Customizer

That's one of the BOTP Nanomen. There was also an awesome proposed line of Micronauts Nanomen. Unfortunately the Nanomen never materialized at retail. I have contact info for the owner of the company and am working on contacting him to see if I can find out their status. Reideen1313 do you happen to know what height the Micronauts Nanomen Space Glider figure is? The little information ive drummed up suggest that the figures were to scale i.e. there were 2'', 2.5'' and 3'' figures planned. Im assuming the Space Glider was 2.5'' tall but is there any reason to believe he might have been 3'' tall? Odd question but im trying to figure something out with regards to the figures arms...

The universe could no longer contain the awesomeness of the 2 greatest warriors ever to live, Wolverine & Chuck Norris , so it combined them to form: Wolverine, Texas Ranger (coming to a lame theater near you) * This is not a custom. I was building a custom mini figure to fit in some vehicles i have and needed to borrow some joints from a Mega Bloks figure.....that looked surprisingly like Chuck Norris to me for some reason lol. I thought id test fit Mega Blok heads on Mate bodies *they dont fit without hollowing out the mega blok cavity* and the wolverine / Norris hybrid was to much to pass up* On a side note the head repainted would look a lot like that Pirate , sword carrying X-Men character (dont know his name). And to get you all in the Norris spirit...a Chuck Norris video game: http://artecartum.blogspot.com/2007/08/sup...chqui-bros.html

Oh that Chart is completely my style lol. I have similar pics with that type of information saved but not specifically block figures. NICE work. I suppose Exo-Squad figures could be added to the list then as they arent block but are 3'' tall like some of te block figures and have a minimum of 10 pts. of articulation. The search continues. Thanks Cappy ;-) P.S. I was thinking of the 2.5'' Stikfas Delta Boy. Im not sure if Kini's put out a 2.5'' or shorter figure...

Im played with the idea of putting together a "History of the Mini Figure (2.5'' or smaller)" type of database but after searching for so long i wasnt all that impressed lol. What id like to know for my own knowledge though is if there are any other 2.5 '' or smaller figures that have at least minimate articulation (or a minimum of 10pts. of articulation). They dont have to be block figures. MiniMates Stikfas Nanomen Shockini's Mega Bloks (the new figures) Any others?

Warcraft Mates are a good idea. Miniature poseable orc's, trolls, knights, gnomes, etc...how could you go wrong? Now Starcraft minimates might be an even better idea but that depends on if your into Sci Fi lol.

While generally speaking when it comes to Sci-Fi series im more of a Star Trek: The Next Generation type, BSG has me hooked. I have all 3 seasons myself and remember FLYING through the 1st & 2nd season at break neck speed. The show was that good. The statement about the show being more of a drama with a hint of sci fi is dead on. The character interaction is the foundation of the show..not the Cylons or action scenes. While it isnt as , hmm, intellectual as The Next Generation was at times its still damn captivating. While Baltar is obviously a character that grabs the attention lol im really ...underwhelmed ..by the Admirals son. Its almost as if they didnt want to build the character up to be the Alpha Male but at the same time they give small hints of his character fully coming into being. It annoys the crap out of me. He could be so much more than he is but i suppose that might force the phasing out of the Admiral and of Starbuck (who also annoys me).

That's one of the BOTP Nanomen. There was also an awesome proposed line of Micronauts Nanomen. Unfortunately the Nanomen never materialized at retail. I have contact info for the owner of the company and am working on contacting him to see if I can find out their status. Ahhhhhh...I wasnt familiar with the BOTP Nanomen but i do recall (after researching) the Micronaut Nanomen as a blip on my radar years back. While im not really impressed overall with the BOTP Nano's (i dont know if that odd looking forearm is due to the characters costume design being translated into block style or not but if its a ball joint.. stikfas ball joint forearms are better looking. If its a hinge joint forearm Minimates look much better despite being split in half IMO) ... Hands down the Micronauts line would have received my money. I may have not purchased all of them but i would have purchased at least one. That arm design sealed the deal despite them being 2.5 inches at the smallest height. Thats ok though...that just means customizers need to get to work to duplicate the design on their own. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. **Side Note** It blows my mind that this company creates a fully , truly poseable fig at 2.5 '' tall but Hasbro "All your monies are belonging to us" couldnt fully articulate their 2.5'' Sigma 6 line.

