Leatherneck (G.I. Joe Marine)

I've made a few different vcrsions of Leatherneck, but until now I haven't tried to nail his classic look. Here is my attempt...

Parts: Head (25th Anniversary Gung-Ho), Torso & arms (RoC Sgt Stone), Legs (RoC Beachhead), Web gear (Comic pack Ripper), M16A2/M203 (Marauder, Inc.), Rucksack (RoC Benchpress).

Supplies: X-acto knife, Super glue, Paintbrushes, Testors paints, Testors Dull-Cote.

Reference: Card art from the 1986 ARAH Leatherneck figure.

So, essentially all that I had to do here was replace the Sgt Stone legs with the new ones and pop Gung-Ho's head onto the body. All the rest was the tiny little details that took what seemed like forever! The knuckleguard on the knife molded to the webgear was trimmed away and the remaining knife was painted to look like an M7 bayonet in it's scabbard. The hand grenades were carefully removed from the backpack of a 25th Anniversary Viper, painted and then super glued to the figure's chest. I always liked the color scheme of Leatherneck's uniform, so I tried to color match as closely as possible. His hair was painted using a very light drybrush technique so that it looked like the light stubble that a Marine Gunnery Sergeant would actually have, rather than the shaggy head of hair the original figure had. The mustache was repainted to be a bit thicker, which is not in keeping with regulations, but it did serve to put a little space between my various Gung-Ho and Leatherneck figures. The Eagle, Globe and Anchor on his cover and the 1st Marine Recon Battalion patch on his shirtsleeve was painted using a very fine brush, and in some cases, the tip of a safety pin. The colors for everything on the rucksack were matched to those of my old USMC ruck. The M16A2/M203 was painted according to what they actually look like (easy to find a reference since I have about a thousand pcitures of myself with them). When everything was done to my satisfaction, I gave him a light application of Testors Dull-Cote.

Leatherneck (G.I. Joe Marine)

This version of Leatherneck was done for an upcoming desert diorama. Since I already had the desert AWE Striker version of Leatherneck, he was an obvious choice to be included in it.

Parts: Head (Leatherneck), Body (Leatherneck), Hands (bbi Elite Force), Load Bearing Equipment (UBP Short-Fuze), Ammunition Pouches (bbi Elite Force), M16/M203 (Leatherneck), Rifle Magazine (Marauder, Inc.).

Supplies: X-acto knife, Super Sculpey, super glue, paintbrushes, Polly Scale paints and Testors Dull-Cote.

Reference: None.

Just like the last two figures, this is an "improvement" of Leatherneck so that he'd fit in with the other team members in the diorama. First, I removed the stupid Dreadnok belt he came with. Then, I dremelled off the idiotic shoulder armor (this is NOT Thunderdome!). I decided to use a bit of Super Sculpey to actually sculpt him some decent body armor. I have always hated the wrists on these arms, so I replaced the hands with the gloved hands from a bbi Elite Force Marine. To keep the articulation, I actually trimmed the studs from the old hands and glued them on the new ones. Then, I repainted all of the brown areas (straps, boots, holster, gloves, etc) using a slightly different color than his uniform. I cut the existing Vietnam-era magazine off the rifle and replaced it with a modern 30-round magazine. Finally, the entire figure was given a light coating of Testors Dull-Cote

Leatherneck (G.I. Joe Marine)

When I first saw the G.I. Joe team uniforms from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical. Since then, they've grown on me and I really like them. The thing is, I can't bring myself to display my ROC characters with their classic (or Resolute) counterparts! It just seems wrong. So, I've embarked on a mission to create a few of my all-time favorite Joes (Gung-Ho, Leatherneck and Airborne) in the ROC-themed uniforms so that they might be happily displayed with Hasbro's offerings. I immediately found that Hasbro's RollBar figure is nothing more than an ROC-themed repaint of Airborne, so I am pretty sure he'll fit the bill with no modification at all. The recent ROC/Resolute version of Gung-ho comes very close to what I'm looking for, so I'll end up modifying one of those. Unfortunately, the ROC version of Leatherneck leaves quite a bit to be desired (IMO). This is my take on what he should look like...

Parts: Head (25th Anniversary Gung-Ho), Body (ROC Sgt Stone), Tactical Vest (ROC Pit Commando), M4 / M203 Rifle (Marauder, Inc.), backpack (ROC Copperhead).

Supplies: X-acto knife, super glue, paintbrushes, Polly Scale paints, Testors paints and Testors Dull-Cote.

Reference: None.

This was a very simple custom, but the end result was extremely satisfying. The base figure was not really modified in any significant way. I popped off the head and replaced it with the new one. After painstakingly color matching the colores used for the trousers, I painted the shirt and cover (that's the name we Marines have for a hat) with the same camouflage pattern. The mustache was repainted black and I dry-brushed some short, stubbly hair on the sides and back of his head (Marine Corps regulation rather than the longer hair that Hasbro has always given him). The vest was added and I painted the appropriate parts of his pistol gunmetal. The grenades on the backpack were painted OD green with gunmental for the spoons. I gave him a modular M4 from Marauder, Inc. and added the M203 grenade launcher to it. The rifle barrel was hollowed with a heated safety pin. The grenade launcher barrel was given the same treatment with the tip of my X-acto knife. The appropriate parts of the weapon were painted gunmetal and flat black. Finally, the entire figure was given a light coating of Testors Dull-Cote.