THE VINTAGE COLLECTION "GALACTIC STARCRUISER" GAYA Created by Elias of "Customs for the Kid"

Recently, I posted a Captain Keevan which was commissioned for a display at Halcy-Con, but that wasn’t the only figure.  For the second figure of my Galactic Starcruiser set, I made Gaya, the Twi’Lek diva who entertains guests at the Galactic Starcruiser Hotel.  The convention organizer who commissioned the figures also informed me that they will be on display on a background created by The Cardboard Galaxy. 

The recipe for this figure was simply a General Leia Organa in her ceremonial dress from the Black Series Collection. Underneath her regalia is a mostly featureless body, which was very easy to sculpt onto.  I modeled the head-sculpt myself using Blender, which I printed and then painted. Because more than one actor portrayed the character we were asked to create a generic headsculpt for the character. 

The soft goods were the biggest challenge making this figure.  I made a trip to the fabric store to find the perfect textile, which happened to be an indigo satin.  To make the pleats in the dress, I had to fold each section and stitch it.  The light trim was sculpted out of ProCreate.  The graphic on her cape was hand painted, which was challenging because if I made a mistake or painted outside the lines in any way, the fabric would be ruined and I would have to start fresh with a new piece of fabric. Thankfully I pulled it off on my first attempt!  Painting the pattern on her back was an incredibly painstaking effort. My great, great-grandfather was a fashion designer. I wonder if he would approve of my sewing and patterning skills. What do you think? Does it run in the family?

We hope you appreciate the newest addition to the Galactic Starcruiser collection!

THE VINTAGE COLLECTION

"GALACTIC STARCRUISER"

GAYA

created by Elias of "Customs for the Kid"

President Lyndon Johnson with his daughter Lynda at her White House wedding wearing a tuxedo that was designed by Amore Pace, my great, great-grandfather.

"THE CLONE WARS" DUCHESS SATINE KRYZE created by Elias of "Customs for the Kid"

What better way to celebrate our 14th Anniversary as bloggers than by making that special figure for yourself that you have always wanted? Fourteen years ago, I was a six-year-old kid asking my dad to make custom action figures with me and on this very day our customs are appearing in the "Evolution of Toy Collecting" Panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. What a journey!  Today, I finished creating the action figure that my dad and I have dreamed of making since Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore debuted in 2010.

Years ago, my dad had a figure which came about through the will of the Force. Darth Daddy hoped to collaborate with our friend Hyperdrive, and 30 seconds after thinking he should contact him, my father received a text message from Hyperdrive and immediately agreed to collaborate when Dad asked him!  One thing lead to another, and now their legendary creation of General Pong Krell graces our shelf.  I feel so fortunate to now have a collaborative creation of my own.  This is my figure's story and how Duchess Satine Kryze willed herself into existence. Around the time that I decided to attempt this project, our friend Aude's Workshop sent us a surprise package with a lovely note, which read as follows:

The sculpt he is referring to, is the beautiful head sculpt featured on the action figure below.  At "Customs for the Kid" we have a tradition of giving some shout-outs to other artists in our community we are sure you will enjoy, and Aude's Workshop is one you will certainly appreciate.

To make this figure of Duchess Satine Kyryze, I used a Clone Wars Asajj Ventress as my base.  I took the elbows, forearms, and boots from a Clone Wars Adventure Padme, and replaced them on Ventress.  I then used my Dremel's Nylon brush to strip all details and forms away from the base figure.  To sculpt her upper body, I used a mixture of Green Stuff and Procreate, and left her lower body untouched so that the dress would rest on her legs correctly.  

Making her dress out of real fabric was one of the bigger technical hurdles.  I knew from the moment I decided to make Satine that I wanted her to have a dress made of real fabric.  If she couldn't sit in the Mandalorian throne, what was the point of making it?  

So, I had to come up with a strategy.  The form of her dress resembles some kind of flower, belling out at the hips, tapering at the ankle, and then opening like the petals of a petunia.  I devised a pattern for the innermost layer, which would consist of six identical panels.  I assembled it, pulled it over her, and then got started on the outer layer.  This layer would create the bell form, so I patterned a single piece of the dark blue fabric, cut some darts into it so it would form around her correctly, and affixed it to the under dress.  To get the end of her under dress to be shaped like flower petals, I had to thread crafting wire through the hem and position it how I wanted.  After the two main forms were constructed, I added in the other pieces of fabric and painted the dress as needed.  The purple scale-like details on her dress were sculpted out of Procreate and glued in place. After a few days of painting, Satine was ready for photos!  

