Customizer Q&A

[jokabofe]

I've been noticing an influx of "new blood" here in the customizing section, and thought it might be cool to have a little Q&A session to get to know everyone a little better 

So, feel free to post your answers to these questions, and feel free to add more questions that you might have for everyone else.

1. How long have you been doing custom figures?
2. Do you work on any other lines (Marvel, Indiana Jones, etc.) or strictly Star Wars?
3. What scale(s) do you work in (1:18, 1:6, statues, busts, vehicles, etc.) and which do you like best?
4. What is your favorite piece of work that you've done? (post a picture)
5. What fellow customizers do you always look for an update from?
6. Post a picture of your work station/workbench/etc.
7. What tools/brands/etc. do you mostly work with?

I guess I'll start:

1. How long have you been doing custom figures?
I've been working on custom figures since 1995 when Hasbro re-introduced the SW line, but I've always loved building model kits and stuff like that, ever since I was around 8 years old (and that's a long time ago).

2. Do you work on any other lines (Marvel, Indiana Jones, etc.) or strictly Star Wars?
I've pretty much stayed just with Star Wars for most of the last 13+ years, although I have a few Indiana Jones pieces I'd like to do, as well as some people asking me to do a little commission work that is outside of the Star Wars universe, so we'll see where that goes.

3. What scale(s) do you work in (1:18, 1:6, statues, busts, vehicles, etc.) and which do you like best?
I mainly work in the 1:18 scale, although I have done some 1:6 scale figures, some mini-busts, and most recently Medicom's VCD figures, which I'm not sure of the scale of those.

4. What is your favorite piece of work that you've done? (post a picture)
I would have to say that right now, my favorite figure that I've done is my VCD Commander Gree:


5. What fellow customizers do you always look for an update from?
There are a lot of great customizers out there that I like to steal borrow ideas from.... I always love updates from Hemble, CHEWIE and Incom here at ST, but unfortunately a lot of other favorite customizers don't post here, like Sith_Fire30, Glassman, Ruprecht and a few others. Plus, quite a few of my all time favs don't really do much in the way of custom work anymore, like Bantha5, shayford, and Owen Driscoll.

6. Post a picture of your work station/workbench/etc.


Man, what a mess... and I just cleaned up like a few days ago 

7. What tools/brands/etc. do you mostly work with?
I'm totally in love with Reaper Master Series paints. Hands down, best paint I've ever used. I also use a lot of Vallejo and Citadel paints. I like d**k Blick brushes. Smooth-on makes great molding/casting supplies. Fixit sculpt is like ambrosia for sculptors.

[Darth Doomy-Doom]

1. How long have you been doing custom figures?
Hmm.  I think I started circa 2003-2004.  I started with simple repaints and didn't really get into headswaps or kitbashes until fairly recently.  Within a year or so, in any case.

2. Do you work on any other lines (Marvel, Indiana Jones, etc.) or strictly Star Wars?
Well, I only collect SW, so...

3. What scale(s) do you work in (1:18, 1:6, statues, busts, vehicles, etc.) and which do you like best?
I work with 3-3/4" figures almost exclusively.  I've done a few vehicles in the same scale.  And exactly one half-assed 12" custom.  I like working on vehicles, but the higher price point is kinda prohibitive.  That said, the figures are probably still my favorites.

4. What is your favorite piece of work that you've done? (post a picture)
Eesh, so hard to choose.  I guess it would have to be one of these...Go on and give them a click for a better view.

Heh.  Four...is that cheating? 

5. What fellow customizers do you always look for an update from?
Pretty much everybody.  I like seeing the variety of new work from different members.  But if CHEWIE, Jaing Skirata, or Hemble update, it's a good day.

6. Post a picture of your work station/workbench/etc.
Eh...I'll get back to you on that one.  Here you go.  It's my desk, so I usually either work in the narrow area between the edge of the desk and my closed laptop, or I remove the laptop entirely, as seen here.

