Unmasked head: Indiana Jones- Indiana Jones
Helmeted head: ARAH Blowtorch (battle pack) on MU Guardsman
Lower arms: 25A Cobra Commander
Torso, upper arms: 25A Cobra Officer
Legs: NS Dr. Mindbender (mad scientist version)


Character:

Marvel's GI Joe #29 introduced the Crimson Guard at a Cobra rally. "Smith" was the first.

Design:

The final Crimson Guard uniform was probably still kicking around Hasbro's drawing room, so Marvel presented something that looked more like a jumpsuit with long gloves and tall boots than the very ornate ceremonial uniform of 1985. No shoulder boards, no aiguillette, no double-breasted panel. It didn't even have a gun belt.

The prototype helmet didn't have the slit visor and snout design of the final CG helmet. It looked like a solid red Cobra Commander head, but with the outline of a bandit mask stenciled onto the faceplate. The stenciled mask looked too much like a Red Shadows design, so I went sideways and used a Marvel Universe Guardsman head under a Blowtorch helmet. It doesn't look like a CC head, a finalized Crimson Guard, or a Red Shadow.

These very plain parts approximate the jumpsuit look.

Colors & Paint:

The Marvel Comic artwork of Smith was red, red, and more red. At one point, this figure was going to be all red like the comic book. But it didn't work on the custom. It just looked unpainted. The closest I could keep to the source material was to shift the gloves and boots to a somewhat dark shade of crimson. A few flourishes of dark slate are added in places for some contrast.

The Cobra logo is a one printed onto regular paper and clear coated on both sides, then glued down to the chest. It's not a nice as a waterslide, but I've never gotten around to learning how to make those. It's also off center just enough to drive me mad, but what can you do?

On a side note, the sculpting on the Indiana Jones figures was amazing. Hasbro ruined them with sloppy paint applications, though. Once I put on the flesh base coat, bringing the face back to a blank canvas, I was really impressed with how much it looked dead-on like Harrison Ford. Oddly, Kenner/Hasbro never got as close with any of the seven thousand Han Solo figures.

Sculpting & Modifying:

The mid-torso articulation gap and the thigh screw insets are epoxied smooth.

Thanks for looking.

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