and again trading stuff is the main reason i have a collection anyone whos dealed with me the first thing i offer is my customs or drawings

I am replying based on how some skullbrainers think that people have to be here a certain time or to have enough posts to become legitimate on this forum to create/sell/get involved with customs.

Can't people make up their own minds about what is good or not? What if some newb comes in with groundbreaking work? Wouldn't this thrive into a more healthier environment like finding new takes on ways to approach customizing? I see many people here have come from a previous KR background, some still selling off their old collection so I don't see a difference between them and new kids on the block.

Why do we need to have to bring this up or enforce rules? If some KR dude comes in and shows off kaiju customs that are just wrong then it obviously won't appeal to us. If no one replies to their threads they get the hint. But they will learn from it no?

If you are very informed with kaiju you most probably won't buy from stuff that are just not right. Why do others think that we can't make up our own minds?

On that note, I want to start customizing this weekend. I can't wait. I have many flesh and solid whites here to tamper with.

I think most of us do it because we are fans of the toys we customize and want to be part of the creative process. Seeing what others have done like Kirkland and Lash do their take on RxH is very inspiring.

I don't think the problem lies in the creation of the customs but these people trying to push them. Just like when new people come in and try to unload their shit at ridiculous prices, someone is going to say something.

I just think that the board is changing, I really can't remember the last time I've seen someone trying to sell a custom they made, as far as I know most customs come from commissions. But over on that board, I see people make customs for the sole purpose of selling them all the time, and I think this is just a reflection of that.

If you're going to paint something then paint it because you truly enjoy it, not because you hope to earn a few bucks. If someone likes it and truly appreciates it, they'll probably ask if it's for sale or if they can commission something from you. It seems like people are painting these toys as an investment, they spend $60 on the toy and a few bucks on paints (I know it's not really that cheap) and expect it to sell for 100% more than the original price. It makes me wonder if they collect these toys as an investment too, hoping that in a few weeks they can flip their new rxh for triple the retail price.

I guess if you like to shit where you eat.

Me...I prefer not to hang out in the gorilla cage.

I like to paint.
I like toys.
I like to paint on toys.

As I have said before, I'm pretty confused by customs.
As with anything, some I like, some I think are a complete waste of paint.
But there seems to be a completely different custom approach between western and eastern, I prefer the eastern approach, be cause it tends to accentuate the sculpt, where as the western ones just seem to ignore the sculpt and become far more self indulgent.
And I agree with --NT-- with his comments on the KR thing (in my opinion the self indulgent aspect) creeping in, which only bores me more and more.

What I like about the eastern customs is how I have looked at these on a screen for quite some time, and say like a Blobpus, I wasn't that impressed, until I saw a custom that highlighted certain elements of it, that are usually lost on the pics of the standard paint jobs. That totally changed my appreciation of the piece.

At the end of the day, I guess it still comes down to artist talent and the eye, and ultimately personal preference.

I think part of what separates the good customs from the mediocre/terrible is the respect the customizer has for the sculpt. To me, the best customs play off of the original sculpt and add an extra something to the presentation. The worst customs take a toy and try to force it into their own style- it is like someone spraying graffiti on the Venus de Milo and asking for a pat on the back for their urban art. The customizers that I respect and admire are those that have respect for the toys themselves.

Also- gatchabert has a very good point in one of his early posts. We need to make substantive comments, rather than the written 'thumbs-up' or middle finger that a lot of us give to customs. I guess I never thought about it that way, but just as bad artists need criticism to improve, good artists need criticism to refine their work.

A more recent trend that's really come to annoy me is when people do header cards and incorporate their names into a company's name or trademark... like "Joe Schmoe x Realhead"

It's one thing for people to post up images of customs because they had fun doing them, but it just rubs me the wrong way when people do the "Joe Schmoe x whatever" sort of thing. Just seems presumptuous and kinda disrespectful to me.

Seeing as you asked . . . I can see the attraction of physically creating a 'custom' piece on a personal level but am saddened by most I've seen touted (although there are a few I've kinda wished were in production) and as BT said consider 'em a waste of paint and vinyl . . . s'all about production toys at Scary Towers.

That being said, on a positive note . . . I'm real glad there are now plenty of KT Solids and unpainted figures available for 'customisers' and guys with airbrushes to knock 'emselves out on rather than trashing already hard to get toys to to the point of extinction.

One thing you will NEVER see me do is make a header and put the logo of the company the figure is from. To me it IS disrespectful and also very pretentious, and just down right dumb to assume that the custom you make is somehow approved by the company of the figure.

What about the Lash (I probably have that name wrong) RxH biohazard baggies and headers?
Or was that partially approved?

That is the most original packaging yet!

Ike

Indeed! I really liked that, I wish it was more common, like the Clear Duo Pirate set with the really nice header.
I'm just wondering in the context of this discussion how that fits in.

Not a fan of customs. They bug me even more when they're painted over an existing release. These companies don't release figures in big enough editions to sustain customs.

I think he used those biohazard bags for everything even gargamel. I don't remember seeing a rxh or gargamel logo on them

I don't think the problem lies in the creation of the customs but these people trying to push them. Just like when new people come in and try to unload their shit at ridiculous prices, someone is going to say something.

If you're going to paint something then paint it because you truly enjoy it, not because you hope to earn a few bucks. If someone likes it and truly appreciates it, they'll probably ask if it's for sale or if they can commission something from you.

I kind of agree with this.
Anyway...I actually got my first custom from someone on the board and I love it. And I sought him out because I liked the quality of the work.

i feel pretty much the same. customizing blank joints (ie KT solid) is cool if you're into it though.

Couldn't agree more. Could never see myself painting anything other than a blank or flesh. Seems very disrespectful to me, painting over the originally intended design of the creator of a fig. Especially considering the super limited nature of most of these toys.

as long as you had fun and are proud of what you made... i could care less whether it's brilliant or ugly, I'd like to see it because i'm a fanatic like you.

on a sidenote: i still can't comprehend why kirkland got his glow pirate customized by PK. i know it's awesome, but it's a mothereffing glow pirate!

pk's glow pirate rules!! when I get my hands on another one, i'm sending it straight back to PK!!

I can understand this one actually, the original paint job on it is pretty weak, so anything else will only accentuate the glowy goodness.

I LOVE kaiju, the entire package is part of the toy for me. The figure it self, the bags and headers all play a part.

So when I started painting It was just a no brainer for me. If I was going to do this I'm going all the way. And if someone wants to buy my custom I want to give them as much as possible for their money.

I do original paints, my headers have no ones name but my own on them, and the bags are real deal medical bags that you will find at any hospital. I also throw in some stickers and way back when I used to throw in some candy if it resembled the toy.

This has and always will be a fun thing for me. I really enjoy just seeing how far I can go. Not just with paint but after that.

And for customs I think there has been tons of posts and I think I have said my side wayyyy to much.

To the new guys painting. Everyone here has gotten shit talked about their customs, I have just been here for so long that I have been accepted and proved to most that its about the love for seeing new colors.

Enjoy it and even give away a few pieces. I have done that also.

To be honest, I think the customizing "question" has been put to rest. The question was always, "how do the companies feel about them", but that has been answered by all their entries into the "solid" line. The real issue (on this BBS, at least) is customizing a toy, then throwing it up (no pun intended) on the BST for $120-150.

is the question putting up a custom in the BST or is the question putting up a custom in the BST for X dollars?

who amongst you can determine what a custom is worth?