HOLD on Custom Vinyl Requests

Hey, true believers!

I appreciate all the support that I’ve gotten from the action figure customizing community. I’m glad that my vinyl decals are helping some to achieve the finished look they want. However, at this time, I feel that for me to get to where I want to be as an artist I need to spend some time on intensive study of face painting techniques. So, I will not be accepting any custom requests for vinyl decals.

The eBay store will continue to offer some of the standard items. Hopefully, you will see an upcoming post displaying some of the work I’ll be doing.

Excelsior!!!

More Logos!!

Hey there, true believers!

I’ve been hard at work, while everyone else was enjoying the Holidays, trying to make logos available for most of the popular characters. I’ve been lucky to get some great suggestions from people out there. Keep ’em coming! Thanks!!

Here’s a few photos of the latest additions to my growing family of products.

Puchase on eBay

Fun Kitbash Ideas

Hey, True Believers!

Since I’ve been doing this, my goal has always been to find the easiest way to get the best result. Action figure customizing probably started because fans wanted some of the less popular characters not offered by the big toy manufacturers. The most basic way to get that is just repaint a figure to look like the one you want. Of course, just doing this well requires a fair amount of practice learning how to thin paints for best result and brush technique, etc. Then, you can begin to custom mix colors to get a more specific look to your character. Assuming you have put the time in on developing your painting skills, the next step in creating a unique looking figure for yourself is to kitbash. This means combining parts from several different figures to create the look you want.

To accomplish this you will need to scavenge various parts from figures you don’t intend to keep as part of your collection. You may have already spent hundreds of dollars on toys that you consider scrap material, or “fodder.” If you are diligent, you can build a sizeable fodder bin by scouring yard sales and thrift shops. Either way, you need to have options available to you. Then, your creative talents can be unleashed. The only thing holding you back is the limits of your own imagination!

You will need to choose a base body to use as your starting point. The vast majority of customizers utilize figures from Hasbro’s Marvel Legends 6” scale line. One of the most popular body molds to use is the Captain America from Arnim Zola BAF(Build-A-Figure) Series, released in 2012. This mold has been re-used by Hasbro so many times it’s not practical to try listing all of the figures released since then. This being the case, they are relatively inexpensive to purchase. It is referred to as the “Bucky Cap” mold by most, since Steve Rogers’ friend Bucky was the acting Captain America at this point in the character’s continuity.

I had several Bucky Cap bodies and recently spent some time going through my fodder to come up with ways of using them to make characters I want to add to my collection. So, I decided to share them with you just to show how the process might work.

 

Daredevil: Year One

Based on combining Daredevil’s classic yellow costume with the idea of not having the “Devil of Hell’s Kitchen” concept fully developed yet as he is learning his craft… as depicted in the first season of the Netflix show.

  1. Torso, Thighs, Knee and Elbow Joints, Holster and Baton – Walgreen’s Exclusive Daredevil 2015
  2. Head and Arms – Dormammu BAF Series Iron Fist 2016
  3. Lower Legs and Feet – Odin BAF Series Iron Fist 2015
  4. Belt – Juggernaut BAF Series Wolverine 2016
  5. Baton – Thanos BAF Series Hellcat 2015*
    *additional Baton without connecting peg allows to be seated all the way down in thigh holster.

Punisher

punishervariant01

 

Going to do a Punisher with more military look than the classic costume, similar to the Nemesis BAF Series variant figure from 2009. I love the look of the olive green and camouflage. To make it look right will require that painting skill I mentioned earlier!

 

  1. Base Body, Vest and Gear Belt – Hit Monkey BAF Series Ultimate Captain America 2013
  2. Arms – Arnim Zola BAF Series Fantomex 2012
  3. Head, Right Hand and Weapons – Walgreen’s Exclusive Punisher 2016
  4. Left Hand – Odin BAF Series Iron Fist 2015

Deadpool

I want a Deadpool that’s more “cartoony” looking with exaggerated proportions, similar to the way Ed McGuinness drew the character during the early Joe Kelly comic book run.

dsc03779

  1. Base Body – Odin BAF Series Hawkeye 2015
  2. Head – Cast of Randy Bowen sculpt purchased from Casting Cave
  3. Arms – Juggernaut BAF Series Wolverine 2016
  4. Hands – Hulkbuster BAF Series Blizzard 2015
  5. Boots – Walgreen’s Exclusive Punisher 2016
  6. Gear Belt and Holster – Red Skull Onslaught BAF Series Mercenaries of Mayhem Scourge 2016

Thanks for looking. Hope you enjoyed it!

Excelsior!!!

