PoC Cobra Commander with Removable Mask and Mini Tank - Created Feb 1, 2011

So far the Pursuit of Cobra line has given us, in my opinion, the best 3 3/4 inch action figures EVER. Clearly Hasbro knows what they're doing when it comes to G.I. Joe and that really shows in their new Cobra Commander action figure. Originally meant to be a chase figure, he actually wasn't that hard to find.

However, I felt it was lacking. The original version was supposed to come with a mini drone tank, and I really wanted to give that back to ol' Cobra Commander. I also noticed after prying off his mask that Hasbro actually went to the trouble of sculpting a face underneath the mask even though nobody would see it and it was clear the mask wasn't meant to be removed. The face wasn't painted of course, it was just the same black as the rest of the head. I wanted to rectify this.

I used Testors Model Masters paints to paint his face using a mixture of base fleshtone and gunship gray for the first coat with different shades of insignia red for a bloody scarred look (it really grossed out my girlfriend!) and finally painted his eyes. The mask is completely removable and doesn't fall off on its own, but is easily taken off. it's an extra level of detail that every Cobra Commander figure before has severely lacked.

To give him his tank I took one that came as an accessory to a previous G.I. Joe figure from the Rise of Cobra line. I painted it completely with flat black, then drybrushed silver over it, and finally painted it with clear red. The silver underneath the clear red gives it a mettalic look that matches the original tank that was supposed to come with this version of the Commander and matches his chestplate. I also painted the missile that came with it flat black with a silver drybrush. Then I wanted to give the tank treads realistic wear so I drybrushed some Testors leather and sand over them.

So in the end, it's the small details that went into this custom (minus the completely repainted tank of course that actually took a while), but I really am happy with how this one turned out.