It's been a while since I've been able to put paint to figure, but I've gotten back in the saddle in past few weeks and should be posting regularly again. We'll be starting off with a French Special Operations three-pack.

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Baionnette
Naval Commando

A couple of years ago I did a three-pack of Canadian soldiers, intended to be the first set of many representing the special forces of various companies. Baionnette is the first of the French set of the same series.

File Name: Letellier, Severin
Service Branch: Marine nationale (French Navy)
Primary Specialty: Naval Infantry
Secondary Specialty: Marine Reconnaissance
Birthplace: Le Havre, FRA
Rank: QM.d1 (Quartermaster First Class; E-4 equivalent)

Baionnette is one of three French soldiers attached to the G.I. Joe team to pursue COBRA criminals Zartan, Tomax, Xamot and Major Bludd for crimes against their government. He is the precision instrument of the trio, an extremely skilled and deadly combatant from the Monfort Unit of the Commandos Marine. He grew up poor in Le Havre, France's second-largest port, which is very close to the sites of the Normandy Landings in WWII, where he developed an appreciation for life on the water, and a very strong sense of justice.

Graduated: Centre d'instruction neval de Brest – CIN (Brest Naval Training Centre), Ecole des fusiliers (Rifleman School), CFHT (Upper School of Fusiliers and Commandos). Qualified Expert: MAC 50 pistol, MP5 submachine gun, FAMAS G2 rifle, FR F2 sniper rifle.

“Anyone who tells you that the French are weak militarily, that they just surrender at the drop of a hat, doesn't know squat about soldiering. The French Armed Forces are among the strongest, best-equipped and well-trained units in the world. And their Spec Ops guys, like 'Bayonet' here, leave nothing to be desired. He's nasty and efficient, in the best possible ways. You do NOT want to be on the side of the bad guys when he's on their tail.”

Head – Wreckage
Arms – Ambush
Torso – Falcon
Waist – Psyche-Out
Legs – Sgt. Stalker v5

Boonie hat, submachine gun – Marauder Inc.
Sniper rifle - fodder

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Cachette
Airborne Reconnaissance

A couple of years ago I did a three-pack of Canadian soldiers, intended to be the first set of many representing the special forces of various companies. Cachette is the second of the French set of the same series.

File Name: Auger, Rainier P.
Service Branch: Armee de terre (French Army)
Primary Specialty: Long-Range Reconnaissance
Secondary Specialty: Airborne Infantry
Birthplace: Amiens, FRA
Rank: Capte (Captain; O-3 equivalent)

The French government has been hunting COBRA agents Zartan, Tomax, Xamot and Major Bludd for years, for crimes committed in France and its protectorates. Since the G.I. Joe ream has had the most contact with these blackguards, they selected three soldiers to be attached to the Joe unit. Cachette was a natural choice to lead this exercise, as an officer in the 13e Regiment de Dragons Parachutistes, elite airborne recon troops who operate in enemy territory. Their motto is “Au dela du possible” - “Above and beyond the possible!”

Graduated: Ecole de l'infanterie (Infantry School), Ecole des troupes aeroportees – ETAP (Airborne Troop School), Centre d'entrainement a la foret – CEFE (Jungle Training Centre), Centre d'entrainement au combat d'Arta Plage – CECAP (Combat Training Centre at Arta Beach). Qualified Expert: MAC 50 pistol, MP5SD silenced submachine gun, FAMAS G2 rifle, FN Minimi Para light machine gun.

“The 13e RDP do this thing they call 'hideout', taking up residence in enemy territory, in a completely camouflaged camp, to do long-term reconnaissance on the enemy. They can be there for weeks without the bad guys knowing it. By the time they're gone it's too late for you to do anything about it...”

Head – Skidmark
Arms – Dusty
Torso – Beachhead
Waist – Maj. Altitude
Legs – Airborne II

Shemagh, backpack, assault rifle, submachine gun – Marauder Inc.

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Diable
Alpine Ranger

A couple of years ago I did a three-pack of Canadian soldiers, intended to be the first set of many representing the special forces of various companies. Diable is the third of the French set of the same series.

File Name: Rochat, Aurel
Service Branch: Armee de terre (French Army)
Primary Specialty: Mountaineering Team Leader
Secondary Specialty: Airborne Infantry
Birthplace: Lausanne, SUI
Rank: Cplc (Caporal-chef; E-4 equivalent)

Diable grew up climbing in the Alps, with a partcular fondness for the ice-covered massif known as Les Diablerets (“Abode of the Devils”), from which he earned the nickname that has stuck with him throughout his life. He joined the French army as soon as he was eligible, figuring that if someone was going to pay him to climb mountains, his life would be pretty much set. Now one of the elite Chasseurs Alpins with the 27th Battalion of the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade, Diable is an expert in mountain and arctic warfare.

Graduated: Ecole de l'infanterie (Infantry School), Ecole des troupes aeroportees – ETAP (Airborne Troop School), Ecole militaire de haute monragne – EMHM (High Mountain Military School). Qualified Expert: MP5SD silenced submachine gun, FAMAS G2 rifle, FN Minimi Para light machine gun, PGM Hecate II sniper rifle, SPAS-12 shotgun.

