Lắp đặt camera quận 4 gtăng cường giám sát và bảo vệ cuộc sống an toàn đến cho ngôi nhà, doanh nghiệp khi được thi công & triển khai dịch vụ chuyên

Côn ty Cổ Phần Thuận Phát chuyên cung cấp dịch vụ camera quan sát tại quận 9, TP.HCM. Chúng tôi cung cấp camera chính hãng, giá tốt, dịch vụ chu đáo, tận tâm. Liên hệ tư vấn lắp đặt camera tại quận 9 nhanh nhất 0976 233 226-0946 233 226. Chuyên lắp các dòng camera tại Quận 9, TP.HCM dành cho gia đình, vă phòng, nhà xưởng.

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Điện Lạnh Thanh Hải Châu - là một trong những đơn vị chuyên nhận lap dat may lanh quan Go Vap giá tốt và nhanh chóng nhất. Liên hệ ngay Hotline: 0911 260 247 Mr Luân - Tư vấn kỹ thuật chi tiết 24/7 Hiện nay trên thị trường có rất nhiều đơn vị lắp đặt...

Lắp đặt camera quận 12 với giải pháp giám sát với các chức năng cảnh báo chống trộm thi công hệ thống đúng yêu cầu mang đến cho người dùng chất lượng

Camera Speed Dome Hikvision DS-2AE7230TI-A HD-TVI hồng ngoại - Cảm biến hình ảnh : 1/3’’ high performance CMOS 2 Megapixel. - Độ phân giải: 2 MegaPixel. - Ống kính: 4~120mm, Khẩu độ F1.6~F4.4, 30X - Độ nhạy sáng cao: Color: 0.02Lux@(F1.6,AGC ON) ; B/W: 0.002Lux@(F1.6,AGC ON); 0 lux khi có IR. - Hỗ trợ điều khiển PTZ qua cáp đồng trục (Không cần đi thêm dây điều khiển PTZ) - Khoảng cách hồng ngoại lên tới 120m, - 1 ngõ ra turbo HD1080p, 1 BNC - Tự chuyển chế độ ngày/đêm. Chống ngược sáng kỹ thuật số WDR. Chống nhiễu kỹ thuật số 3D DNR. Định vị thông minh 3D. Menu điều khiển OSD - Nguồn cấp 24VAC. - Tiêu chuẩn ngoài trời IP66. chống sét TVS 4,000V.

http://www.lapdat-cameraquansat.com/2014/11/lap-at-camera-quan-sat-cho-cua-hang.html

3/4 length of Prince Leopold seated, facing front. His right arm on table, his left hand on his lap. He wears trousers, jacket, waistcoat, watch-chain, cravat, shirt. He looks towards the camera. Vignette.

‘Salade’… De Van Dale is duidelijk: dat is ‘sla’. Restaurants zijn iets minder zwart-wit. Eerder doodsaai grijs. Onder ‘salades’ verstaan zij: grote borden vol sla, een beetje tomaat, komkommer en wortel, wat muffe cresson, een half blikje maïs en 3 verdwaalde scampi’s of een lap geitenkaas. Aan 20 euro het bord. En met veel (goedkoop) brood […]

https://antoannamviet.com/dat-chung-chi-an-toan-nhom-3-de-dang-voi-cac-phuong-phap-hieu-qua/ ------------------------------------------------- 📧 Email: [email protected] 🌐 Website: https://antoannamviet.com/ https://antoannamviet.com/dich-vu/huan-luyen-an-toan-lao-dong https://antoannamviet.com/quan-trac-moi-truong-lao-dong/ https://antoannamviet.com/huan-luyen-an-toan-ve-sinh-lao-dong-la-gi/ https://antoannamviet.com/bao-gia-huan-luyen-an-toan-lao-dong/

laboratorio de ying, nyc. My version of the young busy traveler on-the-go who needs a camera at the place where he crashes, where he puts together his busy schedule, where he keeps all his paperwork together, all in one big pile. This rugged camera finds it's cozy home right on and old-fashioned clipboard, buried underneath plane tickets, correspondence, stationery, newspaper clippings and luggage tags. This assorted flotsam make an easy camouflage to hide the camera body (which comes with tiny pins to attach paper paraphernalia) and it's very retro-shutter mechanism. As such, it operates much like my other "lap desk" camera designs. This camera's portability is assured. Just attach it anywhere. However, perhaps a matchbox pinhole version (coming up in another upload) would even better suit a Midori notebook and a Ricoh GR Digital 3. Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

Yikes! It seems I just got back to school.. well.. I did, after a 3 month medical leave and I'm back with a wound vacuum, which has been fun to try to explain to the kiddos what that big black purse-looking thing is hanging on my hip! I was a little worried about it, but should have known; they are resilient and ignore it! We've been working on centers and today I had first grade and wish now that I had put the camera in my classroom in my purse to bring home! I snapped a few "priceless pics" today! SO funny! Today I had first grade so here are the centers we worked on: Heart Chart with Boomwhackers (which we did as a whole class first while I projected the chart and showed them what to do), Drawing Notes, Melody Harp (also called Music Makers or lap harps and this is their FAVORITE!!), Instrument Match Up and Free Play at a movement station (with cards showing various possible movement directions.. see earlier post using movement cards) and Free Play at glockenspiels in C pentatonic and also a floor piano (another favorite!). The kiddos were so upset when they had to line up and can't wait until next week when we do some more.. they LOVE them!

