Our Basement Workshop

The Death Dealers

2012-01-22T20:42:00.004-06:00

A while back, I dyed a 30th Anniversary Iron Grenadier black and then decked him out with red and gold trim. I intended to make a whole squad of them. I still plan to do so, but in the meantime, my friend KingBiohazerd asked me to make him his own squad of them. He was rather fond of the name Death Dealers, so that was the name we gave them. The Death Dealers are an elite squad of Shock Troopers led by Captain Miller, also known as the Black Llama. Other veteran members of the squad include Sergeant "Werecat" Aveyard and Corporal "BvH" Hung.

Shameless Plug

2011-12-19T00:14:00.002-06:00

For those of you who enjoy Our Basement Workshop, I would like to invite you to visit my new fan-fiction blog Tales from Castle Destro. I'd love to hear what you think of it, so please post those comments!

Iron Grenadiers RPG Team Members

2011-11-18T22:38:00.027-06:00

With the exception of the first three characters (Sgt Flaherty, Captain McLeod and Trooper Martin), all of these are based on members of the HissTank Iron Grenadiers RPG team.

Sgt Flaherty (D.E.M.O.N. Driver)

Captain McLeod (D.E.M.O.N. Platoon Commander)

Trooper Martin (D.E.M.O.N. Crewman)

Sgt Humpty (Fire Direction Controller)

Sgt King (D.E.M.O.N. Vehicle Commander)

Colonel Masque (Director of Intelligence & Covert Operations)

Colonel Nero (Annihilator Commander)

Captain Starbuck (Annihilator)

Lt Wert (Annihilator)

Lt Wang (Annihilator)

Tall Creeper (Jungle Operations)

O.S.O.K. (Sniper)

Captain "Colors" DelRio (Iron Wolf Commander)

Cpl Ozma (Iron Wolf)

Captain Llama (Shock Trooper Commander)

Cpl Crimson (Dog Handler)

Cpl Bing (Wild Boar)

Sgt Wingnut (Detonator)

Poptart (Detonator)

Teabag (Detonator)

Lt Blaze (Combat Surgeon)

Foolproof (Covert Operative)

Captain Thor (Iron Anvil)

SoM (Iron Anvil)

Killer (Iron Anvil)

O.S.O.K. (Iron Grenadier Sniper)

2011-11-17T20:48:00.007-06:00

There are many accomplished marksmen within the ranks of the Iron Grenadiers, but none compare to the pure killing machine that is O.S.O.K. He tends to be quiet and reserved, rarely speaking aside from the occasional unintelligible mumble. His quarters are located deep within the lowest levels of the Castle, where few others tread voluntarily. He receives his orders and goes forth, usually alone, to wreck absolute havoc on the enemies of Laird Destro.

The first time General Voltar saw the custom painted reaper's grin on O.S.O.K.'s Grenadier mask, he told one of his subordinate Officers to have the man remove it. The Officer balked at the order and it was then that Voltar realized that even many of the Iron Grenadiers fear O.S.O.K. Not another word has ever been said about removing the paint from O.S.O.K.'s mask.

D.E.M.O.N. II (Iron Grenadier Armored Vehicle - 2nd Generation)

2011-11-03T18:34:00.004-05:00

Many people have repainted the PoC HISS v5 in a variety of paint schemes. It tends to look amazing in any color. KingBiohazerd used three of them to create Speed-D.E.M.O.N.s, which were pretty cool! Recently, Barefoot Jedi and I discussed using the HISS v5 as the basis for a 2nd generation D.E.M.O.N., and I liked the idea enough that I started planning the project that same day.

The original D.E.M.O.N. is a fearsome fighting vehicle and it will likely remain in service with the Iron Grenadiers for many, many years to come. However, knowing that all military hardware will eventually become outdated, Laird Destro ordered that MARS research and development should begin immediately on a 2nd generation D.E.M.O.N. He directed that the new vehicle be able to fight alongside, augment and eventually replace the current D.E.M.O.N. model. By building the D.E.M.O.N. v2 on the same chassis as the HISS v5, Destro was able to keep it's development a secret, even during field testing, because they look so very similar. The reality, however, is that the D.E.M.O.N. v2 is superior in every way to the HISS v5. This is that vehicle...

Iron Grenadier (Shock Trooper)

2011-11-01T19:44:00.008-05:00

When things grind down to a stalemate and the enemy is dug in extremely well, the Iron Grenadiers call upon the Shock Troopers. These heavily armored door-kickers absorb bullets like water to a sponge, without ever breaking stride.

This is nothing more than a re-colored 30th Anniversary Iron Grenadier. What makes it kinda cool is that I only used black paint on the helmet - the rest was dyed black. If I had the patience, I'd make a few dozen more of these...

Iron Wolf Brigade (Destro's Cold Weather Unit)

2011-10-24T11:07:00.010-05:00

This was a joint project I completed with my friend and fellow HissTank member KingBiohazerd. We'd recently been discussing environment-specific variations of Iron Grenadier vehicles and decided to create an IG Cold Weather Brigade, including an arctic variant of the D.E.M.O.N.!

The King provided all of the vehicles and the figures, so he'll be the one to keep them now that they are complete.

The base vehicles were not changed in any way, we just repainted them. For the D.E.M.O.N., we used pre-cut strips of painter's tape to make the camouflage pattern. While it's official name is the D.E.M.O.N.- AV (Arctic Variant), we figured that the troops of the Iron Wolf Brigade would have nicknamed it the Yeti, after the legendary snow demon of the Himalayas.

The Despoiler was also painted white and silver, but was not given the same camouflage treatment as the Yeti, because we figured it would actually make the vehicle more visible during flight.

The King had recently discovered the Cobra Black Dragon Trooper (which is a re-paint of the original Ferret figure) online and really liked the look of it. The color scheme for the Arctic Ferret was taken largely from that figure. The other Iron Wolf Troopers were painted in a manner that matched the Ferret, more or less.

We had a blast making these, so we really hope you enjoy them!

The Pit (G.I. Joe Headquarters - Part 3)

2011-10-10T22:57:00.011-05:00

Picking up where I left off in part 2...

It's been quite a while since any work was done on this, but I managed to make some good progress today. A couple of months ago, I removed the 1983 G.I. Joe Headquarters and the Masonite sheet from the top. I liked it there, but it just stuck out too far into the room and we kept running into it! I also bought a second shelf unit and stacked them, so now instead of 8 room, we have 16. There's still a lot of work left, but here are some "work in progress" shots of various rooms:

Sub-Level 1: Motor Pool Bay 1 - The four Motor Pool bays are located on the first level underground. We currently have way more vehicles than we can fit into the four bays, so we'll end up rotating our display periodically.

Sub-Level 1: Motor Pool Bay 2 - Armadillos...

Sub-Level 1: Motor Pool Bay 3 - The really heavy stuff...

Sub-Level 1: Motor Pool Bay 4 - And the final Motor Pool bay...

Sub-Level 2: Towed Heavy Weapons - Just getting started on this room...

Sub-Level 2: Briefing Room - This is where the Joes will receive their pre-mission briefings...

Sub-Level 2: On-call Barracks - We decided that in order to ensure the quickest possible response to a crises, a certain number of Joes would be "on-call" at any given time and had to remain on base. This is where the on-call Joes would rack out.

Sub-Level 2: Rec Room - We'd like to put a TV, Refrigerator, Couch, and stuff like that in here. It's intended to be a room for the on-call Joes to relax.

Sub-Level 3: Training Room - So far, it's just three ninjas and a rack full of martial arts weapons in there, but I am planning a whole bunch of different things. I'm thinking about adding weight bench, a floor mat for hand-to-hand stuff and maybe a heavy bag hanging from a chain.

Sub-Level 3: Firing Range - This is pretty straight-forward in its function and there wouldn't really be much more than this in the room, but I'll figure out some things to add. Maybe a couple of brass buckets at either end of the firing line...

Sub-Level 3: Armory - Located right next door to the Firing Range for convenience!

Sub-Level 3: Supply - This is pretty close to being finished. I need to acquire a lot more of those little Elite Force MRE cases and water jugs for this room. I think maybe some signage on the walls, too.

Sub-Level 4: Medical Center - I still need more stuff for this room, but so far everything in there serves a specific function - meaning that I haven't started jamming crap in there to make it look better.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Skidmark (G.I. Joe Vehicle Specialist)

2011-10-03T16:14:00.004-05:00

I recently accepted a commission from a fellow HissTank.com member to make custom figures of Muskrat, Cross-Country and Skidmark. I already had a Muskrat custom that I was happy with, but I decided to make my own versions of the other two figures while working on the commission pieces. The biggest change you'll notice with Skidmark is that I eliminated the orange from his color scheme. The dark green sweater and the green trousers were color-matched as closely as possible to the original ARAH figure. However, I decided to go with more practical colors for the helmet, vest, boots and thigh rigs.

Parts: Head (25th Anniversary Breaker), Body (25th Anniversary Beachhead), Vest (25th Anniversary Outback), Sunglasses (RoC Baroness v13), Helmet (bbi Elite Force).

Desert Fox 6 W.D.

