It’s my great pleasure to welcome two of Star Wars foremost action figure customizers, father and son team, Brian (Darth Daddy) & Elias Fulton of “Customs for the Kid” to Fantha Tracks. What inspired you both to begin customizing?
Elias: It all
started when I was about six years old.
I had received a custom action figure made by Star Wars custom action
figure artist, JACKOFTRADZE for my birthday.
It was a gift from my dad. I was
so used to all the Hasbro figures, so I noticed that it didn’t look the same as
the rest. It was a Wookiee Jedi made out
of a Chewbacca with a Jedi body. The
paint scheme was very different from the other figures, so I couldn’t help but
ask about it. I asked him where he got
it, and he told me that it was very special, and there was only one in the
whole world, with no others like it. I
remember feeling like I was so special, because I was the only person in the whole
galaxy who had that Star Wars action figure.
He showed me the customizer’s website, and I thought it was the coolest
thing when I saw it. I couldn’t stop
thinking about it and how inspirational it was. I eventually asked him if we could customize
and have a blog ourselves. We thought it
would be a cool idea to feature other artists, and not just ourselves. He was very reluctant at first, because we
had never customized action figures before.
He eventually said yes thinking that I would get tired of it after a few
weeks, but I stuck with it. We still
haven’t quit after nine years, and we don’t plan to any time soon.
Darth
Daddy: For me it was 100% Elias. I just remember him looking up, asking me to
make Star Wars custom action figures with him. I was quick to tell him that I
didn’t have the skill to pull it off, and this little kid just stared up at me
with his big, brown, eyes and said, “Dad, I believe in you. Just start and I
know you’ll finish.” I knew I couldn’t say no to him after that, and well, the
rest is history. “Customs for the Kid” was born in that very moment and we’ve been
at it ever since.
It doesn’t feel so long ago, Elias was
painting wonderful Star Wars 3¾” figures. He’s since progressed quickly onto some
impressive customized figures rivaling Darth Daddy. Is there much competition ruling the
customising galaxy as father and son?
Elias: I wouldn’t use the word “competition” to
describe our dynamic. We really operate
as a team. We provide constructive
criticism in order to achieve our best possible work. My dad started me out painting figures with
only five points of articulation so I didn’t end up giving an expensive figure
a novice paint job. I remember always
asking him when I could finally make a super-articulated figure, and he always
told me when I was ready. So, the first
time I actually was allowed to make a custom out of a high-quality figure, it
felt like a significant rite of passage.
As I became more skilled, I was allowed access to more tools, and higher-quality
figures. I started to sculpt onto my
figures about four years ago, and I’ve been developing that skill ever since. I would also say that we customizers aren’t
competitors by nature. We are a tight-knit group of friends who all help one
another to make the best possible Star Wars custom action figures. We give each-other advice, and hot tips so we
improve together as a group rather than fighting our way to the top.
Darth
Daddy: Elias is spot-on. We really work as more of a team to bring our
creations to the masses. Elias has worked on so many of my pieces at this point
I feel bad that he doesn’t get enough credit for all of his contributions. The
whole endeavor started off as a true master and apprentice relationship,
although when we started neither one of us were exactly masters. Because
customizing can be such an expensive hobby, I did sometimes call the shots when
it came to what action figures Elias was allowed to work with. Because of
safety, that applied to the tools he was allowed to use, as well. Reducing the
joints to prevent paint rub can be extremely dangerous work, so to this day I
am still hesitant to let him use some of the attachments for our Dremel tool.
All that aside, Elias has grown to be the better sculptor out of the two of us,
and he now paints the eyes on most of my figures these days, because he is much
better at it than I am. He has really taken lead on the blog this year and I’ve
had a more reduced role.
Following a manufacturing vacation, Hasbro
celebrated Star Wars return by releasing waves of new figures, sadly however,
following the evolved super-articulation figures we had grown accustomed to,
these new figures regressed towards the vintage era’s five points of
articulation. Through customizing, you’ve addressed the articulation of the
latest Star Wars generation of figures, especially Rebels. What persuaded you to tackle the customizing
transition from five-point to increased articulation?
