*ADULT SUPERVISION & PROPER SAFETY EQUIPMENT ARE REQUIRED WHEN UTILIZING THE TOOLS, PRODUCTS & TECHNIQUES DESCRIBED HERE ON OUR BLOG TO CREATE STAR WARS CUSTOMS.
When Bad Batch Customs started this project, we had no idea we would eventually be working on it ourselves. It all started when Bad Batch finished their LAAT-C. As soon as they wrapped the project, they asked for some input on what to tackle next. Dad chimed in that if you are going to make a Clone Wars vehicle it had to be the vehicle we all begged Hasbro for, but never received...the Z-95 Headhunter. Bad Batch didn't back down from the challenge and got to work. Their fearlessness is admirable. Like all their previous projects, we got to watch the build as it progressed from its earliest stages; straight through to its completion. We watched the LED lights get installed, and the magnets get attached to the landing gear. We observed panels being cut from plastic Chinese food containers, and some Bondo applied to smooth out the lines. We just gazed on as we watched this labor of love take shape.
"PHASE II CLONE PILOT - HAWK" created by Elias of "Customs for the Kid"
When the project was nearing completion, Bad Batch asked me if I could make a "Clone Pilot Hawk" to man the ship's controls and sit in its cockpit. I got right to work and had the figure completed 24 hours later. We shipped Hawk off in the mail right away to his final resting place at the home of Bad Batch Customs. We just love how this project turned out, and we can't wait for you to lay your eyes on it. It was so much fun to be a part of. So, without further ado, hit that play button on the video below and take in all the eye candy!
Some of the best customizers out in the world, still don't have a social media presence where you can see their work. This is very much the case with Bad Batch Customs. The father and son team from Louisiana have been sending me pictures of their work for a year now and their work is just amazing. They have sent me images of numerous custom Star Wars vehicles as well as an incredible Yavin Base diorama that they built in their garage.
They just sent me a ton of pictures of their latest completed "AT-OT" project that I just had to share with you all. The All Terrain Open Transport (AT-OT) was an eight-legged walker designed for the transportation of infantry used by the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. It was deployed during the Battle of Felucia towards the end of the war.
The project consists of two AT-TE toy frames cut in half, and then secured together to make a four-legged frame. Once the frame was all set, they used a Dremel and Plexiglas to create the remaining shape by cutting up a Force Awakens Millennium Falcon and then shaped those pieces to fit cover the exterior. They said each part was a learning process, but a great learning lesson. Once the basic shape was made. the wiring, magnets, and lights went in.
Check out the video I put together from the pictures and video they sent us. If you look at the background, you will see their epic custom Yavin Base diorama.
Want to see more of their work, well, I just had them set up an Instagram account so you can all continue to follow their future projects. I suggest that you all do!
BAD BATCH CUSTOMS
"ALL TERRAIN OPEN TRANSPORT aka AT-OT"
Bad Batch Customs just hit us up with some additional pictures from a second photoshoot that we thought you'd all like.
This is another ship we were able to watch the build from start to finish. We admittedly thought this was a near impossible ship to produce a custom version of, so it was very nice to see BAD BATCH CUSTOMS prove us wrong. We are very impressed with the way this project turned out too; from the paint all the way to the engineering that was implemented to have their LAAT/c actually carry the AT-TE toy. We especially loved the Rishi Eel nose art on the ship!
In the "We Backed The Barge" Facebook group, Dad recently joked about blowing up HasLab's crowdfunded Sail Barge. Well, as promised, we give you a video of Bad Batch Customs latest creation which recently brought the iconic Sail Barge explosion to life in Bad Batch's beautiful "Fett's Escape" diorama complete with a "removable" Sarlacc Pit that separates completely from the desert terrain piece and functions as a diorama all its own. The Sarlacc Pit also features a wonderful Boba Fett action figure posed inside tentacles which were hand sculpted to fit around him during his escape. Best of all, for those currently screaming sacrilege at the top of their lungs, the original Hasbro Sail Barge (Jabba's Khetanna) was not harmed in any way. The pieces of the diorama that depict damage are all removable accessories. The sails were hand made from red fabric and weathered by hand. The original red sails still remain intact for complete assembly in its original form upon release. The side and front panels are also simply resting in place on the Barge creating the illusion of damage without having to modify it in any way. Just some light coming out from the inside and strategic panel placement was all that was needed to create the disheveled appearance of the wreckage. If you look close he even took the time make a Tusken Raider hut to fill the diorama's space.