Good Afternoon Dear Blog Readers, Have any of you been watching the Decorah eagles?  I'm sure some of you have.  For those who don't know what I'm talking about, there is an eagle's nest in northeast Iowa that has a camera photographing the comings and goings of an eagle family, 24/7.  There is a dad, mom and three eaglets, and it's my new favorite "reality" program.  If you haven't seen it yet, you should really go check it out here.  It's very addicting and educational, too. Brenda Gervais of With Thy Needle and Thread has designed a cool sampler to commemorate this year's eagle family.  The piece is called "Soar," and she is having a SAL on her blog for those currently stitching it. Here is what I've done so far, and yes, to me it looks like 3 sparrows in a birdbath (for now).  The "sparrows" are, of course, the eaglets.  And I used the recommended linen, 30-ct Onyx from WDW.  An Ott-lite, magnifier, and white lap cloth are indispensible tools for this project.  And it's still hard to see the holes!  But I really liked the black, so I thought "What the heck!" Here is what the sampler will look like when it's finished.  Brenda is donating $5 from the sale of each chart to the Raptor Resource Project, the organization behind the nest cam.  She has raised over $1,000 so far.  She has said that she will retire the chart when the eaglets fledge (around July 4th, how fitting!), so if you like the chart, hurry on over to her blog right here. That's it for today, folks.  Hope you are able to soar along in whatever you're doing right now.

Het is weer tijd voor een nieuw patroon! Dit keer is het een col in de judith steek. Deze col is superleuk voor kids maar ook voor coole volwassenen! In het patroon kun je stap voor stap op de foto's zien wat je moet doen. Dit patroon bestaat uit 2 toeren die we steeds herhalen, dus niet al te moeilijk... Ik heb ook een uitlegfilmpje gemaakt waarin ik de steek voordoe dus ik zou zeggen waar wacht je nog op... pak die bol wol en ga aan de slag! ---------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- It's time again for a new free crochetpattern! This time it's a cowl! I have used the judith stitch for this design. It's a fun cowl for kids and for cool grown ups! There are lots of pictures in this pattern to show you step by step what to do. For this pattern you only need to know 2 rows and then just repeat them! If you need an extra explanation just watch the video where I show you what to do from beginning til end. What are you waiting for, grab your yarn and go! -------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------- Patroon NL Voor deze col heb ik Stylecraft Special dk gebruikt. Dit is een acryl garen geschikt voor een 4mm haaknaald. In dit voorbeeld heb ik in totaal 64 toeren gehaakt (ongeveer 60 cm lang), en heb daarna de lap dubbelgevouwen en dichtgehaakt met vasten. De lengte van de col kun je natuurlijk zelf aanpassen.  De steek die we gaan haken is de Judith steek. Ok , laten we beginnen....... De gebruikte steken zijn: Lossen = L Vasten =V Stokjes= STK Voor de opzetketting beging je met een aantal steken deelbaar door 4 + 2 steken. Ik heb een opzetketting van 40L + 2L ( dit is de hoogte van je col, niet de lengte). De hoogte van de col is ongeveer 22 cm. Toer 1: Haak 1L, Haak 1V in iedere steek Draai je werk. Toer 2: Haak 2L, Sla 1 steek over, en haak een STK in de drie opeenvolg. steken. Het volgende STK haken we in de eerste steek die we hebben overgeslagen. We doen dit op deze manier: 1 omslag, 1 lange lus trekken, en je stokje verder afhaken. Nu sla je weer een steek over en herhaal je dit. Dus je haakt weer 1STK in de drie opeenvlg steken en haakt het vlg STK weer in de eerste steek die je hebt over geslagen. Je eidigt deze toer met een STK in de laatste steek. Deze 2 toeren blijf je herhalen tot je de gewenste lengte hebt.  Vanaf toer 3,( dus dat is de toer met V), eindig je met een V in de top van de eerste 2L van de voorgaande toer. (zie foto/video). Ik heb in totaal 64 toeren gehaakt. Ik heb de col dubbelgevouwen en dichtgehaakt met V. Je kunt de col ook dichthaken met halve vasten, of dichtnaaien. ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- Pattern English US: This cowl is made with Stylecraft Special dk and I have used a 4mm/G6 crochethook. I have crocheted 64 rows in total(about 60 cm /24 inches long).  I have folded it and crocheted the ends together with single crochet stitches. You can adjust the length to any length you need/want. For this design I have used the Judith stitch. OK, lets start... Used stitches: Chain stitches = CH Single crochet= SC Double crochet= DC Start by making a chain that is divisible by 4 +2 I started with a a chain of 40 +2 ( this will be the height of your cowl, not the length). The height of this cowl is approx. 22 cm/9 inches. Row 1: Chain 1, 1SC in each stitch Turn your work Row 2: Chain 2, Skip one stitch, 1DC in each of the 3 following stitches. The next DC will be crocheted in the first stitch that we skipped. This is how we do it: Yarn over, insert your hook in the first stitch that you skipped, pull the yarn through all the way over the 3DC that you just crocheted, finish your DC. See picture/video. Now you will have to skip a stitch again and repeat what you've just done. 1DC in each of the 3 following stitches and the next DC in the stitch you 've just skipped ( the one before your 3DC). Finish this row with a DC in the last stitch. Repeat row 1 and 2 until you have your desired length. I crocheted a total of 64 rows. From row 3 and up: note when you are crocheting the row with SC (all odd numbered rows), that you finish this row with a SC in the top of your first CH2 of the previous row. See picture/video. When you have your desired length, cut your yarn and crochet or sew your cowl together. I have crocheted the cowl together with SC stitches, but you can also use a slip stitch to do this or you can sew the cowl together. Sla steeds 1 steek over voordat je aan je volgende groepje begint, haak 3STK en haak het vlg STK in de eerste steek die je hebt overgeslagen. Maak een omslag , steek de naald in de steek , trek de draad door tot een lus, haak het STK af. ------------------------- Always skip a stitch before you crochet your next group of 3DC, the next DC is crocheted in your skipped stitch. Yarn over, insert the yarn in the (skipped) stitch, pull the yarn through, finish your DC. Op het einde van toer 3(en bij alle overige oneven toeren), haak je een V in de top van je 2L van de vorige toer . ----------------------- Finish row 3 (all odd numbered rows) with a SC in the top of your first CH2 from the previous round.

