"CUSTOMS FOR THE KID" 2022

[CustomsfortheKid]

No customs to post yet, but we did kick off the New Year with a brand new photo banner for the blog. This might just be our favorite banner so far.

 

[yodashizzle]

Man, that's a sweet lineup! Humans, aliens, droids, old, young, pretty much runs the whole gamut!!! Hope you can add even more in 2022!

 

[Tulgah]

Y’all’s banners are always the best on the internet. This one takes it to a new level!

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

So we're aware that it has been a long time since we have posted an easy custom that you can do at home in just a few minutes. That is the very reason for today's custom.

There are a subset of collectors that are unhappy that Hasbro never properly finished the Clone Wars action figure line. When Hasbro started releasing long desired figures from the Clone Wars television series in TVC with realistic sculpts these collectors were greatly disappointed feeling as though their collections would never feel complete. Well, we can't do much to push Hasbro in the right direction other than do our best to build the prototypes of what could have been and maybe provide you all with a few tips and tricks to help fill some of those gaps.

This is a custom action figure that could be thrown together in less than a minute provided your glue gun is already heated up, locked and loaded. All you need is the new TVC Darth Maul that was just released and one of the old animated Darth Maul heads from the old Clone Wars line. Just remove the head off TVC figure leaving the barbell neck joint attached to the body, squeeze a small amount of glue into the animated head, and place it onto the neck post until the glue dries. remove any unsightly glue that may have spilled out with an X-acto knife and the figure is complete. It is a great custom for beginners and a great way to fill out your animated Clone Wars collection.



ANIMATED
"SIEGE OF MANDALORE" DARTH MAUL
created by Customs for the Kid

SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER









"SIEGE OF MANDALORE" AHSOKA TANO

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

This is my second version of Steela Gerrera. I made the first one a few years ago, and since then we started making our own 3D designed heads. With new technology on our side, I've been able to revisit several projects that I wasn't satisfied with. Steela was one of them, and I'm happy to say I feel like I can finally place her on the shelf to rest.

For a long time, Steela's face sculpt reminded me too much of the Aurra Sing which I had used as the base for her sculpt. For this version, I made a new headsculpt from scratch on Blender. I originally printed her without her hair or bandana. I then carefully removed the hair and bandana from the original head and secured them on the new printed one.

After assembling the new head, I took a holster from a Black Series 3.75" Jyn Erso for Steela's belt because of its slimmer design. Once I was happy with her new look, I hit her with a fresh coat of paint and she was camera ready!

You can make your own Steela as well! Her headcast is now available on the Rebel Kid Creations store, and can be purchased alone or in a bundle alongside headcasts for Saw Gerrera and Lux Bonteri.



CLONE WARS
"STEELA GERRERA"
(2nd VERSION)
created by Elias




















LUX BONTERI (ONDERON)


STEELA & SAW GERRERA



CLICK ON IMAGES BELOW TO PURCHASE THE HEADCASTS

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

We are a bit behind on making custom action figures from The Mandalorian but the decision to wait on making them has been intentional. Action figures aren't cheap and we thought the best strategy would be to see what Hasbro made before making any action figures of our own from the show. Koska Reeves was the exception. While we are somewhat confident Hasbro could still make the character, we had an extra Bo Katan figure on hand and figured we could at least give it a try. Unlike Hasbro's 6" version, we put in the extra effort to remove the armor from her boots that was clearly absent in the show yet was was still present in their Black Series version. The only other modification necessary was removing one of the holsters from her belt. After that, the armor and helmet just needed a new paintjob to make her completely screen accurate.

For her head, we just painted up a 3D resin printed head we purchased from Watto's Scrapyard. Once finished, she posed wonderfully next to our Bo Katan action figure from TVC.



"KOSKA REEVES"

created by Elias





























https://www.instagram.com/wattos.scrapyard

https://facebook.com/Wattos.Scrapyard

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

This was a 3-D printed cast of the Mos Espa GNK Power Droid that we took far too long to get around to painting. While it will be nice to finally put this droid up on a shelf, we actually printed the droid over two years ago when we first got our 3D printer as a gift during our winter holiday.

