The Fighting 1:18th!

Medal of Honor Review

Tim Kraemer — Sat, 19 May 2012 04:26:18 +0000

Medal of Honor is one of the most famous and successful video game franchises of all time. When you think of MoH, you think World War 2. For the 13th edition in the long running series, you experience for the first time a non WW2 setting. Simply titled Medal of Honor, this title is a reboot and takes place during the War in Afghanistan.

MoH was released in October 2010 by Danger Close who are affiliated with Electronics Arts and DICE who are famous for Battlefield. The title is the first in the series to feature a Mature rating. I originally passed on the game as I was too focused on Call of Duty at the time. After picking the title up for $20, I was pleasantly surprised.

The single player campaign mode takes place in 2002 in Afghanistan. You will play as several different characters. My favorite was Duece a Delta Force Sniper. You also play as Rabbit a US Navy Seal, Dante Adams a Ranger and Captain Hawkins a Apache Gunner.

The game takes place during the Battle of Roberts Ridge also known as Operation Anaconda. During the thrilling campaign you will experience a large number of cut scenes to help tell your story. This makes the missions feel easier and shorter than your expecting. You often feel as if your just trying to get to the next cut scene instead of actually completing the mission.

Your enemy is the Taliban. You will experience intense missions on foot as well as some vehicle missions like the long ATV night op mission. My personal favorite was when you must charge up a Mountain as the Ranger and desperately hold off a huge Taliban force.

June Banner Contest

Tim Kraemer — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:56:47 +0000

It’s that time of the Month again! Wait.. what? Oh.. right..

The Fighting 1:18th

The theme for the June Banner Contest is Kick in the Door

Here is a quote from Banner Contest runner Major Blood:

June will be to have a theme where the door of a place is getting breached. It can be someone kicking it in, shooting the locks, ramming it open or even driving through the front. Either way, there needs to be some type of action going on where a building is getting stormed or attacked through an entrance. Windows are fair game too. If using a door, it does not have to be opened. As long as the action is apparent it’s fine.

The Monthly Banner Contest has been one of the most successful and favorite features here on the Fighting 1:18th. The contest has been going on for over a year now and started on our original site before the infamous crash of 2011. For those that are new to the contest, it’s very simple. A forum member can submit a dio picture entry into the contest. Towards the end of the month we place all the photos together and let the forum members vote for their favorite via poll. The winner gets the prestige and honor of having their picture on top of the site representing the Fighting 1:18th. Occasionally we add additional prizes.

The May Banner Contest was won by Officer member Rick. He took the Silhouette theme by 24% of the vote. Rick won a very close poll that had a 3 way tie for 2nd place! Major Blood, Ctrl Z and Darthdre758 all had 19% of the vote. They came up short however you can view their 2nd place entries at the bottom of this page.

Rules and Regulations:

1. The submission must be done by the USER and no one but USER.

2. The submission must be in the correct size/aspect ratio: 920px by 322px. You can use any free editing program to crop your image to this size/ratio. Any image submitted outside of this size/ratio will be discarded.

3. The USER submitting the image releases all rights to the submitted image, giving The Fighting 1:18th full usage rights.

4. There will be ONE banner entry, per-person, per-month. If you submit more than ONE entry, all entries will be disqualified. You CAN delete an entry and replace it with another before the end of the month.

5. If there are more than 10 USER’s submitted banners for any given month, there will be a primary “run off” to find our 10 finalists. Details for the run off will be in that thread.

6. You may re-submit a NON-winner banner up to (3) additional times.

7. To submit an entry into the banner contest you must create a NEW thread in the Banner forum with the title “USER’s banner entry for the month of xxxx”. Where USER is your forum name, and xxxx is the upcoming month. Any entries not submitted in this fashion will be discarded.

We are fast approaching a new month and look forward to your entries! Thanks for contributing and making our site even more interactive!

