SGT Simba! - My First Con Exclusive Project!

This year, I tried my hand at making an exclusive uniform set to sell at JoeLanta 2024. I ultimately ended up with SGT Simba the Savanna Commando and a super entertaining diorama!

See how my project unfolded below!

The 1/6 G.I. Joe world has always been short on human enemies, so I feel like I am naturally drawn to make what is little in supply. I love watching movies about crazy conflicts in Africa such as The Wild Geese, so I tried my hand at making an African adversary for Joe!

Another large influence on this project was the 70's African mercenary movie, Dark of the Sun. If you enjoy action and dangerous exotic settings, I would highly recommend watching both of these brutal movies!

I once saw in a Special Forces uniform book that an army in Africa actually used a leopard type pattern for their camouflage uniform. When I saw this 1/6 leopard pattern fabric, I immediately wanted to make uniforms from it!

This was my first go at making a 12 uniform batch, and it was a hustle! I ultimately learned a lot from this task though.

Here are the 12 shirts completed. Shirts are harder than pants, so I wanted to complete these first. The buttons and snaps have not been applied yet. That task took many hours itself.

The pants are always easier to construct than the shirts. I decided shorts, because I imagine these uniforms operating in hot savanna weather!

The belts were not that hard to make. Cutting and pinning the fabric took the longest on these.

I really wanted the set to have an exclusive accessory, so I decided to add a machete and sheath. I went through several iterations of the sheath before I was happy with something that was durable.

I do not have a WIP photo of the hat, but they were pretty easy to make. I based the pattern on African hats reminiscent of Eddie Murphy's Coming to America!

I designed the machetes on Tinkercad and made several iterations before the final product. This was an earlier print where I though I wanted to glue a separate blade onto a handle.

The final machete ended up being one piece for durability purposes. I printed it in gold for uniqueness and to add more personality to the set.

 This is what the set came with. I made two dog tags for the uniform. I included the AT emblem tag in case buyers wanted to potentially convert this uniform into an Adventure Team outfit. The set was priced at $75 each.

Fellow customizer and friend, Mark Cole, advised me on making tags for my clothing. You can buy iron-on paper at Wal-Mart and print your custom labels on them. I am glad with how they turned out.

This is my favorite figure to model the SGT Simba outfit on. The head is a flocked Cotswold DJ head, and it is on a repro Geyperman Muscle Body.

These were some of my IG preview pics marketing the set; this model is a Cotswold Otis figure. The weapons are 1/6 AK-47's I found for for a reasonable price. Thankfully, Cotswold carried enough Power Team sandals to supply all 12 of my sets!

This was when I only had 4 complete outfits made. I had to get something photographed to show buyers what they were getting! 

I finally made all 12 uniforms, and the buttons/snaps took forever! I take pride in my uniforms being able to fit on many different 1/6 body types: Vintage G.I. Joe, Geyperman Muscle Body, ES Toys, Power Team, Ultra Corps, Ken Muscle Body, 90's Action Man, and G.I. Joe Classic Collection!

For each uniform, I even included a certificate of authenticity!

I really wanted to get the word out on these sets, mostly because I worked so hard on them! Paul Knapp let me appear on his Youtube channel before the convention and talk about the set!

This was a bucket list item; I always wanted to make a diorama for a convention, and by chance, this set was the route to it!

I coordinated with fellow customizer and friend Matt Bill to put together an Adventure Team themed diorama where Joe encountered SGT Simba and his squad of Savanna Commandos in Africa! We used the diorama to not only have fun, but also a way of selling merchandise. Almost everything displayed was for sale!

Matt brought everything except for the enemies! He brought the foundation, tower, van, and dropped a bag of random Joes to set up the scene! Setting this up was like being a kid again, but finally with an adult budget!

This was the top of the tower! I put the star figure up there!

One customer wanted to buy the costume AND the figure, but I had to decline the figure; he's too one-of-a-kind!

I placed figures wherever would make for a lively action scene. Here is Joe climbing to the top!

Some more commandos at the bottom! That one behind the gas cannister would play out to a great explosion!

Matt made an awesome tower out of some old outdoor deco stuff!

This was an interesting custom Adventure Team doctor/scientist. We imagined the Adventure Team was trying to somehow aid the animals, and the Savanna Commandos were interfering!

I placed one of the commandos on the ladder. Matt said he recycled an old belt/tie rack to make it!

This Sea Adventurer is in the driver seat! The RV is a repurposed 1976 Mattel Barbie Star Traveler!

I love site gags on dioramas! Matt supplied this custom Joe with really loose legs. I could not get him to stand up, so we just placed him in the official Adventure Team RV toilet!

Here's the man behind the diorama, Matt Bill! He has the grin of a 10 year old in this photo!

I love seeing what other customizers end up doing with my stuff! Here is what some of my patrons did with their uniforms!

Greg Brown of Cotswold Collectibles was very encouraging, and publicized my set on his website! I love that head that is modeled in these photos!

Matt Bill modeled his uniform with an awesomely flocked reproduction G.I. Joe!

1/6 customizer, Big Surf, placed my uniform in one of his groovy dioramas! I love the inclusion of the Men from U.N.C.L.E. and that Phicen Bettie Page!

It was a real joy to finally put out a custom exclusive set, and actually have people buy it! I do not do this for the money, but thankfully I sold the majority of my 12 sets. It was a phenomenal bonus to work with a friend and get a badass convention diorama as well! Production was challenging at times, but this was definitely one of my more favorite 1/6 projects! If time permits, I hope to make more exclusive sets and dioramas in the future! Special thanks to Matt Bill and Mark Cole!

For more coverage of JoeLanta 2024, click here!

G.I. Joe forever!

-Chuck