CFTK FEELS THE LOVE TODAY!!

We received the front page treatment over at Imperial Shipyards today. Dad was featured for his Stennes Jedi and his video featuring the work of BugSkirt. And I had the Mandalorian that I made for Eli featured too!
(click image to enlarge)

BugSkirt left a nice thank you for us on his blog today and we couldn't express how happy we were to feature his work on our blog. Your very welcome BugSkirt!
(click image to enlarge)

BUGSKIRT ADDED TO "CUSTOMS I WISH I OWNED"

To celebrate Day 2 of BugSkirt's Jedi Week we are doing a feature of his work that is being added to our "Star Wars: Customs I Wish I Owned" page. Dad has been a long time fan of BugSkirt ever since he first started to scour the forums to see what people were making. We have been following his blog ever since we started our own and we can tell you his customs are nothing short of amazing. BugSkirt kills his audience with creativity showing them action figures you just don't see anywhere else. We're still trying to figure out what he used for his heads.

Be sure to click on the Jedi Week banner below to see Jedi #2 in his feature this week.

Florida-based action figure customizer BugSkirt, or John as most folks know him, has been a Star Wars fan since the summer of 1977. The Florida sun and cousins wiped out his original Kenner toys, but he began figure collecting again with the arrival of the POTF2 toys. He started tinkering with custom figures around 2005 and the hobby has increasingly become a focus of limited spare time.

BUGSKIRT

and check out JEDI WEEK @ BugSkirt Customs:

DAY 2: JEDI #2

Jedi from Day #1 of Jedi Week: Master Borget Meegar, Kadas'sa' Nikto from Kintan
Created by BugSkirt

To contact BugSkirt by email:
bugskirt@gmail.com

To see BugSkirt's Picasa Webalbum click:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos

To view BugSkirt's blog click:
http://bugskirtsworkshop.blogspot.com

Feel free to comment or visit him on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bugskirt-Customs/100001635747932

DAD's "YAKFINITIES #40 - ROGUE JEDI" ENTRY

BACKSTORY

This Stennes Jedi was a Jar' Kai lightsaber instructor at the Jedi Temple that later left the order as the Clone Wars was nearing its end. He specialized in the use of the short saber or shoto. It was said that he instructed Ahsoka Tano in the use of the shoto blade. After he left the Jedi Order his whereabouts were unknown and his fate was uncertain. It could be possible he used his shapeshifting abilities to escape Order 66.

STENNES JEDI

Just a simple kitbash with some new paint applications.

The head and hands are from a Trinto Duaba action figure and the body is from a Legacy Collection Mace Windu. The hood is from a G.I. Joe Zartan action figure.

Dad admits that his entry isn't as creative or as cool as the entries the other customizers have entered in the contest, but he felt it was a decent enough custom action figure to qualify as eye candy.

Head on over to the forums for more details by clicking here!

Jedi Week @ Bug Skirt's Workshop starts TODAY!!

Click the banner to see Jedi #1.


Check our blog later this week to see our video for BugSkirt when he becomes the latest customizer to be added to "Customs I Wish I Owned."

THE GREAT STAR WARS CUSTOMIZING CHALLENGE 2011!!

LADIES & GENTS!! CUSTOMIZERS AND ARTISTS!!

!! Mercury Art Studios custom challenge has started TODAY !!

Be sure to visit the Echo Base News page and enter the contest.

!! THE PRIZES WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOONER THAN EXPECTED !!

http://echobase.d2i.net/index.php?topic=631.0

This contest is being sponsored by Mercury Art Studios, hosted by Echo Base News, with collaborators and promoters such as ISY, CAFN, Wookielover1138 and customsforthekid.blogspot.com, as well as a few others. This contest will be worth it guys!! I hope to see your talent pop up over there and help Echo Base get their fair share of web traffic.

Hope to see you there.

KESSEL RUN IMPORTS DELIVERS "KESSEL RUN REVIEW" ON DVD & MORE!!

(Sit back, relax and watch Wookielover1138 on your big screen. )


Episodes 1-10 of the Kessel Run Review are now available on DVD with Bonus Features!!!



