Toxo-Viper
	Figure & Equipment: Toxo-Viper (88)
	Physical modifications: I filed off all mould lines and copyright embossing. I filled in the joints and the hollow rear of the backpack with modelling putty. I also bent the right toe to obtain a more natural pose. I added a barrel to the weapon with a section of plastic straw. This is obviously one of the many Toxo-Viper backpacks with a broken-off side tank. If you didn’t know it was supposed to be there, though, it looks fine.
	Painting: This figure simply cried out to me for repainting, mostly because of the original purple and turquoise colour scheme! It was also a chance to do something brightly coloured but still realistic. The file card described the Toxo-Vipers as a punitive detail, “the leaky-suit brigade.” I pursued this idea by painting on rust, wear, dirt, and leaks. On the backpack I added patches of textured rust by gluing on baking powder and painting it. This, I feel, is what scale modelling with G.I.Joes is all about: deleting the bad ideas (purple and turquoise!) and fully realising the good ideas that went into these figures.