Friday, July 31, 2015
Star Wars Customizer "Yakface" Created a 1:1 Scale Melted Vader Helmet from "The Force Awakens"
Star Wars custom action figure artist, Yakface, recently created a super cool "Force Awakens" display piece that is worth checking out. He has this item available for purchase for a limited time, so be sure to get yours while you still can!
STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS
1:1 SCALE LIFE SIZE MELTED DARTH VADER HELMET
It's the ultimate collectible for any Star Wars fan! Fan made helmet is ready for display and features incredible detailing, removable top dome and display stand. Cast in durable resin and professionally painted. Only a limited number of these will be produced so get yours while you can!
Helmets are made to order so please allow 1 - 2 weeks for shipment notice.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
"CUSTOMS FOR THE KID" CELEBRATES 5 YEARS OF BLOGGING
All month long, we were trying to come up with an epic custom action figure reveal for this milestone. Then at the last minute, we totally changed course. Instead of focusing on some new action figure that we'll all forget about later in the week, we decided to focus on what is being celebrated today, our best custom of all...this blog.
We never thought that this endeavor would have lasted as long as it has. When Elias decided he wanted to start making his own Star Wars custom action figures at the early age of six, I thought it was only going to last a few weeks at most. I still remember sitting at my laptop typing in my newly created moniker, Darth Daddy, as I set up an account to post our first custom action figures over in the Yakface forums, not knowing that one day, this persona would develop into an alter ego that would later receive almost a million views a month on the Darth Daddy Google+ profile.
When we started our journey we were complete amateur custom action figure artists who to our surprise, went on to create one of the most popular resources for Star Wars custom action figure art on the web today! If someone told me that this little boy's passion and persistence for creating his own toys would have manifested into a blog read in over 120 countries around the world, I wouldn't have believed them. The blog's success and popularity has been the result of an actively participating community of artists. The people featured on this blog have become some of our closest friends. Customs for the Kid has become a place where artists, collectors, and fans of the artform can find new talent, customizing techniques, action figure parts lists, collector focused fundraising campaigns with unique incentives, video tutorials, photonovels, stop motion videos, and some your favorite Star Wars podcasts all in one place.
Customs for the Kid will also take the time to promote issues like the Legion of Leia initiative. Customs for the Kid was championing the demand for an increased female character presence in the Star Wars toy lines that we established on our "Customs for the Fangirls" page. We were really honored when the Fangirls Going Rogue podcast acknowledged our efforts.
Looking at how our blog has grown from its humble beginnings, we are completely amazed by all that we have accomplished since we started on this long adventure. With hundreds of custom action figures created by our own hands, we saw an activity that we engaged in at our kitchen table grow to epic proportions. All of our dedication paid off earlier this year when our blog caught the attention of Disney and Lucasfilm who featured Customs for the Kid amongst the most talented and respected custom action figure artists in the world today at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in their Star Wars Custom Action Figure Panel hosted by Sillof. As customizers it was the highest honor we could have ever hoped to achieve. It was even cooler than when Custom Action Figure News mentioned our "Mother Talzin" custom action figure for "Custom Action Figure of the Year" in 2013, or when we won the "Grand Prize" in Yakfinities #50 in a tie with Star Wars customizer, Sjefke last year. And both of those events were pretty overwhelming in their own right!
We never thought that this endeavor would have lasted as long as it has. When Elias decided he wanted to start making his own Star Wars custom action figures at the early age of six, I thought it was only going to last a few weeks at most. I still remember sitting at my laptop typing in my newly created moniker, Darth Daddy, as I set up an account to post our first custom action figures over in the Yakface forums, not knowing that one day, this persona would develop into an alter ego that would later receive almost a million views a month on the Darth Daddy Google+ profile.
When we started our journey we were complete amateur custom action figure artists who to our surprise, went on to create one of the most popular resources for Star Wars custom action figure art on the web today! If someone told me that this little boy's passion and persistence for creating his own toys would have manifested into a blog read in over 120 countries around the world, I wouldn't have believed them. The blog's success and popularity has been the result of an actively participating community of artists. The people featured on this blog have become some of our closest friends. Customs for the Kid has become a place where artists, collectors, and fans of the artform can find new talent, customizing techniques, action figure parts lists, collector focused fundraising campaigns with unique incentives, video tutorials, photonovels, stop motion videos, and some your favorite Star Wars podcasts all in one place.
