This week, AFC Interviews Nightmare, a customizer with a great sense of humor and can back it up with some kickass customs. Let’s learn more about this talented fellow!

When diplomacy fails and international law breaks down, James Rhodes - head of the human rights group, WorldWatch - dons his solar-charged steel mesh battle armor to become the world’s number one weapon in the struggle against injustice and oppression!

Straight from the pages of Marvel Comics (ok, 25 issues of the comic), DW40 Customs brings us his Custom Marvel Legends War Machine. Staying true to the comics, the paints aps are in a nice silver and gun metal grey. One cool feature of this custom are the rockets and the fire blast coming out of the gun. Sculpting takes talent and I really like the effect of the rockets bursting from the launcher with a plume of white smoke followed by red and orange burns.

DW40 Customs War Machine is available on eBay so head over there and place your bid now for this awesome Marvel Legends Custom.

I could not pass this “Custom” Transformers Unicron figure up! Trying to capitalize on the success of other Custom Unicron figures of the past, he has a very different twist on the custom figure. This listing was so great that I will let rhstuff4sale tell you what was going on in his very charitable head:

If you missed this the first time around, noise_maze has put his Transformers Masterpiece Thudercracker up for auction! Head over to eBay and place a bid for your chance to own this great piece!

You can also read my original write up here!

stenhunter brings us this amazing Custom Star Wars MK IV Heavy Tank (AT-HT) and special Clone Tank Commander “Hel’am” to drive this behemoth. Coming up with his own Star Wars Custom vehicle, stenhunter takes you into his Star Wars Universe. I do not come across many fan made creations that are made well and run with a totally new concept. This vehicle and figure was a real treat to come across as this custom was very well thought out and executed. One thing that is missing in the Star Wars universe are terrain vehicles and tanks. It is interesting that this tank was made without treads but as stenhunter points out, not many Star Wars vehicles have treads so he is staying true to the design specs. I think it was a great idea to ditch the treads and make this custom blend more with the Star Wars vehicles in the movies and the toys. The paint aps are done really well and it looks like stenhunter takes great care when designing and creating his customs, a quality that you look for when buying them. It is customs like these that take toy design to the next level. Speaking of design specs, here is a rundown of what stenhunter’s Heavy Tank offers:

Main Armament:
120mm smoothbore laser cannon
Secondary Armament:· Anti-Air Concussion Missile System (AACMS)
40mm Anti-vehicle blaster
Twin 20mm forward firing laser cannon
12.7mm Anti-personal blaster
15mm side mounted laser cannon

History:

stenhunter also provides us with some insight on how he created this awesome Star Wars vehicle:

“So my AT-HT started out as a “Corps” tracked tank. I found it at Wal-Mart and was surprised to find out it was relatively inexpensive. As you can see the tank was your standard green plastic with really no extra detail outside of some venting and some minor rivets. After adding dozens of tiny styrene squares and plating, and making some resin pours from an old imperial shuttle the tank slowly begins to transform into something cool. The final step was deciding on the “engines” I didn’t want to use treads again because tracked vehicles are almost non-existent in the SW galaxy. So I found two used cans of AXE spray I had and embellished them some. I think the final pieces came out great. Finally working out a color scheme for the Trooper had me for a few days. What color, where would the color go, and how much was too much? I mocked up a few pictures and decided on the green. I think in the end it came out rather well.”

This Custom Star Wars MK IV Heavy Tank, along with the Custom Tank Commander, is available on eBay so place a bid on this one of a kind Star Wars vehicle that you will never see mass produced (unless George Lucas reads this blog and takes idea!).

chris-morada puts his mad skills and creativity to work and brings us his version of Warpath, the 1985 Generation 1 minibot. This is another great example of the Transformers Movie toys be repurposed into Generation 1 Classics. His Custom Transformers Warpath pays a great tribute to the little ole’ tank that came on the scene in 1985 and was a nice addition to the minibot line. The colors that chris-morada chose for this custom really compliments the likeness of Warpath, and he has taken it to the next level with a custom head sculpt, which resembles the Warpath from yesteryear. One of the things that sets customizers apart from each other is the ability to sculpt the parts they need to get the job done. Without the custom head, this Warpath would have turned out very different.
chris tells us how he made this timeless classic, “So exactly how did I make him or which Transformers toy did I use to make this radical custom figure? To answer these questions, I basically mix and matched parts from both Deluxe Wrekage (Head, Hands) and Deluxe Brawl and I ended up with this radical figure. Did I mention, his head was made from scratch! Indeed I sculptured his head, I used Wreckage’s head for the base and then applied Apoxie sculpt (professional sculpture clay), from there I pretty much sculptured his head to look like Warpath. As for paint, I use the usual durable paint, Testors Acrylics, the best paint out there or one of the best paints out there, but this one is my #1 choice. Anyways, this action figure can be posed and handled, just don’t hand this action figure investment to a child or pet or else…”

Everyone here at ActionFigureCustoms would like to wish all of you a happy and safe Merry Christmas! We hope Santa delivers everything you want and more!

