I didn't complete nearly as many customs last year as I normally do, for a variety of reasons. But recently I've been able to finish up some big jobs, and expect to be posting pretty regularly. Previously I posted my Joe and non-Joe customs in separate threads, but I'm going to just put them all in one thread this year. We're going to start off with some Transformers.

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Skids
Autobot Theoretician

Skids is the red-headed stepchild of early Autobot cars. While he was not available when the line originally launched, he was on the shelf by the end of 1984. Originally the first assortment of Autobot cars was going to include a figure called Hauler, who actually made an appearance in the cartoon and was later released in 1985 as Grapple. But for whatever reason, that figure was not released so the original assortment of 12 Autobot cars included two Mirage figures in order to fill the gap. Several months later Skids took that twelfth spot. In 1985 the original assortment of cars was still available, but in lesser numbers that the new 1985 cars, so Skids ultimately had less availability at retail than his compatriots. In the modern era, he has not received an updated version that works with the recent Siege and Earthrise Autobots, and who knows if he will ever get such an update from Hasbro. This custom of Skids uses a version of Trailbreaker to give him a much more rugged vehicle form - an off-road truck rather than the subcompact car (typically mistaken for a minivan in North America) of the original toy. It required a head swap, a small amount of modification, adding a roof to his rear part to hide his head in vehicle mode, and a paint job. The paint scheme is as true to the original toy as possible. I’m not completely happy with the paint job, it’s a bit rough in spots but looks pretty good in person.

Head – Generations Skids
All other parts – Thrilling 30 Trailcutter (modified)

Rifle – Generations Skids (modified)
Double-barreled gun – G1 Skids

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Crosswind
Decepticon Air Warrior

When the Transformers cartoon began in 1984, the Autobots had a significant numerical advantage over their opponents. For toys, there were 11 Autobot cars, six mini-cars, and Optimus Prime, for a total of 18 good guys. The Decepticons had Megatron, Soundwave and his five cassettes, and the three Seeker jets, for a total of 10. Sunbow Productions bolstered the Decepticon numbers in a number of ways in early episodes of the series, including the addition of “generic” Seekers; they had bodies in the form of Starscream/Skywarp/Thundercracker, but with different colours schemes and no names. A set of three more Seekers is therefore needed to represent these characters, but with names and personalities and everything. They are Crosswind, Nosedive, and Overshot.

Tech Specs:

DECEPTICON - CROSSWIND

“The sky is my playground.”

CROSSWIND loves to fly. Nearly as fast as STARSCREAM himself, reaching Mach 2.7. Thinks that speed and more speed is always the key to victory. Arrogant and dismissive of anyone slower than him. Carries delayed-fuse firebombs and magnetic rail guns for armaments. Sometimes puts himself in difficult situations by showing off instead of doing his job.

Strength 6, Intelligence 5, Speed 10, Endurance 7, Rank 3, Courage 5, Firepower 7, Skill 7

Transformers Universe Profile:

CROSSWIND

Allegiance: Decepticons
Sub-Group: Seekers
Function: Warrior

“The sky is my playground.”

Profile: No one loves to fly more than Crosswind. Not any of the other Seekers, not anyone. Travelling nearly as fast as Starscream himself, Crosswind delights in climbing, diving, banking and turning, doing loop-de-loops and barrel rolls. The more difficult and dangerous the maneuver, the more he likes it. He firmly believes that speed is the key to victory in any battle. Just speed and more speed. Most other Decepticons consider him to be an arrogant show-off, and he is indeed contemptuous and dismissive of anything slower than he is. Crosswind believes that anything slower than Mach 2 isn't worth anyone's attention.

Abilities: In his alternate mode, Crosswind's maximum speed of Mach 2.7 makes him one of the very fastest Decepticons on Earth. His advanced gyroscopic compensators and aero-capacitors allow him to execute maneuvers that other Transformers can only dream of. In battle he uses two delayed-fuse firebombs, which wreak havoc over a wide area on the ground, and two magnetic rail guns, which fire deadly projectiles at incredible speeds, but have a low rate of fire.

