SIC Akaranger.
Bandai has previously updated a classic sentai robo design for modern times for its famed Soul of Chogokin line but has done relatively little with older sentai heroes so this fantastic SIC-style Killing Monkey custom of Himitsu Sentai Goranger’s Akaranger will have to do.

Madtinker76′s Thor.
Some of the neatest custom figures produced have been the result of fans reinterpreting classic designs and this realistic take on the Asgardian god is a fine example.

Assemble Tachikoma.
Assemble Borg is such a small line that an amazing burst of creativity always results whenever a major set with new parts is released and the release of the Doom Diver set has led to some really cool fanmodes like this clever zakeya creation inspired by the Ghost in the Shell robot. (Click on the photos for a better look.)

Sandtrooper ver. Tente.
It’s entirely understandable that the bulk of construction toy creations come from Lego fans since the company is the dominant player in that market but it’s always great to see what creative fans can do with non-Lego construction toys like Tente. (More.)

Photoshop with Megatron.
Given his busy schedule of constantly running away, Megatron deserves plenty of credit for deigning to educate puny fleshlings.

Red hot iron.
A beautiful shot by Michael Burke of the Hasbro action figure.

Madelman 2050.
Corey D. Stinson runs through the obscure Spanish line.

Spacenite 2.
There are some absolutely gorgeous pieces of ROM art in this tribute to benefit the man who had a hand in several toy-related tie-ins.

Transformers designer Yuki Hisashi interviewed.
It’s utterly fascinating to to read about the design process and Fanmode hopes to more companies will allow their designers to talk about their work.

An Adult Appeal.
Ignoring the strange inclusion of consumers aged 12 to 17 in the adult category, this is an interesting article by a toy industry insider who wonders why the industry, by and large, still maintains that “if adults buy toys for themselves there is something wrong with them.”

Loved by good, feared by evil. [via]
Fanmode generally steers clear of toy-related links that make the rounds on major sites but this MeFi-linked Lego Voltron creation by Mark Sandlin was too brilliant to pass up. (See also.)

Musha Robo. [via]
A fantastic Gundam-ish Lego MOC that looks great and is articulated to boot.

Lego Assassin.
Keshen’s Lego reenactment of the Ninja Assassin trailer. (YouTube, 2:04.)

The Mercenaut.
A fantastic Micronauts fanmode by Argonaut X and some cool retro-style graphics to show it off. (See also: 1, 2, 3, 4.)

Tickled Pink.
For some reason, Stormtrooper cosplayers tend to gravitate towards the 501st Legion Vader’s Fist instead of the legendary 502nd Legion Hello Kitty’s Paw so this sixth-scale custom by Queenie will have to do.

Doug Williams’ Inhumanoids.
Impressive updates of Metlar, D’Compose, Tendril and Auger.

The Baroness.
What is it about the Baroness? What is it about a beautiful bad woman in skintight clothing that’s so appealing? It’s such a mystery. (See also.)

Retro Joe.
We hope Dave Perillo does other toy icons in his charming style. (Be sure to see his Cobra piece as well.)

The Ballad of G.I. Joe. [via]
“Cobra Commander loves 70s boogie …”

State of the hobby.
“… while adults support action figures’ long tail, kids still rule the action figure aisle. The slice of the collector dollar is still smaller than the kid demographic.”

Johnny Tang’s Scopedog.
This phenomenal Lego MOC stands 50cm tall and weighs 1.8kg.

Jan Calleja’s Jurassic Chopper.
“… a concept Dragon/Mecha-Chopper.”

Drössel versus Asimo.
More brilliant digirama by the award-winning Tamaki’s Little Treasure.

Baroness.
The note-perfect haughty demeanour and the nonchalant pose capture the character well.

Jarkfemme.
The Assemble Borg Jarknoid get a female member thanks to chikuwabu’s custom. (Click on the photo for a better look.)

Prepare for oblivion.
A fantastic photo by dedbeats.

I Have the Power.
“…. seeing these icons of my childhood re-framed by contemporary artists is fascinating and casts a new light on old friends.” (See also: 1, 2, 3, 4.)

Louis Marx: once a king.
“When they copy you, it’s piracy … When you copy them, it’s competition.” A Time article from 1955.

