"CUSTOMIZING THE CLONE WARS" - EPISODE 41

Celebration Anaheim featured Clone Wars custom action figure artists, Peak-OB1 Custom Creations & Darth Daddy of "Customs for the Kid" display some more Clone Wars custom action figures as they continue to recreate Season 3 of The Clone Wars TV series by making characters from the episode "Evil Plans".

Sneekpick Customs Studio added to "Customs I Wish I Owned"

Based out of California, Sneekpick Custom Studio started about six years ago. Inspired by a love for action figures, and for the lack of characters that we really wanted to see in the market with no chance they would be made, Sneekpick tried their best to fill in the gaps in our collections with  the help of friends and clients from all over the world. Sneekpick Custom Studio is pretty confident that they can make any character that you can imagine. While they hold a special love for the Star wars Universe, they also love G.I. Joe, DC, Marvel, Robotech, and Call of Duty among many others. They take very seriously every commission they receive, and try to represent each character as closely to the original as possible, working in the small details and articulation to make sure that at the end you are happy with the custom figure that you receive from them. 

Sneekpick loves the creative process, the design, the building, painting and the passion! Just head to their Facebook page for all inquiries!

Sneekpick Custom Studio

Sneekpick Custom Studio on Facebook

OUTER RIM TRADERS

Outer Rim Traders is a new casting storefront that customizers and diorama builders should take notice of. This site will be of particular interest to people with a Jabba Palace focus.  The store contains some casts of props that can do a great deal to enhance your Jabba displays from Tauntaun heads to fruit in a bowl.  Casts are available in both the 1:12 and 1:18 scale.  We highly recommend giving this store a view.  Not only do they have great pieces for fans of Star Wars, but there is plenty available for followers of the Indiana Jones films as well.  Outer Rim Traders has plenty for everyone!

FACEBOOK PAGE

1:18 SCALE DIORAMA PARTS

1:18 SCALE HEADS, HATS & HELMETS

1:12 SCALE HEADS & HELMETS

1:12 SCALE DIORAMA PARTS

1:12 SCALE JAWA & BUBO RESIN KITS

1:12 SCALE ACTION FIGURE ACCESSORIES

"CUSTOMIZING THE CLONE WARS" - EPISODE 40

Celebration Anaheim featured Clone Wars custom action figure artists, Peak-OB1 Custom Creations & Darth Daddy of "Customs for the Kid" display some more Clone Wars custom action figures as they continue to recreate Season 3 of The Clone Wars TV series by making characters from the episode "Assassin".

"STOVEPIPE DROID" created by ELIAS

This custom was made from a resin cast figure produced by Hole In The Ground Productions that Elias had received as a gift for Christmas.  This past weekend, Elias took the time to add a custom paint job to the casted figure so he could add the new addition to his Jawa display of his collection here at home.  He painted it with Citadel's Chainmail, Mithril Silver and Gunmetal paints.  To get the rust effect, he sprayed the figure with Testors Dullcote Spray, sprinkled some Cinnamon onto the figure from our spice drawer, and then recoated the figure a second time with the Dullcote to lock in the weathered look.

Elias saw some hosing in a still shot we screen grabbed from the film that he wanted to add to the cast.  He found a skinny black hose from our fodder and used some wiring from a twisty tie to position the hose in the desired position before gluing it into place.

We really love Hole In The Ground Productions offerings as of late.  They have really enhanced the look of our collection shelves.  We highly recommend checking out their webstore to see if there is anything you see to add to your own collections.

"STOVEPIPE DROID"

created by ELIAS

SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER

PURCHASE HERE

"CUSTOMIZING THE CLONE WARS" - EPISODE 39

Celebration Anaheim featured Clone Wars custom action figure artists, Peak-OB1 Custom Creations & Darth Daddy of "Customs for the Kid" display some more Clone Wars custom action figures as they continue to recreate Season 3 of The Clone Wars TV series by making characters from the episodes "Corruption" and "The Academy".