Weaknesses: Crosswind's propensity to show off causes problems. He will always go for the spectacular move, regardless of whether there are better tactical options. He will abandon a superior position in order to execute a dangerous maneuver, just because it's a dangerous maneuver.


All parts and accessories: Starscream (War for Cybertron: Earthrise)

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Nosedive
Decepticon Warrior

When the Transformers cartoon began in 1984, the Autobots had a significant numerical advantage over their opponents. For toys, there were 11 Autobot cars, six mini-cars, and Optimus Prime, for a total of 18 good guys. The Decepticons had Megatron, Soundwave and his five cassettes, and the three Seeker jets, for a total of 10. Sunbow Productions bolstered the Decepticon numbers in a number of ways in early episodes of the series, including the addition of “generic” Seekers; they had bodies in the form of Starscream/Skywarp/Thundercracker, but with different colours schemes and no names. A set of three more Seekers is therefore needed to represent these characters, but with names and personalities and everything. They are Crosswind, Nosedive, and Overshot.

Tech Specs:

DECEPTICON - NOSEDIVE

“Get the job done.”

A competent warrior, NOSEDIVE follows orders to avoid incurring the wrath of his superiors. Not committed to the Decepticon cause, but does what he is told to avoid trouble. Tries to fly under the radar whenever possible. Flies at speeds of up to 1,500 mph. Carries smart bombs and kinetic impact rays. Gets distracted without someone there to keep him on-mission.

Strength 6, Intelligence 6, Speed 9, Endurance 6, Rank 3, Courage 4, Firepower 7, Skill 6

Transformers Universe Profile:

NOSEDIVE

Allegiance: Decepticons
Sub-Group: Seekers
Function: Warrior

“Get the job done.”

Profile: While Nosedive is a competent and effective warrior, his heart really isn't into it. He follows orders, but not because he believes in the Decepticon cause. Instead, he merely seeks to avoid incurring the wrath of Starscream and other high-ranking Decepticons. He figures that as long as he does his job, he won't take the blame for their failures against the Autobots. Nosedive would prefer to be back home on Cybertron with no war to concern himself with, but he knows his lot in life and continues to fly under the radar, so to speak.

Abilities: In alternate mode, Nosedive is as fast as most other Seekers, able to reach speeds of up to 1,500 mph with excellent maneuverability. He excels at high-powered dives ending in a strafing run. He is armed with two smart bomb launchers and a pair of kinetic impact rays, which burst on impact, throwing targets out of his path.

Weaknesses: Nosedive does not find the Decepticon cause to be a noble or worthwhile one, which means he can become distracted during his missions. Unless Starscream or some other ruthless Seeker is there to keep him in line, Nosedive will begin to wonder whether all the violence and destruction is justifiable, wishing he could just go back home.


All parts and accessories: Starscream (War for Cybertron: Earthrise)

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Overshot
Decepticon Air Warrior

When the Transformers cartoon began in 1984, the Autobots had a significant numerical advantage over their opponents. For toys, there were 11 Autobot cars, six mini-cars, and Optimus Prime, for a total of 18 good guys. The Decepticons had Megatron, Soundwave and his five cassettes, and the three Seeker jets, for a total of 10. Sunbow Productions bolstered the Decepticon numbers in a number of ways in early episodes of the series, including the addition of “generic” Seekers; they had bodies in the form of Starscream/Skywarp/Thundercracker, but with different colours schemes and no names. A set of three more Seekers is therefore needed to represent these characters, but with names and personalities and everything. They are Crosswind, Nosedive, and Overshot.

Tech Specs:

DECEPTICON - OVERSHOT

“Pursue your target until it's destroyed.”

OVERSHOT has a single-minded determination to complete his mission. When tasked with destroying a target, will think of nothing else until it is done. Ignores orders to retreat if he hasn't brought down his target yet. Can reach a speed of 1,500 mph. Armed with IR-guided missiles and pulse cannons. Continues to pursue lost causes, no matter what the cost, which tends to get him in trouble.

