CUSTOMS FOR THE KID: CHRISTMAS HAUL 2013

This is what was under my Christmas tree this year. Every Christmas is a Star Wars Christmas here at home. You can't really see everything I received in this video. I got waves 1-3 of the Black Series. The new Vintage X-wing for Biggs is pretty buried, as well as my LEGO Jabba's Palace and LEGO Rancor Pit. You also can't see my full Dark Times library, but most everything else is visible. The big blue round ball is a Death Star mold for ice or chocolate. The Clone Wars custom action figures were all made by Peakob1 Custom Creations, except for the Clone Officer who was made by Wraithnine Customs and the Trench created by MasterCloner. All the realistic figures were made by Marcus Starkiller, except the Roan Fel who was created by Hunter Knight Customs. I'll do a second post for the custom Star Wars action figures later so you can learn more about them and see them all in greater detail.  See if you can spot the Colin Hobbs action figure created by Colins Customs who visited our gift opening festivities Christmas morning while on his World tour.

CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT UPDATE: Peakob1

So this month we don't have a "new" artist to showcase for our Customizer Spotlight.   Maybe by the end of the month, but don't hold your breath.  I can't believe that we have been able to keep the feature going so long considering the blog has been around for almost four years now.  Having to come up with a new artist isn't always easy since this feature is about custom action figures that are in my personal collection.  While I have a multitude of action figures that you might not have seen yet, both "figures made by artist's we have already featured", and also "figures that we're not sure who they were crafted by".  One day we'll have to do a feature showcasing custom action figures "made by artists unknown to us", but that is for another day.

Today, we will still provide you with some Star Wars custom action figures that are in my collection, it will just be from an artist that has already been featured in our Customizer Spotlight...an update to their feature.  And what an update it is.  

One of the most upsetting changes to the Star Wars toy line was the discontinuation of the Clone Wars toy line.  I always felt Hasbro really took a lazy approach toward the end of the line in 2012.  Even though the show continued on in to 2013, once 2012 hit, we only got repacks.  Europe was fortunate enough to get a limited run of figures, but no new characters were released there other than the 501st Clone Trooper.  All new characters that were introduced in Seasons 4 or 5 never made it to plastic.  Here at home we are still working on making a few of those characters in plastic and one of our customizing friends has been helping us get the job done.  Peakob1 has already added so many wonderful action figures to my collection and believe me there are still more to come.  The latest custom action figure is an updated look for a character as he appeared later in Season 5.

While Hasbro does have plans to release a version of this Sith character, they plan on releasing him in a realistic sculpt featuring only 5 points of articulation figure that upon viewing the prototype we just weren't very impressed with.  Compared to Peakob1's version, it doesn't hold up.  Peakob1's creation is a version of Darth Maul that I wish everyone had a chance to obtain and I couldn't be happier to be the one to have this figure in my collection.  It is the epitome of a missed opportunity by Hasbro.  This figure is fully articulated with even ball-jointed hips!  His lightsaber hilts even attach to his belt.  He even comes with the Darksaber hilt as well that attaches to his belt at the rear.

"CLONE WARS DARTH MAUL"

created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations

Peakob1 on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Peakob1

Peakob1 on Yakface.com:
http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5631

Peakob1 on Droids & Ewoks:
http://droidsandewoks.forumotion.com/customs-and-art-f13/

Peakob1 on Jedi Defender:
http://www.jedidefender.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=20796.0

To go to the ebay page of Peakob1 click below:
http://myworld.ebay.com/peakob1/?_trksid=p4340.l2559

CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #35: JawaKing

"Sise Fromm"

created by JawaKing

Recently we showcased some super-articulated customs action figures from the Droids cartoon that were made by Star Wars customizer Peakob1. Around the same time we acquired those figures, we also obtained another action figure of a character from that same TV show, but made by a different Star Wars artist that goes by the name of JawaKing, and this action figure also featured super-articulation. The action figure was of Sise Fromm, an elderly male Annoo-dat who at one time, was the head of the most powerful crime syndicate in the galaxy.

I needed a villain to go with the rest of the action figures I had from the Droids cartoon and this creation was the perfect fit.  The soft goods were created with a heavy suede like material that is always cool to the touch and it is dark and rich in color.  The nicest soft goods material I have ever seen on an action figure.  I loved the weight of the fabric, very heavy and thick.  What I really liked about this fabric was how readily it accepted paint on its surface on how nice it looked once it was applied.

