Customizer

I realize that in most cases (if not all perhaps) there'd be no reason to take apart minimate legs as the body parts are standard with different paint or detail applications but im curious to know if any of you have taken the legs apart at the knee section? If so did you use the usual boiled water method? How much give (flexibility) do the legs have ?

Now that is a nice slip over chest piece application . Well done !

Ok you must be looking for me ...and im going to bite lol. GET OUT OF MY MIND. I *just* put down a Minimate after testing it in a Starcom Shadow Force tank. It wouldnt fit inside the tanks seating area (front) but i hadnt placed it in my Starmax (the ship you have). I naturally assumed if the Minimate heads were to big for the tank driver compartment then they wouldnt fit anything else. Ive thought to myself ..oh..at least 10 times that Starcom really reminded me of Battle Star Galactica. Yes there are differences but something about the style of the toys (& show) strike me as similar so much that ive pretty much taken to considering my Starcom items BSG items. Ive got 50 magnets for just this purpose. Its not just you Ive said that countless times (especially when ive watched them in action in the anime series). Starcom = damn near the best toy line ever created.

I found myself in a toy aisle today briefly and stared at a Spiderman 3 Mega Bloks item for at least 5 minutes inspecting every detail. In the end i couldnt bring myself to buy it as there were some flaws that i just couldnt justify spending money on to fix. With that said though these figures are really nice looking . Really. Great detail (musculature!) but stumpy arms and legs. Nice vivid color..mutant large head. Had i come across the Rhino figure i would have purchased it hands down regardless of the enlarged cranium. That figure is worth customizing.

Does the Smart Hulk have an actual sculpted torso or is it a sculpted slip pver chest piece accessory? If its a sculpted torso (actual) ....how did i miss this ?

Im impressed with a number of the figures you have (Vulture is very clean) but the 2 that really speak to me are Superpatriot and Zombie Robotic Wasp. The detail / accessories with these figures starts to truly make them border on mini action figures . Especially the over sized shoulder pads of the super Patriot

I 2nd that. It was a modification by Antacost and the Cyclon pictures that brought me into the fold.

TNG was a critical part of my growing up and ive got a soft spot in my heart for that show. The figures may not be exciting but guaranteed ill be buying them regardless.

The Wonderwoman and Tigra look alike (hey...i havent gotten into DC comics just yet. Im working on it) look pretty good and i dont partiuclarly care for Wonder Woman. In fact the Tigra look alike is an attention grabbing piece. I liked the STRIPE figure before i found out it had handles on its friggin' BACK that would allow Starr Girl to hitch a ride. Now its a guaranteed purchase. Handles on teh back...now thats playing into a customizers hands. For me the standout pair are Sgt Rock an Blackhawk as well. Sgt. Rock just goes to show you that army builder types are always successful.

I recall reading a commentary some time back on ...i believe it was the Minimates Headquarters...concerning the comparison made by a Lego fan of Lego figures and Minimates. I believe the gist of it was that the "..Minimates were no Lego figure..". The response by the person that submitted the commentary regardign teh Lego figure fans comment was that ( paraphrase) "While Minimates are no LEgo building blocks..LEgo figures are no minimates figure.". That sums it up in my opinion. If you come from a block background Mates are friggin mana to the soul. If you come from an action figure background i think you find Minimates appealing because they are small and have larger action figure qualities (and eventually will find yourself leaning towards more of those action figure qualities popping up in the line). Has anyone taken a long hard look at the Mega Bloks Pirates of the Caribbean figure line? If they were as tall as mates and had mates proportions they wouldnt be half bad. Unfortunately they are stumpy and suck minimate I dont know what the core of the fan base is made up of but i give the manufacturers credit for walking a tight rope with regard to what they put out. They are doing good thus far.

They just went up a notch in my opinion...

