Yo Joe!

 Casting about my workbench for figures to work on after finishing the Off-Track Betting parlor, I pulled out a mix of converted metal and 3D printed figures for my ongoing GI Joe project which I'd primed some months back. In a Modern gaming state of mind, I was happy to get working on them. 

First up, a pair of named characters for the villainous Cobra forces: Croc-Master (in the crocodile-skin vest and boots and gimp mask) and the diabolical Dr. Mindbender (in the purple pants). These are definitely sillier characters that were introduced later in the series' run back in the 1980s; Dr. Mindbender was an orthodontist who accidentally turned himself evil and became a master of robotics and genetics (as one does) while eschewing shirts in the laboratory (but not elaborate metal codpieces held up by suspenders). Croc-Master trains reptiles for aggression on Cobra's behalf, and initially joined the terrorist organization after failing to sell "Trained Security Crocodiles" as an anti-burglary system to Cobra Commander. 

I'm making none of this up. And these aren't the silliest characters on Cobra's payroll. These are resin 3D prints of STLs designed by Random Miniatures on Patreon, which my buddy Dave printed out for me a while back. They're a little oversized, but it's less noticeable with these two. 

Next up, continuing with Cobra, we have a machine gun team that I converted from a Crooked Dice "Army Heavy Machine Gun" set, using a set of "ASP Trooper" heads also from Crooked Dice. 

No ineffectual, children's-television-approved, blue lasers here! Once we get a little sanity in this country and the de minimis exemption on tariffs gets restored, I'm hoping to order and convert a few more of these, because I think it worked out very well.

Finally, two additions to the heroic GI Joe team, though probably not characters whose action figures childen were clamoring for in the 1980s. In green, we have "Tripwire," the Joes' explosives disposal specialist, and next to him "Cutter," who was the Joes' token representative from the US Coast Guard. Tripwire is another Random Miniatures 3D print, while Cutter is again a Crooked Dice figure (one of their "X-Commandos") with a head swap to a mustached head wearing a ball cap. I suspect that the number one factor driving sales of Cutter's action figure in the 1980s was that he was packaged with the "WHALE" Hovercraft, which was one of the more impressive vehicles in the GI Joe motorpool. 

You can really see the size difference with the 3D prints here; I'm less worried about it since I don't anticipate Tripwire showing up in a lot of games, but with future prints I'll ask Dave to scale them down slightly. 

So what's next? I don't anticipate doing a lot of hobbying this weekend as Monday morning we're getting a new water meter installed as part of a city-wide initiative - and our water meter is right next to my workbench, which means cleaning up and clearing space to ensure the worker(s) from the city can access everything they need to as easily as possible. After that though, I've got eight Crooked Dice "ASP Troopers" to paint up for my GI Joe project; instead of the usual Cobra blues, they'll be wearing the green, gray and yellow of the "Python Patrol" sub-team, just to mix things up a bit and to justify them having a slightly different style of uniform from the rest of my Cobra troopers. I also want to get started on my next terrain build, an "Urgent Care" building my wife got me for my birthday. It has interior rooms, so it'll be a more complex project than some of my other buildings. 

Figures Acquired in 2025: 127

Figures Painted in 2025: 133

More Buildings Finished (Plus New Acquisitions)

 I've finished the last two buildings that my friend Dave printed for me - "PayMore Shoes" and "TeeVee Shak," being nods to the brands "Payless Shoes" and "Radio Shack," respectively. These are pretty simple paint jobs done almost entirely with spray paint and cheap craft store acrylics, and I'm not going to do detailed interiors for them at all. They're good table fillers though! 

Secondly, I got some goodies in the mail today from Badger Games - I'd ordered some more of The Assault Group's Modern Africa figures to round out my collection with another character and some militia with heavy weapons. I also got a pack of "Diplomats/Politicians" to use as objectives in games, and a pair of Crocodiles from Wargames Foundry - one of which will go in the swimming pool Gina got me, and the other will be based up and included in my Cobra forces to go with the character "Croc Master."

Which means it's time to update the tracker:

Figures Purchased in 2025: 77

Figures Painted in 2025: 85

GI Joe: Mission of Mercy

 I got the table cleared off today and set off for another solo game of Fistful of Lead; my first solo game since January, actually - and my first since we'd adopted Poppy, a young, energetic and curious cat. How was this going to go? 

I decided to get my GI Joes out for a game, and pulled together a scenario that would let me use some of the generic military terrain that my friend Dave gifted me. 

