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What's Your Favorite/Least Favorite Thing About Customizing?


hellpop

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Isn't it odd that we've got a bunch of customizers running around here, but we don't really talk about customizing all that much? So I thought I'd rectify that and start a dialog with a simple question: what's your favorite and least favorite thing about customizing?

For me, I really like the initial thrill of figuring out a custom formula. I love getting a new set of Minimates (or seeing photos of upcoming releases) and thinking about possible custom uses for 'em, and I love hitting on a character I'd like to make and cracking the code, so to speak. I've been known to go to bed, start thinking about possible custom projects, only to get out of bed and start rifling through my Minimates if I get too inspired that I can't wait until morning.blush.png To me, that's really the fun of it, to find just the right combination of parts to give you the framework for someone new. There's nothing better then being able to go from an idea to a finished custom in a short period of time. Yesterday, while reading over the "most essential missing villain" thread, I realized that I wanted to make the Wizard. So I whipped up a quick decal, found a Tony Stark head that worked pretty perfectly, and discovered that Viewtiful Joe's helmet, with some modification, matched the Wizard's helmet nicely. In a few hours, I had a finished custom of a character that I hadn't even been planning, made out of scrap parts.

My least favorite part? Easy. Painting! I hate it. I've neither the skill nor the patience to do it well. I have no ability to paint details, and more and more I'm turning to decals make up for my painting shortcomings. I've been very glad that Minimates have moved more towards sculpted pieces and one-color chest, crotches, arms and legs, because it means I don't have to paint those things as often. I'd rather buy multiple Thing 'mates for the orange parts underneath then paint 'em.

Ultimately, I really like the conceptual part of customizing, and the actual work not so much. I've never taken a commission (though I've been asked once or twice, believe it or not) because I simply don't feel that I have the level of skill required to charge money. For me, the fun of customizing is in creating a physical representation of a character that has some meaning to me, however small. I don't so much care for the journey, just the anticipation and the destination (I'm like that when I travel).

How about everybody else?

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Hellpop. You and I are one in the same.

I get more excited about a new wave for CUSTOM potential parts/pieces than I do the actual figures themselves. If it is a figure set I do want to add to my collection, I'll buy multiples just for the extra parts- it's how my minimate collection grew so quickly- not from a collection of teams standpoint, but from random parts floating between plano cases.

I have a pile on my desk at work (the only real time I get to do customs is on my lunch hour) of figures 'on the bench'.

Least favorite part?

While painting (especially multiple coats of WHITE for my AOA angel- it took FIVE coats) is a pain, I find tracking down specific parts (whether it be in a plano case or ebay) to be more frustrating. Especially when the piece I seek was send out in a recent trade (Darn it) or goes for big bucks on ebay- when all I really need is the hairpiece and toss the rest in my loose pile.

Favorite part?

Putting them together with ACTUAL minimates. Sometimes, if I'm lucky I can't even tell the difference of what was store bought versus my finished custom.

Great idea for a thread! thanks.gif

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I am going to answer this twice, once for my customizing in general, and one more specific to minimates customs. I really love customizing. It's one of my favorite parts of the toy collecting hobby. And really, I love the entire process. It's relaxing to me yet at the same time a lot of work if I am doing commissions. I don't really have anything that I dislike, but I certainly have my favorite parts of the process, and my least favorite.

What I love the most about customizing is creating a character that has not existed before, that I can tell a new story through. Especially since the main toyline I collect (Battle Beasts) didn't see anything new for 25 years. We had the original 112 figures, and that was it. So it was exciting to make a figure of an animal that hadn't been used yet. Initially I started making different animals, like spotted eagle rays, gila monsters, and some dinosaur battle beasts. Then, as I expanded my story more, I decided that I wanted more different characters that were still similar animals. I created a story and world filled with clans of similar minded animal warriors. For instance, one of the clans that serves as some of the main characters in my storyline are a clan of northmen like warriors comprised of different bears for the most part. The original line had two bears and a polar bear, but over the past couple years, I started making black bears, other grizzly bears, kodiaks, etc... I even made Bjorn, the bear king of the clan. It has been a ton of fun to create a story and begin making my own figures for that story.

I also love painting once I have gotten past the base coats and i can start doing shading, highlighting, details, etc... I love adding more depth and detail to the figures. Especially if the figure has a really nice, detailed sculpt, than through these techniques I can really pick out and highlight those details and make the sculpt pop even more.

In general customizing, the part that I probably dislike the most is the initial base coats. It can be a bit tedious, and depending on what color I am going for, it can take several thin coats that take a while to get through. (White and Yellow are always going to be a headache if a large part of the figure is going to be that color) I am most interested in the detailed painting, so the initial base coats for the skin, armor, clothes just feels like it takes a long time to get through.

