my 60 Custom Minifigs

[Tomcat RIO]

Hi all, Kevin aka 'TomcatRIO' here. Sharing my recent project since MCW '11 ended; 60 custom minifigs featuring chracters from my favourite cartoons when younger, and some other more unique characters. 60 is/was a nice number because it means I could just buy a box of CMF series and customize from there, but currently the project has grown beyond 60..

As always, I don't use decals as I am unskilled in computer drawing software and neither have a suitable laserjet printer. Instead, all the mfs you see have been airbrushed and handpainted by steady hands, as was with my MCW'11 Knight Joust entry. Many parts are fashioned from sculpy, or from 2nd party Lego parts such as Brickwarriors( Hi Thrash!), Brickarms, Brickforge etc.

you can find the flickr link here for higher res views and a few more pictures, my photobucket hosts only some of the more family friendly ones.. I have posted many WIP in progress photos on this thread, which will be a bonus to many of you customisers to see the 'behind the scenes'

First up

The Lego Avengers Assemble!! New meaning to the word 'Assemble', because we assemble LEGO. I would probably not be buying the Helicarrier set, but the figs appeal to me so much!

First, I'll show a WIP of the Iron Man, Nick, and BW

1st cut

Helmets of billionaire womanisers!

Ironman was customised at the same time as Flash. Notice the use of CMF Hockey player armour for IM's suit. Painted red. Base minifig is the Formula One Driver.

Final product at the studio, with hands bent outward to simulate the palm cannons.

Flip up mechanism for the visor, which is epoxy moulded on the visor

Edited March 30, 2012 by Tomcat RIO

[Vindicare]

WOOOOOOOOW! What an awesome bunch of customs. Your painting skill is unbelievable. I love everyone there and is a walk down memory lane for me as well.

[Tomcat RIO]

Next is the Hulk, which I'm sure many of you asking. How'd you do it?

I'll let the following comic strip do the walk through.

A makeover with my hairstylist tools!

More Muscle..

2 heads were specially made( by thickening up a standard head with putty). 1 with angry face, another with angrier face.

finished custom, doing the HULK SMASH!!! This arm pose will not be the same as the eventual offical Lego version

That is followed by Thor. Who features a moulded version of Prince of Persia hair, with a helmet and wings added. This is to harken to the classic comic version, instead of the official version based on the movies.

Hawkeye - painted in the garish purple suit from the Avengers cartoon series, and similar to the comic versions.

Black Widow - I was thinking naughty ( Scarlett J!!!) This is a combo of movie and comic features - yellow cuffs and belt is not in the movie.

my much underwhelming captain america :(

Next, Justice League Alliance, which is still screening on cartoon network for my nephews and nieces!

A WIP shot. Hawkgirl's hair is moulded based on the hairpiece from Angelica/ Queen Anne Revenge 4195. Wonder Woman uses hermione's hair, Green Lantern and Flash as is.

A prelim shot in february - now I can't find Batman, he's somewhere in the many boxes.

A first take of JLA vs Avengers. Has got to be cool as a movie?

Martian Manhunter, with self made capes.

Green Lantern - I have not seen what became of the limited edition figs released in Nov/Dec? comicon.. but I have my own version now!

Wonder Woman! DIY and much raunchier than the official! Because I based it on Tanya Roberts ;)

Superman with self made cape, hand painted as well.

[Tomcat RIO]

Flash! I added 2 rolls of putty to the side of the helmet to simulate Flash's antenna ligthning thingamagie.

Hawkgirl - completely scratchbuild head - from Angelica's hairpiece from Queen Anne revenge set, and moulded into shape with beaks. Wings are painted on a plastic sheet card.

Here he poses with Dr Doom, who has a painted green hood.

This leads naturally to the Fantastic 4, wait, there's only 3??

Ah yes. Invisible woman.

the Thing has a putty sculpted onto his torso, and uses Power Miner arms.

Next up is the Street Fighter 2 collection. I know this one brings back memories for those who grew up in the early/mid 90s.

Ryu - who uses the Karate Champion torso, with a new head and custom hairpiece. A headband is sculpted from putty.

