Now that is what we should have got. Nice work!

I think he's mine as well. When I first got back into collecting as an adult, the very first figure I got was Firefly, because I never had him as a kid and he was obviously completely awesome.


Neither were that big of a deal. The arms just needs lot of hair dryer and some patience. And the neck swap only required me to drill the bottom hole a little bigger to fit the peg.

_________________

Major Bludd
Cobra Mercenary

The only Classified toys I have decided to include in my collection are Cobra Command figures released between 1982 and 1984. Zartan and Firefly were the first two completed, with Major Bludd here being the third. The goal is to get them as close as possible to their vintage appearances. As such, Bludd needed some nice high shiny boots, and a right arms that looked less like a Star Wars droid’s. Oh and the stripes on the side of his trousers, and making most of the dark grey bits black to match the original (including his hair). The third pic represents him reciting some of his “poetry.”

Head, torso, left arm, waist: Major Bludd
Right arm: Snake-Eyes
Legs: Cobra Commander

Helmet, backpack, gun: Major Bludd
Sidearm: Snake-Eyes

_________________

Great job on all of these.

_________________

Borebit
Autobot Combat Engineer

Transformers #18 (“The Bridge to Nowhere!”) included a number of one-shot characters who did not come from the toyline, presumably since the writers needed some Cybertronian characters to blow up. Following up on customs of Crosscut and his successor, this is Borebit from the Autobot duo of Corkscrew and Borebit, who used their alt modes (I have interpreted them as drill tanks) to dig a tunnel before getting ambushed by Decepticons.

Tech Specs:

AUTOBOT - BOREBIT

“Why go around it when you can go through it?”

BOREBIT is very straightforward. No need to find a path around an obstacle when he can just drill straight through it. Impatient, always ready to charge headlong into action. Uses self-igniting thermite pellets which burn through enemy armour. Lack of patience leads to aggravation among other Autobots, but follows orders and does his job.

Strength 5, Intelligence 5, Speed 2, Endurance 7, Rank 2, Courage 7, Firepower 4, Skill 7

Transformers Universe Profile:

BOREBIT

Allegiance: Autobots
Function: Combat Engineer

“Why go around it when you can go through it?”

Profile: Borebit is a very straightforward guy. He’s honest to a fault, and prefers the direct approach to everything. He sees no reason to work around a problem when you can just push straight through it, both in the metaphorical and literal senses. If there’s a wall in the way, just drill a hole through it. Patience is not his strong suit. He prefers to charge headlong into action, regardless of whether it’s a battle or a structural engineering problem. His first idea is always the one he prefers.

Abilities: In his alternate mode, Borebit can drill through almost any material, given enough time. His drill cuts through any metal easily, and contains an internal hydro-cooling system to prevent overheating. In combat he uses an integral self-igniting thermite pellet launcher, which burn though enemy armour but pose a danger to any nearby allies as well, due to their tendency to splash off of the target onto nearby objects and Transformers. His vehicle mode has heavy armour plating, which makes him highly resistant to damage, but also makes him quite slow.

Weaknesses: Borebit’s impulsiveness and lack of patience grates on many other Autobots, who wish he would slow down and think about what he’s doing. But he does his job, and follows the order he’s given, so it’s more of a personality conflict that an actual problem. Borebit may want to jump into the deep end, but knows that it’s not his place to override his allies.

Head: Grimlock (Age of Extinction)
All other body parts: Warpath (Combiner Wars)
Drill bit: Nightbeat (Titans Return)

_________________

Corkscrew
Autobot Demolitions

Transformers #18 (“The Bridge to Nowhere!”) included a number of one-shot characters who did not come from the toyline, presumably since the writers needed some Cybertronian characters to blow up. Following up on customs of Crosscut and his successor, this is Corkscrew from the Autobot duo of Corkscrew and Borebit, who used their alt modes (I have interpreted them as drill tanks) to dig a tunnel before getting ambushed by Decepticons.

Tech Specs:

AUTOBOT - CORKSCREW

“It all comes crashing down!”

CORKSCREW used to be a builder, but realized he liked knocking things down a lot better. Knows exactly where to damage a structure to bring it crashing down. Uses an ionic disintegrator both to wreck buildings and in battle. So obsessed with demolition that he tends to get distracted from doing boring stuff like fighting Decepticons.

Strength 5, Intelligence 6, Speed 3, Endurance 7, Rank 2, Courage 6, Firepower 5, Skill 7

Transformers Universe Profile:

CORKSCREW

Allegiance: Autobots
Function: Demolitions

“It all comes crashing down!”

Profile: Corkscrew had a long career as a construction engineer on Cybertron, but never felt fulfilled by it. One day he was tasked with demolishing an old building, and he found his calling. He enjoyed brining the structure down so much that he made it is full-time occupation. Corkscrew is a master demolisher, able to destroy buildings with great precision and efficiency. He knows exactly where to damage the structure in order to do the job with minimal muss and fuss. He invented the ionic disintegrator he uses for that very purpose.

Abilities: In his alternate mode of a drill tank, Corkscrew can drill through most materials, given enough time. His drill cuts through any metal easily, and contains an internal hydro-cooling system to prevent overheating. He doesn’t travel very fast in this mode, but has heavy armour plating that makes him resistant to most Decepticon weapons. In combat he uses a smaller adaptation of his ionic disintegrator, which splits things apart on a molecular level.

