Tag Archives: XOC2008

  Attention, forum Officers! Don’t let time and creativity escape you and don’t forget about our contests and giveaways in the Officer-Only forums! Those of you that missed the deadline in signing up for officer status, you get another chance next year, so don’t fret! Those of you who are officers, you might be missing out on some exciting contests and prizes, including the monthly giveaways!   Here’s what you might be missing, so act now, click the links, read the rules, and enter! MW’s 2012-2013 Officer Giveaway #4: Monkeywrench‘s monthly giveaway! Click Here! Forced Perspective: This is part of Monkeywrench’s Puff Puff Pass game. Remember, if you win you have to “pay it forward” and offer up your own prize in … Click Here! (Hosted by fogger1138) What da Zed?: Halloween-themed Officer-only contest! Click Here! (Hosted by Monkeywrench) Read More »

  Now, I know there’s a few customizers out there who have tackled larger scale projects. I’m pretty sure there’s a transforming Optimus Rolling Thunder in joe scale. But what forum member Keenan has built is a 1:18th(perhaps 1:16th) masterpiece. It’s unfortunate that this beast does not transform, but that in no way takes away from the magnificence that has been created. It’s creations like this with something so large that you really get a true idea of the scale we enjoy. And hey, let’s be honest… who doesn’t want some Transformers scaled with our 1:18 figures and vehicles? I know I’d be happy as a clam to own something like this!   This beast is completely scratch built(minus some joints and the hands that came from donor fodder), and Keenan has put in many hours of work into what ... Read More »

  When McFarlane toys gave us a Warthog, we were pleased that we had something that worked with our Halo figures, but the scale variance between our 1:18th figures and the Halo toys was off-putting. Many of us yearned for Halo toys that would fit in more with our 3-3/4 figures and vehicles. Sure, we could drop our Joes into the McFarlane Warthog, but it looked terrible, like you put your kids behind the wheel of your Humvee and told them to “look natural”. Natural, it was not.   Jada toys decides to throw us collectors a bone with a new Warthog(which they are releasing in a “pre-dirtied” version as well.) Forum staffer pcsguy88 took this offering and made his own weathered version, and as you’ll see from the images he took, much more suitable for your 1:18th scaled figures. ... Read More »

  Today, for your viewing pleasure, is forum member Dark Horse‘s vast imagination at work once more. Ever since they hit retailers and etailers alike, many of us have taken a deeper look at the Zombie Viper, trying to visualize it better within our respective worlds. And there have been some that have gone the extra leap, applying it to Shock Trooper, Viper, and regular Trooper bases. But, what about those poor green suited lads who’ve undergone the process? What might they look like? Dark Horse brought us that answer! The figure utilizes the Zombie Viper base, Cobra Trooper head and helmet, and 25th Comic Pack Duke’s arms and legs, which have a green hue that resembles the base body almost perfectly. Adding a pair of elastic straps to replace the broken ones on the harness, a dab of paint ... Read More »

  Courtesy of forum member Obi-Shinobi. Ok guys, here we go! I’ll be demonstrating with the coveted ST , but this can be applied to any figure. Start by removing the stock feet –                 Using a blade, carefully cut the joint from the foot –                 Now use your dremel to define the new slot, and drill the corresponding holes in the foot, for the ankle pegs. –                 Which should leave you with something like this –                 Now, locate a pair of articulated hands for the new ankles. I’m using 2 Ren Duke left hands because they’re a darker color and most importantly, the POA run in the same ... Read More »

They say you can’t polish a turd, and yet, it has been proven factually incorrect at least twice, now(But quite likely, more often than that.) The Mythbusters proved it by literally polishing a turd, and now forum Officer Fled74, with his polished and pristine custom of the PTE Blackhawk, has done the same! Honestly, it’s hard to see any redeeming qualities in some of PTE’s offerings. While a good many are close to scale, others are so glaringly underscaled that it almost hurts to look at them. While Fled74‘s version is still underscaled, through a long and dedicated process he turned it from a hunk of cheap plastic into a fantastic piece that many of us would be proud to display in our collections, especially for those of us who don’t have the room or cash for one of the ... Read More »

We'll kick off the first of my front page reviews with Marvel's Hawkeye from the Avengers movie line. I'm not sure what to say offhand, other than I'm feeling a bit underwhelmed. Read More »

  Courtesy of forum Officer Fled74! Before I begin, I have to say that this tute works best with good, clear photos. Photoshop will not make a poorly-taken, blurry photo magically better. I must also say that I am by no means a Photoshop guru. More skilled people will have their own way of doing things, but this way works fine for me. Anyway, it’s been quite a while since I promised to make this tutorial for you guys. Apologies to all the guys who PMed me about it. Although it seems long and complicated, believe me, making the tute and taking screenshots were far more time-consuming than just adding the effects. I’m using Photoshop 7 for this, but I’m pretty sure the techniques will work for other versions. You can probably find a torrent or something, although I’m not ... Read More »

Forum member Marine Deadpool delivers another knockout punch courtesy of his latest custom, MGS3 Snake! Now, I am mostly unfamiliar with the MGS series of games, but don’t tar and feather me just yet! After some research to find some in game images to make comparisons, it looks to me like Marine Deadpool has created a fairly accurate representation of the game character, and we’re glad that he’s decided to share this with us here at the Fighting 1:18th! “Here is my take on MGS3 Snake. I used a mix of Tamiya and Testors Model Masters Acrylics. The Tamiya was used for camo, Testors for flesh color.” The parts breakdown are as follows: – SDS Snake head with sculpted bandanna – 25th Viper/Mutt Torso – 25th Viper Upper arms – Resolute SE Lower arms and hands, sculpted modified gloves – ... Read More »

A lot of time and creativity goes into forum member Wry1’s customs and artwork, and Tripwire is no exception. What Wry1 has created and shared with us at the Fighting 118th, is a very realistic, modern military themed EOD expert that meshes perfectly with the more up-to-date collections and offerings out there at retail. The parts chosen are the perfect building blocks for the sculpting over top, turning this figure from what seems a complete mish-mash, into what I consider an artful masterpiece. The colors work well and seem to be spot on with what you’d expect out of a real-world EOD, successfully giving Tripwire a modern day representation, rather than the sorry 25th anniversary homage we got. Here is the before-sculpt recipe as stated by Wry1 himself: Helmet – Ace helmet turned backwards, Pit Commando face shield, various fodder, ... Read More »