To get your copy for just $12 send an email to nate@ciurla.com

DVD features custom action figures created by Customs for the Kid:

Vixey featured in Episode 3.

Jabba's Dancers featured in Episode 8.



ALSO AVAILABLE:

IMPERIAL SHIPYARD TRADING CARD SET #3

Back Image Art created by Hangarbay94. Custom action figures created by Psyclone.

IMPERIAL SHIPYARD TRADING CARD SET #4

Back Image Art created by Hangarbay94.


ISY Trading Cards are $7 a set (+$1 per set if you're outside the US).


THAT'S NOT ALL:

KESSEL RUN IMPORTS is making an introductory offer to customizers who would like unique card sets of their work. Along with the right to sell additional copies of the sets, KRI is offering these custom designs for just $50. This includes, the design of 6 cards with back face image puzzle using photos of your work, and one hand assembled and cut copy of the card set. Additional sets are $7 each.



If you are interested in any of these offers please contact:
nate@ciurla.com

Kessel Run Review - Episode 13

"NEW" IMPERIAL SHIPYARDS CONTEST: Create a Wookielover1138 Contest!

If you read our blog, we are sure you all know of Wookielover1138 and her very cool show the Kessel Run Review. We can't even begin to say how great she has been for the customizing community and the Star Wars collecting hobby in general. All entrants will have from now till the end of June to create their version of their very own Jenn action figure. We can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.

Click here for the full contest details.

Thank you to Darth Daddy and Elias!!

Lucasclones did this really cool thank you video on his YouTube channel for the "Bones" custom action figure we sent him.


Click the link below to see more videos from Lucasclones:
http://www.youtube.com/user/cha1man2


You're very welcome!!

Lucasclones "Thank You" Video to Dad and me was featured on the front page of IMPERIAL SHIPYARDS.

GHOST CUSTOMS ADDED TO "CUSTOMS I WISH I OWNED"

Customizer ghostskull18 has only been posting his custom action figures in forums since the beginning of this year, and we think he has some great original pieces that grab one's attention. When this 20 year old customizer was asked to provide a little bit of information about his customs, he simply asked that we let his customs speak for themselves.

ghostskull18

You can see more custom action figures created by ghostskull18 at Yakface, Imperial Shipyards, and Echo Base.

Dad's "ghostskull18" Video Featured on the Front Page of IMPERIAL SHIPYARDS.

ZABRAK FEMALE

xDad created this action figure on the fly and wrapped the whole figure up in less than an hour. He used a body from a Dragon Ball Z Bulma action figure that he thought he was never going to use and the head of the Clone Wars Eeth Koth action figure that he tried to feminize with a little paint. Dad didn't like the arm articulation on the Bulma action figure so he used the forearms of a Clone Wars Cad Bane to finish her up. She doesn't look like a Star Wars figure enough for Dad, but I love her. Dad may redo her at some point, but she works for now. We use her as a cool background figure in the Cantina, the Outlander Club or even in Jabba's Palace depending on what we're up to. She's just a random smuggler used to spice things up.

ZABRAK FEMALE

Dad's "ZABRAK FEMALE" Featured on the Front Page of IMPERIAL SHIPYARDS

"TOYS FOR ELI" THEY'RE HEADING HIS WAY!

Dad and I came across this post that Action Figure Empire did a ways back and did what we could to help spread the word. This week we finally wrapped up the custom action figure projects that we had worked on for Eli and they are now heading his way.