This image was taken two years ago on one of my first visits to San Francisco. Walt Disney's daughter, Diane Disney Miller, stands amidst the renovations in barracks building 104 on the grounds of the Presidio, which now houses the new Walt Disney Family Museum. I have been very fortunate to have been involved, in a very small way, with the new Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Last week I had the opportunity to attend two preview events that included entrance to the Museum as well as a reception. The back courtyard of building 104, taken two years ago. A basement and new ground level glass infill building would soon occupy this space. The back courtyard of building 104, with the newly installed glass infill building, as of September 24, 2009. The view from the glass infill building, looking out towards the Golden Gate Bridge. I was going to write a gallery-by-gallery review, but have instead opted to just list some of my favorite artifacts, followed by a description of some of my favorite technical / audio-visual displays. There are so many neat items to see it's hard to choose, but here goes, in no particular order: The reception area. The awards display cases are visible in the background along the walls. 1) past the reception area you'll find nine huge display cases filled with just a sampling (just under 250 by my quick count), of the many awards, plaques, certificates, medals and sculptures given to Walt Disney over the course of his lifetime. One of nine display cases. 2) one display case features his Academy Awards including 15 Oscar statuettes, six Award(s) for Outstanding Merit, and four Distinctive Achievement Certificate(s). Included in this case are his first two Academy Awards, given in 1932: the Honorary Special Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse, and the Certificate of Honorable Mention for the first color Silly Symphony Flowers and Trees. Also on display is the specially made Academy Award for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which features one large and seven smaller statuettes and his Irving Thalberg award. This photo, taken on one of my earlier visits to the original museum, shows the Academy Awards on display in the new museum. 3) the three page letter written to the mother of Virginia Davis in October 1923. Virginia was the little girl who starred in the so-called "Alice" comedies. In the letter, Walt asks Mrs. Davis to bring young Virginia to Hollywood so work could resume on the Alice Comedies. 4) there are several dozen three-dimensional maquettes on display in various galleries: Mickey, Pluto, Goofy, Dopey, Pinocchio, Gepetto, Stromboli, Vulcan, Ben Ali Gator, Hyacinth Hippo, Bacchus and Jacchus and even Casey Jr. A Pinocchio maquette. Animators would refer to these models during production. This pose of Pinocchio, made in the Studio's Model Department, is believed to be the first three-dimensional maquette design to have been created. 5) a display case filled with Snow White related memorabilia including a Snow White book autographed by Walt Disney to his young daughter Diane...part of the inscription read, "from your daddy, Walt Disney." 6) animation art: spectacular production drawings of the Hag from Snow White and Chernabog from Fantasia were some of my favorites. There are also dozens of pieces of conceptual art: great watercolors of Mickey as the Sorcerer's Apprentice, two Old Mill watercolors by Tenggren, Kay Nielsen pastels from Ave Maria; pastels from the Nutcracker Suite; and watercolor backgrounds from Pinocchio and Snow White. What are believed to be one of the earliest Mickey Mouse drawings are also on display. Old Mill watercolor conceptual art by Swedish artist Gustaf Tenggren. 7) the Herman Schultheis Camera Department Process Lab notebook. This notebook is filled with photographs and notes and documents many of the special effects and film processes used in the creation of several of the golden-age classics. This notebook is a treasure trove of information, much of which was previously unknown. The Schultheis notebook. 8) a huge display case filled with 1930s memorabilia - items related to the 1930s Mickey Mouse Club including a rare child's vest and fez, Campaign Book and pinback buttons, a merchandising rep Herman "Kay" Kamen catalog, dolls, storybooks, advertising items, bisques and more - this case is a visual treat for the eyes. 9) rare posters from the Alice comedies and the Oswald series. 10) selection of items from the strike including several issues of the trade magazine Variety. 