2011-09-20T11:41:00.005-05:00

This is another commission vehicle. The customer asked for the vehicle to be "battle-weathered". He was extremely generous in providing advance payment, which exceeded what I thought the job was worth - so I plan to exceed his expectations, as well!

To begin with, I broke the whole vehicle down and removed the decals. The decal residue was cleaned off using Goo Gone and then all of the parts were washed with dish detergent and a toothbrush. While the parts were drying, I hopped online and sent an e-mail off to Ruben Jiminez, my normal source, asking him to ship me a set of Desert Fox decals.

Once everything was dry, I used an X-acto knife to trim down the foot pegs on the gun mount. They no longer look quite as tidy as the original mold did, but they now accommodate the foot holes for the modern era figures, so the customer will be able to pose those figures on it.

The next step was priming and painting the missiles, machine gun and gun mount. The missiles were done with flat OD green and were given details in yellow (these are the colors commonly used on High Explosive ordnance in the US military). The gun was done with a metallic "gunmetal" finish and the gun mount was done with OD green with a drybrushing of gunmetal to show wear on the paint.

While the spray-painted parts were drying, the entire vehicle was given the metaliic drybrush treatment. High-traffic areas where troops would be climbing in and out were also "scuffed up" to show where dirt, grime, sweat and other stuff adhered to the vehicle's paint. The pic to the right shows the vehicle as it was at this point.

Castle Destro (Landscaping)

2011-09-19T00:33:00.001-05:00

A few months ago, I completed my Castle Destro. The project took almost a month to complete and the step-by-step construction details can be found here. While I was still quite happy with the castle itself, I've recently came to realize that something was missing - scenery. So, I set about brainstorming for ideas on how to add some scenery to the castle. Eventually, I decided to use the empty shell of the "Ugly House", a large dollhouse I made a few years back for my children's Ugly Dolls. The kids lost interest in it after a year or so, and the house was used for various different playsets over the years. Most recently, it had been gathering dust in a corner of the basement. Anyway, I decided to set the castle on top of the Ugly House so that the top of it simulated ground level and the rooms below would be like secret underground caverns - which would more than likely be found underneath Castle Destro, right?

08/28/2011 - Right away, I went out and picked up some Woodland Scenics artificial grass, coated the top of the Ugly house with spray adhesive and sprinkled the "grass" on. It looked great, but if I'd had any prior experience with the product, I would have waited to apply it. I very quickly realized that adding other terrain was going to be somewhat difficult without messing up the grass. But, you live and you learn, right?

08/29/2011 - I knew approximately how I wanted the project to turn out, but I wasn't sure how to get there so I decided to ask my fellow Iron Grenadiers at HissTank to help brainstorm as a way of getting new ideas and also poking holes in ideas that ultimately wouldn't have worked well. One of the best suggestions I received was to add a moat around the castle's perimeter. I began the moat by scraping away the grass in the area where I wanted the moat (see? I should have waited for the grass). I then painted the "bottom" of the moat with three different colors of brown. While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled some sand and loose dirt on to give it texture. In order to keep the "water" in the moat, I needed to build up the walls of the moat a bit. So after the paint was dry, I applied a thick ribbon of wood glue to the outside edge of the moat. While it was wet, I alternated sprinkling sand, dirt and more of the artificial grass on the glue to make it look sort of like shoreline. The moat is only about 1/8 of an inch deep, but I really only need enough depth to hold the simulated water while it dries. To fill the moat, I had planned to use the type of synthetic water used by model railroad enthusiasts. But to fill a moat the size was planning would have quickly become very expensive. So I decided to use hot glue sticks! My master plan is to melt a bunch of glue stick in a pot and then pour the melted glue into the moat. Because it dries clear, I figured the bottom of the moat should still be visible. When all was said and done, the glue dried a little foggier than I expected, but it looks pretty good. After the moat was dry, I scraped away more of the lawn so that I could put in the driveway. This was done using spray adhesive and sandy dirt. The whole driveway was then watered down using a spray bottle. I rolled my Razorback and some other vehicles over it a few times and was rewarded with very distinct tire tracks. The driveway was then sprayed down with a water/glue mixture to keep it in place. Here's a shot of the castle as it will sit when the whole project is finished.

09/19/2011 - Obviously, I got a little sidetracked on this! Anyway, I finally got back to it today and built the drawbridge. I installed it with a couple of small hinges and some chain. The chain runs through the plexi-glass door and can actually be used to pull up the bridge! The drawbridge is a bit wide, but it would have bothered me immensely if it was too small to allow a D.E.M.O.N. in and out of the Castle! The moat got a bit of touch-up in the form of border stones. The stones were fixed in place with hot glue. I was deliberately sloppy with the hot glue, because I found that it looks like water between the rocks. I'm not done with this yet, but I'm a lot closer after today!

TigerFish Conversion

2011-09-12T11:01:00.013-05:00

This post documents the step-by-step process I used to convert a regular G.I. Joe DevilFish into a TigerFish. The vehicle was commissioned by a fellow HissTank member for his son and I hope the running post will allow him to share the process with his son. Here is a shot of all the various pieces, before work began:

And here is everything after the spray-painting was completed:

The next step will be painting all of the sculpted details on the upper and lower hull pieces!

The buyer asked that I paint the torpedoes red to match the missiles, so I'll take care of that and the detailing of the twin cannons tomorrow. After these little things, I just have to wait on the stickers to arrive.

So the stickers finally arrived and I've got them all applied. I realized that I still haven't painted the torpedoes red, so I'll have to do that before I can apply the sealant.

Oktober Guard

2011-09-11T15:19:00.013-05:00

My very first issue of the classic G.I. Joe comic was #6, which introduced the Oktober Guard. To this day, that is one of my all-time favorite Joe stories and the Oktober Guard have a special place in my heart. The recipes for these figures were blatantly stolen from the exquisite work of several different HissTank customizers - all I really did was assemble the parts and paint them.

Colonel Brekhov (Team Commander)

Daina (Sniper)

Horror Show (Anti-Armor)

Stormavik (Naval Infantry)

Dragonsky (Flame Weapons Specialist)

Schrage (Machinegunner)

The first time I saw the PoC VAMP, the color and aesthetic reminded me of something the Oktober Guard would have driven. When I started work on these guys, I set about obtaining a VAMP for them. The Oktober Guard logos are decals from CobraStickers.

Quarrel (Covert Operative)

2011-09-11T14:09:00.004-05:00

Until recently, I never even knew that Action Force existed. While I still have no overwhelming love for them, I do seem to like new characters. This is a variation on the figure that will be offered by the G.I. Joe Collector's Club - same Scarlett figure repainted in Quarrel's colors, but I decided that I have enough Scarlett heads in my collection so I looked for something different. I thought that the Mrs Coulter head sculpt from the Golden Compass toy line looked sufficiently sophisticated to be a British covert operative.

Tomax & Xamot (Crimson Guard Commanders)

2011-09-11T14:03:00.002-05:00

Today seems to have been a day of headswaps and minor repaints...

I did not have a modern era version of either of these guys and I never cared for the whole circus acrobat look they sported in the 80's, so I decided to make them a little more "tactical". This is just Tomax and Xamot's heads on a couple of Shock Trooper bodies. I painted the kneepads and belts with the colors from their original outfits to keep a little of the vintage look about them...

Kickstart (G.I. Joe Vehicle Specialist)

2011-09-11T13:52:00.003-05:00

Kickstart was released during 2010 with the G.I. Joe Steel Marauder Mech. I have never liked mechs in my G.I. Joe world, but I always like new characters, so I simply re-designated Kickstart as a standard Motor Transport guy. The paint apps on the original figure sucked, so I touched them up a bit. Nothing too drastic, but there's really no reason to NOT paint the skin when it's quite obvious that it should have been.

Gnawgahyde (Dreadnok)

2011-09-01T19:25:00.003-05:00

Gnawgahyde was never my favorite Dreadnok, but I had to get around to making him eventually. I decided to abandon the yellow vest and go with something a bit more practical. I think he looks a bit more realistic now...

Parts: Head (SDS), Hat & Rifle (PoC Recondo), Body & Vest (PoC Zartan), Bow & Quiver (PoC Shadow Tracker), Boars (Unknown).

Kay-Strike (G.I. Joe Demolitions Specialist)

2011-09-01T01:15:00.005-05:00

This is my entry for the Mission Prospect Custom Contest Part II at Custom Figure Wars. Her name is Kay-Strike. She blows things up. She loves popsicles and cookies. Her vehicle is called "The Pinkinator".

Kwik Blast (G.I. Joe Urban Warfare Specialist)

2011-09-01T01:14:00.005-05:00

This is my entry for the Mission Prospect Custom Contest Part II at Custom Figure Wars. His name is Kwik Blast and he is an urban warfare specialist. That means he is good at fighting in the city. His vehicle is called the Devastator.

Tinker (G.I. Joe Vehicle Design Engineer)

2011-08-31T17:57:00.000-05:00

This is my entry for the Mission Prospect Custom Contest Part II at Custom Figure Wars.

