Oh The Horror!

I stopped by a local Family Dollar to pick up a card and, of course, had to walk through the toy aisle. Usually quite laughable, this item caught my eye.

Something about it caused me to invest one whole dollar into the purchase of this so much awesome toy.

Was it the sad, pathetic looking soldier? Scrawny legs and deformed head?

"Kill me... Kill me now..."

How about this awesome shield, hollow battering ram, and megaphone?

Nope, it was...

This odd looking machine gun. Something about the barrel of it brought to mind of some other weapon that I've seen out there in some other property.

I think it actually looks pretty cool.

Well, the tripod is a bit dumb looking, but the gun has potential.

It's going to need some glue.

The diameter of the post of the gun is just a little too wide for the hole in the roof of the VAMP. If I decide to keep the gun, I'll alter it before I do anything to the VAMP. But there's one major issue...

It rests too far back over the hole for the crew to man it. Not enough space for someone to fire the weapon.

One possible idea would be to move the gun forward in the mounting bracket. Possible. I'll work on it over the next few days and see what happens. Maybe it was worth that $1.07 that I invested in it!

Have you bought any piece o' crap items, hoping to reuse them for your collection? Let us know about it in the comments!

FSS 5.0 Announced at JoeCon!

Information originally appeared on GeneralsJoes.com. 

The 12 figures are as follows!

1. Ambush

2. Charbroil (classic deco, masked head not removable)

3. Darklon (a more current version, convention version is considered a “prequel” design)

4. General Flagg (based on the 2nd Battle Corps version from the 90s)

5. Battle Corps COBRA Viper (based on the Iron Anvil look – light infantry Viper)

6. Salvo (more of a Pursuit of Cobra version, not 100% vintage accurate)

7. Scoop (with the helmet from Sky Patrol Airborne)

8. Raptor!!!!!!11!

9. Sneak Peek (standard release, may end up changing the vest a little)

10. Steel Raven (based on the female SKAR Infantry Officer)

11. Shattered Glass Xamot (the Shattered Glass version is very reminiscent of the Sunbow business suit)

12. Action Force Z-Force Gaucho (based on the 50th Anniversary Gung Ho)

I find no fault with any of these choices. Count me in for FSS 5.0!

VAMP Mk2 Paint Upgrade Project

Just yesterday, I posted the results of a paint job on one of my Ninja Combat Cruisers and I thought that I would go through a few of the steps I did for the paint job.

The first step is to just disassemble the thing. There are about a dozen screws that need to be taken out in order to take the VAMP completely apart. I decided to not paint the dashboard, primarily because I didn't want to lose the stickers. I'm sure I could have stuck them to some wax paper or something, but I didn't want to risk losing any of the sticky-ness of the dash stickers.

Interesting observation about the two pieces of the roof section.

The pegs from the roof that insert into the body drop down into openings that have holes in them. See those green arrows? I'm thinking that small screws can drop down into each hole and the roof can be secured.

This picture shows one of the two holes for the front section of the roof.

Paint job done and everything is just pieced together; nothing screwed back together yet.

Looking around at Home Depot, I discovered this paint. The Satin Hunt Club Green doesn't sound real macho and military, but I thought it looked pretty good. I decided that I wanted a green, but that I would be content with what the vehicle might have looked like had Hasbro actually molded it in a shade of green. The key in painting a GI Joe vehicle is to make sure the paint can has something like "ALSO BONDS TO PLASTIC." Very important!

Here are the four screws installed in the back of the body to secure the back part of the roof. The screws are a little too big, but they did the trick.

Two front screws secure the front section.

I used a total of six screws to secure the roof to the body. Once those were finished, all that was left to do was to put the chassis and the bumpers back on and screw in all of the screws that came out of it. No screws left over, so it was successful!

I like the shade of green that I wound up with. It really dried nice and smooth and almost feels like it's the natural color of the vehicle. It doesn't really feel too much like a paint job. 

Once we finally get settled this fall and I find my other VAMP Mk2, I think I will paint it the same color as this one. I really don't think I need another for different environments. Sure, a desert one would be cool, but I'll be living in North Georgia, a bit far from any deserts. While the chances of snow will be greater, I don't think I need to make a winter ops version. I'll stick with another Satin Hunt Club Green VAMP Mk2.

What are your thoughts?

Got any custom vehicles that you are working on?

Spread the word with a comment!

Just because Helix is awesome

Okay, fine! She's a Mary Sue! I get it! And I don't care!

Like I've said countless times in the past, this figure ROCKS!

Zero complaints about the figure!

Helix with wings because why the hell not?

She wears them better than Nemesis Enforcer.

A couple Arashikage swords?

Why not?

Boom, boom!

Out go the lights!

Helix rocks!

If you disagree, defend yourself in the comments!

New Paint for a VAMP Mk2

I've got a few of the Ninja Combat Cruisers from Retaliation. I know for sure I have three, maybe one more. Most are all packed up right now, but I held one out for a new paint job.

The NCC or, as I prefer, the VAMP Mk2, is an excellent vehicle. an upgrade to the modern era VAMP, it has a new roof and doors. It turns out that the new VAMP appears to have quite a bit of customization potential.

But that color... Oh, that color... Most collectors aren't really thrilled with the color. I painted one of mine solid black and it makes for a great modern era update of the Cobra Stinger.

I decided to do a repaint in something more of a military green.

This is the result! I like it! I took a bunch of pictures and I'll post an in depth story about the paint I used and the process of painting it. But for now, I just really wanted to brag a bit about the paint job. The paint dried very smooth and it is almost factory quality. 

More later!