11) three display cases filled with rare war-related items including original insignia art and home front related pieces. 12) Walt Disney's train, the Lilly Belle, and rare paper items related to his backyard railroad the Carolwood Pacific. The Lilly Belle, as seen in the first museum. 13) a huge animated model of Disneyland, not as it was completed, but the one envisioned in Walt Disney's mind. This model is amazing and has many, many moving parts. The detail in this model is exact and amazing! 14) Eyvind Earle conceptual art for Sleeping Beauty. 15) a display case filled with Zorro memorabilia. 16) the sculpted model bust of President Abraham Lincoln, which was used in the audio-animatronic, as well as the audio-animatronic tube frame of the President's upper torso. 17) A small gallery with display cases featuring personal objects - Walt Disney's watch, money clip, Lillian's perfume bottles, jewelry, a case of miniatures from Walt's own collection and a handwritten note from Walt detailing the types of food he enjoyed eating, complete with the remark: "Only one vegetable" with each meal. What was Walt's favorite meal you ask? Two cans of Hormel and Gebhardt's chili mixed together. Lemon Jell-O was one of his favorite desserts. Elias Disney's fiddle is also on display and there is a small vignette in the awards gallery that features pieces of furniture from Walt and Lillian's Disneyland apartment. 18) hundreds of photos and 16 mm film of Walt Disney - family pictures as well as professional images catch Walt Disney at work and play. Perhaps the most touching image was one taken by his son-in-law Ron Miller on the last family vacation - the photo shows Walt Disney sitting on a log on a beach on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. Walt has a movie camera on his lap and is tipping his hat. A very moving and poignant photo before one of the last galleries, which documents the world's reaction to news of Walt's death. This image is found in gallery one and shows Walt with his sister Ruth. Some really neat audio-visual related notes: 1) a decision was made early on in the project to use Walt Disney's own voice to tell his story. This was one of the best decisions made. Who better than Walt Disney to tell his own story? Clips are used from many of Disney's television appearances, as well as various radio interviews, including the over 12 hours of tape captured by Pete Martin and Walt's daughter Diane for the series of articles that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post. 2) There are many additional audio clips to listen to: you can hear Disney employees speak on a wide range of topics. 3) There are three neat shows to see in Gallery 1 - the three separate vignettes have Walt telling the story of a) his childhood on the farm; b) growing up in Chicago; and c) volunteering for duty as an ambulance driver with the Red Cross in France. Each uses paper cut-outs in an amusing and entertainingly whimsical fashion! 4) The elevator ride to the second floor has a neat angle - it's made out to be a Santa Fe railroad car and has Walt speaking about his journey west to Hollywood. 5) The Schultheis notebook has been digitized. The original notebook is on display in a cabinet with the digitized version avalable for viewing - this was a very cool display! 6) A couple of reactrix displays (at least I think that is what they are called)...a flat horizontal screen in front of the guest displays various small images. You point and press the circle you want more info on and a detailed image appears in front of you on a vertical screen. 7) A fanciful recreation of a Moviola, where you can control the speed and forward or reverse direction of a sequence from Snow White. Very, very cool! 8) A two-storey multi-plane camera. Just an amazing piece of equipment. The camera punches up through the second floor of the Museum and gives guests an idea just how large this mechanical wonder really was. These are just some of the wonderful things that await you on your visit. I had the opportunity to spend two very brief evenings at the Museum. I believe 4 1/2 hours is what Museum staff have calculated to be the minimum amount of time needed to see most of the exhibits. One could easily spend the whole day there. Photography is not allowed in the Museum. The images in this post have come from photos I was allowed to take on previous visits at the old museum and other sources on the internet, including Roger Colton and his great website: http://www.theblueparrot.info

