[nancy2K]

Just returning to the hobby after nearly 20 years and excited to start sharing the work I've been doing over the past few months! (Folks who frequent JoeCustoms (where I'm also sharing my work) might know me from way back as kowalski.)

Going to start what I hope will be a long-lived thread with my take on the Original 13. First up are Stalker, Grunt, and Rock N Roll.

(Note: a lot has changed since I was customizing ARAH Joes back in 2003. Since returning to the hobby, I've taken a lot of inspiration and learned a lot from other customizers on this site. Thanks especially to HissHissFangFang for sharing so much of his process and Steel Brigade and Rob for the incredible amount of exploration they've done with the parts currently available to customizers working with modern era figures.)

Stalker


I initially intended to do a much more comics faithful Stalker built on the stellar Retaliation/50th Anniversary Firefly, but then I saw HissHissFangFang's flawless version of the same concept and decided I needed to do something different.
Stalker, as you see him here, was the last of my OG13 customs to be conceptualized and came together quite quickly, within the past week. In retrospect, the MTF WWII base figure was an obvious choice, but it took me a long time to realize it. To get a distinctive look, I shaved away the collared shirt under the jacket and sculpted a turtleneck commando sweater in its place. (The collar was constructed from the brim of an MTF knit cap, while the rest was sculpted in green stuff and textured with the grip of a hobby knife.) The web-gear incorporates elements of the same Retro Collection figure I stole the head from and bits of a modular belt from MTF.

Grunt


Aside from a change in skin pigmentation, Grunt is the most straightforward and traditional take in the set. Built on Hasbro's most recent update to the standard OG13 sculpt, he's basically the same as their Walmart Retro Collection release. (Because I'm cheap like that, I used the more readily available Stalker as the base for this custom, but painted it to match Grunt's color scheme.) I was browsing available heads when I came across this one from the BFS Zombie series. It just felt very Grunt to me and having seen it I couldn't imagine another possibility.

Rock N Roll



When I started conceptualizing my OG13, I knew I wanted to put a unique spin on them. One of the first alterations I settled on was that RnR would be a woman. I had no idea how I was going to execute this, but I knew I wanted her to retain the basic bio of RnR. Most specifically to the custom, I wanted her to have a body builder physique. I did a lot of research and considered a lot of options before realizing that I had the perfect set of arms already in my parts bin. These Storm Shadow arms not only worked proportionally, but were a perfect skin tone match for the Planet Green Valley torso. (I was unable to match the skin tone when painting the head, unfortunately, and it's a bit out of character that this Californian surfer / body builder should be so pale, but let's not fixate on the negatives.) The rest came together quite quickly. The final touch was the tattoos, which are decals from eBay seller 87spuds. I went with a band of bullets around the left arm and an image of Athena on the right.

[J James]

Pretty cool work.

[BatesDragon]

Really cool stuff here! The interesting thing to me is that they each seem like they're from different eras. Stalker has a WWII vibe, while Grunt has a more Vietnam/Korean War feel, and Rock n' Roll is sort of modern-near future. Not to say they can't fit into your O-13, just that each is original in their own way

Welcome back to the hobby!

[Steel Brigade]

WOW! Hey thanks for the shout out nancy2k!

You're off to a roaring good start! Great takes on the characters & I like your photos (poses/lit background)! My fave here is RnR! I really like her! Planet Green Valley stuff is a bit of a challenge to get at times so it's awesome to see the usage here! The tattoos are a cool touch as well! Glad your posting these with the thought process behind them as it makes for an interesting read! I'm excited to see more from you! =)

[rob]

Hey, cool! Other people know who I am. Like Steel Brigade (who I very much take inspiration from) says, thanks for the shout out!
The mark of a great customizer is the ingenuity they use to create. Using the brim of a knit cap is something I would never have thought of. Also, just like special effects creators, if you’ve done your job right, people won’t notice your work. At first, I thought your Stalker was just a Stalker head on a MTF WWII body. Taking a close look, I see the work you’ve done.
Awesome job!

[AxonRey]

Cool concepts. Welcome back

[Hard-er Master]

A lot of creative stuff going on here! Nice work!

HM

[Itchweed]

These are really nice!

[paokole]

Really cool customs Nancy, it's nice to see you resuming the hobby and posting again! Look forward to seeing more!

[Dreadnok4life]

Very Cool!!!