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  • A Custom A Day.... 2015 365 days of custom figures
  • Arthur Adams’ Art
  • Pop Up Paint Night Parties
  • Murals
  • The Artwork
  • The Toy Collection
  • Contact
  • Colorin'
  • A Custom A Day.... 2015 365 days of custom figures
  • Arthur Adams’ Art

A CUSTOM A DAY.... 365 Days of custom figures

A Custom A Day.... 365 days of custom figures Day 58 - DC Direct Lana Lang Insect Queen by 37 Customs

2/27/2015

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Today is the first of my female Legionaires, Insect Queen. She was never more than a reserve member of the team but I love her design and wanted a figure of her since I got the treasury sized comic that I had back in the late 70's. Mattel did a great job making the boys of the Legion, but as usual left out the ladies. I had to turn to a few customizers to get them done.

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A Custom A Day.... 365 days of custom figures Day 57 - Batman '66 Lee Meriwether as Catwoman

2/26/2015

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After nearly 40 years 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers FINALLY came to an agreement that allowed merchandise and home video releases of the Batman 66 series. My mind went wild! I was FINALLY going to get thugs, Chief O'Hara, a bat pole playset, a batcopter, a BATCAVE, multiple Catwoman figures and, most importantly, an Yvonne Craig as Batgirl. Well sadly Yvonne signed on too late and most of the toys released were just Batman, Robin, The Riddler, The Penguin, The Joker & Julie Newmar as Catwoman save for the Figures Toy Company & Heroclix releases that went a little bit deeper in to the rogue gallery's character selection. Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt were left out. Well they made a Eartha Heroclix but c'mon, the possibilities were endless and we got a measly six figure basic assortment to represent a show that started It all for so many Batman fans.

Since Catwoman's costume didn't change throughout the series I was able to sculpt a mask over Julie's face to make what I consider my Lee Meriwether version since their hairstyles were mostly the same as well.

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A Custom A Day.... 365 days of custom figures Day 56 - Marvel Legends Marauders Vertigo by Wings Customs

2/25/2015

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Today we go back to the Marauders with the latest member created by the fabulous Face Customs, Vertigo. Vertigo's costume is tough because of all of the circles, tough to do on all of the angles of the toy but he pulled it off. She uses a DC Direct Alex Ross' Justice Black Canary head and a Marvel Legends Psylocke body.

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A Custom A Day.... 365 days of custom figures Day 55 - Batman The Animated Series Batgirl by 4:F

2/25/2015

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Kenner's Batman the Animated Series line took off like gangbusters. Unique sculpts and show accurate designs for the most part then they got silly. Wind Blitz Batgirl was released towards the end of Kenner's run on the line and although the sculpt was accurate, Batgirl's color scheme left a lot to be desired. They were out of ideas and making everything look very toyetic. Nothing a little paint couldn't fix.

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A Custom A Day.... 365 days of custom figures Day 54 - DC Direct Teen Titans Golden Eagle by 4:F

2/24/2015

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Today is another of my Teen Titans figures, Golden Eagle. He uses a DC Direct 1st Appearance Hawkman figure. This figure worked best because his hawk helmet sits above his head and exposes his entire face. I made him this weekend after having him sit in my Titans display unfinished for almost 10 years. More sculpting woes, his hair is a very amateur looking but with his large wings he stands in the back of my display so it will hard to tell. Other than sculpting some hair, all I did was paint his wings a light orange. It captures Charlie well me thinks and helps to fill out the ranks of the Titans West.

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A Custom A Day....

2/22/2015

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A Custom A Day.... 365 days of custom figures Day 53 - DC Universe Classics Wildcat II by TitanTrap Customs

2/22/2015

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Yolanda is a figure that I purchased on eBay from TitanTrap Customs. She helps build up the heroes from Crisis on Infinite Earths and stands with the Justice Society of America on my shelf. She appears to use a Cheetah body with a Batman Legacy Catwoman head.