© all rights reserved by B℮n Please take your time... to View it large on black Ranking among the most important caves in the world, the Škocjan Caves represent the most significant underground phenomena in both the Karst region and Slovenia. Due to their exceptional significance, the Škocjan Caves were entered on UNESCO’s list of natural and cultural world heritage sites in 1986. International scientific circles have thus acknowledged the importance of the Caves as one of the natural treasures of planet Earth. From time immemorial, people have been attracted to the gorge where the Reka River disappears underground as well as the mysterious cave entrances. The Reka River sinks under a rocky wall; on the top of it lies the village of Škocjan after which the Caves are named. Archaeological research has shown that people lived in the caves and the surrounding area in prehistoric times – from the Mesolithic, the Neolithic, the Bronze and Iron Ages through Antiquity and the Middle Ages to the present; altogether for more than 5,000 years. The Škocjan Caves have a highly multi-branched system of cave passages totalling 6.2 kilometres. The Caves have 11 speleological structures that are interconnected by means of the Reka River or collapse dolines. The shifting of the sinkholes in contact with the underground caves caused the formation of numerous collapsed dolines. The sinkhole fascinate every visitor with their depth of 163 meters as well as great floral and faunal diversity. The best view of both sinkholes, with their natural bridge and the cave that separate them, is from Miklov skedenj, named after the local explorer Franc Cerkvenik. In Slovenia we visit the amazing Škocjan Caves. The river Reka flows down three large stairs here, making three waterfalls, each one taller than the previous. At the bottom of the Velika dolina is a small lake and its last waterfall from where the Reka River plunging in the amazing deep underground canyon of the Skocjan Caves. It will emerge again after 38km in italian grounds with the name of Timavo river flowing after 2km into the Adriatic sea. Rare cave fauna are preserved in the underground system of the Reka River. The cave was formed by the disappearing Reka River that gathers most of its waters on the impermeable flysch rock. Following heavy rains, the Reka River floods in the cave, usually reaching levels up to 30 metres; the highest recorded rise in the water level was 132 metres. Falling water in the Karst sinks and drains underground through fissures. The caves are formed in this way; on the surface this occurs in different karst depressions of various sizes. The most frequent karst depressions are sinkholes. Photo taken at 1/30s, F2.0 and ISO500. No tripod used used, I use a rock to keep my camera steady. De Grotten van Skocjan, Skocjanske jame, liggen in het zuidwesten van Slovenië niet ver van Postojna. Het druipsteengrottenstelsel van Skocjan is ca. 6 km lang en ligt langs rivier de Reka, die hier op een diepte van 200 m door de Grotten van Skocjan stroomt. Rivier de Reka stroomt over een lengte van 38 km ondergronds door meerdere grotten in het Sloveens karstgebied. De Grotten van Skocjan vormen de grootste ondergrondse canyon ter wereld. Vanaf het bezoekerscentrum maakt men onder leiding van een gids een wandeling naar de ingang van de Grotten van Skocjan. Warme kleding en wandelschoenen zijn nodig voor de ondergrondse tocht van zo'n 2 tot 3 uur langs o.a. de Stille Grot en de Grote Zaal. In de Müllerzaal stort de Reka zich van verschillende hoogtes met woest geraas naar beneden, men loopt over een in de wand van de grot uitgehakt smal pad, over een 50 m boven de woest stromende Reka gelegen bruggetje, langs donderende watervallen en door de Martel's Chamber, de grootste grot ter wereld. De bezoeker wordt gefascineerd door de diepte van een zinkgat van maar liefst 163 meter. De Rimstone Pools' Hall is een grot met druipsteenformaties in de vorm van elfenbankjes. Men kan niet anders dan deze meesterstukken van de natuur bewonderen. Eenmaal buiten ziet men de Reka met donderend geraas de Grotten van Skocjan uitstromen. In de Grotten van Skocjan is fotograferen niet toegestaan. Maar ja dat heb ik maling aan natuurlijk. De Grotten van Skocjan werden in 1986 Werelderfgoed en staan ingeschreven op de Werelderfgoedlijst van UNESCO als: Skocjan Caves.