From left to right, you can see some of my TFU figs (for lack of a better place to put them), my parts buckets (bits'n'pieces and whole bodies), my backdrops, some of my paints (and the toothpicks which are my primary painting tool), napkins for cleanup, and some cutting tools.  I Boil-n-Pop in the kitchen and spraypaint in the garage.  I do my dremeling here, though.

7. What tools/brands/etc. do you mostly work with?
Vallejo paints.  S'good stuff.  And Humbrol, if I can get my hands on some.

8.  From where do you get your ideas?
A lot of my stuff is from EU sources.  Visionaries Maul, Purge Vader, Cade/Talon, and so on.  However, I do a lot of my own stuff, too.  General Windu, TFU Vader.  Oftentimes, these will be the result of just looking at what I have lying around.  Sometimes, though, designs come to me in dreams.  Weird, I know, but it's given me some good projects.  Finally, I sometimes just "improve" on current figures or vehicles.  This usually means just a bit of weathering or a removable helmet. 

[CommanderNaruto]

not a customizer but i had to chime in on that awesome Mace Windu 187th attack battalion General. Its Awesome!! i def need one to command my purple troopers btw, great thread here DC

[Jaing Skirata]

1. How long have you been doing custom figures?
i started when rots came out. i was upset by the lack of commander cody and 501st figures in the initial assortments. so, i decided to make my own. i started off doing repaints only. as time went by and i learned new techniques from other customizers here, i started reassembling figures and molding/casting my own parts. in the early 90's, i played around with some repaints on the toy biz xmen figures.

2. Do you work on any other lines (Marvel, Indiana Jones, etc.) or strictly Star Wars?
nope, star wars only, however, i've branched out to other brands such as gi joe and other military based figures to get parts n pieces.

3. What scale(s) do you work in (1:18, 1:6, statues, busts, vehicles, etc.) and which do you like best?
i stick with the 3 3/4" figures. however, last year i started working on my first set of life sized armor. since i started that, it's become my main focus and i've dramatically cut back on the number of figures i do.

4. What is your favorite piece of work that you've done? (post a picture)
dont think i can pick only 1. here are a couple i've been proud of over the years...





i've since added a kama and pauldron to this 1, it's also the new armor i'm building.



5. What fellow customizers do you always look for an update from?
Chewie and hemble are probably my favorites. however, i look at and enjoy everyone's work!

6. Post a picture of your work station/workbench/etc.
don't have one. i have a small tool box that holds my paints, greeblies and tools. i just throw my old cutting board on the table, open my box and go to work.

7. What tools/brands/etc. do you mostly work with?
most of my paints are kustom kolors but, i'll use some testors and othe brands here an there.

New Question: 8.  Where do you get your ideas from?
mostly EU sources... characters from books w/o pictures that i can take a vague description and run with... characters who are unlikely to ever have a figure made. other times, if hasbro makes a character i want and it's standards, i'll upgrade it.

[cuyvaldar]

1. How long have you been doing custom figures?
I've been working on custom star wars since rots. A friend of mine actually sparked my interest in trying it out for myself.
I started doing custom repaints of clone troopers. A friend I worked with who sculpts for wizkids, got me into using kneaditite, and the crafting bug grabbed hold.

2. Do you work on any other lines (Marvel, Indiana Jones, etc.) or strictly Star Wars?
I mostly do star wars, but Im branching into Gi Joe's, and some transformers.

3. What scale(s) do you work in (1:18, 1:6, statues, busts, vehicles, etc.) and which do you like best?
I mostly do 3 3/4 to 4 inch figs, but Im working on several 12 inch mandos, jedi and sith.

4. What is your favorite piece of work that you've done? (post a picture)
Hmm it's hard to say really.
I'd have to say either of these 2
Grudo

Mara Jade

Cade Skywalker

Talon Karrde


5. What fellow customizers do you always look for an update from?
I don't really have a favorite. I just like to look at everyones.

