New Stuff added in 2009 - I usually just announce new customs, but I'm always updating the site with new group pictures and non-custom Toybiz figures as I acquire them. Updates from previous years are at the bottom of the page Please check back often!
My must-read list (in no particular order) - Agents of Atlas, Incredible Hercules, Nova, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thunderbolts, Dark Avengers, Marvel Zombies, Secret Six, Blackest Night (DC), Fables (Vertigo), Empowered (Dark Horse) and of course the Official Handbooks of the Marvel Universe.
11-23-2009 - The Hasbro Walmart Exclusive Marvel Universe Gigantic Battles Goliath sets are very nice repaints of the Icons 12" Cyclops figure. I found the Red costume version of Goliath and gave him the antennae to be more accurate to his comic book appearances (can be seen on the cover of Avengers #55). I haven't seen any of the classic Blue/Yellow variants of the set around here but I did make a custom of that costume from the older and smaller Toybiz Marvel Legends version. Have a great Thanksgiving!
11-21-2009 - Here's 2 non-custom updates - I finally managed to finish building the Hasbro Walmart exclusive Nemesis BAF (works well with the Toybiz figures from the Age of Apocalypse line and so much better than the old "Ninja Force" one) as well as got the Giant Skrull from the Marvel Universe Gigantic Battles set. Kudos to Hasbro for making these two as they work well with many different scales (especially the Giant Skrull). Of course I also bought the Goliath set and slightly customized it, will show that on Monday.
Also, I'm quite a bit late in mentioning this but if you happen to have a custom ready to show the world, consider entering it into the CustomCon 24 show. The deadline is November 23rd.
11-16-2009 - Here's a custom of the serial killer known as Scourge. His targets however are supervillains, many of whom have fallen to his mastery of disguise and explosive shelled bullets. I made a earlier custom of him disguised as the bartender in the "Bar with No Name" massacre from Captain America #319.
11-10-2009 - As mentioned in the last update another prominent member of Norman Osborn's Cabal is Namor the Submariner! I had the vest left over after I customized the Toybiz Marvel Legends 2 Namor into his classic look so I tried using it for a 5" scale figure, it's a bit bulky but worked out ok overall. One of these days I'll make Namora from the Agents of Atlas team.
11-07-2009 - The Hood was formerly a lowlife thug until he found the red cloak and hood of a demon known as the Nisanti. With its power, he has had a meteoric rise, first heading a vast supervillain syndicate, then gaining a seat at the table of the Cabal (alongside the likes of Dr. Doom, Namor, Emma Frost, Loki and Norman Osborn). He later learns the true source of his powers - the dreaded Dormammu!
November 2009
10-26-2009 - The final two new horrifying customs for this month begins with an updated dreaded Dormammu, master of the Dark Dimension and frequent nemesis to Dr. Strange. This figure was originally made by Toybiz for their Marvel History: The Dark Side sub-line.
Another supernatural character that would have fit well into that line is the intimidating demon known as the Dweller in the Darkness. He is a member of the shadowy group of Fear Lords, whose members specialize in sowing fear and terror amongst humanity. Have a haunting Halloween!
10-16-2009 - With Halloween coming up, I'll be showing all horror/supernatural customs this month. First is an updated Mephisto, I just gave him a new tattered cape and a proper cowl.
Next is his demonic rival Satannish (it has been speculated that they were once two halves of the same being), the Hell Lord who is worshipped by the Sons of Satannish cult.
October 2009
9-28-2009 - Today I'm showing a pair of customs that I bought on Ebay from seller b_shield. The Destroyer was a Golden Age hero (when Marvel was known as Timely Comics) from the 40's. U-Man (a member of Namor's Atlantean race) was a frequent nemesis of the World War II era Invaders. I thought both of these were pretty well done and they fit in great with my collection. I don't often see 5" scale Marvel customs on Ebay anymore so I was happy to give these two a home.
9-21-2009 - Ronin is the new identity of the Avenger formerly known as Hawkeye. I always thought this was a pretty cool costume and had to make one in 5" scale since there are already 3.75" and 6" scale versions made by Hasbro.
9-14-2009 - Here's the Sentry, who has the power of "a million exploding suns" but is his own worst enemy in the form of his evil dark side, the Void. Along with Ares, he joined the Avengers and stayed on even with the new change in leadership to Norman Osborn.
9-06-2009 - I bought another custom from the the prolific Eagle's Customs on Ebay, this time it's the Sphinx, a foe of Nova and the Fantastic Four who has battled the mighty Galactus. Eagle always does the best big customs and this one at 9" tall is no exception.