Another year goes flying by, and wow was it an exciting one! First off, we want to thank everyone for still coming to the blog to see the action figures that we create. We made 24 action figures this year which isn't bad considering how busy our lives have been as of late. We were really excited about the pieces we put together too. We covered a lot of Star Wars content this year from classic OT films like "A New Hope" and "Return of the Jedi" to animated characters from "The Clone Wars" and "Star Wars Rebels". We even featured customs from the new Disney content such as "Rogue One", "The Mandalorian", "The Force Awakens" and "The Last Jedi". Most of the pieces involved a great deal of sculpting, so they took a bit longer to produce than your average custom. When we did the Younglings from "The Clone Wars" we even had to make their lightsabers.
If you are a fan of listening to podcasts, we made a few appearances on some cool platforms that you may want to check out. Back in March, we were guests on Jedi Business Talk where we got chat with Criz Bee about Hasbro's new Jabba's Khetanna Sail Barge and discussed an audio modification that we made. In July, we had a blast chatting with Savanna and Brian of The Dorky Diva Showconcerning our Star Wars customizing adventure thus far.
We also did two video interviews of our own on YouTube with Star Wars customizers Empire Toy Works and Bad Batch Customs.
One of the biggest milestones this year was seeing the "Customizing The Clone Wars" YouTube show that we did with Peak-OB1 Custom Creationsfinally come to a conclusion. After many years of doing the show we wrapped up The Clone Wars: The Lost Missions and completed our goal of showing fans how to make Clone Wars custom action figures from each and every episode of the show.
Speaking of YouTube, this year Dad got to see his Weequay pirate headsculpt make an appearance in Nivrerex's "Star Wars: BOUNTY HUNTERS" stop motion animation. Originally, he had asked us to make some custom action figures for the video, but due to time constraints Dad was only able to send some of the unique headcasts he made of an existing head from my collection. It was really cool to see one of our creations literally brought to life.
By far the most exciting thing to happen this year was seeing Elias win "2018 Action Figure Customizer of the Year" from Toy News International's Toy Awards held at New York Toy Fair!
"I have to say, the competition was fierce, and the battle was intense, but thanks to all of you, I was able to walk away with a different view of myself than I had before the competition. I have been customizing for over eight years now, since I was just a little boy, and this unexpected recognition is a true testament to all the effort I put in to become the artist that I am today. When I first was nominated for the award, I thought to myself how could I possibly win against all these talented artists?Now, having won, I realized I had everything I needed. If it hadn't been for the extremely talented artists who have passed down their knowledge, encouragement, and support over the course of my training, I wouldn't be where I am today. Because I was one of the youngest artists in the community, I always wanted to be just as good as the ones I considered "The Masters". While everybody knows no one's journey is ever complete, I am certainly more confident in my skills now because of all your support. I have read all of your comments across social media boards and forums, and I found them all very moving. Especially, those of you who took the time to vote." - Elias
All in all, it was a really rewarding year. We added some really cool new action figures to the collection, and had a lot of fun doing it. We just want to thank all the websites who featured our work throughout the year. Especially, JediInsider.com and Yakface.com for awarding many of the customs we made this year with a "Custom of the Week" feature or a "Customizer Spotlight". A big shout out to Imperial Shipyards for featuring us on the front page as many times as you do. To have sixteen of the twenty-four customs we made this year get some notoriety felt wonderful! Thank you all so much for spreading the word about our artwork!
We hope everyone has a Happy New Year, and we look forward to 2020 when "Customs for the Kid" will be celebrating a decade of promoting Star Wars custom action figure art! Hopefully, we can show off some new customs that we made with our new 3D resin printer.
"JV-P12" from "Solo: A Star Wars Story"
First print with the new machine. Painted by Darth Daddy
After viewing Caleb Dume and Depa Billaba's appearance in the premiere of "Star Wars: The Bad Batch", Dad and I agreed that they would both look great as action figures. So when a client approached me with this project, I just couldn't resist.
The base figure I used to make Depa Billaba was a Clone Wars Shaak Ti action figure. My client provided me with a 3-D printed headsculpt made by Watto's Scrapyard. The braids at the back of the headcast were badly damaged when we received it in the mail so I completely resculpted what was missing. Once I had the head taken care of, I completely resculpted the Shaak Ti body with ProCreate to make the appropriate Jedi robes.
To make Caleb, I sculpted the Jedi garb onto a Clone Wars Boba Fett body as my base figure and the headsculpt on this figure was also one of Watto's. I made the headcast a new Padawan braid out of Procreate sculpting putty so it would have more durability than the original 3D printed resin.
It'll be a bummer to see them leave the home considering we've wanted them for our own collection, but at the end of the day, I'm more than happy to bring joy to my clients as well!
"THE BAD BATCH"
DEPA BILLABA & CALEB DUME
created by Elias of "Customs for the Kid"
Clone Commander Grey and Depa Billaba's Second Batallion created by Elias of "Customs for the Kid"
Clone Commander Grey by Elias of "Customs for the Kid"
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