6. Post a picture of your work station/workbench/etc.
Work in progress that is

7. What tools/brands/etc. do you mostly work with?
Paints:
Model master
citadel

Brushes:
Anything cheap

Dremel and ex-acto knives
Kneaditite for scultping

Heat shrink for custom armor, and other garments.

8. Where do you get your ideas from?
I get a majority of them from books.

[jokabofe]

New Question: 8.  Where do you get your ideas from?
Good one. I get my ideas from everywhere. Books. Comics. Art I see on the web. Sometimes, just looking at a figure gives me an idea on how to improve/change it into something else.

I get a lot of ideas from looking at other people's work. And I look at EVERY piece that gets posted, here and plenty of other forums. And I don't just look at SW stuff. I always check out a lot of Gundam custom work, because I think a lot of the paint designs and styles will translate well into a Star Wars vehicle when I get the time. I check out a lot of military customs. Transformers. Marvel. DC. Just about any kind of custom work I can find, I'll check it out. Lots of vinyl model kits, too.

I also get a lot of inspiration from looking at people's work, both good and bad. Obviously, when I see a figure or vehicle that I like, I save a copy of that pic (I've got folders and folders of stuff saved on my pc) and make a note of what I like. Likewise, if I see a figure that I don't like, I'll save that pic as well, and make notes about what I feel is wrong with it, and how to correct them to translate into my own work.

[CHEWIE34]

Nice topic jokabofe... I'll play along too!

1. How long have you been doing custom figures?

A long time I guess... my first "customs" were my ANH Luke, Vader and Obi Wan back around 1981, when I was 4 years old - I replaced their flimsy lightsabers with colored toothpicks!  Heh.

I also "customized" a lot of Joe figures in the 1980s... I'd do stuff like use a marker to paint mustaches on some figures, etc. for variety.

For Star Wars, I made a few in 1995-1997, mainly just Tatooine folks as I was making a very horrible rendition of ANH with a camcorder and needed customs... oh, they were bad.  And I mean really, really bad.



2. Do you work on any other lines (Marvel, Indiana Jones, etc.) or strictly Star Wars?

I dabble a bit here and there but I'd say that 99% of my stuff is Star Wars.  But, I do want to get into some Indy stuff.  Just too focused on Star Wars right now to really get into anything else.


3. What scale(s) do you work in (1:18, 1:6, statues, busts, vehicles, etc.) and which do you like best?

1:18 is where it's at!



4. What is your favorite piece of work that you've done? (post a picture)

Oh wow, I don't know.  I have made so many customs, I really can't say.  I like some of my work, hate some of it too.  I really got full force in customs though about 3-1/2 years ago when I finally wasn't working 60 hrs a week anymore...

Here's a link to most of my work - http://www.thecustomalliance.com/cook/default.asp

A few personal favorites though -



















5. What fellow customizers do you always look for an update from?

I like seeing everyone's work, but I pay special attention when there's an update from Owen Driscoll, Stephen Hayford, jedistyle, hemble, fritzkrieg, jeditaz, etc... there's a lot of great customizers out there... too many to name.


6. Post a picture of your work station/workbench/etc.

I don't have a work bench... I just sit on the couch with my stuff, and make a mess.   



7. What tools/brands/etc. do you mostly work with?

Cheapest paints around - Delta Ceramcoat and Apple Barrel from Wal-Mart... I also use super glue a lot to protect paint around sensitive joints, use exacto knives a lot, and go through a lot of brushes.



8. Where do you get your ideas from?

Most everything I make is fan fiction, so I guess most of it is just from my imagination... and it really helps to have a huge pile of custom fodder to select parts from... for diorama inspiration though I go to www.owenscustoms.com


 

[hemble]

1. How long have you been doing custom figures?

I've been custominzing figures for about 14yrs now but only really started getting deeply involved in the hobby over the last 6-7  yrs. My very first custom was a 12" Captain Picrad figure.

2. Do you work on any other lines (Marvel, Indiana Jones, etc.) or strictly Star Wars?

I've worked on all types of figures from Marvel to Indiana Jones and started doing SW custom when Chewie ask me to do some and haven't looked back.