________________________________________

EARLIER POST:

Today I want to turn this blog's attention to the story of a young Star Wars action figure collector named Eli. Eli is madly passionate about all things Star Wars and Star Wars toys. He's an outgoing little guy with a great big smile and he's also into arts and crafts, and World War 2. Eli is has been diagnosed with a rare life-threatening disease called Severe Aplastic Anemia, a disease of the bone marrow. Severe Aplastic Anemia also affects the immune system making it difficult for those who have it to be out in public. You can imagine how this makes it hard to get out and do things, visit with people, or even shop for Star Wars toys. We here at Action Figure Empire call for your support for young Eli, a fan, and a collector who needs all the support he can get right now. We ask that you donate one or more, Star Wars toys of any kind to Eli. You can Include a message of your own to Eli if you wish as well. Eli will be delighted to receive your generous donations. Please send them to:

Action Figure Empire
114 Oak Street Apt. D
Maybrook, NY 12543

From there we at AFE will then forward your generous donations to Eli. AFE is proud to create and participate in the official Toys for Eli Toy Drive. Please take a moment to contribute to Eli's Star Wars action figure collection. Every donation you give helps!

We give the Official Action Figure Empire Salute to Eli and his family.

Thank you for reading this and thank you so much for your donations!

May The Force Be With You All!

________________________________________

Dad made this Aurra Sing in her assassin wardrobe and sent it in the original cardback to protect her antenna from getting bent.

Dad was originally going to make him a fan fiction custom, but decided Eli may enjoy a character he knows better.

Here's is a custom Mandolorian that I made for Eli. It was my first attempt at painting an action figure.



Hope you like him Eli. Hopefully when you get home we can have a play date.

A great photo of Eli on the front page of IMPERIAL SHIPYARDS with all his toys that were sent by other contributors .


To see the Facebook page click below:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/theforceisstrongwitheli

Kessel Run Review - Episode 12

Custom Action Figure News: Episode 8

Get ready to listen to the latest episode of the podcast Custom Action Figure News with hosts Lucasclones and Tamer from Imperial Shipyards. Their special guest this episode is none other than customizer Luke Sprywalker.

Custom Action Figure News- A podcast by Lucasclones and Tamer: Episode 8
(click the link above to listen to the podcast!)

THE CFTK BREAKDOWN

"Customs for the Kid" would like to thank all our visitors. Dad and I get so much enjoyment when we see that our blog's audience continues to grow every month and that we see this audience grow from all parts of the globe. We hope that we can continue to keep the great audience we have been so fortunate to have so far and that we can continue to share our blog with you all for a long time to come.

"Customs for the Kid" has been read in more than 120 countries throughout the world. CFTK really enjoys our visits from: Tunisia, Czechia, Jordan, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Egypt, China, South Africa, Austria, United Kingdom, Slovakia, Qatar, Luxembourg, Russia, Pakistan, Guatemala, Bulgaria, India, Israel, Portugal, Netherlands, Isle of Man, Canada, Belgium, South Korea, Kuwait, Brazil, Finland, Latvia, Mexico, Ukraine, Italy, Colombia, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Germany, Indonesia, Honduras, Czech Republic, France, Taiwan, Gabon, Serbia, Nigeria, Venezuela, Australia, Chile, Denmark, Spain, Thailand, Croatia, Mozambique, Japan, Hungary, Peru, Guam, Iran, Philippines, Norway, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Macau, Brunei, Romania, Lebanon, Iceland, Argentina, Poland, Puerto Rico, Macedonia, Pakistan, Georgia, Belize, Ireland, Algeria, Moldova, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Panama, Syria, Malta, Uruguay, Lithuania, United Arab Emirates, Bolivia, Greece, Jamaica, Turkey, Belarus, Cuba, Sweden, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Dominican Republic, Slovenia, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Guernsey, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Myanmar [Burma], Vietnam, Aruba, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad, Tobago, Azerbaijan, Côte d’Ivoire, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Armenia, Morocco, French Polynesia, Cape Verde, Cyprus and here in the United States. We apologize if we left anyone out. If you'd like, you can let us now you were here by leaving a message in our comment section.

GOOD KHARMA PAYS OFF

"BONES"
created by Darth Daddy

A custom action figure created by Darth Daddy for customizer Lucasclones.

"OPRESS UNLEASHED!"

On Free Comic Day we hit a bunch of comic book stores before we headed over to the DK Star Wars Attack of the Authors East Coast Tour located at the Tribeca Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Manhattan. At every comic book store we visited, every store was out of the Clone Wars comic, "Savage Unleashed!" After the event at Barnes & Noble, and hitting a few more places, we came to the realization that we weren't going to be able to get a copy that day. Dad called a few more comic book shops that were on our way back home and it was the same story everywhere. SOLD OUT!!

