Why did You start Customizing?

[The Bat]

A recent aggressive discussion got me thinking....remembering actually...why I started Customizing in the first place. one reason was of course, to fill in the gaps Mego left(The Flash, Green Lantern, etc...).

The other...as I saw it...was to "FIX" some of the Figures that I felt, that Mego got wrong(Cap, Molded Cowl Batman, The Gorn, etc...). And I guess that hasn't changed for me. From what I seen so far from Mattel/EMCE...they're off to a good start. So for now, I'm willing to set back, be patient, and hope things turn out the way I hope.

But if some of the Figures aren't to my liking...then I'll do what I've been doing all along...Customize & "Fix" them. At the very least...it will create more Parts I can use for my hobby(Belts, Body Suits, Boots, and so on...).

I love original Megos...but deep down...I'm a Customizer at Heart. I have to mess with stuff...I just can't leave it alone.

[Jerry68]

Same here, and I really enjoy it!

[Mikey]

My story is a bit strange ....

Back in the early 1990's one of my nephews was (he still is) a huge pro wrestling fan.

At a quick glance (back then) he kind of looked like Big Boss Man.

I bought a Hasbro Bossman and tinkered around with it to try and make it look like a figure of my nephew.
He was very surprised and pleased with the results - which inspired me.

My next project was trying to turn a 9" Captain Pike Playmates figure into Jesus ...
Again, I was surpised and happy with the results.

Once I joined Mego Museum and seen they had a customs section, I got a lot of info and ideas and it took off from there.

[Goblin19]

Three things got me started:
1. I wanted Green Lantern and a "few" others.
2. I found some clearance Famous Covers and started converting them.
3. DangerDan contacted me about trading some of my Famous Covers converts for his stuff. He had a bunch of Spidey bad guys, so that got that ball rolling
The rest is history. I just can't stop, especially with kids, there's always somebody new to make.

[Meule]

To fill in some gaps Mego left (Sulu, Chekov, more villains) and because I wanted more Trek aliens after seeing the Dunsel/Dave MC aliens.
Once I got hooked, I wanted to do the cast of the 66 Batman show and more movie monsters.

[thunderbolt]

welll, I mostly really dug the DC9" line(better than the FC's) as they seemed to be a bit more like toys than the FC's and reminded me a lot of my old Mego's. After the line was canned due to Hasbro's mishandling, I discovered Brian Leitner's Flash custom on ebay and got a painted cast of the head from him immediately. This was followed by Hawkman from him. I eventually tried sewing, painting heads and I was on my way. I did not know of Doc Mego or this site until I was deeply commited to the 9 inch scale, or I probably would have done the Mego size instead. Later I went on a movie serial/pulp book consuming kick and that spilled over into the customs. I have redone 90 percent of my old customs in this style.

[The Bat]

I have redone 90 percent of my old customs in this style.

Yeah, I know what you mean. That's another thing I do...is "re-do" my Customs a lot...for various reasons(not satisfied with Head Sculpt, or whatever) . So I guess that's another part of my addiction...is constantly "fixing", and Customizing the Customs.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

I wanted to see if I could do it, and I was quite happy with my first one. If he hadn't worked for me, I may not have made any after that.

[The Toyroom]

I think my first customs were repainting some WWF Hasbro figures for my cousin....for some reason he wanted a Bret Hart with a blue outfit, a Hakushi and a Waylon Mercy if I recall. Then I did some repaints of DC Kenner/Marvel Toybiz figures for myself....Superboy became the Jack Knight Starman, Marvel Girl became Wonder Woman and Cyclops became Plastic Man.

I guess it was inevitable I'd try my hands to Megos once I found Dr. Megos site....Green Lantern was the first.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Since I was a kid I've always wanted every cool character in the same scale; so's they could fight each other. The 8" Mego body was always the perfect figure for me. Big enough you could have accessories, small enough you could make vehicles. I tried making customs since I was small, but met with limited success. (That's why my Grandma taught me how to sew.)

Wasn't until I discovered RTV silicone that I had any real luck. (Back in the garage kit days.... I had to order the stuff from Japan!) And I used THAT mostly for gaming and model kit parts. Didn't think to use those skills for figures until I ran into Darrin Wiltshire and Scott Metzger.

Don C.

[The Bat]

I wanted to see if I could do it, and I was quite happy with my first one. If he hadn't worked for me, I may not have made any after that.

Do you still have a Pic of your 1st one Cat? I'd like to see it.

My first one was DareDevil. I thought the Mego Cap made a better DaveDevil then Cap...so I added some Horns from a Triceratops Eraser, and painted him with the wrong kind of Paint(he took about a Month to dry), but in the end...he came out pretty good. He looked very Mego to me.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

Do you still have a Pic of your 1st one Cat? I'd like to see it.

My first one was DareDevil. I thought the Mego Cap made a better DaveDevil then Cap...so I added some Horns from a Triceratops Eraser, and painted him with the wrong kind of Paint(he took about a Month to dry), but in the end...he came out pretty good. He looked very Mego to me.

Yeah I still have him. Tried to take a pic but my camera batteries are now being charged...will tomorrow.

I think that would be a good thread. Pictures of your first ever custom.

[bobws]

when i found this site and saw what everyone was making it inspired me to try to expand the Titans to all of the 70's characters and then i started getting Brian's suits and heads off ebay and i'm off and running. very soon pictures will show just what i've been up to.

[MIB41]

I actually started customizing when I was a kid in the 70's. But, of course, it wasn't the kind of proper customizing I would show by today's standards. I wanted a Flash, Green Lantern, Nova, and a Vision figure. So I went to many lengths to see these figures come to life (but on a limited basis). In those days I didn't have the kind of resources that I have today. But what really returned me to the craft after all of these years came down to one simple rule - cost effectiveness. There is a fantastic circle of very talented and very fair minded folks in this community that produce professional level product at fair market prices. If your looking to piece together a custom figure, there is almost no limit to what you can do and still keep it affordable.

[SUP-Ronin]

Mostly, I need an outlet for my creative side. Also, It helps me forget about bills, recessions, climate change, and the rest of lifes little problems at least temporairly.
I think customizing is challenging and fun, I also (like others) enjoy filling in gaps in the original mego lines.