Pythona Custom G.I. JOE Action Figure from G.I. JOE The Movie (1987)

I have a few recurring clients with whom I've built relationships that have allowed me to make some really great figures that I normally would not have chosen to make on my own. One such figure is Pythona from the G.I. JOE animated movie from 1987.

I say that I wouldn't have made her on my own because as a kid I despised the movie for two reasons: it rewrote the origin of Cobra into some sort of science fiction story and they turned Cobra Commander into a snake. So I discarded the whole thing as not being a part of my "Joeverse."

But as an adult, there are many things I can appreciate about it such as the premise of an organic technology based culture versus a modern mechanical military and a character who is a sexy humanoid/reptile hybrid female assassin; Pythona.

I did a lot of research to get the face deco just right and used a gloss on certain areas to give her a more organic look. I hadn't planned on giving her earrings but after watching the movie again, I felt like they were part of her iconic character and so I made them from very tiny pieces of styrene that I cut to shape. The costume details were an insane time consumer and also required a lot of freeze framing to see how it appeared from all sides and I have to say, it wasn't consistent and required me to fill in quite a few gaps.

She was an incredible challenge in so many respects, I told my client that I would not repeat this character, but I'm really happy with the outcome and so was he. Hope you guys dig her too.