"CUSTOMS FOR THE KID" GETS A BOOST IN VIEWS FROM THEIR AUDIENCE

For the last two months Customs for the Kid has had a huge jump in viewership.  Previously we had big increases after being featured at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in the Star Wars: Custom Action Figure Panel, and later when The Force Awakens was released in theaters.  It looks like the release of Rogue One in December gave the blog another shot in the arm that continued through January. So far we are still getting over a 1,000 views a day for the month of February having us question if the amount of visitations we have been getting will be our new "normal". Regardless, we can't thank you enough for all your patronage, and we hope we can hold your interest in what we continue to do here.

"Customs for the Kid" has been read in more than 120 countries throughout the world. CFTK really enjoys our visits from: Tunisia, Jordan, Czechia, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Egypt, China, South Africa, Austria, United Kingdom, Slovakia, Qatar, Luxembourg, Russia, Guatemala, Bulgaria, India, Israel, Portugal, Netherlands, Isle of Man, Canada, Belgium, Mauritius, South Korea, Kuwait, Brazil, Finland, Latvia, Mexico, Ukraine, Italy, Colombia, New Caledonia, 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.

DARTH DADDY interviewed by STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS COMMUNITY UK

Who are you? Please tell us a little about yourself... 

My name Brian Fulton, but many fans in the Star Wars community know me as Darth Daddy, the Star Wars custom action figure artist. I’m most popularly known for being the co-founder of the Star Wars: Customs for the Kid blog that I have been doing with my son for the last 7 years where I am the resident artist/ photographer, administrator, and social media manager. I am also the author of the Darth Daddy's Customizing Corner column at The Star Wars Underworld. I am known throughout the Star Wars custom action figure community for being an ambassador for the artform. My action figure artist directory for commission work is considered to be a priceless asset among both collectors and enthusiasts alike. My artwork was featured at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2015 in the Action Figure Customizing Panel’s "Customizer Showcase". My custom action figure art appears regularly on the front pages of numerous Star Wars fan sites. I have made multiple guest appearances on several Star Wars podcasts including: The Star Wars Underworld, RebelForce Radio, The Wolfpack Podcast, Toy Run: The Star Wars Action Figure Cast, Voice of the Republic, SWAG77, The Expanded Fandomverse, and Custom Action Figure News. My latest endeavor is a podcast that I do with Peak-OB1 Custom Creations called "Customizing The Clone Wars" where we pay tribute to the television series with custom action figure art. We go episode by episode showcasing custom action figures from the hit TV series while at the same time providing our audience with tips and techniques on how to make your own versions of The Clone Wars custom action figures we feature. 

1. How did you find your way into "The Clone Wars Community UK"? 

I found The Clone Wars Community UK page when I was doing one of many searches for Clone Wars pages that I do on Facebook to let fans of the show and action figure line know about the "Customizing The Clone Wars" videocast that I do every week. The Clone Wars Community UK was one of the few groups that had an active community still showing their love for the show.

2. What are your hobbies and interests other than Star Wars? 

It used to be collecting music and film. I have an enormous collection, but with everything going digital and available for streaming, I slowed down my collecting. Also making Star Wars custom action figures with my son Elias takes up a good portion of my time because it is such a lengthy process. Usually when I’m not working, I am either making more custom action figure art or promoting the work of one of my fellow artists.

3. You know we all love The Clone Wars, but what, in your opinion makes it the show we all know and love? 

For me I think it was getting to have a weekly Star Wars experience. Having Star Wars on a weekly basis for me created a set time where my son and I could bond over something that we both enjoyed and I think that is an experience that many families shared. It appealed to fans of the OT and PT as well as an entire new generation of fans that became The Clone Wars generation that my son was a part of. George Lucas put a lot of love into the show and invested a lot of his own money to make the show as special as it was. The character arcs that developed over many seasons made the show such an immersive experience. The characters were all so complex and so well fleshed out. The lush sets and abundance of background characters certainly didn’t hurt either. Having it on Netflix for the last several years helped us reminisce, and reconnect with the episodes we loved over and over again and helped bring in new fans, who maybe missed the series when it originally aired. The Clone Wars made episodes for people of all ages, and that was probably its biggest selling point for me. 

4. If you woke up one morning and by some voodoo magic, you awoke in The Clone Wars galaxy... which character would you be and why? 