The articulation on the figure is just awesome!  Ball joints at the head, shoulder, elbows, knees and ankles with swivel joints at the waist, hips and wrists.  All hidden under that gorgeous regal muumuu.

JawaKing customized for the Custom Alliance over a decade ago and just started doing customs again this year.  He's a graphic designer for a paycheck, mostly designing company logos, school mascots, shirt designs, etc.  His main drive though is the large, full-sized creature sculptures he makes for the local art galleries.  He also creates a lot of monsters and decorations at Halloween for Veterans' organizations to help with their fundraising efforts.  Custom Star Wars figures are the only small-scale sculptures he does.  He can be contacted through YakChat as JawaKing.

JawaKing has crafted some beautiful figures from the Droids cartoon that I saw posted in a customizing thread over at the forums on Yakface.com.  I fell in love with them the first time I saw them.  I like seeing this new trend that's developing of customizers updating the figures of older characters given a more modern incarnation.  It's also cool how nicely they blend into my collection of other figures now too.  I was really bummed when I found out that JawaKing's Tig Fromm had already been sold to another buyer, but I was so happy that I was still able to obtain his Sise Fromm action figure.

I really love this Sise Fromm action figure made by JawaKing. 

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"Sise Fromm, was an elderly male Annoo-dat who at one time, was the head of the most powerful crime syndicate in the galaxy.

During Senator Palpatine's rise to high office, it appears that Sise Fromm, the elderly then-kingpin of organized crime in the galaxy, was one of several gangsters who made possible the Sith Lord's bid for power. Others seem to have included Jabba Desilijic Tiure and PrinceXizor, fledgling heir to the Black Sun criminal empire. Fromm was fascinated by the Tarkin Doctrine and Palpatine's ambitious dream of a New Order. However, Fromm was ignorant of the Senator's true nature and severely underestimated his partner in crime.

Sise hired Boba Fett to eliminate his rival, Klin Kartoosh, leaving him undisputed crimelord of the Annoo system. Sise tried to groom his son Tig to replace him, but the clumsy youth accidentally destroyed Sise's vacation palace on Bolad.[1] Sise assigned soldier Vlix Oncard with damage control duty accompanying Tig.

Even after the end of the Clone Wars and establishment of the Galactic Empire, Fromm continued to attempt to compete with Palpatine. However, he was far more successful in his striving than would seem reasonably possible. He even constructed a super weapon similar to the Death Star, a full fifteen years before the Empire was able to accomplish such a feat. This would have posed a serious threat to Palpatine's newly-established government, were it not for a run of incredibly bad luck that destroyed both the space station and his palace.

Mad for revenge, Sise Fromm devoted his time to hunting down and destroying the individuals responsible. However, his fellow gangsters Xizor and Jabba sensed the winds of change and spent their resources more wisely, garnering favor with those who seemed to be shifting into power. In this way, Xizor and Jabba built powerful criminal empires parallel and in symbiosis to Palpatine's New Order. Taking advantage of Fromm's temporary insanity and weakened state, Jabba the Hutt made a political power-play that would rob Fromm of his power. The quick-witted Hutt struck while the iron was hot and placed a bounty on the heads of the entire Fromm organization, aiming to crush them while they were still reeling from their losses. Through a series of bad turns with the bounty hunter Boba Fett, the elderly Annoo-dat gangster was captured along with his son and Vlix, their chief officer of security, and turned over to Jabba.

Sise survived the ordeal only by agreeing to a deal heavily slanted in Jabba's favor, promising the Hutt a large percentage of the Fromm family business profits and committing their army of Annoo-dat clones to Jabba's attempt at removing the Mandalorian Death Watch diaspora that had encroached on his territory."[2] - from Wookieepedia

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"Sise Fromm"

created by JawaKing

  

The Sise Fromm action figure from my collection with JawaKing's Tig Fromm custom action figure.  Unfortunately, the Tig Fromm was already sold. I would have loved to own that action figure too!