G.I. Joe Club Footloose Review

Matt Courtney — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:26:55 +0000

Why on earth such a generic character has been on my “25th wish list” since the G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary line launched back in 2007, I’ll never know. Footloose is dated, he’s a third-tier character at best, and he’s almost as generic as Grunt is (and I hate Grunt). It likely has to do with his character in the Sunbow cartoon. Often teamed up with the likewise goofball team of Bazooka, Alpine and Quick Kick, the probably-a-pothead-although-he-was-never-explicitly-defined-as-a-pothead Footloose bumbled his way through battles with his bazooka and the munchies. He had a giant pillar crash on him in the episode closing credits. Not the most reliable soldier. So why did I want him in my modern collection so badly?

No idea, to be honest. But I just did. And since he’s a fairly generic figure made from easily-reused/reusable parts (pretty much the jungle equivalent of Dusty), I was genuinely surprised that we didn’t get him before now, and in a main retail line at that. Flashier figures like Lifeline, Airtight, Sci-Fi and more prominent fan-favorites like Sarge, Low-Light and Zarana took a long time to get, too, but they had more unique and extensive sculpting required, plus they may not appeal to everyone. But Footloose’s generic body construction has basically existed for years in the Hasbro library, which is why he’s been such a popular figure for people to make from existing figures. All he needed was the iconic helmet, a new head, and maybe new web gear, but the Falcon webgear was so close, I always expected to see it reused. Yet we never got him, and I thought all hope was lost.

So when the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club unveiled Claymore for the first time, I got way more excited than I should have. What’s so great about Claymore? Well, Claymore’s vintage figure shared the same head as Footloose! Finally, we’d get Footloose. Or so I hoped, anyway.

Sure enough, later that year, we finally got the first prototype mockup shots of Footloose, who reused the Claymore head sculpt. I was stoked, and Spring 2012 couldn’t get here soon enough.

Then came early 2012, and the Club totally shit the bed with their credit card system being hacked. In what has to be one of their biggest fumbles and low-points in recent years, the Club had their system compromised and all their members’ credit card information stolen, while many members were kept in the dark for weeks. Their credit card info was sold by thieves online, and fans moaned and looked for pitchforks, ready to march to their headquarters in Texas.

After months of delays and the Club finally getting things sorted out, I ended up as a victim myself, but luckily the culprits got away with no money as my bank nipped it in the bud fairly quickly. After sending in two money orders and crossing all my fingers and toes, word came from the Club that Footloose was shipping. Hooray! I finally received my first one on a Friday, and the next arrived on Tuesday. Finally, I had my pair of Footleese.

And while I’m by far a fan of the Club… Boy, did they make one hell of a great figure. Read on for the breakdown.

MAG Review

Tim Kraemer — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:14:22 +0000

I remember when news first broke on MAG, It was during E3 08. I like many gamers were very excited. It promised big things and a game on epic proportions. When the game was released in early 2010, it received decent reviews and had strong sales. I was let down.

Before MAG was released, it went through several name changes. One in particular was called Massive Action Game. The game eventually just went with the MAG title. Massive is a good word to describe the game. It allows up to 256 online players at one time.

MAG is unique in the way that you have no option for a single player experience. This First Person Shooter is a online only game. No Campaign, no co op campaign, just online fun. I often think and feel like many other FPS games should go this route as most players either play the campaign mode once or not even at all. I must say, not having a campaign mode just didn’t feel right though. The game feels empty.

When you first start the game, you must choose a faction. Factions are called Private Military Company’s. You need to choose wisely as once you pick a faction, you are stuck with it unless you create a new character. You have 3 PMC’s to pick from.

The PMC I picked was the Valor Company. Valor is made up of US, Mexico, British and Canadian Special Forces and is the most familiar to me as I enjoy modern FPS games. Other options are S.V.E.R. which are mainly Russian, China and India guerrilla war style soldiers and finally Raven Industries. Raven is filled with high tech soldiers based out of Austria.

Each PMC has their own set of attributes and weapons. S.V.E.R. tends to be the most popular however I was happy that I picked Valor as I like their weapons more. After you have selected your PMC, you get to create your character.

