Red Star body, 1991 Dusty head, 1994 Major Bludd arms


I should state right off that I created this figure years before Hasbro finally gave us the Oktober Guard in the excellent comic sets a few years ago.

I realized there were some Oktober Guard members that I could probably customize, and Lt. Gorky was one of them. I hadn't been terribly impressed with the 1998 Lt. Gorky, whom I pretty much regarded as a recolored Big Bear.

I used the Red Star torso, but I gave it the arms of Major Bludd from 1994, since Gorky didn't tend to keep his sleeves rolled up. I used the head of the 1991 Dusty, since it had a beret on it already, and painted in the right colors, I thought it made a good Gorky, and didn't look especially like Dusty.

How do I think my Gorky compares to Hasbro? To be honest, the Hasbro Lt. Gorky -- the comic set one -- is not my personal favorite. I was pleased he was included, and the new headsculpt was excellent, and certainly looked Soviet, but I think Hasbro made a few mistakes with him. For starters, I would've made the uniform a much darker grey. I made mine black, but this, as much as anything, was because of Gorky's stated background as being from the "Black Sea Regiment" of the Soviet Naval Infantry. Upon further inspection in the comic book, I can see how Gorky's uniform could be interpreted as grey, but I still think it should've been a darker grey than Hasbro made it.

I was also not pleased with some of Hasbro's body part selection. Although it it true in the artwork that Gorky appears to be wearing shoes and not boots, so Hasbro got that correct (although I think I did something fairly cool by giving my Gorky's boots a nice glossy shine), the use of the 30th Anniversary Green Beret upper body resulted in a Gorky that looks too tall and too broad. There's nothing to indicate that he's supposed to be a muscular powerhouse, and yet the figure is taller than anyone else in the Guard. I realize there's only so many times you can use the Red Star torso before it gets annoying, but this was not the best choice. Grantedm I'm not sure who else they could've used effectively. Detail-wise, it is close to Gorky's uniform. It's the size and shape that don't quite work as well as they should to me. I also don't think it holds the Soviet blue-and-white striped undershirt image all that well. I also am not terribly fond of the separate gun holster and shoulder belt.

Nevertheless, I must in fairness regard Hasbro's Lt. Gorky as the official Lt. Gorky, and it's not that bad, really. This custom figure? Maybe he's a "Gorky II", kept in reserve to deceive the enemy into thinking their soldiers can be in more than one place at a time... (I'm open to better suggestions).

To teach, improve, share, entertain and showcase the work of the customizing community.