COG - This is an idea that formed a long time ago and wasn't even originally a 1/6th project. Some years ago, when I was still fairly energetic and flexible, I had the idea of forming a Airsoft group of Adults for the purpose of... (well, to be truthful, I'm not really sure what the purpose was, other than I thought it might be fun). Anyway, my idea was to call it COG - the Crusty Old Guy Battalion. We were to have patches and ID cards and even a tactics manual. But I could never inspire my friends to "bite" and the idea died. Recently I resurrected the idea in 1/6th and what follows is the result.
For my original team (TEAM ONE), I made a bunch of props. Actually, I never intended to take it any further. I was going to have the team show up in my comic The Bar at the End of the Universe and have them help the detective solve a mystery. Then I ended up purchasing a Hasbro Chenowth on eBay and decided to create another team and expand the idea. But before we go any further, here are some of the props I made when I created the first team.
The Chenowth pushed me in the direction of creating a second team. I originally bought the vehicle to give my first team a ride, but upon receiving it, I realized that I would never get that crew to fit into the vehicle without removing some of the detail that makes them unique. I decided a second team would be needed and they would have to be a little less detailed (and bulky) to fit. Thus TEAM TWO was born.
Each of the team members has a vest, weapon and helmet and that is their only gear, making then far less bulky and easier to get in and out of the vehicle.
I had two of the SOTW Desert uniforms, which I prefer above what Hasbro had. The uniform in the center of the picture above is from a Dragon figure and was purchased through War-Toys. It is a little lighter than the other two, thus I gave it to my team leader. |
Different uniforms required different colored insignia than what I gave my first team. Also I discovered that the Desert Patrol Vehicles were teamed by Navy SEALs during the Gulf War and I decided that my second team would be Navy guys. I thus expanded my COG insignia sheet.
The above JPG is 1.6 mg and is 8x11 in size and 150 dpi, suitable for printing on a laser printer if you want any of the art. I printed my patches on fabric paper and they came out pretty good. The one problem I find with them is that the ink can degrade when you are handling the patches. I never am quite happy with the black and tend to enhance them with pen to make the words show up better.
This is the fabric paper that I found at Hobby Lobby for the project. A lot of the fabric papers have a really course texture and are unsuitable for printing small items on. This particular pack has a really nice fine texture and works really well with my HP Laser Printer.
Below is the artist pen that I use to enhance my patches. It is a fine tip and does not bleed like most pens. Though, I must qualify that statement and say that I have had it for a long time, not sure how a new one would do. |
To the left is team member E-5, Richard Jordan. You can see that his patches have been enhanced with the above pen. It takes a little more time to do, but I think it is worth it.
The next part of the project is the Chenowth. Originally produced by Hasbro, it is a cool toy, but with a little work, I think it can look so much better. The Hasbro AT-4s and Machine Guns are quite frankly, awful. I had one Dragon AT-4, so I put it on the vehicle to see if it would work with the Hasbro mount. I then ordered another one as well as a decent .50 cal machine gun. I am going to replace the M60 with a 21st Grenade Launcher, which I already have. |
Above is the DPV as it currently sits. Below is a picture of the real thing and more of what I would like my finished vehicle to look like. I have yet to decide whether I am going to carve up those stowage racks and make them look like open frame ones on the real vehicle. I also feel like Hasbro put that back seat a little low, so I will need to work on that as well.
Still in the package, an Ultimate Soldier grenade launcher. It will go where that M60 currently is.
And that's where this project currently is, but I thought you might like another example of how my twisted mind works. I am still waiting on some pieces for the DPV. I've already shared this project on my Facebook page and encouraged the faithful there to think about creating their own COG team as a fun, fanciful and less "factual" diversion. One of our club members has already taken up the challenge and is going to work up a team. I guess I am already more successful than I was with my Airsoft idea. Thanks for looking - PM