Ken was painted red, and follows the same cloth pattern as the Karate Champion/Ryu as above

Next is a group shot of the 1st wave of customs. You can already the names associated with some of the more famous hairstyles!

the Family Man himself, Guile. and his theme goes with anything and everything. Hair was sculpted onto a normal generic piece, literally extending it into a combed GI look. Also note the tiny US Flag on his right arm that is handpainted.

E Honda, Mr thousand hands.. Hair is from, incidentally, the Sumo Wrestler from CMF.

Edited March 30, 2012 by Tomcat RIO

[Tomcat RIO]

next,

Zangeif! I cut off the stud on the head, and filled it with putty to style the hair. Hairy Chest is absolutely required.

Dhalsim that is completely handpainted

Balrog, with CMF boxer gloves

Blanka, with customised hair based on POTC zombie long hair pieces

Akuma with the custom hairpiece

Vega - I used Brickwarrior's (Hi Thrash!) Assassin hairpiece, i thought it was perfect! Added some hair, and painted in suitable colours, hope you don't mind!

M Bison, with red painted police man cap, and diy cape

Let's not forget Sagat. You can see hand painted toes!

of course, we all as young pre-puberscent hormonal geek kids can remember gawking at Chun Li...

I made 2 versions, 1 with brown stocking true to the game, the other in flesh, true to cosplay. A skirt was made for the nottom half of the cheongsam.

Then, Cammy White came along.

I rolled strips of putty for the ponytail, and fashioned the Beret out of putty.

Edited March 30, 2012 by Tomcat RIO

[Tomcat RIO]

Spiderman Vs Venom.. I'd never had the chance to buy the sets before they were out of production, and the new official set from Lego looks simple enough to DIY

hence..

Another missing gap for my Toy story collection was Mr and Mrs Potato Head, and Slinky Dog. I think Lego couldnt get the licence rights to reproduce them. But one can always DIY! I sculpted them from putty onto normal torsos. Arms became ears, and I used shorter dwarf legs. Slinky was simply converted from a normal dog, by adding round features to the head, and painting the spring.

Then I began my challenge, making Predator minifigs..

I sculpted putty onto normal Lego helmets, and used a lot of armor pieces from brickwarriors (Once again thanks Thrash, this was from the 1st prize, put to good use I hope!)

the back view

Then, I might as well customise one of my all time (if not anytime) favourtie cartoons while growing up, TMNT.. Was old enough to catch the 1st season back in '87. Good times after school!

While most of the current generation of Lego afols and kids have fun with Ninjago, I go Ninja Turtles.

This is the WIP - as you can see most of the heads have putty sculpted on the get the correct shapes

Utility belt is from brickforge, if I remember. I filled up the front to allow the initials to be painted.

Raphael has Sai from brickforge as well. Michaelangelo's nanchucks are DIY.

Back view. Shells are made from boat bottom hull pieces. Bandanas are painted 'flame' pieces.

Master Splinter and April O Neil - both have sculpted heads and hair. Hand painted Torsos...

The baddies! Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady. Shredder uses a normal samurai helmet that has putty strips added. Rocksteady has an army helmet, and ammo belt from Brickwarrior. Bebop's head is completely scratchbuilt, except for the spectacles, which are from official Lego goggles!

Char Aznable, the main antagonist from Gundam 0079..

This is the 1st iteration. I added putty and plastic card to a castle helmet.

An improved version was made, based on feedback from gundam fans. A cape was added.

Next is my version of Lego's official Queen Amidala. I know that I'm probably never going to buy the Gungan Sub, I have a strong resistance to the Force. Basically just using plates and bricks, and building it up with putty.

The final version

and, my alternative crew to the Millenium Falcon: Nien Numb and Lando Calrissian, who flew it at the battle of Endor.

Nien has a normal pilot helmet, with ears and faces sculpted

and to one of the best rock bands ever!

John Deacon, Roger Taylor, Freddie Mercury and Brian May. Together, they are Queen.

