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#31 |
Mayor of Geek Creek
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Twin Falls, Idaho
Posts: 4,817
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Quote:
I'm glad you had a good experience with O:MF!
Crimson Moon Sleepwalker is my only Monster Force figure thus far, but I'm quite smitten with him! I wrote an essay for Project Action Figure, sort of a review and sort of a kitbashing photo shoot: https://projectactionfigure.com/2025...v=7366ef27aad4 Here are some of my favorite portraits and parts-swaps: And since I won't get paid for a couple weeks and my next payday's "allowance" is already allocated to Classified figures, I slapped together a lazy kitbash of my own Declan Van Helsing, seen here teaming up with Ash Williams (Codename: Boomstick): And here he is being stalked by the Sleepwalker: |
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#32 |
Mayor of Geek Creek
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Twin Falls, Idaho
Posts: 4,817
|
"It's easy to forget, but Louisiana used to be the western frontier..."
Yesterday, my friend Jarred shared that, in his headcanon, "The Lone Ranger carried silver bullets because he was in actuality a Werewolf Hunter," adding that he wants a cowboy on his Monster Force squad. If you know anything about me, you know that I respond to suggestions of cowboys running afoul of Weird Shit with all the calm, reserve, and dignity with which a fourteen-year-old boy greets the sight of boobs, so naturally, I got to kitbashing. This here's Ettienne R. LaFitte of Fer-de-Lance, Louisiana. One of the highlights of his filecard bio from 1983 is, "Gung-Ho moved to New Orleans and won a reputation as a bare-knuckle brawler and knife-fighter to be reckoned with." I am quite happy with this kitbash, which is a good thing, 'cause this was the most difficult custom I have ever put together; some of Hasbro's G.I. Joe Classified figures pop easily apart at the waist with a bit of heat, but hoo boy, Gung-Ho ain't one of them; there was simply no removing the peg from his lower abdomen, so I inelegantly *drilled* it out, ensuring I'll never be able to use him as a traditional Real American Hero Gung-Ho again. I love the garish color scheme of ARAH Gung-Ho, but no regrets! I had assumed, while struggling to put this beast together, that I'd be utilizing him as an original character, but then, during this morning's freezing-cold shoot, I got to musing about cajun cowboys; I could not recall having ever heard about cowboys in Louisiana, but surely they existed. So I decided to keep this big, beefy bastard as Gung-Ho; it's just that he's a monster hunter now. I also decided to google "cajun cowboys old west," and the first result was Chris Turner-Neal, writing for Country Roads in 2013. (I'll drop a link to his article at the bottom of this post.) Turner-Neal's essay, titled simply "Louisiana Cowboys," concerns Conni Castille's documentary, T-Galop: A Louisiana Horse Story. (The full documentary is available on YouTube.) Per Turner-Neal, the documentary explores "Creoles and Cajuns, work and play, history, tradition, and memory; Creole cowboys working horses to a zydeco beat; small-town Cajuns keeping medieval traditions alive; revelers celebrating courir de Mardi Gras from a saddle; and Louisiana jockeys snagging purse after purse on the racing circuit, including at their own Evangeline Downs in Lafayette. Throughout it all, we come to know a bunch of people having a great time celebrating their heritage and their horses." Here is another rousing excerpt: "It's easy to forget, but Louisiana used to be the western frontier; as late as the Civil War, the struggle for control of the Mississippi and its tributaries and cities was known as the Western Theater. When today's Louisiana was just the relatively accessible tip of the sprawling French empire in North America, French colonists and traders salivated at the potential richness of the plains just inland from the coastal swamps and bayous: the flat, green land was perfect for raising cattle and horses, and by the 1730s, south-central and southwestern Louisiana were dotted with trading stations to facilitate the exchange of horses and cattle between the French and Native Americans." Would you like one more quote from the essay? Sure you would: "These cowboy-Indians have persisted until the present day, still raising and riding horses in the flatlands of Louisiana. At a time when many local cultures seem to be on the ropes, pummeled by the demands of a changing world, this multiracial horseman identity still thrives." Here's Gung-Ho teaming up with Roadblock, who I've also upgraded a bit: While we're here, I've got two more kitbashes to share. First up, Sigma 6 Lt. Stone: I intend to try a Winter Soldier arm on him, but if that doesn't work, I'm content with this one, which appears courtesy of Studio Series Brawn. Finally, I like the Classified Quarrel well enough, but I find the leotard distractingly silly, so I've been trying other parts. This one gives me Jinx-joined-the-team-in-'82 vibes: Hope ya like the latest round of silliness. Here's that article: https://countryroadsmagazine.com/art...siana-cowboys/ Last edited by Monte Williams; 01-18-2025 at 05:02 PM.. |
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#33 |
Mayor of Geek Creek
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Twin Falls, Idaho
Posts: 4,817
|
I frequently admire the kitbashes and customs of my fellow toy enthusiasts, but on occasion, it is not enough to merely admire; sometimes, I see someone else's creation or idea and think, "Oh, man, I have to try my hand at something similar."
