Serpent Fantatics Cobra Commander

Not much is known of the background of the man many call the Cobra Commander. What we can only tell is how he works and how he thinks. We know that he has deliberately started political and social conflict in a number of areas. He has amassed an army by recruiting displaced people, promising them money, power and a chance to get back at the world that hurt them. In return, he demands that they swear absolute loyalty to his cause. What is his cause? World domination.

Cobra Commander does not delude himself by justifying his actions as matters of principles or glory. He knows he does it for control and power. He is ruthless, hatred-personified and totally obsessed. A meticulous person, he likes to personally oversee vital projects himself, even engaging in military combat himself on occasion. Not much is known about him, he is a master of disguise and he has appeared as a goatee artist looking man with a son in a coma, in the Marvel comics. His appearance in the 12 inch G.I. Joe line shows him as a man with dark slicked back hair, his appearance constantly changing leaves him assumed to wear masks, even the commander can keep his identity from the people around him.

Next month I am planning on getting a bit of Scenery finished off mainly Walking Dead Barricades and a Post Apoc scatter piece thats been lingering way to long on the bench. Figures wise I am feeling a bit flat on all my normal projects.

So to do something different I am going to be painting up some Movie Heroes and Anti Heroes that I have sitting in the leadpile. Just because December tends to have a lot of movies on especially over Christmas so I think it will be good fun. I have feeling a lot of them will be from the 80's HA!

Serpent Fanatics Zarana

Zarana is a master of disguise just as much as her elder brother Zartan is. Whereas her brother uses holographics and depends on physical aspects of the art of disguise, she prefers to use makeup and method acting to deceive her targets. As a method actor, she deliberately assumes herself in the role of her disguise. She goes to the length of thinking, feeling and reacting as the object of her disguise does. In fact, she was so good at it that she could have been a successful stage actress. Her weaknesses, though, far outweigh her skills. As good as she can act, it doesn't take long before her natural tendencies start to rise out. She is smart and ambitious but short-tempered, cruel and greedy.

Zarana is another of the spare castings I was lucky to acquire from a private collection. I ended up struggling with this one. There are so many variants on hair, uniform, and accessory colours. In the end I went with the card art from the figure where possible.

7TV Podcast Episode

I know many of you who follow my blog have shown an interest in 7TV2. I was very lucky to be invited on a fellow gaming friends podcast to talk about 7TV and it includes some other gaming chatter. 

If your interested in 7TV please have a listen! Sorry about my accent!!



Land O' Misfit Toys: Home of the Cast Dice Podcast

Link on Sound Cloud

Alpha Squad Muskrat and Recondo

Muskrat

Muskrat spent his formative years up to his knees in one swamp or another, hunting raccoon, possum and wild pig. He was able to hold his own against poachers, 'gator skinners, moonshiners, escapes from the chain gangs, and smugglers. Ranger school and JWTC* seemed like summer camp to him. As far as he was concerned, they weren't teaching him anything exotic at all!

"If I had to go chase down Muskrat in the swamp, I'd give up before I started. He'd be sprinkling cayenne pepper in his tracks to throw the dogs off, laying false trails into water moccasin lairs, rigging deadfalls, setting snares, and having himself a good ol' time, never even workin' up a sweat. I'd just as soon go home and watch TV."
* Jungle Warfare Training Center

This is one of my more memorable characters. I picked up the action figure of Muskrat and several others whilst on holiday in Greece one year a when I was 9 years old. It was my first holiday abroad and going on an aeroplane. Whilst there we found a small little shop in the nearby town which had several Gi Joe figures for a really cheap price so spending some of my hard earned pocket money on them bought a good few of them. I got one of the Cobra Divers as well a Hydro Viper and with Recondo on his Surf board had many battles in the swimming pool back at the hotel. Which at the time there was very few children so I had to myself!

Muskrat is another conversion which I based off of the Rogue Miniatures Green Beret with a Anvil Industry Boonie Hat head. The  RPK  the original model had has been trimmed down in to pump action shotgun shape and a spare sword reshaped into a machete. I think it does the trick quite well. I shan't be dong a surfboard for him though lol!

Slightly tilted him so you can his face better.