This was one of the droid files we obtained from Rebelscum forum member Darkstryder who offered free 3D models he designed for printing 3.75" Star Wars droid action figures. He posts most of his models on Thingiverse under the username Isotelus.




"STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE"
GNK POWER DROID
painted by Elias

Droid models are available to download for FREE!!!
https://www.thingiverse.com/Isotelus/designs

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

Happy to say that we are starting to make some more animated action figures from The Bad Batch. This particular addition to the blog was one of our commissions which means that it will unfortunately never be a part of our own collection. Nevertheless, he was still a great deal of fun to work on.

He was actually created using a Phase I Clone Trooper body that I re-sculpted to make it look like he wore the Phase II armor. The head was an original sculpt by me that you will see added to the Rebel Kid Creations store for purchase both painted or unpainted. We love the coloring on his armor and the weathering details that we were able to add in.

We are hoping that Hasbro gets around to releasing the main cast in the 3.75" scale soon so we don't have to take on the colossal task of making them all. Thankfully, we have their animated heads and accessories on standby if we have to do them in the near future.



"THE BAD BATCH"
CAPTAIN HOWZER
created by Elias































PURCHASE HEADCAST & PAULDRON HERE

 

[Tulgah]

Each one is a masterpiece.

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

Marrok was an Anooba owned by the bounty hunter Embo. Marrok was featured prominently in The Clone Wars episodes "Bounty", "Revenge", as well as in the new Clovis arc just released in Season 6 of The Clone Wars on Netflix. Dad really wanted to add this cool Star Wars creature to our collection since Embo's companion Marrok took part in a lot of the action filled scenes that he starred in. Dad always had an interest in creating some of the creatures of Star Wars and always wanted to make the jump from Star Wars characters to their less sentient companions. Marrok would have been an awesome addition to The Clone Wars toy line if he was included as a pack in with a regarding of Embo. Unfortunately, this will never come to be now that Hasbro's Clone Wars action figure line is no more.

To produce the Marrok, I created a 3D print file of the character that I designed in Blender. I then scaled the model in Chitubox as an accessory for The Clone Wars Embo action figure and when finished, printed it on a our Longer Orange 30 resin printer. After we had a successful print, we molded that print with Smooth-On Mold Max 14NV and cast the figure in Smooth Cast 61D resin. Once taken out of the pressure pot and demolded, Dad and I took turns applying the paint to our figure and I painted in the final details. We love how he looks next to Embo!

Once we placed the character on our collection shelf, we then donated our mold to Rebel Kid Creations so our sculpt could be available to all of you to add to your own collections.




click image to purchase!








































The Clone Wars Embo action figure is not included with purchase.



PURCHASE CASTS AT
REBEL KID CREATIONS
(AVAILABLE BOTH PAINTED & UNPAINTED)


click image to purchase!



ORIGINAL MARROK POST

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

This articulated action figure of AZI was made from a combination of two different kits we purchased from sellers we found on the internet. The SKYLU 3D Design body that we utilized we purchased from Outer Rim Traders. It provided us with swivel shoulders and wrists as well as hinge elbows. The head we got from a kit we bought from Scoundrels Stock. After assembling the body and making a few special modifications myself to be sure the head was properly affixed to the body, I painted him up including all his fine details. Lastly, I placed the painted figure on a clear stand that I designed on my laptop and then printed on my 3D printer to make the figure float up off the ground. I'm happy to say he balanced well once I inserted the clear resin stand into the figure. I can call this figure completed. The only change I would make is not post-curing the resin stand under the UV light. It seemed to add a yellow tinge to the clear resin. I will skip that step next time I print with that resin.

AZI-345211896246498721347 was a medical droid who served the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. He was known as AZI-3 by the ARC trooper "Fives," who felt that numbers were demeaning, and simply as AZ by Omega. In 19 BBY, AZI-3 struck an unlikely friendship with Fives as the two worked together to investigate a supposed "tumor" that had caused Fives' fellow soldier Tup to assassinate the Jedi General Tiplar. During the course of their investigation, the two discovered that all clone troopers had been implanted with inhibitor chips for an unknown purpose, which subsequently turned out to be Darth Sidious's planned Great Jedi Purge. Some time later, he had a friendly relationship with Omega, and after the destruction of Tipoca City by the Empire, he later escaped the carnage with his friend Omega and the Bad Batch.



