[DerStahlhelm]

Jealous of your custom skills, and your photo skills, as usual.

[HissHissFangFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DerStahlhelm

Jealous of your custom skills, and your photo skills, as usual.

Man, I've been wanting to respond to your comment for a while here, but really didn't know what to say. I'll take the compliment (thanks), but you yourself are top notch. You recent Shipwreck is excellent, and your Cutter is making me strongly consider updating mine using your build (maybe my first Marauder build?). But again, thanks for the compliment DS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shakka85

That is a really cool shot of five of the most iconic Joes! I dig that it's in Black and White, as it makes the picture seem older, like they've been working together for a while. Kudos!

-Todd
Shakka85

Thanks Todd. The pic was not meant to B/W, but reviewing the full color version--seeing how strong the shadows and lights came out--enticed my to try it out. This B/W version showed me a few things:

1. I probably should have flipped Scarlett and Snake Eyes, so that the lighter Gung Ho behind would frame the darker Snake Eyes (and vice versa for Scarlett).
   
2. I become more impressed with the sculpts of these figures with the pictures I take--the scuplting makes my lighting seem more impressive IMO.
   
3. If you look real close, I left the slightest hint of color. I figure Joe fans's minds would take that bit of color and subconciously amplify it or diminish it so see what they needed to see and separate out the figures from the "clump". So if your mind is seeing the actual traditional colors...
   
4. The group pose shown is a copy of one I intended for my Beachhead post, and the other 25th Anniversary year 2007 Joes, which in turn was inspired by Michael Golden's Oktober Guard pinup from Yearbook #2. Below is that original shot (with my soon to be replaced Beachhead), which I don't think works as strongly in B/W, but is my original take with this, and inspired recreating it with the 25th's First Five Box Joes. If anything, the photo below convinced me that the round 25th 2-pack head was not the right call, and change was needed...

2020-05-07_02-28-00 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

[HissHissFangFan]

2020-05-09_01-34-21 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

The photo above was intended to be the closing shot for this Beachhead post, and was taken way back at the end of Dec 2019 when I first “teased” my Wave 2 of this thread. But pics of kuh rupht’s TF Beachhead made reconsider the head last week, and I felt obliged to reshoot this as well as others I had stocked up for this post. In the end, it felt worth it, because I think the 25th Beachhead head used above really wasn’t working as well as I hoped.

BEACHHEAD


20200503_184441~2 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

I always thought Beachhead was one of the coolest figures and characters to come out of the first five years of the ARAH era. Something about the masked Joes hit a chord with us, plus him being a ranger gave him broader appeal//usefulness over more specialized figure/characters. Throw in that Sunbow placed him in upper command and gave him a distinct personality, and you have yourself someone destined for iconic status.

However, I started out collecting Joes back in 1983, and seeing all the early figures/characters being “replaced” by others, starting a bit in 1985 and running full steam in 1986, was a little disturbing for the younger me—especially when updated characters with V2’s wasn’t off the table (ie Hawk, Snake Eyes, Roadblock). Seeing my favorite Joe Stalker technically being phased out like this not only started to dull my interest in Joe, but made me a bit sour on Beachhead—who in many ways was a clear upgrade to Lonzo. The first scene of Sunbow’s season 2 episode 1 only reinforced those feelings.

Luckily, Larry Hama would stay loyal to Stalker, keeping him very relevant in the comics until we got a newer figure in 1988, and as it turned out, decades later the original Joe ranger would as popular and relevant as Beachead. So these days, I myself can embrace Beachhead’s coolness without reserve.


20200503_015609~3 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

Build:
Body, accessories: 2014 50th 3-pack Beachhead
Belt: Cobra Trooper webgear (harness cut off)
Head: 2013 Retaliation Firefly (V27)

Paints: Citadel Base Waaagh Flesh [green]

Build Notes:

For the body, I choose to stay with the 50th build. Recently Pugsley had made the ultimate classic Beachhead, and is truly the most accurate to the original. But I never did have the original, and I am comfortable with the Hasbro 50th build—with a few tweaks.

I think what bothered most of us back in 2014 with this figure was the lack of belt and exposed green shirt below the vest—a result of using the older 25th vest meant for shorter 25th torso onto the newer taller 30th torso. For mine, I used my most readily available belt fodder—the Cobra Trooper webgear. The vest was able to sit lower on the body by sanding down the torso’s covered shoulders, and slightly cutting down the vest’s shoulder straps at the underside. The green belly was still exposed a bit, so I painted the lower torso chest black—and effective cheat.


