"THE CLONE WARS" LOK DURD designed by Uzay Customs & painted by "Customs for the Kid"

Lok Durd is a Neimoidian general and weapons developer in the Separatist Droid Army who served Count Dooku during the Clone Wars. The corpulent commander was 6 feet, 11 inches (2.11 meters) tall, and had red eyes and gray skin. He is known for creating the Defoliator, a weapon designed to eliminate organic life while leaving machinery unharmed. He attempted to use this weapon on the pacifist Lurmen on the planet Maridun. Despite the success of the defoliator's test, Durd was captured by Jedi Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Aayla Secura, and the Lurmen villagers. His only concern was that he would lose his promotion. Lok Durd was easily one of the most deplorable villains that the animated show had introduced. He would have actively carried out a genocide if the Jedi had not stepped in on behalf of the Lurmen. Definitely not an individual to celebrate, yet he had a pretty interesting look to him that was modeled by Series Designer, Kilian Plunkett. Lok Durd first appeared in "Defenders of Peace" from The Clone Wars television series. He was voiced by George Takei, and was intended as a recurring villain, though this never came to pass.

This 3D print was designed by Uzay Customs. With a little paint, you can easily add this character to your CW action figure display like we have. Dad laid down some of the base coats and then I did the fine detail painting on the face.

"THE CLONE WARS"

LOK DURD

painted by "Customs for the Kid"

"We decided that going with this sort of really big, heavy, rolly guy with an even bigger hat than Nute Gunray's would just…would work, would sort of sell that this guy was extremely flamboyant and very bossy and even more gluttonous than your average Neimoidian."―Series Designer Kilian Plunkett, on modeling Lok Durd.

"RETURN OF THE JEDI" LOJE NELLA painted & flocked by "Customs for the Kid"

This was a fun project we did to fill out our Jabba's Palace display. Loje Nella was a shadowy Riorian female who was a member of the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure's court. In 4 ABY, she was present in the throne room booths of Jabba's Palace on the planet Tatooine during a performance by the Max Rebo Band, which ended in the death of the enslaved dancer Oola.

Nella later took part in a trap laid for Princess Leia Organa, who freed Jabba's prisoner Han Solo from carbonite while she thought the Hutt was sleeping. Jabba, who had been warned of Organa's disguise as the bounty hunter Boushh, had hidden behind a curtain with Nella and other favored members of his court. Once Solo was free, the Hutt revealed himself and had Solo and Organa captured while the Riorian laughed alongside other court members.

This 3D print was designed by Sjefke. We loved that the design offered a swappable torso. One torso with arms and hands, and another with no appendages. In the film, only the head made it on camera, but concept arm showed the creature having arms in early drawings. 

We painted the resin model and then applied moss flocking to the head. It was the first time we ever used the technique. You'll typically need flocking material (like fine turf or sawdust), an adhesive (like PVA glue or Mod Podge), and a way to apply it to your desired surface. The process generally involves applying the adhesive, sprinkling the flocking, and then sealing it. You can also add color and texture variations for a more realistic look.

"RETURN OF THE JEDI"

LOJE NELLA

painted & flocked

by "Customs for the Kid"

"RETURN OF THE JEDI" WAM "BAM" LUFBA sculpt by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations

& painted by Darth Daddy of "Customs for the Kid".

"ANISE I'ZAK & CAPTAIN CHARGE" created by Elias of "Customs for the Kid"

Anise I'Zak isn't a Jedi most fans know of, but fans who have read the Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures comic really appreciated her, especially my client who commissioned this. I was asked to emulate the animation style of 2008 The Clone Wars TV series rather than the Tartakovsky design style she was originally created in.  One of the most exciting parts of this project for me was bringing these two characters to life in a visual style that had never been previously designed.  I was in the unique position of getting to make my own creative decisions about the visual language of these characters, but there's something even more exciting about this project.  The client who commissioned it intends to use the figures as the lead actors in his own Star Wars stop motion animated fan film!  Stop motion takes a great deal of time, passion, and patience, so we await the release of this fan film eagerly and with the same patience.  You can all follow his work at Zack Films Studios!

Anise I'Zak first appeared in the comic story "Chain of Command," written by Jason Hall, penciled by Ethan Beavers, and published by Dark Horse Comics in the tenth volume of the Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures trade paperbacks[1] on December 19, 2007.  Captain Charge, her security Liaison, is an original character created by the client.  Bringing him to life was quite a privilege! 

I made Anise using the torso and upper arms of a Clone Wars Shaak Ti action figure.  The hips, legs, and forearms were taken from a Clone Wars Mace Windu.  I did some action figure surgery with a dremel to get the Shaak Ti torso and Mace Windu hips to fit together, and sculpted over everything to make the transition more seamless.  

I designed Anise I'Zak's head in ZBrush, and because she will be used for animation, the client and I decided to make 3 alternating heads with varying expressions to create more storytelling opportunities.  Charge required no sculpting, and was a repaint of a Phase 2 Captain Rex.

"ANISE I'ZAK & CAPTAIN CHARGE"

created by 

Elias of "Customs for the Kid"

"CUSTOMS FOR THE KID" CELEBRATES 15 YEARS OF BLOGGING!

Fifteen years ago today, Dad and I started this blog, and "Customs for the Kid" was born. At the time, I was only 6 years old. Neither of us had any experience making our own action figures. We were just inspired by others in the Star Wars custom action figure artist community enough to want to become a part of it, and this blog has documented our journey. If you look at our earliest posts, we weren't very good at making action figures, but if you work at something every week for 15 years, you do improve.

