DARTH DADDY TAKES THE GRAND PRIZE AT YAKFINITIES #50 IN A TIE WITH STAR WARS CUSTOMIZER SJEFKE!

 

 

Re: Yakfinities #50 - THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY

by YAK_Chewie » Fri Jan 17, 2014 12:00 pm

Time to announce the Grand Prize Winner(s)!

"After a very tough vote, the Yakface Staff could not decide on one single winner. We felt that we had to go with two winners. This was not expected, so we felt it would only be fair to double up on the Grand Prize. So both winners will EACH receive the Droid Factory Wave... and those winners are:

- Cane Adiss by Sjefke
- Ewoks by Darth Daddy

"Great work by both of you, and everyone who took part in Yakfinities #50! There were quite a few other entries that had consideration for this too - this was tough! I'm glad that these are usually random prize winners only!

Everyone else... sit tight! In a couple days we'll conclude with the complete Roundup Report, as well as the 3 RANDOM PRIZE WINNERS." -  YAK_Chewie

"Sjefke, if I was one of the judges for this contest you totally would have taken the prize all by yourself and there would be no tie. Your Cane Adiss action figure is my pick for Star Wars custom action figure of the year in 2013! What I wouldn't give to have that action figure! The amount of articulation you added to that figure was admirable, just astounding! You should definitely mold and cast your headsculpts. I really love how you documented your entire process. So much work went into it, and it totally paid off. I tip my hat.

Can't tell you what an honor it is to win the Grand Prize at Yakfinities #50.  I'm on Cloud 9. This is the first forum I ever started showing my figures in and this win will always hold a lot of sentimental value for me. It was #50! How Cool! So many amazing entries from so many talented artists. Can't wait to see the round up report!

I bet you Remco's happy. He owns the winning pair.

*Remco - Makes me feel a little less guilty that I was so late getting those Ewoks done now that they were one of the Yakfinities #50 winning figures. Glad I sent you something prize worthy after all that procrastinating."

- Darth Daddy

"KAINK & CHUKHA TROK"
created by Darth Daddy

photo by Mr. Black's Customs

DARTH DADDY's CUSTOMIZING CORNER: LUKE SPRYWALKER

Darth Daddy's Customizing Corner featured Star Wars artist Luke Sprywalker in the latest feature over at The Star Wars Underworld.

CLICK HERE TO READ

  Jabba's Denizens created by Luke Sprywalker

So now that we got all the introductions out of the way last week, it is time to introduce you to the first Star Wars custom action figure artist we will be featuring here on The Star Wars Underworld.  L.E. Spry aka Luke Sprywalker is an incredibly talented Star Wars customizer to present you with as we begin our journey through all the noteworthy custom action figure artists found in the Star Wars community today. I first learned about the art of Luke Sprywalker when I started posting the figures I made with my son over in the forums at Yakface.com.  Sprywalker also posted there.  He really took me under his wing and gave me some great advice over the years to improve my skills as an artist.  Luke Sprywalker has created so many cool customs. He keeps putting out inspirational pieces one after another. He's definitely one of our favorite customizers here at home. He has been displaying his customs on the internet since 2008 and when he isn't making action figures, he is regularly promoting custom action figure contests in the forums at Imperial Shipyards.  His weathering and painting skills really compliment his creative builds and have earned him notoriety even outside the customizing community. 

"Ro Kurota with Speeder Bike" created by Luke Sprywalker

Some of you may know Luke Sprywalker from the Celebration VI "Star Wars Custom Action Figure Panel" that was held in the summer of 2012.  Luke Sprywalker was asked by Lucasfilm to be a speaker at the panel along with Star Wars customizers Sillof and Sith_fire30.  Luke Sprywalker was an excellent choice to represent the hobby because he does a lot of diorama work and vehicle creation too. He also was the winner of RebelForce Radio's Smuggler's Gambit Custom Action Figure Contest that was held last year for his Ro Kurota custom action figure entry.   

"Mandalorians" created by Luke Sprywalker 

He's one of the first customizers we featured over at our blog, and we definitely recommend that you all take a gander at the rest of his work because this feature barely scratches the surface.  If you want to see a video slideshow of his work, take a trip over to the blog and take a look.