Darth Daddy: Since power tools are needed to transition 5poa figures into super-articulated figures, I do the work on those. It started from a desire to bring the main characters from the show up to speed with modern figures that had been released prior. There is nothing more boring to a child than a 5poa Jedi, regardless of what Hasbro says in their talking points about why they made the transition to less articulated figures. I even remember when I was a kid how frustrated I would get when I couldn’t get my Vintage Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker to hold their lightsabers with two hands like in the movie. The conversion process can also be one of the most frustrating tasks a customizer can take on, and it has nothing to do with difficulty. Sure, there are challenges while making the conversion that need to be addressed, but once you figure out the engineering that needs to be implemented it is rather easy to do. The frustration comes more from the sacrifice that is required. Namely, stealing joints from super-articulated figures. It is a costly process when you lose a perfectly good modern figure to update a stagnant limited articulated figure. Most times, you have to grab the joints from more than one figure to get the colour or size joint that the project requires. It is something that we started to stray away from rather quickly, and as a result we have made far less Star Wars Rebels customs compared to other Star Wars content as a result. It has to be a character like Chirrut Îmwe, who demands a wide range of motion to get us to steal those joints from high-quality figures going forward. Nobody was more disappointed by the switch to 5poa than a Star Wars customizer, except maybe diorama builders who want to convey the drama in the scene that they created. 5poa figures also provide customizers a very limited range of parts for us to use after being boiled apart. A 5poa figure may provide a customizer 6 parts, while the super-articulated figures may provide up to 15!
Having developed increased articulation
techniques, have you ever considered the challenge of applying this to a
vintage figure?
Elias: I haven’t yet learned about super-articulating
5poa figures. I will say we haven’t
thought too much about improving the vintage Kenner figures with super articulation.
Darth
Daddy: It’s just not really our area of focus. I might feel bad cutting up a
Vintage figure. They are so old it just feels sacrilegious.
What’s been your most challenging custom?
Darth
Daddy: For me it would be Pong Krell. He was slow going because of all the
limbs. I tried sculpting multiple limbs at once, but I kept ruining something I
had finished before it was done drying while trying to work on a different limb
and would have to readdress the disturbed area to fix what I damaged before the
sculpting medium would dry reducing the time I had to work on the second limb I
had moved on to. Making his lightsaber hilts from scratch was also a huge
challenge. I wanted to make his hilts in both the open and closed position and
making them display uniformity required me to learn how to mold and cast.
Fortunately, I got an in-house lesson with Star Wars customizer Luke Sprywalker
who regularly worked at the Diorama Workshop for multiple Star Wars Celebration
events. His assistance was a boon that gave me an education that helped me
create many cool projects since. The saving grace on Krell was that I was able
to collaborate with Star Wars customizer Hyperdrive who fabricated the soft
goods and leather belt to dress my sculpt in, all thanks to our strong
connection in The Force which is an inside joke you can read about in the blog post for the figure.
Elias: I would say the most challenging figure for
me was making Queen Miraj Scintel. The
paint scheme was so detailed and tedious.
The sculpt was also extremely challenging. I definitely reached my mental breaking point
after a protracted series of setbacks.
The spikes of her crown wouldn’t stop breaking off and getting lost, so
I was stuck constantly re-gluing and re-sculpting. I finally got them all to stay, so I decided
to spray seal her to keep paint from coming off. While she was drying in a hallway off of our
apartment, our neighbor didn’t notice her there and stepped on her,
consequently breaking off another spike.
Another problem that I encountered was that once I put in the soft goods
and belts, the clothing looked too thick.
So now with everything assembled, I had to take it apart again, so I could
recut the soft goods and thin out the belts.
When I sanded the belts to get them thinner, I accidentally sanded
straight through one, meaning I had to roll out more sculpting material, fit,
and cut it again. I had to re-adjust her
ears twice, so they would flare out the right way and be the correct size. The small horns just in front of her ears
constantly popped off as well. I was so
happy when all my sculpt work was solid and securely fastened to the figure.
After the sculpt work came a ten-hour paint job that included intricate paint
applications on a tiny tabard. By the
time she was done, I was at my wit’s end, but after some quick reflection, I
knew she was one of my favorites.
Do you have a favorite among each other’s
customs?
Elias: There are a lot of Dad’s customs that I love.