“… a famous artist who makes Transformers.”
“For a guy that posted an image on the Internet to [become] someone who ended up designing some of the main characters in the movie. … I can’t imagine that’s happened too many times …” A profile of Josh Nizzi.

Gianni Lopergolo’s insight.
“… a 128-page, full-color collection of Gianni’s photography, featuring images from the G.I Joe, Star Wars and Marvel product lines and even including some previously unreleased images. Proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit the National ALS Association, its Rhode Island Chapter and the Gianni Lopergolo Foundation, a private fund established for Gianni’s three young sons. … At the young age of 39, Gianni has been living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease for three years. No longer able to work, but still as passionate about photography as ever, he has compiled this collection of images, which he hopes will teach, entertain and inspire.”

Swamp Thing and Abby.
The chances of seeing these characters in DC Universe Classics form are negligible so it’s great to see these Rafaelo Rabelo customs.

E4-GTM “Efrem”.
An imposing Lego MOC mecha by ragnarock01. (More.)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Stikfas.
You can barely identify the Stikfas bases of these cool TMNT customs by BullStik. (See also.)

Angel of Death.
The Archangel Gabriel by Blayne Scott.

Custom Space Glider trade.
“… Kichigai had a bunch of die-cast Microman Space Glider Re-pros lying around so he decided to give them away to those that wanted to participate in a custom Space Glider trade.”

Bathynomus giganteus.
This Assemble Borg rendition of a giant isopod is just one of many creative fanmodes produced recently by the prolific Mr. P. (Click on the image for a better look.)

Sigma 6: the creativity.
A fantastic roundup of customs based on the short-lived G.I. Joe line. (See also.)

I find your lack of space disturbing.
The pun is strong in this one.

Rescue.
A simple but clever setup by maverickf.

Plain Pamela.
“Mattel also announced that it would begin production next year on Timorous Tim, a fey, cowardly action figure designed to boost the confidence of shy young boys.”

Models by Craig.
Craig Stevens’ 12-foot long Lego rendition of Tantive IV is nothing short of astonishing.

Michael Accardi’s Autobot X.
“… custom built with the parts of about 100 ‘junker’ transformers and other robotic toys. He has over 50 points of articulation/moving parts.” (More.)

The man who beat the man.
silayjoker’s custom figure of the Filipino boxing champion, Manny Pacquiao.

M1′s DC Universe Classics Doom Patrol.
Uncanny customs of the Chief, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man and Robotman.

Samurai Granny.
You’ll wish you called more often.

Beast borg.
Very creative Assemble Borg fanmodes by Shikku. (Click on the photo for a better look.)

misodrill’s Riot Loader.
An outstanding Microman-sized BJPM exo-suit.

I am Joe’s innards.
A look inside Falcon, the Brazilian-licensed G.I. Joe figure.

One more chance to smile in the light.
A photo by Mick.

A question of scale.
Erin Snyder provides an overview of Marvel and DC action figures in a variety of different scales.

“We seem to be made to suffer. It’s our lot in life.”
Ways to die on the new Millennium Falcon. (Part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5.)

Superior Gundam.
An extraordinarily ambitious Lego MOC.

Musha MOC.
Another amazing Gundam-inspired Lego creation.

The Manananggal.
loosecollector looked to Philippine folklore for this custom of a nightmarish beast.

Mani.
This cool custom not only nails the Brotherhood of the Wolf character’s look but is capable of reproducing Mark Dacascos’ high-kicking style.

CustomCon 22.
“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.”

Freedom’s Angel.
Gullwing used the Master Grade Freedom Gundam 1/100-scale kit to power up Busou Shinki Angel Arnval with impressive results.

A legend is born.
Cool digirama by Mark to pay homage to Marvel Spotlight # 5.

Out of time.
Cosmic digirama by maurizio schillaci featuring the Micronauts Time Travellers. (View larger.)

Transformers customiser Sabrina Ng profiled.
It’s always nice to see customisers get the wider attention their work deserves. (See also.)

Defensor.
This stunning custom of the Transformers combiner splits apart into impressive Protectobot customs. (See also.)

Live Free or Smurf Hard.
He doesn’t look like he wants to Smurf the whole day long.

The Hammer.
“Imagine Marv from ‘Sin City’. Now, picture him as a 240lbs pink bunny.”