September 2009
8-30-2009 - Here's the leader of the Young Avengers, Patriot. Of course I used the Toybiz Marvel Legends boxset version as a guide. I made teammate Giant-Girl (now known as Stature) in 2006 so at this rate I'll finish the whole team probably sometime in late 2018 :)
8-24-2009 - Continuing a Thor-centric themed month, here's Iron Man's Thorbuster armor. I had originally used the Toybiz Series 14 Thorbuster figure for a custom Hydra Dreadnought and was glad I kept the helmet crest, chest module and shoulder armor to use for this custom.
8-16-2009 - Here's a much needed update of the Asgardian Goddess of Love, Enchantress! I originally made the custom for CustomCon 9 and a newer version for CustomCon 13 but I was never satisfied with the results (they looked kinda ugly to be honest). With this one, I think it does more justice to the Thor antagonist/lover.
Speaking of CustomCons Number 23 of the customizer's showcase just ended last week. I was a bit disappointed with the small turnout (in CC 13 alone there was 2 weeks worth of entries), but I am always happy to see everyone's work. I'll try to write up a complete review but my favorite was the superb Day 2 Guardians of the Galaxy entry by Joel Rigueur Jr (so spot on) followed by my buddy Adam Hammond and his Hood's Gang on Thursday that proves that the 5" Marvel scale is still shining. K&L always makes beautiful customs especially the gals and they round out my top 3 of the show with their pair of entries on the 3rd day of the show.
8-10-2009 - After a bit of an absence I'll be showing a couple of new Marvel 5" scale customs again starting with the Greek god of war Ares! I enjoyed reading his mini-series and appearances in Incredible Hercules and Mighty Avengers/Dark Avengers and had to make a figure of his new look. Of course the very cool Hasbro Marvel Legends Walmart exclusive figure was a big influence on this custom. I'm really happy with how this one turned out so I've added a back shot and pictures of his left side and right side. On a related note, the just-released Encyclopedia Mythologica Marvel Handbook is a terrific and interesting read!
8-03-2009 - Here's Kurse, a towering and menacing Thor foe (and later ally) that I bought on Ebay recently from Raynir's Custom Action Figures. I have seen several other Kurse customs on Ebay over the years but I am very happy to win the auction for this one, as I think Raynir is easily one of the best and most prolific customizers of Marvel Legends scale figures ever. I am very fortunate and grateful to own several of his customs that work well with the older 5" scale figures in my collection such as Goliath (Clint Barton version) and Giant Girl as well as a Legends-scaled modern Super Skrull.
August 2009
7-28-2009 - Here's a Transformers custom that I bought on Ebay, the Autobot architect known as Grapple. He was made by byfff7 who has made quite a few Universe/Classics Transformers customs. Grapple was repainted from Hasbro's Universe Classics 2.0 Inferno figure, but had the water pump replaced so that he is a crane truck like his G1 toy.
That's it for Transformers related customs for now, next time I'll be showing new Marvel Universe 5" scale customs again after a long break.
7-19-2009 - Been a bit busy but wanted to show this custom Hoist that I bought on Ebay from seller eyeofnez1977 who did a great job. Here's Hoist's tow truck mode. I saw a similar custom at Botcon 2009. I am very happy with the figure, a repaint of the Transformers 2007 movie deluxe Longarm. I made one small mod - I unscrewed his gun from his hand, he can still hold it fine in either mode. Perhaps taking a cue from the fans, Hasbro is making an official version of Hoist using the Longarm mold to be released with the 2009 Revenge of the Fallen figures. I am hoping they do the same for Tracks, using the Sideswipe mold (Corvette Stingray) repainted blue and with the flaming hood like the original figure from 1985.
July 2009
6-14-2009 - Now that I got the original Generation One Autobot cars from Series 1 complete in the new classics/universe style, I thought I'd try my hand at Series 2 (originally first released in 1985). The Universe 2.0 line from Hasbro included Inferno and Smokescreen and the Henkei line had Red Alert so that leaves Grapple, Hoist, Tracks and the custom I am showing today, Skids! He was a repainted Energon Towline figure, for Botcon 2005 they repainted this mold as Ratchet and Ironhide but I think it looks much better as Skids. Here's his car mode.
6-02-2009 - still tired from the Transformers Botcon 2009 convention, it was a blast! The highlight for me was probably meeting and getting my original Optimus Prime from the 80's signed by Mr. Peter Cullen himself.
On display in the huge Hasbro booth was the original unreleased prototype of Unicron! Here's his planet mode. Though the Armada version of Unicron is really nice this old figure certainly has its own charm and I was really glad they put it on display since I've never seen it live before.
I have another Transformers Classics/Universe custom to show, the last of the original deluxe cars - Trailbreaker! Since he was made from a 2007 movie Stockade the design is a bit different from the other Classics but I still think it works. Added some paint and replaced his left hand with a vintage Trailbreaker missile (the long version would have interfered with the transformation). Reprolabels.com sells stickers for his vehicle mode which makes the homage even better.