Some for the nostalgia and others for the sheer cool factor. Among them would
be his Phantom Menace Captain Panaka
who is in great need of an update in Hasbro’s Vintage line. I also really love
how Dad brought Clone Wars 99 to
life. He was one of the coolest characters from the TV show and the character
desperately needs an action figure release. Dad’s Revenge of the Sith Darth Sidious is just sinister and really does
one of my favorite Sith Lords some justice. I’ll always treasure his Tzizvvt
from the Cantina in A New Hope. Dad
used his own hair to make the figure so if science and technology improves, I
can use the figure to clone my dad when he returns to The Force.
Darth
Daddy: Indeed. Elias just finished a Clone
Wars Old Daka that I am over the moon about. I really love his Slave
Ahsoka. That was a version of Ahsoka I always wanted to see added to our
collection and I love Elias’ execution that allowed her to wear both outfits. I
personally think his 3.75” Admiral Amilyn Holdo looks even better than the
official Hasbro 6” version, and unlike some Star Wars fans, I really enjoyed
the character. After seeing all the work he put into Queen Miraj, she’ll always
be one of my favorites too. My all-time favorite would have to be his first 100%
sculpted figure of Senator Riyo Chuchi. It was so cool to see him take the leap
and attempt such a challenging project and accomplish it with ease. I’m truly
amazed every day at how hard he pushes himself to improve. He has a lot to be
proud of. His accomplishments speak for themselves.
How many customs have you both completed?
Customs
for the Kid: We have made a total of 352
custom action figures since we started, and we have many more that are on the
way. All of our completed customs can be found in the Action Figure Index on our blog.
Do you have a preference for Star Wars
figure types to work with, such as the real world or their animated forms?
Elias: I absolutely prefer the Clone Wars
figures. That might have to do with the
fact that the Clone Wars was my generation of Star Wars. I grew up with the show and all those characters
on a weekly basis, so my appreciation for The
Clone Wars content is understandable.
I have grown to appreciate the unique art style of the animated series,
so that’s most likely why it’s my preferred medium. I had become so accustomed to Clone Wars
figures that at one point, executing a realistic style paint job and sculpt were
very difficult for me. I must say, I
absolutely love the movie content as well, but there’s always going to be
something extra special about The Clone
Wars for me.
Darth
Daddy: I don’t have a preference. I really enjoy doing both realistic and
animated figures. I’ll always have strong desire to work on Cantina patrons and
Jabba’s denizens, because I grew up on the Original Trilogy and those were the
scenes that provided me with the coolest eye candy as a kid. I’d also like to
get around the making some of the Cloud-Riders from Enfys Nest’s gang in “Solo: A Star Wars Story”, or ME-8D9, Grummgar,
and Bazine Netal from Maz Kanata’s castle in “The Force Awakens”. Like
Elias I also have a strong affinity for the animated content and will continue
to draw from Dave Filoni’s animated projects for years to come.
Customizing can draw across many craft
disciplines, which has been the most challenging and how did you overcome this?
Elias: So far, the hardest for me has been
engineering, considering I’m still a novice.
This is the one skill that I haven’t really learned yet. That probably has to do with the fact that
it’s the most dangerous. Engineering is
the part of the process in which you use power tools and heat guns to pop
figures apart and grind them down where you need to. Most of the attachments on our power tool
could put me in an emergency room, as would a slip up with an X-acto knife at
any given time, and we don’t want that.
So that’s why my dad is in charge of the engineering. All of the other skills, I feel fairly
confident with.
Darth
Daddy: Believe it or not, it was painting. Before I was a customizer, I was the
kid in art class who always mixed in too much water in my paint ratio and my
paint just bled right through the paper. Anyone who goes to our first blog
posts can see it took me a while to improve my paintwork before I got to where
I am today. It is definitely an area where I can still stand to improve some. Another
area where I’d like to improve is in creating soft good clothing for my figures.
I’m somewhat new at making clothing by hand, and making my own patterns has been a huge help, but I still have so much to learn to become proficient at it. Like
every other artist out there, I am still learning. YouTube has a lot of great
tutorials that cover things from dry brushing to painting small heads that can
be a huge help for beginning customizers. I try to share video tutorials from
all the different disciplines on our blog whenever possible to spread that
knowledge to our readers. I have even made a few of my own tutorials that can
be watched on our YouTube channel that we hope can be helpful to beginners to
seasoned artists alike.
