Diver Done!

After much underwater wrestling last night and today my DIY Action Man deep sea diver is finished!  

Its the first outfit where I've managed to make every part myself.

See what you think.

Dive, dive, dive!

Time to surface!

DIY Deep Sea Diver: Man and Buoy

 My DIY deep sea diver project is starting to see the light of day.

Most of the accessories are made or in progress. The buoy needs more red and a white stripe.

I enjoyed making the sea dagger the most. Fiddly as a squid it was! 

The huge steampunk helmet is golding up well. Maybe one more carat.

The action chap himself is behaving well whilst I colour all his bits and bobs. I should have done that first! 

We're still on for that first bath by the weekend! 

Ed's G.I. Joe Official Sea Sled and Frogman

Woodsy and Fellow Moonbasers,

I made a comment on a previous post that I had no photos of any of my childhood G.I Joe's, Stoney Smith's, or other action figures. 

A few days ago, Woodsy posed the question as to whether we had any diver figures. 

Well, coincidentally I came across this scan from Christmas of 1966 showing my G.I. Joe Official Sea Sled and Frogman (standing in front of it is my nephew in his cowboy outfit). 

While we didn't have a pool at our house, my dad did own a trailer home (caravan) on Shawano Lake, Wisconsin. 

It was there on the weekends that I could get the toys out and let them run to my heart's content.

 The Sea Sled worked pretty decent as I recall and the frogman was totally cool!

From Vegas Base

Ed

DIY Deep Sea Diver and Grenadier: getting Kitted Up

 Some more rough and ready fiddling tonight with two current Action Man DIY projects.

My Grenadier Guard make-shift SLR is getting a home-made bayonet; here stood up, glue drying it together. I added a string strap to the 'SLR', a re-shaped and re-painted modern machine gun.

The Grenadier bayonet got coloured up and attached and I began whittling some of the Deep Sea Diver accessories: lead half-boots, undersea hammer and the air gauge and pipes. The gauge needs painting. I'm getting ready for the buoy next and the sea dagger and sheath.

The helmet got a first lick of Humbrol metallic gold paint. I'm leaving the already-gold bauble itself alone. Several more coats to come on the rest. The big white knob is a mask over the tap, so it doesn't get a golding.

And so to the suit itself. Last night's tailoring wasn't up to muster at all so I started again, this time making the diver's outfit out of thin white plastic wrap used in packaging.

I cut out a basic shape and left the cotton suit on, as the wrap is semi-see through, not a great idea for a male diver facing sharks!

Using simple sellotape to join the seams the suit began to puff out and take shape. I added black shoes.

Happy with the baggy suit, I started work on the fella's belt, braces and lead weights and I added black ankle sleeves to create a boot look for the shoes.

Much to do tomorrow but for now I'm diving into bed! 

Deep Sea Diver: At the Tailors

 Further progress on the helmet. All the shoulder plate 'rivets' are glued on. It's a bit front heavy. I'll wait till the whole outfit is done before I deal with that. Gold paint is on order to finish it next.

See what you think.

Some work has been done on the diver's suit. I used an old cotton shopping bag for material. Hmmm, could be a mistake.

I used double-sided tape to attach the two sides and then stitched round the edges. It's far too slim so I forcibly pulled the seams to make it baggier.

 

This dry run makes it clear that the rough suit is still not big enough. I will have to add a lot more bag.

Overall I'm about half way through the whole endeavour. 

Hopefully Action Man should be taking a bath by next weekend! 

Diving Straight In: My New Action Man Project

 I loved my Action Man deep sea diver as a kid. He went on many a soapy adventure in the bath with me, grappling that pesky rubber shark. Did you have one readers?

I particularly loved the helmet and this morning, when I noticed what the Missus was using for making crocheted Xmas tree decorations I had to look twice!

Golden baubles! I had an instant idea! Yikes!

Let's have a bash at scratch-biulding that deep sea helmet my steroid* - addled brain cried out!

* GP prescribed! For Asthma. 

I started by getting the measure of Action Man's head using an egg cup. He loves like ROM! 

I then used a similar sized cap to mark out where the head should enter the helmet on a golden ball donated by the Missus for the as yet untitled project.

I did the same for the face portal using this honey cap as the template.

The cap then became the portal! I put a different one on the honey.

Side portals were added and a top valve. The face portal was prepped.

Going fully Jules Verne I went mad at the rear adding a doll's house lamp stand as the main air pipe tap ( please don't look at the reflection! It was a hot day!)

I then moved onto the shoulder brace. A large vending flexi half-dome fit the bill.

I added a collar to get the right neck hole on the shoulder brace. Oh, and a front tap.

The shoulder brace hole was cut.

The correct shape was cut for the shoulders and tested on my headless man.

The honey bottle cap portal was glued in position. Its a bit chunky but it actually opens!

Rubber band trims were added to the collar and shoulder brace, little extras were glued to the front and brace trim and a first attempt at a visor grate was made.

More later. I need a banana first!

SUB STANDARD

I had to chuckle when I saw this old carded frogman. I mean, the firm have just brazenly ripped off one of my favourite Action Man box illustrations! It was clearly the Wild West back then in Hong Kong when anything went!

The toy itself appears to not live up to the famous illustration, a super cheapo frogman and a one-man sub that looks like a soda siphon canister.

Still, back in the day I would have accepted this toy with open arms. I would today! ha ha

Did you have a one-man sub?

SCUBA DO!

These DOITOOL Scuba Diver Figurines are pretty darn cool. There's something very Thunderball about them and maybe a dash of Sea Devils. 

I like the walking in flippers poses two of them have too!

Anyone got any of these?

Are divers still an iconic figure for kids like they were for our generation?

https://amzn.eu/d/f9l7WTa 

MANTA BANTER

 I adored Manta Rays as a kid.

For some reason I always associate them with frogmen and skin divers. 

It must have been the influence of Jacques Cousteau back in the Sixties and wonderful book covers and illustrations like these:

Of course Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and other underwater shows and films will have popularised the Ray too. The Flying Sub itself looks like one!

They are still popular sea creatures. Modern shorts include this New Atlantis Wild film

Did you like Manta Rays? Did you have a favourite illustration or even a toy or game?