Law and Order (Military Policeman and K-9 Partner)

This is another "improvement" upon a figure from the Toys R Us Exclusive RoC Desert 5-pack.

Parts: Entire figure (RoC Law), Submachinegun (25th Anniversary Shipwreck), Tactical Vest (RoC Pit Commando), Helmet (RoC Law), Baton (RoC Law), Dog (RoC Order).

Supplies: Paintbrushes, Testors paints, Polly Scale paints, Testors Dull-Cote.

Reference: Still photos of the ARAH Law & Order figures.

Nothing particularly special about this custom. It is a straight repaint of the RoC Law & Order figures that came in the Toys R Us Exclusive 5-pack. I didn't really have an issue with the desert camouflage, but I wanted something closer to the classic look, so I painted them according to that color scheme. The original figure had his shirt tucked in and the sleeves rolled up, but I liked the overall look of this when it was finished. The hardest part of this whole thing was painting the dog's fur to look somewhat realistic!

Sgt Slaughter (G.I. Joe Drill Instructor)

When the 2010 SDCC Exclusive Sgt Slaughter was announced, I knew that both my son and I would have to have one. His preference was the USA version, while I wanted the TTT version. Most of you know that the demand for these figures far exceeded the supply and many of us were left without our Sarge figures. My cousin was able to score one for Adam, but I still didn't have mine. Eventually, I obtained a couple of head casts from HissTank.com member returnofplex. One went to my cousin as partial payment for Adam's Sarge figure. The other was used for this custom figure...

Parts: Head (SDCC Sgt Slaughter cast), Torso & Arms (RoC Copperhead), Legs (RoC Gung Ho), M249 SAW (Marauder, Inc.).

Supplies: Dremel, paintbrushes, Testors paints, Folk Art paints, Testors Dull-Cote.

Reference: My son's SDCC Sgt Slaughter figure.

I wasn't really trying to make an exact duplicate of any particular version of the Sarge, I just wanted one that had a combat-ready look to it. I used nail polish remover to get rid of the Cobra emblem on the chest. That meant no painting above the waist (aside from the head, of course). The pants were painted green and then given a more-or-less Woodland camouflage pattern. The boots were painted as green-sided jungle boots (my favorite when I was a Marine grunt). The head had to be Dremeled out so that it would fit the neck post. Afterward, I painted it to match my son's SDCC Sarge as closely as possible. To be honest, I've seen much better Sgt Slaughter customs, but I'm pretty happy with this one.

Gung Ho (G.I. Joe Marine)

Yep, another version of Gung Ho! I don't seem to get tired of making this guy. This one was based on his appearance as part of Lt Falcon's reconnaissance team which infiltrated Cobra Island during the Cobra Civil War.

Parts: Head, Upper Torso, Lower Torso & Upper Arms (Comic Pack Gung Ho), Lower Arms (RoC Tunnel Rat), Legs (RoC Sgt Stone), Vest (Comic Pack Gung Ho), M16A2 (Marauder, Inc.), ALICE pack (Comic Pack Gung Ho).

Supplies: Super Sculpey, super glue, Paintbrushes, Testors paints, Folk Art paints and Testors Dull-Cote.

Reference: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero issues #73 through #76.

The base figure was not modified in any significant way, other than the swapping of the legs and the lower arms. The entire figure was then repainted according to the references.

Note: I deviated just a bit from the reference pictures in that I went with a tiger stripe pattern rather than a blotchy type pattern. I kept the colors the same.

Once the figure was painted, I gave him a light application of Testors Dull-Cote to seal the paint. The last detail I needed was the two ammo & grenade pouches worn on the front of his LBE (or what we Marines used to call a "War Belt"). I found one in my parts box that was an exact match (I got it in a trade as part of a big batch of fodder, but I think it came from a Platoon figure). I needed to have two of them, so I made a press mold of the pouch using a block of Super Sculpey. After curing the mold, I made several casts of the pouch (you never know when you might need more). I painted two of them and super glued them in place. They are actually attached to the bottom edge of the vest so that they appear to be on his War Belt right where the suspender straps connect, which would obviously be the proper placement for these type of pouches.