Custom Disappointment

[NSA]

No, I will not craft disappointment especially for you (For that, stick your hands down your pants! SNAP!)..

But have you ever started on a project, and then seen someone else' custom that's like, a gajillion times better than you think yours could ever be? It's so disheartening.

I know, with time and effort all things are possible, but sometimes it feels like why bother with all the effort when it's gonna look so so.

Stupid customs.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Yes. This has happened more recently with official products, though. Don't get me wrong, I love that they finally made Airtight, Lifeline, Sci-Fi, Law, Thrasher, Roadpig, Zandar, Zarana, Sarge, and now the Club made or is doing Dial-Tone, Footloose, Big Boa, and Cover-Girl. But it was also a little sad to see my customs get unseated for the official ones.

I'm a fairly patient dude. The reason I started making customs was because they were figures that I waited long enough for Hasbro to make, and felt we wouldn't be seeing them. With the demise of the vintage line as it was in the 25th's peak, I made nearly all of the above Joes, and I was extremely happy with them.

Until Hasbro revealed the official ones, that is. Really, I just want the "best" iconic version of whatever character exists from the vintage line in my collection, and if that means modifying or making my own figures as customs, then so be it. And truth be told, I still haven't replaced my Leatherneck custom with a single one that Hasbro's done. They all suck, with the closest being the Club's offering. I also love the 30th Law, but for now, I'm still keeping my custom one. But Low-Light, Sci-fi, Airtight, Lifeline, Footloose, Thrasher, Zandar, Zarana, Sarge, Big Boa and Cover-Girl either already are or will be replaced by the official ones. And I hope that Hasbro still makes "official" versions of more of the customs that I've made. The more, the merrier.

But I won't lie, there's a little bit of sadness that I "wasted" all that time making those customs once the official ones have been revealed. Considering that each custom figure takes many hours to make, and can cost upwards of $50 or more for each one.

That's why I gave up on my ventures to either redo or start customs of Zandar, Zarana, Thrasher, Big Boa, Footloose and Cover-Girl, because Hasbro or the Club revealed the official ones. Many of them, I'd already bought parts from SDS to make the figures, so that was a lot of money lost. Who knows, I may end up making those but when I get back to the work bench, I'll have to reorder my queue because a LOT of the customs I had planned six months ago or longer all got nixed. That's part of the reason I've quit customizing for as long as I have. I guess it's a hiatus, because I plan to pick back up soon, but something about the official ones took the wind out of my sails.

Looking on the bright side, though, I still have my Dial-Tone hybrid (it only uses the official figure's head from the SMB2 figure, not the single-carded one), and I still have had to fix many of the recent figures from Hasbro. So there's that, which still counts as customizing. And I've also got Freefall, Rampart, Pathfinder, Falcon, Big Ben, Ambush, Keel-Haul, Leatherneck, Monkeywrench (proper, none of that kitbash crap from ROC), Iceberg, Frostbite, Dogfight, Cross-Country, etc. done already with several other drivers and obscure figures planned eventually... But now I have a bunch of figures that I don't have the heart to tear apart to recycle, but I don't want to get rid of them by selling them either, but they also aren't being displayed either.

OCD, huh?

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Um, there's also Cloud Strife, making those damned Dreadnoks that don't suck.

I was actually fairly happy with most of the 7-pack figures recently released, and even with my own customs, till I saw his.

Of the new ones, I still plan to mod Zandar and Road Pig, and do something with Thrasher, but his figures were so awesome, that I am going to still attempt my own Zanzibar. And I don't even like Zanzibar. But the Hasbro one was so off, and Cloud's so good, that it makes me challenged to make one even half as awesome as his.

Not to mention all the other talented customizers here, and on the Tank and all the other Joe sites that do killer work that just keeps getting better.

There's also all the dios here. I need to make more walls, because some of the recent work I've seen blows my stuff out of the water.

 

[NSA]

Yeah it does tend to get overwhelming.. and it sucks to think (even if really you're not) that you're just copying someone else's work (How many ways are there to do a known figure?).

It is painful to go back and look at work you did in the past, and at the time thought it was the shit, but now it's embarrassing that you did it.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

My Monkeywrench is kind of bad now, which is why I need to redo him more than any custom I've done. I'll probably use part of Hasbro's official figure, to be honest, just to help him blend better into all the official releases instead of being the one odd man out in quality. The problem with him, was he was an early custom (like my second or third) and a "fixer-upper" that I kept changing and updating as my craft improved, but he's a bit too patchwork as far as quality is concerned.

