Snake Eyes version 2 has to be one of my all time favorite molds from the GI Line and agimatoys has outdone themselves with their Custom Marvel Legends Snake Eyes V2 that boasts 44 points of articulation! This is one of the best versions of Snake Eyes I have seen in a long time and it pays a nice homage to the original 3 3/4 inch figure. The details are amazing with this one from the notching in the belts and holsters to the arrows on his right hand. The mask is nicely proportioned to the face and even, something that is really difficult to do. The paint colors mirror its 1980’s counterpart and all in all this is probably the Custom Snake Eyes to own at this point so the high bidder of this one is going to be one happy camper.

Check out more Custom Marvel Legends figures on eBay today!

appspot brings to life one of the most memorable scenes in movie history with his Custom Star Wars Tantive Attack Diorama. When I first saw this dio, I actually thought he just took a snapshot from the Star Wars movie and posted a dio. I am really impressed by the craftsmanship and the attention to detail of this diorama. Here is some more details about this great diorama:

“I created this piece two years ago - it’s still in good condition - only used for display. The decal white and foam board white does not match as i wanted it to. The set is in 3 pieces, main hallway, side alcove, and entrance - combined together it measures 23 inches long 16 inches wide 8 inches high. The Tantive scene is made of foam board, foam sheets, custom decals.”

As appspot states in his auction, this is the last Star Wars diorama he will be making and selling so make sure you head over to eBay and bid on this one of a kind Custom Star Wars Tantive Attack Diorama.  After you are finished looking at the diorama, check out more Custom Star Wars figures on eBay.

NTT brings a classic X-Men character to life with his Custom Marvel Legends X-Men Polaris figure. Capturing the essence of the comic version of Polaris, this figure is very well scultped and the costume flows seamlessly into her body. The hair is my favorite part of this custom as she looks like she is taking flight and her hair is flowing in the breeze. The shades of green compliment the figure nicely and really bring out the features of the figure. Let’s take a closer look at how NTT created this great figure:

“Remodeled the hair on the Circe to resemble the hairdo Polaris had on the cover of the Xmen comic. In fact, she was completely painted in the same green tone as she appeared on the cover. Man, she just looked galactic, totally absorbed in her magnetic aura and doing her mutant thing! It was this gravity-defying element in her pose that was interesting to behold, and wanted to convey in this custom. This meant sculpting her hair to appear as though it was floating, showing a sense of lightness. Basically started by flipping the hair around to the other side, then sculpted over the seams. Her face-guard was cut from blister package, then glued on. Nip/tucked her boobs and legs also with apoxie - and replaced the feet with ankles from a Spidey figure, (for the ankle articulation) - it complimented her “in-flight” pose. Also adjusted the cape just like the way it’s flowing on the comic cover as a way to give tribute to Jim Steranko’s style of drawing - very Kirbyesque. The illustration, in all its potent, monochromatic green color, and stylized design is classic comic art at its best - pure enjoyment. Wanted to capture the detail and likeness of this version of Polaris.”

After you are finished looking at NTT’s Polaris, head over to eBay and check out more Custom Marvel Legends figures.

Polaris is a mutant with the ability to manipulate magnetism. Although she has the potential to exercise all of the powers that Magneto has, as yet she has only used powers involving the manipulation of magnetic, electrical, and gravitic fields. Moreover, she cannot summon as great an amount of energy as Magneto can. The exact limits on the amount weight that she can magnetically lift at present have not been measured, but they are considerably below those of Magneto. Since she has preferred not to use her powers in combat situations, she has not worked nearly as hard to develop them as Magneto has. As with Magneto, it is unknown whether Polaris’s powers are purely psionic or whether they derive from her physically. Polaris has been observed levitating metallic objects and creating force fields in which she can suspend persons or objects in the air and in which she can protect them from attacks from outside the fields. She can also overload or short-circuit electrical systems. By concentrating, Polaris can perceive the world around herself solely as patterns of magnetic and electrical energy. She can perceive the natural magnetic auras surrounding living beings, as well. For a time, Polaris possessed superhuman strength and durability, as well as the ability to temporarily increase her height and mass by drawing on negative energy around her.

I love the latest wave of Transformers Movie figures as they have revived the customs and have people putting on their thinking caps to see how they can turn ordinary figures into extraordinary works of art. Warmachine demonates this with his Custom Transformers Brawn done in G1 style. I really like the way Warmachine sculpted the head to give Brawn an updated, more menacing look than the cartoon counterpart. He used a combination of acrylic, and enamel paints as well as utilizing the drybrushing, panel lining, and highlighting techniques to achieve a more detailed look. The colors came out spectacular and this custom pays a great homage to this classic minibot.

Bid on Warmachine’s Custom Transformers Brawn  on eBay and own this awesome custom minobot.

