GI Joe costume: toy or "real world?"

cayman shen

OK, time for my annual "make big plans for Halloween, don't follow through with them, and end up with no costume because I can't complete anything."

Anyhoo, I was thinking of the GI Joe Flash, the laser trooper from 82 with the red padding.

The question is this: do I try to emulate the figure EXACTLY, or do I go as a real-world soldier wearing Flash's laser gun, backpack, etc. For instance, the flash figure has brown, laceless boots that look almost like riding boots. But a real soldier would have laced combat boots. And because the figure came out in 82 there's no real details such as rank pins, dogtags, etc. Do I add that because a real soldier would have them? His pants have no pockets, but a real soldier's BDUs have pockets, etc, etc.

Mind you, I don't finish 90% of what I start, so if you want to reply, think of it more as a theoretical discussion...

Fett80

If you want people to reconize the caracter you should go for the cartoon look.

SSgt Burton

Well I put together a Recondo back in 2008. My line of thinking was to go for a full scale version of the 1984 toy:










It's funny- while trying to search for a pic of the toy I came across this custom 1/6 scale figure:





I think the 1/6 scale looks more like me than the '84 toy!


So I really like seeing someone do an accurate version of the toy rather than what a "real World" version of the toy might look like.


Kevin

td2253

Kevin, LOL! That's a pretty good likeness of you bro! Nice job on the costume!

Cayman, Flash was one of my favorite GI Joe figures back in the 80's. Would love to see your WIP posts if you decide to go for it.

cayman shen

A bit of preliminary research yielded some potential gear:

The helmet has a more or less vintage shape:
Amazon.com: Firepower Airsoft Tactical Helmet - Army Green: Sports…

Not sure if the visor will fit, but there's motorcycle stuff out there to cut down for the straight across look:

Amazon.com: Scorpion SpeedView Sun Visor for EXO-100 Helmet - --/Clear: Automotive

Probably tomorrow I'll start on a cardboard backpack to feel out the project. Awesome recondo, by the way SSB. Instantly recognizable to a 30-something!

TD: I'll likely emulate the 25th collar and boot section, if I can figure that out, and go with 82 shaped pads, backpack, and gun.

Man I hope I can muster the ooomph to do this. I always get excited and then fizzle out.

cayman shen

3AM. I suck. Insomnia sucks. But fabric.com has pre-quilted red fabric and a nice muted silver upholstery fabric. Having it pre-quilted takes a lot of the fear out of this...

cayman shen

OK, made templates for the quilted bits. Made most of a backpack, but here I hit a snag. I made it from mainly sheet styrene, and all the detail is very crisp and sharp. Normally that's desirable, I guess, but I want a softer more vac-formed look which would be more in line with the feel of the 82 toy backpack. I may try again using foam for the main geometric shapes.

About five hours and a LOT of styrene blown there, but I'll chalk it up as practice. I'm not crazy about some of the proportions anyway.

themanwoaname

the red parts always seemed like plates or armor to me.

muttmo

It is amazing how they made the toy look like you.. yes a few years before now..

SSgt Burton

Is this aimed at me?

Are you the guy who made that 1/6 scale figure?

Because I was making a tongue in cheek joke when I said it looked more like me than the toy.

Sorry if I hurt your feelings.


Kevin

cayman shen

The resemblance really was uncanny

Scapey

You need to man up, Kev, and take it to the next level!
Get those surface piercings next to your elbows! Complete the look!

cayman shen

Actually, that's kind of inspired: doing the rivets and all, going as a "living toy." Probably would work better on non-cloth costumes....

dreaminspired

if i was doing this project i'd spray it with 3M spray mount and lay a layer of cloth over it and keep soaking the cloth with layers of latex house paint till it mutes all of the details.... maybe sand the layers of paint between apps. that's how i made my Mcquarrie bucket look muted and vac-formed. it sucks to waste all that styrene.

cayman shen

Hey, thanks for the idea! I'm gonna try that if the V2 I started today doesn't pan out.

