Droids Customs: Getting ready for 2027!

by Bill Cable
on 2026-10-21, 10:15:02

I've been stocking up on supplies for my next batch of customs, spending a couple hundred bucks on tapes and glues and paper and cardboard and toner. And I also dropped a big wad on this big pile of bubbles:

My initial plan was to produce:

• AT-ST Driver
• Hoth Rebel Commander
• Imperial Commander
• Nikto
• Sandpeople
• Leia Boushh
• Jawa
• Darth Vader

But that plan has run into a couple hiccups. First of all, unbeknownst to me, the original ROTJ Nikto bubbles were like... wrong. They were so small that the figures themselves are actually crooked inside them. As a Tri-Logo collector I was completely ignorant of it. My guy used the original specs, so his bubble would make that crookedness necessary as well...

And... I don't like it! So I'm going to hold off Nikto until my next "wave" in a larger bubble after I finish these 8. I haven't begun to figure out what figure I'll do instead. So TBD...

The second hiccup I've run into is with AT-ST Driver. After talking to several dealers at shows, I've learned it nearly impossible to buy loose, complete AT-ST Driver figures. That's because any time a dealer comes across a loose AT-ST Driver blaster, they pair it with Leia Poncho, which they can sell for a far larger profit. So I haven't exactly decided what I want to do there. Would my customers be upset if I just paired the figures with a different blaster? Maybe Bespin blasters? I could source those really cheap. Would that be better than charging $200 a pop? Or would people prefer to do a mail-in-your-own deal on it? I'm not sure...

I have begun stockpiling figures ahead of my next one. And I'm doing pretty decently! Big thanks to ToyPaLooza Toy show!

I'm looking at January/February for the next one, and I'm not sure which I'll choose. For Vader/Jawa/Boushh/Tusken, I did plan to do mail-in figures, and I probably have close to enough Jawas and Boushhes. Do I dare trying the new system straight out of the gate??? That's scary! But it might be my only course unless a dozen Rebel Commanders or Imperial Commanders fall into my lap.

At any rate - exciting times ahead!!