Brawn looks on Earth as essentially a hostile environment - and he loves it. He is the most macho of the Autobots. He delights in challenges and when he faces one he becomes fully alive. He is strong, rugged and very agile - which is why he is frequently teamed with Bumblebee when the Autobots are in a mountainous environment - but it is his enjoyment of the challenge that makes him valuable to his leader, Optimus Prime. He won’t be discouraged and that helps the morale of the rest. He is hardy and enjoys a good joke, if it is not too subtle. His main fault is that he tends to be contemptuous of those not as tough as he.

frenzy.rumble displays his talent with his latest Custom Transformers Movie Brawl as he was seen the final battle with Jazz. Not only is this is Movie accurate paint scheme, he also took it one step further and added much needed battle damage to the figure. The damage is the right amount to give him a war torn look without going over board. Sometimes, less is more and frenzy.rumble has done just that adding the slashes, bullet holes, and blood in the right places. The paint aps are a great shade of military green and and he has even gone as far as detailing all of the metal components and adding “energon blood”, which he describes more below. Overall, this is one of the best Custom Brawl figures I have seen in a while and I am glad that he took this project on. frenzy.rumble describes how he created this great custom:

“This auction is for the leader class decepticon Brawl, which stands about 12″ tall in robot mode. The figure has been meticulously detailed with 14 shades of military green, an array of metallic colors, and many other colors. EVERY detail is painted to perfection… even the underside of the main turret. Dirt, sand, mud, and grime have been added to the tank’s treads and front areas. All ‘battle damage” was carefully added on using special apoxy materials, tools, and more, giving it a very accurate damaged and burnt look. Some damage even has color-accurate energon blood (the Transformers’ version of blood, but glowing, and blue) All paints used in the process were 100% enamels, so the finish is very durable, and the colors will stay vibrant and true for many years. (Keep in mind, this is a collectible, so don’t leave throw it around!) I finished him off with some Testor’s clear coats, all matte, semi-gloss, and gloss variations.”

Head over to eBay and find more Custom Transformers figures.

l.designs brings another classic figure to life with his Custom Marvel Legends Golobulus figure from the GI Joe toy line. The original Golobulus figure was met with mixed reactions but this reincarnation is sure to be a hit! There are many aspects of this custom that really hit the mark. For example the, the eye patch is well done and I like the lack of eyeball, which gives Golobulus a very menacing and unique look. In my opinion, the tail is the best part of this custom. The sculpting looks like it took a really long time and great attention to detail was paid to this piece. The scales look really great and I like the way it flows to a point at the end.

 Head over to eBay and find more Custom Marvel Legends figures!

Descended from the serpent kings of pre-history, Golobulus rules over Cobra-La, a hidden, secret valley in the Himalayas where the high priests of the Bio-Mechanical cult have created a technology based solely on living organisms. The buildings of Cobra-La are really colonies of crustaceans, and the clothes of inhabitants are as alive as the people who wear them. Golobulus has achieved immortality through symbiosis . . . at the cost of his humanity. The plates of Golobulus’ body armor are living mutations of lobsters and crabs, each genetically altered to perform a specific function and bred for the tensile strength of their chitonous shells. Over the centuries, so much of Golobulus’ body parts have been replaced or bio-mechanically altered that very little of the original is left except for his brain and his central nervous system.

Bringing the leader of the Junkions back to life, Shinobitron resurrects a Transformers Generation 1 classic with his Custom Wreck-Gar figure. The updated color scheme works really well with this figure as I was not happy with the G1 Wreck-Gar’s color scheme of oranges, reds, tans, yellows, and browns. I like the way that Shinobitron has preserved the Fu Manchu’esque features of the cartoon version and the updated weapons bring a great look to the figure. Here is more information about this one of a kind Junkion Leader:

“Wreckgar is fully transformable and stands 7″ tall. He has 17 POA and comes fully detailed to resemble his G1 counterpart. My Wreckgar has a few tweeks that make him stand out. First of all he can be ridden by other member of my Junkion (if you so happened to win one). Wreckgar has an arsenal of classic weapons such as his energon ax, front tire shield, and his blaster. The shield can be stored on his back and the gun can attach to his left side! Got room in your collection for a piece of junk? Well heres your chance!”

Wreck-Gar is the leader of the Junkions, and like his people, is a creature comprised of rusted scraps, dented odds and ends, chassis bits, and manifold parts - a walking, very powerful and all but indestructible Junkbot, i.e., a robot of junk. When he is hit by laser blasts and falls apart, he reassembles himself out of the junky remains of his body and available junk heaps that constitute the structure of his planetoid, and keeps right on coming. And his speech and attitudes are also a junkyard-like collection of languages and broadcast fragments overheard from all over the universe - scraps of T.V. commercials, soap opera dialogue, old song lyrics and valentine inscriptions merged with quotations from history given out of context. As Wreck-Gar might say, “Holy Mackeral, Mrs. Olson, your mountain-grown easy-listening sidekick, kimosabe, wishes you have a nice industrial-strength day. Film at eleven or not.”