Cover Girl in Coveralls by Fled74

Joshua Cole — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:02:03 +0000

Forum Officer Fled74 recently shared his custom Cover Girl in coveralls with us and also took the time to answer a few questions about how he got into collecting and customizing:

Q. What got you into collecting 1:18 scale figures and vehicles, and how long have you been collecting them?

A. I had a few ARAH Joes when I was 10 or so (in 1984), and it didn’t take long for me to start swapping their body parts around.
I outgrew them (or so I thought) a few years later, only to rediscover them in 2003 when I picked up a few Valor Vs Venom figures at TRU. I noted the improved sculpting, but I still found them lacking (mainly the articulation and body proportions).
Thanks to Australian retailers, we never got the 25th Anniversary line. It wasn’t until I saw the quality of the Rise of Cobra figures that I sat up and took notice.
Q. When did you start customizing and what was your first custom?

A. Like I said, I’d done parts swapping with my ARAH figures, but the first true custom I did was a female diver, in mid-2011 (http://www.fighting118th.com/forum/s…postcount=1162).

Q. What made you decide to try your hand at customizing?

A. At first I just wanted to put my own stamp on an existing figure, then I realised that I could make figures I had no access to, or those that were not available in 1:18.
My Underworld Selene, for example: (http://www.fighting118th.com/forum/s…postcount=1590); or my custom Lara Croft (http://www.fighting118th.com/forum/s…ead.php?t=1673).
Customizing is a great way to improve my skills, as well as discover skills I didn’t know I had!

Q. What was the inspiration for your Cover Girl custom?

A. Someone had posted a custom female mechanic on Joecustoms a few years ago (http://www.joecustoms.com/customs/cu…page=9&id=8136) and I decided I’d like to try my hand at something similar.
It took a long time, but I eventually pulled my finger out and just jumped in. I’ll be redoing her soon – I found a good Slayer torso in my spares box that would work well. Still sexy, but not as overtly as the current one is.

Q. Do you have another custom planned, and if so, who?

A. Another female figure, I guess. Being an artist, I’ve always had an appreciation for the female form.
It’s been said that a good artist is one who can draw beautiful females. I can do that on paper, and I’m now trying to achieve the same in three dimensions.

GI Joe has always been a sausage fest, and my predominantly male figure collection desperately needs more of the fairer sex.

We’d like to thank Fled74 for taking the time to answer a few questions and for sharing his customs. If you have the time, check out his incredible photography work with action figures and vehicles as well!

You can join the discussion regarding Fled74′s Cover Girl custom here.

How to Paint Tiger Stripe Camo – Tutorial

Joshua Cole — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:53:03 +0000

I’ve had a few people ask me how I paint Tiger Stripe camo on my Joes, and I thought I’d share my technique. Now, while this isn’t a perfect representation of TS camo, it’s the best I’m able to do on such a small scale.

So….

Step 1: Apply the Base Coat

I lay the base coat of green down on the area that is to be tiger striped. This is the result of multiple thin coats of Testors’ Model Master Dark Green (Note: this covers how I tiger striped my Stalker custom’s pants):

Step 2: Make the General Outline of the Stripes

Using Testors’ Model Master Israeli Armor Sand Gray, I make the general outlines of the stripes that will later be filled in with either black or brown paint. I try to space them out somewhat evenly with various dimensions (lenght & width). I use multiple thin coats to insure the “tan” lines are solid, at least on the outer edges:

Step 3: Applying the Black and Brown Paint to the Stripe Outlines

After the outlines of the stripes are applied, I begin to fill in the stripes with black and brown. I try to leave a thin outline of tan remaining on the stripes. Due to this, it’s somewhat time consuming slowly filling in the stripes and leaving a thin tan outline. I fill the smaller stripes with a custom mixed brown that is made up of Testors’ Model Master Acrylics Leather and either their Flat Black or Aircraft Interior Black. Just mix the 2 until you get the desired brown you’re wanting. I don’t have a ratio. Testors’ Floquil NATO Tricolor Black is used to fill in the larger stripes:

Step 4: Fill in the Gaps Between the Stripes and Final Touch-Ups

After the stripes are completed, I fill in the green gaps a bit with thin lines of the Testors’ Israeli Armor Sand Gray (the same color used for the stripe outlines). I try to make the lines as thin as possible and “wavy”. I do this to help break the green up some more. This is a tedious process as well, b/c it take multiple thin coats for each line you create to make them solid. After completing the lines, do any touch-ups that need to be done, and you’re finished:

I hope this is helpful and don’t hesitate to ask questions, if you have any!