"AZI-345211896246498721347"
by Elias

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

For this custom, Wraithnine painted the body and helmet of Jesse. I only painted the head for a commission that I had, and then placed it on the custom figure on my shelf. Makes me want to add heads to the rest of the 501st clones that Wraithnine made for me. He did such a great job weathering them, it would be a shame to not give them an option of being helmetless too.



"THE CLONE WARS"
CLONE TROOPER JESSE
created by Elias & Wraithnine




























"JESSE"HEAD
painted by Elias

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

https://rebelkidcreations.bigcartel.com/product/hunter-s-wolfdog-cast
HUNTER’S WOLFDOG CAST
$20.00 - $80.00
https://rebelkidcreations.bigcartel.com/product/hunter-s-wolfdog-cast

https://rebelkidcreations.bigcartel.com/product/wolfdog-cast
WOLFDOG CAST
$25.00 - $85.00



KEEP IT ON THE CARD PACKAGE
$15.00

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

This is our second version of Pre Vizsla in this form. This latest version was a commission that is sporting a new headsculpt I cooked up just for this project. Like our first version the two pockets along his belt are magnetized and removable. We again used the 3D printed jetpack and helmet from Audes Workshop on eBay It made the project go a lot faster and helped keep costs lower. This time around I sculpted the forearms instead of the Cad Bane gauntlets Dad used in our first version.

Another figure that will be heading off to another home.



"THE CLONE WARS"
PHASE II PRE VIZSLA
created by Elias

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

This was made with just a few sculptural changes to our digital 3-D print file of Marrok. I added the tooth along with a few sculptural changes to the face for a quick design Anooba. I thought the Star Wars creature would pose nicely with our custom of Osi Sobeck since they appeared together onscreen in the Clone Wars Citadel arc. Perfect for recreating the death of Even Piell too!




"THE CLONE WARS"
ANOOBA

created by Elias

PURCHASE HERE:

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

Painted up these two offerings we got from Rebel Kid Creations. Really wanted to display these two on our collection shelves but didn't want to open my carded figure from my new HasLab Razor Crest. This "Keep It On The Card" Package was a great solution! It includes all the extra accessories needed to accessorize one of my Outworld Jawas and convert him into the Jawa Elder. All I needed to do was apply a little acrylic paint.

The figure is just a cool bonus. Really love the likeness in the headsculpt!



"JAWA ELDER"









"GROGU"

PURCHASE HERE:

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

This figure was made with a painted head that we purchased from the online store of Spartan 118 Customs. He has a lot of fantastic painted heads to choose from. When we saw his Episode III Obi-Wan Kenobi head, we knew it was time to swap the head out on our ROTS action figure. We had to modify the original figure by reducing the ball joint and then we also needed to increase the size of the hole in the head itself before attaching it, but we love the results. This figure looks absolutely fantastic now.



"REVENGE OF THE SITH"
OBI-WAN KENOBI
HEAD
created by Spartan 118 Customs

 

[Tulgah]

That’s a remarkable sculpt!

 

[yodashizzle]

Yeah, no kidding!

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

The Recon-PK series droids, colloquially known as rolo-droids or R-PKs, were an intelligence-gathering droid series developed by Naftrat Odarr of Cybot Galactica. A modified version of the standard PK-series worker droid, the Recon-PK had its locomotion altered, replacing the original's bipedal format with a single wheel. Also modified was the makeup of the droid's cranial unit, which was packed full of audio/visual sensor equipment.

The Recon-PK soon became popular amongst operatives and mercenaries. Eventually, a batch of the droids was shipped to the planet Tatooine, where they were used by the various Hutt crime lords residing there. The Hutts used them to monitor their slaves, helping to prevent any attempts at escape. The tables were, in time, turned on the Hutts, when the young slave Anakin Skywalker began reprogramming the droids, causing them to turn a blind eye to any new escape attempts.