Customs for the Kid will also take the time to promote issues like the Legion of Leia initiative. Customs for the Kid was championing the demand for an increased female character presence in the Star Wars toy lines that we established on our "Customs for the Fangirls" page. We were really honored when the Fangirls Going Rogue podcast acknowledged our efforts.
Looking at how our blog has grown from its humble beginnings, we are completely amazed by all that we have accomplished since we started on this long adventure. With hundreds of custom action figures created by our own hands, we saw an activity that we engaged in at our kitchen table grow to epic proportions. All of our dedication paid off earlier this year when our blog caught the attention of Disney and Lucasfilm who featured Customs for the Kid amongst the most talented and respected custom action figure artists in the world today at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in their Star Wars Custom Action Figure Panel hosted by Sillof. As customizers it was the highest honor we could have ever hoped to achieve. It was even cooler than when Custom Action Figure News mentioned our "Mother Talzin" custom action figure for "Custom Action Figure of the Year" in 2013, or when we won the "Grand Prize" in Yakfinities #50 in a tie with Star Wars customizer, Sjefke last year. And both of those events were pretty overwhelming in their own right!
featuring the Star Wars custom action figure art of Chewie, Customs for the Kid, PeakOB1, Sillof, and Sith_fire30
Even though being acknowledged for one's efforts can be very rewarding, one of the coolest perks of writing this blog has been the relationships in the community that we've developed. About a month ago we had the opportunity to create some of the promotional art for fanrock band High Adventure's upcoming full-length album release "High Five". We were really grateful for getting the opportunity to take a staff position over at The Star Wars Underworld writing the "Darth Daddy's Customizing Corner" column which finally provided the customizing community with a platform to expand the world of Star Wars customs outside of the web forums and alongside other hot Star Wars topics being floated in the newstream. Customs for the Kid had a blast appearing as guests on The Wolfpack Podcast's Clone Wars tribute episode that is still remembered among Star Wars fans for its legendary length. We haven't had many custom action figure contests on our blog, but the contests with RebelForce Radio have been loads of fun to promote and we still can't believe the list of cool judges for the events. Our current "Smuggler's Bounty" contest is running now so be sure to enter!
It can't go without saying that Customs for the Kid wishes to express our sincerest gratitude to all the Star Wars fan sites like Yakface.com, The Star Wars Underworld, Jedi News, Jedi Temple Archives, Imperial Shipyards and Jedi Business for featuring our custom action figures over the years. We'd also like to thank all the podcasts like RebelForce Radio, The Star Wars Underworld podcast, The Wolfpack Podcast, Custom Action Figure News, The Voice of the Republic podcast, SWAG77, and Expanded Fandomverse, for featuring us on their programming.
Thank you to all our fans who take the time write us letters, leave comments on social media, and send us pictures of your action figures. Your communications are inspiring. We are so thankful to the Star Wars community for helping spread the word about Star Wars custom action figures and the artists that create them.
Most of all, we thank the artists we feature for letting us spread your art to all the corners of the world. Without your contributions no one who visits this blog would have any reason to come.
Thank you to all our fans who take the time write us letters, leave comments on social media, and send us pictures of your action figures. Your communications are inspiring. We are so thankful to the Star Wars community for helping spread the word about Star Wars custom action figures and the artists that create them.
Most of all, we thank the artists we feature for letting us spread your art to all the corners of the world. Without your contributions no one who visits this blog would have any reason to come.
If you are new to our blog, here is a brief sample of what we have to offer:
RebelForce Radio and Customs for the Kid:
"Star Wars Smuggler's Bounty" Custom Action Figure Contest
Enter our current "Star Wars: Smuggler's Bounty" custom action figure contest that we are holding with RebelForce Radio! After the success of the contest we held for "Star Wars: Smuggler's Gambit", we definitely wanted to continue the fun with Kyle Newman and F.J. DeSanto's latest audio adventure.
THE ACTION FIGURE INDEX
This is where you can find a full picture listing of all the action figures we have made here at home over the years. We tried to organize them in a way that you can locate the custom action figure by their associated film and when the figure is not associated with a film, we grouped them into either Expanded Universe or Fan Fiction.
"CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT" ARCHIVES
featuring "Hondo's Pirate Gang" created by PeakOB1 & Customs for the Kid
This is where you can view pieces from our personal collection of Star Wars custom action figures made by other talented members in the custom action figure community. We also provide links to see more of these artist's work than featured here, and best of all, provide you ways to obtain their artwork if they have any for sale.