3. What scale(s) do you work in (1:18, 1:6, statues, busts, vehicles, etc.) and which do you like best?

I've worked in all scales from 1:18 to 1:6 and found that there all great scales, I workd mostly in 1:18 due to the room factor. The smaller the scale the more you can fit into and area.

4. What is your favorite piece of work that you've done? (post a picture)

Damn that is a good question I have a favourite/s from each scale but here are a few from them

1:6

7"

1:18

6" marvel

6" DC

12" TV Jack O'neill

1:18

1:18


5. What fellow customizers do you always look for an update from?

Damn there is alot of customiziers that I admire for there work but I always like seeing Chewie, Incom, Owen Driscoll, jedistyle, fritzkrieg thats to name a few if I wrote down  every bodies I would be all day.

6. Post a picture of your work station/workbench/etc.



7. What tools/brands/etc. do you mostly work with?

I use the noral tools knife, tweezers etc, but my main paints are Vallejo and Reaper I find that there the best out there

8. Where do you get your ideas from?

I look around the net, comics etc but mostly from the ole nogging.

Ron

[Bloodant]

Gret idea for a thread, you guys produce some awesome works.

[Incom]

6. Post a picture of your work station/workbench/etc.

I don't have a work bench... I just sit on the couch with my stuff, and make a mess.   

Hah, now that's customizing..... Wookiee style! 

Anyway, indeed a great topic Jokabofe, it's always good to re-acquaint oneself with the rest. I loved reading the replies so far. You should post this at Yakface too, Jokabofe 

IIRC, we had a similar thread at TheJawa too, but that was a long time ago....

1. How long have you been doing custom figures?
I've been into customizing since early 2006. I made a Galactic Marine out of a Clone Pilot, a Clone Commander and a Snowtrooper. Like many customs, this one was created due to laziness of Hasbro. Of course a couple of months later, Hasbro announced they'd finally make the Marine  But technically, my first 'custom' figure was a vintage Luke X-Wing repainted with black and yellow markers to resemble Biggs! Dang, I actually think I have that somewhere, haha!

2. Do you work on any other lines (Marvel, Indiana Jones, etc.) or strictly Star Wars?
So far, it's been strictly Star Wars. I really don't feel much for other lines to customize.

3. What scale(s) do you work in (1:18, 1:6, statues, busts, vehicles, etc.) and which do you like best?
I have worked mainly with SW figures (and some Joe parts), so 1:18's the way for me. I like working in small scale, always have. At drawing class I could draw finely detailed mini sketches, but a large drawing on an A3 paper never came out right. And recently I've entered the realm of vehicle customization and dioramas, which I really like a lot.

4. What is your favorite piece of work that you've done? (post a picture)
So far it's two of my latest custom figures, the Krath Shocktrooper from the TotJ series and my fan fic Chiss/Iktotchi cross breed Mandalorian:


5. What fellow customizers do you always look for an update from?
I always check out updates by (in no particular order) Chewie, Hemble, Jokabofe, Sithfire, Jedistyle, DarthDelicous, New_Bornalex, Maxxsium, Jeditaz, Straxus, DarthKozy, Ripley, Ruprecht, Blasterman and many many others. I don't reply nearly as much as I should, but I do view almost every custom posted at various sites.

I also check out many new customizers, especially at RS and try to help them. RS is somehow a bit harsh on newcomers who ask how to accomplish particular techniques, but I like to help them out. I never get tired of explaining the boil 'n pop method or painting techniques. Back in 2006, Outrider, Dusthro, Gregorbian, Tykrazen and such helped me out big time and that's something I'll remember fondly.