AAAH: CJ's first utterance this morning upon heading downstairs - "Ah, I think I'll have a massage with breakfast. Yeah." And so he sat in the portable shiatsu chair, enjoying his Lucky Charms and watching cartoons. Not a bad way to start a Friday. Or any day, for that matter. COMPOSE YOURSELF: This morning at Musikgarten CJ and Annabelle tried their hands at composing. For weeks now they've been working with the musical staff and the concepts of timing and pitch. Today, one of their exercises was to place six notes on a musical staff and then be able to sing both tonally and for timing, with the four notes being paired together as eight notes (they weren't called eighth notes, mind you, it was just explained when notes have a bar connecting them, they're not as long in duration). Pictured above, CJ's composition is on top; Bee's is on the bottom. ROCKET FIRE!: As soon as the kids got home from Musikgarten, we tuned our attentions toward the space race. Specifically, toward the Internet site of SpaceX to watch the inaugural launch of Falcon 9. Who is SpaceX, you ask? I only learned about them yesterday, when I happened to spy a Yahoo! news story about them and their upcoming rocket launch. (The story was an interesting read, outlining the pros and cons of the privatization of space launches and the understandably hard feelings 9,000 NASA shuttle program employees looking at looming lay offs.) They're a private company, and arguably the leading entity to take over where the space shuttle program left off after the last NASA shuttle launch (a few short months from now). The first countdown was held at just 2 seconds to lift off due to an automatic shutdown of the ignition system (don't know why at this point). However, about an hour later, they reset the countdown clock to 15 minutes, it started ticking away and then rocket fire, baby! The kids started cheering. It took me right back to the Causeway, watching the launch of space shuttle Atlantis. We watched Falcon 9 until it achieved orbit. (You can see highlights on the SpaceX Web site.) Of today's launch, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said, "Congratulations to SpaceX on today's launch of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle. SpaceX's accomplishment is an important milestone in the commercial transportation effort and puts the company a step closer to providing cargo services to the International Space Station." Following the launch, jubilant SpaceX founder Elon Musk said, "This has really been a fantastic day." Multimillionare Musk used part of the fortune he made from selling his brainchild PayPal to fund the start of SpaceX. Musk believes Friday's launch bolsters President Barack Obama's plan to give private companies the job of ferrying cargo and ultimately people to the space station, freeing up NASA to aim for true outer space, saying, "This is the dawn of a new era in space exploration, I think a very exciting era and one which I think will lead to the democratization of space, making space accessible to everyone eventually." I'm so happy the kids and I got to see the historic moment unfold live. "We wouldn't get to see this if we didn't go to homeschool," Annabelle observed during the excitement. (Falcon 9 lift off photo copyright SpaceX, from their great photo gallery.) LOVELY LUNCH: Early afternoon we had guests - Grandma and Grandpa from Vancouver USA! They came bearing gifts. Annabelle has already had hours of fun with her Polly Pockets motorhome playset, and tonight we gave CJ's electronic 20 questions game a test drive. For lunch, we went to the wonderfully-located Maggie Bluff's, along the north shore of Elliott Bay, just west of the Port of Seattle's Terminal 91 (a frequent jogging/biking destination of ours). It's *the* spot to be on a sunny day, but even on those gray afternoon, the place was bustling. MEMORIES: We're still plugging away on scrapbook pieces. I've finally divided the 300(!) or so photos into categories and put them in some sort of order. I still need the kids' written memories to go along with the major events. Today's topic was our visit to Kennedy Space Center. I spread the KSC photos out in front of the kids and asked them to write 3 or so sentences about their favorite or most memorable parts. I'd love to think by next week we might have more than a cover done for our book ... FRIDAY GLIDE: You know how MPA loves free stuff, so when we heard that there was a free ice skating session at Key Arena today, you know we just had to be there!The ice was in place due to the recent "Stars on Ice" event at the arena. That's right - we were tripping around on the same sheet of frozen water as Olympic medalists - woo hoo! Honestly, it was just a little CrAzy for me to take both kids ice skating by myself. I haven't been skating in, hmm, well, around 20 years - maybe 25? And the kids have only been once before and it was semi disastrous for them. ;) But it was free, so we HAD to go! Within 1/4 lap around the rink, we were all rethinking this ice skating thing. My right ankle was ranging from unbearable to intolerable on the pain scale (my skates loaner were horribly ill fitting - men's hockey skates, I think, with way too much lateral wobble). Even though he was using one of those "I'm handicapped" looking skater's helpers, CJ was digging NO part of it and Annabelle looked like she was on a Slip-n-Slide rather than ice skating (propel self forward, fall, slide, stagger to feet, repeat process). But somehow, some way we slogged our way through 40 minutes of it. I never did fall, and neither did CJ. Poor Bee fell too many times to count, but she always got up and kept going. By the last 10 minutes she wasn't clinging to me or the wall, either. And when I saw a poor young lad curled up in the fetal position on the ice, I insisted that CJ give his 'walker' up to the boy (my god was the kid's mother grateful). And though he was unsteady, CJ did an admirable job without it. I was very proud of both of them. There was one casualty - Annabelle's ill fitting skates gave her a blister on the heel. :( "Even though I got a blister, I just hanged in there," she points out. Sorry for the crappy, blurry ice skating pix. They were taken by my crappy, blurry camera phone in low lighting and I was moving, trying not to fall down/get run over and the kids were moving/trying not to fall down.

