crazy customizing and creativity questions and discussion

[Dominic]

is that what Dom REALLY meant was that he doesn't care about real people celebrities (Entertainers, politicians, etc...). I happen to know that Dom actually is quite sentimental when it comes to family, friends, etc. If he didn't, he wouldn't waste the time to photograph his tuchus to several of us three or four times a year on birthdays, holidays and anniversaries.

Clarification:
What I was saying is that I do not put as much value on real people in general as some people, (especially those who cannot sort priorities so well), do on fictional characters. By this, I mean that I do not need every piddling detail of somebody's life unless every piddling detail is interesting.

Generally, I do not care just about "wot happuns". If I am interested, I can read alow grade newspaperand get "wot actually happuns". A fictional recounting of "stuff wot happund" needs to have something else to make it worth my time to praise, if read at all.

but Synjo wasn't mature enough to cut through it.

Yeah, that inability to recognize the line between fact and fiction is killer for some people.

Soooo... how bout them customs?

Seriously, Dom, do you have any pics you can post of your recent customs?

Between T-Mobile carking up their data plans, (or maybe just removing a hack that I blundered across), and my joining the MySpace exodus, I really have not been posting the images online. If you have any pictures of my more recent stuff in your phone, feel free to post it here.

Recent additions include:
-blue Takara Magnus/Prime.
-TFU style (UT) Crosswise
-Magnificus (sans Gamede unfortunately)
-blue and yellow Decepticon soldier\

I am likely going to make a package art Thrust over the break, and probably a Warmonger figure. (Thundercrackers are common enough that I do not feel guilty grinding them up at this point.)

And, if nobody gets back to me in a few days, I have plans for RTS Cyclonus and a few others.

Question:
I am not going to make Ferak out of Cyclonus, as the colours are too similar. So, Cyclonus is likely to be made in to either the Dirge coloured trooper seen during FFoD, or another Unicron trooper as shown in "Energon".

So, here is the question: Macabre from "Energon" Slugslinger or "Generations" Black Shadow? And, might Siuggy make a good Tornado or Ferak?

And, any thoughts on making a Triton figure out of a spare "Generations" Red Alert?

Is is worth making Marlboor out of "Genetrations" Wheeljack without a head modification?


Dom
-not much a fan of the cartoon as a whole to be honest.

[Gomess]

Is is worth making Marlboor out of "Genetrations" Wheeljack without a head modification?

Well, technically, it isn't *worth* making ANY customs, Dominic. *smokes pipe filled with burned fanfics*

Maybe you should make a new thread with a poll so we can give our answers to your problem more succinctly.

[Dominic]

I can no longer make polls as I am no longer a moderator.

And, in any case, I am looking for thoughts more than hard numbers. For example, is it worth half-assing Marlboor like that? I have seen digi-bashes that look good. But, I am just wondering if it is worth actually doing?

[Onslaught Six]

Regular members can create polls too. At the bottom, click on "Poll creation" or something like that. It's a little tab by Options.

I'd say do it if you think it's worth doing, although honestly Slicer would be a more interesting colour scheme.

[BWprowl]

Technically there's precedent for doing Big Daddy too, though the vehicle mode doesn't work quite as well.

Nothing wrong with making lots of customs though, Dom. We all know you love that mold, and it is readily available.

[Shockwave]

I say if you want to do it, do it. Especially since you seem the type to actually DO your customs, not like me where I get the stuff to do it and then sit on it for years and years.

And, you have really good ideas for things that are likely not to be made. For Ferak, I might recommend Scourge with Cyclonus' head? If that would work.

[Dominic]

Slicer is an option. But, right now, I am on a Takara/E-Hobby kick. But, yeah, Slicer is not a bad option.

I say if you want to do it, do it. Especially since you seem the type to actually DO your customs, not like me where I get the stuff to do it and then sit on it for years and years.

Do you have any idea what kind of a backlog I have? Seriously?

I have been meaning to do that Cyclonus for about 2 months now.....

And, do not even get me started about my Seeker army, which (aside from some relatively simpe "package art" variants and the yellow/blue trooper) has not been touched for nearly 2 years.

And, you have really good ideas for things that are likely not to be made. For Ferak, I might recommend Scourge with Cyclonus' head? If that would work.

