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  • This section is for honest critique of the work shown here. Members are encouraged to give and accept non-confrontational constructive criticism as well as adoring praise and everything in between.
  • In order to show case everyone's work equally, please post multiple customs on the same day into a single thread. If you have a lot of pictures of your work you may have to add them to a separate post within that thread.
  • Please do not link to a sale thread or to eBay from your critique thread. This section isn't to be used to market your finished work. The Market Place section is better suited for that purpose.



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 Post subject: Re: //STRANGELABS//CUSTOM CELEBRATION 11 WIP CHALLENGE PG.
PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2017 1:58 pm 

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:56 pm
Location: Strange Laboratories.
Robot WIP shots coming soon!

This year, I really wanted to contribute to the Toy Chest challenge and recreate a beloved childhood favorite. Had a concept I liked, but it wasn't the right time... next challenge.

BUT... I've been so inspired that I couldn't help but start piecing together a figure that was a grail to me as an elementary schooler...

"I'm not going to kill you. I want you to do me a favor. Tell all your friends about me..."

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 Post subject: //STRANGE LABS//DIACLONE DIANAUT OUTPOST PLAYSET PG 25//
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 6:40 pm 

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:56 pm
Location: Strange Laboratories.
FOR CUSTOM CELEBRATION, I'D LIKE TO DEBUT SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL TO ME & MY LARGEST PROJECT TO DATE:

MY DIANAUT OUTPOST!


Micro playsets.

As long as I can remember, I've been obsessed with them.

In preschool, my two most cherished toys were microfigures from the Mega Star line. I was heartbroken when they eventually disappeared, but next came Legions of Power, and then Spacelink, by Capsela... Grail microfigures and vehicles that could only be obtained on family trips to Epcot; and they were pricey in the 80s ($20-$25 for small sets!)

I didn't hear about Diaclone until high school by that point, and usually as a footnote to Transformers history. It blew my mind that all those empty seats in my Transformers used to fit tiny figures!

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Ever since Takara rebooted Diaclone late last year, I've been recharged/re-energized as a customizer and started planning a bunch of original projects for my growing Dianaut collection. One of these projects was a Dianaut headquarters.

The original design was quite ambitious and was easily twice the size of what I ended up building. It was such a bear that it took months to decide on a final size and design, because I didn't know where to start. I began hording boxes to find the right one for the dio AND pieces for the playset itself... at least a Ziploc gallon bag filled with ANYTHING that might look good as a console, or computer, etc.

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A lot of the dio itself is the box and cardboard inserts to form thick-looking walls, and A LOT of spray paint. The floor is one of those plastic grids used for knitting.

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There are so many greebles and detail pieces in the set that it's hard to remember where they're all from. The main, center part of the playset is a modified Star Wars Hot Wheels set. I built off that foundation with Mega Bloks parts, Warhammer pieces, GI JOE backpacks/accessories, Star Wars stands, and even a repurposed Transformer for the crane.

The computer displays are clear plastic with LEGO stickers, and printed images officially released by Takara of power suits and Dianaut enemies the Waruders (AKA the Insecticons in Transformers lore).

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The crane was a concept that arrived late in the creation of the playset. As a kid, I always loved play features like that, so I integrated it when I found a junked Transformer I had in the fodder bin. And here I thought anything connected to Michael Bay's disasterpieces was worthless!

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The wall computers and tech around the outpost really connect the playset to my childhood. I used GI JOE consoles that I'd been saving since I was a kid for something like this. One of the wall panels is repurposed from a childhood Micromachines playset. Some of the computers are made from Warhammer pieces given to me by my BFF/childhood best friend, who had extra. These details REALLY make this a special project to me.

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It's really a love letter to my passions as a collector and customizer, with one foot firmly planted in the past, while the other is very much in the future.

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THANK YOU for checking out what has been a dream project of mine forever. I hope you enjoy the shots!

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 Post subject: Re: CUSTOM CELEBRATION: DIACLONE DIANAUT PLAYSET PG. 25
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 8:51 pm 
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Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 3:59 pm
Location: MS
it's awesome! never knew of them! I can't believe how good joe backpacks look as servers and tech consoles!!

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 Post subject: Re: CUSTOM CELEBRATION: DIACLONE DIANAUT PLAYSET PG. 25
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 9:11 pm 

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:56 pm
Location: Strange Laboratories.
Thank you, 2DARK2C!

There's a great discussion about Diaclone here:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=45116

At such a small scale, GI JOE and Star Wars accessories make great computers/consoles/tech once hit with chrome spray paint or drybrushed with gunmetal. I started using them for my Megabloks stuff, but certain pieces look great with Dianauts.

Working with these little guys today makes me wish Hasbro would reboot their Kre-o line with Dianauts in place of their minifigures. They look like a perfect, modern era adaptation of LEGO.

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 Post subject: Re: CUSTOM CELEBRATION: DIACLONE DIANAUT PLAYSET PG. 25
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 10:18 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:19 am
Location: Canada, eh?
I have a set of Dianauts in my BBTS pile of loot. This setup makes me want to ship it asap. I love the attention to detail. Great work. Very inspiring.

OB

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 Post subject: Re: CUSTOM CELEBRATION: DIACLONE DIANAUT PLAYSET PG. 25
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 10:38 pm 
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Hardest screen name to real life match-up on the board.

Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2007 9:23 pm
As I said in the other thread, just awesome. These little guys have really set me afire with a love for customizing and enjoyment of collecting. Seeing what you've done is really inspiring.


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 Post subject: Re: CUSTOM CELEBRATION: DIACLONE DIANAUT PLAYSET PG. 25
PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 12:12 pm 
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Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2007 10:58 am
Location: Montreal, Canada
This is fantastic!
The scale is perfect to create playsets.