*Takes Deep Breath* Ill keep this as short as i can. I am a purchaser of mini figures. My mini figures do *not* need to be blocky. Minimates have established themselves as "mini block figures w/ articulation" but i am very open to the idea of them moving away from the "block only" design , even if in small increments, so long as the figure still looks good. I love the look of the standard minimate body when representing Superman. It looks GOOD (enough to spend money on). Simple Yet effective. I like Sgt. Rock using the standard minimate template as well. Again..enough to spend money on ( i emphasize this as im already a financial supporter of the line , thus im fine with the product as is, but im not opposed to seeing it evolve or try new things). With that said..i would also purchase a Minimate Superman if it had a sculpted torso (NOT a slip over torso accessory thats used to add "bulk" or size. I think those look horrible in the overwhelming majority of the times they are used). Slip Over clothing is ok. I would love a Sgt. Rock 2'' figure with full poseability that actually had sculpted ab's or sculpted head. I like the idea of sculpted heads provided that they look good / are appealing. I did not like the retarded slip on head pieces of the Thing and Hulk figures. Blah. I do like the sculpted hair on the hulk (zombie) better. Im not opposed to minimates becoming "mini action figures" so long as they look good. I saw Saalak , the "bug" Green Lantern , for the first time tonight and my first thought was " Wow!! Thats a good looking figure! Is that a detailed torso!? Id buy a lot more minimates if they start making them more along these lines." That may be because i already view minimates as mini action figures that are blocky as opposed to what some people seem to view them as...block styled action figures. I like the 'mates because they are small action figures that have articulation on par with larger figures..not because they are blocky (at least thats not the exclusive reason). There are customs on the board that have detailed/sculpted torso's and they look good. If the sculpting was kept "soft" (not overly detailed) you could get away with a minimate with sculpted detail in the body and face while still maintaining the cute look. The only downside to this is the lack of uniform parts with regard to customizing. Personally i dont see this as a big deal but i come from a larger scaled action figure customizing background where , in general, there are no "universal body parts". If someones main selling point with regards to 'mates is the standard parts then i can understand their frustration. Ultimately im of the opinion that smaller need not mean "less" with regard to action figures. That includes detail. Im not sure if the block design was solely an aesthetic that was deemed new and exciting or if , truthfully, the creators wanted detailed mini action figures but realized it was more cost efficient to create block figures. Either way it was a hit & im purchasing them but id love to see the sculpted alternative .

Max and Deadpool ..i sent you both pm's.

http://www.toyarchive.com/STAForSale/NEW20...shUnknown1a.jpg Here you are Deadpool. 3'' tall (maybe 3.5'') so they are smack dab in the middle between GI Joes and mini figures.

EXO-Squad! Oh man those were some cool toys. back in the day those were awesome. I would not consider them block figures but I would consider them cool. I did not think anyone still remembered that show. wow! Oh HELL yeah. That line was everything an action figure line was supposed to be..and the anime was top notch as well (great writing for that show). I have the entire animated series & watch an episode whenever i can on the PC. The figs were not far from the 2.5'' mark and looked like real , proportional human figurines to boot. What could have been... *opens up media player to watch an episode*

Well im looking forward to the day that Cap returns. I was never a an over the top Cap' fan by any stretch for a variety of reasons but after reading Civil War .....Cap moved up a few notches in my book ( as did a few other characters). Having an icon like that killed off speaks more to the death of American morals and virtue than anything else (which they explored).

Im a mini figure fan (2.5'' or smaller..preferably 2'') and i dont compromise on articulation so that makes Minimates teh only game in town for me outside of my own customs. ANY and ALL sites and detailed info regarding Minimates is welcome Rest assured ill be all over that site and here .

Thanks everyone for the replies. I believe the femur is the issue myself (along with the head issue). If the heads were the same size as cbecker mentioned i probably wouldnt have noticed. Agreed. This doesnt change anything for me. The figures still have a magic about them but based upon measurements if i want "more to scale / real looking 2'' figures" ill have to head swap/transplant. That wont happen to often. The look on cyclops face is mesmerizing enough to over look its big head lol.

Wow...that Sgt. Rock at first glance is damn impressive. An entire army of Sgt. rock figures with custom heads.... No wonder ive yet to see him.

So im comparing a minimate to another figure thats the same height (actually the mate is taller by 1 or 2 mm's). I notice that despite the figures being the same height the legs of the non minimate were "longer" or "taller". Meh..no biggie..mates have their own look going for them and it works. But then i started to notice the arms. Now..ive never noticed it before but something now seems "off". Are the arms to long for mates or are the legs to short? An average persons arms hang to about mid thigh and the mates arms seem to end closer to the knee's. Are the lower legs to short? I know..im paying WAY to much attention to a small figure but now that my curiosities been piqued.....

You and i both. Its clearly a clockwise rotation to me and i cant see any reason to think otherwise (even after staring at its butt. Hey...i like nice behind lol). Edit: WHOA! I stared at the knee for a bit of time and forced my mind to counter rotate and eventually it started "turning" in the other direction. It took a bit of forcing in order it to rotate in teh clockwise direction a 2nd time.

I just recently caught up on the happenings in the Marvel Comic World so forgive the ignorance but... Is Steve Rogers aka Captain America (THE Cap') really dead? I read the issue where he was shot but just naturally assumed that he'd be back in a few months or a year. While it hasnt been a year yet are there any signs that Steve is really dead and not coming back? Re: the new uniform Looks decent enough. Someone suggested it was Winter Soldier inspired and id have to say thats a fair comment.

A training guide for new posters... You mean something like this : http://gprime.net/flash.php/postingandyou ? I think that might solve your problems :-)

Customizing fixes all :-) Grab some "clay" and superglue and plastic and get creative. That usually adds some spice to the line ..a bit of variation that cant be bought.

Clear coat nail polish or the "super glue method" should take care of that. If using the super glue method be sure to continue twisting (or reinserting until the super glue is dry so as not to permanently superglue the hand in the wrist.