We made this droid from a kit we purchased from Angry Racoon Miniatures. He has so many cool items in his Etsy store we recommend checking out. We purchased quite a few items so expect to see some more here on the blog.



"THE PHANTOM MENACE"
ROLO DROID (REKON- PK)
painted by Elias

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

This is a much needed accessory for our IG-11 droid from TVC. We are shocked he has not been released with a speeder bike to compliment the Nevarro Playset. All it took to expand the playability of the figure was a little sculpt work with some ProCreate and some minor paintwork.

Once completed, we molded the result, and then donated the mold. For those who can't wait, or are afraid that like the Blurrg it will never see the light of day, the opportunity to grab one is an option for you. Rebel Kid Creations is offering casts both painted and unpainted. Grab them while they are still available.


IG-11 "NURSE DROID BAG"

created by Elias

PURCHASE HERE

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

Krrsantan, also known as Black Krrsantan, and nicknamed "Santy," "BK," and "Black K" by Doctor Aphra and "Santo" by Garsa Fwip and Boba Fett, was a male Wookiee bounty hunter whose career spanned from during the rule of the Galactic Empire into the era of the New Republic. Originally escaping his homeworld Kashyyyk and trained by the infamous Xonti Brothers as a gladiator, Krrsantan later became a ferocious bounty hunter. He was regularly hired by the crime lord Jabba the Hutt and at one point fought Obi-Wan Kenobi, receiving a scar from the Jedi Master's lightsaber. During the Galactic Civil War, Darth Vader hired Krrsantan to track down and capture an agent of the Emperor.

Following the death of Jabba and the end of the war, Krrsantan was employed by that late Hutt's cousins, brother and sister crime lords known as the Twins. Their cousin's criminal empire had been taken over by the former bounty hunter Boba Fett, and the Hutts sought Krrsantan's services in wresting control away from the self-appointed Daimyo. Krrsantan attempted to assassinate Fett, but was captured by his forces. Shortly after, the Twins promised to leave Tatooine, and Krrsantan was eventually employed by Boba Fett. As part of Fett's forces, he participated in a battle against the Pyke Syndicate, which resulted in the Fett gotra's victory.

All it took to create this action figure was the body of a 3.75" scale Black Series Merumeru action figure, a headsculpt and armor kit designed by SKYLU3D, and blaster rifle sold by Outer Rim Traders. First I cleaned out the joints on the Merumeru to eliminate paint rub, then I based the figure out in black and dry brushed in some highlights. After I primed the accessories in brown paint and dry brushed in the gold, and followed that up with a wash. Once the accessories were fully painted and weathered, I called the Krrsantan action figure complete!

Highly recommend picking up these parts from Outer Rim Traders if you are an impatient for a release from Hasbro!



"THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT"
KRRSANTAN
created by Elias






























KIT COMPONENTS CAN BE PURCHASED AT

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

Elias is still at it. Here are some of his latest. Now that he is so busy with commissions, I have to be his hype man.

DIN DJARIN
"THE BOUNTY - CHROME EDITION"
created by Elias

HEAVY GUN by UZAY CUSTOMS

BLURRGS by UZAY CUSTOMS

"DARK DISCIPLE"
ASSAJ VENTRESS & QUINLAN VOS
created by ELIAS

When Eiias took these pictures he forgot to show off all the fine details at the back of these figures. Once my phone charges I am going to take my own pictures to show off my favorite parts of these figures. I'll post them on the blog when I get it all together,

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

To celebrate 12 years of blogging, Darth Daddy picked up the sculpting tools and started a new figure after 2 years away from the hobby. Dad announced his retirement from the blog on our 10-year anniversary just before he had surgery performed on both of his eyes to treat a rare degenerative eye condition he developed. The surgery was successful but it took about a full year for his eyes to heal post surgery.

While Dad definitely expressed that he missed making custom figures, he spent the year after his recovery searching for a different job to facilitate some big changes he had been hoping to make. Well, Dad landed a more than satisfactory upgrade to his former employment and spent a little free time returning to one of his favorite pastimes.