VEHICLE DESIGN ENGINEER
Code Name:	TINKER
File Name:	Walker, Kristina K.
SN:	345-98-DD08
Primary Military Specialty:	Motor Transport
Secondary Military Specialty:	Computer-Aided Design
Birthplace:	New Orleans, Louisiana
Grade:	GS-12 (DoD Civilian Employee)
Tinker was recruited right out of MIT and had no military experience prior to joining the G.I. Joe team. Her ability to design combat systems in her head made her one of the few “exceptional” individuals to be considered for such a move. She underwent the basic orientation course (which the most seasoned of combat veterans would find difficult to say the least) and made it through on sheer guts.
Tinker has always enjoyed trying new things. While in school, she saw an advertisement for one of those robotic combat contests in which the designers attempt to dismantle each other’s creations by remote control and thought it would be “fun” to give it a shot. She left all of her competition in smoldering piles and one of the weapon systems she designed for that contest is still classified by the Pentagon. It was pure coincidence that an unidentified member of the Joe team was in attendance and submitted her name for review immediately after returning to the Pit. Tinker now spends her days dreaming up new and better ways to enhance the offensive and defensive capabilities of the Joes’ vehicle fleet.

My Buy / Sell / Trade Lists

2011-08-30T01:02:00.000-05:00

Below are my complete list of HAVES and WANTS. I do my best to keep both these lists accurate, but if there is something you don't see here, please ask me!

** Please note that the items listed in green text are for sale only, no trades. I agreed to help my friend sell his collection and the items in green are his. No reasonable offer will be refused.

HAVE:

G.I. JOE -

Figures:
1983 Destro – Complete.
1986 Mainframe – Complete, laptop handle broken.
1987 Cobra Sea Slug – Missing pistol.
1987 Falcon – Missing shotgun, knife backpack & antenna.
1988 Blizzard – Complete.
1988 Budo – Missing helmet, backpack & red sword.
1988 Storm Shadow – Missing black claw weapon.
1989 Countdown – Missing silver grappeling hook, silver weight & string.
1989 Stalker – Missing paddle & knife, machinegun mounting stud broken.
1990 Sonic Fighter Law – Complete.
1991 Major Altitude – Missing helmet & rifle.
25th Anniversary Comic Pack Wild Bill - complete.

Vehicles:
1983 Cobra HISS Tank – Both figure pegs broken off, Tread connector tab broken off (treads do not stay on), Gun elevation tab broken (guns do not elevate), Figure (HISS Driver) missing.
1985 G.I. Joe AWE Striker – Vehicle is complete, Passenger-side footpeg broken off, Figure (Crankcase) is complete.
1985 G.I. Joe Bomb Disposal – Missing deflector shield.
1985 Cobra Flight Pod (Trubble Bubble) – Complete, Steering yoke connector broken (does not attach).
1986 G.I. Joe L.C.V. Recon Sled – Missing periscope, includes extra canopy & headlight.
1986 G.I. Joe Conquest X-30 – Vehicle is complete, cockpit canopy connector is broken off, Figure (Slip-Stream) is missing.
1986 Cobra Air Chariot – Complete, Steering yoke is broken off, Figure (Serpentor) is complete.
1986 Cobra Hydro Sled – Complete.
1987 G.I. Joe Coastal Defender – One axle broken off, Missing control seat, Foot ramp connector studs broken off (foot ramp does not attach).
1989 Cobra Battlefield Robot Hovercraft – Complete, Antenna broken.
1989 Cobra FANG II – Complete, small chip at tail stabilizer.
1986 Accessory Pack #4 – Missing 1 white Scrap Iron pistol.

Accessories & Fodder: This changes very, very frequently and I do my best to update it with every trade completed, so please bear with me if I forget to add or subtract something in a timely manner: Click here for the photos!

STAR WARS -

Figures:
Vintage R2-D2 (loose, no stickers and worn paint)
PotF2 Aunt Beru (loose, no accessories)
PotF2 Barada (loose, no accessories, from Jabba's Skiff Guards Cinema Scene)
PotF2 Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (loose, no accessories) X2
PotF2 Boba Fett (loose, no accessories)
PotF2 Darth Vader with Removeable Helmet (carded with slide)
PotF2 Death Star Gunner (loose, no head, no accessories)
PotF2 General Lando Calrissian (carded)
PotF2 General Lando Calrissian (loose, no accessories)
PotF2 Grand Moff Tarkin (loose, no accessories)
PotF2 Han Solo - Carbonite (loose, no blaster)
PotF2 Han Solo - Bespin Gear (loose, no head, no accessories)
PotF2 Klaatu (loose, no accessories, from Jabba's Skiff Guards Cinema Scene)
PotF2 Luke Skywalker - Jedi Knight (loose, no accessories)
PotF2 Ponda Baba (loose, no head, no accessories)
PotF2 Princess Leia Organa - Jabba's Prisoner (loose, no accessories) X4
PotF2 Princess Leia Organa with Sporting Blaster (carded with COMMTECH chip)
PotF2 Princess Leia in Bespin Gear - Princess Leia Collection (loose, complete)
PotF2 Sandtrooper - pack-in figure from Dewback set (loose, no accessories)
PotF2 Mace Windu - Episode I Sneak Preview Mail-away Figure (boxed, complete)
SotE Leia in Boushh Disguise (loose, no head, no accessories)
TPM Anakin Skywalker - Naboo (loose, no accessories)
TPM Boss Nass (loose, minus COMMTECH chip)
TPM Darth Maul - Jedi Duel (loose, minus COMMTECH chip)
TPM Darth Maul - Jedi Duel (loose, no accessories)
TPM Darth Maul - Tatooine (loose, minus COMMTECH chip)
TPM Mace Windu (loose, no head, no accessories)
TPM Padme Naberrie (loose, no head, no accessories)
TPM Queen Amidala - Naboo (loose, minus COMMTECH chip)
TPM Queen Amidala - Naboo (loose, no head, no accessories) X3
TPM Queen Amidala - Coruscant (loose, minus COMMTECH chip)
TPM Qui-Gon Jinn - Jedi Duel (loose, minus COMMTECH chip)
PotJ Aurra Sing (loose, complete)
PotJ Darth Vader - Dagobah (loose, complete)
PotJ Jar Jar Binks - Tatooine (loose)
PotJ Queen Amidala - Theed Invasion (loose)
PotJ Queen Amidala - Royal Decoy (loose)
PotJ Sabe - Queen's Decoy (loose, complete)
PotJ Sebulba - Boonta Eve Challenge (loose, no accessories)
PotJ Shmi Skywalker (loose, no accessories)
SAGA02-02 Padme Amidala - Arena Escape (loose, complete)
SAGA02-21 Nikto - Jedi Knight (loose, no head, no hands, no accessories)
SAGA02-23 Yoda - Jedi Master (loose, complete)
SAGA Ponda Baba - from Cantina Set (loose, no head, no accessories)

Build-A-Droid parts:
R5-A2 (body and middle leg)

Cinema Scenes:
TPM Mos Espa Encounter (Boxed, minus COMMTech Chip)
TPM Tatooine Showdown (Boxed, minus COMMTech Chip)

** I have a large number of LotR figures (all loose and complete). It may take me a while to get around to posting a list, so ask about specific characters, if interested.

** I also have a huge box of comics from the early to mid 1980's (mostly Marvel titles). If interested, ask about specific issue numbers!

WANT: (None of the complete figures need to be carded. They are all going to be opened)

1983 Dragonfly XH-1 (complete, figure not needed)
1988 Warthog A.I.F.V. (missiles and figure not needed)
1990 Iron Grenadier Dominator (complete)
25th Anniversary Quick Kick v2 (complete)
25th Iron Grenadier v6, v7 or v8 (complete, want as many as I can get)
25th Anniversary G.I. Joe Troopers (all versions, no weapons needed)
SDCC James McCullen IX (loose, with sword)
PoC Destro v27 (complete)
Star Wars Build-A-Droid Figure #BD17: Slave Leia
Star Wars Build-A-Droid Figure #BD57: Master K'kruhk
Star Wars Build-A-Droid Figure #BD59: Jacen Solo
Star Wars Build-A-Droid Figure #BD60: Jaina Solo
Star Wars The Vintage Collection: Bom Vimdin
Star Wars The Vintage Collection: Dr Cornelius Evazan
Star Wars The Vintage Collection: Ponda Baba

I'd be happy with casts of any of the parts, as long as they are of good quality. Happy customizing!

My Trade Feedback @ HissTank.com

My Trade Feedback @ CustomFigureWars.com

My Trade Feedback @ FFURG.com

My Trade Feedback @ Yakface.com

Iron Grenadier Mortar Section

2011-08-19T14:27:00.008-05:00

I've been toying with the idea of these guys for quite a while and only recently decided on a final plan for them. This is one of the Iron Grenadiers 60mm Mortar Section. Each mortar team consists of a gunner and an assistant gunner. The section leader computes a forward unit's call-for-fire into firing data which is communicated to each mortar team. He also functions as a forward observer, if necessary. After receiving the firing data, the gunner places it on his mortar's sight unit and prepares the weapon for firing. The assistant gunner prepares the ammunition and loads the weapon upon command.