This was a hard question to answer because I can’t say I can relate to any character in particular. 

5. Do you collect any Clone Wars toys or memorabilia? if so, what is your favourite piece in your collection? 

I have the entire Clone Wars 3.75” line here at home. My favorite part of the collection would be the Clone Wars customs that we have. We easily have over one hundred. Because no figures were made after Season 3 of the series, it is nice to have the characters from the later seasons that no one else has sitting on my shelf next to our Hasbro releases.

5. Many collectors have a "Grail" item... something they want above all else, but may prove difficult to obtain... do you have one? 

Because I have a complete collection, it would probably be something that was never produced. I’d love to get a Twilight vehicle/playset one day. It was a shame that a toy of that ship was never produced. It would have to seat at least four, have the medical bay, and a good sized cargo area in the back.

6. Your application for finance to the banking clan has been approved... what vehicle or ship do you buy? 

Probably Sugi’s SS-54 “The Halo”. I always like the look of the ship. Wouldn’t it have been cool if we got an action figure of Sugi with her assault ship?

7. Hasbro made an excess of 70+ figures for The Clone Wars, but there are so many characters that never got the figure they deserved... which character should have had their own figure? 

I have always longed to have an action figure of Huyang. It would be awesome to see him on my shelf one day.

8. Which two characters in the show would you have like to seen go toe to toe on screen? 

A Mother Talzin – Count Dooku fight would have been cool to see due to the history between them. Not sure if we would have had an official winner, but it would have been cool to see.

9. Finally, what is your favourite episode and why?

I have a real affection for “Bound For Rescue” from Season 5, I’m a big fan of Hondo Ohnaka and Ahsoka. The circus scene was so much fun. I wish I had action figures of the younglings in their Jedi and circus outfits. I’d love to make the whole circus in action figure form complete with a Fambaa one day. I really want one of those pirate tanks too.

THE CLONE WARS COMMUNITY UK

on FACEBOOK

DARTH DADDY'S CUSTOMIZING CORNER: FOCUS ON SOME FANGIRLS

This time around, I thought it would be cool to feature some custom art from some female Star Wars artists for a change. Contrary to the stereotype, Star Wars customizing is not just practiced by nerdy, awkward men working diligently in their man caves.  There is also a thriving contingent of female fans hard at work producing some extremely noteworthy additions to the customizing community as well. While their creations may contain the standard 3.75" or 6" action figure creation, some of their work stretches outside the usual parameters we are all used to seeing in my column.

For a few years now, I have been featuring the work of these artists on my blog on our "Customs for the Fangirls" page, but I thought it was about time I opened up their work to a much larger audience by displaying a sample of some of the art I feature there.  These are just a few of the artists whose work  can be found there.

First up is Jedi Ash Designs run by Ashley M. Kalfas from Colorado Springs, Colorado.  She makes some really unique Star Wars poseable dolls inspired by the Monster High line that are just extraordinary.  Her work is so eye catching I strongly considered running over to her Etsy store to pick up one of her figures to add to our home collection.

Her work can also be found at these links:

JEDI ASH DESIGNS ETSY STORE

JEDI ASH DESIGNS FACEBOOK PAGE

JEDI ASH DESIGNS WEBPAGE

The next artist on display I discovered on Instagram.  I saw a one-of-a-kind handmade "Youngling Ahsoka Tano" doll that was made by missupsetter that I wish was available for purchase.  I would have bought it on the spot.  She details the build process she went through and documents the countless hours she invested into creating this beautiful piece.  This is something I wish we could see mass produced one day.  

missupsetter on Instagram

Our last artist is well known in the Star Wars super fan community. For the longest time now, we thought that we were only one of two individuals who owned a Sabine Tie Fighter from the Star Wars Rebels television series. That is until we saw the newly painted Tie Fighter created by The Dorky Diva, Savanna Kiefer who created her stellar creation as a gift. 

www.thedorkydiva.com

We're always on the hunt for more female customizers so if you have some work that you'd like to share feel free to send it my way.  My email can be located in the sidebar of the blog.  

If you want to see more Fangirl related customs, click the link below:

CUSTOMS FOR THE FANGIRLS