June 2009
5-19-2009 - To fill out another important slot in my Transformers Classics Autobots collection, I took the 2008 Botcon Jazz and did some minor tweaks to make him look more like the original (removed/covered up the "evil" slogans and added some reproduction labels). Here's his car mode, a Bugatti Veyron. Hopefully after the movie they'll release a new Jazz for the next Universe series.
5-12-2009 - Got another picture of one of the unreleased prototype pack-in figures that was dropped from the Marvel Legends Series 13 "Bring on the Bad Guys" line, the "warrior" class of Doombot robots.
5-06-2009 - With Botcon coming up at the end of the month, I'll be busy indeed this month going through the collection to see what I need to get (as well as saving up so $$$ to spend on some cool toys) so I wanted to get out at least one big update this month. I wanted to start showing some of my Transformers work, I've seen some really mind-boggling customs out there, mine are simply just touched up or improved upon a bit so I have the utmost respect for those who can work well in this format. Here's the Autobot Wheeljack and his car alt mode, repainted the head and windshield and with some stickers added courtesy of reprolabels.com. With the Transformers Universe 2.0 line on hiatus during the movie line, I had to have the last three series 1 Autobot deluxe cars (the other two being Trailbreaker and Jazz) that haven't yet been made by Hasbro.
I have to show off this superb custom of the massive Kree Sentry made by the immensely talented Eagle of Eagle's Customs. I've bought quite a few figures from him over the years, this is one that I've wanted to make for a long while that I can now cross off the list thanks to him. The Sentries are the robotic guardians for the Kree Empire, though a great majority of them were destroyed or corrupted during the Annihilation: Conquest storyline.
Also, I have another picture of a "lost" or cancelled figure, the AIM Trooper, which was to have been a pack-in figure in the Marvel Legends Series 13 "Bring on the Bad Guys" Series, but due to the rising cost of plastic the idea was shelved in favor of an Onslaught BAF. You can also see that Crimson Dynamo was cut from the wave. I've always wondered who ended up with these unreleased prototype figures.
May 2009
4-30-2009 - I have a new front page group shot of heroic Autobots from the Transformers. Here are they in their car modes. They are obviously not 5" scale, but with the Botcon 2009 convention coming up as well as the Transformers 2 sequel "Revenge of the Fallen" I thought it seemed very appropriate, especially since they were originally part of the Marvel Universe with a long running comic book series.
4-24-2009 - Here's the Red Hulk, also known as "Rulk". I used the head of the Target exclusive Hasbro Marvel Legends BAF Red Hulk which has a great angry head sculpt on an older Toybiz Green Hulk body to get a 5" scale version. He's quite powerful in the comics, even punching out the Watcher!
4-15-2009 - Some quick CustomCon 22 thoughts: Lots of cool 5" scale customs by Caenman (gruesome Marvel Skulls and perfect Watchmen set) and Brad Rinn (nice DC JSA figures) but I thought the most impressive entry of the show to me was the Savage Land Face Off Zabu & Ultra-Raptor by customizer Grown Nerd.
4-13-2009 - Been very busy this month so another quick custom (this one is actually more of a kitbash) of an improved Rogue. I basically used parts from three different Rogue figures to make a less anime-looking Rogue. Actually, I think the face sculpt looks a bit too stern but it did come from the X-Men Power Slammers series Rogue. I also have a new group picture of the X-Men Blue Team.
April 2009
3-30-2009 - I made a updated version of X-Men villain Sauron but to be honest it's a quickie custom. Some weaknesses of the transplanted parts remain (so as the fact that due to the "flapping wings" action, the arms connect to the body by the armpits and not the shoulders).
3-25-2009 - Since the new Watchmen movie just came out a few weeks ago, I remembered to dig up pictures for my unreleased figures section of the cancelled prototype DC Direct Watchmen figures (superbly sculpted by Tim Bruckner). I already had another picture of them in that section - in this new one you can spot the variant translucent Dr. Manhattan as well as an alternate head of a masked Comedian. I also added individual shots of Dr. Manhattan, the Comedian and the Silk Spectre with their stands. I am not sure if they ever made protos of the other characters.
3-23-2009 - Here's a better (though still admittedly not perfect) update of my old Box custom. He was a member of Alpha Flight (I also just added two Toybiz Marvel Legends Sasquatches to the section, replacing the older Toybiz versions), my original attempt at Box can be seen here. I will be making a new version eventually, with the help of a superbly sculpted, casted headsculpt of Box's head made by French customizer Kiko that he was kind enough to sell to me. I just gotta find the perfect base body to use for that head. I wish I still had his email, the link goes to his Fwoosh gallery - the pictures of his Box custom aren't showing up there, but you can follow the links). Besides Box, Kiko also made heads of the Fantastic Four villain the Brute (which I also bought), Mad Thinker, Loki, Hammerhead and others, I really recommend his work.