And here they are "in action"...

Outside Prypyat, Sgt Humpty's 60mm Mortar Section prepares to fire in support of Darklon's men...

The gunners quickly check the deflection and elevation data on their gun sights, while the assistant gunners prepare the required number of rounds and remove the safety wires...

The assistant gunners "half-load" their first rounds and at their section leader's command, both mortar crews fire 4 rounds of High Explosive at Cobra troops over 3 kilometers away...

After expending their designated 4 rounds, both gunners signal "rounds complete" to Sgt Humpty, who passes the report by radio to Darklon.

Darklon responds that the fire mission was successful in disrupting the ambush and his men are now holding against the Cobra troops. Sgt Humpty gives the command "displace", letting his crews know to break down the mortars and prepare to move out quickly.

Sgt Humpty leads his section to a pre-designated rally point, where they will meet up with additional Grenadier forces and await their next fire mission.

Annihilator v2 (Iron Grenadier Heli-Assault Trooper)

2011-08-19T14:26:00.003-05:00

When I first started army-building Iron Grenadiers, many of the custom figures I created were closely based on the original versions from the late 1980's. Since then, my tastes have evolved somewhat and I'm looking to give my forces a modern upgrade. During July, I introduced my Iron Grenadier Highlanders and earlier this month I debuted my new T.A.R.G.A.T.'s. Now I give you my upgraded versions of Destro's Elite Helicopter-Assault Troops, the Annihilators...

Parts: Head (25th Anniversary Para-Viper), Helmet (RoC Aqua-Viper Officer), Body (RoC Air Viper v3 or RoC Air Viper v5), Torso Armor, Submachinegun & Heli-pack (25th Anniversary Specialist Trakker).

The Annihilators in the red flightsuits are the Officers that command each squad. The idea of giving the Officers different colored flightsuits originally came from my having a lot of trouble acquiring as many as I wanted of the other version. As of this posting, I've only finished off the three in the photos, but I have enough parts on-hand or pending through trades to knock out at leats two more trooper versions.

As ridiculously simple as this recipe is, doesn't it kinda make you wish Hasbro would throw these guys together and give us a carded version at retail?

Scrap Iron (Iron Grenadier Weapons Designer)

2011-08-15T18:34:00.004-05:00

Back in 1984, Scrap Iron's original filecard indicated that before joining Cobra he'd been a weapons designer for Destro's M.A.R.S. Corporation. So, I decided to add him to my Iron Grenadier forces. The entire figure is a RoC Scrap Iron, that I repainted to suit my tastes.

Detonator (Iron Grenadier Demolitions Specialist)

2011-08-15T18:11:00.003-05:00

This character was created by HissTank RPG Gamemaster cobralalalala! as part of the next game scenario. I decided to make a custom of the character so that I could include him in photos I planned to take for the upcoming game.

Parts: Head (Resolute Duke v30), Goggles (RoC Red Fang Ninja) Body (PoC H.I.S.S. Tank Driver), Lower legs (25th Anniversary Destro v21), Belt (25th Anniversary Cobra Commander v28), Shoulder Pauldron (25th Anniversary Iron Grenadier v6), Backpack (PoC Duke v42), M41A Pulse Rifle (Marauder Gun Runners).

Iron Grenadier (Combat Surgeon)

2011-08-15T17:34:00.004-05:00

This is the third in a series of Iron Grenadier support troops. This one is a Combat Surgeon. All Iron Grenadier combat troops have secondary training in first aid, but the Combat Surgeon has the primary responsibility of maximizing the unit's combat efficiency by keeping fingers on the triggers. Unlike most military medics, Iron Grenadier Combat Surgeons are recruited from the medical profession and then given combat training.

Parts: Head (25th Anniversary Iron Grenadier Officer), Body & Webgear (RoC M.A.R.S. Trooper), Holstered Pistol (RoC Cobra Eel), Various Pouches (bbi Elite Force).

Iron Grenadier (Machinegunner)

2011-08-15T16:54:00.004-05:00

This is a simple re-paint of the 25th Anniversary Iron Grenadier. I also re-equipped him as a machinegunner.

Swami (Iron Grenadier Vehicle Specialist)

2011-08-15T16:18:00.005-05:00

No one is quite sure where Swami originally got his codename, aside from the fact that it was a nickname he had long before joining the Iron Grenadiers. It is rumored that he had once planned a teaching career - until he punched his professor in her wrinkled old face. The Swami eventually found a home with the Iron Grenadiers, where Laird Destro pays him to "combat test" experimental vehicles. Usually, this means that he gets to drive as fast as possible, over unforgiving terrain... While shooting at people.

Parts: Head (RoC Duke), Body (RoC Bench Press), Holstered Pistol (PoC Hawk), M41A Pulse Rifle (Marauder Gun Runners).

This character is loosely based on HissTank member and fellow Iron Grenadier xSwamiJayx. The head was resculpted a bit to try and capture his likeness. I think it's reasonably close, but I'm not much of a sculptor so that's going to have to do.

Navy SEAL's of the G.I. Joe Team

2011-08-08T00:00:00.006-05:00

I've been asked several times about a group photo, so here they are!

Left to Right: Harpoon, Tracker, Depth Charge, The Chin, Torpedo, Wet-Suit, Wet Down, Mariner and Night Fox.

The Chin (Navy SEAL)

2011-08-07T22:48:00.004-05:00

Every team needs a leader. For some time now, I've been working on assembling a G.I. Joe sub-team of Navy SEALs. Lots of collectors have done this and they have used a wide variety of characters for their team leaders. I decided to create my own. About a year ago, I obtained a cast of the Army of Darkness Ash head as an unexpected "extra" in a trade. A pretty good likeness of the actor, Bruce Campbell. As soon as I saw it, I knew what I was going to eventually use it for. You see, my wife and I are both big fans of USA's show Burn Notice, in which Bruce Campbell plays Sam Axe - a semi washed-up, former SEAL who is the friend of the show's main character. Axe is portrayed as wise-cracking, hard-drinking and irreverent, yet an extremely competent warrior when he needs to be. For his codename, I used "The Chin", which is a nickname given not only to the character in the show, but also to the actor in real-life.

Parts: Head (Army of Darkness Ash), Entire figure, Fins, Dive Knife & Silenced Pistol (RoC Deep Six), Webgear (PoC Jungle Assault Duke), Dive Mask and Air Pack (RoC Wet-Suit), Assault Rifle (Marauder Gun Runners.

Zane (Dreadnok)

2011-08-07T15:59:00.000-05:00

This is a figure that was created by CFW members TallDrkHansom, Veronica Mars and myself. TallDrkHansom created the story behind the character and then we each contributed to the construction of the figure (I provided the weapons and the paint job). The character was central to story behind the Mission Prospect Custom Contest over at CustomFigureWars.com. We hope you enjoy it!

Harpoon (Navy SEAL)

2011-08-07T08:40:00.001-05:00

Harpoon was released in 1996 as part of the G.I. Joe Extreme series. In my opinion, all of those figures were utterly horrible, but the line did provide another SEAL character for my squad. Harpoon was suggested to me by Topside, a fellow member at HissTank.com. All he needed was a very serious makeover.

Parts: Head (Star Wars Luke Skywalker), Entire figure, Dive Knives & Fins (RoC Wet-Suit), M-249 SAW (PoC Jungle Assault Duke), Mask & Airpack (RoC Deep Six).

T.A.R.G.A.T. v2 (Iron Grenadier Rapid Deployment Trooper),

2011-08-05T15:32:00.001-05:00

Next up in my campaign to modernize my Iron Grenadiers are the Trans-Atmospheric Global Assault Troopers (T.A.R.G.A.T.). Several others have made T.A.R.G.A.T. figures using the same figure as a base - in fact, the figure hadn't even been released when artistic re-colorings started appearing on HissTank.com. This is my own spin on that idea. The photos show my four completed TARGAT's boarding an Iron Grenadier Razor Gunship, which will deliver them to a low orbit where they will await target instructions and a deployment order.

Parts: Entire figure (PoC Skydive), Jet-pack (RoC General Hawk v4), IG decals (CobraStickers).

I tried something new with these guys - at least, new for me. I have dyed figures or figure parts in the past and I've had pretty good results with it.

Softer plastics (like those used in the arms and lower legs) definitely absorb the dye much better than harder plastics (like those used in torsos and upper legs). What I tried to do here was to dye the figure as a way of minimizing the amount of paint I'd eventually need to use. I wanted the figure and the vest/webgear to be black, so I dropped those parts into a bowl of black RIT dye. While, they were soaking, I made sure to move the joints around. If you don't do this, you'll find that the dye did not get into the joints and the original color will show when you move the joint. Once the figures had soaked for what I decided was a reasonable amount of time, I pulled them out and rinsed them in cold water. You need to be careful to make sure you get all the water out of the joints and internal spaces. Otherwise, it will seep out later - perhaps while you're painting. The results of the dye were better than I'd hoped - all of the areas that had been green on the figure were now black, and the areas that had been painted grey to depict armor, were now a very dark reddish (not sure how that happened, but up close, it looks like the color of dried blood).