Deadpool Logo

Hey, true believers!

I’ve been working on getting a few basic logos available for purchase. Next on the list is everyone’s favorite “Merc with a Mouth.” This is a comic version based on the art of Ed McGuinness, during the Joe Kelly run. I hope you like it!

Excelsior!!!

Available NOW for Purchase on eBay.

New Policy Regarding Custom Designs

I have decided to offer a variety of basic logos for purchase. That will be my focus for the next few months. For anyone requesting a custom design, I will require payment up front for my time. The process of creating a good sticker set to fit a particular body is too time consuming for me to quibble about pricing. If you like the work that I’ve done so far, you should feel confident that the final product will measure up to your expectations. I appreciate people’s interest in what I’m doing, but I have to find the right balance between what I’m putting into this hobby and what I’m getting out of it. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Sometimes Less, Sometimes More: Advice for New Customizers

Hey, true believers!

I was contacted recently by someone new to customizing, who asked me for some pointers. While I still consider myself a beginner, I decided to give it a shot. So, here goes….

More Prep Work

In my book, you can never do too much planning and preparation. Don’t be in a hurry to jump right in and start painting. You should spend 60 percent of your time doing nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. What I mean is, you should be doing research on the character to find some good reference artwork and studying your figure to get a picture in your mind of exactly how you want it to look. You have to have an idea of where you’re going, before you can figure out how to get there.

Less Sculpt

No matter how small an amount of Aves I mix up, I always end up wasting some. It usually takes less than you think it will to do what you’re doing. Also, it’s much easier to add another layer of sculpt, if you need to, than to sand down after it’s hardened. So, don’t worry about making it perfect the first time around. Once you get something that looks decent, just stop. You can always come back to it, later. Usually the more you try to do at one time, the more likely you’re just going to mess it up and have to start over.

More Sanding

To some people, sanding is prep work. But, to me it is an integral part of painting. I’ve never used an airbrush, so I can’t speak to that. I paint all my figures by hand. It’s going to take more than one coat of paint to make it look right. I usually end up with about five or six. And, I sand the figure after each one. On a smooth surface, like Spidey’s head, I will go all the way up to 12,000 grit. At that point, your not really removing paint as much as polishing. It actually makes a squeaking sound when I’m sanding! On the body, 1000 or 2000 grit is adequate. You want the surface to feel smooth to the touch.

Less Painting

What I mean by less paint is putting less on the figure at one time. You have to thin your paints. I started out just using distilled water, but the paint starts drying too quickly, unless it’s too thin and runs all over the place. Now, I use Liquitex Flow Aid and Matte Medium. I still use the distilled water, but in comination with the Flow Aid. The Flow Aid need to be diluted at 20:1 ratio. So, I put one drop of flow aid in my palette and add 20 drops of water. Then, I mix six drops of that with four drops of the Matte Medium. The 60/40 mixture is what I use to thin my paints these days. Different brands of paint need to be thinned more or less, so there’s no precise formula for it. You just have to experiment.

Also, less painting means fewer brush strokes. I try to think of the paint brush just moving the paint around on the surfae until you get it the way you want it. The brush is used to get paint from your palette, or the bottle, onto your figure. And, the paint’s only job is to dry and leave the colored pigment. It’s as simple as that. Don’t overdo it with the brush strokes. Once the surface you are painting is evenly covered, STOP. The worst thing is to keep brushing over it, while it begins drying.

The Basic Tools

You really don’t need a lot of stuff to make a good custom figure. What you need is patience and perseverance. You’re going to make mistakes, and you’re going to destroy some of your figures in the process. But, as long as you know what went wrong and how not to do it again next time, you’re on the path to getting the customs you want.

I use a lot of toothpicks. You can use one small brush for pretty much all of your painting. It might take a little time to find one you really like. I use the 10/0 brush from Royal & Langnickel’s Majestic Set. You might want a pin punch to help disassemble your figures. But, mostly it’s basic things like a hobby knife and some pliers. When you are trying to do something, you’ll find a tool that works. Don’t worry about it until then.

Paints are a different story. You will want to try a lot of different paints, but they should all be acrylic. I use Tamiya, Vallejo, Citadel, and Testors. Most acrylics are primarily water-based and will not adversely affect the soft plastic used to mold action figures. You can use a lacquer overcoat, but only after your acrylic base coats are completely dry. Avoid using enamel paints altogether. They’re a mess.

Well, that’s all I had on my mind. Action figure customizing is really a continuous learning process. Each person has to develop their own style based on what techniques work for them. The important part is to enjoy the journey!

Excelsior!!!