The fierce Kingda Ka is simply the tallest, fastest roller coaster on Earth. This remarkable thrill ride breaks all world records for coaster speed and height, zooming from 0 to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds and catapulting you 45 stories into the sky. Get propelled horizontally at 128 mph via hydraulic launch Hang on tight as you shoot 90 degrees into a quarter-turn Blast 456 feet high, then plunge vertically into a 270-degree spiral Experience weightlessness as you swoop down a valley and up a 129-foot camel hump Kingda Ka is a roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey, USA. At its opening on May 21, 2005, it became the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, claiming the title from Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. The train is launched by a hydraulic launch mechanism to 128 miles per hour (206 km/h) in 3.5 seconds.[1] At the end of the launch track, the train climbs the main top hat tower reaching a height of 456 feet (139.5 m).[2] Due to aviation safety concerns, the tower is equipped with three dual strobes: two mid-way up, and one on the top. History Kingda Ka was officially announced on September 29, 2004, at an event held for the media and enthusiasts.[3] It was revealed that the ride would become "the tallest and fastest roller coaster on earth", reaching 456 feet (139 m) high and accelerating up to 128 miles per hour (206 km/h) in 3.5 seconds.[4] On January 13, 2005, Kingda Ka was topped off at its 456-foot (139 m) height, finishing construction.[5] A crane over 500 feet (150 m) tall was used to hoist up the highest track piece for the ride. Just approximately four months later, Kingda Ka opened to the public, media day being two days before, on May 19. Kingda Ka was originally supposed to open on Saturday, April 23, 2005, but on April 18, 2005, Six Flags announced that Kingda Ka's opening would be delayed; media day would have been on April 21. [6] Before Kingda Ka was built, Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster was the tallest and fastest roller coaster on the planet. During a test run with no passengers on June 8, 2005, a bolt failure caused damage to the launch cable resulting in closure of the ride until August 2005, and the reconfiguration of the line area. Major malfunctions On June 6, 2005, less than a month after its grand opening, a bolt failure caused the liner inside the trough that the launch cable travels through to come loose and create friction against the cable. The friction caused the train to not accelerate to the correct speed. The rubbing of the cable against the inside of the metal trough caused sparks and shards of metal to fly out from the bottom of the train. The engine, as it is designed, attempted to compensate by applying more force to the cable to attain the 128 mph (206 km/h) launch speed. The brake fins—metal fins attached to the underside of some roller coaster cars that slide between brakes mounted to the track[7]—rise up into the braking position on a timing pattern, independent of the launching mechanism. The fins are mounted in steel supports that are connected to actuators that raise and lower the fins into the desired position. There are four braking zones, and each zone has about 24 individual brake fins. The fins actually caught up to the launching train as the timing pattern of the rising fins was faster than the accelerating train. The magnetic brakes began to slow the train in the launch area, and the engine tried to compensate even more, and dragged the train through the brake zones. The catch car released, but the train was still in the brake zone and came to a complete stop at the bottom of the hill. This malfunction occurred when no passengers were aboard during a test run. No injuries or deaths occurred. Damage occurred to the launch cable (frayed and needed to be replaced), engine (minor routine damage to seals), and brake fins (many needed to be replaced). The brake fins in the launch section are mounted in such a way to keep fast moving trains from moving backwards into the station, but a fast moving train being pulled forwards caused an unexpected stress on a number of fins that bent them forward. Not all of the fins needed to be replaced, but there were more damaged brake fins than Six Flags had replacements, and extra brake fins had to be specially ordered from Intamin. In addition, Kingda Ka had to be re-inspected. Kingda Ka started testing on July 21, 2005. It reopened on August 4, 2005, with the line modified so that it no longer ran under the launch track.[8] The dark blue train was being launched when the malfunction occurred. It was used for the rest of the season, but major problems requiring replacement parts were discovered when the train was inspected during the off-season. Consequently, this train remained disassembled throughout the 2006 season. Ride experience After the train has been locked and checked, it slowly advances out of the station to the launch area. The train goes through a switch track which allows 4 trains on two tracks to load simultaneously. Once the train is in position, the hydraulic launch mechanism rockets the train from 0 to 128 miles per hour (206 km/h) in 3.5 seconds,[9] pulling about 1.67 g's. At the end of the launch track, the train climbs the main tower, or top hat, twisting 90 degrees to the right before reaching a height of 456 feet (139.5 m).[10] The train then descends 418 feet (127 m) straight down through a 270-degree spiral. Finally, the train climbs the second, 129 foot hill, producing a moment of weightlessness before being smoothly brought to a stop by the magnetic brakes. The train then makes a U-turn and enters the station. The ride lasts 28 seconds from the start of the launch to the end of the brake run, but has an "official" ride time of 50.6 seconds. The hydraulic launch motor is capable of producing 20,800 horsepower (15.5 MW) peak. Due to the high speed and open nature of the trains, this ride will not operate in light rain, as rider contact with rain drops can cause discomfort.