Border Patrol: Mortal Kombat 6-Inch Ninjas by Jinzin

I still remember that San Diego Comic-Con years ago when Jazwares had first acquired the Mortal Kombat license – I got the Sub-Zero exclusive and was so let down. I often think about customizing some figures, but that time has passed for me. Here’s a set of Mortal Kombat ninjas from Jinzin, using DC Universe Classics as base figures.

  • Mortal Kombat Sub Zero by Jinzin – one of the original ninjas, this look is based on Sub-Zero’s appearance in the first Mortal Kombat game – ends Apr 12, 2014 17:47:30 PDT
  • Mortal Kombat Scorpion by Jinzin – also from the first Mortal Kombat, Scorpion was just a palette change from Sub-Zero, but still had the awesome GET OVER HERE spear attack – ends Apr 12, 2014 17:43:56 PDT
  • Mortal Kombat Smoke by Jinzin – one of the additions after Boon and Tobias realized people loved ninjas – Smoke is in his Shaolin Monks look – ends Apr 12, 2014 17:52:44 PDT

In AFP’s Border Patrol, we scour active eBay auctions for customized action figures that you won’t want to let slip by!

Custom action figure fans, stay tuned for CustomCon 37, which starts April 21 at Raving Toy Maniac.

Sorry, Castle Grayskullman – Ra-Jar is the Best Fan-Created MOTUC

Masters of the Universe Classics Ra-Jar 3

We’re going back a ways, but Ra-Jar was one of the runners-up in the Masters of the Universe Classics Create-a-Character contest that spawned Castle Grayskullman back in 2012. A few days ago, Matthias Grundner posted a Ra-Jar album on Facebook featuring a pretty awesome custom of the character, including a write-up of the features and bio of the would-be toy.

I’ve got no idea of Matthias’ relationship with Ra-Jar’s creator, Josh Howard, but he also included the Mattel-commissioned artwork for the contest by Jonboy Meyers and Chuck Pires. Anybody know the origins of the character sheet? Was it produced by Mattel for the creator, or vice-versa? Or did another fan of the character make this tribute? Please share the background if you know – all I know is that if Ra-Jar had won instead of Castle Grayskullman, I would have happily bought him.

Continue reading “Sorry, Castle Grayskullman – Ra-Jar is the Best Fan-Created MOTUC”

Border Patrol: Marvel Legends Falcon, Electro, and Sunspot

This week’s Border Patrol features two Marvel characters from upcoming movies plus one that would be cool to see in an X-Men movie.

  • Marvel Legends Falcon (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) by Stevid customs – while a bit simplified from the ultra-detailed costume revealed for the Winter Soldier movie, this Falcon nevertheless captures the feel of the movie costume – ends Mar 26, 2014 18:30:13 PDT
  • Marvel Legends Electro by Spidey Customs – made from the movie Electro, this custom attempts to take it back to the comic look with some creative license applied – ends Apr 01, 2014 02:33:48 PDT
  • Marvel Legends Sunspot by Shinobitron – while I was never much of a fan of the New Mutants in the comics, I think a character like Sunspot would have been a better fit for the younger X-Men in the First Class movies, rather than creating a continuity problem by adding Cyclops’ younger brother Havok to a movie set 30+ years earlier – this custom looks sharp but could use some of those sunspots – ends Mar 30, 2014 18:24:05 PDT

In AFP’s Border Patrol, we scour active eBay auctions for customized action figures that you won’t want to let slip by!

Customizers, the submission deadline for CustomCon 37 is coming up on April 7.

Announcing CustomCon 37 at Raving Toy Maniac this April

We are pleased to share that Raving Toy Maniac will be hosting CustomCon 37. This edition of CustomCon will be held in April, and joins the CustomCon events held in the summer at JoeAcevedo.com and the winter here at AFP.

The entry deadline is just under three weeks away, on April 7.

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CustomCon 37

What is CustomCon, you ask? CustomCon is a special semi-annual presentation of new custom toy creations by customizers around the globe. More than a decade in the running, it’s still going strong. Inspired by the presentations of new product by legitimate manufacturers at Toy Fair and other trade shows, CustomCon is a “fake” convention, whereby customizers present their latest creations and recipes as if unveiling a new line of real toys to retailers. It’s always a lot of fun, for both the viewers and the participants.