While on our train ride home, Dad and Lucasclones, the host of the podcast Custom Action Figure News, were talking on Facebook through Dad's phone and Chad (Lucasclones) said he was able to obtain two copies of the comic and offered to give us one of his copies. Dad offered to make Chad a custom action figure for his generosity and a figure was born. Lucasclones is well known for his clone trooper custom action figures and Dad figured he'd attempt to earn some customizing street cred by creating his first ever clone action figure for a clone master.

Dad looked at what action figures he had laying over in our customizing box and found the only clone that we had...a Clone Wars "Oddball" action figure. For three days, Dad worked and toiled. The action figure was pretty much a repaint, but with a small Apoxie Sculpt modification on the helmet control pad. I may never forgive Dad for giving away this figure, because I truly fell in love with it. If you ask me I think Dad did too.

The moral of this story is, "Good kharma pays off." Hope you enjoy the figure, Chad.

Letter from Lucasclones that he sent with the comic.

Republic Commandos drawn by Lucasclones.
(click the image twice to see it at an optimal size)

BACKSTORY

"Bones the Resurrected, Bones the Immortal" or just "Bones" for short, was known throughout the Republic to be the best pilot in the entire Republic fleet. He was able to fly circles around the Separatist armies. Even Anakin Skywalker often wondered if his skills were as good as the infamous clone pilot Bones. The peculiar thing was that it was said that his skills were derived from supernatural forces. Interestingly enough, the most well known story about Bones was not about his piloting skills, but rather pertained to his supposed resurrection from the dead. Hours after Bones had been pronounced dead by the medical staff, it was said that he suddenly sprang back to life with a scream that could be heard throughout the entire medical station. Tales had circulated from that day forward of how Bones had risen from the dead. When he was found, floating in space all the bones in his body had been broken and his body was heavily scarred from burns he received when his fighter was destroyed in battle. If you ask any clone troopers about Bones, they may admit in confidence that he creeped them out a bit and they may even add that Bones often smelled of rotting flesh. Others joke he has the personality of a tombstone and he's nothing but a haunted corpse that didn't cheat death at all. Regardless of what he is, he sure can fly. No matter what the odds, no matter how close to death he may appear to be, Bones lives on to hear the chants of his brothers, "Bones the Resurrected, Bones the Immortal!"

"BONES THE RESURRECTED, BONES THE IMMORTAL"

Watch in 720HD

Bones is only the second action figure created by Dad to have left our home.

BONES featured on the Front Page of Imperial Shipyards

ECHO BASE FORUMS: STAR WARS CUSTOMIZING CONTEST

Hey everybody!!

Mike Martinez a.k.a. Mercury Art Studios is throwing down a challenge to all customizers & artists around the web! The topic is STAR WARS, the greatest saga of all time! The theme of this contest is simple: customize something Star Wars! It can be a character from The Clone Wars series, the Prequel Trilogy, the Classic Trilogy, the Expanded Universe, and even original fan-fic characters! You can use anything for this contest, Dunnies, Mezits, Mighty Muggs, G.I. Joes, Marvel Universe, Marvel Legends, a Coca Cola bottle, a deodorant stick, a cardboard box, an X-Box, a rock...the possibilities are endless!

CONTEST RULES & DETAILS

Mike Martinez a.k.a Mercury Art Studios is the judge and he will be judging based on the following criteria:

* Originality
* Paint Applications
* Sculpting (if any)
* Combination of parts, parts used, and materials
* Artistic Expression

Five (5) winners will be selected for this contest


RULES

* Customized projects must be for this contest alone!

* Previous customs used for other contests or posted on other sites will not be allowed. If you want to show off a previous custom please do so in Echo Base Forums customizing threads. If you submit an old entry, your item will not be judged and you will be disqualified.

* No picture stealing, this means browsing around for somebody else’s work, snaggin’ a couple pics and posting them to hustle!

