Joe Hill

They finally showed up at my local TRU. They had 3 Dracula/Van Helsing, 3 Frankenstein(s), 1 B/W set, and 1 Bride/Villager. I was a little surprised by the distribution.

Another local TRU in my area is getting these off the truck tomorrow, so they seem to be coming in at a faster rate than expected.

Love those faces boyd, especially the second one. Fantastic job!

Thanks! Here's a quick shot of the faces in use:

One thing I've discovered - any hairpiece with bangs hanging down in the front will not fit, because of the size of the Bride's dress:

The faces look great Boyd! Nice work! I found this picture from the 1931 Dracula (which the minimate set is based upon) and it seems all the Brides have their hair pulled back anyhow:

I talked to a ToysRus Employee today. She said that Universal Monsters Minimates Series 2 has been released to 3 stores, and the rest of the stock is being shipped to the warehouse next week. After that, it will take 1-2 weeks for them to arrive in most stores. So it looks like it will be about 2-3 more weeks for most people.

I'm not sure how accurate the information is, but I thought I would share.

For those who were able to pick them up, would you be willing to help me with a couple questions?

1) Does The Bride's bandages cover her whole body?

2) Is Dracula's cape attached to his coat/vest?

Thank you!

1) No. the bride's body is blank white.

2) Yes, it's all one piece.

Thanks Boyd! Although those were both the answers I didn't want to hear :sad:

I was hoping to use the Bride's body and custom head for a stand-in Mummy Minimate, and use Dracula's cape as a separate piece for another custom. Oh well, time to get creative.

Neither of my local TRUs had these in yet, but one had two cleared pegs near the Universal Monster figures, so I figure they should in stock soon.

For those who were able to pick them up, would you be willing to help me with a couple questions?

1) Does The Bride's bandages cover her whole body?

2) Is Dracula's cape attached to his coat/vest?

Thank you!

Too bad DST had not previously released a female vampire minimate. One could use that head and modify it with the bride of Frankenstein body and dress to make a few brides of Dracula (if one was army building the villager).

There are many talented customizers on this board, maybe one of them can make a few different female vampire decals/stickers for people on this board to use?

BTW, anyone else think that Dracula looks like the version from the Monster Squad?

We just need a small girl for him to give the chokehold.

Wolfmans got nards!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_q2j1mzMtk&feature=related

Or a crazy-eyed Emperor Palpatine!

Thanks!

The hunchback was created from a Terror Dog chest piece but flipped around so the rounded chest was on the back, I then sanded down the Terror Dog spine and removed the shoulders. I also added sculpted pieces as rags hanging off the back, as seen in this photo:

I also sculpted the brain and made the "Abnormal" display, I felt it was a fitting accessory.

Here is the face decal if anyone is interested, feel free to use it:

UPDATE: August 9th, 2011

I impulsively made an Igor to go with the Frankenstein set. He is mostly based off Igor from Young Frankenstein, since that is my favorite look of the character:

Good selections, Joe!

I'd add a "Son of Frankenstein" version of the Monster w/ wooly vest and Fritz or Ygor in there.

Also, a Gillman from "Creature Walks Among Us" would be nice.

A Son of Frankenstein Monster would be fun. It is funny you mention Fritz and Ygor, I just finished customizing an Ygor in anticipation of the Frankenstein Minimates being released soon. He isn't based off Fritz or any Ygor in specific, but mostly Igor from Young Frankenstein.

Looks like the universal monsters statues wave 3 will feature the phantom of the opera and invisible man!hopefully that's what wave 3 of mates will be!

Those two monsters would definitely be a nice addition for the Universal Monster minimates. I made customs of them, but will gladly replace them with DST's products.

After Drcaula and Frankenstein, the only other wave shown was The Mummy. I hope The Invisible Man and Phantom get added into Wave 3. While I enjoy all the supporting civilian characters being released (Gwen Conliffe, Van Helsing, etc); an average collector really just wants the monsters. It might be best for the survival of the line to just limit releases to the main monsters and maybe just one supporting character:

Invisible Man (robe)/Flora

Phantom (w/ removable mask)/Christine

Invisible Man (trenchcoat)/Red Death Phantom

Quasimodo/Esmerelda

Mole Person/Metaluna Mutant

Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (Abbott and Costello version)

Simple yet VERY effective. BTW, I am NOT a profile shot of a Licker.

