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, August 25, 2020

CUSTOM 6" THE BLACK SERIES "SIEGE OF MANDALORE - AHSOKA TANO" created by Elias

Being the 3.75" action figure purists that we are, I never saw myself creating a custom in the 6" scale. However, when a client reached out to me asking for a character as awesome as Ahsoka Tano, I couldn't resist. This commissioned action figure is made from the body of a Star Wars Rebels Black Series Ahsoka Tano, and an Ahsoka head from Watto's Scrapyard, which I modified to give it a more animated look. The Ahsoka body underwent some serious dremelling, and a then I gave her a 100% new sculpt. I used Aves Fixit sculpt to give her arms some more muscular definition, and to smooth out the shirt. I also made sure to make the armor on her gauntlets and boots screen accurate, unlike Hasbro's new 6" Black "Series Siege of Mandalore - Ahsoka Tano" that took some serious shortcuts when it came to screen accuracy on the gauntlets and lower legs.  

I faced a particularly difficult challenge in constructing her Lightsabers, as the ones she used in The Clone Wars don't exist in the 6" scale yet, so I had to dive in head first and sculpt them myself. I did so by cutting a styrene rod to size, and using the tips of the Black Series Ahsoka lightsabers so the blades would still click into place the way they used to. I then sanded the base of the lightsabers down, and then sculpted all the necessary details into place. I dyed her lightsaber blades by simply coating them in a blue wash so they would maintain their transparency. 


THE BLACK SERIES
CUSTOM "AHSOKA TANO - SIEGE OF MANDALORE"
created by Elias

















SKILL LEVEL: ADVANCED





 

Monday, August 24, 2020

Kessel Run Review - Episode 27


I'd like to give a big thank you to Kessel Run Review for featuring Customs for the Kid in their newest episode. They have always been a long time friend of ours, and we greatly appreciate their touching feature in celebration of our 10-year anniversary. Working with them behind the scenes to bring this episode to life was an honor and absolute pleasure. We are always going to be loyal viewers of this show, and we can't wait for more episodes to come!

Saturday, August 22, 2020

COOL YOUTUBE TUTORIALS



A simple, easy and cheap project that you can throw together with materials you can find around the house. This one is a great for parents trying to entertain their little ones when they are cooped up in the house and driving you a bit crazy.




This project is much more advanced and is for a more seasoned "maker" who has an elaborate set-up with some of the latest technology available at their fingertips.

Glowforge Laser Cutter: https://amzn.to/2ZVtowa 
Cricut Maker: https://amzn.to/2O5STFI 
LED light strip: https://amzn.to/3ePmcrA 
Black .02 styrene sheets: https://amzn.to/3fj62Y0 

Shot by Joey Fameli and edited by Norman Chan 


Tuesday, July 28, 2020

"CUSTOMS FOR THE KID" CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF BLOGGING


When we started this blog, we never knew we would still be here 10 years later making action figures and promoting the members of the Star Wars custom action figure community. We weren't quite sure how best to pay reverence to the event so we took a multi-pronged approach. First, we made a custom 3.75"scaled Loth-Wolf from the Star Wars Rebels animated series. We will get into the significance of why a Loth-Wolf a little later but there is a small story there. Next we updated the banner for our blog to include some of our more recent creations while making sure to include some of our older customs as well. As a bonus, we got together with some of our friends in the Star Wars community for a livestream to celebrate "Custom for the Kid" milestones over this past decade that can be viewed in the video above.

At the moment, the picture above is the photo we are using for our new banner, We are still deciding if it will be a permanent fixture or not. We'll let you all know when the jury is out on that one.

The Loth-Wolf was a project Dad had been working on for some time now. We recently decided that when we hit our 10 year anniversary, Dad would be stepping down from his duties here at the blog. Therefore this custom Loth-Wolf may just be the last custom we get here from Darth Daddy. There was a combination of factors that led to this decision but ultimately we both decided that I am more than capable of managing the blog on my own from now on. 

Dad liked the idea of making the Loth-Wolf as his final piece because he has had dreams of wolves his entire childhood. One of the last wolf dreams he had, back around when I was born, was his wolf pack giving him a young cub to raise. Dad said I was that little cub in his dream and this blog was such a big part of that upbringing. The Loth-Wolf stood at the door to The World Between Worlds. This blog opened both me and my dad up to the world of Star Wars customizing and we can't thank you all for the support you have shown us all over the last decade. Working on this blog has been life changing for both of us. We will never forget the cool creations, friendships, podcast interviews, awards, and events we got to be a part of. 

