CUSTOMS FOR THE KID: 2014 - YEAR IN REVIEW

Happy New Year, everyone!

Well, another year ahead of us.  But before moving forward, it is always fun to take a look back, and see what we accomplished in 2014.

Now the first thing Customs for the Kid noticed were that we didn't make as many figures as we did in previous years.  It was more a year of quality over quantity. The customs we created were the usual fare, easy customs that are great for a beginner customizer to try out, through to more advanced figures for seasoned veterans to tackle.  All skill levels were available to attempt.

We made mostly Clone Wars action figures.  It was our way of saying goodbye to one of our favorite TV shows.  We modified a few Rebels figures and filled in our Jabba's Palace a bit too.  We included a picture of our "Battle for Endor" Charal action figure in the video because she was made in 2014. She hasn't been posted on the blog yet, but she'll get the full treatment very soon.

Last year, we also saw our blog and Star Wars customizing grow in popularity. Dad scored a gig over at The Star Wars Underworld showcasing Star Wars custom action figure artists from all over the world once a week.  In December of last year, Customs for the Kid  had the most traffic that it's ever had in a single month. What really amazed us though was how Darth Daddy's Google+ page is now averaging over a million views a month! Just another wonderful year, and Customs for the Kid hopes to share many more with you all in the years ahead.

CUSTOMS FOR THE KID: 2014 - YEAR IN REVIEW
Star Wars Custom Action Figures created by Darth Daddy & Elias

Here's looking forward to an awesome 2015!

YAKFACE SECRET SANTA 2014 featuring DAN of the DEAD & DARTH DADDY

For the last 4 years, I have been creating custom action figures for Yakface.com's Secret Santa event.  It's my favorite way to celebrate the holidays since I joined the Star Wars customizing community.  The Yakface forums are where I started posting my artwork when I first started making action figures, and where I made my first friendships with my peers.  Dan of the Dead was also an artist who frequently posted there and I loved his work a great deal.

I wasn't sure what characters he had or didn't have in his collection so I figured I'd do a creative build for his gift.  Ever since Hasbro cheapened their production standards in their 3 3/4" line, I have been using whatever remaining fodder I had to create characters that were considered cannon, or at least had "Legends" status.  It had been ages since I made a character from my own imagination. Dan of the Dead had a real talent for creative builds himself. and I remember that he admired some of my previous builds.  I knew that this was the perfect opportunity for a return to form and make a figure that I had bouncing around my head for a while now.

I knew I wanted to make a Whipid custom, and that Whipids were known for being successful big game hunters.  I had a mold of PeakOB1's narglatch headdress and I knew a cast from it would be the perfect accessory for the build. I also sculpted onto a K'Kruhk head to make some unique facial hair, and created my own hands and feet for the figure.  I used the Merumeru figure for my base torso, and by the time I was done,  I really loves how the figure turned out.

"WHIPID BIG GAME HUNTER"
created by DARTH DADDY

Elias hasn't been able to keep his hands off the gift we received from Dan of the Dead since we got it in the mail on Monday.  I kept noticing him taking breaks every five minutes, picking up the box and gazing at the swoop within as he worked hard at translating the Aurebesh note we received with our gift.

I was extremely excited when I found out the Dan of the Dead was our Secret Santa this year.  I was always a huge fan of his work, and I've always wanted one of his customs in Elias' collection.   Dan was such a huge influence in my development as an artist.  He was one of the more active customizers in the Yakface forums when I was just a beginner, and I definitely looked to him as one of the artists I hoped to emulate as I dove deeper into the practice of making my own action figures.

AUREBESH NOTE

The note we received from Dan of the Dead written in Aurebesh.

TRANSLATION

Greetings Sentient,

And congratulations on your acquisition on your Die Industries Scatterblast Class Swoop. As you know, Die Industries patented dual intake engine gives your swoop unparalleled power, and the Scatterblast's unique over/under engine configuration is certain to turn heads!

Regrettably, recent Imperial regulations prevent us from installing the full advanced weapons upgrade you requested!  We have credited your account for the cost of the package and hope you enjoy the complimentary, personal defense weapons upgrade installed in its place! Imperial regulations for the require us clarify that the requested detail paint scheme is to no longer be known as "Rebel Red"! The Imperial Security Bureau has suggested "Compliance Crimeon" as a replacement!

At Die Industries, we understand you have a choice when it comes to purchasing swoops and other high-end performance speeders, and we appreciate the chance to serve your repulsorcraft needs! We'd also like to wish you a Happy Life Day (barring any local Imperial sanctions regulating the observation of said holiday in your particular sector.)

Sincerely,

Faded Datheon (Dan of the Dead)
Chief Engineer

"Die Industries Scatterblast Class Swoop"

created by Faded Datheon aka Dan of the Dead

Click the links below for more of Dan the Dead:

http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=2056

and:

http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=2656.0

Be sure to check out his blog:

STAR WARS CUSTOMS 

FROM PREVIOUS 

SECRET SANTA EVENTS

2013

 VINTAGE DROID

created by Hyperdrive

2012

YAKFACE.COM SECRET SANTA 
CUSTOM ACTION FIGURES

created by CHEWIE

"Abyssin & Vurk Zombies"

 created by Darth Daddy

"XEVEN"

created by Darth Optimus

"SECRET SANTA MANDO"

created by Darth Daddy

"Darth Zannah"

created by Darksider80

"RODIAN SNOWSPEEDER PILOT"

created by Darth Daddy

"Mandalorian"

by Luke Spryalker

2011

SECRET SANTA CUSTOMS
by Darth Phantom

SECRET SANTA CUSTOMS
by Darth Daddy

2010

SECRET SANTA CUSTOMS

by Chewie

"Zombie Jedi"

by Darth Daddy

MERRY CHRISTMAS 
& 
HAPPY LIFE DAY!