G.I Joe customs and Kitbashes

[PantherCult]

I wish there were a couple more female bodies to use for kitbashing in this line. It's really Baroness, Lady Jaye and Scarlett and that's it. The movie figures are a little smaller and not as well suited but doing 4 or 5 head swaps onto the Lady Jaye body looks really repetitive.

[pulpy fiction]

I wish there were a couple more female bodies to use for kitbashing in this line. It's really Baroness, Lady Jaye and Scarlett and that's it. The movie figures are a little smaller and not as well suited but doing 4 or 5 head swaps onto the Lady Jaye body looks really repetitive.

If you need a great fit as a blank base body, Quake is great and fits for scale, articulation style, and aesthetic.
She comes with 2 heads, one with a communications ear piece, and the other I used as a lady jaye head ( i did a few washes and some paint touch ups to her face to match the body's skin colour). It has a comic look like a J Scott Campbell version. she also has swivel biceps, gloved trigger hands, and techno gauntlets that fit the look of original classified.



Perfect sneak in to fit your collection. I'm thinking about a female cobra trooper in the 80's style (I already tried my hand at a classified inspired version using a ml movie wasp as the base, but this an already perfectly base blue base body), or then there is the complete opposite, where i was thinking a female g.i. joe green shirt.
Any suggestions on that out there? which do you folks prefer, Retro Cobra Trooper or G.I. Joe Green Shirt for this quake base?

[PantherCult]

I see it... but currently the 4 SHIELD ladies I have are going in to my SHIELD display with some head swaps. Also, the GI Joe aesthetic tends to be less form fitting than with Legends. That SHIELD agent might work for a character in a wetsuit, but looks too smooth standing next to classified counterparts (at least to my eye)

[pulpy fiction]

I see it... but currently the 4 SHIELD ladies I have are going in to my SHIELD display with some head swaps. Also, the GI Joe aesthetic tends to be less form fitting than with Legends. That SHIELD agent might work for a character in a wetsuit, but looks too smooth standing next to classified counterparts (at least to my eye)

I don't know. I have it with a movie wasp head standing in waiting to be worked on, with my classified figures, and i don't find it stands out. If you did though, you could just sculpt seam lines, wrinkles/cloth bunching and etc, or swap some parts to get the aesthetic your looking for. It's kind of a blank body, and a blank canvas for customizing. That's the point, its not going to all ready look like a complete figure, you have to do the work to make it fit the line.

[pulpy fiction]

I see it... but currently the 4 SHIELD ladies I have are going in to my SHIELD display with some head swaps. Also, the GI Joe aesthetic tends to be less form fitting than with Legends. That SHIELD agent might work for a character in a wetsuit, but looks too smooth standing next to classified counterparts (at least to my eye)

I don't know. I have it with a movie wasp head standing in waiting to be worked on, with my classified figures, and i don't find it stands out. If you did though, you could just sculpt seam lines, wrinkles/cloth bunching and etc, or swap some parts to get the aesthetic your looking for. It's kind of a blank body, and a blank canvas for customizing. That's the point, its not going to all ready look like a complete figure, you have to do the work to make it fit the line.

I do agree Quake would be a great base for something like a wetsuit, you made me think that this would be a good start for a Joe diver, maybe even the basis for building a cobra eel?
So since that figure didn't catch your eye, I saw this might work for an option:

https://hasbropulse.com/collections/pow ... low-ranger
I would try to change the belt for sure, and make a few mods just to start, but I believe that belt is connected to the separate skirt part, so it could be probably be removed for a completely different look. I love that she's wearing something that looks like some kind of web gear harness, that would totally fit the Joe look. She's got double jointed elbows and bicep swivels for the win, and I think this line shares some design aesthetics, as well articulation style with classified. I've even seen parts swapped with classified figures. That being said, I think there is something here for Joe custom fodder, and it falls in line with the design aspect you were discussing earlier.
I don't collect this line at all, but these are designed well, and I think their parts fit with Classified. Too bad this figure doesn't come out until next spring.

[Super Cracked]

So, do we really have a dedicated thread for Joe customs, as part of the overall Joe Topic? If so, cool! If not, and the Mods think this here would be better off in the actual Custom forums, then so be it. But, until then, here's my latest update:

[Super Cracked]

Just finished a couple Spirits & Freedoms. What do ya think? I scratch-built a couple things, did a wash & dry-brushing, added a soft-good backpack and a tactile set from Grid Iron (love them!).