If this is your first exposure to a CustomCon, click here to see what’s been offered over the past 36 CustomCons.

EVENT DATES: CustomCon 37 will run from April 21 to 25, 2014.

ENTRY DEADLINE: The deadline will be Monday, April 7, 2014. No entries will be accepted after this date.

ENTRY GUIDELINES: So how can you participate? Well, the key is to make several custom action figures that would be in the same toy line, and send in photos of them. You could make your own new wave of DC Direct figures (a current series), a new wave of Star Trek figures (a previous series). You can also make a line of Super-Duper Creep Busting figures! (That would be your own unique line.) You could make figures based on characters from Comics, Movies, TV Shows, Books, Sports, Sci-Fi… The sky’s the limit!

  1. Just make sure each group of figures shares a common theme. You should come up with a name for your line of figures if it’s an original line, and give some sort of description of the action figure line.
  2. Custom packaging is, of course, an option, but it is certainly not required.
  3. If possible, we would ask that you photograph the figures so that it looks like they are on display at a convention. If you have custom packaging, it’s best to have pictures both loose and in the packages.
  4. There’s no limit on how few customs you have to submit for a line. 4 or more would be appreciated, but any number is fine. So, YES if you only have 1 or 2 good figures, send them in!
  5. The whole point of CustomCon is to show off your NEW custom creations, so please, no entries of pieces previously seen on websites, forums or in any sort of public gallery.

Ready to Submit your ENTRY?

Send your submissions to casimir@toymania.com. Please e-mail the following:

  • Your first and last name, or just the nickname you go by online. Your preference.
  • Your email address.
  • Your custom figure website address, if you have one.
  • The name of your figure line.
  • Any custom logos you wish to use for your toyline. (OPTIONAL)
  • E-mail me pictures of your figures. JPGs are preferred, scaled for screen. (7 inches high at 72 dpi is a good standard, or around 100 kb). Please make sure your images are ATTACHED to the email, NOT embedded. Remember to name your image files appropriately. You may know every X-Man ever created by sight, but we might not.
  • A description of what they were made from (your toy recipe). Describe what figures you used to make your custom. Please type, or “copy & paste” this into an e-mail.
  • A Description of the action figure line (convention write-up report).
  • Write up your own “Press release” or “Toy Show Commentary” to describe your toyline. Please type, or “copy & paste” this into an e-mail.

We appreciate you helping to spread the word about CustomCon.

via CustomCon 37 Entry Guidelines | Raving Toy Maniac.

Border Patrol: Wrestling Edition – C.M. Punk, Goldberg, and Samoa Joe

Being an old-time wrestling fan, I’ll admit that Hulk Hogan’s return to the WWE got me to check up on the latest news. There’s a lot of buzz on C.M. Punk since he quit the WWE a few weeks back, and his no-show at RAW last night in his hometown Chicago furthered the belief that it’s a shoot, not a work – sometimes wrestling is real! This edition of Border Patrol is for wrestlers you haven’t and probably never will see in Mattel’s line of WWE figures.

  • Mattel WWE CM Punk (Wrestlemania 26) by jps9779 – Mattel’s made a lot of C.M. Punk variants, but one you will probably never see is his Wrestlemania 26 gear, with its G.I. JOE styled appearance – not a fan of this look? there’s another C.M. Punk custom from his ECW title match vs. John Morrison – ends Mar 05, 2014 15:29:06 PST
  • Mattel WWE Bill Goldberg by ifigureidletyano – somehow, Mattel has not yet made a flashback figure of Goldberg, making him a popular figure for customizers – there’s also another Goldberg custom on sale this week – ends Mar 06, 2014 18:43:41 PST
  • Mattel TNA Samoa Joe by knlimper – one wrestler you will likely never see in the Mattel collection is Samoa Joe, who has wrestled outside of all of the wrestling circuits that Vince McMahon has absorbed into the WWE – Marvel Toys / Toy Biz made a Samoa Joe figure during their short-lived TNA license, but if you want one in the Mattel Elite style, this will be one of your few chances – ends Mar 05, 2014 19:00:21 PST

In AFP’s Border Patrol, we scour active eBay auctions for customized action figures that you won’t want to let slip by!

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