AGE APPROPRIATE WARNING

*ADULT SUPERVISION & PROPER SAFETY EQUIPMENT ARE REQUIRED WHEN UTILIZING THE TOOLS, PRODUCTS & TECHNIQUES DESCRIBED HERE ON OUR BLOG TO CREATE STAR WARS CUSTOMS.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

CONTEST COMMITMENTS

Even though we are hard at work here at home promoting the "Smuggler's Gambit" Custom Action Figure Contest with RebelForce Radio, we have some good friends over at Yakface.com and ImperialShipyards.net who are hosting a contest of their own, a Star Wars Episode VII Customizing Challenge to be exact.  We figured since we are judging our own contest and we can't submit entries that Customs for the Kid should definitely support others in the community by participating in our friend's event in the meantime.  

Here are the entries we threw together.  Just background characters. Although, if there is one thing that can be said about Star Wars, it is that the background characters even have great tales told about them along the way.  Here are our characters, but their stories are still a work in progress.




STAR WARS EPISODE VII 
CUSTOMIZING CHALLENGE ENTRIES
by Customs for the Kid












PACITHHIP
by Darth Daddy

















This custom was inspired by a custom made by our good friend Luke Sprywalker....



"PACITHHIP"
by Luke Sprywalker






Zabrak
by Darth Daddy

































Twi'lek
by Elias














Our submissions were featured on the front page of Imperial Shipyards.












RebelForce Radio and Customs for the Kid present...
"SMUGGLER'S GAMBIT" CUSTOM ACTION FIGURE CONTEST




Thursday, March 7, 2013

CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #28: Hangarbay94

The first time we saw Hangarbay94's "Nar Shaddaa Interceptor Patrol Vehicle" we were just blown away.  The silhouette, the color, and the sheer amount of detail that was spread throughout it's entirety put this custom above anything we ever saw before.  The first words out of my mouth when I held it in my hands, "Dad, Hangarbay94's a much better customizer than you." I never saw anything like it.  The imagery was Star Wars meets Blade Runner.  The vehicle was just gorgeous.  I carried it around for two days straight.  I couldn't put it down.  I just loved looking at it.  The slide decal work and the weathering made this custom vehicle look camera ready, set to be used alongside other models and filmed to be in the next Star Wars movie.

This vehicle is jam packed with play features too.  The features include a hook and crane that lowers out of the bottom of the vehicle fit for carrying a bundled load or for towing, the cockpit contains a rolling cage in the back seat of the cockpit to detain prisoners or be moved out of the way for regular passengers, opening doors, and all greatly accented by it's flashing lights and sirens.  The detailed paintwork on the super cool droid that came with it was the cherry on top.

Julian aka Hangarbay94 is an avid Star Wars fan who has made a name for himself by customising vehicles and creating photo novels. His work is featured on Yakface and at Imperial Shipyards where he is also one of the forum moderators. His ongoing project is a graphic novelization of the classic PC game "X-Wing Alliance" which features a mixture of custom figures, dioramas, vehicles as well as creative artwork Hangarbay94 produced using Adobe Photoshop. Julian is self taught and admits to being heavily influenced by Chewie and other contemporary photo novelists.

Amongst his more notable custom projects Julian specialises in making flat, pack-and-easy-to-store dioramas, including large scale fold aways including an LED-lit "Endor Landing Platform" a huge flat-pack "Death Star Hangar" and a "Calamari Cruiser Hangar Bay".

Julian also produced a movie novel called Darkchild that we absolutely love here at home.  Jules now admits to biting a little more than he could chew, and sadly the project remains unfinished at chapter 3.  Don't let it prevent you from getting invested.  It still has a big payoff in the experience of it alone.  Hangarbay94 is a real talent in the Star Wars community with his hands in so many different aspects of Star Wars artistry.

Every time I see Hangarbay94's work, Dad and I just sit there and wonder how he finds time to do it all and to the levels that he accomplishes. He's just phenomenal and raises the bar for the whole customizing community. Now it hangs suspended from my ceiling at the foot of my bed where I get to fall asleep looking at it and wake up with it being the first thing I see.  It is definitely one of the favorite pieces that I have in my Star Wars custom action figure collection.





"Nar Shaddaa Interceptor Patrol Vehicle"
created by Hangarbay94





 "It is my favourite custom." - Hangarbay94



















Hangarbay94's 
"Nar Shaddaa Interceptor Patrol Vehicle"
       


     





Listen to the artist himself talk about this project in the second half of this video below in his "Fodder Alert"segment:














You'll find Julian's X-Wing Alliance graphic novel and movie at:
  



Also check out his Darkchild series on his Youtube Channel at:


You should also check out Hangarbay94's:


and