I got the inspiration from a picture from Lego Rock Band. However, the main difference from the game is that I painted my figures as they appeared at the Wembley concert in 1986, John Deacon's yellow shorts included. Also note Brian May's "Red Special" electric guitar. And Freddie's unmistakeble yellow jacket.

Some song titles are embedded in this picture. Can you guess them?

[Tomcat RIO]

Hope to get some comments and feedback, as well as constructive critiscms.

the next 60 minifigs has already begun, and it will also not disappoint!

[raminator]

this is truly the most awesome thing i ever saw done with lego!

did you used "Avengers: United they stand" as reference for your hawk eye?

[commdr_neyo]

Wow, I must say, you've done an amazing job on every single one of these

I particularly like the Hulk, and ofcourse the whole Queen band

The only improvement I could think of, would be better matching colours on the flesh figs

[charlieboy]

These are fantastic!!! I always love seeing the predators in minifig form, yours are some of the best i've seen,especially the helmets

Keep up the good work fella!

[Javert]

I see

Bicycle Race

Radio Gaga

We Are The Champions and Bohemian Rhapsody - (put a gun against his head)

I'm a big fan of queen and I need to know how you made the red special!

[Wardancer]

You are a busy man! I like the custom hair you made for many figs. Also, turning the wampa into a hulk is a very good idea, I like it when customizers sort of lose all respect for the integrety of a product and just saw off what stands in the way of their idea.

Also I like the predators a lot. Great painting and I love the way you integrate the brickwarrior armour. Painting skulls on the round armour areas was a great idea. I have some of these armours here and still don't know what to do with it.

I am not sure about the predators' legs though. Yours make one almost forget that it's a regular leg with a 1x1 brick under it, but just almost. I am currently working on some taller as usual figs myself and I have not found a good way for this yet. There are alway woody's legs, but there has to be a better way.

[Omicron]

Damn dude.

These are awesome. Your Hulk, Iron Man, and Silver Surfer are my fave of the comic figs.

But the real sellers for me were the TMNT figs. Excellent job on those.

-Omi

[Tomcat RIO]

this is truly the most awesome thing i ever saw done with lego!

did you used "Avengers: United they stand" as reference for your hawk eye?

Thanks! I'm not sure about the exact name of the animated movie i watched , but yea, it should be.

Wow, I must say, you've done an amazing job on every single one of these

I particularly like the Hulk, and ofcourse the whole Queen band

The only improvement I could think of, would be better matching colours on the flesh figs

Commented noted. I'm having a hard time mixing the right colours even now. I use a blend of pink, white and orange to get various shades.

I see

Bicycle Race

Radio Gaga

We Are The Champions and Bohemian Rhapsody - (put a gun against his head)

I'm a big fan of queen and I need to know how you made the red special!

You are right!! The red special is actually a normal guitar, from brickforge. Then I painted it red with black pedal, and biege frets.

I am not sure about the predators' legs though. Yours make one almost forget that it's a regular leg with a 1x1 brick under it, but just almost. I am currently working on some taller as usual figs myself and I have not found a good way for this yet. There are alway woody's legs, but there has to be a better way.

Thanks! Yes, I agree about the point in making taller minifigs. Experimenting is the way forward. One can always have an army of woody legs for this purpose, but I'm trying 2 1x1 square plates instead of 1x1 brick. The main issue would be sawing off the feet protusion to relocate it.

[Duke]

Wow.. to have seen any of those figures posted indivodually would have been great but all 60 at once! My favourites are the TMNT gang.

[Admiral Croissant]

I can't do justice to this magnificent work with just one short post, but I'll comment anyway.

You did a great job on all of these and you are a very skilled painter from what I can see.

Especially the Predator minifigs are very well made

[Vindicare]

Unbelievable! After seeing all these WIP shots, you're paint jobs are impressive and very clean. You must have the steadiest hands on the planet, your lines are so straight and clean for working in such a small space. The sculpts you create are spot on as well. I can't wait for the next batch!

[Alexkerry]

Oh .. This is great!

I especially liked the TMNT.

[RobTheLegoNutjob]

These are pretty cool; the customisation is great and you have a great painting skill! Most of the "Super Heroes" ones are good from scatch, but official ones are coming out; are you going to keep yours or buy the new ones?

