Back in the early 2000's I was all about customizing Star Wars figures. I even made my own Jedi Council diorama for the diorama workshop at Star Wars Celebration II.
I guess when I get into something, I really get obsessed, Ha Ha!

See pictures here:
http://www.niubniubsuniverse.com/C2W/journal/01SetUp/00setup2.asp

Lately I have been picking up the latest Ewok figures, which are awesome, but I really needed a better articulated Chief Chripa to match my current Ewoks! So I decided to make my own. I used the Vintage Collection Lumat figure and parts of the Saga Collection Chief Chirpa. It was pretty easy, but I decided to post it since I have not done a Star Wars custom in years!

I got some sad news, my buddy who is helping me with casting is in the ICU. He is having issues with his kidneys. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

As a result the projects he is helping me with are on hold. I will not be able to have any more Manta Raiders or Hammers this year after the current orders are completed. Hopefully everything will be okay and we will be back on track in a couple of weeks. If not then I will come up with a plan B. I will not leave you hanging!

The Warlords of the Universe project has received a lot of attention, more than I expected! So I do plan on having some limited sets available for the fans. This is all done by me so it is not affected by anything. I hope to have some sets available by December in time for Santa.

Thank you for all your support!
-Joe

Power Con customs

The two customs I brought with me to Power Con for the Custom Figures panel were my Ram Man V2 and my Robobot (Ralph McQuarrie concept)

Hunter Kight recorded the panel if you want to watch it here:
http://youtu.be/HB8xwwRKLGU

My first reveal is based on the concept robot Ralph McQuarrie did for the Master of the Universe movie! Imagine a Ralph McQuarrie  / Master of the Universe Robot...my two favorite worlds collide!!!

Since they could not make some of the cartoon characters Ralph McQuarrie's idea was to have a little robot like an R2-D2 type character. The idea was not used but once I saw him...and loving robots...I needed him!  He is an orginal 3D sculpt that has been outputted and painted by me. He is about 4.5" tall and is fully poseable.

First, I'll show you pictures of the final figure

 This is where the idea came from

Here are my designs and plans for the actual figure

 Here is the 3D model and some renderings I did

The other figure I showed was my Ram Man V2 custom. It's my own take on the classic character, but in my version he's more of an Avengers Hulk than a short stocky guy. You guys saw the first version, right?

I love the different scale of figures

Once I saw the Marvel Select Avengers Hulk all I could think was Ram Man!

I was very influenced by Emiliano Santalucia's drawing

I made him mainly out of Magic Sculpt

Manta Raider Update

So...I have good news and bad news...

First let me say this is by far the most complicated fan project I have ever done!
Coordinating everything was a huge task! I love the end results, it looks like production...but it's not...it's fan made by hand! Above are pictures of the final Manta Raider in packaging.

The good news is that the casts of the Manta Raider arrived yesterday!
So we are moving forward. I was freaking out!

The bad news is I will not be doing a pre-sell for the Manta Raider and we will have very limited stock at Power Con. These will be for sale at Rudy Obrero's booth.
NOTE: It is one per customer and the price is $50.00

But not to worry, the rest of the Manta Raiders will be sold online after Power Con to everyone! Rudy has agreed to sign all the back cards so every Manta Raider will come signed, in case you missed the opportunity at Power Con. That was the main reason I wanted these for Power Con.

Keep checking my Blog and Twitter for updates.
I will let you know with plenty of time in advance.

As a bonus I also attached pictures of the Manta Raider and Pilot (based on Rudy's painting) that I donated to The Power-Con / ThunderCon Charity Auction.

The auction will take place during the convention on Saturday, September 22 from 4:00pm – 6:00pm.
Fifty Percent of the auction’s proceeds will benefit Keep A Child Alive.
Keep A Child Alive provides treatment, love, and support to families affected by HIV/AIDS in countries around the world.

More info:
http://www.thepower-con.com/2012/09/charity-auction/

Thanks,
Joe
http://twitter.com/amaro_joe

Manta Raider - Will be available to the fans!!!

San Diego Comic Con was awesome!

At the He-Man.org Power Party I finally got a chance to sit down and talk to Rudy Obrero face to face. Did you know Rudy is doing the box art for MOTUC Granamyr!

At the party Rudy told me that he wants to make the Manta Raider available to the fans!!! I need to figure out the logistics and price but it will be a very very limited run, definitely under 100 pieces. These are hand made.

We talked about having it in some type of packaging so we can use Rudy's awesome painting!

The plan right now is to have it ready for Power Con in September. Rudy will have a table there with some prints for sale. Best of all you can have all the items signed by Rudy!

I wanted to clarify, the Manta Raider is not associated with Masters of the Universe or Mattel. It is Rudy Obrero's original design and it's a limited edition hand made piece of art and not a toy. In fact Rudy is revising the painting and I am revising the sculpt now to make sure we don't infringe on Mattel at all.

I should have some updated images tomorrow. Let me know if you have any questions!

Joe

 

If you have been following me on Twitter you know that on April 21st I decided to scratch build a Masters of the Universe Attak Trak...Filmation style. Since then I have been Tweeting work in progress pictures. Well I finally finished it!