Id love to help in any way. As far as pics , the figure is already put back together but i suppose i can put together something involving a plastic crotch . Looking over pic: 1. Notice that hint of the color white on the right side? Thats the plastic rod. 2. On the left you dont see the white as super glue and possibly a tissue strand covered it up. 3. As you know the superglue melts plastic making a bond but the added fiber (tissue or better yet cotton ball fiber) creates an epoxy resin like bond which is stronger. Either way works but if you dont want to do it 2x...take a few minutes to use some cotton ball fiber (or tissue fiber). Ive made entire accessories using that combo lol. 4. In order to hollow out the "hip balls" you'll need a dremel with a dental burr tip -OR- a dental tool (youll be hollowing it out by hand with this) -OR- drill and a drill bit thats smaller in diameter than the broken ball pieces. An analogy would be hollowing out an orange. There would be nothing but a thin skin left. 5. Drill a hole in the hip *exactly * where the balls were connected previously. Make sure the plastic tube ends fit inside of the hollowed out hip balls. If they do and they are a good fit super glue one of the 2 ball tips on one end of the plastic rod (you now have a lolipop looking piece). 6. Insert the tube back in the hip. You now have a hip that could hold one leg. You have a one legged mate lol. 7. Cut the other side of the tube to the proper length, put on the other hollowed out ball and test fit the other leg. If its the width that its supposed to be /looks like the other minimates, your ready to finish up. 8. Glue the plastic tube in the hip. 9. Glue the 2nd hip ball on the other end of the plastic tube (it would be more correct to call it a rod). 10. Let it sit for a while. Whats a while? Meh...15 minutes? You dont want to do this 2x so let it sit lol. 11. Pop your legs back on and your done. Your Mate is as good as new. Ive had no problems with my mate at all. It performs exactly as it did before the repair job. If i hadnt done the job i wouldnt have known it was done. I dont have any replacement parts (if anyone wants to trade me parts ive got a ton of items to trade) so i just used what i had around. If it was important enough i suppose i could add a dot of brown paint but its not lol. Its exactly the same width as stock form to the millimeter.

To answer your question.... I think hinged hips would look the best, but I also hate to trade on the articulation. That being said, maybe a little closer fit between the thighs and the hip/lower torso piece would make them look a little more robust without giving up the articulation. Thats one of the reasons i picked up a 3 pack of Pyrates from MEga Bloks today. The hip/lower torso section is more narrow / not as wide as the hip/lower torso of the minimates. By roughly 2 mm's if i recall (which at this scale makes a big difference). I plan on making some mods..*sigh* once i actually get some MM's in hand that is.

...... :biggrin: And that just answered one of my questions . Ive been eye balling that combination for roughly a month now but had no mates to work with . Thats about to change I wanted to buy the Jazware MM Figs but i kept putting it off for some reason. Finally it hit me: I want MINI MM figs...not 5'' figs. I guess its that "chibi factor" with a cartoon character like the bomber. Was really tempted though on several occasions. Had there have been a 3 3/4 '' scale MM i would have broken down and bought it.

YESSS! Definitely. I love Megaman so much, more then any Marvel character around. Megaman X was always my favorite, though. Does that make me unpure? Or shuold I say, "corrupted"? Heck, I wouldn't REALLY care if they even did Megaman Battle Network, since all the characters in that are essentially homages/rip-offs/new incarnations of the originals. I LOVE MEGAMAN!!! I third that Megaman has been growing on me something fierce every since ive watched the anime . The cartoonish nature of the character is perfect for mates. NT Warrior (aka Battle NEtwork aka Rockman EXE), Mega Man X (everyone loves that series right?) or the original would work. All id ask is that characters like , oh, Cutman receives actual blades molded onto the shoulders or at the very least have removeable blades that the buyer could glue in place if they wanted. A bombman minimate....dear...Gawd....

Donny, Glad i found this thread... That Megaman X has made everything right in the universe. IMO if teres any license that would translate extremely well to 'Mate form..its Rockman (megaman). I have a mild interest in the original blue bomber, *really* dig the 'X' design (and have the Megaman X movie . Why that wasnt turned into a regular anime is beyond me. It would have been legendary) and oddly enough i like the Rockman.exe aka Megaman NT Warrior series the best (the japanese version . Havent seen the American version). NT Warrior Mates....ahhhhh No love for the EXE Series Alpheon? For some reason even though the 'X' Series has everything an action figure collector / sci fi enthusiast could hope for in its story line... Exe appeals to me more. I dont understand it either Its light hearted & i like the PC avatar as your personal warrior angle. Which is odd as i dont game... What dont you like?

Although the Bomb Man mate this thread is about is cool... I was really hoping there WAS a Bomberman minimate (Megaman character).

