BBI: Perfect Body version of "Jet"
Hasbro: pants (and a 2nd pair for scrap cloth), canteen and belt
Adventure Gear: tan jacket
M&C Toys: radio
Mattel: Ken boots
21st Century Toys: beret, AKSU-74, Glock pistol, grenade and fighting knife
Spare cloth, grosgrain and elastic strap, buckles, pins, jewelry clips and rings and paint


Elkie was born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) and was recruited by the Oktober Guard but that organization and the Soviet Union collapsed before her training began. She moved briefly to Finland where she was recruited for the G.I. Joe team. Unfortunately, she was considered too independent a character for teamwork and she was dismissed from the Joes. That reputation brought her to the attention of the Cy Girl organization where she finally found a home as a covert operative. Adopting the code name Red Jet she has become a valuable agent in the war against Cobra and their evil allies.
This was one of the first female actions figures I bought and the first I bought to customize. I completed all of this work back about 2002 and the gear showcases some of my early efforts at custom gear. I am a bit of a gear-geek when it comes to the field equipment worn by soldiers and I always want bags, pouches and carriers which no one seems to make. To that end, I developed my own techniques to craft belt pouches and packs for my figures when I want something specific. The basic form is just a block of wood or a blob of putty shaped for whatever contents the particular pouch would hold; ammo magazines, grenades or just generic "stuff". Then with cloth I have bought or, like in this case, cannibalized from a piece of matching clothing, I make the pouch around the form. I had three pairs of the GI Joe pants the figure is wearing and I decided to use one for raw material, cutting the seams with an Exacto-knife then ironing the bits flat with a fairly cool iron for a neater appearance. I applied the cloth by folding and gluing it onto the form with Fabri-tac or a light application of Super Glue Craft Gel. The radio case and pistol holster are special projects so that the item carried within can be removed. The holster has the cloth glued to a craft foam form of a holster and the radio pouch was constructed to avoid getting glue on the radio itself. The elastic closure is permanently glued but the elastic cord can be stretched and the radio removed if I want it out. Most of the "snaps" are clothing pin heads while those on the radio and knife sheath are scrapbook studs painted black. Most of the gear attaches to the belt with the addition of elastic strap. So now my figure has a unique set of gear and I did not even sew one thread! Cool? I think so, but I am not the best at judging my own work.

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