle arm-thing? Thanks.

Jason

Jason: Thanks. Sounds like you're a bearded Breaker guy! I ain't judging--OreoBuilder's latest Breaker custom almost got me switched.
For GS, no picture of the handlebar attachment needed. It's not attached, just tucked in under the arm! The jump pack nicely conceals the lack of connection. HHFF exposed!

[jlw515]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HissHissFangFan

Jason: Thanks. Sounds like you're a bearded Breaker guy! I ain't judging--OreoBuilder's latest Breaker custom almost got me switched.
For GS, no picture of the handlebar attachment needed. It's not attached, just tucked in under the arm! The jump pack nicely conceals the lack of connection. HHFF exposed!

Yeah, I prefer the beard! I always thought the bubble gum was kind of lazy drawing. Also, when the 3-3/4" figures were first advertised on t.v. when they said, "Here comes G.I. Joe" and they showed Breaker, I thought it was an "Star Wars" sized action figure of G.I. Joe. A friend had to show me that his name is actually Breaker.

I had a sneaking suspicion that the handle was a "tuck-job!" LOL! Very clever!

Jason

[FlintWO2]

You know the nostalgia these customs evoke is great! It takes me back to 1982 and makes me feel like the wide eyed 8 year old kid I was. I love them!

[HissHissFangFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlintWO2

You know the nostalgia these customs evoke is great! It takes me back to 1982 and makes me feel like the wide eyed 8 year old kid I was. I love them!

Thanks! I'm also getting nostalgic about 2007 and the 25th line: nostagia squared. When they get that 6 inch line finally going, that will be like nostagia times infinity, squared!

[HissHissFangFan]

9) GRUNT

He comes Grunt! He’s the visual icon of ARAH, his image stamped on all kinds of toys and other merchandise, as well as on the first 100 issues of the comic. He was the logo, the Jerry West of G.I.Joe. And as a kid, I just wasn’t interested in his figure or character.

I won’t call him “boring”. I think the right word is “basic”. Everything about him, from his figure MOS to his codename, from his file card and profile quote to his figure build and accessories: all basic, representing the everyman Army soldier and keeping in line with the creators’ intentions of him embodying the initial underlying vision of the line. Yet the overlying spirit of the group was promoted to be a highly specialized mobile strike force, and in the comics a counter-terrorist Delta strike force. So, he’s totally G.I.Joe, and so NOT G.I.Joe at the same time.

One can’t really knock on the early figure. His parts were as good as any other figure, he wasn’t short on accessories with the all-purpose M16 and rucksack. His filecard was as detailed as any other. I guess with Grunt, it’s all about preference, especially as a kid with 3 and change in your sock, having to choose among 9 carded figures available.

In 2008, there was no picking and choosing for me: I was going to have an updated complete OG13, including Grunt whether he came carded, in a comic pack, packaged with a repainted Pogo, or whether he was available in an TRU exclusive 3-pack with another same old Duke and an interesting Hawk and weird tube packaging. I sweated this one out not thinking I’d find him in stores, but I got him, and was…not as disappointed as I thought I would be? Head used twice before already, off-model stubble beard, strange green shade, arms that didn’t allow for two-handed grip of the rifle—all that aside, I didn’t high expectation for the figure. And one more off the list.

Making an improved Grunt would be fairly easy, common and standard among a lot of Hisstankers—especially when the greenshirt Duke was released in the comic two-pack. So there’s nothing too unique or special about my final version. Which is fine by me, going back to that “basic” underlying vision that is Grunt.



GiJoe_O13-Grunt-Classic25th_2017-1028b by J Perez, on Flickr

Build:

•Body, webgear, 25th Comic 2Pack Duke, painted
•Lower legs: 25th Duke/Breaker/RocknRoll/Steeler
•Head: POC Kickstart, hair repainted
•Helmet: Resolute Comic 2-Pack Shockblast, painted
•Weapon: M16A2 (???)
•Backpack: 25th Gung Ho, painted

Paints:
•Body: Testors Olive Drab
•Webgear, backpack: Citadel Dryad Bark
•Pouches: Testors Green Zinc Chromate

Notes:

The original intention of this figure was to use the comic pack Duke as originally painted by Hasbro—as so many have wisely done. But I switched to a larger head thus a larger helmet was needed. Rather than use the huge Breaker helmet, I went with the Shockwave helmet (same helmet that came with Zap), and just repainted all the greens to match. It’s too bad Grunt was released just before Kickstart/Airborne headsculpt and Zap helmet pieces were available. Later and different releases would ultimately utilize these pieces (helmet for FSS tan, head for 50th Crimson Strike).

I am not sure where the M16A2 came from, as I picked it up loose. Since I’ve given my Zap and Short-fuse the standard issue M16A1 mold, I wanted something a little unique for the original bearer of the M16. I was tempted to use the Sgt. Airborne M4 (such a great sculpt), but felt that it wasn’t 1982-1983 enough. Thankfully, the M16A2 works for that time period, and looks pretty sharp with its unique but accurately long barrel.


GiJoe_O13-7Grunt_2018-0417b by J Perez, on Flickr

Oy…not much to described here: the easiest set to do! Desert versions are the Hasbro released versions, with minor paint touchup, and the Sgt Airborne M4 for the 25th version. The 2004 Comic o-ring Breaker is and always was Grunt, right? The Comic 25th is a repainted 25th Comic Pack Hawk—the first one of the set that I did before going whole hog OG13. I did him and a Cobra Trooper as early generic Joe vs Cobra comic style then-and-now, back then. After doing the full set, I did an extra to keep with that Cobra Trooper/Greenshirt 2x2 pack.

More than anything, Grunt is a visual icon for G.I.Joe. So my Grunt bonus pic is in honor of some of the most iconic images:

GiJoe_O13-Grunt-BonusPic1_2018-0528b by J Perez, on Flickr