About a month ago, my father and I were discussing the photoshoot, and what kind of pictures we wanted for today's celebration.  Since I went through all the trouble of making a soft goods dress, he suggested that I try to get a Mandalorian throne to pose her on.  We immediately recalled the Mandalorian throne room display produced by Cardboard Galaxy and both agreed it would be perfect for our figures debut.  Unfortunately, the Mandalorian throne room he made wasn't available for sale on his eBay page anymore. Thankfully, Bob from Cardboard Galaxy went out of his way to get one made for us, and we are immensely grateful.

We want to thank Aude's Workshop and Cardboard Galaxy for making this project possible.  The kindness of our community of artists never fails to inspire me.  We hope you all enjoy our execution of the Duchess Satine Kryze, and happy 14th anniversary to "Customs for the Kid!"

"THE CLONE WARS"

DUCHESS SATINE KRYZE

created by Elias of "Customs for the Kid"

Cellphone screensaver for Duchess Satine fans.

Sunday July 28th, 2024

The Evolution Of Toy Collecting - 4:00pm - 5pm PDT Room 32AB

It's expected that toys have evolved over the decades, but what about how people collect them? Super collectors Martin Smith (Heroes of the Halcyon podcast), Brian Frey (toy package artist), and Silver Ciprian (Star Wars Thrifting channel) discuss the paradigm shifts and innovations that have FUNdamentally changed the hobby of toy collecting from the 1970s to the present. From Toys "R" Us and holiday catalogs to 3D printing at home, collecting toys over the past 50 years has itself been an adventure worthy of a retrospective. Featuring artwork from "Customs for the Kid"!

THE VINTAGE COLLECTION “GALACTIC STARCRUISER” CAPTAIN KEEVAN created by Elias of “Customs for the Kid”

I feel very privileged to have received this commission, as it is for a convention this October!  Those Star Wars fans who were lucky enough to go to the Galactic Starcuiser Hotel while it was in operation are now holding a convention in its honor, known as Halcy-Con.  One of the convention organizers reached out to me asking for a list of custom action figures which will be on display at the convention on a background created by The Cardboard Galaxy.  Captain Keevan was one of the action figures on this list.

The recipe for this figure was quite simple.  The entire body of the figure came from a Vintage Collection Cara Dune, and I sculpted the head myself using Blender.  The hat was from a Naboo Royal Security Officer, but was modified to fit Keevan's head. The entire surface of the Cara Dune figure was dremeled down to remove all features.  I then sculpted everything by hand, starting with the pale blue undershirt, then I rolled out a thin flat sheet of procreate and shaped it over her when it was half-cured to create the tail of her overcoat.  Finally, I hand sculpted the boots. 

Riyola Keevan was first mentioned in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, which opened to guests at Disneyland on May 31, 2019.[4] She was featured as a character in the immersive hotel experience Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser,[2] which opened in 2022 at the Walt Disney World Resort.[10] In audition sides posted for the character by The Walt Disney Company, Keevan thanks guests for assisting in the apprehension of outlaws on the Halcyon and makes reference to having served aboard the vessel for twenty years.[11]Riyola Keevan[6] was a Pantoran female[2] starship captain for Chandrila Star Line. She served aboard the MPO-1400 Purgill-class star cruiser Halcyon during the war between the First Order and the Resistance.

Riyola Keevan previously served as quartermaster on the Halcyon, and was assigned as Leia Organa's personal attaché during her honeymoon voyage with her husband Han Solo.[3] By 34 ABY,[7] she became Captain of the ship.[5] Shortly after handling a pirate raid by Crimson Jack,[8] she served as captain during the Halcyon's 275th anniversary voyage to Batuu. As the voyage began, the ship was boarded by Lieutenant Harman Croy and his troops of the First Order under suspicion of Resistance activity.[9]

A note was posted in Oga's Cantina in Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu advertising a mechanic position on board the Halcyon and instructing applicants to contact Keevan.[4] Strong, charismatic, and worldly, she was dedicated to her duty as captain and earned deep respect from her crew.[2]

THE VINTAGE COLLECTION

"GALACTIC STARCRUISER"

CAPTAIN KEEVAN

by Elias of "Customs for the Kid"

Nothing cooler than an actor who played the character giving their stamp of approval!

YAKFINITIES #83: CANTINA DENIZENS

 

CUSTOMIZE YOUR CANTINA

While perusing comment sections on social media regarding the HasLab Cantina that was recently announced, we decided it would be a nice time to share some 3rd party offerings from members of the customizing community who are making some unique items to help fill out your display or possibly provide you with some useful offerings to create your own display if the HasLab is just not in your budget. Two of the sellers showcased here are in the United States, one is over in England and the last is from Australia so if international shipping costs are a concern, hopefully the selection presented will help ease your wallets if it lessens the costs in some way. Check out the video below for a sample of each of the sellers Cantina themed offerings and click their logos below to visit their websites.