"Norris Tretch with Speeder Bike" created by Luke Sprywalker

Not only is Luke Sprywalker one talented artist, but he's also a good friend.  This past summer, my son and I took a trip to the home of Luke Sprywalker, and got to see all of his custom action figure art in person.  It was really cool to get a tour of his studio and talk shop during our visit.  It was so much fun that we got together at Sprywalker Ranch one more time while we were in the area before we headed back home.  Seeing his Jabba's Palace diorama was a real treat. 

We even got to see Luke Sprwalker's Jabba's Palace diorama from Celebration out in his garage.

Be sure to stay up to date with his work because Sprywalker is always busy creating something new that will just knock your socks off.  Even more importantly, he's now taking commissions so if you want something made, get in touch with him before he's overwhelmed with requests.  We included a bunch of links at the bottom of the post for Sprywalker so you can reach him and so that you don't have to miss a single update. 

See you next week!

  

Click the links below to check out Luke Sprywalker's latest customs:

https://www.facebook.com/luke.sprywalker

 http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=1200.0

http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=1202.0

http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=1212.0

http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2971

Why Are Custom Commissions So Expensive?!

So this is a cool video addressing the high cost of commissions from a prop artisan that does a great job of explaining why custom art can be more pricey than you would think and a link to the blog article that he references in his video.

http://mattmunson.blogspot.com/2013/01/materials-time-creativity.html

CLONE WARS WEEQUAY PIRATE created by ELIAS

I just recently completed a special project that included creating a Clone Wars Weequay pirate.  I used parts from a Clone Wars Shahan Alama and a Clone Wars Hondo Ohnaka to make him.  For the head I just used one of the head casts Dad created from his Finn Tegotash head sculpt.  I did my best to make him look unique with a paint application and he was ready to add to Hondo's gang.  This was the first Weequay pirate that I ever made and I'm really happy with my results.  I can't wait to make a few more.  I'll definitely be entering this guy into Yakface.com's Yakfinities #51: Space Pirate contest.

Head - Darth Daddy head cast
Body and Sword - Clone Wars Hondo Ohnaka
Modified Armor and Forearms - Clone Wars Shahan Alama

SKILL LEVEL: ADVANCED

"CLONE WARS WEEQUAY PIRATE"

created by ELIAS

The first Yakfinities Customizing Challenge of 2014 is underway! 

Yakfinities #51: Space Pirates

The first Yakfinities Customizing Challenge of 2014 is underway!  This should be a fun one, so get out those customizing supplies and show them what you’re capable of!

Reminder:  Yakfinities #50 results will be posted next week.

DARTH DADDY's CUSTOMIZING CORNER @ THE STAR WARS UNDERWORLD

Dad started writing a Star Wars custom action figure column for The Star Wars Underworld.


GIVE IT A READ

"Jedi General Pong Krell" custom action figure created by Darth Daddy 
(KRELL's TUNIC and DIORAMA STAND created by HYPERDRIVE)

With the start of the New Year, The Star Wars Underworld thought it would be fun to offer our readers a new feature here at the site. Star Wars action figures have always been a HUGE part of the Star Wars fandom experience. Well, we thought it would be cool to introduce you to a side of the Star Wars artist community that rarely gets its due. Usually buried in the dark corners of Star Wars fan forums, Star Wars custom action figure artists have been creating some of the most amazing toy art that you could ever imagine. Their creations range from simple repaints to 100% sculpted pieces. The creations we've seen could fit within the folk art context as easily as it could within the fine art community. Like with any artistic expression there's a lot of variation in the manifestations that come about. Bottom line Star Wars custom action figures need some time in the spotlight!

Many of these artists started to create these toys when they decided to correct the color on an existing action figure they bought from Hasbro, or add articulation where there wasn't any, but before they knew it, they started to create characters that Hasbro didn't make to try to fill holes in their collections.  Other artists created several Star Wars fan fiction characters so they could just play inside the Star Wars universe and create their own stories.  Kit bashing different figure parts worked great for diorama fillers.  Artists like, Sith_fire30 and Sillof took it to the next level and brought their art backgrounds to task earning them featured articles in Star Wars Insider.

 CVI: Star Wars Custom Action Figure Panel audience. 

It was a really good day for Star Wars custom action figure artists on the very last day of Celebration VI.  The customizing community was finally asked by Lucasfilm to present for the FIRST TIME EVER a Star Wars Custom Action Figure Panel to the Celebration attendees who attended on Sunday, August 26th. The room had filled to maximum capacity and staff had to turn more than half the line of people away without getting to see the Panel discussion.  Demand was way higher than expected and the room wasn't big enough to hold all who were interested in attending.

