New Stuff added in 2005 - 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
12-05-2005 - Updated my collection page to also show some shelves where i put my extra variant costume figures as well as the larger cosmic beings, in addition to the new pictures from the display case shelves. Ok, this is the real last update for the year, Happy Holidays everyone and a great New Year! Check out my new customs in 06!
12-02-2005 - Man, it has been three years since I started showing my Marvel customs and figures here at Al's Action Figures. Whether it's participating in a CustomCon or getting feedback via email and message boards from Marvel fans and fellow customizers, it's been a really gratifying hobby. I know the 5" scale is no longer in vogue with the new and improved Marvel Legends, but I enjoy customizing in the older scale, i'm not done yet as there are still a bunch of characters i want to make. Thanks as always for the support.
For the third year anniversary of my site i humbly present to you the U-Foes! As with the villains i was showing last month, they were supposed to be made for the Spring CustomCon. Here's what the entry would have looked like. This group is sort of an evil Fantastic Four (their origins are even similar - they got their powers from the same cosmic rays) but to my knowledge have never faced off against the FF, instead concentrating their ire on the Hulk. Their leader, Vector, can repel objects. Vapor, can assume gaseous forms. X-Ray projects (and is made of) hard radiation. Ironclad (which is an improved custom that i originally showed in 2003) is immensely strong and can increase his density. I've always felt that they were cool baddies and needed toy representation.
December 2005
11-27-2005 - Many different men have donned the costume and terror-inducing gas gun of Mr. Fear to plague Daredevil and Spiderman. He and the three villains i showed earlier this month were supposed to be for a spring 2006 CustomCon entry, here's a group shot of what that would have looked like. Speaking of Daredevil, I also did a quickie repaint of a white costumed Elektra. I plan on having one more update for December 2nd, the 3rd anniversary of my website, check it out!
11-20-2005 - The Grim Reaper is one of the Avenger's greatest foes, though being the brother of Avenger Wonder Man would make family reunions difficult.
11-13-2005 - Baron Strucker is the leader of the terrorist organization Hydra. He has fought Captain America and Nick Fury from World War II all the way to modern times, thanks to his artificially increased lifespan.
11-07-2005 - Here's Klaw, the master of sound and longtime Avengers, Fantastic Four and Black Panther foe. The reason for the fancy comic book background is that I had planned on entering him and some other villains for the next Spring CustomCon, but I've since decided on another theme and instead will show all four of them this month.
11-01-2005 - Quite a while back I bought customs of Artie and Leech, two mutant kids who've appeared in X-Factor and Generation X, off Ebay from the talented customizer english jg. You can also see his work at his Fwoosh gallery under the name molemandg. Man, i was just amazed at all the fine details he put into these customs (Artie's wearing a Doop t-shirt!) and had to get them. He also did the "Jack Kirby Legends Series 2" entry for CustomCon13, seen on day 11 and 12.
November 2005
10-07-2004 - My CustomCon13 Thor entry is finished off (no pun intended) on Day 5 by the mighty Fire Giant Surtur. It's been a blast making my CustomCon 13 entry, i want to thank everyone again who checked it out and commented on it. You can be sure i'll be watching the next 10 (!) days of the con and commenting on the customs. I've also updated my Thor section to include all the new customs I made for the show.
10-06-2004 - My Marvel Universe Unfinished Business 6 entry for Day 4 is up, consisting of the Asgardian Destroyer (plus a Destroyer Thor Variant), Skurge the Executioner and the leader of the Wrecking Crew, the Wrecker (sadly i didn't have time for his pals). I also updated my CustomCon 13 comments/critiques page to reflect day 4.
10-05-2004 - I hope you've all been checking out CustomCon13. So far it's on Day 3 of a 15 day (!) event. I haven't been able to comment or post new stuff for a while because i've just come back from a 2 week vacation in China. But here's my comments/critiques on the lines so far. Please also check out my Marvel Universe Unfinished Business Thor line. My day 1 entry was the Warriors Three - Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg. Day 2 entry was the gods - Balder the Brave, Odin and the Olympian Sky Father Zeus. Day 3 was the goddesses - Amora the Enchantress, Karnilla and the seductress Lorelei. I have 2 more waves coming up during the con so keep checking them out!
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10-04-2005 -
CustomCon 13 starts! Hosted by
Joe Avecedo,
this is the showcase for customizers. Check out my entry, a Thor
themed line.
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October 2005
9-12-2005 - I have 2 new pictures for my unreleased section, sent in by another anonymous visitor to my site, a Gray Hulk street base (taken from Amazon.com) and a Professor X Jim Lee era wheelchair. These are Marvel Legends Series 9 bases that were not made because they were a part of the Galactus Series and included a piece of the world eater instead. That's all the new stuff i'm showing for now, just been really busy...look for more customs in October!
