AGE APPROPRIATE WARNING

*ADULT SUPERVISION & PROPER SAFETY EQUIPMENT ARE REQUIRED WHEN UTILIZING THE TOOLS, PRODUCTS & TECHNIQUES DESCRIBED HERE ON OUR BLOG TO CREATE STAR WARS CUSTOMS.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

DARTH DADDY's CUSTOMIZING CORNER: "CAPTAIN REX's AT-TE" by ERIC BERRY aka HOLE IN THE GROUND PRODUCTIONS


This Rebels version of Captain Rex's AT-TE is a custom that many artists wanted to build ever since season 2 of Rebels premiered. Yet you need more than just desire to make it happen. Probably the coolest custom I came across since the start of the new year, Eric Berry's Rebels AT-TE has all the add-ons that give an already large vehicle an even bigger presence. There’s so many delicate parts and an abundance of details crammed into this lush playset. Eric admits that he had to “split the difference” on some things, as the toy is close to 80% in scale to the figures. As a result, some things like the cannon are somewhat bigger than they should be, even after compressing the parts in size. For example, he stated that you can’t pivot the cannon too far or it eventually hits the antennae. Most of it was scratch built. Lots of tiny little parts and details. Other cool features are a working rear door, cranes that rotate and pivot, and a folding rear ladder. My favorite part of the build was the work he did on the interior. He made only one bunk since they’d sleep in shifts, on the floor, or in hammocks in the command center. Then he tossed in a couple chairs, and a dejarik table. Opposite the bunk is a small galley and up on the wall they have a mounted battle droid head, “Clanker”, as a joke from their former days in the Grand Army. Other features inside include a rifle rack, welding gear, and storage above the bunk. Almost all parts are plastic except for some cargo boxes that were wood and skinned in styrene. 


This is one beautiful piece. Museum worthy. I hope one day he offers casts of all the accessories he created for this piece so he can make AT-TE conversion kits for sale in his diorama parts webpage so we can make our own at home. 












































Thursday, January 12, 2017

CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #48: "X-Ray R2-D2" by BARBARIAN RAGE TOYS

Scott Cherry aka Barbarian Rage Toys has been making toys for over a year now.  We were fortunate to come across his toys on Facebook and when we heard about the limited edition launch of his "X-Ray R2-D2" action figure, we were probably the first person to make a purchase when the figure was available for purchase.  Since the figure's launch there have been several variations that were released from a bloody version to a glow-in-the-dark internal skeleton figure. All of them were eye catching. Barbarian Rage Toys continues to release these limited edition runs of unique retro figures from franchises like Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, and other influences from the 80s - early 90s. His figures are all hand painted and sculpted.

We recommend frequently visiting his Facebook page or Instagram to see what he has in store for us all next. Also be sure to check out his comic strip!



"X-Ray R2-D2"
created by BARBARIAN RAGE TOYS















Monday, January 9, 2017

Clone Wars "Jocasta Nu" created by Customs for the Kid

This was a figure we knew we wanted to make for a long time now.  We had a plan for execution, but we also had to follow through on it.  As the project progressed, the plan was modified to produce the best possible outcome.  Originally, we were under the impression that all we had to do was make the CW Darth Sidious headcast from our mold, sculpt some hair onto it, and then add it to the Brian's Toys "Jocasta Nu" exclusive action figure.  

While we did do just that, we learned very quickly that there was too much of "Palpatine" in the headsculpt, and we needed to do more to the face sculpt than we had originally anticipated. By the time we finished the figure, we had resculpted the entire head except for her nose.  We sunk in the hollows of her cheeks, accentuated her prominent cheekbones, refashioned her chin to remove the cleft, thinned her brow, and make the chin more pointy to reflect her on screen appearance.  In the end, we couldn't be happier. She looks great on the shelf alongside the other Jedi.  We dedicated this figure to the actress who played Jocasta Nu in the Prequels, Alethea McGrath, who died last February at the age of 96.


CLONE WARS
"JOCASTA NU"
created by Customs for the Kid









PURCHASE HEAD HERE



SKILL LEVEL: ADVANCED






Sunday, January 8, 2017

"CUSTOMIZING THE CLONE WARS" - EPISODE 35



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 when they kick off Season 3 of The Clone Wars TV series with the first episode "Clone Cadets".





"JAWA with PALM LEAF FAN" created by Darth Daddy

It's always fun to add to the Jabba the Hutt display in the Star Wars showroom and this is an embellishment we have been wanting to add for a long time now.  We can't say why it took so long. It was probably because we were always busy working on some other project, but we didn't want to procrastinate any longer. We took an accessory from the Boushh Leia and sculpted a palm leaf out of ProCreate onto the end of it.  After that we just painted it green.  It is a quick and easy custom that can help you really enhance your own Jabba diorama at some point.  We're curious to see if Hasbro ever gives us this version of a Jawa down the line, but with new movie releases coming ever year, it isn't very likely.


"JAWA with PALM LEAF FAN"
created by Darth Daddy






SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE


Monday, January 2, 2017

"CUSTOMIZING THE CLONE WARS" - EPISODE 34


Celebration Anaheim featured Clone Wars custom action figure artists, Peak-OB1 Custom Creations & Darth Daddy of "Customs for the Kid" have their Season 2 recap of The Clone Wars TV series with special guest Thank The Maker.