Rock Vipers (Cobra Mountain Troopers)

2011-08-01T17:28:00.002-05:00

When I first saw the Pursuit of Cobra Rock Vipers, I wasn't very excited - in fact, I had planned to pass on the figure entirely. To be honest, it was the head that threw me off. I just hate it when Hasbro gets all lazy and throws a random masked head on a figure that would otherwise be outstanding (e.g. Sandstorm, Night Fox, Skydive, etc.). But then, I saw the custom headsculpt created by HissTank.com member and fellow Iron Grenadier Eduardimus Prime and I was sold! I ordered two heads from Ed and picked up a couple of Rock Vipers.

Parts: Head (Custom sculpt by EduardimusPrime), Everything else (PoC Rock Viper).

Aries (Iron Grenadier Unit Leader)

2011-07-19T16:03:00.003-05:00

Aries was created sort of by accident. I was in the process of repainting a squad of the new Pursuit of Cobra Iron Grenadiers, and got the wild idea to give one of them a removable Nullifier helmet. I liked it so much, I decided to make him the squad leader. As such, I decided that he needed a weapon that was truly special, so I came up with this one. He didn't have a name until chapter 19 of the HissTank RPG started and I saw that one of the IG Commanders was named Aries, after the Greek god of war. Here is what the GameMaster wrote about the character: "Aries is from somewhere in the Balkans, southeastern Europe. He comes from many generations of mountain warfare specialists. He was recruited by the Iron Grenadiers after he took out an entire squadron of IG troopers during a raid on his town. His men say he is a hard man born for warfare." To me, this was just perfect. I hope you like him!

Parts: Head (25th Anniversary Battle Armor Cobra Commander), Helmet (ARAH Nullifier), Rotary cannon (Star Wars Galactic Marine), Figure, body armor, backpack and ammunition belt (PoC Iron Grenadier).

Kate's Iron Grenadiers

2011-07-19T13:07:00.003-05:00

As you may have already figured out, my daughter Kate shares my love of Iron Grenadiers. These photos show her custom Destro and Baroness figures, along with her Steel Crusher. When she opened it last year, she insisted that there be no Cobra decals on it. She said that hers would be an "Iron Crusher".

Zanzibar (Dreadnok)

2011-07-06T14:57:00.003-05:00

Zanzibar has been sitting, half completed, on my workbench for the better part of six months. The figure was simple enough, but I kept forgetting to order the head from Slayer Design Studios!

Parts: Head (Slayer Design Studios), Body (25th Anniversary Ripper), Webgear (RoC Red Fang Ninja), Knife (RoC Shipwreck), Submachinegun (RoC Duke).

Mariner (Amphibious Warfare)

2011-07-06T14:55:00.000-05:00

Mariner was introduced in the DDP run of G.I. Joe comics. He was a Chief Petty Officer specializing in amphibious warfare. I decided to add the character to my ever-expanding group of G.I. Joe SEALs.

Parts: Head (RoC Pit Commando), Torso & Arms (RoC Hawk v4), Upper Legs (RoC Breaker), Lower legs (25th Wraith), Body Armor (RoC Night Creeper), MP5 submachinegun (bbi), Dive Knife (25th Cobra Diver).

Sandstorm (Military Police)

2011-06-27T13:48:00.003-05:00

Sandstorm was a character that appears to have been quickly cobbled together from other parts to provide a rider for the 2010 Desert RAM Cycle. The figure is basically a repainted RoC Shipwreck with a masked head (seriously Hasbro, all these masked heads = L-A-M-E). I like the RAM quite a bit, but hated the Sandstorm figure.

Parts: Figure (RoC Sandstorm), Tactical Vest (RoC Ripcord v5), Assault Rifle (Marauder Gun Runners).

I decided to repaint the Reactive Impact Armor plates a lighter color, so that it would work better with his desert camouflage scheme. The moisture-wicking undershirt and balaclava were left dark brown. I also added a tactical vest to give the figure a more realistic appearance (nobody goes without some kind of vest to carry extra ammunition and other equipment).

Major Bludd (Mercenary)

2011-06-27T13:40:00.003-05:00

Major Sebastian Bludd has always been one of my favorite bad guys. He was the second bad guy I ever bought in any G.I. Joe line (the 1982 Cobra Officer was the first). I was disappointed with the single card offering from the 25th Anniversary line (version 8) and I didn't like the colors of the one from the DVD pack (version 10), so I set about creating my own version of Bludd using parts from both of the Hasbro figures. It was only after I finished the darn thing that I realized I could have just touched up the paint on version 9 and I would have been happy...

Parts: Figure & Dogtags (Major Bludd v8), Rocket Pistol & Backpack (Major Bludd v10).

Heartwrencher (Dreadnok)

2011-06-22T16:16:00.002-05:00

Been waiting a long time to do this one! I ordered the head and torso from SDS late last year. When it arrived, I realized that I didn't have a good set of bare arms for the figure and spent quite some time looking for a pair that would work. I ended up ordering those from SDS, as well. I took a few liberties with her outfit. First, I skipped the gloves that reach up to her bicep - after buying the bare arms, I didn't want to paint them! Second, I went with thigh-high boots instead of stockings. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Parts: Head, Torso & Arms (Slayer Design Studios), Legs (RoC Baroness v13).

Spearhead (Pointman)

2011-06-22T16:03:00.007-05:00

Spearhead falls into the same category as most of the customs I've posted today - he was introduced at the very end of my childhood interest in G.I. Joe. Like Falcon, I can remember my brother owning a Spearhead figure.

EDIT 07/19/2011: I finally got around to painting Max the Bobcat, and I posted new photos to show Spearhead and Max together.

Parts: Head (PoC Dusty), Helmet (bbi Elite Force Marine), Body & Tactical Vest (RoC Jungle Assault Ripcord), Rifle & Backpack (ARAH Spearhead v1).

Falcon (Green Beret)

2011-06-22T14:21:00.006-05:00

Falcon is another character that was introduced around the time that I "outgrew" collecting Joes. I can clearly remember my younger brother having a Falcon figure, and it was one of his favorites. I thought the 25th offering was rather weak, so I set out to do him justice.

Parts: Head & Scarf (Slayer Design Studios), Body & Backpack (25th Falcon), Shotgun (bbi Elite Force).

Stretcher (Medical Specialist)

2011-06-22T14:13:00.007-05:00

Stretcher is a character that was introduced after I'd stopped collecting Joes, so I have no real attachment to him. But when I saw the tremendous headsculpt the guys over at Slayer had come up with, I decided to give him a go. Besides, the Joe team has always seemed a little bit light on dedicated medical personnel.

Parts: Head (Slayer Design Studios), Torso (25th Ace), Arms & Legs (Resolute Duke), M4 Rifle (Marauder Gun Runners), Rescue Backpack (RoC Doc).

Pyro (Dreadnok)

2011-06-22T14:01:00.003-05:00

Not much is known about the Dreadnok Pyro. Aside from the fact that he likes to start fires and he seems to be completely insane. It's been reported that most of the other Dreadnoks only tolerate him out of fear that he'll douse them with kerosene and light a match while they're sleeping. This guy might be a bit on the small side, but he's not to be underestimated!

Parts: Head (Slayer Design Studios), Body (IJ: KotCS Mutt Williams), Knife (RoC Shipwreck).

Iron Grenadier (Communications Officer)

2011-06-22T13:48:00.005-05:00

This is the second in a series of Iron Grenadier support troops. This one is a Communications Officer. All Iron Grenadier combat troops have inter-personal radios built into their helmet which are ideal for communications within the squad or platoon. But when a unit commander in Sierra Gordo needs to bounce a Sat-Comm signal to Castle Destro, he needs the sophisticated Satellite Communications Equipment built into the Communications Officer's backpack. While it looks very much like the same Tele-Viper communication pack sold to Cobra, this model packs twice the transmitting power and three times the encryption ability. Who ever said that you shouldn't hold back the finest products for your own use?

Parts: Head (25th Anniversary Iron Grenadier), Body & Webgear (RoC M.A.R.S. Trooper), M41A Pulse Rifle (Marauder Gun Runners), Tele-Comm Backpack (ARAH Tele-Viper).

Iron Grenadier (Dog Handler)

2011-05-29T18:40:00.001-05:00

This is the first in a series of Iron Grenadier support troops based on the characters found in HissTank's RPG. I thought it might be fun to create a group of soldiers who fulfill specialty functions to assist the regular IG combat forces.

Parts: Head (25th Anniversary Iron Grenadier), Body & Webgear (RoC M.A.R.S. Trooper), Submachinegun (25th Anniversary Specialist Trakker), Dog & Leash (RoC Night Adder).

Flash-Drive (Data Retrieval Specialist)

2011-05-29T18:36:00.003-05:00

Having made figures of my son and daughter, as well as more than a couple figures of myself, it was inevitable that I'd get around to making a figure for my wife, Jenny. Flash-Drive is a data retrieval specialist. You need info? She'll get it. While Flash-Drive doesn't normally operate in the field, she has been known to accompany teams in cases where first-hand knowledge is required to get a job done.