6. Post a picture of your work station/workbench/etc.
Cleaned it up a little, which was reall necessary. I placed my WIPs in plastic cups and neatly placed my tools and brushes together. My paints are in a large tray under my desk and I have an old toolbox full of other stuff. I have a couple of black  boxes with figures, many of them fearing ending up as fodder 



7. What tools/brands/etc. do you mostly work with
I work with brushes of various qualities (just bought ten flat brushes for a buck, obviously for dry brushing and such). I also have Fixit Sculpt, which I give praise to every time I get up  . Then there's the exacto knives, a set of hobby knives with various blades, a set of sculpting tools, super glue and last but not least my trusty Dremel! Most of this stuff is white brand, except for my paints, which are mostly from Citadel's Games Workshop and Tamiya.

8.  Where do you get your ideas from?
Heh, I didn't expect this, but a lot of my customs thus far were of my own creativity  . Sibosa Scapr, Shorryyhn, Linet Starbright (2nd one in the works), QT-UT, but I also get inspired by many of you, the movies, the comics, the novels, heck the whole GFFA. Recently I've been downloading art from SWAG, Wookieepedia and Deviantart as well.

[meandnooneelse]

This thread is fun and informative. Jokabofe you should post this topic on FFURG as well.

1. How long have you been doing custom figures?
Well, I did some parts swapping and stuff as child, mostly on GI Joes, but some Star Wars. I got into it as a serious customizer in early 2007.

2. Do you work on any other lines (Marvel, Indiana Jones, etc.) or strictly Star Wars?
I work on Star Wars and GI Joe, however I occasionally pick up figures from other lines as fodder.

3. What scale(s) do you work in (1:18, 1:6, statues, busts, vehicles, etc.) and which do you like best?
1:18 ONLY, everything else just distracts Hasbro from making better 1:18 scale figures and accessories.

4. What is your favorite piece of work that you've done? (post a picture)
I have several, my ROTJ Han Solo (no pictures yet), my super articulated Darth Maul, super articulated Darth Vader, Neela Chak (Rodian Jedi), Qui-Gon Jin, and my 25th Anniversary black Snake Eyes.












5. What fellow customizers do you always look for an update from?
Chewie (just like everybody else), Hemble, and anything that catches my attention in the topic title. I’m still loving Jokabofe’s Snow Speeder Luke. The one thing I don't care about seeing is more clones; if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all.

6. Post a picture of your work station/workbench/etc.
I have four boys age 4 and under so I do most of my customizing at work after hours. I like to have my customizing parts and tools stored in easily portable containers incase I do want to take them home.

My office



My desk with my WIPs and such on top of the amplifier



My “Mobile Work Center” which contains my drill, paints, dremel, and more. On the floor to the left of it is a case strictly for ARAH Snake Eyes parts.



My “XL Tool Organizer” is a perfect fodder organizer that I can take home with ease. It also holds my Exacto knives, kneadatite, sanding sponges, and figure accessories.



7. What tools/brands/etc. do you mostly work with?
Stanley tool organizers
Dewalt cordless power drill
Exacto knives
Kneadatite sculpting compound
Floquil Pollyscale and Model Masters paints
Craftsman cordless rotary tool with Dremel brand bits
Locktite Super Glue for All Plastics (I use this stuff a lot!)

8. From where do you get your ideas? (That’s proper English!)
I mostly improve figures that Hasbro didn’t do right, like adding articulation or changing out a head that is too small or badly sculpted.

[CommanderNaruto]

wow, i wish my vader could pose like that

[cuyvaldar]

wow, i wish my vader could pose like that

Agreed...

[Darth Doomy-Doom]

This thread is fun and informative. Jokabofe you should post this topic on FFURG as well.

8. From where do you get your ideas? (That’s proper English!)
I mostly improve figures that Hasbro didn’t do right, like adding articulation or changing out a head that is too small or badly sculpted.

Ok, you caught me in a rare grammatical slip-up.  Kudos to you. 

On another note, I updated my entry...

[VF]

TimAaaa,timAaaaa, Man I love that poster of him on your wall in the office. 

[meandnooneelse]

On another note, I updated my entry...

Me too. I added to my tools list, my list of customs I always look at, and updated my Vader picture.

TimAaaa,timAaaaa, Man I love that poster of him on your wall in the office. 