9-04-2005 - Here's Brother Voodoo, part of my latest wave of Supernaturals. He is a houngan or voodoo priest, the champion of Haiti.
September 2005
8-30-2005 - Here's Lilith, the daughter of Dracula. Like her father she is a vampire but she is not a "daddy's girl," she seeks to destroy him! I was originally planning on entering her and some other Supernaturals for a three figure CustomCon 13 entry (remember the deadline is September 5th) but scrapped that for a bigger line.
8-21-2005 - Continuing the Hellfire Club theme of some of the last few customs, here's a revamped Black Queen Selene, as the original Toybiz version was just a repainted White Queen. Most of the club can be seen in the Hellfire Club Wave 1 and the Hellfire Club Wave 2 sections of my X-Men Villains area.
8-15-2005 - The White Bishop of the Hellfire Club is Donald Pierce, a cyborg who tried to take over the criminal organization.
8-07-2005 - Here's Jean Grey (actually the Phoenix Force after being brainwashed by Mastermind) as the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club. Soon after this she would become the Dark Phoenix!
8-01-2005 - Took parts from the Marvel Legends Black Widow (hair, zipper pull, stingers and belt) to make a 5" scale version.
August 2005
7-25-2005 - The Beyonder was a being from another universe, to be more accurate he WAS his universe. One of the most powerful cosmic beings, capable of wiping out all of existence, he precipitated the Secret Wars in an attempt to understand the human concept of desire. He was made from a Batman Begins Ra Al's Ghul body (the closest i could get to the his jumpsuit), modified a bit with milliput and a Wonder Man head.
7-18-2005 - I made a "bamf" base (the teleportation effect of Nightcrawler's mutant power) since one was never made for the 5" X-Men animated or 6" Marvel Legends version. They probably would have included one with the 6" Nightcrawler but he was part of the "Galactus Wave" and had a piece of the world-eater instead. I just cut out and repainted the Legends Storm base.
7-11-2005 - The Rose is the son of the Kingpin. I made a Spiderman Foes: Gangsters section for him and the previously shown Hammerhead. Would like to eventually make customs of Silvermane and Count Nefaria. Also, the date for CustomCon 13, the showcase for customizers, has been announced by www.joeacevedo.com. The event will run from Oct. 3rd to Oct. 7th, entry guidelines and rules are here. As usual, i'll have an entry of Marvel Universe: Unfinished Business customs, possibly up to five waves.
7-05-2005 - Added a new section, Marvel Alternate and Future Universes, though it's hardly complete, missing alot of 2099 and Age of Apocalypse figures. I prefer the characters from the main universe which is why i never bothered to collect all of the figures from these series.
7-04-2005 - Looking forward to the fireworks tonight, although the (in)famous San Francisco fog might obscure them this year. Hope everyone's enjoying their 4th of July weekend. Today's custom is the Black Bishop of the Hellfire Club. What does he have to do with the holiday, you might ask? Well, the base figure is a Benjamin Franklin action figure, one of America's founding fathers, a perfect base for the rotund X-Men villain.
July 2005
6-27-2005 - Satana and her brother Damion Hellstrom (made by Great White Custom Figures and Design) are the children of a demon that refers to himself as "Satan" although it is not the biblical devil but rather an archduke of Hell. She is a succubus, able to drain the life force of those she kisses. Like her brother she has turned her back on their father. Later she was brought together by Dr. Strange with Jennifer Kale and Topaz as the "Witches."
6-19-2005 - When i have them, I usually post new customs on Monday, but since it's Father's Day I'll show a sort of father figure to the Kree empire, their organic super computer, The Supreme Intelligence! This is a custom I've wanted to make for a long time (especially after seeing Ken and Matt of Mattman's awesome version), It has directed many a Kree war effor and is composed of many of the finest Kree brains! Hope everyone's enjoying the holiday.
6-13-2005 - Fixed up my Weapon X Wolverine by repainting him and adding parts from the Marvel Legends Weapon X.
6-07-2005 - Since the new Fantastic Four movie is coming out, I thought i'd show my Invisible Woman in "mid-transformation" custom. I always thought that Toybiz should have repainted the clear Invisible Woman mold like this instead of using the Spider-Woman mold. That should be it for the simple repainted / kitbashed customs, i'll be showing more unique customs later this month.