*You can see larger images and join the discussion regarding this tutorial in our forums here.

Homefront Review

Tim Kraemer — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 07:38:24 +0000

America under Attack!

At first glance Homefront is just another run of the mill First Person Shooter. When the game was first announced I was somewhat intrigued by the story of a game that only takes place on American soil but I passed on it. After a few price drops and catching up on my backlog of must play games I finally grabbed a copy for $20.

The most interesting thing about Homefront is the intense campaign story. The game takes place in the year 2027. America is at war with Korea. As you start the campaign mode, a video plays documenting the last 15 years and explaining how you got to this point. Check out the Video:

Homefront Intro

When I watched the opening video, I got chills, goose bumps, anxiety, adrenaline and anything else that you can think of. Just in those opening few minutes, I was shocked and ready for war!

To give you a quick rundown, Kim Jong il dies in 2012, his son reunites North and South Korea to form the Greater Korean Republic. In 2022 America has a complete economic collapse. In 2025 Korea launches a High Altitude Nuclear Weapon over the United States. This EMP destroys all above ground electronics throughout the entire country. Korea follows the attack by invading the U.S. and dividing the country in half spreading the Military forces all over the States. U.S. residents are on their own.

Men In Black figures are here!

Anthony Spatucci — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:23:49 +0000

What is one thing that many people would love to have in their 1:18th scale collection? Suited figures. They have plenty of applications yet are far and few between. Well the Men In Black figures are here to save the day. No more $30 SDCC Destro bodies (although it is a nice pin stripe suit). For $10 you can finally have that suit to add to the ranks.

Thanks to Gungho-joe we have a few images of what these figures look like. They are a little wide in the shoulders but that’s not a deal breaker for myself. Here is some information from Gungho-joe about them:

“I found them at TRU. They were 9.99 each. They also have deluxe figs with the noisy cricket and nueralizer. I got my boys the deluxe figs since they wanted the life size “props” from the movie. The neck as the same ball joint that the WWE 3.75 and UFC figures have. They have great articulation for figs in suits. The jackets are soft that allows for seated positions and just a little touch of a exacto “unbottons the jacket for removal. They have the same body articultation as the wwe/ufc figures have. I would have cleared then out of the J and K but I didnt want to grab them all and leave nothing for anyone else. I will be picking more up for several customs I have planned. I did talk to Jakks and they told me that only Target and TRU would be carrying them. I have to say that I love these even better than the SDCC suit and tie Destro. Tons of Potential with these. Also I guess that a “bad guy” alien in the movie also is wearing a sports jacket with dress pants and a dress shirt without buttons was there as well. I am planning on grabbing a few of those as well and swapping heads and hands for some “casual wear” customs.”

"I got a per diem burning a hole in my pocket sweetie."

So for those looking for a Secret Service, gangster or even a pit boss the wait is over to get that suit in your dioramas.

Come join the discussion and check out some more images here!

Falcone’s Wave 1 Sneak Peek

Tim Kraemer — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:15:52 +0000

Here at the Fighting118th we had the privilege of getting a exclusive sneak peek at Falcone’s Wave 1 weapon assortment. One of our Officer’s Fogger1138 has the story:

The Fighting 1:18th

I was fortunate enough to be given review copies of some of Falcone’s upcoming 1:18^th scale weapon releases. You may have seen him posting in the forums Here He’s making some 1:18^th scale weapons that we haven’t seen yet, to provide some variety for customizers and those who like to outfit their figures with different gear. My understanding is that currently he plans on making these available at a cost of $1 per weapon.