Customizing is a movement that is growing and The Star Wars Underworld asked me to take all of you on a tour this year through the world of Star Wars custom action figure art.

"Mother Talzin" created by Darth Daddy

In the Star Wars customizing community I'm known as Darth Daddy.  Back in summer of 2010, my then 6 year old son received three Star Wars custom action figures as a gift.  Within 3 minutes of opening his gift, he was asking me to make Star Wars custom action figures with him. 

I was quick to tell him that I wasn't sure I had the skills to do it.  I'll never forget what he said to me.

He said, "Dad, you can do it.  I know you can.  Just start and I know that you'll finish.  I believe in you."

It was hard to say "no" to him after that.  I figured at the very least I could was set a good example and try to do it.

I did some research about how it was done, and found an entire custom action figure community hidden in the indexes of Star Wars fan forums.  I was amazed with what I found.  It was an entire world that I never knew existed... and it was beautiful!  So many toys I would have loved to add to my son's Star Wars collection.  Full of tribute pieces made to honor the films we all love!  Many of the artists shared their techniques and even gave the recipes for making their figures.  Everything I needed to learn was there.

"Bo Katan" created by Darth Daddy & CloneCommanderJay

I think I had made only about two figures when my son, Elias asked me to start a blog about Star Wars custom action figures.  I remember it made me giggle, because I couldn't believe I had this little 6 year old boy telling me that he wanted to start a blog.  I didn't even really know what a blog was at the time.  It was a very funny moment as a parent.  It was definitely a question you wouldn't have heard a child ask when I was a kid.

 Blog logo features my first custom action figure.

Well I had some more research to do and when my work was completed, we launched Customs for the Kid, a blog devoted to covering the ins-and-outs of the Star Wars custom action figure community.  The blog is full of images featuring thousands of Star Wars custom action figures created by artists from all over the world.
  

I've been personally working with the artists, archiving their Star Wars custom action figure art in video slide shows featured on our "Customs I Wish I Owned" page.  The page is a directory that provides you with contact information for the artists, access to their Facebook, eBay pages, and other places where you can see their work.  It's a great place to look around if you are ever looking to commission an artist.

 "Nightsister Assaj Ventress" created by Darth Daddy

  

The blog also provides educational tutorials that pass valuable customizing knowledge onto beginners and masters alike who want to make figures of their own.  We share custom action figure contest announcements like the Smuggler's Gambit custom action figure contest we promoted with RebelForce Radio last year, photo novel chapter updates, and sometimes, we just share pictures of the custom Star Wars action figures from our own personal collection and the contact information for the artists that created those figures as well.

 "Master Zao" created by Darth Daddy

I used my anthropology background to document it all, and somewhere along the way, "I went native." Since the blog started my son and I have created over 200 Star Wars custom action figures of our own. I'm probably best known for my Clone Wars custom action figures, but I've ended up making figures from all the various forms of Star Wars media out there. So not only am I a fan of the art form, but I'm an artist too. While working on Customs for the Kid with my little guy, I try to be the best ambassador I can for the Star Wars customizing community, constantly striving to provide all the exposure possible, and open up the art form to a larger audience.

  "Star Wars Cantina Aliens" created by Darth Daddy & Elias of "Customs for the Kid"

That's why when The Star Wars Underworld asked me to do a Star Wars custom action figure post every week, I was happy to oblige.  So stay tuned, every week I'll post a few pictures of Star Wars custom action figures created by a new artist and give you the same information you can find about the artist that we provide on the blog.   It will give you a chance to see something fun and unique and maybe give you the itch to make an action figure of your own one day.

  

 "Death Trooper" created by Darth Daddy

If waiting a whole week for another one of my posts to appear is too long for you, I post new Star Wars custom action figures almost every day on the Customs for the Kid Facebook page and we have all of our videos available on Youtube too!  For those who want to know right away when something new goes up you can also find me on Tumblr, Twitter and Pinterest.   There's plenty of content to satiate your appetite, there are four years worth of it on the blog itself.  We post about every three days.

Otherwise, you can find me here where you'll discover some super cool Star Wars custom action figure art.