2020-05-03_08-54-07 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

I repainted the torso a different green only so that I could also paint various head options the same color, and swap them out when I wanted—I really wasn’t sold on my definitive head sculpt to use. Also, I was intending on painting the torso with Citadel Layer Kabalite Green (a closer match to the 50th green), using the Waaagh Flesh as merely a foundation—but the foundation won me over, allowing me to skip another layer of paint (which being a Citadel layer type of paint would be more prone to rub/wear).

One last small tweak on the vest was to move the clasp mold on the lower left, leaving just enough plastic to overlap and glue—giving the final figure a more streamlined and balanced profile.

Below (left to right): POC (modified), 25th 2-Pack (modified green), vintage 86, 50th Anniversary (modified), 25th 2007 (real deal)


2020-05-03_03-48-54 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr
My original intentions for my final display Beachhead were to use the upper body of the 50th build with the lower legs of the 25th. I’m still a big fan of those 25th Beachhead legs—I like the boots, the thigh gear on both legs, the leg heft and height. Unfortunately, the combo resulted in a figure way too tall for my display Beachead, who I always envisioned as normal height. From the pic above, you can see how long the legs and torso pieces are for both 25th and 50th versions to get an idea. In the end I opted for the 50th build for both upper and lower (and not really much of a “custom”, similar to Hawk previously).

The photo above also shows the relative shortness of the the POC build, which is due to short legs (which I first noticed legs when trying to use them on a Tele-Viper Custom). I am still using this POC build for my T13 set, but for a while I’ve been thinking of switching to the 25th legs. When this POC version first came out, I absolutely loved it—but over the years I’ve been more critical of it. Besides the short legs (and head, discussed below), the vest looks awesome (it’s gorgeous), but really prohibits any kind of cool poses with the figure (too bulky). I’ve cut off the can grenades and trimmed the left side to at least get his arms to rest lower for vanilla poses, but have trouble getting him to do anything else.

The pic above shows the various heads I was considering for my display Beachhead, but a head not shown above that was heavily considered was the 25th Shockwave head. Photo below shows my final four heads for comparison:


2020-05-09_03-19-43 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

I think the most popular head (and my choice for a long time) is the POC version (#4), used again for the 50th version. Great sculpt, nice countenance if you repaint the eyebrows. But after a while, the head started looking a little too tall and narrow, maybe due to the absence of EARS. I think this head works great with helmets though (I use it for my O13 Cobra Officer), but I thought it best to look at other options.

After seeing Pugsley’s latest ultimate classic version that used the 25th 2-Pack head (#1), I was pretty set on using that head (up to about last week). It’s definitely NOT narrow. But after multiple photo sessions using this head, it became apparent that this head was just too round and oddly shaped, and I became really unhappy with it.

The Shockwave head (#2) initially looked like a happy medium between narrow and wide that I was looking for. Unfortunately, when finally painted and mounted, the sculpt just didn’t work any better than the other two in my eyes—and not really sure why—maybe the top was always intended to be covered up with a cap or helmet, maybe the eyes.

My final pick, again inspired by kuh_rupht’s recent TF Beachhead, is the Retaliation Firefly head (#3). It had the right size and width and stare—I didn’t do any of the eyebrow or eyelid corrections that I usually do for the display figures. I am really digging this head right now.
The major drawback of this head obviously is the lack of ribbing on the mask. In the end, this drawback was the least offensive to me when comparing all four heads. Ironically, the sweater is not supposed to have ribbing. I only really noticed this recently with Pugsley classic style custom, as I didn’t have this figure as a kid, and all the 25th versions (including reworked art) had the sweater ribbing.
So my final figure is technically inaccurate in two ways for the ribbing, but I like the final visual results better regardless. This may also be why I’m not too concerned about swapping out the thigh accessories for accuracy…


25th 2007 – THE NEXT FIVE:


2020-05-08_11-55-28 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

Continuing my current obsession with 25th Anniversary Redo’s (40th?), I thought these five redo’s would make a nice 5-pack//photo. Discounting the V2 versions of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow of Wave 1, these five round out the first 10 Joes of the 25th, who many consider the top 10 (+/-2?). All here are total rebuilds from their initial 2007 releases--except for Lady Jaye b/c I stubbornly replaced the 50th legs with the 25th ones.

Usually Rangers lead the way. But with Joe lore, it’s hard to top the Sunbow 3 of Revenge of Cobra. But in truth I initially didn’t want Beachhead and Stalker next to each other because they share the exact same figure builds. Looking at the photo after it was taken, I’m actually amazed that that is the case.



“FAMILY PORTRAIT?”



