The “dog soldiers” started out as part of a very odd and short-lived line of 12″ action figures from Lanard toys called “K-9 Corps.” These adopted some of the body molds, vehicles, and accessories from their “Ultra Corps” line of GI Joe knock-offs. Actually, while the figures weren’t that great, the Ultra Corps turned out a lot of nice and reasonably priced uniforms, accessory sets, and vehicles. I bought a ton of them over the years, and the K-9 Corps looked pretty nice. It was just — odd, with its humanoid dogs with oversized, beastual hands and feet. The figures had quality control issues (hands and feet easily break off, probably due to faulty plastic), were never easy to find (K-Mart is the only mass-market retailer I know that carried them), and they came and went very quickly. But not before turning out half a dozen interesting figures and at least one cool vehicle.

I like these for the same reason I like the Bio-Constrictor figures from Mattel’s Max Steel line (used to make the “snake-men” who show up in MAW from time to time): They’re just so much fun to kit bash. I swapped out the original sci-fi weapons and uniforms that came with these guys, and gave them more realistic military uniforms and equipment for this panel.

I rather like this set. I was thinking of the retro-futuristic suite that James Bond and his lady are locked up in by the titular “Doctor No.” I wanted it to be both mid-century modern in style, industrial, but still with the touches that make it look like a livable space.