@the.lost.waves Added to "CUSTOMS I WISH I OWNED"

It has been quite a while since we featured a digital action figure customizer. Truth is, there aren't many out there. What is a digital customizer you ask?  Well, a digital custom isn't something you can exactly hold in your hand. It is more conceptual, but no less fun. These customs were not created on a workbench, but were the products of a skilled artist that slaved away for hours on Photoshop. 

@the.lost.waves has been taking time between college courses to promote a "what could have been" action figure line if the animated Clone Wars action figure had returned with Season 7 of the show being launched on Disney+. In addition to that, he plans to venture into other Star Wars properties such as making battle packs for Battlefront II, and plans for The Mandalorian.

The animated Clone Wars toy line was Hasbro's most popular toy line. Hundreds of figures were made to support the show. Unfortunately, the toys that were made only covered the early seasons of the show and the later seasons being the most popular had little representation in plastic. Dedicated collectors of the toy line still fantasize about its return so they can one day achieve a complete collection. 

He hopes to venture into the world of physical customs himself, saying "I want to make a Clone Wars figure CW28 (custom) no one has ever done before."

Here at home we have been doing our part to achieve that goal and have always chopping at the bit for a Kalani action figure. Especially after him appearing in Star Wars Rebels later down the road. So when we saw his version of the droid he earned a lifelong follower. 

So many important characters were never released.  The artist states that he created the characters he did "because they never had their debut in any way. I find it really weird that they are such iconic characters and don't have their action figure yet."

We have been closely watching his Instagram feed of @the.lost.waves for months now. Every new post, he drops another release we would have snatched up in seconds if they were available in stores. 

With all things Clone Wars being such a hot property it is a real missed opportunity on Hasbro's part to not reintroduce them in the animated 3.75" scale. This artist shares our pain and that is what inspired him to create these images. That and the reduction of quality in the 3.75" action figure line.

As for the artist's plans for the future, he's most excited to create a General Pong Krell and Admiral Trench. To follow his work, you can find him on Instagram @the.lost.waves and on Twitter @waves_lost

@the.lost.waves

@the.lost.waves

STAR WARS REBELS "HONDO OHNAKA" created by CUSTOMS FOR THE KID

This was a figure that my Dad had started prior to stepping down from his role here at the blog. He did both the build and the sculpt for the figure. To build the frame, he used the lower arms of The Clone Wars Hondo Ohnaka, the upper arms of a Clone Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi (heavily re-sculpted), the upper torso of an Indiana Jones & The Crystal Skull Mutt Williams action figure (heavily re-sculpted), the thighs of a Clone Wars Admiral Yularen and the lower legs and feet from a Black Series Force Awakens Leia Organa (heavily re-sculpted).

Seeing Dad's almost completed work just sitting there inspired me to pick up where he left off and add some color to his sculpt. By the time I put the figure down he was fully painted, Hondo symbol painted on his back and all. Dad couldn't be more excited to see this one finished. Hondo is one of Dad's favorite Star Wars characters!

The head was a 3-D resin printed cast from Watto's Scrapyard. It was a lot of fun to start bringing one of his heads to life with some paint. When it painted up as well as it did, I wanted to get going on the other fifty or so heads we received from Wattos.

For Hondo's eyes, I first painted his flesh tone, the whites of his eyes, his pupil and the light reflection in his pupil. Once his eyes were painted, I applied three coats of Pledge Future Floor Wax where the glass of his goggles would be letting each layer dry before adding another coat. Then I did a single layer of a green wash to tint the surface, and then sealed it in with one last coast of the floor wax.

STAR WARS REBELS 

"HONDO OHNAKA" 

created by Customs for the Kid

 

SKILL LEVEL: ADVANCED

STAR WARS REBELS "EZRA BRIDGER" 

created by SWK Kustoms

STAR WARS REBELS "CIKATRO VIZAGO"  

created by SWK Kustoms

STAR WARS REBELS "Cikatro Vizago's Droid"
created by Customs for the Kid

STAR WARS REBELS 
"Hondo Ohnaka" Headcast
created by Watto's Scrapyard

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

 

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!

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