Hasbro's still sucked really bad though, and could've been fixed in the 7-packs, or initially if they'd so much as used parts a little more clever and sprung for a new head mold. Instead, it was a very lame kitbash, considering all the other Dreadnoks—including Storm Rider, who isn't even a real Nok in my book!—all have at the very least unique head sculpts.

I actually made 3 Sarge customs, and then they made the official one, which was expensive as fuck! The budget I've spent on that one damned character alone is mind-numbing, considering I have like 3 customs and 4 real ones.

 

[Fled74]

Be that as it may, I feel that making a custom allows you to put your own stamp on it - to make the character the way YOU want him/her to be.
I have a soft spot for the female Joes, and I've been disappointed by every single Hasbro release so far.
Take Scarlett as a case in point. I feel the Renegades version is the best that Hasbro has done, but I was still left wanting. So I set about making her better still. You guys have seen the result.
Is she perfect? No, but it's how I wanted the character to be - realistic and capable, not some leotard-and-tights-wearing, crossbow-toting token female.

Yes, I do feel disappointment (and a little jealousy) when I see other people's versions (or official releases) looking better than my own effort, but the feeling passes when I realize that the figure I made is truly MINE, and nobody else will have the same one.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Aww... shucks, MR. Thanks, for the compliment, man. Heck, a lot of your customs, along with MSWI's, are what inspired me to try customizing. I've been waiting to something new from you for months now...

 

[darthdre758]

My biggest disappointment is when I brainstorm ideas for parts, and know that they would LOOK the best together...but when it comes time to actually assemble them...nothing works out. Pegs are too small, or too big. Heads won't work with helmets...and so on.

 

[K-Tiger]

It happens to the best of us, unless you're lying to yourself.

My biggest disappointment is when I brainstorm ideas for parts, and know that they would LOOK the best together...but when it comes time to actually assemble them...nothing works out. Pegs are too small, or too big. Heads won't work with helmets...and so on.

I hate this shit, too.


My Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS went down (heh-hehheh) to this exact issue.

 

[Beeavision]

This happens to me all the time as both an artist and a perfectionist. Remember you'll never get better at something unless you keep trying. I realize these are just words but once you put them into practice it really pays off. Try to be as confident in your work when ever possible. If there is something wrong or out of place just go back and fix it. Sure their is always going to be someone better but don't let that get you down. There are so many people in history that were considered untalented in the fields that today are considered most famous for. And by the way as far as worrying about copying others is concerned that's just going to happen from time to time maybe even most of the time. After all you can't reinvent the wheel every time you do a custom. Heck Hollywood does it all the time and they're still making lots of money. Personally, I'm very happy when I see new ideas from other talented people because afterwards I may try to imitate their work and then possibly go even further with it by adding a few ideas of my own. Envy will always be an human emotion for all of us but in the end we still have the power of choice. So with no further ado....

"Never give up, never surrender!!!!"
​

 

[Cloud Strife]

It's funny how a few of you have brought up "stealing" others' recipes. I recently had someone post on my customs' facebook page and in my WIP thread over at the 'Tank that I wasn't being original with my Serpentor sculpt and that I was taking credit for what another had done before me. He posted a link to the picture, and I had never seen the custom of the 6' Serpentor made out of what I believe was a Marvel Legends Punisher. I was thinking to myself... "It looks like the person who made this figure did exactly what I did, and looked at the original art of Serpentor and created the figure based off of that...". They went on to remove their accusatory message before I actually had a chance to respond and so I reasoned that they figured out their flawed logic. It did strike a nerve with me though.

 

[darthdre758]

We're all one big (dysfunctional) happy family. I don't see it as stealing. It shouldn't ever be seen as that. It's called influence.

If it was stealing, then we're all guilty of it because not one of us were the first person to customize a figure.

 

[Beeavision]

My biggest disappointment is when I brainstorm ideas for parts, and know that they would LOOK the best together...but when it comes time to actually assemble them...nothing works out. Pegs are too small, or too big. Heads won't work with helmets...and so on.

That's why we have both architects and engineers, dreamers and doers. One thinks it up while the other has to make it happen/work in the real world. Sometimes you have to be both.




