Dad thought that making a 1/18 scale "Star Wars Rebels" Kanan Jarrus from Season 3 and 4 would be a fitting project to take on for our 12-year anniversary celebration. To make Kanan, Dad used TVC Young Han Solo from the "Solo: A Star Wars Story" film as his base for the figure. He removed the figures jacket, sanded down the original figure with a Dremel and then re-sculpted the figure to look like Kanan. I helped Dad a bit with the shoulder pads when his new job became a bit too time consuming. After the sculpt was completed, Dad laid down the first few coats of paint onto the figure and then I finished the figure up by doing all the fine detail paintwork so we could reach our anniversary deadline. It was really nice to work on a custom figure together again.

It is important to mention that we used three Kanan Jarrus heads produced by Watto's Scrapyard for our figure both to feature all Kanan's different looks over the course of the last two seasons of the show, and well, to save on time. All three heads painted up beautifully and definitely helped us finish the project faster than if we had to sculpt all three heads from scratch.

We love the final result and I am really excited to have a little help with the blog again now that Dad can make the occasional custom figure here and there.

We're curious to hear what you'd like to see Dad make as far as future projects go. Any requests?



"STAR WARS REBELS"
(SEASON 3 & 4)
KANAN JARRUS
created by Customs for the Kid

CHECK OUT SOME OF OUR OLDER
"STAR WARS REBELS"
CUSTOM FIGURES



HERA SYNDULLA


Season One - Sabine Wren


Season Two - Sabine Wren


Season Three - Sabine Wren


Ursa Wren


GREGOR


QUARRIE


SEASON 3 - EZRA BRIDGER


Chopper in Imperial Disguise


AP-5


MORAI


Grand Admiral Thrawn-
Imperial Officer Battle Armor


GOVERNOR PRYCE


HONDO OHNAKA


Azmorigan


Cikatro Vizago's Droid


Battle Damaged Darth Vader


Obi-Wan Kenobi


"IMPERIAL PROPAGANDA-REBEL GRAFFITI" DIORAMA


LOTH-WOLF

 

[Montross]

This version of Kanan is a glaring omission from Hasbro in either scale--this custom is fantastic!

Also, congrats to Darth Daddy on his recovery.

 

[Rahm Kota]

Great customs . That medical droid is spot on.

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

This was a custom that only takes minutes to make if you have the right parts on hand. The hardest figure to acquire would be the Han Solo Mudtrooper figure from the exclusive Target multipack from a few years back. We had two on hand and we don't need two 5poa Han Solo action figures so I borrowed the head, mask, cape and weapon from the multi-pack figure and added them to the body of TVC Miggs Mayfeld action figure being sure to borrow the the neck peg from Mayeld's head before inserting it into Han's headsocket. I then glued the ends of the hoses I cut free from the original figure into the already present suggestive circular ports at the top of the back of the Miggs body. After that I cut off the capes long peg like inserts and lined up the cape's edges using krazy glue to hold it them in place.

Last, I used a hand drill at the bottom of the volcano like hole to sink the neck socket a little deeper so the head sits closer to the shoulders. A really easy five minute custom. It actually took me longer to take the pictures and write this post than it took me to make the figure.


TVC "MUDTROOPER"
custom action figure
kitbashed by Darth Daddy








TVC "MUDTROOPER"
custom action figure
painted by Elias
















SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER







INSPIRED BY

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

Trench was a Harch admiral and naval commander who survived a number of presumed deaths throughout his career. Hailing from Secundus Ando, he acquitted himself in engagements with the Galactic Republic, all the while savoring the terror he struck in his enemies. Years after his purported death at the Battle of Malastare Narrows, he resurfaced during the Clone Wars, becoming a key officer in the navy of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. From the dreadnought Invincible he oversaw the Confederate blockade of Christophsis, which brought him into conflict with a Republic battle group led by Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker along with an old foe, Admiral Wullf Yularen. When Skywalker and Yularen attempted to use an experimental stealth ship to breach the blockade, Trench began a deadly game of cat and mouse with them. Though Skywalker outwitted him by redirecting a volley of tracking torpedoes at the Invincible, Trench managed to survive his flagship's demise.

