Toy links

Shinobitron’s Batbike.
“I used the TFA Prowl and repainted the entire body black. I … replaced (Prowl’s head) with a Batman head from some figure from the mid 90s.” (See also.)

Transformers Animated Arcee.
A custom figure by pisuwo based on the Blackarachnia figure.

Kamen Rider Caucasus.
A SIC-style custom figure by Killing Monkey of the character from the Kamen Rider Kabuto movie.

La la la la la la la.
A Smurfing photo by paalia.

Lego artist Nathan Sawaya interviewed.
“… the sculptures are selling for tens of thousands of dollars.”

Fanmode favourites

Fanmode presents about a few hundred toy-related links every month and it’s possible a few may have slipped your attention. Here are ten of our favourites for May ‘08.

Bumblebee beats Optimus.
A smooth stop-motion video by Patrick Boivin. (See also.)

Iron Monger diorama.
A phenomenal piece by Passion Designs.

Trans Scanning Minerva.
If this had been a straightforward repaint of Trans Scanning Bumblebee, it would have been impressive enough but Pisuwo kicked it up a notch by incorporating the Headmaster gimmick as well. (See also.)

Lego Action Comics # 1.
It’s been 70 years since Superman’s debut and Lego fan levork decided to mark the occasion with a Lego version of that classic comic cover.

Robot-Models Transformers sculptures.
It’s good to know somewhere in this world there exists a 2-metre-tall Optimus Prime metal sculpture weighing 250 kilogrammes and costing almost five grand.

Classics Devastator.
Ptitvite finally completed his homage to the original Transformers combiner and what a stunning piece of work it is. The individual Constructicons look wonderful and Devastator is a thing of beauty.

Kamen Rider Garren King Form.
Kamen Rider Garren never received a King Form power-up so we’re glad to see figure customiser kenosyokutaku put his imagination and tools to good use.

My Little Godzilla.
The king of monsters, cutesy-style.

Toy packaging: then and now.
It’s not a topic usually covered or even considered so this article was welcome.

Yujin’s capsule toys.
PingMag talks to the folks at Yujin about the craftmanship and design of their 100 yen toys.

Toy links

Cutar.
Izzo’s cute little MOC is based on a drawing by his son. (More.)

Femtrooper.
A neat custom Lego minifig by Don Solo.

Installing LED lights in a figure.
A guide by Jin Saotome.

Re-energising old toys.
“Some manufacturers … deliberately create unique power systems that force customers to purchase batteries made by that company. When these manufacturers go out of business, the customers are left with inoperable items.”

The Princess Diaries.
“ToyFare takes you inside the Crystal Castle for a look at this classic 1980s heroine, as well as her friends and foes!” (See also.)

Toy links

The power cosmic.
An excellent Photoshop’d photo by ElDave of the Marvel Legends Captain Marvel (ver. Genis) figure.

Big Convoy.
A Transformers Movie Wreckage figure customised to resemble the Beast Wars Neo character.

Variable Fighter Mecha.
A transforming Lego MOC by G747.

Mugen Castle Doran.
A Mugenbine fanmode inspired by Castle Doran from the Kamen Rider Kiva series.

Armageddon approaches … yippee!
A cute digirama by Boogeyman13.

The A Trooper Team.
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by an imperial court for a crime they didn’t commit.”

The Four Horsemen and the Elephant.
“They’d already lost a lot of the money they’d put in, and ended up having to pay some out of their own pockets, but the Four Horsemen were determined to make sure the fans got their exclusives.”

Working Class Villains interviewed (part 2).
” … the sculpting of toys and figures has become more of an art form than it ever has been … people are just overcoming those barriers they had been limited by, allowing them to achieve what once was more difficult because of production limitations.”

Toy designer Dan Meyer profiled.
“… a story of toy obsession and professional play that should inspire any high schooler whose parents have told him or her to stop daydreaming and doodling and hit the books.”

Prague Marionettes.
The creations of Lenka Pavlíčková.

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