[natesroom]

I would def buy the tmnt set if you were willing to sell... All of them are awesome!

[The Blue Brick]

I love all of your customs. My favorites are the Hulk, the Thing, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles.

The street fighter series is also great. They all bring back so many memories.

Anyways, awesome job, they are all amazing. Keep up the good work.

I can't wait to see your next batch.

Blue Brick

[The Joker1]

I can smell that from here and it smells odorific!! I cannot even think of a word that describes how awsome some of these figures are.I really love the TMNT ones.

[Praiter Yed]

I probably shouldn't say this, but I don't really like hand-painted minifigs, they always tend to look so... well, hand-painted. That's not to say I can't appreciate the creativity and skill that goes into creating one, I really do, I'm generally very impressed, they're just 'not my cup of tea'.

BUT imo what you have done here is simply stunning! The painting and sculpting is outstanding - I'm totally amazed!

Personal favourites are Superman, Wonder Woman, Silver Surfer, Spiderman, Nien Numb... and the Predator's Helmets are brilliant - so smooth

[natesroom]

one note.... you should give nien numb dwarf legs so hes smaller

Edited April 2, 2012 by natesroom

[Tomcat RIO]

Wow.. to have seen any of those figures posted indivodually would have been great but all 60 at once! My favourites are the TMNT gang.

thanks!

I can't do justice to this magnificent work with just one short post, but I'll comment anyway.

You did a great job on all of these and you are a very skilled painter from what I can see.

Especially the Predator minifigs are very well made

Thank you!

Unbelievable! After seeing all these WIP shots, you're paint jobs are impressive and very clean. You must have the steadiest hands on the planet, your lines are so straight and clean for working in such a small space. The sculpts you create are spot on as well. I can't wait for the next batch!

Nah, it took alot of training and experience to have steady hands, and i visualize and plan before i paint in such a small torso space. Thanks, the next batch will hopefully not disappoint you!

These are pretty cool; the customisation is great and you have a great painting skill! Most of the "Super Heroes" ones are good from scatch, but official ones are coming out; are you going to keep yours or buy the new ones?

I made this figures from scratch because I knew I wasn't going to be able to afford all the Avengers sets, to get the minifigs. And since I could paint and MOC figures, I'd took on the task. So i'm keeping these, and not buying new ones.

I would def buy the tmnt set if you were willing to sell... All of them are awesome!

Yea, I'm getting alot of "Are you selling the TMNT?" requests. Working on my TMNT Party Van, then float the idea via Cuusoo.. Do support with your votes in time to come!

I love all of your customs. My favorites are the Hulk, the Thing, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles.

The street fighter series is also great. They all bring back so many memories.

Anyways, awesome job, they are all amazing. Keep up the good work.

I can't wait to see your next batch.

Blue Brick

Thank you! The next batch would be done in about 4-5 months time!

I can smell that from here and it smells odorific!! I cannot even think of a word that describes how awsome some of these figures are.I really love the TMNT ones.

Hahah they must be smelly of paint! Thanks!

I probably shouldn't say this, but I don't really like hand-painted minifigs, they always tend to look so... well, hand-painted. That's not to say I can't appreciate the creativity and skill that goes into creating one, I really do, I'm generally very impressed, they're just 'not my cup of tea'.

BUT imo what you have done here is simply stunning! The painting and sculpting is outstanding - I'm totally amazed!

Personal favourites are Superman, Wonder Woman, Silver Surfer, Spiderman, Nien Numb... and the Predator's Helmets are brilliant - so smooth

Thank you Praiter! Yea, I am trying my very best to ensure a smooth paint finish and sculpting so that they look as good as original Lego prints, or printed decals. Takes some patience and strict quality training to get some good comments like yours. Thank you!

one note.... you should give nien numb dwarf legs so hes smaller

Noted! Yea he should be smaller, I'm actually fitting him in my 7965 cockpit at the moment so the short legs doesn't matter. But when I display him i'll go get a short black leg to fit. Thanks!