Check out Aintsy Castings and Scotia Grendel for computers, control panels and other sci-fi bits that are in scale with Dianauts.

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 Post subject: Re: CUSTOM CELEBRATION: DIACLONE DIANAUT PLAYSET PG. 25
PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 12:33 pm 

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:56 pm
Location: Strange Laboratories.
OreoBuilder wrote:
I have a set of Dianauts in my BBTS pile of loot. This setup makes me want to ship it asap. I love the attention to detail. Great work. Very inspiring.

OB


Dude, Pandora's box is about to be opened... can't wait to see the stuff you're inspired to create to accompany these little fellas. They really are toys at their purest and best. They're the best, most poseable action figures in this scale, yes, but they capture the imagination. Long after you've put them on the shelf, you're still fiddling with them in your mind.

Thank you so much for your kind words, OB. Your work inspires me every time I see it. Looking forward to hearing & seeing your reaction to Dianauts!

MarkM wrote:
As I said in the other thread, just awesome. These little guys have really set me afire with a love for customizing and enjoyment of collecting. Seeing what you've done is really inspiring.


Agreed x 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000%

It's been a long time since I've been this genuinely enamored with a toyline. It seems to be the immediate reaction of everyone I follow via social media. They see the Dianauts online, order some, then can't put them down once they arrive... they're a perfect toy.

Now that the outpost is done, I'm thinking of other modular playsets. Kicking around ideas for a laboratory and a futuristic alien city street...


W.I.P. UPDATE:

Okay, so I'm terrible with photographing my works in progress. I don't normally take photos mid-process (unless I REALLY like something, or need another opinion from one of my BFFs). It's never been a part of my workflow, so I've been forgetting and just working.

The construction robot suit concept has completely changed (my M.O.)... it's now made out of Mega Construx pieces. Saw some Destiny armor that TOTALLY fit my design, so I ran with it. Gonna save the robot body for another, more apropos project.

I have been building other, unrelated things on the sly, but I haven't photographed them just yet...

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 Post subject: Re: CUSTOM CELEBRATION: DIACLONE DIANAUT PLAYSET PG. 25
PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 12:41 pm 

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:56 pm
Location: Strange Laboratories.
Redmao wrote:
This is fantastic!
The scale is perfect to create playsets.

Check out Aintsy Castings and Scotia Grendel for computers, control panels and other sci-fi bits that are in scale with Dianauts.


Thank you so much!

Gotta check those brands out! Dude, thank you! Feels like I just finished the blasted thing and I'm prepping to build another; different environment this time, though. Need a break from the metallic spray paint.

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 Post subject: Re: CUSTOM CELEBRATION: DIACLONE DIANAUT PLAYSET PG. 25
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2017 5:54 pm 

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:56 pm
Location: Strange Laboratories.
W.I.P. UPDATE:

Alright, so I've got 3 WIPs I've been working on for the past week or so. They're 95% finished, so I'm going to wait til they're done to post; probably late tonight/tomorrow. Pieces will be done by tonight, but I want to photograph them properly instead of rushing to put something out.

Riddle me this:

Who is the smallest articulated action figure I've ever customized? :twisted:

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 Post subject: //STRANGELABS//ALIEN ADVENTURERS//4" MICRONAUTS TRIBUTE
PostPosted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 7:52 pm 

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:56 pm
Location: Strange Laboratories.
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Meet David, Eduardo, and Manny.

They're alien adventurers inspired by my love of the Micronauts and other similar 1980s toylines, named after my real life best friends.

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David is the commander of the group, named for my childhood best friend I met when I was 8 (and still see every week). He's an LBC utilizing the 25th Anniversary Barbeque figure.

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Eduardo is another LBC, this time 25th Anniversary Airtight with a custom chrome head. In reality, it's the same head popped onto different figures. I think it's a modified Spytroops Destro.

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Manny was the most work; a full repaint of the 25th Anniversary Flash figure. This figure was constructed for one of my upcoming projects, and was the first alien adventurer completed.

Loved the Barbeque & Airtight figures so much as a little boy that the homage just seemed logical...

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 Post subject: Re: //STRANGELABS//4" ALIEN ADVENTURERS MICRONAUTS HOMAGE P
PostPosted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 8:37 pm 
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Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 3:59 pm
Location: MS
I dig all things metal head :) those 3 look so "not" gi joe that at first I thought they were your tiny scale!

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 Post subject: Re: //STRANGELABS//4" ALIEN ADVENTURERS MICRONAUTS HOMAGE P
PostPosted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 12:00 am 
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Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2016 1:57 am
Micronauts were one of my favorites. Love your take on them.


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 Post subject: Re: //STRANGELABS//4" ALIEN ADVENTURERS MICRONAUTS HOMAGE P
PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 1:00 am 

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:56 pm
Location: Strange Laboratories.
2DARK2C wrote:
I dig all things metal head :) those 3 look so "not" gi joe that at first I thought they were your tiny scale!


Yeah, I'm a goner for anything chromed out like that, though my favorite were always the tiny chrome pilots from Starriors & Zoids.

Every once in a while, I'll work on 4" stuff (usually for other projects). These guys are actually for a long-simmering idea... well, at least one of them was. The others just sorta happened.

indrox1 wrote:
Micronauts were one of my favorites. Love your take on them.


Thank you man! While not a straight-up adaptation of the classic Micronauts designs, they're very much in the spirit. Toys from that era are so inspirational to me-- I wish everything nowadays didn't have to have a big license or media tie-in...

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 Post subject: Re: //STRANGELABS//4" ALIEN ADVENTURERS MICRONAUTS HOMAGE P
PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 10:29 am 
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Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:19 am
Location: Maryland
Oooh, oooh, now do a sarcophagus time machine for them.

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