The talent of Michael Amore is highlighted in our fifth interview in the series. Michael’s excellent sculpting ability and passion struck me at first when I first reviewed his figure so I thought it would be great for everyone to get to know this talented customizer. You can view Michael’s work at his website as he as some awesome pieces there.

Michael Amore:
I was born in 1973 and grew up in a small New England town. As a child I loved comic books and action figures. I was into Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Transformers, MEGOs and any hero based action figures I could get my hands on. In 1984 I bought my 1st Spider-Man comic book and that was it for me. I began going to my local variety store every week looking for the the latest issues. Though I did not know it at the time, I was reading reprints of the original 1960’s classic tales. I loved the characters and the art and that is when I began really drawing/writing my own stories, and customizing my own figures. At first I would add armor to my Lego figures, holsters to my G.I. Joes, rip apart my Secret War’s figures and make new characters…that kind of stuff. When I got older I got into all kinds of art and my influences included musicians and writers and all types of artists. After High School I attended art school for a few semesters but ran out of funds to finish so…after that I spent the next decade or so writing and publishing books of poetry, along with drinking, getting in trouble and breaking my own heart!

Before I start in on this Custom Marvel Legends Cable by Mojo1 Customs, this is AFC’s 100th blog and we’re still going strong. Straight from the pages of Marvel Comics comes Mojo1 Custom’s version of Cable in Marvel Legends Style

. The left eye of Cable is cool as it looks like he is going to use this abilities to force people to bid on Mojo1’s auction! Seriously, this custom is very well made and the paint aps compliment the figure nicely and stay true to the comic version of Cable. The hair looks natural and the facial features seem real.

noise_maze’s Custom Masterpiece Thundercracker is up for a fixed price on eBay and I would not pass this one up.

diddy310 customs caught our eye with his Custom Marvel Legends Iceman. The aspects that stand out about this custom is the detailed sculpting that he did. There are differences between a straight up repaint and customizers who take the time (and skill) to create a truly unique custom that is their own and diddy310 has taken this Iceman to the next level. The hair on this figure is perfectly sculpted and proportional to the head. The building up of the chest is a welcome addition as it ads much needed depth to the figure. Styling the figure after Humberto Ramos/Chris Bachalo, he has really captured their artistic nature. I was lucky enough to correspond with diddy310 customs and he shed some light on how he made this awesome figure:

wanderer-x brings us his Custom Marvel Legends Jean Grey in her classic Jim Lee uniform. One of the aspects that stands out for this custom is attention to detail with the hair and the face. The hair is beautifully sculpted and looks natural. It is also styled and flows nicely down her back. The eyes are striking and have a nice gaze to them. The facial features are beautifully proportioned and the paint aps on the costume are nicely done. This is one of the best Jean Grey customs I have seen in a while and should be a welcome addition to anyone’s Marvel Legends collection.

Jean Grey-Summers is a mutant born with vast telepathic and telekinetic powers. Her powers were activated when she saw her friend getting hit by a car. She is a caring, nurturing figure, but she also must deal with being an Omega-level mutant and the physical manifestation of the cosmic Phoenix Force. She faces death several times in the history of the series, first in the classic “Dark Phoenix Saga,” but due to her connection with the Phoenix Force, she, as her namesake implies, rises from death.

Horton’s Heroes brings us this Custom Marvel Legends Ronin, a figure that takes on different identities. The name “Ronin” refers to the Japanese term for a masterless samurai, a lone warrior. Maya Lopez was the first person to don the Ronin identity. A deaf woman with photographic reflexes, Maya became Ronin to investigate the Silver Samurai in Japan. Clint Barton is the second person to don the Ronin identity, becoming Ronin when he rejoined the New Avengers in the aftermath of Civil War.

What is truly unique about this custom are the interchangeable heads. It is like you are getting 3 figures in 1 with this great figure. The paint aps are superb and the gold seems to flow, as if the figure were wearing a soft good, a testament to the fine detailing, patience, and skill of the customizer. Horton’s Heroes has really captured the essence of Ronin and stayed true to the comic book resemblance. I would rank this Custom Marvel Legends Ronin as one of the best I have seen to date. To shed some light about this figure, Horton’s Heroes explains:

“Ronin can be all 3 characters, regular ronin head, Maya Lopez, or Clint Barton aka Hawkeye. All 3 heads are magnetic so you can use any of the looks you want for Ronin. The sculpting on this custom almost fried my brain, it was very, very, challenging! His heads are custom sculpted, arm armor, shoulder pads, chest, leg armor, skirt, and he was painted using both airbrush and a lot of hand detailing to give him just the right glimmer. He is still very poseable as well. Oh… yeah his numchucks are custom made as well with real chain.”

This awesome Custom Marvel Legends Ronin is available on eBay so place your bid quick or view the rest of the photos from this great piece.