Actually , a few of my "they ain't never gonna make this" ideas have ended up being made.

I am fairly sure that Cyclonus' head will not fit on/in that body. But, I will have to investigate that idea when I get home tonight.


Dom
-still clamping at the bit for a TFU Hound and/or Ravage.

[Shockwave]

Hey, at least you still actually *do* your customs! I have a fiberoptic Enterprise D that I've had for almost ten years now and I'm going on like, 7 or 8 years for my custom Alternators Bumblebee. And I don't even have plans drawn for that custom Dispensor from the 07 movie I was gonna do. Yeah. I don't actually ever get around to my stuff. You may have backlog, but at least you'll actually do it.

Shockwave
-Also not sure of Cyclonus head on Scourge's body.

[Dominic]

Okay, updates and questions....

For Ferak, how does Ut Slugslinger (painted as needed) sound?

I need help re: Macabre. TFG Thunderwing has a more appropriate face, being a sort of grimacy-leer. But, TFG Black Shadow has a more appropriate helment, framing a very stoic face. Swappikng a head from UT Unicron in to the mix is not a practical option, as it will not fit in the jet form.


And, question about my planned custom Decepticon Target Masters. I am planning to have one "standard" Decepticon wielding a Target Master gun. But, what about the other guy. Here are what I see as the most obvious choice. (Note: i do not have base figures for all of these. But, for the moment lets put that aside.)

-case 1: Straight recolour of Dirge: This would be consistent with the original Artfire and Stepper. Those were recolours of '84/'85 moulds. Having a recolour of a standard Decepticon paired off with a conehead would match that.

-case 2: Recolour of Dirge with a standard Decepticon head mould. I have a few other customs that use this idea, (G2 Ramjet, Toyfair 84 catalogue Ramjet, and Dirge), and the results are always pleasing. This would be similar to the above, but with more of a "package art" flavour.

-case 3: Use a larger Decepticon mould for the second Target Master, the idea being to add voth variety and to have a larger Decepticon paired with a normal sized Decepticon. Candidate moulds would include "Cybertron" Jetfire, Fan Club Astrotrain, TFU Powerglide, TFU Jetfire or RTS Lugnut.


And, i have vague plans for TFG Wheeljack or Tracks as Daytonus. Thoughts?


Dom
-also meaning to add other Decepticon troops to the fleet...soon.

[Dominic]

Gomess called me out in the GoBots thread about my customizing habit and my disdain for fanon.

Specifically, he sees it as contrary. This post is my attempt to reconcile the apparent contradiction.

One of my problems with fanon in general is that it muddies the waters. A certain amount of fanon is inevitable, even necessary. (How else would somebody reconcile the fact that most of the guys who died in the original TF movie from the 80s ended up coming back. Seriously. Crunch the numbers. Only a few characters who died in the movie stayed unambiguously dead, with some of them coming back during the movie itself. The only way to reconcile that is to fill in some blanks that are officially blank.)

But, too many fans seem to have a hard time separating their thing from what was actually published. (Having majored in English, I can safely say that this problem is not limited to "Transformers" or even scifi as a genre.) Then, people start looking for places to put their own stuff, regardless of what the copyright holders or legit writers intend. (Example: There are people who actually argue that Princess Celestia from MLP is a bad guy. Or, just about any literary theorist who ignores author intent.)

It comes down to a question of degree. Assuming that Windcharger was repaired after the battle for Autobot City or that there was just another guy who looked like Windcharger running around later is much different than (to use an extreme example) arguing that Megatron and Galvatron are not the same guy based on the 1986 movie.


I use customizing to fill in the blanks with figures that Hasbro could/should have made, but did not. There is usually some official precedent for my custom figures. Most of my SideSunRedSwipeSteakerAlert recolours have some legitimate precedent. Even the police Sunstreaker, (probably the one with the least precedent), has a pre-TF figure as precedent, and is logically cohesive with the franchise. In that sense, I am respecing the copyright holders and their IP. Deepcover or Clampdown are official characters that lack modern toys, and I am using the most logical modern moulding to make them as models of modern major generals of modification. My Artfire not only has logical precedent, but is actually based on an official character model.


Dom
-figures this is good for a few pages of replies.