Okay, without exaggerating, I think this is the 6th or 7th custom version of Gung Ho that I've done. How weird is it that it took me this long to get around to doing his original 1983 look? Lately, I've been focusing on trying to fill in my 25th Anniversary collection with all of my childhood favorites so I had to get to this eventually...Parts: Head, Torso, Upper Arms & A.L.I.C.E. pack (Comic Pack Gung Ho v19), Lower Arms (RoC Tunnel Rat v11), Legs & Vest (25th Anniversary Gung Ho v18), XM-79 Grenade Launcher (ARAH Gung Ho v1).
While version 18 of Gung Ho had the classic colors of the uniform correct, the character's skin tone was really weird, causing many to refer to him as "zombie Gung Ho". Version 19 had normal skin tone, but strayed away from the classic colors in favor of a more realistic green and brown camouflage. Essentially what I did here was take the legs from the zombie version and throw them on the non-zombie version. Then, I just needed to paint-match the pelvis area of the figure's trousers to the legs. This is an idea that I borrowed from several different customizers at HissTank.com. I also swapped the lower arms for a set that didn't have the silly-looking armbands. It always bothered me that the new, modern era sculpt had load bearing straps sculpted onto his vest (as if he were wearing webgear over the vest) but they never bothered to paint it properly. I took care of that here. I also painted the Marine Corps utility cover OD green and then painted the Eagle, Globe & Anchor insignia with black. I also gave him a better mustache (which I have done exactly the same with every Gung Ho figure I own). I really like the M-79 that came with the 25th Anniversary versions of Gung Ho, but I chose to arm him with his original 1983 weapon because I thought it was more appropriate for my purposes. The 40mm HE rounds on his left thigh were painted to match a reference photo of what they actually look like. The loops holding the rounds in place were painted green, to simulate a cloth bandolier-type thigh rig. The A.L.I.C.E. pack was detailed with several different shades of green and the frame was painted black - again, because this is what one actually looks like.
While version 18 of Gung Ho had the classic colors of the uniform correct, the character's skin tone was really weird, causing many to refer to him as "zombie Gung Ho". Version 19 had normal skin tone, but strayed away from the classic colors in favor of a more realistic green and brown camouflage. Essentially what I did here was take the legs from the zombie version and throw them on the non-zombie version. Then, I just needed to paint-match the pelvis area of the figure's trousers to the legs. This is an idea that I borrowed from several different customizers at HissTank.com. I also swapped the lower arms for a set that didn't have the silly-looking armbands. It always bothered me that the new, modern era sculpt had load bearing straps sculpted onto his vest (as if he were wearing webgear over the vest) but they never bothered to paint it properly. I took care of that here. I also painted the Marine Corps utility cover OD green and then painted the Eagle, Globe & Anchor insignia with black. I also gave him a better mustache (which I have done exactly the same with every Gung Ho figure I own). I really like the M-79 that came with the 25th Anniversary versions of Gung Ho, but I chose to arm him with his original 1983 weapon because I thought it was more appropriate for my purposes. The 40mm HE rounds on his left thigh were painted to match a reference photo of what they actually look like. The loops holding the rounds in place were painted green, to simulate a cloth bandolier-type thigh rig. The A.L.I.C.E. pack was detailed with several different shades of green and the frame was painted black - again, because this is what one actually looks like.
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