Parts: Head (Star Wars Deena Shan), Body & Laptop (RoC Cover Girl), Belt (RoC Reactive Armor Duke), Backpack (RoC Gung Ho), Cat (Golden Compass figure).

Iron Grenadier (Heavy Assault Troopers)

2011-05-16T12:11:00.007-05:00

Like most Iron Grenadier fans, I've been looking forward to the release of this figure. While I love everything about it, part of me wishes that it had been done in the classic color scheme. The urban camouflage has grown on me, but I decided to see how he looked in black armor with red and gold trim. I'm pretty pleased with how he turned out. I'll definitely keep some of these guys as they come out of the package, but I think I'll probably end up repainting an equal number like this.

EDIT: 05/29/11 - I painted a second one of these guys to match the first. This one is the squad machine gunner, so he kept the "Smart Gun" that he came with. The more I dabble around with these guys, the more I think that I will repaint all of the ones I buy. I'm really liking the way these look!

Sgt Humpty (Iron Grenadier)

2011-05-15T23:12:00.003-05:00

This is now the third version of this character I've done. This one is a bit different, though. I haven't abandoned the back story for the previous Joe-based versions - I just re-imagined the character as an Iron Grenadier. In keeping with my actual military background, IG Sgt Humpty is a mortarman and forward observer. He is assigned as the Fire Direction Controller for Castle Destro. He sees to the day-to-day training of the mortar crews, as well as the pre-plotting of all defensive targets around the Castle grounds. In combat, Sgt Humpty accompanies the IG leadership into the fight to coordinate on-the-spot fire support, while leaving the actual supervision of the mortars to his hand-picked team leaders.

Parts: Head (Sgt Humpty), Entire figure (25th Anniversary Iron Grenadier), Load Bearing Equipment (25th Anniversary Short Fuze), M1911 Pistol (RoC Breaker), Holster (PoC Night Fox), M41A Pulse Rifle (Marauder, Inc.).

Banshee (Iron Grenadier Assassin)

2011-05-15T22:48:00.006-05:00

Last month, I debuted Cheesehead - a character based on my son Adam. While I was working on that figure, I was also making a figure based on my daughter, Kate. Kate is definitely a Daddy's girl and usually wants to be involved in whatever I'm doing. She knows that I am a member of the Iron Grenadiers team in the role-playing game on HissTank.com, so when I asked her, she immediately decided that her character should be an Iron Grenadier, as well!

Parts: Head (RoC Cover Girl), Helmet, Pistol, Sword & Swordbelt (25th Anniversary Iron Grenadier), Torso (RoC Baroness v13), Arms & Legs (RoC Agent Helix).

IRON GRENADIER ASSASSIN
Code Name:	BANSHEE
File Name:	Maue, Kathryn A.
SN:	N/A
Primary Military Specialty:	Sniper
Secondary Military Specialty:	Intelligence
Birthplace:	Paris, France
Grade:	E-4 (Corporal)
Like most of the Iron Grenadiers, not much is known about Banshee prior to her involvement with Destro’s organization. It is believed that she was a freelance assassin-for-hire, amassing a nearly perfect record over a ten year period. At some point, she was recruited by the Baroness to be one of the first in her “Iron Maiden” program.
In Irish mythology, a banshee is a feminine spirit, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. Banshee’s many targets could attest to the appropriateness of her code name – if any of them were still around to do so.

Castle Destro

2011-05-09T17:36:00.014-05:00

Any longtime readers of my blog know that I'm a big fan of the Iron Grenadiers. To date, I've made 18 custom Iron Grenadiers. I figured that it was about time I created a home for them. Castle Destro is the ancestral home to the McCullen Clan, who have designed and sold weapons for centuries. The current Laird of the Castle, James McCullen Destro XXIV, usually referred to simply as Destro, is the CEO of M.A.R.S. (Military Armament Research Syndicate). This project took almost a month to complete and the step-by-step construction details can be found here.

Ground Floor (Tracked Vehicle Bays):

Second Floor (Wheeled Vehicle Bays):

Third Floor (Destro's Office / Command Center):

Fourth Floor (Hangar Bay):

Roof (Battlements / V.I.P. Landing Pad):

Additional Photos:

Castle Destro (Contruction)

2011-05-04T18:30:00.009-05:00

Day One (04/13/2011): I wanted this to serve as a combination diorama/playset/display case, so I knew from the very beginning that there would have to be compromises in many different areas. I started with a bookshelf that I've been using for action figure displays since 1999. When I bought the bookshelf, I added a step in the assembly. I attached a sheet of plexi-glass to the front, to reduce the accumulation of dust and to keep our four-legged family members out of the display. I used a set of small hinges on one side so that the plexi-glass could swing open like a door. On the other side, I used magnets to keep it closed. Before getting started on the Castle proper, I removed the hinges and re-mounted them. Let's just say that I know a bit more about doing these things properly than I did 12 years ago!

Destro: So, what do you think of our new home, my dear Baroness?

Baroness: Oh, it's just wonderful, Destro... If one is fond of faux wood paneling.

Destro: But... Ummm... Well, it's not finished yet, my dear! We'll need to customize it to suit our tastes!

Baroness: We? No offense Destro, but if your sense of interior design is anything like your sense of men's fashion, I'll be doing the decorating!

Day Two (04/14/2011): Today, the kids and I ran out to Michaels looking for something to use for the castle exterior. We found a couple of options, but didn't settle on one or the other. Instead, we accidentally discovered small birdhouses shaped like castle battlements. We bought two of them for $4.99 each and drove home. After a little bit of trimming at the base, they worked perfectly!

Baroness: Well the entrances are a bit small, don't you think?

Destro: <sigh> Grenadier! Bring me a saw!

So the next step was to use my scroll saw to cut the doorways to the proper size so that a figure could fit inside. I also removed the roof and expanded the doorway on the top tier of the tower so that a sentry could be placed there. I also added a protective wall around the top of the "castle" to protect other troops from incoming fire.

Day Three (04/17/2011): Today, the entire Castle was transported up to the garage for a base coat. I painted the entire thing flat black with the exception of the individual shelves - I left those alone because I want the Castle to have wooden floors (it is, after all, very old). The plexi-glass door was masked off with newspaper and painter's tape so that the edges were painted, but each shelf would still be visible through it (more on this tomorrow). The top shelf was a bit tight going back in and it scraped away some of the base coat, as can be clearly seen in the picture. This wasn't exactly desirable, but it's far better that it happened now and not after I had finished detailing the interior walls. I'll touch up the base coat around the scuff tomorrow before I get started on the detailing.

Baroness: Destro, why is the Castle not finished yet? Where did you find these contractors?

Destro: What do you mean? This guy submitted the lowest bid!

Day Four (04/18/2011): Today, I enlisted the aid of my two kids in detailing the exterior. Basically, we did a faux finish like you might see on one of those home improvement TV shows. We cut three small sponge pieces to the exact shape of the stonework on the battlements. Then we mixed a pile of paint with varying degrees of white, black and gray. All three of us then used the sponge pieces like little stampers and we "stamped" the stones onto the exterior. We were pretty pleased with the result. Tomorrow, we hope to get the whole interior done just like this.

Day Five (04/19/2011): Today, I managed to get the faux stone finish applied to the upper two levels of the Castle. It seemed to take much longer trying to apply the little sponge stampers in the enclosed space. While this is really not difficult work, after two days of it I'm ready for it to be finished! I also started to work a little bit on the roof-level landing pad, but there's really not much to show there yet. I'll post some pics of that area once I get it closer to being completed.

Destro: General Mayhem, why has this man been shot?

General Mayhem: My Laird, he failed to meet my stated expectations.

Destro: In what way General?

General Mayhem: I said that all of the Castle's toilets were to be fully functional by day's end and clearly he did not achieve this. Therefore, I shot him. Such failure shall not be tolerated on this project, my Laird!

Destro: General, this man is... er... was not a plumber. He was an electrician!

General Mayhem: Electrician? Hmmm...

Day Six (04/20/2011): Today, I finally finished all of the remaining stonework. The whole Castle exterior and all four interior floors have been detailed with the faux stone finish. Both of the battlement towers have also been finished - in fact, they were still drying as of this photo. Now that "construction" is complete, I can turn my attention to interior decorating!

Baroness: So then the construction is finally complete?

Destro: Yes, my dear Baroness! The Castle is finished!

Baroness: Excellent! Then I shall begin decorating tomorrow.

Destro: But...

Baroness: But what? You didn't seriously think I was going to let you decorate, did you? Do you think I've forgotten what you wore to the 2007 San Diego Comic Convention? Hmmm?

Destro: <sigh> No, my dear Baroness.

Day Seven (05/04/2011): Okay, the furniture really threw me for a loop! I had planned to use 1/18 scale dollhouse furniture for this project. There is a lot of it out there and it looks amazing. What stopped me was the price tag. For example, a simple dinner table and four chairs would have set me back $45! So, off to Michaels for some additional craft supplies.

I bought some 3" x 5" beveled plaque wood to use as tabletops ($0.59 each). For the table legs, I bought a bag of 1 and 3/4" shaker pegs ($2.99 for 18 of them).