Strength 6, Intelligence 4, Speed 9, Endurance 6, Rank 3, Courage 7, Firepower 7, Skill 5

Transformers Universe Profile:

OVERSHOT

Allegiance: Decepticons
Sub-Group: Seekers
Function: Warrior

“Pursue your target until it's destroyed.”

Profile: With dogged determination, Overshot pursues his missions until they are complete. This single-minded focus causes him to lose sight of anything else. If he is tasked with destroying a target, he will think of nothing else until he reaches his goal, or is deactivated in the attempt. Overshot even goes so far as to ignore orders to change targets or even to retreat – he will remain on the battlefield, doing everything he can to being down his prey, no matter the situation around him.

Abilities: Overshot's target acquisition optics and circuitry are without equal, allowing him to remain locked in on his target even in the chaos of battle. Flying at speeds of up to 1,500 mph in his alternate mode, he is difficult to evade. He carries a pair of infrared-guided missiles and two pulse cannons, which emit ion-electric bursts at a rate of 600 pulses per minute.

Weaknesses: Like and single-minded individual, Overshot can easily lose sight of the big picture. He will continue to pursue a lost cause with all of this time and effort, and this often leads into dangerous situations for both him and his Decepticon allies.


All parts and accessories: Starscream (War for Cybertron: Earthrise)

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Excellent work. Are you using brushes to paint these or spray?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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These are all hand-painted. Hasbro's using fewer screws and more pins in their Transformers now, so disassembling the Starscreams for spray-painting wouldn't have really been an option anyway, but I prefer hand-painting regardless. Just had to make sure the paint is quite thin and use a big soft brush to prevent brush marks.

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Nice. I hand paint all the Transformers I do as well. It takes longer but works.

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Oh man-- love these but Overshot captures more "Thundercracker" energy than the actual Thundercracker WFC fig.

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After a LOOOONG time of not really being able to work on customs (life getting in the way of the fun stuff), I was able to complete a custom over the past couple of days. Tried something new - superheroes, which I intend to be doing a lot more of. Hope you like her.

Batgirl
DC Superhero – 1980s costume

The outfit worn by Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) in the 80s is possibly my favourite superhero costumes of all time. Spin Master’s Batgirl figure has a very nice head sculpt, and the detail in the painted eyes is impressive (which is a bit surprising given that he paint apps on the rest of the head all need touch-ups). The body used for the Batwoman figure (Kate Kane version) provides the base needed to recreate the look. All the red bits on that figure are changed to yellow, which also necessitated repainting the bat symbol on her chest. A new cap made out of vinyl completes the figure, which is one of the rare works I’ve made that turned out pretty much exactly as I envisioned.

Head: Batgirl (Spin Master – Batman series)
Rest of body: Batwoman (Spin Master – Batman series)
Cape: vinyl

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she looks really cool. i love the reference pic it really shows how well you nailed her look.

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Thank you. I used that image as reference when painting, it's a comic cover that has really stuck with me over the years (it's from 1988).

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That is very nicely done

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Batgirl
DC Superhero – 1960s costume

Spin Master did a 3-3/4 inch Batgirl figure that is presumably an homage to the 1960s Yvonne Craig version from the TV series, with purple and bright yellow colours. It had some extra “tech” paint apps on the torso, arms and legs that needed to be removed, and there was too much yellow so I added some purple and black to tone it down a bit. A new cape made of purple and yellow vinyl completes the look.

All body parts: Batgirl (Spin Master – Batman series)
Cape: vinyl

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Batman
DC Superhero – black costume

Spin Master has done a ridiculous number of Batman figures in a short period of time, which is fine by me since it means they’re cheap and plentiful. This one represents the black costume originating with the 1989 film. I gave him a gold utility belt (done with liquid chrome under clear yellow paint), and made the Batsymbol bright yellow for some extra contrast. Most of the figure is painted black, even though the original is already black, because it uses different types of plastic that aren’t quite the same colour. Also made a cape out of vinyl to replace the cheap fabric-y one.

All body parts: Batman (Spin Master – Batman series – black version)
Cape: vinyl

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