* Winners outside of the United States must pay S&H cost for items won! (unless stated otherwise)

* Customs bought from other customizers are not allowed to be entered as your own.

* Customs have to be Star Wars based!

* Original fan-fic creations must be submitted with a small background story!

* All customs must be submitted by July 31, 2011 @ 11:59 pm EST.


Maximum submissions allowed: Three (3)


Have fun!


Feel free to contact michaelm@echobaseforums.com with any additional questions you may have.


Prizes will be announced at Echo Base News & Custom Action Figure News on June 30, 2011. Trust me, they will be worth it!!

Contest Launch Date: May 29, 2011
End Date: July 31, 2011

We are announcing this contest 2 weeks in advance so you can have an early start & extra time to work on your project(s) the goal to this contest is to have fun & help spread the word about this wonderful hobby & art-form.


"Thanks so much everybody and I am looking forward to your customs."
-Mike Martinez

Mercury Art Studios.

JEDI MINSTREL ADDED TO "CUSTOMS I WISH I OWNED"

Jedi Minstrel has been customizing for 3 years. After coming across some websites that feature custom action figures, he has had the bug and just can't stop. His latest project includes creating customs for all the major characters from the Republic Commando novel series by Karen Traviss.

Jedi Minstrel




You can see these, as well as other customs, at imperialshipyards.net. If you are interested in a commission piece, please send a personal message through imperialshipyards.net.

Dad's "JEDI MINSTREL" Video Featured on the Front Page of IMPERIAL SHIPYARDS

TRANDOSHAN JEDI

With the close of Clone Wars Season 3, "Wookiee Hunt" had me wanting to make a Trandoshan custom action figure. I dug around in the fodder box we have at home and I came up with all the parts that I would need to make a cool Trandoshan Jedi. I assembled all the pieces I had and finished the build, but I had a problem. All the pieces of the Trandoshan were in different shades of green and my custom action figure didn't exactly match. I called in a little support from Dad and he gave my Trandoshan one cool paint job that pulled it all together. Working as a team has really paid off lately.

TRANDOSHAN JEDI

Our "TRANDOSHAN JEDI" featured on the Front Page of Imperial Shipyards.

I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with Kualan from the UK, or his Star Wars web-comic Tales from the Clone Wars, but his work is one incredible piece of graphic fiction. Kualan recently paid me the honor of including my custom Trandoshan Jedi as a character in his latest installment and I couldn't be more excited. The web comic features some really cool fan fiction characters as well as established characters to create one cool narrative with plenty of action to keep you on the edge of your seats. The graphic art is just amazing and I'd love to know how he does it. Check it out, I'm sure you'll be hooked too!

Joe Crowley, Kualan, lives in the UK, where he studies Creative Writing. He has been a fan of Star Wars since he was just a kid watching his father's old VHS tapes of the original trilogy, and spent most of his childhood running around the school playground pretending to be Luke Skywalker or Han Solo. In 2010 he decided he wanted to make his own tribute to the Star Wars universe and set out to make a web-comic after being partly inspired by the likes of hangarbay94's X-Wing Alliance series and several other action figure customizing photo-novels.

Excerpt's from his latest installment:

"The Clone Wars have ravaged the galaxy, and show no signs of halting any time soon. As the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order fight tirelessly against the droid hordes of the Separatists, entire star systems are torn asunder; leaving in their destructive wake ample opportunities for the lesser factions to pillage and plunder what they can.

Whether it be the Hutts and their criminal empires flourishing in a wartime black market, the Mandalorians reviving their crusades against the Jedi from era long past, or even the enigmatic Nightsisters of Dathomir emerging from the shadows to seize power, everyone in the galaxy has a stake in the conflict; and everyone has a side whose victory they would benefit from the most.

These are the Tales of the Clone Wars; from the heroic Anakin Skywalker, to the merciless General Grievous, and to those who you've never heard of before, follow the exploits of the war's heroes and villains in their constant battle for galactic supremacy."

To read "Tales from the Clone Wars" click the link below:

www.talesfromtheclonewars.com