Droids Customs: Taking stock

by Bill Cable
on 2024-12-04, 09:28:07

With my Droids Custom General Madine project completed and wildly successful, I suppose it's time to look towards the future...

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In order to begin my next custom, I need to collect enough figures for the run. I have bubbles for 5 more figures. And here's the current count of figures v/s bubbles:

  • Dengar: 16/21
  • Nein Nunb: 15/21
  • 8D8: 13/20
  • Klaatu Skiff: 12/20
  • Death Star Droid: 11/21

So Dengar is the closest, where I only need 5 more (and only 4 weapons, because one of the figures I picked up I'm not planning to use). And I probably have a source to get all of those right away. But do I really want to do Dengar next? Another human?

I'd kind of like to do a droid or alien instead. Six Nein Numbs probably wouldn't be too rough to source. Seven 8D8s wouldn't be too bad either, though so many have faded limbs I'd need to be careful.

I'll take Klaatu Skiff (much harder to source) off the table for now. And while I could probably take a collection for bad-chrome DSDs and have all I need for free within a few hours, that project is gonna be much more intense with the stripping and painting, so that's not something I'm gonna take on just before Celebration Japan.

So I guess I just don't know what I'm gonna do yet...



Droids Custom Madine: SOLD OUT in 81 seconds!

by Bill Cable
on 2024-11-20, 08:30:09

It's the moment all my Crazy Crixers out there have been waiting for - my Droids Custom General Madine is here!

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Limited to only 21 pieces, the one-run-only custom will be the centerpiece of your General Madine collection... if you're lucky enough to score one before they sell out! And assuming you don't own a Tri-logo Madine...

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Please be aware, 3 of the bubbles for Madine were slightly warped around the coin dimple, and the tops don't lie perfectly flat against the cardback. They display perfectly fine and you can only really notice if you look at them from above, but I just figured I'd warn you that you have a 1-in-7 chance of getting one of those.

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Madine will set you back $125 shipped within the USA, or $120 + actual shipping international. If you're paying by PayPal, it's F&F only. If you'd like to place your order, curse your metal body you weren't fast enough! They're sold out. Thanks for your support!



Droids Custom Madine: On sale WEDNESDAY!

by Bill Cable
on 2024-11-18, 09:17:43

I finished my Droids Custom General Madine run on Saturday. They'll go on sale Wednesday. If you couldn't care less about the story how I accomplished this Herculean task, you can skip to the ordering instructions in the last paragraph.

I had completed my Madine art the previous week, so ...

Click here to read the WHOLE story!



Droids Custom Madine: Photoshoot!

by Bill Cable
on 2024-11-13, 09:05:58

I'm still on track to produce the Madine customs this weekend. Towards that end, I took some photos for the back of the card...

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I typically snap a few photos from slightly different angles and different poses, and choose the one that ends up sharpest.

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How do I take such wonderful photos? It's all thanks to my super-professional, very expensive photo studio!

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I really put a lot of effort into taking a good photo that'll end up like 1/3 of an inch tall on the back of the card...

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After looking closely at my photos, I think I have a winner... a photo that truly expresses the greatness of the one and only Crix Madine!

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Check back here Monday for confirmation that the figures will go on sale a week from now.



Droids Custom Madine: Finished colors!

by Bill Cable
on 2024-11-06, 09:40:11

I got to work on finishing up the art for my Droids Custom General Madine, and it went very well.

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Started on Madine, then moved on to the Commandos. Next up was the MTV-7:

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Pretty happy with how that turned out. Made ample use of some splatter brushes. Got some nice depth to it, too. My final job was the background:

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I kinda cheated on the sky - I took a photo of the sunrise a couple days ago that I liked quite a bit, so rather than hand-drawing the sky I just applied some filters to that photo.

Right now I'm targeting assembling these customs the weekend of November 16th. I explored the possibility of having Beggar's Canyon Toys make my future customs, but I'm not sure that's going to happen with Madine. After attempts to finalize a deal went nowhere, it seems they're just too busy right now. No hard feelings... just don't want to tie myself to anything that might get delayed.



Regal Robot shows off their rod

by Bill Cable
on 2024-11-06, 09:26:04

Regal Robot has just revealed details of their upcoming extremely unique replica of Belloq's Ceremonial Staff!

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It will be available on November 12th in two great editions - a 100 piece limited FULL STAFF REPLICA with Paul Freeman signed plaque and the STAFF HEAD ONLY in a timed edition.

You can find full details and photos here: https://regalrobot.com/news/indiana-jones-belloq-staff-prop-replica/



Droids Custom Madine: Initial colors!

by Bill Cable
on 2024-10-30, 08:10:52

I finished blocking out the base colors over the past week. It seemed appropriate to begin with the beard

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The process is pretty tedious - using the Polygonal Lasso tool to trace around the line art, then the Paint Bucket to fill it with color. Each color is a new layer so I can quickly select only the area I wish to work on at each step. With the beard finished, I blocked the rest of Madine.

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Making each color its own layer is a lot of work, and makes blocking even more difficult. To prevent overlap I need to deselect the colors I've already filled before using the paint bucket. But since they're all their own layers, I need to switch layers for every single deselect action. With over 40 layers in this specific piece, that's a lot of swapping!

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So there are Madine's Commandos colored in. I selected these guys from a group photo/screen grab from the Battle of Endor. And my selection criteria was this - who has the best facial hair to compliment Madine's legendary battle beard?

Nik Sant (now famous as also maybe Captain Rex) was one obvious choice. The other two I chose were deep in the background. They probably have names from the old CCG cards, but I don't feel like looking them up.

Next up was painting in the MTV-7:

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All that was left after that was coloring in the background elements:

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Now things are ready to get started on the "real" art. Check back for updates next week!



Now available: Regal Robot's Ishi Tib

by Bill Cable
on 2024-10-30, 07:47:04

The latest replica in Regal Robot's Archive Collection is the Ishi Tib Concept Maquette. The classic character from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi is part of our Star Wars Archive Collection, a continuation and expansion of our work creating authentic replicas with impeccable lineage.

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This maquette was the first step in designing the Ishi Tib alien species. With hands-on access to the original film artifact and high resolution 3D scanning, our team crafted a faithful recreation of the concept maquette for this classic creature from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

At approximately 6" tall (including the wood display base), each is cast in solid heavy resin. 100% made in the U.S.A., every replica in this edition is meticulously hand painted by the artists in our New York studio, making each a unique tribute to the artistry involved behind the scenes of our favorite films! The maquettes are hand packed in a gloss black box with die-cut foam insert and COA, and double-boxed for shipping.

Order here: https://regalrobot.com/custom-star-wars-busts-statues/



Droids Custom Madine: Finished art!

by Bill Cable
on 2024-10-23, 09:41:26

It's been a productive week! Enjoy while I take you step-by-step through my progress. As I stated last week, I wasn't super happy with Madine's hair. So to begin, I fixed the hair, and added a couple of his Howling Commandos.

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It was a decent ...

Click here to read the WHOLE story!



Droids Custom Madine: First pencils!

by Bill Cable
on 2024-10-16, 08:56:09

On Monday I began work on my next Droids Custom: General Madine!

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I'll admit, I was pretty much stumped when I tried to come up with an idea for Madine's artwork. I'd already done a stellar rendition inspired by his most famous (and only) scene from ...

Click here to read the WHOLE story!



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