"CUSTOMS FOR THE KID" 2022 - YEAR IN REVIEW

Star Wars custom action figures from "Customs for the Kid" in 2022.

Another year behind us! Sometimes, it's hard to believe we have been at this for so long, but with a strong passion for my work as well as all my income now coming from it, I start to realize why I stick with it. This is the first year that the content on the blog was almost completely driven by our fans. Specifically, the people who commissioned us to make them a one-of-a-kind Star Wars action figure. Therefore, many of the creations from this past year are no longer in our possession. Instead these action figures now decorate the shelves of our many patrons who continue to support our craft, for which we will always be immensely grateful. 

We were super excited for the most recent of these customs. A Christmas gift to Allison, the actor who works as Ouaani aboard the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser!  Due to the recipient of this gift being so familiar with the design of this character, there was no room for error. This was an immensely special project we were privileged of being tasked with and we were so happy to see that Allie was pleased with our results.

A great review from Ouannii herself!

We also want to continue to put the spotlight on all the other artists whose work we've featured this past year!  We highly recommend acquiring these kits, prints, and customizing items that we used at home for your own custom Star Wars action figure projects. For example, our Black Krrsantan and AZI wouldn't have been possible without the resin kits of Outer Rim Traders.  

Black Krrsantan

AZI

A big thanks to Watto's Scrapyard for the Koska Reeves and Kanan Jarus heads to help cut down on the time it would have taken to make these headsculpts!

We hope you enjoyed the lovely work of our good friend, Angry Raccoon Miniatures whose 3D printed design helped us bring the Rolo PK droid to life back in April of this year.  Thanks to a new batch of Molotow Chrome Pens I bought, this droid is looking shinier than ever!

Rolo PK Recon Droid

Another artists' work we featured this year was a painted headcast of Obi-Wan Kenobi made by Spartan 118 Customs. The head looked fabulous on the spare Obi-Wan body we had in fodder and was a great addition to our "Revenge of the Sith" collection.

We also want to give a shout out to Aude's Workshop for the beskar pauldron resin print we purchased from him to make this version of Din Djarin.

Our same post featured the Blurrgs by Uzay Customs.

As well as the Heavy Machine Cannon also made by Uzay Customs.

Be sure to check out the print files we share from Isotelus that helped us make this GNK droid from "The Phantom Menace".

Printed GNK droid design by Isotelus.  

Big fans of the 80's Ewok films may enjoy reading the Customizer Spotlight feature we did this year on Etsy seller Two Mirror Treasures. These pictures are just a sample of the items we added to our collection from this talented artist.

Two Mirrors Treasures

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We also want to take the time to thank Jedi Insider for all the "Custom of the Week" features in 2022!

We would also like to give a huge thank you to @greedo_collection on Instagram for the time he took to create these TVC images of our custom action figures earlier this year!

Wonderful mock up imagery courtesy of @greedo_collection on Instagram.

Probably what excited me most this year was to get a little assistance from my Dad on the blog again (it's a lot of work and incredibly demanding). Darth Daddy did the quick Maul headswap at the beginning of the year to share an easy custom with our readers that could be made at home with parent supervision by just about anyone, regardless if they had any previous customizing experience, as long as they had the proper safety measures, parts and tools available to them. Dad also did the figure sculpt for the Kanan Jarrus action figure we shared for our 12-year anniversary post. It was nice to see him participate in action figure creation again after his announced retirement in 2020. Especially because when Dad retired it was just before eye surgeries to both of his eyes to save his vision. Two years later,  both eyes are relatively healed and the loss of vision was frozen in place.  Painting Dad's first return figure since his 2 year hiatus was really quite special, and I can see how Dad would be drawn to sculpting a Kanan action figure since the character is a fitting symbol for Dad's own healing journey.

We can't wait to show you what our fans have in store for you all in 2023! We already have a more than full list of commissions to get through that will likely carry the blog straight through to summer so be sure to keep checking in! We wish you all a Happy New Year and may the Force be with you!

CLICK PICTURES BELOW

FOR ACTION FIGURE RECIPES

"SIEGE OF MANDALORE" DARTH MAUL

STEELA GERRERA

KOSKA REEVES

CAPTAIN HOWZER

GNK POWER DROID

Marrok - Embo's Anooba

ANOOBA

AZ-3

Jesse Head

PHASE II - PRE VIZSLA

GROGU

JAWA ELDER

ROLO DROID

IG-11 - NURSE DROID

BLACK KRRSANTAN

DIN DJARIN - THE BOUNTY

"DARK DISCIPLE" ASSAJ VENTRESS & QUINLAN VOS

KANAN JARRUS - SEASON 3

MUDTROOPER

CYBORG ADMIRAL TRENCH

501st Jump Trooper

MANDO MAX

Ouaanii

"STAR WARS: GALACTIC STARCRUISER" OUAANII created by Elias of "Customs for the Kid"

This commission request was a lot of fun because we had the opportunity to create a character from Walt Disney World Resort's Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, a revolutionary new 2-night experience at the theme park where you embark on your own Star Wars adventure. It’s an immersive Star Wars story where you live out your own experience and journey further into the Star Wars galaxy farther than you ever dreamed you could.