I can't thank Dad enough for all he did to make this blog a reality.

Hope to see you all at the livestream here tomorrow!



"Loth-Wolf"
by Customs for the Kid


















The Loth-Wolf was a 100% sculpted creature that used the Rampage: Big City Brawl Ralph as a base figure to sculpt onto. Dad re-sculpted the entire body and I did some of the face sculpt under the eyes, the scaling and the detail paintwork so we could have it finished for today. 



SKILL LEVEL: ADVANCED











Kessel Run Review - Episode 26: Star Wars Action Figure Giveaway

Sunday, July 12, 2020

"THE CHILD" & "LOTHCAT" created by ASIS FILM MODELS

These two figures from The Mandalorian are another cool offering produced by Asis Film Models. They are both 3.75" scale figurines and are a great addition to any Star Wars action figure collection. Each are an ultra-detailed resin cast, painted by hand and placed on a custom cardback with a resealable blister. Both of these can be purchased online from the Asis Film Models website.

Customs for the Kid has purchased numerous items from this seller in the past and they never disappoint. Buy with confidence!

"The Child" is also available in the 6" scale.



"THE CHILD"
created by ASIS FILM MODELS





"LOTHCAT"
created by ASIS FILM MODELS







Mando's soft goods cape was purchased on eBay from ot-customs.













GET YOUR SET HERE:




"Cara Dune" & "Din Djarin" action figures 
created by Hasbro


Din Djarin's wired soft goods cape
created by ot-customs




Monday, June 22, 2020

"THE CLONE WARS" LUX BONTERI (ONDERON) created by Elias

"Lux Bonteri was a human male senator and rebel fighter from Onderon during the Clone Wars. He was the son of the Separatist senator Mina Bonteri. During the Clone Wars, he allied with Saw and Steela Gerrera to lead the Onderon rebels during the Onderonian Civil War. After the conflict, he followed in his mother's footsteps and became a senator, this time representing Onderon in the Republic

During the Clone Wars, Bonteri was present when the Republic Senator Padmé Amidala and Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano traveled to Raxus to speak with his mother about negotiating a peace treaty between the Confederacy and the Republic. While his mother and Amidala negotiated, Bonteri and Tano conversed outside in the garden. Both spoke of their biased perspectives of the war; Bonteri confessed his distrust of the Jedi and the Republic, and Tano spoke of her distrust of the Separatists. Bonteri had never met a Jedi before while Ahsoka had never met a Separatist civilian, and they mutually agreed that they were in fact not that different from each other. Despite being on opposing sides of the war, the two quickly became friends.

Eventually, Bonteri returned to his homeworld of Onderon, which was under Separatist occupation. The Separatist regime had made Sanjay Rash King of Onderon, and removed the true King, Ramsis Dendup. Bonteri joined a resistance group that had been formed by Steela and Saw Gerrera with the goal of returning Dendup to the throne. In order for their mission to be successful, however, the rebels required supplies, weapons, and training. Using his personal connection to Ahsoka Tano to his advantage, Bonteri contacted the Jedi High Council, asking for aid to help restore peace to Onderon. The Jedi promised to help, however many were resistant to becoming directly involved in the matter, saying that it was an internal affair and out of their control. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker suggested that the Jedi provide supplies and training to the rebels, but not directly become involved in the fight; allowing the rebels to retake their homeworld on their own. Agreeing with this idea, the Council sent Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, accompanied by Commander Ahsoka Tano and Clone Captain CT-7567, known as "Rex", to Onderon where they began to train the rebels for combat.

Upon arrival to Onderon, Kenobi, Skywalker, Tano, and Rex were brought to the rebel camp and began to train the rebels. The rebels began by learning to disable Armored Assault Tanks and droidekas using grenades. Bonteri was particularly good as disarming the droidekas, however when paired with Saw to take out the tank, he fell off the tank taking Saw down with him. This caused Saw to be upset with Bonteri, claiming that he was a politician and not meant to fight. Both Steela and Saw could not disable the droidekas, and Steela became frustrated with herself, preferring her skills as a sniper to destroy droids.

While practicing their marksmanship with the Jedi, a group of battle droids, learning the location of the rebel base, began to attack the rebels. Using their new training, the rebels took out the first wave of battle droids using grenades. However, the second wave of battle droids arrived with a tank, which Bonteri and Saw had been unsuccessful disarming in training. Bonteri and Saw paired up again to take out the tank, and this time succeeded, using thermal detonators and destroying the tank. After succeeding in defending their base, the Jedi and the rebels decided that they were ready to take the fight to Iziz and reclaim Onderon. In order to get into the Separatist controlled city, Bonteri came up with the idea of posing as hunters, coming back into Iziz to sell their game in the market. Not detecting any of their weaponry due to the high amounts of organic matter on their carts, the battle droids allowed the rebels to enter. After entering Iziz, the group split up to avoid attention; agreeing to regroup after nightfall.