At the blog's start, we showcased our custom action figures as we made them while providing the parts and techniques used for each project. Dad also used our platform to feature other Star Wars custom action figure artists as well as the custom action figures that he had purchased for me along the way in countless "Customizer Spotlight" posts (They can be counted, they are actually numbered). A space where readers could obtain links to the social media accounts of these talented artists to purchase their work, when available. Dad later expanded our artist showcases beyond just the custom action figures we had in our personal collection to features on artists whose work we would love to have in our collection in his "Customs I Wish I Owned" posts. It became a great way for members of the community to learn about one another and appreciate one another's art. Throughout all of our years, sharing other artists' offerings has always been one of our favorite ways to give back to the community, to those who taught us everything we needed to know to produce our own creations.

A big surprise for us was that less than a year into writing our blog, the Star Wars community started to take notice. By April of 2011, Dad and I were asked to participate in our first podcast interview, (numerous others followed), and a few times the same year, our work was featured on one of our favorite YouTube shows. Kessel Run Review. Thanks to the global span of the internet, we were suddenly being read in over 120 countries throughout the world. What followed in the years after was a feature in the Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2015 - Action Figure Customizing Panel, me being awarded "2018 - Action Figure Customizer of the Year" by Toy News International at New York Toy Fair in 2019  (Sadly, I was too young to attend the event so I could accept the award in person...industry adults only), and as early as last year I had the honor of being featured at San Diego Comic Con 2024 in the "Evolution of Toy Collecting" panel, as well as participating as a Panelist at the first Halcy-Con a few months later. Big events aside, the support from the community over all of these years is what has warmed "Customs for the Kid" the most. We are beyond grateful to the Star Wars fan sites and podcasts for sharing our creations with their audience all this time!

To celebrate this anniversary, we felt an action figure of Dave Filoni's alter ego Trapper Wolf would be in order. Why do you ask? Well, when The Clone Wars was released in 2008, I was just 4 years old, and for the next several years, this period was the version of the galaxy far, far away I was most immersed in. I am not sure there would be a blog today if it were not for the Clone Wars TV series. We definitely never would have done our podcast "Customizing the Clone Wars" with our friend Peak-OB1 Custom Creations if the show did not exist. Every Saturday, Dad and I would begin our morning with a Clone Wars episode, and then we would spend the rest of our day making art for this blog. Dave Filoni was George Lucas' padawan when they created TCW. Dave is not shy about it. The history is well known. Since George Lucas retired, Dave started many shows of his own at Lucasfilm and was recently promoted to Executive Vice President/Chief Creative Officer. Like Dave, I too have stepped up and taken on more responsibility. I took the lead over the blog from Darth Daddy at our 10th anniversary and started my own business taking on commissions and sharing my craft with others. So, today is a thank you to Dave's creativity for making all of this possible. While Dave far surpassed anything that I have done, we both have gone through a period of growth and change in our creative careers, and I hope that we both can entertain the Star Wars community for years to come!

To make this action figure, we used a Jek Porkins action figure body in a huskier Rebel orange flight suit while keeping with tradition by utilizing a widely available resin head cast created by another member of the custom action figure community, executing a super simple head swap on the original figure. All it took was a "Customs for the Kid" paint application on the head cast of Dave Filoni's likeness purchased from Outer Rim Traders. The most difficult part of the project was repainting the Jek Porkins helmet to make it look like the one worn by Trapper Wolf in The Mandalorian. 

We thought about going crazy and making something 100% sculpted from the ground up like we do on occasion, but this is day is about celebrating the blog and not us.  And this blog is about promoting community. The proprietor at Outer Rim Traders was one of the first people in the customizing community to take us under his wing, so it is only fitting that we share something we picked up from him. What fun is showcasing a figure if you all can't recreate it at home?

"TRAPPER WOLF"

created by 

Elias of "Customs for the Kid"

CARSON TEVA

“THE MANDALORIAN - SEASON THREE” CAPTAIN BOMBARDIER AND DUCHESS ZILLA of PLAZIR-15 created by Elias of “Customs for the Kid”

When my client ordered Duchess Zilla, he also requested her companion, Bombardier! I recently just completed my first version of Captain Bombardier, but the client only wanted him.  Shortly after, I got the commission for both of them.  I was happy with The Duchess, and my first Bombardier, but I never got to see them together.  I am happy to finally be able to unite these two characters in action figure form.  

My recipe for Captain Bombardier was exactly the same as it was on my first version, a Movie Heroes Jek Porkins and my own original headsculpt.  The Jek Porkins was heavily altered with a Dremel and hand sculpting with Green Stuff.  This time I assembled his gold cape using a sewing machine.  It was a bit more challenging to work this small with a machine, but I feel that the final product came out faster and more durable.

While their appearance in The Mandalorian was controversial, I wanted to give this project my all.  I appreciated the opportunity to depict the more opulent side of the galaxy, and no matter how you feel about the characters, we hope you can appreciate the craftsmanship behind these action figures.

“THE MANDALORIAN - SEASON THREE” 

CAPTAIN BOMBARDIER & DUCHESS ZILLA of PLAZIR-15 

created by Elias of “Customs for the Kid”

CAPTAIN BOMBARDIER

DUCHESS ZILLA of PLAZIR-15