Lord Bemons blog is the best..take that goga!

my backpack interior still smells like burnt goga from taking that in to the show. Definitely one of the best customs and the header was no joke as well. hope to see more Lord Bemon customs.

Yeah I loved that header! The whole thing was quite the statement.

i made it up to page 8, wondering if paul was gonna post and then he did and tho i would truly love to hear some more comments out of the king of kaiju customs, i'm gonna have to save the rest of this for later (my old eyes get mighty tired reading off these screeens after awhile), but it seems that no one has considered this (and again, forgive me if it appeears somewhere in these remaining pages):

who does anyone think they are dictating what is right or wrong about somethiing i have bought? as far as i am concerned, it is my right to do whatever the fuck i want with a toy (or artwork or food or anything else) i have bought. it is mine now and in no way do i think it inappropriate to do what i want with it. i can flip it or burn it or paint it or horde it. the artist or company has made his/their money. if i choose to horde it and keep it locked away in a vault, how is that any different than my customizing it? either way, it's not gonna be there for you to buy so why shouldn't i do what i like with it? because you say i can't or shouldn't? that i am disrespecting the artist? that selling 25 different colors of the same toy is right but my customizing one with colors i like is wrong ? i do not get that at all. this rant in noo means is meant in disrespect to any of the fine artists, companies, collectors or customizers out there, i'm just saying.........

it's true that many great works of art have been lost to the ages thru war or theft or what have you but maybe that's just the way it is? good people die young sometimes and really rotten people live to the end of their years but i would never argue that one should be preserved and the other should be terminated, it's just the way life is. nothing is fair and nothing is right or wrong, long as you're not hurting anybody else, do what pleases you. if customizing toys pleases you, then customize away! if criticizing others for customizing pleases you than criticize away! but one of you is going to have something to show for all your efforts and one of you is going to be lost in the ether. and unlike shirley maclaine, i can't remember 5000 years of home cooking and as far as i know, i only got x number of years left, so i'm gonna do it the best way i see fit, opinions be damned! carry on.....

For the most part, why bother with customs?
Too many great stock releases to keep up with
Too many great companies

Interesting discussion. The factory comment made me think of this though...

I am sure a Campbell factory worker could make a better soup can but Andy Warhol was the one who made it art.

For me this comes down to a difference between ethics and morals. Customizing is never a moral issue and only rarely an ethical one. Most often it is a non-issue and not really important or of any interest.

I do not think customizing is a moral issue. If you decided to customize a vintage Hawaii kanegon I would think you were nuts and I would experience a sense of loss. However, I do not think you should be punished or reformed in any way. In other words I don't think the collecting community needs to be protected from your actions. Your actions may cause harm and distress but they do not need to be forcibly deterred. Your free will is more important than any toy.

I do think customs can sometimes present an ethical dilemma. If you did paint that kanegon your actions would affect a community you have chosen to be a part of. Your decision to paint that kanegon will have negative effects (reactions) regardless of your intention or spirit. These negative effects are your creation and you should be willing to take ownership of them. When people in the community treat you differently because you painted that kanegon you shouldn't be surprised or bitter. They have a right to their worldview too.

Do what you want with your toys, they are yours. Be aware of how your actions affect the collecting community. Try not to be sensational while dealing with an ethical issue.

eastern philosophy in full effect! i agree.

To me, ethics and morals relate to decisions you make that affect peoples' lives in a positive or negative way.

I think you guys need different words or you risk sounding like pretentious assholes. ;p

People can make anything they want anyway they want to. Don't let ANYONE try to dictate to you how you should direct your creativity. Fuck all this mind control and herd mentality.

Only issue I have is with people taking rare pieces (blank or painted) and painting over them, since that seems to me disrespectful to the original artist and other collectors. Fortunately there are tons of blanks out there from most companies, so this isn't as big of a problem as it used to be.

Fight the power. Art on, brothers.

Don't let ANYONE try to dictate to you how you should direct your creativity.

Only issue I have is with people taking rare pieces (blank or painted) and painting over them, since that seems to me disrespectful to the original artist and other collectors.



you confuse me andy



..........All I can ever gather from this is that people get pissed when they see someone paint over a toy that they wish they had in their own collection.

its the classic problem of I want what you have and im pissed you are doing stuff to it that I wouldn't if I had it


In the end, as much as fun as this all is, its just toys - im gonna have to align myself with the comments from Pogue and let everyone else decide how they feel on this - seems like its a problem that no one will ever come to terms with or agree on so I think we should all direct our energy elsewhere -seems like an impossible fight to win - you can't control what other people do to the toys you wish that you had for yourself. All you can hope for is people using stuff like the Flesh sets and SOLID series as much as possible to get their customs done on.

Sorry to confuse you I think my post was pretty clear.

There are two main issues.

1) What kind of customs people can make. IMO, any damned type they want.

2) What figures they should use to make them. Common blanks or extremely common painted figures, since destroying a very rare figure is an insult to other collectors who may need the piece for their collection. There are so many versions of most of these things that there's no good reason to destroy a rare figure.

And that's about all I have to say about that.

ok i gotcha - im in the group that is really happy to see the flesh sets and SOLID line existing for people like me to practice on and not get others upset by stripping production rare pieces - i do hope to see a lot more companies support the SOLID line and contribute a few of their sculpts for us to paint

I think Glenn said it very well - better than anyone else up to this point. Nor do I find it pretentious.

No doubt, but I think just participating in this thread probably determined that 1st.

Bite the Flower!

I find it interesting when people get all up in arms about "dictating art". Even if someone dictates something, who's going to enforce it? Has anyone ever listened to someone who told them "your art sucks...you should stop"? Highly doubtful. Unless people are much more fragile than I give them credit for. In the end, whether is high praise or straight up bashing, it's just words on a message board and don't mean much.

i still agree with what glenn said...i guess i can now be in the asshole parade this summer. see you there fuckers!

Tho I don't agree with painting over a rarer figure, when there are larger runs to be had, who is to know, unless you are stupid enough to announce it to the world. As for amature's (I am one) customizing a figure, posting should be allowed & critique good or bad should be given. If you can't take it don't post. I do agree that it should not be listed for sale, but if someone is interested they should PM about it.
As for myself, the customs I've done, have been done for me, whatever anyone thinks of them really doesn't matter, as they sit proudly on my shelves with the rest of my collection. Yes they are "one offs" but more than that, they are a reflection of my ideas & creativity of a figure I would want in my collection, had it been produced.

Now back to YJA

In every cry of infant man,
In every infant's cry of fear,
In every voice; in every ban,
The mind-forged manacles I hear.


Art. Creativity. Freedom. Everything else is mind control.

I think Andy has had too much cronic.

I saw God once, he told me he liked my hat.

I wasn't wearing a hat.

Why does it always have to be about you? He was commenting on my hat. We are talking about when we ran into him at the Kentucky Derby, no?

SEE AVATAR

I was waiting on line for Mint Juleps and missed the whole thing.

I simply paint whatever someone puts in my hands.