#1000 - Short-FuzeWell, this is it, my 1000th custom. It may not look like much, but since Short-Fuze was my first Joe figure that I got as a kid, I thought it would be an appropriate choice.
My first GI Joe figure was straight-arm Short-Fuze. I still remember buying him at Zayre’s department store in May 1983. My mother and grandmother brought my sister and I on a shopping trip across the border in the US. I was 6 at the time. We had spent the day going in and out of various stores and I remember buying (More accurately, my grandmother probably bought for me) some green army men figures and vehicles. Our visit to Zayre’s was our last stop before heading home. When I walked into the toy aisle, I remember vividly a complete end-cap filled with GI Joe figures. All the original 1982 line was there: Stalker, Grunt, Flash, Zap, etc. I spent what seemed like an eternity searching through the pegs to see all the figures. Since we needed to leave, I picked Short-Fuze since he had a visor and what seemed like a cool accessory and we were off.
Over the next few days, Short-Fuze got a lot of play. He fought against Darth Vader and the evil Empire. He drove the Adventure People’s Rescue Truck and Helicopter. He became friends with Luke Skywalker (before and unfortunate accident deprived Luke of his head). Fortunately, that Fall, I received some cash for my birthday and I was determined to add some more GI Joes to my collection. Lots more Joes followed and the rest is history.
The 25th anniversary version was lackluster in my opinion. It was fine for the time, but can be improved upon now. For my custom, I used his toy look as a reference for my custom rather than giving him his glasses like the comic. I have no memories of him from the comic. For me, Short-Fuze does not wear glasses simply because that is how I knew him growing up.
Torso: Paris Pursuit Snake Eyes
Head, arms, legs, web gear: DG Duke
Weapon: Vintage Short-Fuze
Helmet, visor: Vintage Battle Gear
Backpack: POC Steel Brigade
Collar: POC Steel Brigade
The next few reveals will be the rest of my updated Original 13.
During the 25th Anniversary, Hasbro managed to release all the original members of the team. However, personally, I found that most of these figures could have been improved, even by 25th standards. A few years ago, I gave all them a face-lift. I tried to fix small things like Breaker’s head, Rock & Roll’s and Clutch’s sleeves, improved on legs, arms and colors. These customized versions have been displayed in my collection for the last 4 years or so. Since then, Hasbro has added some better parts to their bank and certain parts (like Zap’s legs) have become easier to acquire. I figured that it was time to revamp the Original 13 again.
In making these customs, my goal is not to create modern interpretations of the characters. I like my Original 13 looking like their 1982 selves. My goal is recreating the original look of each team member using modern parts. As such, some great parts like the Pursuit of Cobra Shock Trooper arms or Snake Eyes torso and legs are not on the table for these characters. I opted instead for torsos and arms that look more like the original toys. These may not end up being my last Original 13 customs. I may still improve them in the future, but I consider that I am much closer to reaching ultimate versions.
#1001 - ZapZap was one of my first Joes as a kid. He was purchased with birthday money along with Grunt, the MOBAT and the APC in the Fall of 1983. Truthfully, he was never one of my favorites since he was not in the cartoon very much.
I based my custom on his toy by using the same head as Grunt. He also follows the same basic recipe as the rest of my updated OG13 customs. For the color, I matched the original’s as closely as possible.
Head, hands: Marauder MTF
Torso: Paris Pursuit Snake Eyes
Arms, legs: DG Duke
Web gear: DG Duke
Weapon, Backpack: POC Steel Brigade
Helmet: Vintage Battle Gear
Collar: POC Steel Brigade
#1002 - FlashFlash was one on my first Joes that I got as a kid. I remember liking the color scheme and the weapon. Flash would often man the top of the APC after the cannon got destroyed.
The official 25th figure, though dated, is still dead-on accurate as far as sculpting details. For my custom, I kept the base body. I updated the head to something more proportional and gave him a vintage helmet and visor to bring him in line with the other Joes. After that, he got painted to match the rest of the team.
Head: 50th Dusty
Helmet, visor: Vintage Battle Gear
Everything else: 25th Flash
#1003 - SteelerSteeler was one on my first Joes that I got as a kid. I bought him with the MOBAT with my birthday money in 1983. I still remember the GI Joe section at BoniMart (a Canadian discount department store that no longer exists). That same birthday, I picked up Flash, Zap and the APC
Unfortunately, we did not get any good versions of Steeler during the 25th anniversary or since in my opinion, so this update is sorely needed. Since his uniform is different from the other Joes, I changed up his recipe for his torso and arms. I had previously used the 50th Hawk torso on my Action Force Steeler custom and liked it a lot. For the arms, I tried to convey the look of a jacket like the original figure.
Head: 50th Falcon
Torso: 50th Hawk
Arms: Retaliation Firefly
Legs: DG Duke
Web gear: 25th Steeler
Weapon: PoC Snake Eyes
Helmet, visor: Vintage Battle Gear
#1004 - StalkerI never had Stalker when I was a kid. None of my friends had the figure either, and he did not figure prominently in any of the few early Marvel issues that I had (5, 11, 12 and 24) so my only early knowledge of the character was through the Sunbow series and the catalogs. As such, when I was collecting and playing with Joes in the early years, Stalker did not really register on my radar. Later, when I was a bit older and just getting out of Joes, I received a copy of Special Missions 17 for Halloween. In the issue, Stalker leads a small team of Joes on a raid of a corporate building. It was only when I started collecting as an adult and I read the whole Marvel run that I developed an appreciation for the character.
