Kim Arashikage, Code Name: Jinx (G.I. Joe Project)

I decided on painting Jinx red after all. I am sure most people know her like that and I think I will be most happy about this in the long run anyway.

Showdown at the Arashikage temple.

The first time Jinx appears in the G.I. Joe comic books is in issue #59 in 1987, at first she wears a white ninja suit, but her looks is not really consistant for a long time, sometimes she has long hair, sometimes short, sometimes she wears a hood, sometimes not and sometimes she is also just in civilian clothes.

The first time Jinx is wearing her red ninja suit is on the cover of #91 in 1989, this is also the first time she is wearing a pointy hood. But inside the comic she doesn't have the pointy hood yet, but she is dressed in red.

Finally in #111 in 1991 she looks like the first carnation of her action figure; red ninja suit and the pointy hood. The action figure had been around since 1987, so it is kind of strange that it took so long for the comic book to adapt, but I guess it is not that important.

All this time she is mainly still using swords, so I think my choice of giving her a sword was a good idea. She is also using an uzi in issue #111, but I doubt that many people connect her with such a weapon.

So what we have at this point (in the comic) is Jinx in her red ninja suit and pointy hood, Storm Shadow is wearing white with camo and Billy has taken over Storm Shadows old suit. Snake Eyes is of course still wearing black and Scarlett is back to wearing her old costume after she had been jumping around in a white ninja suit for some time (mostly unhooded, but sometimes with hood).

Then there is still Firefly who is revealed to be the Faceless Master in a later issue, that is fine, but I will paint him in his old style. I doubt that I want Slice, Dice, Nightcreepers or the Ninja Squad, but I guess time will tell.

Down to the last renegade ninja.

So far I am pleased with how Jinx and the Arashikage ninjas turned out. I might need to go back and do a little work on the left eye on Jinx or other minor touch ups, but I am happy about my painting and converting on these models.

And once again I have run out of G.I. Joe miniatures, so hopefully I will get some more during Christmas and if that fails I will buy a couple to paint in January.

Kim Arashikage WIP (G.I. Joe Project)

So my G.I. Joe adventures continue. I was so lucky to get a couple of Hasslefree miniatures as an early Christmas gift from my wife.

The miniatures I got was Oko, which I wanted to turn into Kim Arashikage, codename Jinx and I got Oakley, who obviously is Ash from the Evil Dead movies. I don't know what Ash will be used for, but for now I found a use for his spare katana.

My converted Jinx size up well with the Perry Miniatures ninjas.

A katana had to do when I didn't have a nakinata.

Comparison shot of the original vs. my converted model.

The photo seems to have been taken from a not so good angle, I actually think my conversion work on the hood looks better in real life. But I have no doubt that once painted red no one will doubt who she is.

Maybe I will try and do a black dragon on her chest, but I can't promise that it will be good.

Arashikage Ninjas (G.I. Joe Project)

I guess it was just a matter of time before I would start a G.I. Joe project. As a kid my favourite toys was always G.I. Joe (or Action Force, as it was called in Denmark to begin with). I still love G.I. Joe and I still have a pretty large collection of the toys and I have bought the re-released comic books.

The most exciting characters for me was and is the ninjas and during the original run of the comic they kind of took over a lot of the stories. So it was natural for me to start there and I have had some ninjas lying around for a couple of years now.

So to start off I painted some Perry Miniatures ninjas as Arashikage ninjas. The red mercenary ninjas which most of the time work for Cobra, sometimes through Storm Shadown, other times through Firefly and so forth.

Perry Ninjas painted as Arashikage.

I converted one of them to have an uzi, since they are modern ninjas and often are seen pictured with uzi throughout the stories they participate in.

Scarlet, Jinx and Snake Eyes encounter the red ninjas.

The first time they appear is in the classic silent story, where they work for Storm Shadow. But up against Snake Eyes they don't stand a chance.

That is all the models I have for now, but hopefully I will get some more for Christmas or else I will buy some more next year.

So far I have plans for Firefly. Originally he was not a ninja, but in the later stories he turns out to be the Faceless Master, an outsider who was allowed to study the arts with the Arashikage clan.

I think the RAFM USX Modern Ronin is perfect for Firefly. I have seen others use him too and since that model has an uzi too it fits well with the saboteur past of Firefly.

RAFM USX Modern Ronin

Then I will need a Storm Shadow. I don't know yet what side he will be on, but the classic set up would make him a Cobra ninja. Which of course is not really correct all the time, but I guess that is what most people think of him.

I think the Reaper Dragon Clan Ninja will be a good Storm Shadow. But I guess almost any ninja painted white would do fine. But I consider painting him in one of his later camo ninja suits.

  

Another ninja I will need is Kim Arashikage, code name Jinx. She is most famously pictured as a red ninja and it would fit well with her Arashikage heritage.

 

I had a kind of hard time finding a female ninja with the hood on, but eventually I decided that Oko from Hasslefree would be great for the job.

Hasslefree Oko

I will probably try and sculpt a bit on the hood, to make it pointy like in the comic book. And i might consider painting her white, since that is how she looks the first time we meet her or I could go with the bold Tiger Force green and orange.

Of course I will also need a Snake Eyes, but so far I have not found a model I like. I know about the Reaper one, but he is no good for me.

I would really want the old classic looks.

I guess it should be possible to find a model, but no luck so far, so I am open to suggestions.