Lobsterman

Sorry to hear you've stepped back from the customizing game HP, you were always one of the greats! Yes, Luke's templates are accurate for sizing. One drawback I found to the ALPS decals is that they don't store long-term very well. I had done a run with a bunch of customs I planned to do at some later date. When I eventually got around to using some about 8 months later, the decal paper was very brittle and pretty much disintegrated when it hit the water. The guy at the company told me it's a known issue, but can be mitigated somewhat by keeping in a sealed ziplock bag in a reasonably climate-controlled environment (i.e., not my 120º-during-the-summer garage.)

A while back, I found this company that does custom ALPS printed decals. The advantage of these is they can do silver and gold metallic and opaque white, which is great for use on a dark-colored background like, say, Cobra insignias on black uniforms. It's a little pricey (about $60 for a 8.5"x13" sheet) but if you make decals for a bunch of customs it doesn't sting quite as much. https://www.bedlamcreations.com/

Two-packs of Minimates have been at or below $10 since I started collecting them nearly 20 years ago. On the other hand, Kotobukiya model kits, to take an example—which are sprues of non-assembled, non-painted plastic—have been increasing by about $10 a year for the past five. There have been incremental price increases on four-packs, but considering the supply chain woes of the past two years and 7% inflation in the past year, I'm frankly surprised DST have been able to hold prices relatively stable for this long.

Nerv! Good to see you!

A looooog time ago, I started work on articulating a MAX Galactus statue, fiddling with it on and off over the years but never quite finishing it. Now cleaning out my garage, moving on with life, etc, I realize I’m probably never going to finish it and it’s a dang shame. I hate for this rare statue to go to waste, and think if it were finished it would be a really special piece of someone’s collection. So, I’m looking for an enterprising customizer interested in picking up the torch and finishing this guy off. Where it’s at: • It’s separated into all of the component parts of a Minimate body; head, torso, waist, arms, legs, hands, and feet. • I’ve drilled out and epoxied in ball and socket joints at the neck, shoulders, and hips; these are the ball rods from a Stikfas jumbo figure, roughly in scale, and bored out sockets lined with hot glue and a friction-fit rubber (plas-dip). I’ve tested individual joint stability and it seems to hold pretty well, but I haven’t tried assembling the whole thing to see how it holds its own weight. • I’ve put in hinge joints in the elbows and knees using metal screwposts. The elbows have full range of motion; the knees are a bit restricted because of the boot cuffs. • I’ve put in peg joints on the hands and feet, so they work like regular Minimate hands and feet. So, the engineering is mostly done. What it still needs: • Depending on how fussy you are, the skirt could probably use some sculpting and finishing work. • Assemble and test joint integrity, possibly reinforce the resin if needed. • The whole thing needs to be painted. As I said, I’d hate for this project to be 75% done and tossed out, but I’m most likely never going to finish. If you’re interested, I’ll send to you at no cost, with only the hope you’ll make something amazing. PM me and I can give you any other information you need.

Yeah, this damn year. Really, really sad for so many young kids of color who looked up to him as a role model.

Totally random thing, but Dan Slott has Wave 8 Stealth Suit Spider Man as his Twitter profile pic! That is all.

Yes, it is.

I... think you may be onto something.

A comment about how DST "said they're not a video game company" and one about a missed opportunity for bottle openers, and I'll have Bingo!

Funko is becoming the gray goo of toys.

I noticed the other day that TRU was also deeply discounting Skylanders, Amiibo, and (also discontinued) Disney Infinity stuff. I guess the trend toward video game/IRL crossover toys was overhyped? As you mentioned, HP, I think all of these lines were way too expensive to collect on a practical level.

Don't we all turn into Deadpool in some little way, in our hearts?

Not just that, but consider the geek meta of the interrogation scene between Ross and Klaue!

Does filing for bankruptcy really mean anything in the corporate world anymore aside from "we don't feel like paying our bills?" Seems like the social stigma is no longer relevant, and investment firms seem to like the prospects of companies with a lot of assets and a clean balance sheet.