I dont know if this is relevant or not but ... When one of my Mates ball joints broke off i broke the other off, found some extremely stiff plastic tubing (i think from a pizza box..those white plastic tripod stands in the middle of the pizza) and drilled a hole to insert the plastic tube through in the hip section. Following i used my smallest drill bit and drilled a hole on the back end of each of the broken ball joints (slowly!) added super glue and a few extremely tiny toilet tissue strips and glued them on the plastic tubing. In the end it looks stock / exactly as it did before it broke. Luckily i havent had any other mates break but if i did id use the same method assuming i didnt have a replacement part.

luke314pi - What block figures boast more articulation than Minimates (other than Shockini's which are a different height and arent really to my preference)? I suppose extra details never hurt so you cant go wrong with additional paint app's. Although im a big fan of the Stikfas delta boy extreme im not a big fan of the elbow design (i.e. ball joints at the elbow). To much has to be done to hide that style of joint there in order to make it look more natural. Reideen1313 - Im all for the additional torso joint. Theres ZERO reason that it couldnt be added on the smooth standard Mate body. Certain figures with accessories might make that difficult but it wouldnt be impossible. What figure line is that picture from? Does that figure have ball jointed elbows? I dig the shoulder design it has (small hinges). The Futurama figures are like that and were REAL close to being perfect. It seems like if you combined the stikfas , Mates and Futurama I-Men youd have the perfect mini. Pricey but perfect I 100% agree regarding the swivel bicep. Thats the ONLY reason i got back into Minimates is because of the swivel bicep issue. Minimates are cool but the swivel arm makes them border line great for me. Like Nervous i grew up on and was spoiled by the GI Joe standard articulation. Anything short of that wont get my money. Ever. captain_cbecker - what would be a perfect hip design for you on the mate body? hinges or simply wider ball joints?

They all look well done (very) but the hands on DOOP the cameraman really draw the eyes to the figure. Little extra's like that make a custom stand out IMO. What did you use for the hands on that figure?

I thought id ask this question as im looking at a mate & im not sure if mates could be any better than they are while maintaining the block look of a mate. Would the perfect minimate be a mate with more points of articulation? IMO yes but i realize not everyonr caares about poseability. Would the perfect mate be a more "realistic" looking 2'' figure? Again for me yes....but would that still be a mate? Someone mentioned in another thread the issue that arises when you start increasing the size of the minimate to 2.5'' tall (scale issues). Wouldnt making mates more proportional/"realistic" create the same problem? If so does that eliminate that avenue as far as making 'mates better? Im just curious if Minimates have reached the pinnacle of perfection in their form or if there is any room for improvement?

I, too, am from the land whose currency is more valued than the US dollar lol . Side question: Country men...where are you picking up 'mates? Brick and Mortar retail stores or online strictly?

I agree completely . As a fan of 2.5'' or smaller *articulated* figures , Minimates are very near near perfect as a 2'' figure. At 2.5'' tall or beyond though the appeal of the block design begins to wear off (for me primarily due to higher articulation expectations at that scale. Exo Squad figures were roughly 3'' tall and not only boasted more articulation but LOOKED more like humans as well. SOme of the GI Joes of recent years flirted with the 3'' height mark as well *Built To Rule figures*). Since stepping down in scale isnt an option for the 'Mates line in order to capture height differences while still maintaining the "cuteness factor" i suppose they dont really have an option but to increase size but at 2.5-3'' tall...Minimates start running into similar sized competition that they cant overcome with regard to design and aesthetic appeal.

Ill have to reply later in full but Fuji's where did the arms on the Red Devil Minimate custom come from (the hinge arms)?

Quick Question: The modified arms on the Optimus Prime custom pictured earlier in this thread...is the hinge held together by a metal pin (needle) ? Ive seen this method used on several figures and ive used it myself on non mate customs. if they arent held together by metal pins what are they held together by? Did you use foreign (i.e. not minimate) plastic to make the hinge?

...SO i happened to see a picture of the charity minimates and noticed one (at least) had sculpted musculature on its still some what square frame. I realize that most people like the squared mini block bodies and i do as well but im curious as to whether anyone else has added sculpted muscles or detail to their mates? Id really like to know how far customizers have taken the Minimate medium as far as using it as a blank base for adding detail (that isnt only hand drawn). Are there any pics out there to check out that fall into this category?

I had the opportunity to experiment with a 2005 (at least thats the date stamp on the leg) Cyclops ( that came with the white witch ?) and sure enough....it has the greater range of motion that Cap displays. Considering the Exclusive was from 2004 i guess you could confidently state that at the latest the "new" shoulder design showed up in 2005.

Thanks a lot Danny. I suppose the only question left is whether or not the exclusive Battle Damaged Cap style shoulders / arms with extended range of motion are the norm currently for the standard minimates (which youd think would be easy enough to find out here seeing as though the exclusive BD Cap was released in 2004). And what is this new leg construction you speak of ?

Ok so i can expect that in a given lot of figures some will have the ability to extend their arms almost completely out to the sides like Battle Damaged Captain America and the yellow blank figure and others will be more along the lines of the 1st cap (angled downwards). Are the manafacturers of MM's aware of this variance? Its hard to believe that what one would think would be a running modification to increase the ROM is actually an accident they might not be aware of / concerned with. Is there any indication that they know about the range of motion difference? I read some where that it was a response to complaints about the lack of range in the shoulders to begin with...