Board a launch pod and rendezvous with the magnificent Halcyon starcruiser. Stay in a cabin or suite with an exquisite view of space. Aboard the ship, you can interact with an eclectic collection of characters, sit down to exotic galactic cuisine and perhaps even plot a secret mission together.

One of the characters you can interact with I have just brought to life in action figure form. The part that excites me most is that the figure is a gift to Allison, the actress who works as Ouaani aboard the starcruiser! 

She was made from a heavily modified and sculpted out TVC Aayla Secura Action figure along with the head of a reworked Pax Bonkik. After sculpting in the new clothing, hair, and jewelry she was ready for paint. 

"STAR WARS: GALACTIC STARCRUISER" OUANNII

created by Elias of "Customs for the Kid"

SKILL LEVEL: ADVANCED

Thank you Allie!

"MANDO MAX" created by Elias

It’s rare that “Customs for the Kid” makes a fan fiction custom, but some occasions in are just that special!  For my boyfriend Max’s 21st birthday, I decided to make him an extra special custom action figure.  About a year ago, I created him a digital painting of an original Star Wars character that would serve as a kind of self-insert character for him.  In the beginning of our relationship, we had been talking about how our personalities and philosophies might align with certain factions in the Star Wars universe, me considering myself a Jedi, whereas he was more reserved, but with a soft core beneath the armor, so we decided he fit well as a Mandalorian.  Furthermore, he’s always been a big fan of Red Dead Redemption 2 and old Western films, so I wanted to give his Mando character a cowboy twist.

I created this figure using the new Vintage Collection Death Watch action figure from Season 1 of The Mandalorian as my base.  I used the Dremel to remove certain features like the original boots and the shirt  to create room for new forms.  I started sculpting the vest after thoroughly researching 1800s fashion to find certain design motifs in Victorian as well as American Frontiersman vests.  I decided on a double breasted leather vest that would sit under the armor.  I then sculpted new armor onto the breastplate, shoulders, and left thigh, as well as some reshaping on the pants.  The Serape poncho was a nod to some of the classic Clint Eastwood Western films.  I made it by rolling out a thin flat sheet of Procreate, cutting a neck hole into it, and then draping it over the body when it was starting to cure.  While it was still soft, I folded and formed the putty to resemble fabric and create the desired silhouette.  I sculpted the boots to match a pair of boots Max actually owns, and added some spurs to enhance that western theme.  The lever action rifle is also inspired by his Marlin 45 70, which I sculpted onto the weapon that came with the original figure.  The utility belt features a rope which I sculpted by rolling out a long thin cord of Procreate and shaping it when it was about halfway cured.  

I began the painting process by hand painting the wood grain into the rifle, then painted base coats onto the whole figure.  I dry brushed every surface with highlight colors and then wet brushed over that with a gouache consistency coat of paint to clean it up.  I then hand painted the remaining details like the patterns on the poncho, the silver armor chipping, the paint on the breast and shoulder, and the Mythosaur Skull on his helmet.  I got the vest and boots to resemble leather by dry brushing highlights onto it, and then putting a brown wash over that to give it an uneven color and glossy sheen.  I then finished it off by dry brushing some beige in a few areas to give him a weathered dusty look.

Overall, it was a very fun custom to make, and a labor of love, so I’m happy to see that it’s appreciated in its new home.  Happy birthday, Max!

"MANDO MAX"

created by Elias

SKILL LEVEL: ADVANCED

"THE CLONE WARS" 501st JUMP TROOPER by Elias of "Customs for the Kid"

While you can find the 501st Jump Trooper in The Clone Wars action figure line, it was a very hard to acquire item due to it not being commercially available for purchase in the United States. Toward the end of the line, Hasbro again started to restrict the articulation of their animated figures which was a bit of a disappointment after the quality of the figures started to have an impressive amount of joint options when the line was in its prime. I recently had a customer seeking a 501st Jump Trooper but with full articulation and a removable helmet.  I had some creative freedom with the Trooper's face, so I took inspiration from Chopper in Season 1 of the Clone Wars, but I wanted his scarring to be much more severe.  

The parts I used for this figure were a super articulated Phase I Clone Trooper, a cast of an Aayla Secura jetpack, and a hollowed out Phase II Clone Trooper helmet.  I re-sculpted the body to match the Phase II armor, and completely repainted it.  I started with a black primer over the whole figure, then dry brushed white over every armor plate.  This makes the forms of the sculpt pop more, as well as give the figure's armor a run down weathered appearance.  I wet brushed white paint over most surfaces as well to clean things up, but made sure the dry brush effect still shined through.  I then hand painted all the blue and red markings onto the armor and jetpack.  The face was made with a regular bald clone trooper head.  The scars were only done with paint to save time, but I'm still very happy with the final product!

"THE CLONE WARS"

501st Jump Trooper

created by Elias

SKILL LEVEL: ADVANCED