The group decided to execute a series of small strikes on battle droid battalions throughout the city, where Bonteri hid behind a market stand and disables a patrol of droids in front of some citizens. When the rebels later met up in a safehouse in Iziz, Saw suggested that they increase their attacks on the Separatists. However, it was noted that many of the civilians in Iziz had become frightened by the sudden outbreak of violence, and it was suggested by Bonteri and Steela that they first must win the trust of the people. Bonteri suggested that they take on a large target to show their strength and draw public attention to themselves. It was decided that they would attack the city power generator. Skywalker, Kenobi, and Rex left the rebels and returned to Coruscant, while Tano remained as an advisor to the rebels.

Eventually, after some time training, Bonteri, Tano and the Onderon rebels—led by Steela—made their presence known to the people in Iziz and fought against the droid army, forcing them to retreat. Onderon was won, Dendup became king again, and Bonteri—having his faith placed in the Jedi and the Republic—was appointed Senator of Onderon. He swore to serve the Republic."

Because Lux was such a key character throughout many episodes of The Clone Wars and such a good friend to Ahsoka Tano, we thought he definitely deserved a spot on the shelf with all our other Clone Wars action figures. While he was depicted with several different looks in his episodic appearances, we felt his Onderon appearance was the one we wanted most so we could pose him next to our Saw and Steela action figures.

To create this 100% sculpted action figure, I just resculpted a head onto a Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker and for the body I used the Black Series Endor Han Solo action figure as my base.



THE CLONE WARS
LUX BONTERI
created by Elias


















SKILL LEVEL: ADVANCED



PURCHASE HEAD HERE






STEELA & SAW GERRERA
by Customs for the Kid






Kessel Run Review: Tens - Top 10 figures from The Clone Wars

Thursday, May 21, 2020

"May the 4th" Star Wars Talk with Peak-OB1 Custom Creations








Petition for Hasbro to make more NEW 3​.​75" Star Wars Vintage Collection figures per year



The purpose of this petition is to provide Hasbro with actionable market data to justify the investment in more new 3.75" Star Wars Vintage Collection figures every year. 

By signing this petition, I affirm the following:

1. Collecting Hasbro's 3.75" Star Wars Vintage Collection is / will be a hobby of mine.

2. In order to retain / attract me as a customer, Hasbro must produce more newly tooled figures each year than is currently being produced, and those figures need to be in close alignment with the desires of the collector community.

3. I am more likely to visit retail locations that properly stock and manage Hasbro's 3.75" Star Wars Vintage Collection, and will also do so more frequently.

As Star Wars action figure customizers these action figures are necessary to continue our art form. If you could please sign to support the blog, it would be greatly appreciated!

#BackTVC #FightForTVC #Save375






Saturday, May 16, 2020

Back The Vintage Collection




For the last few years, 3.75" Star Wars action figure collectors have grown more and more frustrated with the releases from Hasbro. The first gripe started with reduction to 5 points of articulation from super-articulated figures that were the standard at the time. Poor character selection and lack of availability compounded the irritation collectors were feeling. Gaslighting by Hasbro executives did not help the issue. The corporation's push to make 6" action figures the new standard while adopted by some, was not embraced by all. 

Recently, collector's patience with Hasbro has evaporated and fan sites like JediTempleArchives.com, Yakface.com, JediBusiness.com, ImperialShipyards.net,  and BanthaSkull.com have banded together to have their voices heard. Bossk's Bounty has led the charge and we highly recommend watching the video above to become more informed on the issue and find out how you can get involved.

As long time members of the collecting community, Customs for the Kid knows how important  increased articulation is for providing parts for our projects and "new" parts from "new" characters increases the possibilities available to us for creating something truly special. A thriving 3.75" line is so important to action figure customizers, photonovelists, and diorama builders. That is why we are asking our readers to defend the threatened art forms and join the chorus of voices advocating for a stronger and more robust 3.75" super-articulated line in the Star Wars Vintage collection. Leave comments with Hasbro support staff, letting them now we all want more figures from TVC, not less and ask them to return to the worldbuilding focus we all love.

#FightForTVC #Save375 #BackTVC