Sorry, didn't mean to insult you. :biggrin:

It was actually one of the easiest customs, just sculpt a brain, longer front claws, and a tongue. Everything else was non-detailed painting.

"Just sculpt a brain" - you make it sound so easy...

The brain was actually easier for me than the tongue! I kept making the tongue too curvy, too straight, too thin, etc. Then brain is mainly too masses lumped together, with toothpick lines:

If I can do it, anyone can.

Thanks to Luke's Toy Store, I was able to make some zombies for the characters to battle. They are mainly decals added to the 24 season 1 set, as recommended... along with some spare parts put together. I went wild with the blood and dirt paint, I wanted the zombiemates to look like they are vicious:

The lab coat zombie on the left and the green blazer zombie on the right are supposed to loosely represent two classic zombies seen in Resident Evil 1:

*I pretty much give all credit to Luke's Toy Store, since the decals provided worked perfectly for my project. I highly recommend them!

I hope these are the finished product, they look fantastic!

Thanks to everyone who responded with feedback! It feels good after working on these customs for a while (I kept putting them off, and neglecting to finish them). MINI_MYTE is a profile shot of the Licker (sorry, image is taken with iPhone):

It was actually one of the easiest customs, just sculpt a brain, longer front claws, and a tongue. Everything else was non-detailed painting.

Evil Dead is a fantastic custom set. I love the effects you did on Linda's dress. It really looks like she was buried, then returned! Henrietta is also a very complicated custom, but you pulled it off well. Great work!

All your modifications really help improve the minimates. I especially like Cable and Power Man. Also using a bead for the cosmic cube was very clever!

Thanks for the compliments everyone, they are very much appreciated! I agree that DST could make a successful wave from Resident Evil, especially with the endless supply of Tyrants, Monsters, and of course Zombies. Now that I have finished the bulk of the Resident Evil main stars, I might try making some monsters and zombies... maybe a Plagas-infested mate. I ordered the Zombie decal kit from Luke' Toy Store. It will be my first attempt at decals, so wish me luck.

Additionally, using some Terror Dog parts, paint, and light sculpting... I made a Licker from RE2:

Any comments/criticisms/questions/ideas are welcome!

--Joe Hill

I love it when spare parts become cool customs! I think my favorite is also the Death Minimate, a very creative use of parts

Your XMFC customs look great, and nicely help to round out the movie wave. The detailing on Mystique is well done. All that is missing are Angel and Final Appearance Magneto.

While I am not a part of the "DST needs to desperately make Kang" crowd, he looks phenomenal here! You are turning me into a Kang supporter with quality customs like that!

Both Dazzler and Siryn look excellent! I think the painted Siryn cape looks better, nice work!

I finally finished my Resident Evil customs, a project I started almost two years ago. I was initially inspired by Luke314pi's Resident Evil Customs, so I have been slowly working on them over the last 24 months. I tried to only have one version of each character, mainly to save space. I may eventually go back and do RE2 versions of Leon, Claire, Mr. X, and Ada; RE3 Jill; and RE Chris Redfield and Alexia. But these are good for now.

My favorite ones to make were The Nemesis and Hunk, just because they were out of the ordinary. "Shortening" Sherry so she looked like a kid was a new challenge for me also.

NOTE: All thumbnails are clickable for larger images.

Resident Evil Zero

Rebecca Chambers & Billy Coen

Resident Evil 1

Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, & Albert Wesker

Resident Evil 2

Sherry Birkin & Agent Hunk... Licker (added 7-4-11)

Resident Evil 3

The Nemesis (I found him a rocket launcher!), Carlos Oliveira, & Brad "Chickenheart" Vickers

Brad was made just so I could recreate the scene where the audience first meets The Nemesis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah4DZfoJA4w

Resident Evil: Code Veronica

Steve Burnside & Claire Redfield

Resident Evil 4

Leon Kennedy & Ada Wong

Any comments/criticisms/questions/ideas are welcome!

--Joe Hill

While her role is iconic, and a major part of movie history, she has never been redone or updated.

Unless you count the Branagh/De Niro remake. Oh...and "The Bride" starring Sting, Jenifer Beals, and Clancy Brown. (not an endorsement of either, but just sayin)

That's true, I left those out. In the Branagh/De Niro remake, The Bride (who was actually Victor Frankenstein's Bride) was quite deformed and scarred when she was brought back. I felt it was the most interesting part of the movie.