-Darth Daddy

"Ziro the Hutt" created by Darth Daddy

"99" created by Darth Daddy

"Hondo's Pirate Gang" created by the collaborative efforts of Darth Daddy & Elias of "Customs for the Kid" and PeakOB1 Custom Creations

"Chancellor Palpatine" created by Darth Daddy

ARC Trooper "Fives" created by Darth Daddy

"Agent Kallus" created by Darth Daddy

"Agent Kallus" created by Darth Daddy

"C1-10P aka Chopper" created by Darth Daddy

 "Lando Calrissian" created by Darth Daddy

"Kaink & Chukha Trok" created by Darth Daddy

  "Jedi General Pong Krell" custom action figure created by Darth Daddy 
(KRELL's TUNIC and DIORAMA STAND created by HYPERDRIVE)

www.customsforthekid.blogspot.com

CLONE WARS CUSTOM ACTION FIGURE PAGE

The first Star Wars movie I saw in the movie theater was The Clone Wars.  I was four years old and only a few months shy of my fifth birthday.  For the next five years I grew up with the Clone Wars television show.  It was a Saturday morning routine that I shared with Dad every week and we both looked forward to it. I was a kid who grew up in the Clone Wars generation of fans.  I was the first generation of kids to get Star Wars in episodic form on a seasonal basis.  It was absolute heaven.  I loved all the dynamic story lines and broad story arcs.  When Disney announced it was winding down The Clone Wars TV show, here at home we were one of the first people out there to sign the petition to keep the show going and to release all the content that they had completed so far.  Even the show's less critically accepted episodes were still extremely enjoyable.  

Dad admits he enjoyed the show even more than the movies and he envies the amount of Star Wars content I grew up with.  He had to wait three years between each release.  Dad was an Original Trilogy kid who saw Star Wars: A New Hope in the theaters when he was just three.

I bought pretty much every Clone Wars action figure that Hasbro ever put out.  Yet, for all the incredibly awesome figures that I am grateful to them for releasing, sadly there are always more characters from the show that you wish were made into action figure form. My desire to customize has been motivated by me wanting to the fill those holes in my collection.  For the last few years Customs for the Kid has received a lot of help from other Star Wars customizers to do just that.  Here at home, we have been hoping that when Toy Fair rolls around next month that Hasbro will be releasing two Battle Packs of unreleased Clone Wars characters to promote the release of the Clone Wars: Lost Missions bonus content we are all anxiously awaiting. I know long shot!

Anyhow, since I'm such a big fan of The Clone Wars custom action figures, I created a Facebook page to display all the cool Clone Wars custom action figure art that is out there.  If you like what you see, follow the page.  If you made some Clone Wars custom action figures yourself, send us your pics so we can give you, your own photo album.   It's a great page to follow if you loved the show as much as us and if like us you want to see the toys that could have been.

Here's the link:

https://www.facebook.com/CloneWarsCustomActionFigures

The Enloe Trials: Chapter V

Our 666th post here at the blog! And what a fitting post it is.  Chewie's zombie Star Wars tale is not one to be missed.  A new chapter in The Enloe Trials photonovel series is now available over at Yakface.com!  Complete with a Darth Vader lightsaber battle.

Imperial Shipyards - No Paint Kitbash Contest 2014 Entry

Imperial Shipyards announced their first custom challenge for the New Year! The idea is to get everyone thinking about what parts look good together without painting anything. This is open to any toy line and any scale you choose. The best part is that you can enter up to ten figures! The NPKB contest has always had a lot of participants and stands to be one fun event.  Click on through and read the full details and see what fabulous prizes await.  We already entered a figure.  Dad made a quick generic Clone Wars Weequay pirate for Hondo's gang to get things rolling. This one takes only a few seconds to create with a heat gun, I only had to swap out the lower arms and pop him at the waist to add the cumberbun.  I used a scissor to modify the jacket by cutting along the gold line.

CLONE WARS NPKB WEEQUAY PIRATE

created by Darth Daddy

Head, Cummerbun, and Lower Arms - Clone Wars Shahan Alama
Upper Arms, Torso, Gun,  Modified Jacket, and Legs - Clone Wars Hondo Ohnaka

 You could paint it if you want a more unique looking pirate.

 A close up picture of the painted version that we entered into Yakfinities #51.

SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE

Dad's Weequay Pirate was featured on the front page of Imperial Shipyards.

Our Weequay Pirates were featured on the front page of Imperial Shipyards.