JawaKing on Yakface.com:

http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7332

To go to the ebay page of JawaKing:

http://www.ebay.com/usr/itisgreenvw

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"VLIX ONCARD"

created by markpoon

This is a custom replica you can buy on eBay made by Singapore customizer markpoon of a Vlix Oncard Droids action figure. Vlix represents an obscure character from the short-lived Droids cartoon series and is the rarest of all Star Wars figures to be commercially released. In the States, it was scheduled for release in Kenner's 2nd series of Droids action figures, but, due to the cancellation of the show, it was never issued. Vlix was only released in Brazil by Glasslite in 1988 & very few are known to exist.

markpoon's Vlix is pressure cast from an original Brazilian Glasslite Vlix in plastic, fully articulated & air-brushed by a professional modeler to match the exact same color as the original figure. It comes complete with a black rifle (cast from an original Hoth Stormtrooper rifle). All mold lines were skillfully removed from the master copy before the mold is made so the figure is extremely well cast.

http://www.ebay.com/usr/markpoon

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Droids action figures

created by Peakob1

DROIDS figures created by Peakob1

CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT UPDATE: "DROIDS" action figures created by Peakob1

We just updated our Customizer Spotlight archive page.  I picked up two of these action figures pictured below in an eBay auction and the other two I got directly from the source. Peakob1 had recently updated his Mungo Baobab action figure and sold us his original when Dad commissioned Peakob1 to make us a Jord Dusat to go with the Thall Joben and Kea Moll we won in an auction. I'm really happy that I have some custom action figures from the Droids cartoon now too. Especially ones that fit in so well with the rest of my collection.

"DROIDS" action figures
created by Peakob1

 MUNGO BAOBAB
created by Peakob1

"Thall Joben, Jord Dusat & Kea Moll"
created by Peakob1

"Jann Tosh"
created by Peakob1

Peakob1 Custom Creations on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Peakob1

For more images from Peakob1 click here:
http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5631

here:
http://droidsandewoks.forumotion.com/customs-and-art-f13/

and here:
http://www.jedidefender.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=20796.0

To go to the ebay page of Peakob1 click below:
http://myworld.ebay.com/peakob1/?_trksid=p4340.l2559

"Chachi De Maal" created by Darth Daddy

Chachi De Maal was a female Duros who, like most of her species, was a pilot and starship engineer. She often worked for the Corporate Sector Authority and trained other pilots for deep space missions. Chachi was native to Jivv Space City, a large orbiting metropolis on Duro, but eventually left to start up business on Tatooine with her husband, Ohwun De Maal. Together, the two owned several docking bays in Mos Eisley, including Docking Bay 27, 43, 67, 71, 86, and 94. They also owned the droid WED-9-M1. In the two Duros line of work, shady characters were constantly renting our their ship storage facilities, they were known to use several well-known aliases. Among Chachi's aliases were Baniss Keeg and Probos. Chachi and her husband were present in Chalmun's Cantina during the fateful encounter of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. It just so happened that Solo had been storing his ship, the Millennium Falcon in their Docking Bay 94. When Solo and his cargo blasted out of the docking bay to escape the Galactic Empire, they forgot to pay their bill, irritating Owhun and his wife and souring their previously friendly relationship with Jabba Desilijic Tiure. 

Dad modified the head of a Ellorrs Madak action figure so it fit snugly into the Legacy Ben Kenobi torso that Dad attached to the lower half of a Pons Limbic (Braniac) action figure.  The soft goods were from the Jedi robe of Fi-Ek Serch glued the lower half of the Ben Kenobi.  Dad got the recipe from Peakob1.  Peakob1 put way more paintwork into his Bannis Keeg and the figure is a must see.  Just beautiful. Dad took some shortcuts with his, but managed to make it so the figure still fit in well when displayed with my other Cantina figures.

"Chachi De Maal aka Baniss Keeg"

created by Darth Daddy

SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE

 Chachi De Maal with her husband, Ohwun De Maal aka Ellorrs Madak.

 That's three Cantina figures in a row.  We'd love to see Hasbro release a Vintage 3-pack of these guys.

Chachi De Maal as she was portrayed in Star Wars IV: A New Hope.

Dad's Chachi De Maal was featured on the front page of Imperial Shipyards.

Our Cantina Aliens were in Yakface.com's Customozer Spotlight!