I used a 15/64 drill bit to make the holes where the legs inserted into the tabletops.

After I test-fit each leg, I used a piece of sponge to apply brown paint (I believe the color was Espresso). The excess paint was wiped off to allow the wood grain to show through. The table legs were then secured in place with a drop of Elmer's Glue. Each table was given a liberal coat of matte sealant.

I also decided to use a couple of cheap cabinets that we had originally bought for another project (they cost me $1.00 each). The had been sitting inside the Dreadnoks Swamp Hideout, but after I gave them the same treatment as the tables, I think they'll fit much better in Castle Destro. The McCullen family crest on the wall is a decal that I printed out (many thanks to my IG teammate ShockVal for scanning the image for me).

Day Eight (05/05/2011): The plans I had for making chairs crashed and burned today. Lots of frustration. Back to the drawing board...

Day Nine (05/06/2011): Another trip to Michaels provided me with the solution to my chair problem. I returned the unusable parts I'd bought the day before and used my refund to buy some build-it-yourself dollhouse furniture. When you look at the packaging, the furniture looks like it was assembled from a jigsaw puzzle. But closer scrutiny showed that once assembled, I should be able to Dremel the offending pieces down so that they looked reasonably decent. So I assembled the four dinner chairs, Dremelled down the large tabs and then spray-painted them black. A "test-sitting" of the Iron Grenadier figures showed that the chairs were a bit too low, which meant I'd have to add some cushions. I cut four seat cushions from some styrofoam and then wrapped them carefully in paper towel, to give them texture. I then spray-painted the cushions red (the paper towel also gave the paint something to adhere to - I know from past experience that it usually doesn't work well with plain styrofoam). I also finished up the roof area today, adding a radra dish to one of the battlements and an appropriate decal to the V.I.P. landing pad.

Day Ten (05/08/2011): Today is the day for all the final details. I did some Internet searching for various things that I could convert into decorations:

- The McCullen clan banners were downloaded from JoeDios. These banners were used on every floor of the castle.

- The large wooden doors were downloaded from JoeDios. These doors were also used on the Second and Third floors.

- The three "paintings" are actually illustrations of Conan the Barbarian from Marvel Comics, Vigo the Carpathian from the film Ghostbusters and the Lich King from the video game World of Warcraft. I printed them out and then glued them to styrene "frames" that were spray-painted gold.

- The rugs were simply printed out, cut to size and laid on the floor. I thought about making them decals, but decided that it might be better if they were easy to move or remove in the future. My color ink cartridge started to die halfway through the largest rug, lending it a rather faded or "aged" look.

- The drinking glass on Destro's desk is a small piece of plastic tube cut from the straw inside a Windex bottle.

- The silver pitcher on the desk came from a Lord of the Rings Galadriel figure.

- The battle axe mounted to the wall came from a Lord of the Rings Gimli figure.

- The two M.A.R.S. briefcases came from G.I. Joe figures.

- The "briefing papers" on the conference table are just little pieces of blank paper cut to size. I will eventually get around to doing something cool with some tiny font, but today was busy enough without getting into that!

- The large hangar doors were downloaded from JoeDios.

- The flags on the roof level were made by painting some dowel gold and then sticking two McCullen clan banners together with the dowel sandwiched between them along one side. The banners were wrinkled to look as if they were flowing with the wind. The flagpoles were inserted into small holes drilled in the battlement wall.

Day Eleven (05/09/2011): Today was "move in" day at the Castle. Although there are still details I'd like to nail down eventually, most of these are going to require a lot of time to get done. The Castle is as complete as it can get for the time being. These last two shots show my IG forces marching toward their new home (the YouTube link below provides the appropriate Scottish music for marching troops).

Click here for photos of the Iron Grenadiers after moving into the completed Castle Destro.

Rug Rat (Dreadnok)

2011-05-03T13:38:00.003-05:00

Rug Rat was one of the Dreadnoks introduced during the DDP comics run. He was a diminutive character recognizable by his ever-present hat and sunglasses.

Parts: Head (Slayer Design Studios), Body (IJ: KotCS Mutt Williams), Vest (PotF2 COMMTech Han Solo), Rifle (25th Comic Pack Ripper).

Rowdy Roddy Piper (Iron Grenadier Instructor)

2011-04-28T18:32:00.004-05:00

In 2007, the powers-that-be decided to make wrestling superstar Rowdy Roddy Piper a member of the Iron Grenadiers. He filled the role of Combat Training Instructor and was responsible for training IG Guards, Iron Anvils and Undertows. He was the final character that I had not yet made for my IG Army.

Parts: Head & Legs (Build-n-Brawl Roddy Piper), Arms, Torso, Sword & Belt (25th Iron Grenadier), M41A Pulse Rifle (Marauder, Inc.).

Razorback (Iron Grenadier High-Speed Assault Vehicle)

2011-04-25T13:09:00.009-05:00

This is just a repaint of the classic Razorback, inspired by my overwhelming desire to have things uniform and standardized. Essentially, I just wanted my Razorback to match what I view as the "standard" Iron Grenadier paint scheme (you may be starting to notice a pattern here). The vehicle's two main body pieces and the engine cover were painted gloss black (NOTE: I actually wanted the body to be flat black, but the decals adhere much better to a glossy surface. So my solution was to use gloss black, apply the decals and then use Testors Dull-Cote to dull the shine). The clear pieces of the cockpit canopy and the gunner's turret were cleaned with Windex to be as perfectly clean as I could possibly get them. Then, I sprayed the inside of each piece with Testors Candy Apple Red. By painting only the in side of these pieces, I hope to avoid the paint rub that would definitely have resulted on the turret bubble. The missiles and cannons were sprayed with Krylon 14K Gold Plate. I have not found a better gold spray paint than this one. I had planned to order decals from my usual source, Ruben Jiminez, but then I realized that the original decals used a lot of black which would not have been visible on this vehicle. So instead, I improvised. I hand painted the numbers in gold and then trimmed some red tape to the proper size for the stripes on the turret housing. After the detailing was done, the whole thing was given a liberal application of Testors Dull-Cote before the clear red pieces were put on.

Snake Eyes (Desert Fatigues)

2011-04-23T09:11:00.005-05:00

This was something that I did quite a while a go, and it's been collecting dust on my workbench. Snake Eyes is normally the guy dressed all in black, but there are some environments where that might not be the best option. I wanted to explore that a little bit and see what the results were like. This is almost certainly going to end up on ebay, but I figured I might as well get it out there and see what people thought of it first...

Parts: Head, Sword & Scabbard (RoC City Strike Snake Eyes), Body (PoC Dusty), Uzi (25th Snake Eyes), Suppressor (Marauder, Inc.), Backpack (RoC Gung Ho).

Cheesehead (Badger Driver)

2011-04-14T22:31:00.005-05:00

This figure was created specifically for the Pimp Daddy Destro My Ride Contest at HissTank. The contest's Vehicle Category involves making a dedicated vehicle for a character that never had one before and the Figure Category involves a new character to be the driver for a vehicle that didn't come with one. For the Figure Category, I decided to create a driver for the G.I. Joe Badger vehicle. The character is loosely based on my 7-year old son (in the respect that he wanted it to be him and helped me decide on the background). I had a lot of fun working on this! Hope you dig it!

BADGER DRIVER
Code Name:	CHEESEHEAD
File Name:	Maue, Adam T.
SN:	073-16-AB02
Primary Military Specialty:	Infantry
Secondary Military Specialty:	Motor Transport
Birthplace:	Sun Prairie, WI
Grade:	E-4 (Corporal)
Cheesehead has the typical Midwesterner’s temperament – he takes things as they come and not a whole lot gets him upset. He was born and raised just outside of the Wisconsin state capitol and grew up rooting for the UW Badgers and the Green Bay Packers. Upon reporting for his Greenshirt assignment to the Joe team Motor Pool, Clutch immediately began calling him “Cheesehead” in an attempt to get under his skin. Instead of getting upset, Cheesehead just accepted it. No one was more surprised than Clutch, when Cheesehead elected to keep his unofficial nickname after his final selection to the main element of the Joe team. He requested and was assigned as a Badger Driver. It didn’t take him long to upgrade the armament and put his own personal flair on his vehicle!
Cheesehead is easy-going and affable – until the shooting starts. The last place you want to be then, is in his gunsights. The guy just doesn’t know the meaning overkill!

General Mayhem (Iron Grenadier General)

2011-04-12T19:38:00.004-05:00

Yet another in my series of Iron Grenadier customs. General Mayhem was originally introduced as part of the 2006 G.I. Joe Convention set. He was formerly a SPETZNAZ (Special Forces) commander in the Russian Army and was intended to be Voltar's replacement, but since my Voltar is still alive and kicking, I had to figure out a way for the two of them to co-exist. My solution was to make General Voltar the commander of all conventional IG forces, while General Mayhem commands the IG SpecOps forces.

Parts: Head & Helmet (Slayer Design Studios), Entire Body (25th Iron Grenadier), Pistol (25th Red Star), Belt & Holster (25th Battle Armor Cobra Commander).

