Droids Custom 8D8: Base colors!

by Bill Cable
on 2025-02-05, 08:32:48

I went about blocking out the colors for my 8D8 custom over the past week. First up I tackled 8D8 himself. Herself? Itself? I know droids are typically gendered in Star Wars but I never checked 8D8...

Ah, looks like it's 'he' on Wookieepedia.

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Progress continued to the other elements in the scene:

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And finally, the background. I added a curved hallway past the door frame, and extended the left out a bit to give me some breathing room when I drop this on my template.

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I should have the colors finished and be ready to build next weekend. I'll keep you posted!



Droids Custom 8D8: Finished inks!

by Bill Cable
on 2025-01-29, 08:48:06

Over the weekend I finished the inks on my Droids Custom 8D8:

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I didn't take any in-progress photos when I penciled the background, sadly. I was just too engrossed to remember to do it.

I ended up rewatching the scene where 3PO and R2 meet EV-9D9 to get the geography of the set. There were these piston machines along the back wall, and a doorway beside the torture rack. So that's what I drew. Pretty straightforward!

I did run into one problem - about half-way through my ink just wouldn't flow. That's why the doorframe looks so rough. I'll fix it in Photoshop. But I was struggling... "the ink was flowing fine just a week ago; what's going on??" I ended up adding water and it fixed the issue. I guess it just evaporated a bunch over the past week. I think it's time to get a fresh bottle.

I'm hoping to get most, if not all of the color work done over the next 7 days. Looking ahead, I don't think I'll end up assembling these the weekend of Feb 8 no matter how well things go, simply because that's Super Bowl Weekend. But Feb 15/16 looks really promising!

I still need to source about 6 loose figures before then. I've reached out to a few people, and grabbed one off eBay, but the offerings there look kinda rough. If you're holding 8D8s feel free to ping me!



Droids Custom 8D8: First art!

by Bill Cable
on 2025-01-22, 08:10:53

I've decided which Droids Custom I'm gonna do next. It'll be 8D8. And here's how it began:

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I actually had what I thought was a really funny idea for the art that I almost went with. It was gonna be 8D8 all frustrated trying to torture ...

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CreatureCantina is going to Toy Fair... again!

by Bill Cable
on 2025-01-15, 09:09:20

Despite our best efforts to disqualify ourselves as a legitimate news organization, CreatureCantina.com has been granted press credentials for Toy Fair NY 2025!

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The last time we attended Toy Fair in 2023, it was pretty abysmal. In the wake of COVID they scheduled the thing for the end of September. This presented a huge obstacle for the toy companies, because that's long after all their Christmas releases were not only announced, but long after they were all on shelves. They basically had nothing to reveal.

We heard this from many vendors who apologized that they really didn't have anything to share. The showrunners took note and scheduled the next one at a more appropriate date. This year's TF will be in March, with subsequent shows back to their traditional February slot. We're expecting a much more eventful 2025 show, with a lot more coverage. If you want to be ready, I recommend following our Facebook page where photos will be posted during the show.



Nifty unlicensed Star Wars Zinnfiguren!

by Bill Cable
on 2025-01-08, 08:22:30

To kick off 2025 I wanted to share a cool set of figures I came across. Check these out:

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These are tin figures produced by Zinnfiguren-Rieger out of Germany. I heard about them from Facebook last October. The website is charmingly quaint, and they offer ...

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Time to embrace the season of giving!

by Bill Cable
on 2024-12-18, 08:14:43

As the year's end quickly approaches and Christmas is upon us, we should all remember this is a time of giving. In that light, everyone reading this should ask themselves "What can I give to Bill Cable? What could the Star Wars collector who already has everything C-3PO possibly want?" ...

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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 ...

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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.



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