June 2005
5-23-2005 - Did a simple repaint of Phoenix. I hadn't planned on making her, but i was peeved that I never saw the Marvel Legends version in retail stores
5-02-2005 - Another War Machine custom, this one was kitbashed with all those missiles and blasts from the very fun Marvel Legends Series 9 War Machine figure. I also used the stand which makes him appear to be flying but i digitally erased it from the picture.
5-01-2005 - I've updated my Iron Man section with pictures of most of his armors. I also did a group shot that you may have seen as my front page image. Also, I fixed up the Jim Rhodes as War Machine figure, it originally used the War Machine 2 armor which did not match his appearance from the comic books..
May 2005
4-11-2005 - Once i saw this custom on Ebay by customizer 6700curtis, i knew i had to get it. ETERNITY is the personification of the Marvel Universe. Along with Galactus and Mistress Death, they form a cosmic trinity. I put him into the Cosmic Powers section of my site. He did a great job on this figure.
4-08-2005 - Well with CustomCon Day 5, yet another great CustomCon has come to a finish. Today was a good showing with the Bug Bait Joe line going way over the top today with a gruesome "crushed soldier" head (not for the squeamish!) Overall i think this line by Citizen Dave has been the most unique and creative of the con. For next time, i want to see a brain-drained soldier, all desiccated-like! Some of the other things from lines that stood all to me today (though all were great) were: The Occult Wars line, which had a great 5" scale DC Death and Hellboy. I also enjoyed seeing his rendition of Blackheart from Day 3. Distant Thunder continues to amaze with a great Dark Knight Returns Batman, all in all another impressive CustomCon showing. Marvel Legends Box Set had an inspired Cannonball, i may just use that idea if i can hunt down another base. Zodiac Ascendant - i got a sneak preview of this from Brother Voodoo before the con, and was very awed by his creative reinterpretation of these old Avenger villains. They all look very formidable, and he definitely put alot of thought and effect into these.
Thanks to Casimir and Bobbi and everyone else involved for running a smooth Con. Though i may not have commented on everyone's efforts I did enjoy seeing all the different styles and techniques throughout the week I also appreciated the feedback on my entry, especially from Ken of Mattman's, Joe Avecedo and Brother Voodoo. Can't wait til the Fall event!
4-07-2005 - Hmmm, what i liked most from CustomCon Day 4 was the Dazzler Collection (both the minimates and the Marvel Legends figure was well done and i have an affinity for the character since my very first custom was Dazzler), Justice League Villains (the three villainesses are very nice), Bug Bait is just continuing to get sicker...wonder if he can top himself tomorrow. The Incredibles line is very well done overall, especially like how Violet turned out. Too bad Elasti-girl wasn't shown, he could have worked on her and claimed Violet was invisible :) X-Men Legends look great, the only problem is that since Ron made an 18" Sentinel he's now gotta make a bigger Galactus since you can't have it towering over the 16" Marvel Legends world eater :) Gotta send some props to 5" scale X-Men Reloaded line, nice job on Cyclops and Marvel Girl.
Great jobs everyone, wish i could comment on everyone's excellent work.
4-06-2005 - For CustomCon Day 3, my favorite has got to be the 12" scale Amazons (and Black Canary) - very cool! Astonishing X-Men Legends is also an impressive line, and while i'd expect no less from the likes of DoubleDealer, Robokillah's work is equally so, though it's new to me. Justice League Legends continues to impress (his third day of showing) - that's a great Batman and Deathstroke.
4-05-2005 - Go check out CustomCon Day 2 now! The Mr. Potato Head line is just too funny (Tater Face!). The Bug Bait Joe figure is quite gruesome! If it's 5" scale Marvels you desire, you gotta settle for my entry of the Elders of the Universe - Champion, Collector, Gardener, Grandmaster and the Runner . I've also uploaded the pictures to my site in the Cosmic Powers section
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4-04-2005 CustomCon Day 1 is on! Go check out some truly creative and cool customs by some of the best and brightest in this hobby. I hope my entry can measure up to the quality I've seen just from Day 1! Thanks to Casimir, Bobbi and the other great people at RTM for running this show. I'll have my thoughts on each entry posted up soon, but the entry by Mattman, "Hulk Characters Then and Now" is a must see for 5" scale Marvel fans. All Star Squadron Animated is also very well done. |
April 2005
3-28-2005 - Mastermind inadvertently caused Jean Grey's (actually the Phoenix Force in disguise) transformation into world-destroying Dark Phoenix! By using his mutant powers of illusion to brainwash her into joining the Hellfire Club as their new Black Queen, he brought her dark and evil inclinations to the surface.
3-21-2005 - Titania is the arch enemy of She-Hulk. I had to make this custom after reading the recent She-Hulk series, an excellent must read!
