Over the past week, various sightings of a chrome-plated HISS Tank on Asian message board ACToys.net has prompted Joe fans to wonder what the heck it was. Well, it would appear the mystery has been solved. In a thread on JoeCustoms.com, “THE Mike” put a post in the thread referencing a YouTube video. That video is embedded below:
Mystery solved! The chrome HISS Tank is a 2009 Canadian Joe Con Exclusive! Lots of folks have expressed interest in it…plan on being in Hamilton, Ontario on May 2nd to get your very own. An awesome looking piece…wish I could make it up there. For all of the details on the Canadian Joe Con, click here.
Anyone who has been around G.I. Joe customizing for any length of time should be well aware of the skills of Chad Smelcer, AKA chad_ghost, most notably of JoeCustoms.com. Along with posting some stuff on JoeCustoms, though, he also hosts his own page with a full gallery of all the fantastic customs he’s produced over his already long and illustreous “career”. He primary works with the o-ring format, but a customizer of his ability doesn’t have many shortcomings.
Chad is currently holding a raffle, hoping to earn some money for a trip back to Niger, and the prize for this raffle is a one-of-a-kind custom figure made just for the winner. The full details are here:
————
“This June 1st – 14th, I am returning to Niger, West Africa.
To help support my trip, I am offering up the chance to win a customized 3 ¾” GI Joe figure.
Here are the rules to enter the raffle:
– Each raffle ticket is $10.
– The drawing will be held May 28th, 10 PM EST via webcam feed.
– You may buy as many tickets as you want.
– Three raffle tickets will be chosen.
– Buy more to increase your chances of winning.
There are a few limitations on the custom figure:
– The figure will not be a remake of any custom.
– Parts can be from any era of 3 ¾” figures.
– Winner will not be required to donate parts, though this may limit the custom.
– Only limited modifying/sculpting will be done.
Tickets can be purchased using Paypal at this address: chad(at)smelcer(dot)net
Each ticket will be confirmed via pm or email with your raffle ticket number. If you do not receive a confirmation, please contact me.
If you would like more information or questions about the raffle, please post here.
To give you just a small sample of Chad’s skills, here’s a gallery of only a sampling of his amazing custom work. Check out his site to see the full range of figures that he’s done over the years. Not only are you getting the chance to potentially receive an awesome custom figure, but you’re helping out a great cause as well.
As the Black Sheep Toy Store has been uploading new auctions, I’ve been grabbing the high quality images from those auctions, particularly the carded ones. Here I’ve collected all carded images so far, and I gotta say the pics are awesome. In case readers haven’t been able to tell, I’ve been drastically warming up to the movie toys and I’m really enjoying the design aspects of these figures. Granted, I’m a Sigma 6 fan, so…
This isn’t an endorsement of the movie at all, I’m still firmly on the fence about how I think that’s going to turn out, but from a pure toy standpoint, I think Hasbro is doing some awesome stuff with these figures and I think if fans can keep an open mind there will be something for everyone in the months to come. I can’t wait.
