Introduction
Hasbro's "Joe Vs Cobra" and "Valor Vs Venom" lines have their good and bad points. Good?
Head sculpts, umm... Bad? Paint choices, weapon/accessory sculpts, molded-on clothing, etc.
Case in point: Cobra Crimson Guard.
Although it shares the same head as the Cobra C.L.A.W.S. figure, it's a great sculpt with lots of potential.
However, the existing paintjob on both figures is flat and lifeless, and the costume leaves much to be desired.
The remedy? Fix it.
Before:
Step one: The Paint
New paint, some dry-brushed highlights and a wash of black ink for that added grit go a long way...
Step Two: The Body
Being a Hasbro head, it was obviously meant for a Hasbro body right? I wanted something a little beefier and taller,
so I know that wasn't going to work into my plans.
I salvaged a neck post from an old BBI figure, but it still didn't look quite right- the head just didn't sit
quite high enough on the neck. Using a rubber hose gasket to fill the gap brought the head to a more
realistic height.
With a little paint on the neck, we now have a Hasbro head that's perfectly matched to it's new Blue Box body
Step Three: The Uniform
I started off with an old pair of Power Team BDUs printed with a Vietnam-era
green tiger-stripe pattern. By over-dying them in dark red dye, the lighter
green turned a medium red, while the original darker sections turned a darker,
almost black color. The overall result is a set of red-on-red camo BDUs, which
fit nicely into the "Crimson" theme.
Step Four: Dressed & Ready
Of course, a simple pair of BDUs isn't nearly enough for a fully equiped trooper. I added an assualt vest from
BBI's Owl, nomex flight gloves (repainted), 21C kneepads, and a pair of DML tanker boots.
Note: I can't take complete credit for this... I started this after seeing Alyasha's
guard over at the OSW. I wanted
to go a different direction than he did, but I just couldn't come up with a
better design.