3-14-2005 - Garokk, also known as the Petrified Man because of his rock-like skin, is worshipped by the Sun People tribe of the Savage Land. Together with Zaladane, he has attempted to conquer the Savage Land but was thwarted by the X-Men .
3-07-2005 - Zaladane claims to be the sister of the X-Men's Polaris (real name - Lorna Dane). She made her way to the Savage Land and became priestess of the cult of Garokk, God of the Sun People. Was killed much later by Magneto (in a particularly gruesome manner) in the awesome Uncanny X-Men #275 written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Jim Lee. I'm also working on Garokk, I'll show him next week.
3-05-2005 - Been suffering from a horrible flu a whole week now, but that won't stop me from showing a picture i just got of the unproduced Iron Man series 5 with 2 sets of two-ups. Sent to me from the anonymous source, thanks! I will also have a new custom for Monday, though it's back to bed for rest today.
March 2005
2-28-2005 - It's an Iron Man day! I've posted up a simple repaint of a 1st Appearance Iron Man (in his grey Iron armor) and an easy headswap for a Tony Stark w/ Iron Man briefcase. I also found pictures of an unreleased Iron Man Quick Changing vehicle that came with a Tony Stark figure dressed in street clothes. Thanks to an anonymous visitor for the heads up regarding that prototype!
2-28-2005 - Just sent off my entry for CustomCon 12 to Casimir of RTM. I finally finished a group of 5 customs, I hope you enjoy it. I can't wait to see what everyone's come up with, every event has some truly awesome work. Again, entry deadline is March 7th so get those paintbrushes going!
2-21-2005 - Just added Magma, from the New Mutants Done with the team for now.
2-16-2005 - I know my website has a hard to remember address so i just registered www.alsactionfigures.com, that address will take you to the front page of my site. For $4.95 a year i can't expect too much. Working on a new custom to be shown on Monday.
2-14-2005 - Red Guardian I was the Soviet answer to Captain America. His death drove his wife to become the Black Widow. He's part of my Soviet Super Heroes section (it would have been Soviet Super Soldiers/Supreme Soviets, but i need customs of Vanguard and Ursa Major).
2-10-2005 - Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year! Because of the holiday i was unable to show a custom as promised, though i had some time today to upload the picture and recipe for Andromeda. She is an Atlantean and joined with the Defenders. I had planned for her to be in a CustomCon entry with Namor foes Krang, U-Man and Tyrak but i had problems getting base figures for those guys.
2-06-2005 - I'm currently working on a couple of customs for my entry to CustomCon 12, the toy show for customizers. It'll be my 5th consecutive CustomCon showing of my fictitious Marvel Universe Unfinished Business line. I'm probably just gonna have a small themed entry of 5-6 figures, but things might change depending on how fast i work, anyway I hope you will check it out. This time the event is set for April 4th thru April 8th with a deadline for submissions on March 7th. Details can be found over at Custom Central, at Raving Toy Maniac here. Of course i will still be showing new customs here that won't make the event, including a new one tomorrow.
February 2005
1-28-2005 - Since my meager customizing skills are a little rusty from not practicing, my first custom for 2005 is an easy one. I fixed up Medusa, of the Inhuman Royal Family by adding her trademark big hair. Her old hairdo didn't quite do her justice and her "hair platform" accessory/base was just too silly
1-20-2005 - I've been putting up the pictures of prototypes as soon as i get them from the anonymous sender - thank you so much you are awesome! Here's Controller 13, cut from the X-Men 2099 assortment and Gauntlet (actually he is Barrage, but was misnamed or perhaps the name was trademarked already). The latter prototype is one i've been searching for almost forever so i'm really glad to see it.
1-19-2005 - The anonymous sender strikes again! This time, they've sent a picture of the legendary prototype for a Dire Wraith. These were ROM Space Knight's alien shape shifting foes. Really wish Toybiz had made these (or made ROM for that matter!)
1-17-2005 - I recently got some new pictures of unreleased Marvel Toybiz figures and playsets from a very generous anonymous source. Check out the Ghost Rider Quick Change Playset, Incredible Hulk Playset, a mini Spider-Man, an alternate shot of the Flying Fighters Cable and more in the Unproduced Figures section of my site.
1-01-2005 - Happy New Year! I've been slow to get back into the customizing game, but I do have a couple of works in progress check back soon.
January 2005
Older Updates
2004 Updates - I had a pretty good output of new customs for that year
2003 Updates - The bulk of my custom announcements, this was the year I started making customs from the rest of the Marvel Universe
2002 Updates - My first customs, back when I was doing only X-Men Universe custom figures
