JoeCanuck

Thanks man! More coming tomorrow.

OB

GI Joe turns 50 in 2014 and I have prepared a series of customs to mark the event. Check back here everyday of the month for my 50th Anniversary Tribute to GI Joe. Or, you can follow at my blog: Oreobuilder's Blog

I was born in 1976. So, growing up, the only GI Joe that I knew of and played with was the 3.75’’ Real American Hero. I followed their battles with Cobra on TV and through the comics. I had about three-dozen figures and several vehicles. My interest in GI Joe’s origins started when I was an adult. I ‘’discovered’’ the Adventure Team by doing research online for a Group Project at Joecustoms.com. This opened up a whole new world of possibilities and projects. In 2009, the Official GI Joe Collector’s Club launched a small line of 3.75’’ Adventure Team figures. These consisted of the four main characters with vehicles.

I have decided to focus on GI Joe’s first dozen years. My line up of customs will include homages to figures, vehicles and playsets from the 1964-76 era. Some will be pretty vintage accurate, while others will be re-interpretations. My goal with each custom was to keep the ‘’feel’’ of the original toys.

50th Anniversary Day 1: Action Soldier

One of the four figures that started it all, Action Soldier was released in 1964. He included basic olive green fatigues, brown combat boots, an OD cap, dog tags, rank insignia stickers and an Army Field Manual. The basic nature of his uniform allowed kids to collect add-on accessory kits such as the field vest, the helmet as well as various weapons and gear. The kits that were purchased allowed kids to customize their GI Joe for specific missions.

This project has to start here. Action Soldier was the first GI Joe ever conceived of by Sam Speers and Don Levine at Hasbro in 1963. My first custom represents the basic Action soldier with fatigues, cap, dog tags and field manual (Set number 7500). The second figure is the Action Soldier outfitted with the Combat Helmet (7507) and Combat Rifle Sets (7510). The third figure features the Field Jacket and Combat Rifle with Bayonet.

Enjoy!

OB

GI Joe is turning 50 in 2014 and that calls for a celebration. Let's kick off the year with a new themed month. Starting January 1st, there will be a new 50th anniversary custom revealed each day during the month. Check back each day in January for a new reveal.

GI Joe! GI Joe!
Fighting man from head to toe!
On the land…
On the sea…
In the air!

GI Joe Attacks!
Boom! Boom!
GI Joe takes the hill!
Bam! Bam!
Terrific battle!

Here is the original commercial: G.I. Joe commercial 1960's ( Hasbro )



OB

Quote from: Oreobuilder on October 02, 2013, 11:23:51 AM

Je vais arriver vers 9:00.

OB

Moi aussi! On pourra même se voir pour le torso de Airborne! 

Cool. On se donne rendez-vous à la table de LatinJoe? 

OB

Here is a 30th Anniversary version of the Star Viper. This is a commission I did for a fellow Joe fan.

The body was assembled from all black figures, so the custom is completely playable.

Enjoy!

OB

Here are a few I made for the latest Joecustoms.com Group Project. It was called Small Playsets. We needed to take inspiration from the classic playsets like the Bivouac, the FLAK, Checkpoint Alpha, etc. Here is what I came up with.

Enjoy!

OB


GI Joe Battle Corps Field Hospital
Lifeline tends to injured GI Joe soldiers at the Battle Corps Field Hospital. This play set includes Lifeline, sandbags, wooden reinforcements, camouflage tarp, cot, crates, medical supplies box, 2 water barrels, diagnostic computer, weapon rack with 3 rifles and medical emergency case.

This set was one of my first ideas for this project. Some of the inspiration came from watching “The Pacific” (HBO mini-series). I tried to reproduce the feel of the 1984-85 play sets with this one. I wanted something that looked right at home with the Bivouac or the Watch Tower.






Cobra Ballistic Missile Silo
On Cobra Island, Cobra Commander has ordered his SCUD-Vipers to prepare to launch ballistic missiles at GI Joe targets. This play set includes SCUD-Viper, control room, silo hatch and Cobra intercontinental ballistic missile.

I bought a couple of cheap LAWs off eBay recently. They were beat up with old stickers. I figured I could use them for customs. As I was taking them apart to wash them, I was reminded of a missile silo hatch. This play set is the result of that inspiration. The fact that the SCUD-Viper would be fried the instant the missile launched strikes me as the kind of ridiculous setup that we would have gotten in 1980’s Joes.






Cobra Viper Lockdown
Cobra has captured GI Jane and has locked her up in the dungeon of their secret desert temple. This play set includes GI Jane, Cobra Viper Guard, Cobra dungeon, weapons rack with rifles, table, 2 chairs and computer.

I spotted the True Heroes Pirates play sets a while back and waited for a sale to pick them up. I wanted to use some of the elements for the ''Small Playsets'' Group Project at Joecustoms.com. I remembered the DTC Viper Lockdown and this play set was born. I have also been looking for way to make a VvV era new-sculpt Viper and this gave me an excuse to throw one (or three) together.










Cobra Island Security Checkpoint
Cobra Night Watch Troopers control, search and inspect vehicle traffic on Cobra Island through Checkpoint Python. Play set includes Cobra Night Watch Trooper, checkpoint building, wooden barricade, 2 cones, Cobra flag and tank barrier.

Oddly enough, the inspiration for this play set came from a recent trip to Mexico. After seeing tollbooths and Policia Federal on several roads and highways, I thought that Cobra Island would probably have a similar network of Police/Security Vipers that control traffic, inspect vehicles for contraband or search for infiltrators. After looking through my spare fodder, this play set was born. It is a simple idea, but I’m pretty happy with the result.





Cobra Night Watch Troopers:



Dino-Hunter Lookout Post
The GI Joe Dino Hunter team keeps track of the dinosaurs on Dr Mindbender’s Island from the Dino Hunters Lookout Post. This play set includes Lowlight with infrared visor, tower, searchlight, dinosaur, barrels, dinosaur cage, weapons crate with rifles, grenade launcher, combat knife and shovel.

This old guard/watch tower is from a fodder lot I bought a while back. I wasn’t using it for anything. This project gave me an excuse to give it a new life. I wanted to use more obscure themes that don’t have play sets, so I went with Dino-Hunters. I added the cage and the diorama accessories in matching colors and this one came together pretty well.