Colin's World Tour

We've introduced you to the work of prolific Star Wars customizer, Colin Hobbs aka Colins Customs, here on the blog before, but we thought it would be really cool to show you how we participated in Colin's World Tour over our holiday season.

Who would like to help Colin travel around the world? Colin's been thinking of doing this for some time! If Colin can't travel the world then maybe his mini Colin can. If you would like to take part then Colin will send the figure to you and you take a pic of him at some great event or landmark.  Just tag Colin in the pic then forward on to the next person. This could be great fun with maybe a 2-year world tour for Colins Customs!

We had Colin over the week of Christmas.  While with us Colin took a trip to the Empire State Building, Grand Central station and Times Square.  When we got back home, we let Colin participate in our Christmas morning traditions, took a few photos of Colin's custom action figure with Rebekkah, the first Star Wars custom action figure that we ever made as well as photos with a few other parts of my collection.  Colin left our house earlier this week and is off to his next destination. We're looking forward to seeing where else Colin visits while on his tour.

 Colin's Visit with Customs for the Kid

Colin's World Tour on Facebook

CUSTOMS FOR THE KID: 2013 VIDEO RECAP

Happy New Year everyone!  Another year behind us.  Well 2013 wasn't the most productive year we've had at Customs for the Kid.  In 2012, we created 2 vehicles and over 70 action figures.  In 2013, we only made 40 Star Wars custom action figures here at home.  Furthermore, we tackled about only half of the projects we had hoped to take on. That said, we definitely don't see our lack of productivity in a negative light.  

Part way through the year, Dad made a decision to stop creating fan fiction characters and wanted to only create Star Wars characters that never made it to plastic.  As a result, Dad's  action figures took longer than one day to create with sculpting factoring into his projects more than before, but he added molding and casting to his toolbox this year so I'm curious to see how that adds to his repertoire.

Customs for the Kid also hosted our first Star Wars custom action figure contest with RebelForce Radio that promoted the Star Wars: Smuggler’s Gambit radio drama.  It was a lot of fun and maybe Customs for the Kid will try and do another custom action figure contest in 2014.  

On Sunday, April 7, 2013, Customs for the Kid brought their traveling museum of Star Wars custom action figures to the Star Wars Spectacular event in Woodbridge, NJ.  It was our first ever Star Wars event.  Attendees were treated to an exhibition of Star Wars custom action figures created by talented customizing artists such as: Stronox, Sillof, Luke Sprywalker, Chewie, Wraithnine, Hangarbay94, Peakob1, SithHappens, Omar Rivera, Incom aka Mr. Black's Customs, Lucasclones, Stocos28, JACKOFTRADZE, Darth Daddy, Elias, and more.  Also on display were video tutorials and slideshow videos that are featured on our blog.  While there we had the opportunity to meet up with Star Wars customizers darthstreams and Dave Castle aka StarWarsGeek. The display table stayed pretty packed throughout the day, and brought attention to the blog's online museum of Star Wars custom action figures and the featured artists we help promote. We were really impressed with the crowd turnout, and loved the reaction of all the attendees to what we had on display.

Customs for the Kid also had an opportunity to see some awesome Star Wars custom action figure art created by one of the most talented customizers out there today, Luke Sprywalker. Some of you may know L.E. Spry aka Luke Sprywalker from the Celebration VI "Star Wars Custom Action Figure Panel" that was held in the summer of 2012.  Luke Sprywalker was a speaker at the panel along with Star Wars customizers Sillof and Sith_fire30.  Dad and I had the opportunity to visit Luke Sprywalker's home, affectionately dubbed Sprywalker Ranch while on a trip through North Carolina on our way to visit family. Getting to hold some of my favorite custom action figure art in my own two hands was a real treat.  I thought the photos of his work were cool, seeing them in hand was just mind blowing.

The highlight of this year for me as an artist was creating seven Cantina aliens for my display. Dad said his highlight was finishing the Clone Wars General Pong Krell custom action figure collaboration with Hyperdrive.  

Definitely a year to be proud of.  Here's to making sure 2014 brings some memorable moments as well.  Hope you all enjoy our video of what was made here at home in 2013.

CUSTOMS FOR THE KID: 2013 RECAP

Star Wars Custom Action Figures created by Elias & Darth Daddy 

Our video was featured on the front page of Imperial Shipyards.