Saturday, December 31, 2016

"Customs for the Kid" - Year in Review 2016


So, no huge stories this year.  Only another solid year of customizing.  We kept up with our usual fare of Star Wars custom action figures ranging from figures that a beginner could tackle, to fully sculpted figures for the more advanced artists.  A good portion of the figures we produced were from the Original Trilogy or the animated TV shows, but we took the time to sprinkle a Prequel character here and there as well. It was a nice way to round out our 6th year at the blog.








It was a great year for exposure! The "Customs for the Kid" Google+ page cleared 1 million views and Darth Daddy's Google+ page cleared 10.5 million. The blog's numbers have been surging too. We started strong at the beginning of the year with 21,603 views in the month of January, and closed out New Year's Eve, breaking a blog record with over a 1,000 views a day for December with 32,508 total views.




A good portion of the year was dedicated to kicking off the new YouTube show that put together with Star Wars custom action figure artist, Chad Peak aka Peak-OB1 Custom Creations called Customizing The Clone Wars. The show has been doing well so far, and we have been able to maintain a steady audience of Clone Wars  fans who check in every week to see their favorite Clone Wars characters made into action figures that were never available in stores.  We just wrapped up Season Two of the show, and we will be kicking off 2017 covering Season 3 of the beloved TV series in a few weeks.




Outside of that, it has been business as usual.  Other than a really cool podcast appearance that Dad did on Toy Run: The Star Wars Action Figure Cast, it has been a quiet, but otherwise productive year. As a special treat, check out the video below to see all the custom figures we produced in 2016.   Have a Happy New Year everyone, and we can't thank you all enough for all of your patronage!



Customs for the Kid - 2016





TO SEE THESE FIGURES IN GREATER DETAIL 
VISIT OUR ACTION FIGURE INDEX
BY CLICKING THE IMAGE BELOW:




Friday, December 30, 2016

Star Wars Rebels "Governor Arihnda Pryce" created by Customs for the Kid

This was an action figure of one of the newest villains featured on the Star Wars Rebels animated TV series. She was created using the upper torso of the Force Unleashed Juno Eclipse action figure, the arms from a Clone Wars Admiral Yularen,  the legs of an Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Irina Spalko action figure and a 3d printed headcast created by Watto's Scrapyard.

Dad parted her out and did the engineering. After he painted the majority of the figure. I only had to paint the arms and face.

Once we saw her square off against Sabine in the episode Antilles Extraction, we knew we wanted to add her to the Rebels collection.

Arihnda Pryce was a female human who served as governor of the Lothal sector fourteen years after the rise of the Galactic Empire. She was, at times, absent from Lothal, and Minister Maketh Tua would directly govern in her absence.


"Governor Pryce"
created by Customs for the Kid













FIRST VERSION
First version used Juno Eclipse arms and had an original headsculpt.



SKILL LEVEL:ADVANCED









Sunday, December 25, 2016

"Customs for the Kid" Christmas Haul 2016






"Shaeeah Lawquane"
created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations

One of the coolest surprise gifts came form Star Wars customizer Peak-OB1 who sent me a Shaeeah Lawquane custom action figure to complete the Lawquane family for my Clone Wars collection.


"Cad Bane"
created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations







Peakob1 on Facebook:




"Death Star Playset"
created by thecardboardgalaxy






Saturday, December 24, 2016

clubobiwan added to "CUSTOMS I WISH I OWNED"



Jason Peterson aka clubobiwan doesn't like to recreate what we've all seen on screen before. He more or less explores the gaps between the stories, and even creates his own with original characters. He started off displaying his builds in the art cabinet at his local toy store. He received lots of favorable feedback from the store employees about patrons reactions to his work, but always seemed to miss them viewing his builds.

In the summer of 2016, Jason Peterson started an Instagram account called clubobiwan as a reference to Indiana Jones and Star Wars. clubobiwan has become very important to Jason. Although he only recently started using the persona on Instagram, before that he used the moniker for over 10 years as the name he used with online gaming. He says that the account provides him with an amazing amount of inspiration from all of his feedback from fans. He said that his relationships there have really helped him hone his skills. 

Jason said his older brother pressed him to start the Instagram account.  Both of them have had a passion for Star Wars long before it was cool. He hesitated to post on Instagram at first, because he felt the builds didn't display as nicely when they were photographed. It was the desire for feedback that made him take the plunge.   

His process typically starts with finding as many G.I. Joe base figures and accessories that can be converted from their military usage to the Star Wars galaxy. Converting G.I. Joes is important to him because for nearly 30 years he's always loved the articulation of G.I. Joes, but not so much the characters or the universe itself. Now his figures receive all the best Star Wars accessories from his 5poa Star Wars figs and became something entirely different in the end.

We're a big fan of Jason's creative builds and the noticeable Ralph McQuarrie influence on his work. We wish we had his photography skills too.  The way he incorporates nature into the photos of his custom figures is just gorgeous!

Be sure to visit the link to his Instagram account below!



clubobiwan