During the Battle of Ringo Vinda, Trench captured clone trooper Tup—who had mysteriously gunned down Jedi General Tiplar—and tried to send the clone to Separatist leader Count Dooku for examination, though a Republic team intervened and rescued Tup. In the Battle of Anaxes, Trench besieged the Republic shipyards at Anaxes for weeks on end, exploiting the Techno Union's secret access to a Republic strategy algorithm. Even as the tide of battle began to turn, Trench remained intent on annihilating the Jedi and their clone infantry. Though he activated a bomb beneath the assembly complex on Anaxes, Skywalker infiltrated Trench's flagship, the Invulnerable and forced the admiral to divulge the sequence to disarm the device. When Trench tried to retaliate, Skywalker drove his lightsaber through his chest, inflicting a death that even the hardened Harch could not escape.

Emerging from our silence of September, I bring you one of my most challenging projects yet. It has been in the works for quite some time. Cyborg Admiral Trench. The first time this version of the character was revealed on screen, I vividly remember joking about how it would be such a difficult; even an impossible project, so when I received an email from a client requesting this beautiful monstrosity, I was quite intimidated. As it turns out, the desire to make a living is enough motivation for me to meet such a request with a "yes!" To look at this figure completed is surreal for me after weeks of painstaking attention and unwavering passion.

The parts I used for this figure were an Orn Free Taa body, the arms of three IG-11s, and the arms of three different Clone Troopers. His head was completely sculpted by hand in several layers. I sculpted his cane and electricity effect in Blender and learned a few new modeling tricks along the way! The weapon that drops down from his forearm was hard sculpted out of dried procreate scraps cut into desired shapes and sanded for that machine smoothness. The panel on his arm is secured via magnets, and the weapon has a piece of a paperclip hidden inside which allows it to magnetize between the panel and the arm.

This was the most challenging paint application I ever had to manage. The filigree on his robot arms was a challenge unlike any of the other high-detail paint jobs I've ever done. The major challenge was the symmetry I had to achieve on each individual panel, and then match it on the other two arms. The patterns on the front of his robe were also difficult because of the symmetry required at such a small scale. The dark gray lines cutting through the light gray shapes are as thin as a human hair.

The sculpt on this figure was the ultimate undertaking in my opinion. Every surface of his body was heavily modified. The robe on the base figure was cut short and smoothed with the Dremel completely. I had to build out his upper torso in the front and the back in order to create the space to mount six arms as opposed to two. I then had to re-engineer the arms to have two elbow joints and be the correct length. Once his fundamental structures were done, I had several layers of detailing ahead of me. His robotic arm was hand sculpted into perfect cylinders with many panels, layers and grates, and then repeated twice more for his other arms. The greeblies on his head and collar were hand fabricated out of flat dry procreate that I cut by hand and glued into place.

With all the effort I put into this figure, I'm a little sad to see it go, but I take solace in the fact that he is going to a loving home.




"THE CLONE WARS"
CYBORG ADMIRAL TRENCH
created by Elias

 

[Tulgah]

Those are SO good. That Trench is one of the most detailed customs I’ve ever seen.

 

[Jertej1]

That Trench is freaking amazing! The paint job makes it.

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

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

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

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

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

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"

Thank you Allie!

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

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 actress 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

Visit Store

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!

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

 

[Tulgah]

All incredible stuff! The old west updates to the Max rifle are really nice and appealing details. You deserve all the credit you get!

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

All incredible stuff! The old west updates to the Max rifle are really nice and appealing details. You deserve all the credit you get!

Thank you so much!

 

[yodashizzle]

These are so good, really impressive figures all over the place. Trench is one of the best customs I've ever seen. And the fact that I just noticed the gonk on the wall in this pic....

just knocks it out of the park for me. The detail on the figure is just mindblowing as well.

 

[CustomsfortheKid]

These are so good, really impressive figures all over the place. Trench is one of the best customs I've ever seen. And the fact that I just noticed the gonk on the wall in this pic....
View attachment 447979
just knocks it out of the park for me. The detail on the figure is just mindblowing as well.

Elias definitely took his customs up a notch this year. Especially when it comes to the paint detail he has achieved. Both Ventress and Trench are some of the best paint jobs I have had the pleasure of seeing in person. Some of the paintlines on Trench's head were thinner than a human hair.