Voltar's Violator (Iron Grenadier Commander's Cycle)

2011-04-11T14:10:00.008-05:00

This vehicle was created specifically for the Pimp Daddy Destro My Ride Contest at HissTank. The contest's Vehicle Category involves making a dedicated vehicle for a character that never had one before and the Figure Category involves a new character to be the driver for a vehicle that didn't come with one. For the Vehicle Category, I decided to create a vehicle for the Iron Grenadier's field commander, General Voltar. Because the contest required you to name the vehicle, I'm calling it Voltar's Violator. I had a lot of fun working on this and got to use an old vehicle that has been sitting in my fodder box for nearly 10 years! Hope you dig it!

Tiger Rat (Ground-Attack Aircraft)

2011-04-04T17:08:00.002-05:00

This is essentially just a re-paint of my little brother's 1988 Tiger Rat. The Tiger Force colors have always been annoying to me, but it was a very cool plane, so I wanted to do something with it. As usual, the reproduction decals are from Ruben Jiminez.

Ace (Fighter Pilot)

2011-04-04T17:01:00.006-05:00

This is basically a spiffed-up version of the 25th Anniversary comic pack Ace figure. I painted the name tag on his flight suit and "improved" his flight gear. The helmet and oxygen hose were added from my parts box.

Solid-Lock (Radar Intercept Officer)

2011-04-04T17:00:00.001-05:00

Since 1983, we've seen Lt Wayne Ruthel's name on the side of our Skystrikers, proclaiming his status as Ace's Radar Intercept Officer. When I set out to make a figure of this mysterious fellow, I first searched the customs forum over at HissTank to see if anyone else had already done so. Surprisingly, the only other Lt Ruthel I was able to find was by HissTank member Shipwreck. (Click here to check it out: Lt Wayne Ruthel - Code Name: Solid-Lock).

I had a very specific idea of how I wanted my figure to be outfitted, but I had not yet thought about a head or a code name. Since I liked what Shipwreck had done with his, I decided use the same head and code name on mine. Does that make him an "official" charcater yet? LOL

Skystriker XP-14F

2011-04-04T15:57:00.020-05:00

The Skystriker I shared with my younger brother Mike was more or less destroyed during our numerous childhood battles and I ended up selling it for parts back before I got back into collecting G.I. Joe toys (oh, how I regret that decision). I recently managed to pick one up for a pretty reasonable price and set about restoring it. The only significant parts that I needed to find were the cockpit canopy and some of the missiles. I picked these up on ebay (for almost as much as I paid for the entire Skystriker, but that's another story). The hardest part of this whole job was removing the stubborn adhesive left behind when I peeled off the old decals. I used Goo Gone to get rid of the adhesive and then soap and water to make sure all of the Goo Gone was removed. I painted the cockpit interior a dark grey and the frames of the seats were done in metallic grey. The engines were painted with the same metallic color used on the seat frames. I Dremeled the back pegs off the seats so that the newer style of figures would fit easily.

I had always hated how the AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range missiles on the Skystriker had the fat tabs in the middle of them (probably to prevent breakage). So I dropped them entirely in favor of two additional AIM-7 Sparrow medium-range missiles.

When I realized that the missiles from the Transportable Tactical Battle Platform were styled the same as the Sparrows, I picked up four of those (and a fifth to replace the one missing from my own TTBP).

I also went back to ebay for two AIM-54 Phoenix long-range missiles to replace the ones with broken fins that came with the Skystriker. To add a bit of "real-world" flavor to my Skystriker, all of the missiles were painted and detailed according to dozens of reference photos I pulled from the Internet.

For reproduction decals, I went to my usual source, Ruben Jimenez.

Once everything was finished, I also whipped up a flight crew (Ace and Solid-Lock) for my newly restored Skystriker!

Iron Maiden (Iron Grenadier Intelligence Officer)

2011-04-01T17:15:00.002-05:00

As soon as I saw this head and torso set at Slayer Design Studios, I knew I'd have to give this a shot. The Baroness had her own squad of female troopers when she was with Cobra, so why wouldn't she do the same after joining Destro's faction? I know I'll probably take some ribbing for the cheesy name, but it's the best I could do on short notice!

Parts: Head & Torso (Slayer Design Studios), Arms (RoC Baroness v13), Legs (RoC Dr. Rex Lewis), Sword & Scabbard (25th Anniversary Iron Grenadier), M41A Pulse Rifle (Marauder, Inc.), Braided Hair (Star Wars Princess Leia).

Tripoli (G.I. Joe Marine Lieutenant)

2011-03-31T19:12:00.005-05:00

Back when I made my first G.I. Joe "self-custom", Sgt Humpty, I had planned to do a whole group of Marines for a diorama. After the Sgt Humpty figure, the only other one that I finished was Tripoli (aka Lt Stone). I stumbled upon Lt Stone while trying to make a list of all the Marines on the G.I. Joe team for my planned diorama. Lt Stone was apparently the team commander throughout the G.I. Joe Extreme toy line and TV series. There was another Lt Stone during the Sigma 6 years (a British agent of MI-5) and I think I will probably make a figure for him, too. To avoid the confusion of having two Lieutenants with the same last name on my Joe team, I assigned this one the codename Tripoli, which is a reference to one of the Marine Corps' more well-known battles.

Parts: Head (RoC Sgt Stone), Torso, Arms, Legs, Machete & Tactical Vest (RoC Jungle Assault Ripcord), Boonie Cover & Rucksack (RoC Bench Press), M4 Rifle (Marauder, Inc).

The basic construction was exactly the same as the Sgt Humpty figure, except that I used a different head. The team that I was planning for the diorama was going to be dressed more or less uniform to each other, so the figures would not have differed much. I think this may have been part of the reason I drifted away from the project - the first was was fun, the second one less so... and then I couldn't find the enthusiasm to do a third.

Big Ben (British SAS Trooper)

2011-03-29T16:39:00.002-05:00

I've never owned a Big Ben figure before and since he's such a cool character, it was inevitable that I'd get around to making one. Big Ben is a member of Britain's Special Air Service, the most elite of all the Queen's armed forces. My one big complaint about all the existing Big Ben figures is that every single one had him wearing a cold weather hat and jacket - as if the SAS never operates outside of the chillier climates. I decided that my version of Big Ben would be a more variable-climate representation. Since I was straying from the original design anyway, I decided to give him a bit of a modern upgrade, as well.

Parts: Head (Golden Compass Lord Asrial), Torso & Arms (RoC Jungle Assault Ripcord), Legs (PoC Recondo), Beret (RoC Sgt Stone), Hands (25th Anniversary Wild Bill), Ammunition Bandoliers (25th Anniversary Rock & Roll), M240 Machinegun (ARAH Big Ben v1), Pistol Belt (RoC Reactive Armor Duke).

Downtown (Mortarman)

2011-03-05T16:25:00.004-06:00

Given the fact that I so enjoyed serving as a Mortarman in my beloved Corps, it was just a matter of time before I got around to making Downtown. Credit goes to HissTank member BILL, who originally had the idea of using the Resolute Duke parts for his custom Downtown figure - they just worked so perfectly! I tried to stay as true as possible to the original look of the character, but I've got to admit that the gaudy colors throw me a bit. I'm already planning a modern era update...

Parts: Head, Torso & Upper arms (Resolute Duke), Lower arms (25th Cobra Trooper), Upper legs (25th Wraith), Lower legs (25th Zartan), Revolver & Holster (25th Wild Bill), Knife & Scabbard (Marauder, Inc.), Helmet & Mortar (ARAH Downtown), Backapck (RoC Pit Commando).

Skystriker II

2011-02-26T18:02:00.004-06:00

Like many children of the 1980's, the Skystriker was one of my all-time favorite toys. Mine was more or less destroyed and I ended up selling it for parts back before I got back into collecting G.I. Joe toys (oh, how I regret that decision). Once I got back into Joes, I started looking around for one, but vintage Skystrikers were going for quite a bit on ebay at the time. A friend over at FFURG was looking to trade off a Power Team Elite F/A-18 Hornet, so I decided to do the next best thing and create a Skystriker 2.0! So I secured the trade and then set about my research. It didn't take long to figure out that many other customizers had done something similar. In order to make mine a bit different, I decided to keep the low-visibility paint scheme and try to obtain matching decals. I had to go no further than my normal source, Ruben Jimenez. He agreed to modify a set of Skystriker decals to fit my needs. The aircraft itself only received minor paint applications and some Testors Dull-Cote. The funny thing is that as I was finishing this up, I stumbled across a very reasonably priced ARAH Skystriker, so I am now starting to restore that, as well.

Frostbite (Cold Weather Trooper)

2011-02-26T17:37:00.003-06:00

I put far more thought into this than it probably appears.

What I mean is that I was torn between loyalty to the ARAH outfit and the desire the keep my Cold Weather Troops outfitted somewhat uniformly. The desire for uniformity won over in the end. Each of my CW guys will have subtle differences, but their uniforms will be... well, uniform!

Parts: Head (Slayer Design Studios), Entire figure (25th Anniversary Snow Job), M4 with AN/PVS-4 Night Vision Scope (Marauder, Inc.).