“He's morose and somber, he doesn't do pleasantries or small talk, and he kinda smells, but you have to give the devil his due, he knows his stuff and there's no one better in mountain terrain than this guy. Just don't think you're going to have a good time when you're working with him.”

Head – Dusty v3
All other parts – Big Ben v3

Assault rifle, shotgun – Marauder Inc.

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glad to see you posting! the trio are super clean and look great.

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Snow Cat
Arctic Attack Vehicle

After being away from customizing for a while, I needed a simple project to get back into it. Restoring an old Snow Cat certainly fit that criteria. All the old gunky stickers were removed and the whole thing cleaned up, and some paint upgrades were applied, in particular to the treads and changing the missiles from bright orange to a nice dull grey. Since it's a heavily-armed vehicle, it should have a command officer in addition to a driver/operator, so custom Frostbite and Windchill figures complete the job.

All parts – Snow Cat
Stickers – Toyhax.com

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Frostbite
Arctic driver

After being away from customizing for a while, I needed a simple project to get back into it. Restoring an old Snow Cat certainly fit that criteria. And since it's a heavily-armed vehicle, it should have a command officer in addition to a driver/operator, so custom Frostbite and Windchill figures complete the job. Both figures began life as LBCs for a custom contest, which were then taken to full customs with proper paint jobs.

Head – Frostbite v4
Arms – Stalker v2
Torso, waist – Frostbite
Legs – Iceberg

Assault rifle - fodder

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Windchill
Arctic officer

After being away from customizing for a while, I needed a simple project to get back into it. Restoring an old Snow Cat certainly fit that criteria. And since it's a heavily-armed vehicle, it should have a command officer in addition to a driver/operator, so custom Frostbite and Windchill figures complete the job. Both figures began life as LBCs for a custom contest, which were then taken to full customs with proper paint jobs.

Head – Windchill
Arms, torso – Frostbite
Waist – Snow Job
Legs – Frostbite

Submachine gun – Marauder Inc.

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Lightfoot
Combat Engineer

One thing I received in my 2019 Joecustoms Secret Santa gift was a small bag of fodder. This figure was put together using only parts from that bag. The parts work together quite well, and he gets some nice basic military colours to offset his rather non-traditional garb. Thanks to suggestions by bucky and Tim 121RVC, I decided this was a version of Lightfoot, wearing something a little more appropriate for the battlefield than bright yellow.

Head – Beachhead
Arms – Nunchuk
Torso – Ozone
Waist – Ozone v2
Legs – Night Creeper

Satchel, case, submachine gun – Maruader Inc.

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Scarlett
Ninja Force Counterintelligence

This is an experimental figure that I did a couple of years ago but never got around to photographing. Wanting a replacement for the original clunky Ninja Force Scarlett, and noting that LJN's Bionic Six figure from the 80s were about the same scale as Joes and has similar construction (other than the fact they are mostly made of metal), this mash-up resulted. Everything but the head is from Helen (AKA Mother-1), painted in green, yellow and gold to reflect Ninja Force Scarlett's outfit.

Head – Scarlett v5
All other parts – Helen (Bionic Six)

Sword – fodder

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Scarlett
Counterintelligence

This figure started out as part of custom tribute to Silent Interlude. Originally it was just a head replacement, using Scarlett's Ninja Force head with a custom-cast ponytail added. It was finally time to do a proper job on this figure, so in addition to the new head it received a complete paint job. It may not look like it, but everything except her face is repainted. I never really knew what colour Scarlett's arms and legs were until doing this colour-matching – it's just a very dark olive drab.

Head – Scarlett v2 with custom-cast ponytail
All other parts – Scarlett v1.5

Crossbow – Scarlett v1.5

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the arctic set is really nice!
will lightfoots rifle fit in the case?
never saw the ionic 6 figures. are the arms and legs metal?
the classic scarlet looks good! does she have a slingshot in her back pocket?

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Thanks man. I believe the only part of Bionic Six figures that are plastic are the heads and arms. And yes, Scarlett has always had a slingshot in her back pocket. Hasbro was really hesitant to give female figures firearms.

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Posted a bunch of non-Joe toys that I loved before GI Joe came around in 1982.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=47856

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Duke
First Sergeant

Classic Duke custom restoring a bit of a beater figure to full glory. The left elbow needed a repair job, and the hair was very worn, but matching the colour worked out well. The paint upgrades are subtle, since Duke speaks with his actions rather than his appearance. The flag is on his left shoulder since if it were on his right, it would be backwards according to Army standards, and you know Duke abides by Army standards. The accessories all get an upgrade, from paint jobs to a flexible strap on the binoculars to a modified rifle. On his card art, Duke carries Snow Job's laser rifle. The closest real-world weapon in appearance is probably the Baretta AR-70/223, so some bits were trimmed off and a magazine added to get it closer to that assault rifle. His left thumb had to be trimmed down quite a bit so he could even hold the thing.

All parts – Duke
Flag sticker – Marauder Inc.

Helmet - Grunt
Binoculars – Duke (modified)
Backpack – Airborne
Rifle – Snow Job
Magazine – Marauder Inc.

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