.

 

[Cloud Strife]

We're all one big (dysfunctional) happy family. I don't see it as stealing. It shouldn't ever be seen as that. It's called influence.

If it was stealing, then we're all guilty of it because not one of us were the first person to customize a figure.

Exactly! I try to give credit whenever I replicate someone's custom, or if I even I am influenced by it. Sometimes I might forget if posting my work, but I honestly try to credit those who deserve it. The fact is, you're not going to remember to do that, and sometimes, people just think alike.

 

[darthdre758]

Sometimes, I just get inspired to start working on something when I see a bunch of new customs posted. So there's that as well. I may not make exactly what I was just looking at, but I still see it as influence.

 

[Meddatron]

Sometimes, I just get inspired to start working on something when I see a bunch of new customs posted. So there's that as well. I may not make exactly what I was just looking at, but I still see it as influence.

im right there with ya. i will see a custom of a figure and think to myself. "damn, I forgot about him, I could do that, I want him for my collection". I only see one difference between me wanting that figure and me seeing a new hasbro figure and wanting it. And that difference is, I need to make it. lol. i would think most customizers would be flattered when they see formulas used. I would be. What greater nod than to be replicated.

 

[K-Tiger]

It's funny how a few of you have brought up "stealing" others' recipes. I recently had someone post on my customs' facebook page and in my WIP thread over at the 'Tank that I wasn't being original with my Serpentor sculpt and that I was taking credit for what another had done before me. He posted a link to the picture, and I had never seen the custom of the 6' Serpentor made out of what I believe was a Marvel Legends Punisher. I was thinking to myself... "It looks like the person who made this figure did exactly what I did, and looked at the original art of Serpentor and created the figure based off of that...". They went on to remove their accusatory message before I actually had a chance to respond and so I reasoned that they figured out their flawed logic. It did strike a nerve with me though.

Eh, sometimes similar results come from similar thinking, nothing more complicated or nefarious than that.

Though I certainly give all credit to XOC for kickstarting my brain on the ST/Viper concept.

 

[darthdre758]

Eh, sometimes similar results come from similar thinking, nothing more complicated or nefarious than that.

Also, for the most part, we're all working with the same parts, so it's only a matter of time before two people produce almost the same custom with the same parts.

 

[K-Tiger]

Precisely!

 

[Beeavision]

I do agree with CS. Stealing is wrong but on the other hand copying something "usually" isn't. It really all comes down to what you do with other peoples ideas that matters here. Or what is going through your mind when your doing it. If I were to take someones idea and then go around claiming it as my own well yeah that's pushing it too far and would in my opinion be considered stealing or plagiarizing. But if I wanted to use someones idea to help me get better or come up with more ideas of my own making that's fine. There are just things in this world you just can't avoid. Darthdre helps bring up this point as well. Making a custom of another G.I. Joe requires one to copy the other. A figure with arms and legs wearing boots and armor that sort of thing. That's another reason why every car today looks almost identical to another. A chair is a chair. A website is a website. Someone had to think it up first before others could follow and then improve upon it later. Now, if you knew the idea you used on a figure wasn't your own and somebody asked you if it was be honest about it. If your honest its not technically stealing. With that said however don't use this approach as a way to get around stealing. If someone doesn't ask then its up to you to make sure they know if they don't already. Or even a better example, lets say you just got done robbing a bank and somebody asked what you were doing with all that money and you told him the truth. One would say that wouldn't be technically stealing based on what I said above but thats not what I meant. Just use your best judgement and you shouldn't ever go wrong.

 

[nacho]

I'm much in the same boat as others. I plan customs, buy figures, buy custom parts and by the time I get around to it, they announce an official version. Fortunately, so many of mine haven't been started, so I haven't wasted the time. But it's still a lot of planning and money. And I might make some mods to the official releases with SDS heads or something.

This is one reason I really like customizing the revoltech transformers. They don't have to transform so you can make them look correct as bots without having to worry about horrid transformation flaws. There aren't many people doing it, they look cool as hell when you finish, and the line was left-for-dead after five figures, so there is little to no chance of being cock-blocked by an official release. I have about 20 more revo's planned. I just have to finish my house first...