"CUSTOMS I WISH I OWNED" VIDEO ARCHIVES
&
STAR WARS CUSTOMIZER DIRECTORY
featuring "Consequences" by Hemble Creations
For the last several years, Customs for the Kid has been slowly creating an action figure artist directory featuring video slideshows of each artist's work and even more importantly, information about where you can follow or purchase their Star Wars custom action figure art. If anybody were to ask what customizers influence us when we create a new action figure, these artists would be a great start. Most of these pieces are not in our collection. This is a great place to find awesome custom action figure artists that we aren't able to showcase in our Customizer's Spotlight archive, because sadly, their work hasn't found their way into our collection yet. Believe me, it isn't because we wouldn't want these incredible action figures. We provide links to see more of these artist's work here too, and yes, we make sure we provide you with contact information to obtain their customs if they have any for sale. These are the most talented Star Wars custom artists out there today!
OUR STAR WARS COLLECTION
A few times we have been asked if we were only customizers or were we Star Wars toy collectors too. Here are some of the pictures from the Customs for the Kid collection. Only about a third of the collection is on display so far. We are always documenting more as we go.
"CUSTOMS FOR THE FANGIRLS"
Wish they made more female Star Wars action figures? We feel you. We know there are a lot of fangirls out there just waiting for a stronger female presence in the Star Wars action figure line. We like a more balanced Star Wars action figure collection in our house. Let's be honest, Star Wars is for everyone. Am I right? Check out these custom Star Wars action figures made with all the Fangirls in mind. Female action figures need equal footing when it comes to the Star Wars toy line.
Monday, July 20, 2015
"MOSEP BINNEED - JABBA's PALACE" created by Darth Daddy
We were really happy when Hasbro released Mosep Binneed in his Cantina outfit. Releasing that figure gave Star Wars customizers a body and head for Tawss Khaa, and parts to create Mosep in Return of the Jedi. With an extra head we could create Mosep as he appears in Jabba's Palace. We used the body of a Vintage Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker also from Return of the Jedi and swapped out the forearms with the gloves of an AT-ST Pilot. I grabbed the tag that fell of of Elias' athletic shorts to use for his shawl. This was just a really quick, no paint kit-bash figure to populate the Jabba diorama on Elias' shelf. It took less than 5 minutes to make.
After I completed this figure, I saw a version created of this character that was created by Star Wars customizer, Jabbapalacespy that I liked even more than my own. I may revisit this character at a later date and attempt to mimic what he did.
"MOSEP BINNEED - JABBA's PALACE"
created by Darth Daddy
SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE
"I also travel under Jabba's name from time to time, representing his interests. It doesn't hurt to confuse the competition. So yes, for today's purposes − with our master's kind permission − you can say that I am Jabba."―Mosep Binneed [src]
Mosep Binneed was a Nimbanel accountant who served Jabba Desilijic Tiure. Like most of his species, Binneed entered a bureaucratic profession and worked for the Hutts, eventually ending up on Tatooine during the early Galactic Civil War. Operating out of Mos Eisley spaceport on Tatooine in the Outer Rim, Binneed managed the finances of crime lord Jabba the Hutt to the best of his efforts, along with a number of other accountants, many of whom were also Nimbanese. He was present in Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina in 0 BBY whenObi-Wan Kenobi attacked Ponda Baba with a lightsaber.
After the death of Binneed's superior, Lhojugg, Binneed took charge of Jabba's financial affairs and was based in the Hutt's town house. He had many informants and contacts in the organizations of Jabba's criminal rivals, and he used their information to disrupt the competitors' flow of funding. However, he knew that Jabba would have no hesitation to end his life if he failed in his tasks, and Binneed was constantly in fear of such a fate. He had many underlings, though some of them wished to work against Jabba, mismanaging his books and seeking to leave his employ.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Coruscant Customs
Customs for the Kid does what we can to promote the Star Wars customizing community every free moment we get. That's why we are really excited to welcome some new customizers to our community. While still very young, Fangirls Fern and Lida Stuart recently started producing their first Star Wars custom action figures and have been documenting their work on their new blog, Coruscant Customs. We definitely recommend checking out their artwork and showing your support. With so few Fangirls out there participating in the customizing community, their presence is surely welcomed.
Elias was really honored when Fern Stuart told us that our blog was their inspiration to get involved in making Star Wars custom action figures. The link to their blog appears below.
Coruscant Customs:
"CUSTOMS FOR THE FANGIRLS"
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