[jlw515]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HissHissFangFan

I could probably get the collar lowered even more, but it would probably tempt me to try and carve out adams apple definition and ruin the whole thing. For now I'm happy with the collar height. But lowering it a bit more to match the O13 collar look is intriguing...

I wouldn't fret with it. Remember the original ARAH Duke actually had two collared shirts with the green collar over the khaki collar. So, any torso to date isn't really an exact representation of the original.

Jason

[turner]

Did I mention, you win?

[GI abe444]

Absolutely Outstanding work!

[HissHissFangFan]

Thanks everyone for the great response to these. I honestly don't know if I can match these.

Haven't had enough time to sit down and do any more figure work or painting (Roadblock and Spirit weren't 100% done at the time). But I gave myself time to play and experiment a little with photography--settings and backgrounds (and with a new camera phone mount which allows for steady portrait orientation).

Specifically I wanted to play around with the classic background explosions of the vintage and 25th cardbacks. These backgrounds are almost signatures for customizer greats jlw515 and range-viper. I've been afraid to use them myself for that reason, but also because of the highly contrasting tones of black and white.

But as I look into ideas for phase II of my T13 presentation, I thought what the hell, at least try it out, figure out the best camera setting for potential future use. Duke from this thread seemed like a great test1 candidate.


GiJoe_25th_84-00_Duke_2018-1222b by J Perez, on Flickr

I like the way it came out, so I will get RB and Spirit similar shots when I can get the final touches done on them (and also figure out how to fit Spirit's eagle into the shot!)

[shakka85]

Nice! The pose with the explosion background is a great nod to the the original card art.

-Todd
Shakka85

[germ]

all three of these are awesome! is someone selling a cast of that spirit head?

[jlw515]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HissHissFangFan

Thanks everyone for the great response to these. I honestly don't know if I can match these.

Haven't had enough time to sit down and do any more figure work or painting (Roadblock and Spirit weren't 100% done at the time). But I gave myself time to play and experiment a little with photography--settings and backgrounds (and with a new camera phone mount which allows for steady portrait orientation).

Specifically I wanted to play around with the classic background explosions of the vintage and 25th cardbacks. These backgrounds are almost signatures for customizer greats jlw515 and range-viper. I've been afraid to use them myself for that reason, but also because of the highly contrasting tones of black and white.

But as I look into ideas for phase II of my T13 presentation, I thought what the hell, at least try it out, figure out the best camera setting for potential future use. Duke from this thread seemed like a great test1 candidate.


GiJoe_25th_84-00_Duke_2018-1222b by J Perez, on Flickr

I like the way it came out, so I will get RB and Spirit similar shots when I can get the final touches done on them (and also figure out how to fit Spirit's eagle into the shot!)

Man I'm glad you're working on the logistics of photoing that blast background! I have struggled with different lighting, brightness, saturation, etc. Per our PM, I really think the issue comes down to how close the blast background is to the figure because sometimes you get a reflection of the blast on the figures.

I've even tried taking pics of the action figures on a white background, editing that pic on Photoshop to "magic erase" the background, save the pic as a transparent PNG, then finally overlaying the pic to the blast background.

I did get some kind of digital camera with a tripod stand as a "dirty Santa" gift. Not sure how well the digital camera will par with my Nikon coolpix, but with the tripod, maybe I can get a little more consistent on camera angles, lighting and such.

A word of warning though, that blast background will "get ya" and the next thing you know, you'll be making custom card backs!!

Jason

[nighthawk]

I really wish I can buy a Duke that came like that in a store. That's the one thing Hasbro really dropped the ball on.

[HissHissFangFan]

GUNG HO:

When I originally photographed the 3 previous figures (Duke, Spirit, Roadblock), I wanted to include Gung Ho with the subset as part of my own JoeVerse “Tiger Force”—an unofficial squad of Joes from 83 to 85 without the actual Tiger patterned attire. However that shade of blue that was used for the figure never really worked for me, and none of the blue paints available from my usual brands of choice were ideal. So he got tabled—until recently.

A few months ago my local hobby store started carrying the paint brand AK-Interactive Real Paints—an acrylic lacquer similar to Tamiya, but with a broad range of hues geared for military projects. Included in this range is a very nice selection blues that work great for Joe members. Below, I used RC238 Light Blue FS35414 for Gung Ho, which at the store looked close enough to what I wanted. I didn’t have any figures on hand to do actual comparisons at the time, and there might actually be a closer match available, but this shade works for me.


GiJoe_25th_83-00_GungHo_2019-0727ea by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

With his Gung Ho Bros (one of which did NOT get the office memo):

GiJoe_25th_83-00_GungHo_2019-0727fb by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

I also reworked the eyebrows and the eyes. I mentioned elsewhere//before that I like to use an xacto knife and carefully scrape out the bottom of the irises for a meaner look to my figures. Below is a closer comparison with the original (original photo courtesy of JoeBattleLines.com):


Blazing blue background per the previous Joes:

GiJoe_25th_83-00_GungHo_2019-0727db by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr


GiJoe_25th_83-00_GungHo_2019-0727dc by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

Homage to the card art:

GiJoe_25th_83-00_GungHo_2019-0727bd by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

Vintage filter:

GiJoe_25th_83-00_GungHo_2019-0727be by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

Not really much of a custom with this one. The back and shoulders were sanded down some to get the vest to sit a little lower. Gung Ho is all just paintwork (including more green splotches to the leg camo) to an excellent Hasbro figure that I feel we were extremely luck to get.


GiJoe_25th_83-00_GungHo_2019-0727ga by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr


GiJoe_25th_83-00_GungHo_2019-0727cb by HissHissFangFang, on Flickr

[sbartek1974]

Your mods to his eyes and eyebrows alone brings a more realistic look. Excellent job!