HissTank boards member paulpratt shows us his custom Rattler made from a Power Team Elite A-10! This plane is significantly larger than the modern era Rattler and with modification, can hold the anniversary/modern era figures. Click on the title bar to see the rest of the images and click on the discuss button below to join the ongoing discussion!
paulpratt says
Edit 11/20/08:
Here are some new pro shots of the Rattler in all her glory. You can view them in full size by clicking on "all sizes" above the image on flickr.
Custom Cobra Rattler
Custom Cobra Rattler - Close Shot
Original:
This is a custom i know people everywhere have been doing, but i wanted to do one that was as true to the original as possible, and also realistic enough to be in today's world. The realism mainly comes in with no gunner's turret.
In my Joe-Verse everything is realistic (with a slight bit of fantasy thrown in), and most of Cobras "Air Forces" are dedicated to a ground support role. The A-10 fits the bill nicely without all the VTOL nonsense of the hasbro rattler.
This is the Elite Operations A-10 from Toys R Us. You can also get them at big lots. They retail for $30.00. I used all Krylon fusion paints with very little preparation needed, other than disassembly. The stickers are from cobrastrickers.com. Which, BTW are really nice quality, but i expected something more... i'm not sure what, but i paid $14.00 for a sheet of stickers that came in an envelope with a postage stamp on it. The whole thing looked like my grandma was sending me a letter.
Now that i've seen their stickers i know how they make them, so i know what their money is going towards, but i think they need to lower their prices just a bit. I might have been more comfortable with the stickers at $10.00.
Some references:
The Rattler is 16.5 inches long. That makes it about 1:38 Scale.
The Elite Ops A-10 is 23 Inches long. That makes it about 1:28 Scale.
I'm not going to go into much detail, most of you know how to do this. The pics aren't that great, i took them with my iPhone, so they look grainy. I need some new batteries for my camera. Oh, and please excuse my son having breakfast.
Tankster says
Very nice!!!! Always wanted to do the same and its honestly more fitting to the joe scale just cant have a fleet of em because of the size lol!!!
Tankster says
Jsut noticed you are from wichita i live in topeka sweet!!
mech-grunt says
Great paint job.
esg2145 says
Nice Job.
I think you can tell from the info that you supplied ( " The Rattler is 16.5 inches long. That makes it about 1:38 Scale. The Elite Ops A-10 is 23 Inches long. That makes it about 1:28 Scale. ") that may be one of the reasons Hasbro reconfigured the Rattler from a the A10 as they did for cost and size considerations.
I'm sure a jet of Rattler's price range (even back in '84) was/is a lot easier to move/sell than it is one of a larger's size, such as the Sky Striker (at least that was what I remember from back in the day - I had both). Throw in the fact that it's a bad guy jet vs a Joe jet, and Hasbro knows right from the start they are going to sell less of these than they will of the good guy jet (or at least that was the mentality back in the day and of most kids this stuff is directed at in the first place).
Hell, even look at us as collectors - if Hasbro made a Rattler the size of the E.O. A10, it would be WAY more than $30 and we know it! $25 for the current Rattler or $30 for the EO A10 is fairly reasonable for most of us, but more than that, and forget it.
I'm betting this is the main reason we are NOT seeing the Sky Striker and ARE seeing the Conquest now (cheaper to make and easier to sell). Just look at the '80s prices for the SS, Rattler, and Conquest for proof -
83' SS - $14.95
84' Rattler - $9.90
86' Conquest - $9.99
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Flame Viper says
Very nice. You did an awesome job.
ceraurus says
Great job on that. This is on my list of things to do some time in the future - once I can afford to pick up the A-10. Yours looks nice and clean.
Copper21 says
You have just helped me make my mind up. I was thinking about doing this rather than buying the real Rattler. Now after seeing it, I think I will. Great job!!!
paulpratt says
Thanks all for the kind comments. I appreciate it. This one is really worth it. The new rattler is nice to have hanging around as a "tribute" to the original, but this a-10 is just amazing. It fits into my little Joe universe perfectly. If anyone has questions, let me know.
paulpratt says
It's funny how fast threads fall into obscurity on this site. The community has gotten so large, and the customs forum is a huge cornerstone of that growth.
Keep reading: Real Life Rattler Custom - Page 2
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