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A Custom A Day.... 365 days of custom figures Day 52 - ToyBiz 5 inch Red Sonja by 4:F

2/21/2015

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Red Sonja is a custom that I did back in the late 90's. She uses a Spider-Man Silver Sable head with a Hercules Atalanta body. Toy Biz got really creative with their parts to create many female characters using preexisting parts that I'm surprised they never got around to making Sonja. I think the pretty face works well with the muscular body to capture the look of the character.

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A Custom A Day.... 365 days of custom figures Day 51 - DC Direct Doom Patrol Chief Niles Caulder by 4:F

2/21/2015

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Following Mento is The Doom Patrol Chief Niles Caulder. Niles uses a Marvel Legends Professor X wheelchair and body with a DC Direct Starman head. He was a simple custom that helps round out the team.

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A Custom A Day.... 365 days of custom figures Day 50 - DC Universe Classics Doom Patrol Mento by TitanTrap Customs

2/19/2015

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I've seen Mento customs done several times before but since Mattel didn't get around to him I wanted him in the costume that George Pérez designed. Having purchased a few pieces from TitanTrap Customs recently I knew he was the guy for the job. He had recently sold one on eBay that I asked him to recreate. I'm glad I missed the one he had sold on eBay because this rendition is superior In my opinion. Mento helps round out the team from The New Teen Titans era and fits in perfectly.

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    A Custom A Day....

    Since I began toy collecting as a hobby back in 1990 I have always had a need for custom figures. Toy companies begin action figure lines, begin to release individual characters to create teams and, more often than not leave them incomplete. Many collectors find that custom figures pollute their collection's authenticity by not being mass produced creations from the toy companies that created the preexisting toy lines. I disagree. I feel a quality custom action figure enhances a collection and help create a complete picture.

    When characters are chosen for a toy line several factors come in to play. The character's current media relevance (if any), their most iconic look (they may have had multiple costumes through their sometimes vast histories) and gender. Female action figures tend to not sell to parents of the boys who are playing with them so a great many of the female characters are never rendered in plastic in the way the male characters are leaving holes in the collections.

    I am a fan of the female heroes primarily so I have purchased and made quite a few "customs" throughout my years as a collector. I find it challenging (ok impossible) to get a smooth, quality finish to my sculpt work, downgrading the quality of my figure's appearance that I create so my custom work tend to be of a Frankenstein type nature where I use different parts such as a torso and arms from one figure attached to the hips and legs of another, and a different head with a full cost of paint to create my pieces. I also struggle with painting facial details on figures. The small areas, the eyes in particular give me the biggest issues. I prefer to reuse another head from a different character that will allow me to not have to paint the facial details since I am heavy handed and tend to paint in clumps rather than smooth, factory produced finishes that many of the customizers I work with can achieve.

    Most of the figures that I have in my collection that have intricate sculpting and paint details have been created by other artists from around the world. The UK, The Philippines, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and from several states throughout the US through personal communication or via eBay, which can be an outstanding resource for quality custom work. I've had the pleasure of meeting some incredibly talented artists through websites & social media. Over the past two years seeking out quality custom figures has become the main focus of my collection. Which is at over 5,000 loose pieces. As you will see over the course of this year this does not just affect super hero toy lines. I collect different toy lines spanning the 1960's through today covering cartoons, movies and television in addition to comic books. Some of the custom pieces I have had done wouldn't have been made as toys because of lack of consumer interest or based on licensing issues simply cannot be made in to toys. I haven't let that stop me from using several different toy lines to amass a complete plastic collection of all of the media I have enjoyed throughout my life.

    I have decided to begin a project called A Custom A Day.... to showcase my custom pieces one a day, every day throughout 2015. If you follow me on social media or on this site you may have seen many of them before but with this project I will give a little background of each figure and its relevance to my collection. So check back daily!!!

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