3-16-2009 - I picked up a loose Hasbro Marvel Legends Silver Savage during Wondercon just so that I can kitbash and customize a 5" version (though to be honest, I've never read the Planet Hulk storyline). Although I did like this older Tobyiz Surfer's shiny chrome appearance, I'm now using the Hasbro Fantastic Four 2 Rise of the Silver Surfer movie version as my main Silver Surfer because of the better sculpt and articulation, leaving this one available for customizing.
3-10-2009 - I had to make an updated US Agent figure for my Avengers section because the figure I had been using there was actually wearing his Force Works outfit. Simply a repainted Captain America figure, I used his appearance from the Offical Handbook as a guide, hence the three red stripes on the uniform (I've seen it more commonly since with 4 red stripes).
3-02-2009 - Here's the Maestro, a possible future version of the Hulk from the epic "Days of Future Past" storyline by Peter David and George Perez. Toybiz originally made him with some very imaginative "fallen hero" armor pieces but since it wasn't comic accurate, I used parts from the Marvel Legends series 12 Maestro to update the old figure.
Had a great time at this year's Wondercon covention in San Francisco, picked up some loose figures (some which will be used for customizing) but didn't see any custom figures like I did last year. Did get some cheap back issues for character references and as usual, nice free swag. Also, the dealine for CustomCon 22 is March 9th, so get your entries in!
March 2009
2-23-2009 - Taking a cue from the recent Hasbro Marvel Legends Target exclusive version, here's Adam Warlock with the Infinity Gauntlet. This figure was originally made by Toybiz and came with Thanos in a two-pack. I just fixed the hair and gave him the much needed Gauntlet. Unfortunately, the figure was factory misassembled with two left legs and thighs, I am trying to find a replacement.
2-16-2009 - Another custom that I bought last year that I haven't shown yet is one of the dreaded Dire Wraiths. I comissioned this custom from customizer 6700curtis of Madness Creations. He based the custom off the unreleased prototype Dire Wraith figure made by Toybiz that was intended for a "aliens" themed release (the Meegan Alien in the Silver Surfer series was a part of that lost wave that did get released).
An alien species related to the Skrulls, they were the main enemies of Rom and the Spaceknights.
2-09-2009 - Here's a custom I bought last year (but haven't been able to show until now), Giant Girl (aka Janet Van Dyne, the Wasp)! She took this identity after being giving Pym growth serum by what we now know to be a Skrull impersonating Hank Pym. This is a custom that I bought off Ebay from the super talented Raynir of Raynir's Custom Action Figures. Last year I also bought the Clint Barton Goliath custom figure from him and so I thought Giant Girl would be a good compliment to that earlier purchase. Check them out on my Giant Avengers page.
2-02-2009 - Once I picked up the Toybiz Hulk Classics 2 Mecha Hulk figure with Gremlin sidekick figure, it seemed natural to repaint the older version of that figure from the Hulk animated series into his father, the Gargoyle! He was a Russian KGB agent who appeared all the way back in Hulk #1.
February 2009
1-26-2009 - Gung Hay Fat Choy! I should have shown a bull related custom (since it's the Year of the Ox) like Taurus or Minotaur but anyways here's Scarlet Witch (at least it's something red, a lucky color to wear during the Chinese New Year) in her Force Works costume. I made this custom mainly because Toybiz made all of the other team members except for her and I finally had a section to show the somewhat obscure character Century.
1-19-2009 - To finish off the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants I did an easy custom of a first appearance Scarlet Witch.
1-12-2009 - Here's one of my quick and easy repaints, Quicksilver in his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants / early Avengers outfit. I used the Bowen statue with the metallic green colors as a guide instead of the Hasbro Marvel Legends version.
1-08-2009 - Happy New Year! In the past, I've tried to show a new custom figure every week of the year. I definitely won't be able to keep up that pace this year around, indeed even in 2008 this site featured quite a few customs that I've bought from other customizers (I still have a few more of those to post up) because I just didn't have as much time to customize or work on the site as I had before (I still never got around to showing the non-Marvel customs in my collection). I do have a few quick and dirty, simple customs of mine waiting in the wings as well as more pictures of unreleased figures that are always interesting to see. Thanks again for visiting and for the comments and critiques - I always appreciate it.
No new custom this week to show, but as in 2007 and 2008 I've posted my list of the Best Toys of 2008.
January 2009
Older Updates
2003 Updates - This was the year I started making customs from the rest of the Marvel Universe
2002 Updates - My earliest work, back when I was doing only X-Men custom figures