Weaknesses: Corkscrew really only cares about demolition. Even when engaged in other tasks, some of his cranial processors are always running simulations in the background of his cortex. This means that he’s never truly focused on any task that isn’t demolition, which is a liability when he’s called upon to do such menial things as fighting Deceptictons and saving innocent life forms from harm.

Head: Hoist (Thrilling 30)
All other body parts: Megatron (Thrilling 30)
Drill bit: Nightbeat (Titans Return)

_________________

Aquaman
DC Superhero

Liking the Spin Master DC heroes figures lately, they’re nice and simple but with very good articulation for the price point and the eyes are always done really well. All most of them need is some extra paint, such as Aquaman here. The gold effect on his belt and neck is done with chrome covered in a layer of clear yellow paint. His torso and arms were hit with clear orange, to give a deeper colour and a nice shiny effect. His hair needed to be redone as well, since the paint masking on the original isn’t great. The best part of having done an Aquaman custom is that I never have to do another one! I kid, of course. Loved him since the Super Friends.

All parts and accessories: Aquaman (Spin Master, bearded version)

_________________

Black Manta
DC Supervillain

Continuing on the Spin Master DC train, we have an archenemy of Aquaman, who I just completed as well. Can’t have Aquaman without Black Manta. The undersea villain gets the chrome treatment (via Molotow Liquid Chrome pens), shining up his head, neck and arm thingy real nice. The helmet eyes are also chrome with two layers of clear red paint on top, giving a nice shiny effect. The sword is also chromed. Chrome, chrome, chrome.

All parts: Black Manta (Spin Master)
Sword: Deadpool (Marvel Legends)

_________________

Catman
DC Supervillain

The Spin Master DC series includes a few chase figures, such as gold versions of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman etc. Didn’t have any interest in them until I realized that the gold Batman would make a good base for a Catman figure. Catman is a villainous character explicitly based on Batman in-universe. He originally decided on a life of crime rather than vigilantism in Gotham because Batman already filled that role, so he essentially became a criminal version of Batman.

All parts – Batman (Spin Master)

_________________

Mainframe
Tiger Force Computer Specialist

I haven’t posted (or made) an ARAH custom in ages, so it was high time to revisit my first love. Digging through the fodder box for inspiration, I decided to pair up figures that had pieces with the same base colour to make some relatively simple customs. First one is made from Scoop and Tiger Force Lifeline, who are the same shade of yellow. The result is Tiger Force Mainframe, a character selected to make sense of the tech-looking thing on Scoop’s left wrist. He’s quite gaudy, which is perfect for late 80’s Joes.

Head – Mainframe
Arms, waist, legs – Scoop
Torso – Tiger Force Lifeline

Backpack, computer - Mainframe
Submachine gun – Marauder Inc.

_________________

Shock Viper
Cobra Assault Trooper

Another figure assembled from parts that have the same base colour. In this case, the deep red used for Crimson Guard Immortal, Bazooka v3 and Wild Weasel (waist at least) all match. The concept for the figure is adapted from the IRON Stormtrooper from the Sgt. Savage line, after deciding on using that head.

Shock Vipers are Cobra’s front-line troopers, thrown at enemy lines to break through, bringing shock and awe to opposing forces. Dr. Mindbender has enhanced them cybernetically and chemically, but they need constant chemical input from their backpack unit to be able to handle the increased inputs from their enhancements. This renders them vulnerable – if their feed line is severed, they tend to freeze, unable to function.

Head – IRON Stormtrooper (Sgt. Savage)
Arms, torso – Bazooka v3
Waist – Wild Weasel
Legs – Crimson Guard Immortal
Backpack – Flash
Rifle – Marauder Inc.
Cobra sigil – Toyhax.com

_________________

Water Moccasin
Python Patrol Airboat

This is a custom I’ve been meaning to do for a long time. It’s based on the late 80s Brazilian version of the Water Moccasin, released in a nice deep red colour. That colouration lends itself well to the Python Patrol, bolstered by the fact that Copperhead was released carded as part of the Python Patrol in 1989. I’m not the first to make this connection, since a similar version of the boat was available at the 2011 GI Joe Convention. In addition to a paint job, the gun barrels have been drilled out for added realism. The pics include customs I made a few years ago of Copperhead along with Gatilho and Relampago, two Brazilian-exclusive figures.

All parts – Water Moccasin
Stickers – Toyhax.com

_________________

Big week for great ARAH customs around here! The Water Moccasin looks awesome in red. The Iron Stormtrooper figure is really well done: those parts look right at home together, and the head works way better than I would have expected. The original figure has a strange design that I love for some reason, and this is an even better adaptation of that look. And then there's Mainframe, who's just a gorgeous figure. Again, the parts look fantastic together, and the figure really captures the feel of a vintage ARAH guy in terms of design. I loved looking at these.

if i saw it with no explanation i'd of bet that mainframe was factory. the tiger stripe match is scary good!

_________________

I was thinking the same thing. It’s crazy clean and looks factory


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

_________________