Week 9 starts on the battle ship Iowa in San Pedro, where MacKenzie introduces the crew to their next Spotlight Challenge. Themed after the 50th anniversary of GI Joe, they are tasked with creating a fitting villain or Super Soldier worthy of GI Joe, like Snake Eyes and Cobra Commander. The Contestants are given a choice of real snakes to draw inspiration from.
The Assignments
- Damien- Gaboon Viper
- Drew- Tiger Rat Snake
- Sasha- The Hog Nose Snake
- Stella- Namibian Coral Cobra
- Rachael- Green Tree Python
- Cig- The Christmas Tee Eyelash Viper
- Keaghlan- The Albino Reticulated Python
- Rachael- The Brazilian Rainbow Boa
- Geaorge- The Green Anaconda
After choosing MacKenzie reveals that the challenge winner will receive a special prize of GI Joe 50th anniversary toy collection from Hasbro.
The Contestants take lots of photos of the snakes to be displayed on screens back in the work room. They sketch, and then head back to begin working.
Day one, Drew decides to go a different route, by making small prosthetics to add character to his desin instead of a whole appliance with a cowl. Dina meticulously created scales on her sculpt that translate well into the snake design, and Sasha panics, feeling completely lost in this challenge. She draws on the other Contestants for help. Michael Westmore comes to the rescue, showing her small ways to improve her sculpture.
Day Two, Sasha has found her way, and dives into the challenge. Stella hits a bump in the road when her model comes down with strep throat, and is replaced with a much smaller model. She has no choice but to pray that the prosthetics she’s made can be made to fit her face. George uses a belt sander and foam to build a muscle suit, and decides to try it out himself.
Day 3, Stella struggles with her appliance not fitting the smaller model, and Sasha’s doesn’t line up correctly. The paint jobs are pretty fantastic this round for the most part, except for Rachael’s, which looks like a solid kelly green mess. Hopefully it improves in last looks.
In last looks Keaghlan’s character looks strange, with a blonde wig and bright yellow and white blotchy skin. Drew worries that his Super Soldier isn’t on par with the rest of the crew’s characters.
Judging, the Judges are impressed by Cig’s symmetry and application, and Drew’s minimalistic design. They have very little bad to say this week, except when looking at Rachael and Sasha’s Super Soldiers.
Safe
- Stella
- George
- Damien
- Cig
- Dina
- Drew
- Rachael
- Sasha
Winner: Dina
Voted Out: Keaghlan
I’m sad that Keaghlan was voted out, but agree that she needs more time to improve, and think that Sasha should count her lucky stars that she wasn’t sent home. It’s difficult when an artist is handed an assignment to create something that doesn’t inspire them, but that is the difference between a professional and a talented novice. Sasha’s ability only laying in making things that are whimsical and pretty will ultimately decide how far she gets in her career, though there is a place for that in the effects world. Deciding on who should be the winner between Drew, Cig and Dina was a tough call, all were well done. Dina’s win was deserved, but any of the three could have easily been chosen.