Since I enjoy using customizing and painting to create new characters, I don't really like to make a custom over again if I don't have to. If I am making a figure that's an exact copy of a figure I have already done, there isn't as much of a sense of discovery for me through the process. If I make a custom, and then someone comes to me and wants me to make one for them, often I will either just give them the original and make a new one for myself, or I'll work with them to figure out how to make their custom similar but unique and one of kind. I started modeling and painting in the world of Warhammer, but having to paint the same troop a hundred times got to me, and that's a big reason why I switched over to toys. Every figure can be unique.

For minimates customizing, I love to look through and findi parts that will work to make a new custom, but at the same time it's also the thing that I like the least as well. While I have made some combinations that I think look really nice, I also get frustrated by the lack of parts that I have. I am still very new to minimates collecting, and so my extra parts are limited to two small ziplock bags. I'll have an animal head that I really think will work nicely for a BB minimate, but I just don't have the parts to complete the armor portion of the body. And around me, my comic book stores are very limited in what they get for Minimates, so I have to rely on comic conventions in spring and summer, or looking through the database and ordering off ebay. The problem with that is that I may look a pictures of a figure with a certain part that I like, but I don't know exactly how it will work until I get it in hand.

Edited by delta chameleon
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My favorite part is the process. Designing decals, experimenting with paints, sculpting...

My least favorite part is being disappointed with the end product, when I can never quite get it to the level of perfection I can see in my mind's eye. I think I spend more time scrapping and redoing customs I'm not satisfied with than doing new customs.

Edited by Lobsterman
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I have never customed a figure, but I do love seeing a new piece and visualing what It could be used for. I'm just to kack handed to do fine figure work but I have always been able to reimagine how things fit be it toys or bits of cars, bikes anything like that. But make it from scratch not a chance. I would rather hit stuff with hammers.

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@ Jeff: A few years ago, I just decided to start making the custom and worrying about replacing the parts for the official 'mate later. It's saved me a lot of headaches.

@ Delta: your perspective as a non-Minimate (until recently) customizer is really interesting. I think most of us here are almost exclusively Minimate customizers, right? I know I am. Anyway, your methods and your goals are almost completely the opposite of mine, but I think that's pretty cool. BTW, I hope you've discovered the parts trade thread by now. Best place to find those parts you need, and you should definitely PM some of us longtime collectors.

@ Lobster: I think you're probably the only one that's disappointed in your end results. You must be, like, the tormented genius of Minimate customs.

@ MiniFiend: I'm telling you, it's easier then you think. Luke's put together amazing resources at the Factory, and you've got a whole board of experts to pester here. Take the plunge and give it a try.

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@ Delta: your perspective as a non-Minimate (until recently) customizer is really interesting. I think most of us here are almost exclusively Minimate customizers, right? I know I am. Anyway, your methods and your goals are almost completely the opposite of mine, but I think that's pretty cool. BTW, I hope you've discovered the parts trade thread by now. Best place to find those parts you need, and you should definitely PM some of us longtime collectors.

I actually did not know about the parts trade thread. That is something to consider in the near future when I start working on some more customs. Thanks for the tip!

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I'm having trouble saying my favorite part without making it sound like "My favorite part is making the whole thing." It's kind of conceptualizing I guess. Figuring out how to make what you need, be it a specific part you need or the design of the paint. The kinda thing that once you've done it makes you feel really clever, but if you didn't quite get it right, makes you feel like a big failure.

My least favorite part is sculpting. Don't get me wrong, I love scratch-building things, as long as I don't have to use a sculpting compound to do it. Look here. I was having the time of my life while I was making that Mr. Freeze armor, until the picture in the lower right. It's tedious and messy, and you have to wait forever for things to dry. A huge number of my projects have been delayed because I can't find the motivation to sculpt.

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Reading through the previous comments I would tend to agree with a lot of you.

The Good

I love the conceptual bit of the design process, working pout what pieces I would use, what would need to be sculpted and designing decals. Sort of related, I love looking through the customs on here, seeing what other have done and finding things I had never considered doing.

The Bad

However that is generally as far as I ever get. The lack of minimnates available to me, and limited resources means I never have spares about to customise. I also hate wasting stuff, so I refuse to buy a mate just for one small piece of it, also like to have two in case it goes wrong, as well as the original mate still intact :P

The Other

When I experimented with doing some Star Trek dioramas it was a good experience, one could I actual made something, and it convinced em I can complete something. Yes, I had to do an entire mock up first to make sure it was all correct, but I was bowled over by the result.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey, so I have another one.

It's my least favorite thing about one of my most favorite things. I hate finishing up a really interesting bit of painting with lots of cool details, and having to start painting something really boring like a pair of pants. That's gonna put this custom on hold for a little bit...

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