Yeah, now I just need a sign that says "Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."

[CHEWIE34]

Might be a good idea to sticky this topic?  For new customizers checking out the board... just an idea. 

 

[cuyvaldar]

That's a good idea chewie

[jokabofe]

Glad everyone enjoyed my little Q&A session. And I would greatly recommend that everyone post any questions that they may have to get responses from the other customizers here.

[cuyvaldar]

Does anyone have a tutorial on how to make a mold?

Also what is everyones choice of clear coat? What's the best?

[meandnooneelse]

Also what is everyones choice of clear coat? What's the best?

I use Pollyscale Clear Acrylic Semi-gloss

[cuyvaldar]

Ive been using model masters clear coat, its matte sucks, but the gloss works nice.

[tykrazen]

1. How long have you been doing custom figures?
I made my first custom figure in 1996.  I repainted a POTF2 Luke X-Wing into Wedge Antilles

2. Do you work on any other lines (Marvel, Indiana Jones, etc.) or strictly Star Wars?
From an action figure standpoint, only Star Wars.  I do other types of sculpting however.

3. What scale(s) do you work in (1:18, 1:6, statues, busts, vehicles, etc.) and which do you like best?
1:18 - and currently on a vintage aesthetic.

4. What is your favorite piece of work that you've done? (post a picture)
My most recent project: a 28back extension of the Vintage Star Wars line.


5. What fellow customizers do you always look for an update from?
For the most part, I still look to the Old School customizers - especially folks that submitted to the old galleries here - always good to see names I used to correspond with posting.  Current creators that ALWAYS get a look.... Chewie (very imaginative parts selections); Hemble (his pieces are just amazing between the detail and his paint work); Darklord  (his ultimate versions of characters blow me away); Glassman (his vintage work with Clonetroopers did a lot to inspire me); Alex Newborn (one of the people whose work got me into customizing in the first place); Sithfire (He has far more patience than me to put that level of effort into each sculpt).

6. Post a picture of your work station/workbench/etc.

Forthcoming... watch this space :p

7. What tools/brands/etc. do you mostly work with?

Dremmel tool, sandpaper, exacto knives, green stuff, mostly gamer's workshop paints, corner rounder, punch.

I also have a wax pen and casting supplies, but my skills in both those areas have atrophied significantly - I don't really have the patience or the finances to use them effectively right now :p

[Phenix]

1. How long have you been doing custom figures?

I started customizing figures around 10 yrs ago but have since started making Custom Cards
and have done a few SW customs over the years.
Finding time to work on any is my main problem with never getting do do more then one a year.

2. Do you work on any other lines (Marvel, Indiana Jones, etc.) or strictly Star Wars?

Spawn figs would be the only other line
I've messed with in the past but mainly now I
love painting 1:1 clone helmets as I'm a helmet collector here lately
but I don't customize them, I just enjoy making them look good, LOL.

3. What scale(s) do you work in (1:18, 1:6, statues, busts, vehicles, etc.) and which do you like best?
Just 3 3/4 figs but want to weather my BMF and my large Republic Gunship
I'd say my favorite would be customizing clones and sandtroopers.

4. What is your favorite piece of work that you've done? (post a picture)
I acually have three, I hope that's cool.
If anyone would like to see my other projects you can view my pics at,
Look in the album titled "Customs"
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewAlbums&friendID=133231657





and my crispy Beru and Owen
here's a pic of me giving one to Steve Sansweet for his collection.


I'm also proud of my clone Obi-Wan General I did.



5. What fellow customizers do you always look for an update from?
All of them on the forum here 
Seeing their work give's me inspiration on doing my own.

6. Post a picture of your work station/workbench/etc.
I use my kitchen table when the wife let's me LOL

7. What tools/brands/etc. do you mostly work with?

Drimel tool, Model master Acryl paints, Apple Barrel Acrylic paints Exacto blade set,
Fantastic Plastic model plastic mold materials, Sculpty and a few odd paints and clear coats.