Shinobitron continues to deliver quality Generation 1 customs week after week and his Custom Transformers Predacon Rampage is no exception. I am really impressed by the quality of his work and the fact that he seems to be focusing on G1 customs lately. Generation 1 customs, done correctly, are huge hits with fans and it is great to see how people make these custom thier own.

Shinobitron goes into more detail on how this custom was made: “Rampage is fully transformable and stands 7″ tall. He has 12 POA and comes fully detailed to resemble his G1 counterpart. My Rmpage has a couple of new features such as 3 sword that can combine into one! Not only that but the sword can be placed on pegs under his arms for storage or on his back when one is in use. The orignal Rampage has a gun and so does mine. Not only does he have his rifle but his arm attachment can flip up in bot mode to make 2 other guns!”

For this custom Rampage, the color choices are so much better than G1 orginal from the 1980’s and the oranges and reds are so much easier on the eyes. Overall, Shinobitron’s Custom Rampage is very well done and he did an excellent job bringing out the classic nature of this very popular combiner. To own this figure, or other Custom Transformers, head over to eBay!

One of my favorite toy lines to play with as a child was the Thundercats. I would religously watch the TV show and play with the toys at the same time. I am happy to see that there are still some Thundercats customizers out there and vegeta8259 has made a great looking Custom Marvel Legends Mumm-Ra figure from a Sasquatch figure. He chose a great base to work with and like he said, they shared similar body types and I am very happy to see how a very poor figure was turned into a classic! I really like the soft goods that were used and the way the body was sculpted really brings out the fact that Mumm-Ra is of the living dead. The crown adds a great touch to the figure and really completes the look. This is a great example of the creativity that is out there in the customizing world and the vision for transforming a Sasquatch figure into a 1980’s icon. I was lucky enough to correspond with vegeta8259 and here is how he made Mumm-ra:

“I just used a dremel to remove the fur texture off Sasquatch, but not completely smooth cuz i wanted him to still have that tattered mummy look. I left the fur around his ankles cuz luckily Mumm-Ra has the same thing. Then I molded his wrist and shin guards and crown out of epoxy resin and filed his teeth to make them pointy. Next, I painted the whole figure with acrylics. The cape was cut out from an old shirt and dyed red on one side and painted black on the other. The bandages are just strips of an old sock I was gonna throw away.”

To view more Custom Marvel Legends figures, head over to eBay!

The new Voyager Class Transformers Movie figures are giving customizers a fresh canvas to work with. I really loved the Voyager Class Incinerator mold and I have been chomping at the bit to see what this next wave of custom Transformers brings. This week, Shinobitron has remade a Generation 1 Classic Headmaster with his Custom Transformers Highbrow made from the Transformers Movie Figure Incinerator. What a great mold to make for Highbrow as the Incinerator mold comes very close to the G1 representation of Highbrow. The colors match very well and the figure even comes with his Nebulan counterpart Gort.

Head over to eBay to view more Custom Transformers figures. 

Highbrow considers warfare a barbaric solution to problems, worthy of only the most primitive sentient creatures. He believes civilized folk should talk about their differences, a talent for which he seemingly has an endless capacity. Hardhead claims that Highbrow’s voice box burns enough fuel by itself to power all the Nebulan Autobots for a year. Although that is doubtful, Highbrow does talk a lot and uses a lot of words that nobody understands. Even Chromedome often finds himself fruitlessly searching through his extensive vocabulary. Highbrow considers himself intellectually superior to the Nebulans and other Autobots. They think he’s a self-righteous snob. Highbrow’s biggest disappointment in life is that circumstance has forced him to lower himself to participate in the very activity he most loathes - fighting. Gort, Highbrow’s Nebulan partner, is quite a contrast. He’s a cheerful young man with never an unkind word for anyone. Spurred by concern for protecting his planet, he overcame his working-class origins as a stable boy for an exclusive Nebulan country club that catered to the aristocracy to join the elite ranks of the Headmasters. He is much admired by his comrades for his earnestness, common sense and courage - except for Highbrow, who finds it a humiliating, humbling experience to be binary-bonded to such a commoner. Young women all over Nebulos are attracted to the boyishly handsome hero, but Gort remains steadfastly faithful to his long-time girlfriend, Marita. Gort is the All-American boy of the Nebulan Autobot Headmasters.

