870 Tactical Shotgun
Sourced from 1/6 G.I. Joe Flint,
by Sideshow Collectibles
Everyone loves a shotgun (particularly during zombie-related apocalypse scenarios) even if it did always puzzle me why G.I. Joe equipped a senior officer with one and nothing else more battlefield-practical. This particular model isn't your old school Evil Dead boomstick or even the popular SPAS-12, but the type of no-nonsense shotgun used by American soldiers right now. As such, it does lack personality, but it's a good size and is pretty mean. The telescoping stock also makes it a little easier to fit it into the crook of a figure's elbow.
~+~
Mjolnir
Sourced from Movie Masterpiece Thor (v1),
by Hot Toys
Not much of an introduction is needed for the magick warhammer of the Mighty Thor, surely? Hot Toys did a great job sculpting the thing, but the decision to make the head out of solid die-cast metal (admirably faithful though it is) makes it a devil to pose with; Nina pretty much has to use both hands or the head keeps lurching downwards. I suppose she could try holding it by the strap, but since I doubt it's 'unbreakable' as in the comics, I worry that it'll snap under the weight. And yeah, it took a bit of doing but I managed to fit Thor's rarely-seen helmet onto her head too. I quite like how it looks, but before you ask, no, I couldn't do the same with Loki's. :(
~+~
MP7 Submachine Gun
Sourced from 1/6 G.I. Joe Cobra Commander (v1),
by Sideshow Collectibles.
The MP7 isn't a gun I've seen many times, though it did turn up in one of the better levels of 2011's Medal of Honor. Telescoping stock, adjustable sight, 2 different sizes of magazines (the larger one is fitted in the pic) and an optional suppressor, although without it the barrel looks tiny and weedy. Though her hand doesn't hold the foregrip all that tightly, I really like how this looks for Nina, size-wise.
~+~
Uh, binoculars? And also a smoke grenade
Grenade sourced from virtually any 1/6 G.I. Joe.
Binoculars of unknown origin.
I think I got the binocs with another figure of similar origins to Nina, i.e. made by a smallish company using parts scrounged from upmarket releases. I seem to have since lost said figure, though, and I don't believe its box gave any specs for the included weapons. In fact, these might not be binoculars as such; there's only one eyepiece and multiple viewfinder lenses, so it might be some sort of laser-targeting array used in sync with aerial units, to direct fire support? I don't know. Anyway, the grenade is a Mk-18 model, standard army issue, and dispenses yellow smoke as indicated by the colouring on the top; this is also used for air support marking, as the colour is easy to discern amidst a firefight.
~+~
Vibranium Alloy Shield
Sourced from Movie Masterpiece Captain America (Avengers series),
by Hot Toys.
Again, you're probably at least casually familiar with this one. It's got a pair of straps on the other side, one that slips over the figure's forearm and another that threads through their grip; unfortunately, Nina's gripping hands are a little looser than the custom one Cap had, so trying to get her to hold the shield in a more dramatic pose was very frustrating. Also, for some reason the pics came out dark, possibly because of the reflections from the shield's shiny surface. Blah.
~+~
'Klobb' Submachine Guns
Sourced from Videogame Masterpiece Jill Valentine (Battle Suit Version),
by Hot Toys.
Again, Hot Toys don't tell squat about the accessories on their figures, and I don't have the patience right now to look these things up (I think they might be called Skorpions or somesuch) so I'm just gonna use the name of the guns from GoldenEye on N64 that looked the same. Anyway, the Klobbs are nicely dinky things that still look pretty mean, and feature a distinctive skeletal stock that flips up over the body of the gun, all the way to the middle of the barrel. They're the right size and style to look good in a woman's hands (or a really slim bloke's) though in my head-canon, Nina would dismiss them for exactly that reason...
~+~
BlasTech EE-3 Rifle and Pistol
Sourced from 'Scum & Villainy' Boba Fett (Empire Strikes Back edition),
by Sideshow Collectibles
Terrible pic is terrible, I know, sorry. Anyway, the EE-3 is Boba Fett's signature rifle, more stripped-down and simple-looking than the E-11s used by Stormtroopers, and also features both a strap to sling it over the shoulder and a wood-effect stock, which does help a bit with the whole 'hunter' aesthetic. The pistol is also a Fett weapon, although he's never seen using it in the movies; it just hangs in a holster off his belt that's always a little too far back to see. (speaking of unseen weapons, Fett can also shoot rocket darts from his kneepads, which has to be the most brilliantly useless thing ever) Sadly, there wasn't any clear way to mount Fett's jetpack on Nina; it's designed to hook onto special clasps on his back armour, and there's no way to separate the armour from his shirt.
~+~
Sonic Screwdriver
Sourced from 1/6 Eleventh Doctor,
by Big Chief Studios.
She's gonna need a bigger one to get that door unlocked. The screwdriver is, of course, not much of a weapon, though it's perhaps just as dangerous if you're a kooky-looking alien with ambitions toward Earth whenever the Doctor is around. I imagine Nina would take a shine to the device anyway, if only since it's a pretty effective one-size-fits-all lockpick, helpful for espionage. Big Chief Studios are a relatively new UK-based company, so I tend to forgive a certain clumsiness with their product; by which I mean the paint on this piece is a little sloppy but it's understandable and I try my best not to get mad about it.
~+~
M60 Machine Gun
Sourced from 1/6 G.I. Joe Rock'N'Roll,
by Sideshow Collectibles.
...We have a winner! Rock'N'Roll is probably the least exciting of all the sixth-scale Joes I've bought to date, but he was still kinda worth it just for this beast of a gun. The M60 has been around for decades (it was popularised during the Vietnam War) and the many SAW variants have supplanted it in common use more recently, but it's still basically the last word in handheld firepower, spewing out a giant belt of .50-cal tracers with a repeated, satisfying 'clunk' of the massive bolt that's enough to make you crap yourself from sheer terror and awe. This toy version is extremely accurate, from the bipod stand to the carry handle on top to the way it 'opens' to fit a new belt. Nina would probably call it 'adequate'.
TBC.
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