Return to Customizing

I have been customizing action figures for over twenty years.  My first real attempt to customize an entire figure was making Forge out of a Toy Biz Punisher figure using Testors enamel paint.  The finished product was shiny, the paint was tacky for weeks, and Forge was saddled with a beady pair of eyes, but it at least looked like who is was supposed to, and that was good enough for me.  And since then I have been customizing figures as a hobby.

While I started out customizing super hero figures, GI Joe is the line where I have done the most work.  8 years ago I stumbled on joecustoms.com and haven't left since.  If you have never been there, I highly recommend checking it out, in addition to featuring some of the most incredible customized action figures you have ever seen, its also the friendliest GI Joe fan site out there.  The customizers there are more than willing to share their tips and trick to improve your customizing skills, and give you feedback on any projects you are currently working on.  When you finish your figure, you can even upload pictures of it for free and share them with the world.  And don't be intimidated, everyone has to start somewhere, see my Forge story above. 

While I said GI Joe is where I've done the most work, the scale of the figures I work on changes often.  I started out on 3 3/4" figures, and have recently began to focus on the original 12" figures from my childhood.  Here are a few sample of things I have done lately, enjoy!

Cobra CommBAT

From the 2013 GI Joe Convention in Indianapolis

Man of Evil

I got tired of waiting for the GI Joe Collectors Club to send me my MOE through the mail, so I made a cast of the Foreign GI Joe head and mad one myself.

Arctic Bulletman

From the 2012 GI Joe Convention in New Orleans

   

 Anton Janus, MARS Chief Geneticist

Same head mold as the Man of Evil, just painted differently and the hair and goatee are flocked.

With GI Joe's presence in the toy aisle shrinking away to almost nothing, customizing is a great way to keep the spirit of the line going, because to me, life with GI Joe in it is a whole lot better than the alternative!