While customizing can embrace the
re-purposing of spare or damaged parts, have you ever utilized other recycled
materials to complete a custom?
Elias: I have only done so once. The hilt of the whip on Queen Miraj Scintel
was re-purposed from a bristle on our hairbrush.
My dad happened to notice it had fallen out, and we thought it would
serve as an excellent skeleton for her whip handle. We might need a new hairbrush though.
Darth
Daddy: All the time. One example was when I used the safety seals on my vitamin
containers along with cuttings of a bread packaging fastener to make the
feather crown that adorns my Clone Wars
Ziro the Hutt custom.
Have you embraced laser printing within
your projects?
Elias: We do know some fellow customizers that use
it, but unfortunately, due to space constraints, we don’t have a lot of use for
it in what we do. We have only a few
small dioramas, all of which we did without laser printing. We live in a smaller apartment, and we
probably don’t have the space to get a whole laser printing setup. It’s a tool mostly used for diorama building,
which we haven’t done much of at all.
Darth
Daddy: Yeah, since we don’t have a large fancy art studio and we still do all
of our art at the kitchen table, laser printing just isn’t within our reach.
Maybe one day we will get a large dedicated workspace complete with a 3-D resin
printer, ZBrush software, a laser cutter, pressure pot and vacuum chamber, but
until then, we are stuck working within our means and they are very limiting.
Your “Custom for the Kid” website showcases
your wonderful customizing work, but also makes great effort to promote fellow
experienced and new customizers. Among the customs featured, if you could both pick one to add to your collection,
which customizer and figure would they be?
Elias: One of my favorite customs from another customizer
is Peak-OB1 Custom Creations “Trench” from The Clone Wars. I’d love to
I own it, because it’s one of the most beautiful figures out there.
Darth
Daddy: The thing I enjoy most about our blog is our ability to share the work
of other artists. We have been archiving Star Wars custom action figure
art from all over the world
since we started, and it has led to so many wonderful friendships. If there was
one custom that has been repeatedly dancing around my head, it would be “The
Ghost” vehicle that was made by customizer @JohnnyStarWars on Instagram. I want a “Ghost” really badly and his version has a lot of the bells
and whistles I would want if I ever made my own.
Do you have any tips for anyone considering
customizing?
Elias: If you’re starting without any experience at
all, I would say you should start with simple figures rather than jumping in
headfirst into the world of advanced customs.
I would say that acrylics are the best paints to use, because they won’t
dry incorrectly or ruin the figure.
Start with using lower quality figures, considering that super
articulated ones are so expensive these days.
Most of all, don’t be discouraged.
You aren’t going to be a master on your first day. I have developed my skill for nine years, and
you must devote a lot of time and effort to become an outstanding artist.
Darth
Daddy: The community is a great resource. If it weren’t for my fellow
customizers and their advice, I’d be nowhere near the artist I am today.
Another thing important to remember is persistence pays off. Keep at it and the
more you work at it, the more you will improve. I still learn something new on
every figure that I make. Also, don’t be afraid to push yourself outside your comfort zone every now and again. It is the only way you will truly grow as an
artist.
I’ve enjoyed the “Customizing The Clone Wars” YouTube show you’ve both done in
partnership with another talented customizer, Mr. Chad Peak aka Peak-OB1 Custom
Creations. Can you tell us a bit about the show and what’s planned for the
future?
