Hi everyone,

After months of reading hundreds of posts here, this must be one of my first attempts at writing something valuable. I'll just seize the moment to post pics of the first custom I submitted to the site.

Name is Stealth. I really dig Robert Ludlum's world, aka the Jason Bourne universe. I've read a few books, and as much a fan of the movies as I am, the books take you 100x deeper in the underground assassination/infiltration/terrorist world.
Taking such influence into account, I wanted to make a character that would belong to that world, and voilà! I give you Stealth.

I just got back into collecting Joes at the begining of the year, starting from my childhood collection. A few months later, in the spring, I tried my hands at customizing them.

I didn't have many parts to choose from at first, with only about a dozen figures in my fodder, but I like how Stealth came out. I think the parts mesh really well, and the Wetsuit chest does wonders in a commando world, outside of its underwater scope.

I have yet much progress to do, as you will see from my next customs - my main struggle thus far is preventing paint from chipping/flaking around the joints. I've tried different techniques which I'll describe with my next customs.

For this one, I basically paint sprayed (or is it spray painted?) all parts black, and then applied the other colors by brush. I'm using Prince August paints; I do not think they are sold in the US. They're a little thick at times and some colors may contain small particles, but they do the job and they're cheaper than Citadel, the other brand I'm using.

Once painted, I applied a matte vernish from Prince August.

I haven't done any modification to the original parts, but I think the combination works as is.

I hope you like it!

He looks really good. My only negative on him would be the use of Wet-Suit arms, which look too skintight compared to the rest of the body (especially the baggy pants). Other than that, great job. He's got this cool black ops look to him.

And I agree, the Wet-Suit chest works wonders as a commando shirt. I've used it on my Hiryu custom and I think I've seen it on a Snake-Eyes or two.

Good job detailing that Firefly backpack, by the way.

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Well done...a very nice, clean custom.

so far I think you've found on of the best paint secrets...using spray paint. I'm an uber whore for the use of Krylon...good color selection, quality paint, and you get a ton more than those little model spray cans for about the same price.

I think I agree with Jay...I bet there are better arms that you could find for this guy...maybe somthing like Dial Tone's.

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That's a great first custom to showcase, remster 9. Everything pulled together nicely and it's a good paintjob, too.

Look forward to your next one!

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

Jay and Nova you're right about the arms, I'll look in my fodder and see if I have anything better. I went with Wetsuit's to maintain the upper body integrity with the chest - I guess easy was my what I went for Thanks for the tip!

Nova, I think we get Krylon here in France - and I saw a large number of people on these boards swear by it, so I'll definitely have to try them. I've been using some cheap local hardware store brand thus far, and I must admit spray paint works far better than the acrylic model paints: layers are thinner and more homogeneous, and the paint seems to adhere to the plastic much better. I just need to expand my selection to new colors, as black and white won't get me very far

past nastification, thanks a lot for the compliment! I'm glad you like it, it's very encouraging!

very nice figure. I agree, spray paint is the way to go. I've found out recently (from Bad Ash) that you can use a flat clear coat over top of a gloss spray paint and can get a great finish. I used to only use flats or satin because of the shine, but that tip helped my color selection alot.

I acutally like the arms. At first I thought they were Snake Eyes v2. Great clean paints, and tight lines. Can't wait to see more.

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That's a neat looking figure. I don't mind the arms either.
Well done for your first attempt.

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That painting looks great. It's very smooth and clean. Bravo.

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Great custom, man!
He certainly looks stealthy and commando.

Tim 121RVC

I too thought they were SE v.2 at first. Great job for any custom, but simply outstanding for your first. I don't think I tried to tackle a Firefly backpack until I had been doing customs for a couple of years. You nailed it right out of the gate. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work.

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Thank you very much for the appreciation everyone! I'm thrilled this little guy gets your approval! I still have miles to go before I get high quality work on a constant basis like you guys, but all the experimenting that awaits me makes this hobby exciting.

Will definitely try to post more in the upcoming days... only next time the noob I am will try to remember to detail the parts I used

In case someone was still wondering, here's the breakdown

Head: Undertow
Chest: Wetsuit v1
Arms: Wetsuit v1
Waist: Mercer v1
Legs: Lift Ticket

Matthew - thanks a bunch for sharing the tip, I will definitely no longer restrain myself to the satin paint selection from now on! Also, can you by chance direct me to any pictures of figs you painted this way (by applying flat clear coat over glossy paint)? I'm curious about that finish of yours

This came out really well. I have no beef with the arms, I think they work good in this application. I also agree with the others, awesome detail work on the backpack. The only thing that I feel could use some improvement is the name, "Stealth" is a little weak for me. Overall, great job!

If this is your first custom, then I can't wait to see custom #2.

Thanks for the critique! Yeah unfortunately I'm by no means a native English speaker, so I really have no expertise whatsoever of the military jargon. Hence when it comes to picking up names for my customs... well it remains pretty basic. However I think "Stealth" does the job here, but in other cases... it won't make it.

I'll have to submit my upcoming works to these boards for better names.

If this is your first custom, I think you're on the track for producing some truly quality work.

Great part selection, though I echo the comments about the arms. Your choice certainly works, but something baggier might match the legs better.

The paint on this is even and crisp. You're off to a great start.

For some reason, he remind me of an update of the orginal Torpedo figure. I think these parts with some light gray detailss would make a good base for a modern Torpedo.

Cool choice for his secondary specialty... definitely one that hasn't been overused.

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Thanks for the comments again

On second thought, while I think the Uzi works for a commando soldier, I feel this custom will really be complete when I get him a more discreet gun, with a silencer. I don't think the Uzi rapid fire blast would really qualify as "Stealth"...

A gun with silencer would work better in the assassination black ops world - what do you guys think?