Odette and Odile.
Elegant Busou Shinki customs by Amber. (Click on the images for a better look.)

Kup.
pisuwo’s creative custom of the Transformers old-timer.

Lego Gear REX.
A formidable-looking Lego MOC inspired by Metal Gear Solid. (More.)

Secret Minimate Invasion.
Cool digirama by Edmond Lee.

Transfarmer.
What if Optimus Prime literally bought the farm? (Click on the image for a better look.)

Transformers Henkei designers interviewed.
It’s always such a treat to get translated interviews from the Japanese side and this one is illuminating.

That’s My Face.
A neat application of the advances in 3D-printing technology.

Hunger.
Another awesome digirama by J. Thomas Tantiangco.

Astral Armour Professor X.
A nice custom by glennwebman69.

Hard Rock Bike.
A very cool Assemble Borg fanmode consisting of two Barrels Speeder sets supplemented with parts from Revoltech GR-2, Revoltech Black Ox and Gazelle the Peacemaker figures. (Click on the image for a better look.)

Assemble Brachiosaurus.
Mr. P is making a name for himself with some creative Assemble Borg fanmodes. Be sure to see his Assemble Borg versions of Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, Ankylosaurus and Stegosaurus as well. (Click on the images for a better look.)

Neo retro Microman M13x.
Another fine set of updates by ankoku sousatsu tsurugi inspired by classic Microman designs. (Click on the image for a better look.)

Sheer Heart Attack.
The best manga-inspired Lego MOC named after a Queen song you’ll ever see … at least until someone comes up with the inevitable Fat Bottomed Girls Lego MOC.

Apex.
Figures with translucent plastic parts don’t photograph well. This is a striking exception.

Homemade playsets.
“The play sets are modular and can be built in many different ways, they can also be stored in fairly small spaces as the larger walls and backdrops fold and are reversible so can be used for different sets and scenarios.” (Instructions and decal sheets.)

The History of Action Force.
A fine article by David Tree. Fanmode would like to see more toy retrospectives of this sort.

Never give up, never surrender!
“With the dreaded skeleton people closing in on him and the carpet suddenly turning into red-hot lava before his very eyes, local action figure Huntarr the Warrior vowed to fight on Thursday despite the loss of his cherished dragon sword.”

Power Armour.
A fantastic Darth Leon custom inspired by Fallout 3.

Hercules ver. Steve Reeves.
Customisers are generally inspired by comic, toy or game characters so this Invincible Toys custom really stands out.

G.I. Joe Hound.
It’s strange we haven’t seen any G.I. Joe-Transformers crossover toys from Hasbro yet but the idea clearly has a lot of potential as this custom shows.

We need the best.
That’s why these excellent G.I. Joe-scale customs inspired by Predator are here.

The Time Warrior.
It’s hard to tell this beautiful custom was once a Stikfas figure.

Kamen Rider Den-O Lego Form.
A very cool (and very posable) Kamen Rider Den-O Sword Form Lego MOC.

Multi Unit System.
A neat concept for Star Wars-inspired Lego MOCs. It’s Blockman with Lego blocks.

Man of Iron, MOC of Lego.
Johnny Tang makes a regular appearance in Fanmode Faves and it shouldn’t be too difficult to suss out why after viewing this.

Yotsuba and GYAAAAA.
The Sasha Bratz Project introduces the Revoltech figure to Edvard Munch.

Barrels Tank.
It was difficult to pick a single Assemble Borg fanmode out of all the terrific ones we’ve linked to this month, but we settled for this monster creation consisting of parts from 12 (!) Barrels Speeder sets.

Feel the magic, hear the roar.
An ingenious fan-made trailer.

Black Ox.
Another nifty Patrick Boivin video.

Pandawa Lima.
It’s good to know there are customisers looking to the ancient epics for inspiration.

Guardians of the Galaxy.
Fantastic customs by loosecollector.

Sasquatch.
fastfreddie is producing some outstanding customs.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Daikaiju.
Cowabunga.

Mr. P.
A hauntingly familiar Mr. Potato Head.

OOAKs.
Sweet Marble’s one-of-a-kind custom dolls are simply beautiful.

American Legothic.
Lego art inspired by the Grant Wood painting.

The Stick review roundup.
Ralph Gamelli suggests what it might be like if it was sold on Amazon.com.