 

[Beeavision]

By the way I'm no saint either so if you want real good advise on this topic or any other topic for that matter I recommend turning to the word of God (Bible). If your not a Christian go ahead and reference the book anyhow. There's a lot of truthful advice found in there on how to conduct yourself as a responsible human being that most would agree on. Some of our greatest laws in this country reflect on this as well.

 

[Beeavision]

Stepping down from my soapbox now....sorry for the long drawn out lecture.

 

[Cloud Strife]

By the way I'm no saint either so if you want real good advise on this topic or any other topic for that matter I recommend turning to the word of God (Bible). If your not a Christian go ahead and reference the book anyhow. There's a lot of truthful advice found in there on how to conduct yourself as a responsible human being that most would agree on. Some of our greatest laws in this country reflect on this as well.

^QFT^

 

[darthdre758]

 

[Dropshipbob]

If I "steal" someone elses receipe, I'll try and give them credit if I remember their name. Right now I'm working on a custom that's almost a direct copy of one that Obi-Shinobi did awhile back. Mine might be a tiny bit different just because I won't have all of the same parts, but it will be pretty close. I'm not doing it to be better, I just love the figure he made and I want one!

 

[unclassified]

when i make customs, i make up new characters, i never tried to capture a vintage figure, i did once with muskrat, but never finished it.

i just get sw heads or any 3 3/4 head and just make a new character. i havent made one in a long time, i make mock ups but never get to paint em, i need more paints, most of the paint i own at this time are tans, greens and greys/grays, however it's spelt. one day i will get more paints when my life's a bit better.

 

[Cloud Strife]

...greys/grays, however it's spelt...

Both are correct. "Grey" is how it is commonly spelled in England and "Gray" is how it is commonly spelled here in the US.

 

[Beeavision]

*Office Space

You're a very bad, bad person. lol

 

[Beeavision]

I just stole that line by the way.

 

[rds13601]

I screw up every custom i make. Stevie Wonder could do a better paint job than me

 

[fogger1138]

My biggest disappointment is when I brainstorm ideas for parts, and know that they would LOOK the best together...but when it comes time to actually assemble them...nothing works out. Pegs are too small, or too big. Heads won't work with helmets...and so on.

This, along with my glacially slow advance along the learning curve, are the biggest disappointments for me.

EDIT: Oh, and never being able to find time to do customs as well.

 

[BL4CK5H33P]

I've often been inspired/influenced by other craftsmens creations... & a FEW times been told that another customizer wants to run w/ 1 of my recipes... as long as I give credit where credit is due & if someone duplicates/emulates my work & reciprocates by acknowledging the origin of their creative spark... then no problem, inspiration comes from EVERYWHERE 4 me so I generally try to give a bit of history w/ my thought process as I post my projects...??? Also I think the custom community as a whole is comprised of ppl who share their knowledge & experience (i.e. the MANY tutorials that are shared on most of the custom figure sites) - so that others can better their skills set & get the most out of the hobby

 

[Pickelhaube]

No, I will not craft disappointment especially for you (For that, stick your hands down your pants! SNAP!)..

But have you ever started on a project, and then seen someone else' custom that's like, a gajillion times better than you think yours could ever be? It's so disheartening.

I know, with time and effort all things are possible, but sometimes it feels like why bother with all the effort when it's gonna look so so.

Stupid customs.

No not really.

I have seen were others have put more detail in their vehicles but they are building a " one of "

So time is not an issue to them. Plus all of the extra details may or may not come out once you start making copies.

That is a chance that I can not take because making moulds and casting parts takes plenty of time and money.

So when I make my creations I try to get the bare bones as close as possible them let the modeler take it from there.

Case in point my original HUMVEE turret sold for about $35 if I would have put another week into the prototype with added detail then taking the risk of 1 out of 3 not turning out I would have had to sell them for about $85 each.

That means I may have sold about 5 not 60+

30 mods and counting.

http://www.warbird-photos.com/gpxd/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17219

 

[NSA]

When are the new HMMWV turrets coming out...?

 

[Crimson God]

Yeah it does tend to get overwhelming.. and it sucks to think (even if really you're not) that you're just copying someone else's work (How many ways are there to do a known figure?).

It is painful to go back and look at work you did in the past, and at the time thought it was the shit, but now it's embarrassing that you did it.

i still think you bazooka troopers with, general hawk helmets, and viper vests, were cool, lol.

 

[NSA]

Those were 5 pack cobra commander helmets!!

See! No one pays attention.. *runs away crying*