ON THE WORKBENCH: SECRET SANTAS

He everyone.  So we haven't done a post in a while that features custom action figures created here in the home.  We are working on some though.  October tends to be a busy month around the house so life overwhelmed us more than usual and we fell behind on our posts.  Anyway, here is what we have got going right now.  This weekend we got started on our Secret Santa figures that we will be giving away once they are completed to the recipients we received by email from both Yakface.com and Imperialshipyards.net.  So here is what we have going so far.  Dad is building two zombie alien figures for the Yakface Secret Santa and a Twi'lek he is working on for the Imperial Shipyards Secret Santa.  I'm working on an alien for the Imperial Shipyards Secret Santa too.  The Imperial Shipyard Secret Santa figures are still in the build stage and aren't even finished being kitbashed yet.  Dad has to start his sculpting work on his zombies still, but he is off to a good start with the build and with creating his paint scheme that he is going to use.  Take a look at what we have started and we hope to have at least one finished figure for you next week and possibly one more "new" figure added that will also be part of the Secret Santa giveaway.

Secret Santa Figures (WIP)

by Darth Daddy & Elias

Custom figures we are currently working on for our Secret Santa recipients.

Abyssin Zombie (WIP)

by Darth Daddy

Dad just has to do some sculpting around the mouth to finish this figure.  This will probably be the first completed figure since he has so much done already.

Vurk Zombie (WIP)

by Darth Daddy

Dad finished all the conceptual work on this one, but he has to do sculpting work on the face and arms before he can go and finish the paint job.

Cantina Alien

by Elias

 All I need to do is paint this guy to wrap him up.

Twi'lek (WIP)

by Darth Daddy

  This guy needs lots of sculpt work and the entire paint job before he can be labeled as finished.  Dad hasn't even completed kitbashing him yet.  This figure is the one that is furthest from being wrapped up.

YAKFACE SECRET SANTA

Ever since we started creating custom Star Wars action figures, we have been participating in the Secret Santa exchange that is held every year over at Yakface.com. Not only is it a great way to get into the spirit of Christmas, but it is also a great way for customizers to acquire each others works of art. This year our Secret Santa was none other than talented customizer Darth Phantom from Germany and he sent us some super cool action figures this year.

So what's the deal with this event, and how does it work?

Well if you wanted to get involved, you must have been a registered forum member prior to September 1, 2011 to be eligible. They do not want to risk anyone signing up for this just to get a free custom from another forum member and not fulfill their end of the deal. In early October, 2011 we were contacted via email with the information of another Yakface forum member who was also participating. Then we made a custom figure for that person and mailed it to them in time for Christmas. The deadline to sign up was 11:59 AM CST, on October 1, 2011. So obviously the ship has sailed if you wanted to get involved, but hopefully this post will be an incentive for you all to become forum members if you aren't already so you all can participate next year.

SECRET SANTA CUSTOMS
created by DARTH PHANTOM

Our favorite in the bunch is this Jedi created by Darth Phantom.

His beard reminded us a lot of Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth.

This Hoth Han Solo created by Darth Phantom is super cool.

I love the knife attached to right arm of this 501st Clone trooper created by Darth Phantom.

He'll fit in great with my army of 501st troopers.



THANKS DARTH PHANTOM!!!




"SECRET SANTA CUSTOMS"
created by DARTH DADDY

Hoth Rebel Soldier




A good portion of this figure was created using the body of the CW Plo Koon in Snow Gear action figure and the head we obtained through Slayer Design Studios.



SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER


Jedi Knight



The head was from a VOTC Endor Rebel Soldier that had hair from a G.I. Joe Doctor action figure. The hair was modified with Apoxie Sculpt.




The beard was also done with Apoxie Sculpt.







SKILL LEVEL: ADVANCED


Mara Jade in Imperial Officer uniform.


When Dad created this action figure he used the body of Juno Eclipse and the head of a Dark Woman that he repainted to look like a young Mara Jade in a Imperial uniform. Dad knew that the ranking probably wasn't at all accurate, but considering she sometimes wore disguises to eliminate vocal adversaries within the Empire, Dad figured it wasn't too big a stretch.


SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER


Here are some of the previous Secret Santa entries from prior years.


Check out the other figures produced in this year's Secret Santa at Yakface.com







This is our Secret Santa gift from last year:

CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #12: JUSTIN COOK aka CHEWIE

CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #12: JUSTIN COOK aka YAK_CHEWIE

Can't tell you how happy we are to present you with another edition of our Customizer Spotlight. Justin Cook, who is also known in the Yakface Forums as Yak_Chewie is by far one of the most talented and creative customizers out there. Anyone looking for inspiration for a custom action figure or an action figure recipe needs to look no further, Yak_Chewie has more recipes than a cookbook. His great body of work has already landed him a spot on our "Customs I Wish I Owned" page and if you watch the video we posted of his customs you'll immediately see that his body of work is something special.

Yak_Chewie is an administrator over at Yakface Forums and he oversees the custom creations part of the forum. He is also the creator of "The Enloe Chronicles" which is probably known to be one of the most famous Star Wars photonovels there is.

We recently mentioned on our blog that we participated this year in Yakface's Secret Santa and showed you the Zombie Jedi gift that we sent out to Mungo Baobab. Well, I can't express how happy we were when we received our yellow plastic bubble mailer and saw the name J. Cook in the upper left hand corner of the package. We were even more excited when we could feel not one but two action figures inside the package. Below is a quick video showing the joy a great customizing activity can bring when you participate in one of the community projects you can find located at a customizing forum.

SECRET SANTA GIFT ARRIVES

Yak_Chewie sent us these two incredibly awesome action figures for Christmas:

JEDI MASTER







We love the color scheme that was used on the sleeves and robes. It really brought out the potential for customizing the Starkiller action figure.








SKIFF GUARD

If you watch the video for Yak_Chewie in our "Customs I Wish I Owned" page, this figure you will find. Yes... I realize I just talked like Yoda.

These are links to see more of Yak_Chewie's work:

Yakface Forums

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=80&start=1455

(great place to find action figure recipes)

The Custom Alliance

http://www.thecustomalliance.com/cook/default.asp

The Photonovel Alliance (The Enloe Chronicles)

http://www.thephotonovelalliance.com/pn ... icles.html

(for a good read...)

Customs I Wish I Owned

http://customsforthekid.blogspot.com/p/star-wars-customs-i-wish-i-owned.html




MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!


Click the link below to see other "Secret Santa" figures posted on the Yakface Forums this year:

http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1101&start=345

Yakface Secret Santa Action Figure: ZOMBIE JEDI

Dad made this action figure for Yakface's Secret Santa. Dad just checked, and our action figure reached its new owner Mungo Baobab today. Mungo Baobab is known for making one of a kind custom Jedi action figures. Dad wanted to make him a Jedi that he hasn't made yet which was tough because he keeps making so many.

Dad has recently been hooked on AMC's TV show The Walking Dead and I think it was a big influence on him when he made this action figure.

How would the Jedi react to one of their own being turned into the walking dead?

Jedi Master Morta was still strong with the Force.

After being severely bitten on her jaw by a Wookiee zombie. Jedi Master Morta cut off what was left of her own mouth with her lightsaber before she turned into the walking dead. Without her mouth, there would be no way for her to bite another and spread the infection. This action also stopped her bleeding as she reached with great desperation to become one with the Force before she lost too much blood. There wasn't time enough...

It's the first custom action figure that ever left the house.

This Christmas project was a lot of fun and definitely kicked off the Christmas spirit at home. We can't wait to do it again next year.

ZOMBIE JEDI

Click on any images in the blog to zoom in and see more detail.

Would a zombie Jedi still be capable of using the Force? Would it still bother using a lightsaber? We'd love to hear your thoughts on this in our comments section.

With her face half chewed off this action figure was a bit too adult for the collection of a seven year old.

This custom action figure took many hours and more coats of paint than we can even count to get the look of decomposing flesh.

Joe Schreiber introduced zombies to the Star Wars universe in his novel "Death Troopers."

You can see Mungo Baobab's custom Jedi action figures at these two links:

http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5621

http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=5144.0