***

A French colony prior to WWII, Kalingaland was wracked by civil war between Soviet-backed rebels and the US-backed federal government until the fall of the USSR. Since then, the anti-democratic Kalinga Rouge rebels have received funding and armaments from the international terrorist organization known as COBRA. The garrison at a remote National Army base has been struck by a virulent new strain of sleeping sickness; the special missions force code-named GI Joe has been dispatched to deliver a cure. 

With the future of Kalingaland hanging in the balance, Cobra plots to prevent GI Joe from delivering the vital medication. Can they make it through Cobra's ambush in time?

***

The GI Joe team has to cross the table diagonally to reach the Kalingaland base. The character Lifeline is carrying the medications in his case; if he is put Out of Action before reaching the base, the game immediately ends in failure for the GI Joes. At each barracks (the quonset-style huts), Lifeline can attempt a 5+ Task roll to deliver the medication; success results in a Grunt Group of Kalingaland soldiers being deployed and an activation card for them added to the Joes' hand. 

GI Joe Team:

• Stalker (Leader; Ranger, Impervious, Camouflage) armed with a submachine gun
• Beachhead (Specialist; Indomitable, Infiltrator) armed with a submachine gun
• Lady Jaye (Regular; Dodge) armed with a pistol and explosive javelins
• Lifeline (Regular; Medic) armed with a pistol
• Airborne (Regular; Nerves of Steel) armed with an automatic rifle.

Cobra Team:

• Major Bludd (Leader; Deadeye, 9 Lives Tactician) armed with a pistol
• Storm Shadow (Specialist; Swordsman, Street Fighter) armed with a katana
• Copperhead (Regular; Brawler) armed with a submachine gun and a knife
• Cobra Officer (Regular; Slippery) armed with a pistol
• Cobra Troopers (Grunt Group; Tough as Nails) armed with automatic rifles

Using his "Infiltrator" trait, Beachhead took point, sticking close to a clump of trees and observing Cobra as the Troopers fanned out ahead of the named characters. Airborne moved up along the western river, sticking to the clusters of dense jungle, and took a quick shot at the Cobra Officer, startling him.

Beachhead got the Cobra Troopers in his sights and squeezed the trigger on his submachine gun, intending to catch them all in a hail of burst-fire. Except...click! Rolling a 1, he went Out of Ammo without effect. As the rest of the Joe team moved forward, Lady Jaye hurled an explosive javelin at the clustered Cobra troopers, putting one Out of Action and sending the rest scattering for cover. 

Meanwhile, Major Bludd swept forward, shooting Beachhead even as he was clearing the jammed mechanism. Beachhead went down with a Wound. Shrugging off his Shock token, the Cobra Officer charged Lifeline, intent on stopping him from delivering the medicine. 

"You can't stop me!" Lifeline yelled, aikido-flipping the Cobra Officer into the jungle mud and sending him Out of Action! 

Bypassing the wounded Beachhead, Storm Shadow charged Lady Jaye, putting a Wound on her and sending her to the ground. Airborne opened up with burst fire on Copperhead and a pair of Cobra Troopers, only managing to startle Copperhead; Cobra's Florida Man responded by moving up into range and shooting Airborne in the belly, putting him Out of Action. 

Lifeline made it past the fence into the army base, pursued by a pair of Cobra Troopers who opened fire on him; he took a Shock token but managed to dart into the first barracks. Stalker fired on the Troopers, sending them diving for cover, before getting attacked by Storm Shadow.

Unfortunately, that first round of fighting didn't go the way Storm Shadow expected - Stalker won the combat, dealing a Shock token to the ninja. Meanwhile, Beachhead managed to stand up, just in time for Major Bludd to charge him through the woods. Even injured, the Joe was more than a match for Cobra, knocking the Australian mercenary Out of Action! (I had forgotten about Major Bludd's "9 Lives" trait, which would have made a big difference here by converting this Out of Action result into a simple Wound.)

Lady Jaye struggled to her feet and hurled a javelin at Copperhead and some nearby Troopers, only managing to distribute some Shock tokens. Lifeline managed to wake up the first Grunt Group of Kalingaland soldiers, while Storm Shadow managed to get up and Wound Stalker. 

Beachhead used burst fire to try and take out Copperhead and one of the remaining Cobra troopers, only succeeding on eliminating the Trooper; Copperhead responded by charging and putting Beachhead Out of Action.