Nine out of the ten weapons in his “wave one” were made available to me by SlayerDave with permission from Falcone. It’s worth noting that these are early release copies and may not reflect the final product, as Falcone has stated in the forums that he is making tweaks before he releases these, so there will likely be differences between what’s shown here and what is ultimately released. Also, what I was given were cast copies of Shapeway product, as I understand it, and they may not reflect the quality and type of plastic that is ultimately used in production.

Overall:

Those who like detail will not be disappointed in these pieces – every weapon has a lot of detail, which hopefully shows up well in the photos.

Construction is the only place I was able to find fault, and even that was only with a few pieces, which I talk about in the individual write-ups. None of these are make or break issues for the individual weapons or the set as a whole, but are certainly things that potential buyers should be aware of. It’s also possible that these are among the planned changes before release.

Mostly, though, I’m going to let the photos speak for themselves.

AKS 74u:

Didn’t photograph particularly well due to the color – this one was cast in white rather than gray, so it washed out somewhat in every lighting I tried. My only complaint with this weapon is that the grip is a bit small for the figures I tried it on.

On the other hand, the figures I tried were able to grip either the magazine or the forward stock easily, so a two-handed hold is still doable.

MP5 and MP5K:

We’ve seen several MP5 releases before, from a variety of sources. I took a few comparison shots with other, similar releases.

There are a few places on some of the weapons, (most notably on triggers and trigger guards, where the plastic is very thin. While trimming some flash I broke one of the trigger guards on the MP5K, visible in the photos.

That’s why I left flash on many of these pieces. Still both nice weapons, though, and having more MP5s is always good.

UMP 45:

I’ve always liked the look of this weapon, and this is a nice, clean version that I’ll probably give to several figures – I’m very happy with how it looks. It’s smaller than the Marauder release, which will please those who thought that was too big. You can see exactly how it scales in comparison photos.

G36c:

Another release that we’ve seen before, in other versions from other manufacturers – this one makes a nice addition for people who like the G36 but are wanting some variety. Smaller than either the Hasbro release or Marauder’s.

Also a smaller grip, so some figures may not be able to hold as well.

Galil:

I really like the Galil, there’s lots of nice detail on this one. Both it and the FAL look really good with most any figure I tried them with.

FN FAL:

Have seen lots of requests for a good FN FAL, and this should make everyone happy. The one I was given did not have the handle that I understand will be on the final release, but it still looks great.

M14:

The grip may cause problems with older figures, but any of Hasbro’s newer releases with the swivel wrists will look just fine with this one. Makes for an excellent sniper/marksman alternative.

MSG 90:

Like the AKS 74u, this one was white rather than gray, so some details didn’t photograph as well. Don’t let the pictures fool you – this ended up being one of my favorites of the weapons. Nicely detailed and imposing-looking in a figure’s hands. My only complaint is that it has a thin barrel that bent easily, probably due to “in-scale” issues with the width of the actual barrel. Shouldn’t be too bad if you’re careful with it.

Wrap-up:

I’m excited for the release of these, and I was thrilled to be able to get some copies before they’ve been made available to the general public. Based on what I’ve seen here, I’d definitely buy a full set, and multiples of several of them. Thanks again to Falcone for allowing me to review these.

A big thanks to Fogger1138 and Falcone for providing us with this Sneak Peek. You can discuss this exclusive story Here

Don’t forget to check the full gallery on page 2!

Footloose is Shipping

Tim Kraemer — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 06:15:03 +0000

The Fighting 1:18th

The G.I.Joe Club has announced that they have started shipping their exclusive Free Membership Figure already. If you signed up for a Club Membership before the extended March 23rd deadline, you will see your Exclusive Figure before the end of May. Below is a quote from the Club’s Email:

“SURPRISE! This week we started mailing the FREE membership figures for 2012! We were able to get these manufactured much earlier this year, so off they go to you! It will take several weeks for them to reach all of the membership, so please be patient. If you don’t receive your figure by the end of May, please let us know.”

The Club has had a rough couple months, however it appears that they are getting back on their feet with the recent news of the inclusion of the Oktober Guard in the Con Set and now Footloose. Check your mail boxes and post any photos or discussion points Here

Thanks to Mandingo Rex for breaking the News