 Recondo

Nobody feels more at home in the jungle than Recondo does. He is completely in his element there. While other troopers might consider the jungle to be hostile and unforgiving, to him, it is like a friend and anyone else who breaks in are intruders. Even when outnumbered by enemies, he often finds a way to use the dangers of the jungle against them. His vast experience has earned him an instructor status at the Jungle Warfare Training Center.

Recondo was one of the figures I always wanted but never had. So its been nice to make a 28mm version of him for this project. I have been pouring over all figures from lots of ranges to use for conversions but then stumbled across the base model sitting in my lead pile primed black! So in the strip pot he went and a little bit of converting and he is done. Recondo is a Wargames Foundry Backstreet Militia all I did was a simple head swap again for an Anvil Industry Boonie Hat Head. The hat isn't quite right but its close enough for me. I had thought of using one HF Troopers heads but didn't want to spend that much on a figure just to use the head.

I decided to keep the fatigues the same as his comic counterpart. The Green bothers me a little bit as its perhaps not quite khaki enough. The original action figure had some camo patterns on his trousers but I felt using the same green as his hat and back pack might of been a bit to much. Once I've had a browse for some more paints I may return to him in the future but for know he is finished and ready for gaming with.

Serpent Fantatics Tomax and Xamot

Another firm favourite of mine from the Cobra high command are the Crimson Twins Xamot and Tomax.

The Paoli brothers speak in notable accents which show they are from Corsica. The brothers were at some point members of the Unione Corse (Corsican Brotherhood), served in the French Foreign Legion's 1erREP in Algeria, then as mercenaries in Africa (Congo, southern Africa) and South America, before changing careers and becoming bankers in Zurich, Switzerland. happy with the world of corporate finance, the brothers found the opportunities available in international terrorism far more suited to their abilities, and joined Cobra. Their specialities are in infiltration, espionage (military and industrial), sabotage, propaganda, and corporate law.

Like the Crimson Guard that they lead, Xamot and Tomax also lead the "respectable" corporate face of Cobra as the founders, owners, and CEOs of Extensive Enterprises. When not engaged in terrorism, they efficiently manage Cobra's business affairs in shirt and tie. Their preferred mode of attack is through brains over brawn, using the law to serve the purposes of Cobra. They have covered their paper trail and connection to Cobra so well, that it is thought to be impossible to prove a connection between them and the terrorist organisation.

The twin brothers are mirror images of each other; Tomax's hair is parted on the right side of his head and Xamot's on the left;, the piping on their uniforms goes up the opposite side on each twin; the brothers' names are mirror images of one another. The only distinguishing mark between the two is a scar on Xamot's right cheek. Tomax and Xamot share an empathic connection commonly known as "The Corsican Syndrome" in which identical twins are believed to be psychically bonded, in a manner similar to The Corsican Brothers. While this is often useful, as it allows them to communicate wordlessly and finish each other's sentences, it is also a liability as they feel each other's pain

Serpent Fanatics Crimson Guard

Been quiet lately due to my mobile phone packing up and having to use an old handset with the crappiest camera ever. So have been unable to take pics or browse blogs etc as often as I normally can. 

Anyway after Zomtober finished I was left wondering what to do next. So decided rather than starting anything new it be better to have a crack at the lingering miniatures sitting in my stash it has grown quite large this year as interest has switched between projects.

So returning back to my GI Joe and Cobra Project I decided to tackle a squad and a few more characters from it.



The Crimson Guard represent several steps forward in the evolution of the Cobra Trooper. They are considered the most elite troopers of Cobra's army and possess a fearsome oath of loyalty to Cobra Commander that only few non-Siegie (phonetic for the Crimson Guard initials, C.G.) troopers can match. Aside from the standard infantry training they receive, each Crimson Guardsman is expected to specialize in a civilian profession that may be considered as mundane by most. Specifically, most of them hold degrees in law or accountancy. Upon graduating, many are sent out to the world at large, posing as doctors, lawyers, executives and even infiltrating the higher echelons of politics. More than just undercover agents, the Crimson Guard goes deeper, earning the trust of the gullible public who don't know their true loyalty...

One of the first action figures I owned as a kid back in 1985. I often used this one to drive my Cobra Ferret ATV.



First up is a squad of Crimson Guard. Pics are a bit dark so if I get chance this week I may retake pics in better lighting.