The final vehicle is massive and has a bunch of features:
- Fits two MOTUC drivers
- Cargo hold can hold a bunch of figures including Battle Cat
- Opening rear ramp for deploying troops
- Top cannon swivels
- Cargo area has a light
- Top front section is removable to put figures inside
- Front top opening portal, perfect for Mekaneck to stick his head through...ah thinking ahead!!!

It is mainly constructed out of foam core with additional details made of Styrene and some parts from the ERTL model of the Attak Trak...for good measure.

Follow me on Twitter to see more work in progress shots of my projects: @amaro_joe

Check out the pics below.

The Mystic Hammer sculpt is now finished! Here are some pictures of the hammer with various figures to give you an idea of scale. The size is 5.5" tall by 4" wide. It's now it off to get casted and then they will be ready for sale. I do not have a pre-order section. I will post a link here and on Twitter to the sale page when they are ready.

You can follow me on Twitter for more updates as well: @amaro_joe
If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me: amaro.joe@gmail.com

I'll be doing a panel at Phoenix Comicon about action figures! It's mainly for kids but everyone is invited!!!

Action Figures & Toys - Behind the Scenes
Sunday: 12:30pm - 1:30pm Location: 228B


http://www.phoenixcomicon.com/programming/category/youth

I LOVE clear figures!!!
At Jazwares I made a clear blue Sonic that was awesome...fans hated him. They said he was not "Game Specific"...I agree...I just thought a clear Sonic would be awesome!

Here are some clear figures that I did with some friends...

Crystar was a collaborative project. Casted in clear Blue/Green and I painted his the other parts metallic Red.

He-Ro was casted in clear Blue/Green and then I painted him a clear Blue with metallic Silver highlights.

Below are some pictures of the "Mystic Hammer" in progress, that's what I'm calling it.
It's coming out great, a little more cleaning then it's time to cast and paint. The size is almost 5" tall...it's massive...perfect for 12" figures!

Once I'm finished cleaning I'll post pictures of the hammer with some figures to show the size and scale. You can see in the images below that the top part will be hollow. This is so that it's not too heavy which will allow for some awesome posing.

I'm thinking it should be ready for sale in the coming weeks. The price will $15.00 plus shipping.  There will be a very limited quantity made as this is not mass produced.
 

I fixed my custom Shadow Beast and put him on e-Bay! He is massive over 10.5" tall!!!
Take a look at the pics and go bid on him...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170812178011

The hammer is progressing! Check out the 3D model of the hammer. I think it is almost perfect! So now I gotta figure out how I will output it. I have two options that I can do in order to be able to offer them to you guys.

One, I can have it rapid prototyped and have one perfect sample. Then from there I can make a silicone mold to make copies. I guess I can make like 20 copies and sell them on e-Bay? This way is more expensive up front, but I know the result will be great. And they can all be cast in various colors and or painted. I'd have to make at least 20 and sell them at $20.00 to cover the costs. The more we order the cheaper it is. 40 and it's $10.00 per hammer and so on.

Two,  was thinking about trying http://www.shapeways.com/ out. I upload the 3D file and anyone can order one, they are made to order by Shapeways. By the way if you order anything from there make sure you use the material "Frosted Detail & Ultra Detail" the cheaper materials all come very rough and need a lot of work. But if you order them you will have to paint them. I guess I could order a couple for me so I can paint them and offer painted versions? This version is cheaper up front but I have no idea how it will work out? But it does seem easier and it may be cheaper for you as well. And it does give you a lot of options in materials and such.

UPDATE: I did some calculations, based on Shapeways material price structure and it is not cheap! It is actually cheaper for me to rapid prototype it and them make a silicone mold. So that's what I am going to do. For small stuff it is okay, but this hammer is big over 4" tall and it is cheaper the traditional way. Maybe in the future if I made a gun or a small accessory that would be the way to go.

I put my two Rock Monsters on e-Bay. This is your chance to own some of my work!
I am offering both in the same auction...go bid on them now!!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170810538644

So my Gerard Butler story...several years back at New York Toy Fair I went to dinner with a bunch of friends. We went to this cool restaurant called Craft Bar www.craftrestaurant.com/. There was a bunch of us just hanging out having fun. Then someone at our table mentioned that across the restaurant was Gerard Butler http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0124930/

We thought it was cool and started talking about his movies. My bestest friend Xavier Marrero then drew an awesome stylized/urban vinyl Spartan. For the rest of the night we debated giving him the drawing, finally we decided to give it a cute waitress so she could to take over to his table. He got it and laughed out loud then he yelled over to us:
"Is that what I look like?!" ...We all laughed and said: "NO!!!"

He came over to our table with his group and we all hung out the rest of the night. He asked what we all did and we said we all worked in the toy industry. They all thought it was super cool, then he asked me:
"So you could make this for me?"...and I said "YES I can!"

 We talked about it and exchanged information. When we got back home X did some turn around drawings for me and we went to work! I kept Gerry (yeah we are buddies now) in the loop and sent him work in progress pictures. Finally the sculpt was done and I hand painted it for him. I sent it to him and the last I heard it was on the mantle in his apartment! Here are some pics...