DARTH DADDY's CUSTOMIZING CORNER: DOUG ARRUDA

Darth Daddy's Customizing Corner featured Star Wars customizer Doug Arruda in his latest post over at The Star Wars Underworld.

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 Kaminoan Jedi 

Doug Arruda is a long-time action figure collecter/customizer. He's been customizing for about ten years. Although he primarily works on Star Wars figures, he sometimes works from Marvel, GI Joe, TMNT, and other action figure lines. Doug runs a Facebook page showcasing his work called "Custom Action Figures RI."

I am blown away by the sheer volume of work this customizer has on display.  Definitely one of the hardest working customizers you'll come across.  A large body of his work falls within the Star Wars Legends/Expanded Universe.

I found Doug's work on Star Wars Customs.  It's a Facebook Public Group where artists post their action figure art.  I've been posting there myself for a while now.  Not all the prolific customizers can be found in the forums.  With the incredible amount of platforms available to us these days for displaying one's art, I'm starting to find that Star Wars customizers can be found just about anywhere.

I'm very fond of this customizer's soft goods work.  I wish I had his talent as a tailor.  To get such fantastic results in the 3 3/4" scale is very impressive.  Few come close.  I just love the way the fabric falls on his Kaminoan Jedi.

Definitely give his Facebook Page a look and you can see so much more of what this artist has done.

Sith Lord Darth Plagueis

 T'ra Saa

 Sharad Hett

 Gotal

Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth

 Corran Horn

 Darth Caedus

Don't forget to check out:

Custom Action Figures RI

"MAUL MANDOS" created by Darth Daddy

This latest post is showing how a quick repaint of some Clone Wars Death Watch Mandalorian Warriors that came with the Mandalorian Speeder from Hasbro's mini-rig line can offer up some pretty cool looking Maul Mandos.  The project is an easy way to add a few Maul Mandos to your Clone Wars collection.  The articulation on these figures is just phenomenal...especially, at the ball jointed wrists and hips!  

These figures also really complement our Clone Wars Darth Maul and the Mandalorian Super Commando custom action figures created by Peakob1 Custom Creations. 

"MAUL MANDOS"

created by Darth Daddy

SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER

SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER

SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER

"OBI-WAN KENOBI
in MAUL MANDO ARMOR"

by Darth Daddy

"MANDALORIAN SUPER COMMANDO"

created by Peakob1

"CLONE WARS DARTH MAUL"

created by Peakob1

"ROBOT ARM SAVAGE OPRESS"
(Work In Progress)

created by Darth Daddy

 

"BO KATAN"
created by Darth Daddy & Clone Commander Jay

Dad's "Maul Mandos" were featured on the front page of Imperial Shipyards.

The Realm Recap: Episode #29 - The Walgreens Stalker

Custom Action Figure News Episode 74

DARTH DADDY's CUSTOMIZING CORNER: DarthStreams Customs

Darth Daddy's Customizing Corner featured Star Wars customizer DarthStreams Customs in his latest post over at The Star Wars Underworld.

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As a child DarthStreams aka DS Customs was always a fan of the Star Wars movies. He had a lot of the Power of the Force 2 toys and micro machine sets. During adolescence, he lost interest in collecting figures, but he held onto his childhood toys. 

DarthStreams was big into video games and after playing the two KOTOR installments, his interest in the Expanded Universe peaked. He started reading all the graphic novels he could get his hands on. He found the stories incredibly imaginative, enjoyed the variety of characters, and appreciated the artistry that accompanied the graphic novels. 

He later bought Hasbro's Nihilus, Revan, and Malak but felt like he was missing someone...Darth Sion. DarthStreams wanted a Darth Sion pretty bad so he bought a custom version of him off eBay. When he got it, he thought that it was cool, but it was falling apart and he felt he could make it better, so he did. He also wanted a Lucien Draay from the KOTOR novels, so he made him too. That was the first custom he truly created, it was just a repaint of a 5 POA dc prototype. 

Back in 2010, once he found out about the hobby he started following the Customs for the Kid and Jackoftradze blogs. Seeing all the other folks work and filling holes in his collection pretty much lead him into his customizing days, starting with KOTOR and then going into other Expanded Universe novels. 

He started with head swaps, kitbashing, and basic repaints, then figured out how to make the cards w/detachable blisters. The process of making cards was a long trial and error process, but once he was happy with the process, he was able to design and make them fairly quickly.   His card making tutorial is priceless for those of you interested in making your own card backs.

DarthStreams posted on Rebelscum.com for a few years and created his own blogspot, but never felt the sense of community, until he started posting at the Imperial Shipyards. By interacting with the community members of ISY, he was able to expand his skills in dry brushing, paint washes, molding/casting, and sculpting. The main reason DarthStreams loves the art of customizing is having a creative outlet, that progresses his artistic skills, while watching others progress in their skills with all the cool stuff they come up with!  

I got to meet DarthStreams when he visited the Customs for the Kid table at Star Wars Spectacular in New Jersey.  DarthStreams is a really creative customizer that has made some characters from the Expanded Universe that we will probably never see made now that Disney owns the franchise.  Keep an eye on his posts if you have a character you've always loved but you've never seen made.

DarthStreams on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/DarthStreams  

DarthStreams on Imperial Shipyards:
http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=8375.0 

DarthStreams Cardback Tutorial:
http://darthstreams.blogspot.com/2012/11/new-customs-and-tutorial-cardback-making.html