Darth Daddy: I’d love to! The show is truly a labor of love by all involved. On the show, we teach our viewers how to make custom action figures of their favorite unreleased Clone Wars characters. We share our part recipes, the techniques, mediums and tools we used, and our thoughts about the show itself. Mother Talzin, Bo Katan, Master Sinube. We made them all and so, so many more. It is a show about the art of toy making with a Star Wars: Clone Wars slant. We even share customs made by artists other than ourselves. You’ll also get the chance to learn about some fun Easter eggs in each episode that you might have missed. Chad and I became friends around the time I started customizing. Elias, as you have read throughout this interview, is a huge Clone Wars fan. It was the first Star Wars movie he saw on the big screen. He was only 4-years-old at the time and it was a great introduction to the TV show. It was a weekly ritual in our home. Which leads us to Chad…Chad was already a seasoned customizer and he was one of the few artists in the customizing community that was making Clone Wars custom action figures. His work was truly inspirational. Elias was already a dedicated custom action figure collector and once the show was in full swing it didn’t take long before Elias wanted to add some of the characters from the show that weren’t released as toys to his collection. I remember seeing Chad’s Clone Wars figures in several forums under the name Peak-OB1 Custom Creations and he sold a good number of his customs to us throughout the years. I think we have almost 50 of his action figures here at home. We ended up being so inspired by his Clone Wars customs, we started making some of our own. Over the years we became great friends with Chad and threw the idea around of doing a custom tutorial show together to help customizers make their own figures. Since we had a huge catalog of Clone Wars customs already made and deep admiration for what George Lucas, Dave Filoni and team created, we felt it was the perfect vehicle for our show, and “Customizing The Clone Wars” was born. We have already covered the first three seasons of the show and are more than halfway through season 4 at this point. You can expect us to keep showcasing figures from the remaining seasons that were released, as well as cover the new content set to be released next year.
What Star Wars features do you enjoy
watching from the live action trilogies, standalone stories or animated Clone
Wars, Rebels or Resistance?
Elias: I didn’t even have to think about it. Clone Wars is always going to be my favorite
content.
Darth
Daddy: I’m a huge fan of “Solo: A Star
Wars Story”. I’m happy that Star Wars fans are showing some love for the
film now that it has been released on home video. It really nails the chemistry
and nostalgia from the Original Trilogy with the interaction between the cast
that the Sequel Trilogy hasn’t matched just yet. Ron Howard really needs to
direct another Star Wars film. He gets it. I know a lot of fans are kicking
themselves for not seeing “Solo” in theaters when it was released. You live, you learn. The standalone films have
been my favorite content since the Disney takeover. “Rogue One” was really magnificent! Like Elias, I can also watch
episodes of The Clone Wars TV show
over and over. The story arcs, diversity in the stories, and plethora of new
characters make it the most satisfying Star Wars content in my humble opinion,
and the show really did a lot to expand our understanding of The Prequels. I am
a Star Wars fan who loved ALL the Prequel films just as much as the Original
Trilogy, so that was a huge bonus for me. Star
Wars Rebels really expanded upon what The
Clone Wars was doing and was a great watch some of my favorite characters
carry on into the new show. Truly
memorable. I’m really enjoying Star Wars
Resistance too. I am a firm believer that Dave Filoni can do no wrong.
Are you excited for the return of Dave
Filoni’s “Clone Wars” and John
Favreau’s “The Mandalorian” and not
forgetting next year’s trilogy climax?
Elias: After Dave’s great successes in story writing
and directing with the animated content, I absolutely trust that he will
deliver great content within “The
Mandalorian”. I’d go as far as to
say that I’m looking forward to Dave’s Star Wars content, more than Episode IX. I can say that I enjoyed The Last Jedi, and all I can do, is hope that Lucasfilm is going to
give us a solid conclusion to the Skywalker Saga.
Darth
Daddy: Oh yeah, I am even more excited for the TV shows than I am for Episode
IX. “The
Clone Wars” TV show is my favorite Star Wars content of all-time. Hearing
it was making a return was a dream come true. To say we were massively
disappointed about its cancellation years ago is an understatement. We were
devastated. I’m really excited that Dave Filoni is directing the pilot to Jon
Favreau’s “The Mandalorian” and
another episode soon after. Seeing Dave Filoni transition into live-action
provides hope that one day we may just get a live action Ahsoka Tano movie one
day, I can’t wait for the new live-action show. Jon Favreau’s contribution to
Star Wars has already been significant and nothing but positive so I have
nothing but excitement about the road ahead.
We
can’t thank Fantha Tracks enough for inviting us to be interviewed. We
encourage everybody to try and make a custom action figure one day, whether it
be a character of your own creation, fixing a mistake on a figure you bought in
the store or bringing a character to life that was never released as a toy.
It’s such a rewarding endeavor. If you need some help with getting it done or
want some inspiration, look no further than customsforthekid.blogspot.com for
all of your customizing needs. We have platforms on: Blogger, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, & Instagram so it
shouldn’t be hard to find us.