20200504_195909 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

The photo above was inspired by Michael Golden’s iconic pinup of the Oktober Guard for Yearbook 2. There is so much goodness in that Yearbook. Because there is so much Michael Golden Joe art in a single issue. This photo also inspired me to do something similar with the First Five Pack Joe Figures as well (black and white version previewed in an earlier post)


PhotoGrid_1588647581906 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr



FOLLOW THE LEADER(S):


2020-05-07_01-54-47 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

Finally, above is the retake of the first photo of this thread, with the four Sunbow Commanding Joes with my final head choice. Part of me still cringes that Beachhead is there instead of Stalker, but not as much as back in 1986 (and my Sideshow display has it right).


2020-05-07_01-51-27 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr


20200503_184815~4 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

[kuh_rupht]

Thanks for the nod man. Your Beachhead came out great. I agree that this head is lacking the ribbing and is not perfect but the least obtrusive. It does give him that meaner grit look. Big fan bud.

[sbartek1974]

Wonderful photography as always!

Do you plan to do vehicle drivers? I would love to see your photography skills taking on the vehicle drivers along with their vehicles like on the box art.

[shakka85]

That is a great looking Beachhead! I think the 'Retaliation' Firefly head works well, as the size and shape seem to have the right proportions for that body. Even without ribbing, it looks to be the best choice to me. And I will repeat the sentiment of the other commenters, the photography is outstanding!

-Todd
Shakka85

[HissHissFangFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbartek1974

Wonderful photography as always!

Do you plan to do vehicle drivers? I would love to see your photography skills taking on the vehicle drivers along with their vehicles like on the box art.

Thanks, but no vehicles+drivers for me. My photo setup's not big enough, my driver figure/customs aren't that great, and my modern figures really don't fit well in the vehicles. For anything I have done up to now, I've had to take off feet and even whole legs.

And if that weren't enough excuses (!), there's Mate Mylar pretty much owns the vehicle+driver box art recreations. I just love his stuff. Mate Mylar (@matemylar) • Instagram photos and videos.

[HissHissFangFan]

DOC


20200603_202513~3 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

This is a quick 1983 interlude. jlw515 convinced my that 25th Hasbro version of Doc really could use an update, and that using the original vintage Doc helmet wasn't too out of proportion with the modern figure. Though tempted to buy MTF parts for this guy, I had spare 50th Firefly and Flint parts that needed a good home. That, and I ordered a Marvel Falcon head cast from StarWarsGeek and wasn't expecting to have delivered for weeks, but he sent it real quick.

This build is not much different from those of customizers here. I'd say it was a hybrid of builds by elmobfaelnar15 and Oreobuilder, with some other small alterations:


PhotoGrid_1591234708929~2 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

I don't have the vintage version, so my only references were the interwebs and the 25th figure (loose no carback). I was trying to stay faithful to the original, but made some tweaks on purpose that sort of deviate. Feel free to point them out, and I can explain the whys.

More pics later down the road, when I've got more time and energy, and when I jump back to some 1983 updates (currently on slow fixatation with 1986)...


2020-08-17_01-07-30 by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

[zpartikuz]

^^^ very Awesome dude!!!!

[jlw515]

Awesome work on Doc! And thanks for the shout out. Before I get to Doc, I'd like to comment on Beachhead. I think that this custom illustrates one of the examples of where Hasbro has really gotten a character right. Your Beachhead is a simply parts swap with some painting and it looks very close to the original card art and action figure. While I prefer the 25th Beachhead head sculpt with the ribbed balaclava, I think the Retaliation Firefly head is a great second(?) choice and kind of gives a negative effect with the original figure in that the original figure had a ribbed balaclava and smooth shirt, and your custom has the ribbed shirt and smooth balaclava.

Now, moving to Doc. Doc has always been one of my favorite action figures. I think it has to do with the uniqueness of his uniform and that, as a toy, he came with so many cool accessories.

Your custom, again, shows that with the right parts, Hasbro could produce an "ultimate" 50-ish Anniversary-style Doc. Everything you've done here is great, and I must agree that the vintage helmet is the crowning jewel (all puns intended) to this custom. Many of the 25th Anniv figures just look awkward due to the peanut-size heads and small helmets.

I like that the upper legs with knee pads matches Lifeline so that there's a bit of uniformity among the medics. Plus, Doc is gonna need some pockets and tools on the battle field. Honestly, if I had the spare Firefly and/or DOTD Flint parts, I would make a custom Doc similar to this. I am currently very torn on whether to keep updating my G.I. Joe team with MTF figures or try to scrap through with Hasbro parts. I think I've just about convinced myself to re-do my O13 "green shirts" (excluding Steeler) using the Green DG Shipwreck body and swapping out some parts on a couple. So, again, I really like that you were able to make this custom using Hasbro parts.

My only critique her, and it just goes with looking more like the ARAH figure, is not having the rolled sleeves. I can't wait to see more pics, especially of the back of the figure. It looks like you added some paint details to the patches on the arms.

Jason.