Switching to her pistol, Lady Jaye tried shooting Storm Shadow but rolled a 1, going Out of Ammo. Despite being Wounded, Stalker got back up and Wounded the Cobra ninja. Copperhead shot Lady Jaye in the back, putting her Out of Action, while Storm Shadow used a Ninja technique to feign death (he rolled a "1" on his Wound Recovery roll, going Out of Action).

With the first group of Kalingaland soldiers on their feet and fanning out of the camp, and Lifeline administering medication to the next group, Copperhead and the remaining Cobra trooper decided it was time to withdraw from the battlefield. Until next time...COBRAAAAA!

That was a really good game. I got some figures I hadn't played with before on the table (Stalker, Airborne, Copperhead, the Kalingaland soldiers) and it was a nice first outing for the terrain Dave had gifted me. Plus it was a nice refresher on Fistful of Lead before I go into Wargames Among the Warplanes in two weeks; I haven't had the free time to schedule a game with anyone lately, so I'll probably try to keep the table clear and set up again next week with some of the figures I'm using for that. 

And Poppy behaved himself and didn't insert himself into the middle of things, batting figures and terrain around! He jumped up on the table once, went "Nope, don't like this" and jumped right back down. 

Figures Purchased in 2025: 66

Figures Painted in 2025: 85

Instant Motor Pool for GI Joe

 So as longtime readers will know, one of my on-going projects over the past few years has been 1980s GI Joe in 28mm scale. A few months ago, my buddy Dave (who also printed my current crop of modern terrain) printed out a variety of GI Joe and Cobra vehicles for his own use for the GI Joe RPG, painted them up, magnetized turrets and even put decals on them all. 

Last night, he handed me a tote bin full of vehicles and generic modern military buildings (Quonset huts, hangars, etc), and said, "Here, Bill, you'll get more use out of these than I will."

four VAMP jeeps, 2 Sky Hawk VTOLs, 2 MOBAT tanks and a softskin troop carrier

Four Cobra H.I.S.S. tanks in front of a larger H.I.S.S. Command tank

I'm absolutely blown away by his generosity... and now I need to plan another GI Joe game! 

Speaking of...

Wargames Among the Warplanes puts on two shows per year - June and September. I'm locked in for June to run a modern "gangs fighting in the streets" game with the figures and terrain I've been showcasing for the past few weeks. But for September...I think that's going to call for a game of Fistful of Lead using my GI Joes. 

Figures Purchased in 2025: 66

Figures Painted in 2025: 85

Red Ninjas

 Fresh off the painting table - a trio of Ninjas from Crooked Dice, painted in red clothing to represent the imaginatively-named Red Ninjas from Marvel's GI Joe comic book in the 1980s. In the comic books, the Red Ninjas are renegade members of the Arashikage ninja clan (of which GI Joe member Snake Eyes and Cobra assassin Storm Shadow are also members) who end up working for Cobra saboteur Firefly.

I actually don't have a figure for Firefly in my collection yet, but in the meantime I'm sure this trio will find employment under the command of Storm Shadow.

Figures Purchased in 2025: 40

Figures Painted in 2025: 37

The Governor-General's Army

 Another eight figures finished - these are two packs' worth of modern African paramilitary soldiers from Crooked Dice, marketed on the website as the "Governor-General's Army." These were a semi-impulse buy for me a few months back; I placed a big order with Crooked Dice and I tossed these in among everything else. I had some vague ideas about using these as local forces in GI Joe games - the fictional African nation of Kalingaland appears in Marvel's GI Joe comic series in the 1980s, with the Joes team helping ensure free and fair elections in Kalingaland in the face of Russian interference. So these might appear in my games as the Kalingaland national army receiving support from the Joes, OR as anti-democratic forces receiving support from Cobra. 

I'm really happy with the camouflage on their fatigues, and let me write it down here so I can recreate it later if needed:

• Basecoat Warpaints "Venom Wyrm"
• Wash "Agrax Earthshade"
• Heavy Drybrush Warpaints "Woodland Camo"
• Brown splotches in Reaper "Brown Sand"
• Dark markings in Reaper "Woodland Brown"
• Light Green splotches in Pro Acryl "Faded Green"

Honestly I could probably ditch the Venom Wyrm - it's a warmer green than Woodland Camo, and I could have done a basecoat of Woodland Camo, washed Agrax, then drybrushed with Woodland Camo again and it would have looked fine. 

Figures Purchased in 2025: 27

Figures Painted in 2025: 34