For my custom, I stuck close to my established recipe for the other OG13. The Marauder MTF head oozes Stalker in my opinion. The colors match the vintage version as closely as possible as well.
Head, hands, beret: Marauder MTF
Torso: Paris Pursuit Snake Eyes
Arms, legs: DG Duke
Web gear: 25th Snake Eyes
Weapon: Vintage Stalker
Collar: POC Steel Brigade
#1005 - Rock & RollI did not have Rock & Roll as a kid. I don’t remember seeing him on store pegs, although I was probably just focusing on other characters. I remember him mostly for his Sunbow appearances as well as the role he played in issue 11 of the original Marvel run. In that issue, he gets tricked by Snow Job into going on a date with Gung Ho’s high-fashion model sister.
The 25th version of Rock & Roll was lacking in my opinion. The head is tiny, the arms are slit, the sleeves are not rolled up and the color is bland. My custom addresses all of these issues. It is a straight-forward use of my established OG13 recipe. I used Ultimate Flint’s arms to finally give R&R the proper rolled-up sleeves.
Head, hands: Marauder MTF
Torso: Paris Pursuit Snake Eyes
Arms: Retaliation Ultimate Flint
Legs, belt: DG Duke
Web gear: 25th Rock & Roll
Weapon: Vintage R&R
Helmet: Vintage Battle Gear
Collar: POC Steel Brigade
#1006 - BreakerI remember Breaker mostly from the Sunbow series. He was on the show quite a bit in the early episodes. As a kid, I had no interest in his figure however. He was quite ordinary and did not include a weapon. He did play an important role in one early comic book that I had, issue 5. In that story, Steeler and Clutch use a loud speaker and Breaker bubble gum popping to trick a squad of Cobra Troopers into surrendering.
This custom uses my established OG13 recipe. I used the early Marauder head with a painted-on beard since Breaker had no beard in the comics and a full beard on the show and on his figure. I decided to split the difference.
Head, hands: Marauder MTF
Torso: Paris Pursuit Snake Eyes
Arms: Retaliation Ultimate Flint
Legs: DG Duke
Web gear: 25th Snake Eyes
Helmet: Vintage Battle Gear
Backpack, communications gear: Vintage Breaker
Collar: POC Steel Brigade
#1007 - HawkAs a kid, I did not have very many issues of the comic, so the Sunbow series was "the" Joe-verse. As such, the leader was Duke. I did not understand that Hawk showed up much later in the series and that he outranked Duke. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized that that random green guy that was included with the MMS was in fact the first leader of the Joe team. I always thought that it was a strange way to release GI Joe’s leader. I would have thought that he would be on his own card or a large vehicle. Regardless, after reading the entire run of Marvel comics, I came to appreciate how good a commander Colonel (and later, General) Hawk truly was.
Hawk is a straight forward build as he shares the exact same parts recipe as Grunt. Fortunately, I had a DTC comic book Hawk in my fodder pile and used his head. It represents the Joe leader very well in my opinion.
Head: DTC Comic Hawk
Hands: Marauder MTF
Torso: Paris Pursuit Snake Eyes
Arms, legs: DG Duke
Web gear: 25th Snake Eyes
Weapon: Modern era pistol
Helmet, visor: Vintage Battle Gear
Collar: POC Steel Brigade
#1008 - Tan GruntI vaguely remember Tan Grunt as a kid. Since I spent hours staring at and memorizing the catalogs, I knew of the Falcon Glider even if I don’t remember seeing them in stores or being interested in them. By that time though, there were more interesting characters coming out like Tripwire, Snow Job and Airborne. So, Grunt and his tan version became less desired.
That said, as an adult, looking at GI Joe through nostalgia colored glasses, Grunt has reclaimed his spot in my collection and so the tan version is a must. For my custom, once the regular green version of Grunt was built, I made sure to set aside enough parts to make his tan version. I never had it as a kid, but since it’s Grunt, I had to make it.
Head, hands: Marauder MTF
Torso: Paris Pursuit Snake Eyes
Arms, legs: DG Duke
Web gear: 25th Snake Eyes
Weapon: 25th Duke (Comic Pack)
Helmet: Vintage Battle Gear
Backpack: ROC Monkey Wrench
Collar: POC Steel Brigade
#1009 - GruntI’ve written this statement a million times over the years, but Grunt is my favorite GI Joe. He was the face of GI Joe in those early years. He was my second Joe figure that I got after Short-Fuze, but I liked him better. He had a cool weapon and he was basically an articulated green army man. I remember playing with the figure quite a bit. I was always disappointed that he did not have a larger role on the cartoon. I did not have any comics where he played a prominent role.
He was the first of my revamped OG13 figure that I pieced together to see how the parts fit. He is the one I experimented on to create all the others. Since most of the Joes share common parts, I used Grunt to set the recipe for the team.
Head, hands: Marauder MTF
Torso: Paris Pursuit Snake Eyes
Arms, legs: DG Duke
Web gear: 25th Snake Eyes
Weapon: 25th Duke (Comic Pack)
Helmet: Vintage Battle Gear
Backpack: ROC Monkey Wrench
Collar: POC Steel Brigade