Such was the case a month ago, when I first saw this rad jungle crew from a fella on Facebook who goes by the familiar-to-Joe-fans name of Lonzo Wilkinson: So fun! For weeks now, I've been slowly amassing/creating my own jungle-ops team based on Lonzo's; one of my figures is a direct copy of his (Star Wars Black K-2SO), and while I used a different primate than he did (I actually don't know what ape he used, but it looks great!), I obviously took a lot of cues from his. Still, I like to think my crew feels like a Geek Creek aesthetic and premise as well as a ripoff. Inspired by Lonzo's example, I also bought the Marvel Legends Hydra Stomper, which I've since weathered heavily. But I'm using mine in another context, not on my jungle team. Note also that Lonzo's crew includes figures that utilize custom-painted non-Classified heads that I hope to acquire and likewise plagiarize. Also, I may have already shared that photo of Lonzo's customs earlier in this thread, to provide context for my Shooter head-swap, Ghost, new portraits of whom appear below. Here's my jungle-ops crew: I popped my Marvel Legends Heimdal head onto my weird kitbashed Cobra Island Roadblock: I'm using him as Stalker, only I've decided the team just calls him by his real name. That way, I can use the figure as a tribute to the Lonzo who inspired my team with his team. I haven't settled on a group name yet, but for now I refer to them as Lonzo's Crew. You've seen Skinwalker before. Here he is wielding a macabre trophy: I'm thinking that Predator wasn't even what drew them into the jungle; instead, they were on a Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now-style mission to retrieve one of their own who is rumored to have lost his way in the depths of the jungle wilderness; you may recall that in my absurd headcanon, Outback became a Hulk. Here's Skinwalker running afoul of Stuart Selkirk: Two more familiar faces, Doctor Rockwell and Ghost: Up next, the aforementioned K-2SO, who I'm utilizing as G.I. Robot from Creature Commandos, although I'd like to eventually give him a different name: Up next, Masterverse Moss Man, who I first used in an Animal Warriors of the Kingdom context before deciding my jungle team would benefit from the addition of a team member who is the jungle. I call him Green Lung, after the stoner metal band: I like how he pairs with individual members of the team, but when you get the whole crew together, he stands out so much that it's distracting, so I mostly only photographed him on his own or with one or two teammates: Here's how he looks with Atrieu of House Feralist, from Animal Warriors of the Kingdom: In closing, I just spent this month's hobby funds; everything I bought is either G.I. Joe Classified or something I plan to use in a G.I. Joe context, so this thread will be around for a while. Last edited by Monte Williams; Today at 12:47 AM.. |
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#34 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: midwest
Posts: 3,748
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I intentionally avoid the Classified Series customs so I never get bitten by the bug.
So I'm sidestepping the figures (yes, they're perfect) to comment on the photography. It's outstanding. You have an eye for composition and obviously the technicals skills needed to get the compositions. Really wonderful stuff. |
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#35 |
Mayor of Geek Creek
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Twin Falls, Idaho
Posts: 4,817
|
Belated thanks for the kind words, Clockwise! I resisted Classified for quite a while myself, but wow, when I caved, I caved hard.
Lately, the weather in these parts hasn't been cooperating; I require cloudy days for my photography. Consequently, I've got nearly a dozen kitbashes waiting to be photographed. But this morning, I did manage to capture portraits of a few of them. Up first, weird riffs on old kitbashes from my 1:18 heyday, The Red Queen and The Red Shadow: That amazing hooded skull is from the McFarlane Toys Diablo IV Rend Barbarian and Blood Necromancer two-pack. Unfortunately, the figures (statues, actually) are much, much smaller than I'd anticipated; without that helmet atop the cowl, it looks way too small for a Classified body. On the bright side, the two-pack is only $11 via Amazon. The spiked shoulder pad on The Red Queen is also taken from one of the figures from the two-pack. Moving on, I always preferred Spawn in his gothic flavor, but it bugs me when torso articulation cuts across a pattern, such as Spawn's 'M' logo; the places where the parts of a given logo meet always become misaligned, which proves distracting in photos. So when I saw the new Call of Duty Tactical Spawn, I knew I had to have it; not only do his pouches and webgear obscure the torso joint, but his military flavor means I can use him in a G.I. Joe context! Dig the Spawn insignia on his shoulder pad: I've now decided my Cobra Island Roadblock is Al Simmons; in my headcanon, Simmons was a Joe (or perhaps part of Cobra?) before he was killed and went to Hell to make a fateful deal with Malebolgia. The following photo makes no canonical sense, but I wanted to capture them together for giggles: To close, here's a proper portrait of Clown, who is lurking in the background of one of the photos above: |
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