[PantherCult]

So since that figure didn't catch your eye, I saw this might work for an option:

https://hasbropulse.com/collections/pow ... low-ranger
I love that she's wearing something that looks like some kind of web gear harness, that would totally fit the Joe look. She's got double jointed elbows and bicep swivels for the win, and I think this line shares some design aesthetics, as well articulation style with classified. I've even seen parts swapped with classified figures. That being said, I think there is something here for Joe custom fodder, and it falls in line with the design aspect you were discussing earlier.

I love this suggestion and think you are right - it does a nice job of fitting as a usable base. I may have to pick one up to give it a try. The question now is do I wait and hope this hits a clearance price like so many of the pink rangers have, or do I just bite the bullet and order her at full price?

[pulpy fiction]

I love this suggestion and think you are right - it does a nice job of fitting as a usable base. I may have to pick one up to give it a try. The question now is do I wait and hope this hits a clearance price like so many of the pink rangers have, or do I just bite the bullet and order her at full price?

That's a tough one, I don't collect Power Ranger stuff, so I don't know what availability and demand is like for these.
ANY EXPERTS OUT THERE?
Just like all Hasbro stuff at original retail price, it's going to be a little more on the pricey side, so if you could get it at discount, that would be great. I've never seen these on discount anywhere, but I'm not actively searching either. If you find it on discount at an online retailer that does international shipping, please let me know. I want one or a few, I have some ideas as to what I would make this into.

[pulpy fiction]

Just finished a couple Spirits & Freedoms. What do ya think? I scratch-built a couple things, did a wash & dry-brushing, added a soft-good backpack and a tactile set from Grid Iron (love them!).

Nice work! These mods make a great figure amazing! I'm especially digging the ties at the end of the pants/top of the boots you did. A nice nod to the original figure.

[The Ghost]

I got a batch of Joes in a deal. I was keen for a Roadblock but probably wanted the first version the least... just didn't really jive for me. So I modified him with some different accessories.
- Shirt from WWE Ultimate Rock
- Backpack from a Star Wars Black Series Jedha Patrol Stormtrooper
- Beret from Flint
- Rifle from my bag of weapons, can't even remember where it was originally from.



The first two items were just stored accessories, so this worked out well!

[Big Bad Voodoo Lou]

At the end of ever year, I make the same joke on Facebook about how many (action) figures I brought home in 2022. This year I refrained, but my last (action) figure of 2022 arrived today, for a custom project I mentioned a few weeks ago.

For the first time since 1995, a new Grifter action figure came out this year, but I didn't like it. The head sculpt was great, but the McFarlane DC Multiverse figures are 7", a different scale than most of my collection (6" DC Universe Classics, DC Direct, Marvel Legends, and G.I. Joe Classified). Plus, the McFarlane body had limited articulation, the gunslinger character didn't come with any guns, and those goofy-looking bright red gloves would have looked so much better if they kept them black, like in the original preview art. (See below.) At least I got it for $8 in an Amazon sale, which was over half off.


Today I did the cheesiest, easiest custom figure ever by popping Grifter's head off and putting it on a G.I. Joe Classified "Alpha Commando" Snake Eyes body, which I thought would be perfect for a more tactical look. I would have done this almost two weeks ago, but the eBay seller sent me the wrong Snake Eyes, and I had to ship it back to him first. But he admitted it was totally his mistake, and he was cool enough to give me a full refund and send the right figure completely free, which I couldn't believe! Now that's customer service.


Since they are made by two different companies, the neck lengths and the ball joints that pop the heads onto the necks just aren't compatible. I figured this out after spending 20+ minutes using a coarse emery board to file down the ball joint on Snake Eyes' neck, but then I realized the Grifter figure neck is so much longer, the Snake Eyes neck ball would never pop into the hole in Grifter's head.


Luckily, a little poster putty holds Grifter's head in place, and I definitely won't move it around too much. The head is a little large for the Snake Eyes body, but it's good enough for me. This is a figure I've wanted for over 20 years, ever since reading and getting obsessed with Joe Casey's brilliant run writing Wildcats. While it wasn't what I envisioned originally, it's a pretty satisfying custom, with much better articulation and accessories than anything DC Direct would have made in the 2000s.

[pulpy fiction]

Nice Grifter! Good to see you have a figure you have wanted for years! Good base body for it too.

[PurpleLantern]

Target had ton of WWE Elite Series 15 Stacy Keibler on clearance for around $6. I'm guessing might be useful if neck ball peg fits.

Lex Luger body might be useful too if leg swap is possible. Maybe sunglasses on his ponytail head.