It’s been a long time since I felt this same level of excitement over a new figure. Believe me when I say that after a few years working in the industry, there are very few times when you see or get a product that gets your creative juices flowing – especially one that you’re involved in creating from start to finish. So when I find myself feeling all giddy inside, I’m quite surprised because I have not felt something like this in a very long time. All the nostalgia of first getting into the hobby sets in and I’m reminded why I chose the profession I did. If there’s ever a reason to tell someone why you enjoy this hobby. . . this is it. It’s the ability to take something (a figure) and reworking and customizing it to a point where it’s so unique that someone can look at it and know that you’ve left your footprint on. With the ever advancing technology in today’s figures, we seem to have lost that urge of creativity that makes this 1/6th hobby so enjoyable because we fear that what we do cannot live up to the manufacturer’s standard. Yet, we miss the point. . . and that is it’s about the creativity and uniqueness of your individuality. Collectors collect. Customizers customize. When you collect, your collection is limited to your wallet. When you customize, you’re only limited to your willingness and mind. And that, my friend, is what makes this hobby so great.

This is a custom repainted Triad Toys Helga figure. It took me a total of probably about 4 hours. I removed all the factory paint, dremeled out a litle part of her mouth, braided and curled her hair within the first hour. After that, I waited a day for the curls to set in a little, then I started to repaint, which took about 2 hours here and there. Sealed her and glossed her eyes and lips and whoalah.

Playing around with sculpey and sculpted this head for my werewolf custom. Her are some WIPs. I’ll add more photos after he’s painted and assembled up.  I plan to make him some sort of elite human hunting squad or something.

I get a lot of questions concerning hair control so here it is. It’s no secret that doll hair is synthetic (most of them anyways) so it needs to be heat treated to soften up. Most methods require you to dunk the head in boiling water. I’m super impatient so I actually use the steam from a kettle instead. The heat is instant and you don’t have to wait twice as long for it to dry. Whatever you do, don’t use a heat gun or hairdryer to try and dry doll hair. It will melt it away.

The picture is pretty self-explanatory. The idea is to put the head into the steam to get the hair to soften, get a brush and brush it through while it’s wet, then hold the hair in a position to how you want it. Ever see your Aunt May curl her hair with a curling iron? Same philosophy applies to straightening frizzed up hair, restyling it, or combing pigtails (Triad Toys’ Lola, cough).

All these things you should already have in your house, but you’ll need:

1) Straw or wooden dowel to prop the head up so you don’t get burned from the steam. Don’t leave your doll head on the body because the body is plastic and may react to heat.

2) Sandwich bag, cut out into small strips that should cover from the forehead to right below the nose.

3) Tape to secure the sandwich bag. We will make the hairguard so the hair doesn’t frizz out again before it sets.

4) Kettle – make sure you get one that has a small hole. The smaller the hole, the more steam comes out. Just make sure you control your heat and don’t use an open flame heat source. Electric is better so it doesn’t burn the hair if it gets too close.

5) Small rubber band to hold the lower end of the hair (if the hair is long) straight when setting.

I’ll be back with more tutorials soon. Now that I’m getting a little more time to stay in. Let me know if this type of picture/instructions help.

As I mentioned before, when I first started out, no one was really there to give me any hand holding. The sites that I have seen on 1/6 figure making, though great, can be somewhat selfish. I guess that’s a result of a lot of absolutely evil people who are in it to make money off the hobby. Some people bash and make a figure with the only purpose of selling it on eBay to make a profit. That’s fine and it’s quite normal. People sell their figures for different reasons. Heck, I’ve bought a few figures myself from other collectors and customizers, so it’s nothing bad. There are people out there who will take your ideas, put their name on it or what not, but that’s a fact of life you must face. It happens in movies, music, software, so why not 1:6 scale toy customizing? It’s sad, but true and I completely understand why some people hide their techniques and talents. Many of the best customizers have experienced this in one form or another so don’t be surprised if you don’t get that much info on other sites. Heck, I experienced this before as well.  Many of my kitbashes are easily copied and I’ve seen quite a few show up on eBay.  That’s part of the reason why I try to make my figures more and more advanced and hard to reproduce.  But that doesn’t stop it.  If someone copies your work, it says a lot about what you’ve done.  I’m not going to stop showcasing my figures because of people who can’t think of ways to do their own, but I figured I’d rather “do my thing” and continue on sharing my work for the other 95% of the people who are in it for the hobby; the ones who like to share and are willing to help others like me.

I put up this site for several reasons.  First, I like to show off my work because I like to get feedback and comments from other friends and fellow collectors. It’s nice to receive a good comment after you put so much work into it.  I’m sure you already know that.  Comments and feedback are good because that’s how you really judge yourself on whether a project is good, bad, or if it needs a little something more.

Second, I like to help people out because, with this hobby, most other collectors are mature adults who are willing to help and share what they’ve learned and I feel the same way. Had it not been for the members on the “Men With Dolls” forum, I would still have everything in its original box on the shelves with no bashing or customizing. It is the various works of art by fellow MWD members that gave me different ideas and techniques that you see here. I still frequent the various forums to offer help and ask for help.  So, it is truly my hope that you share my view and offer help if and when you can. I try to pump as much tips and information on the hobby as I can into this site to help fellow collectors out for one main reason – it is in return for the help I’ve received in the past from other collectors.

If some of my comments on the site come across as being cocky or offensive, I don’t mean it to be.  I comment on what I’ve done and most of what you read are just rambled thoughts I go through as I put up the page and pictures.  Heck, most of the time they’re just used to fill up the page or act as a backdrop for the pictures.  I don’t know everything and I don’t pretend to.  Everything I’ve learned and know are through trial-and-error, tips offered by other collectors, or things that I find freely on the Internet.  I’ve had someone ask me once why I put up so much info on the site and why I don’t “keep the trade secrets.”  In my honest opinion, customizing figures is a hobby – there are no “trade secrets.”  It’s not competition or business.  I do it because it’s fun.  I’m not here to make money and I’m not making figures for anyone but me.  Everything I do can be duplicated by you or your sister.  Just put a little thought and time into it.  The results might not be the same because our tastes and backgrounds are different, but what you essentially get is YOUR FIGURE.  That’s the true joy of making stuff – seeing it in your head one day and holding it in your hand the next. I’ve met and continue to meet a lot of wonderful friends and masters of the 1:6 art and it’s a great hobby to have if you allow it to be.

This hobby can get expensive extremely fast ESPECIALLY IF YOU DON’T LIKE TO MAKE ANYTHING.  And if you don’t like to make anything, you’re missing out on about 90% of the fun.  I understand there are a lot of people who just don’t like to do things and pay their way out, but customizing figures requires some work on your part.  Unless you’re a famed movie star who makes a few mils a year, buying everything for little parts can get extremely expensive.  Most often than not, what you buy will never meet your expectations, so why bother?  All I’m saying is try it out.  You’ll be surprised by how much fun it is to make something from scratch.

Another aspect of this hobby that I really like is the creativity it can bring forth from you.  As I mentioned before, little things you take for granted can be turned into a work of art.  Things such as spoons, toothpicks and even dirty old shoe polish brushes can make your action figure look good, if not better, than most manufactured items.  You might laugh, but I’ve seen it done a million times.  Let’s see if you’ll still laugh when you check out some of the other customizers in the hobby.  Empty Listerine bottles can be turned into a large tank cannon, an old cup bottom can be turned into a Gladiator shield and even used pantyhose can turn your female figure into a sex machine.  It is this aspect that blows most people away.