l.designs has taken a down and dirty approach to customizing with his Custom Marvel Legends Swamp Thing. The character is a humanoid mass of vegetable matter who fights to protect his swamp home, the environment in general, and humanity from various supernatural or terroristic threats. This is a great piece for any Swamp Thing fan and the detail is quite stunning. The coloring really brings out the likeness of the Swamp Thing and sculpting adds depth and cements the true likeness of this horror classics icon. I love the added effect of the gloss making him appear to be wet and the vines and roots are integrated so well into the figure that it looks like the Swamp Thing’s blood is pumping right through them. l.designs explains more about his process and how he created this:

“A lot of time and attention to detail went into making this as accurate as possible to available reference material I could dig up, and well….my imagination. Swamp Thing was always one of my favorites so this toy meant a lot to me to produce. I did a total resculpt on the head, and body, and well… everything. I went all out to get a real feel for the swamp on this one. It’s all here, roots and vine detail, and even topped off with some real lichen to add some depth and realism! I covered all the joint holes and in the process I retained all points of articulation (a little restricted in the neck area however). I used a wide range of painting techniques to get the final look you see here (much better in person). Matte clear cote was used throughout the process, and then highlighted with some gloss ’cause after all he is in the swamp right…. he should look a bit wet.”

I just wanted to give the Custom Marvel Legends enthusiasts a heads up that there are many awesome customs up for sale this week on eBay. Here are some great examples:

Custom Stealth Iron Man by Jin Saotome

Custom Warpath by boskoestoys

Custom Brock Samson by kingokrap

Jin Saotome has created a dead on Custom Sam Fisher from the video game Splinter Cell from a GI Joe Sigma Six figure. One really cool feature about this custom is the light up goggles, which, if you have played the game, are used quite a bit and cements the look of Sam outside of the video game world. Like all of Jin’s customs, the paint aps look flawless. Another cool aspect of this custom was that is was featured in Playstation Magazine! Nice going Jin! In Jin’s own words, here is how he created this great custom:

“Here’s my take on Sam Fisher from Splinter Cell, covert black-ops agent and all around tough guy. He’s styled to match the Sigma 6 GI Joe theme and is part of my Video Game All-Stars line that will be appearing in issues of Playstation the Official Magazine. Sam’s painted with various highlights, shading, and texture with hand sculpted sections made from Aves Fixit Sculpt, the best sculpting compound on the market. Check out the straps and pouches all over him, who knows what he’s packing in there! But what’s Sam Fisher without those trademark goggles? And yes folks, THEY LIGHT UP! All three goggle lenses were hand-made and have bright green LEDs. Press the button on his back and you can illuminate a dark corner they’re so bright. Batteries are included and can be changed out when needed. So… ready to sneak around your figure collection with Sam Fisher? Know a friend who owns a bunch of Metal Gear figures that need assassinating? Then don’t pass this auction up!!”

You can own this figure by going to eBay and bidding on Jin’s Custom Sam Fisher Splinter Cell or check out the other Custom Video Game figures.

Rateeg: Rateeg when spelled backward is Geetar. I play guitar and in a classic rock band. I also have a huge passion on marvel superheroes. The only thing that we can do to immortalize them is to own an action figure of the characters we like. It all started there. More infos about me on my website:
http://rateegcreations.8.forumer.com/

http://rateegcreations.x.am/

AFC: When did you start making customs?

Rateeg: I started this hobby around 2 years ago when i read “The Hobbit” book. Grabbed a toybiz LOTR Gimli and started repainting it to be Thorin Oakenshield.

AFC: How many customs do you work on at one time?

Rateeg: Before I usually finish a custom 2 to 3 days. But now I can work 2 to 3 customs a week. I practice speed but still gives attention to details and paints. I dont want rushed customs and end up ruining it.

AFC: What is the custom you are most proud of?

Rateeg: Wow this is hard. I guess my TYGRA custom. I havent seen so much Tygra customs around and he’s my favorite character in the Thundercats series. I’m proud of him cause he’s chosen and gonna appear in TOYFARE #128 coming this Feb.13, 2008.

AFC: What is your favorite toy line to do customs for?
Rateeg: I really enjoy making x-men related customs especially the female ones. I would love to do again a psylocke and emma frost custom and include them in my x-men collection, though I made a couple for commissions already.

AFC: What customs do you have lined up for your next ones?

Rateeg: So many lined up on my list. Some commissions and some for my personal collection. I still have to complete the thundercats, x-men, wrecking crew, avengers, g.i.joe ML scaled and 25th Anniv scaled, valiant comics customs, etc…

AFC: If you had one piece of advice for other customizers out there, what would you say to them?

Rateeg: Basically just enjoy what you do. Always gather critiques and learn from them. Do not be afraid to get bad comments. Never listen to exaggerated praises cause it’s only an illusion. Just appreciate the people who give comments, good or bad, remember your best teacher is still TRIAL and ERROR.