I was thinking of Ace of Cakes how they always lay fondant over the cake forms and thinking that a plastic version of that would be perfect. Sounds like your idea is a similar concept, so awesome.

dreaminspired

ha! exactly like fondant. great example of what i'm talking about. i used to soak the cloth in latex paint first but it gets too messy and i found that it works just as well to saturate it once it's spray mounted to the item. glad to help!!! hope it turns out.

dreaminspired

here's a simple commpad and backpack prototype that i made for my mcquarrie snowtrooper costume to illustrate how the edges get muted using this technique. i've since done work on both pieces.

SSgt Burton

I think the figure might be taller than me.


Come to think of it, that IS a pretty awesome idea Scapey! Simple way would be attaching a couple of cheap convex mirrors to your shoulders and elbows (not too sure about the opposite side of the rivet).

And maybe just the joint lines in the knees by just painting them on?

And Caymen- I've seen at least one guy using the helmet you posted for an '82 Grunt impression (might have been Breaker though).

It's probably the closest off the shelf helmet you'll get. Personally I think the '82 helmets look more like an open face motorcycle helmet with some thicker side panels.


Kevin

cayman shen

OK, I'm still kinda fiddling around with the original question...to what extent do I want to make this a "real" looking soldier, while still being identifiably GI Joe's Flash? For one, eliminate the silver and make it light gray. That's subtle. Number two, add some real gear to the harness and belt, as if this dude was really going into the field. Not crazy about the helmet, I decided, but stuck it in the picture for reference.

To make toy accurate, strip all but back pockets from BDUs, scratchbuilt laser gun, and something approaching the look of the toy's pack. I'm aiming to a) maintain a high standard of realism, b) be reconizable as the character, c) be aware of the limits of my skills (I can't get the toy's pack perfect, even in sketches and blueprints), d) be aware of cost, and e) maybe some electronics in the gun or the pack. A few simple lights really add something.

Here's a reaaaaaallllllly crappy MS Paint mockup of the kind of real-world/toy mashup I'm thinking of. Imagine the BDUs and helmet match the harness. Not sure it really conveys the idea, but if this is going to look really dumb, I'd love for anyone to tell me!:http://www.therpf.com/attachment.php...1&d=1282633492

Attached Thumbnails

 

Chuey

My personal preference is use real world components, but throw in stuff that people recognize from the comic books, toys and/or the cartoon. That is the approach that I took with my Tunnel Rat (I'm on the lower left with a M-14) and that is what ID1113 did with his General Hawk.

cayman shen

Yeah, I think that really worked on your tunnel rat. No offense to the other one, but yours is waaaay cooler. I think with flash the gun, the pack, and ESPECIALLY the red pads would be obvious to any Joe fan, and adding "real world" stuff wouldn't detract.

Would I attach the pad to the harness d-rings, perhaps, or would that look foolish?

3:30 here in NH. I need sleeping pills.

tcsmit29

I agree with you. Use the recognizable parts and having a mix of real world gear wouldn't detract. You could attach the chest pad to the d rings of the harness. I think it would look good.

That's what i did for my cobra viper. I used a little real military gear and it worked very well.

What about the arm and leg pads? How are you attaching those? I guess they could be sewed directly to the uniform or you could use some od green straps with velcro.

Scapey

LOL

What have I done?

cayman shen

I figure the arm and leg pads could just be velcro'd on. The chest on the figure obviously has a harness, so it's reasonable to assume the arm and leg pads are removable. But there's no straps for them on the figure, and I think it'd look better to keep it that way, so yeah, I'll go velcro if/when I get off the ground with this.

Now if I could find a bandsaw, a vacformer, a sewing machine, and a box of money. Still, I never get past the enthusiasm stage, and dammit, I want a Halloween costume! Since the pack has me frustrated, I'm gonna see if I can't get a fix on the gun design, do some blueprinting/mockups today.

tcsmit29

Cool man! I would love to see any progress you make on the laser rifle!!