[8] Rollbacks and launch Sometimes, it is possible for a train to roll back—to fail to reach the top of the tower and descend. The train instead reaches as high on the tower as it can go (in most cases to the very top), and rolls back. Kingda Ka includes retractable brakes on its launch track that will bring a train rolling backwards down the tower to a stop. Rollbacks are more common in breezy weather, or just after wet weather. Many riders look forward to a rollback. It is hard to know exactly when Kingda Ka's launch will occur. When the signal to launch is given, the train rolls back slightly to engage the catch car, then the brakes on the launch track retract. Most times there will be a voice that says "arms down, head back and hold on". The launch will occur five seconds after the "hiss" of the brakes retracting or the warning voice. Previously, Kingda Ka's horn sounded before every launch, but it has been turned off because of noise complaints from nearby residents. The horn now sounds only when Kingda Ka first launches after being idle for a certain period of time. Kingda Ka's launch mechanism is capable of launching a train every 45 seconds, resulting in a capacity of 1400 guests per hour. Camera Kingda Ka features two on-ride cameras. One is placed shortly after the beginning of the launch, the other is at the end of the brake run, resulting in "before" and "after" photographs. Since both cameras are located on the right side of the track, riders intending to purchase their on-ride photo are advised to sit in the right-hand seat. Station Kingda Ka's station has two parallel tracks with switch tracks at the entrance and exit. Each of the station's tracks accommodates two trains, so that each of the four trains has its own station. Each train only loads and unloads at its own station; it does not go to any others. During operation, the trains on one side are loaded while the trains on the other side are launched. This system works extremely efficiently as long as all four trains are running and there are no significant delays in loading and checking the trains. This system was not used at all in 2006 because only two trains were working that year. It also results in a very fast-moving line before the station, but a long wait inside the station, especially if waiting for the front row. An employee directs riders in line to go to a particular side of the station, but riders will then be able to choose the front or rear train. Two operators load, check and dispatch each train, and one launches the trains. Kingda Ka's music is by Safri Duo, "Adagio" is played in the queue and "Played-A-Live" and "Samba Adagio" are played in the station. Trains Kingda Ka's four trains are color coded for easy identification: green, dark blue, light blue (commonly called teal) and orange. These four colors are also used on the seats and restraints. Kingda Ka's trains seat 18 people, with two per row. The rear car has one row, while the rest have two. The rear row of each car is positioned higher than its front row for better visibility. The trains do not have official names, only numbers. The dark blue train was being launched when 2005's major malfunction (see above) occurred, and problems stemming from this malfunction were discovered in the train's off-season rehab, putting this train out of service throughout the 2006 season. As a result, Kingda Ka only ran two trains for the whole year. The teal and green trains ran from the start of the season until late July, and the teal and orange trains ran for the rest of the season. Kingda Ka opened for the 2007 season with all four trains running.[11] Each of Kingda Ka's trains has a panel behind the last row of seats that covers an extra row of seat mounts. These panels could be removed for the installation of additional seats at some future time. This modification would increase the capacity of each train to from 18 to 20 guests and the hourly capacity of the coaster from 1400 to 1600 guests per hour. Kingda Ka's station is already set up for this modification; it has the entrance gates for the currently nonexistent row of seats. While this modification has not yet been done, the trains were slightly modified for the 2006 season - the nose of each train got a new coat of paint, after which the large "Kingda Ka" logo and the train number decals were not put back on the trains. The non-padded portions of the restraints are now bare metal rather than painted orange. Seat restraints Kingda Ka's over-the-shoulder restraint system consists of a thick, rigid lap bar and two thin, flexible over-the-shoulder restraints. Because the over-the-shoulder portions of the restraint are not rigid, the hand grips are mounted to the lap bar. This type of restraint feels like a lap bar restraint, while still providing the safety of a traditional over-the-shoulder restraint. These restraints use a hydraulic locking system (rather than a ratchet) which allows them to be pulled down to any position; when "locked", they can move down to any position but not up. In contrast, a ratchet-based restraint only locks at each "notch", and will often be too loose or uncomfortably tight. Kingda Ka's restraints are also held down by a belt in case the main locking system fails. In order to speed up loading, riders are asked to secure their own restraints if they are able to. The minimum height restriction is 54 inches, the same as most other major coasters. In addition, it is actually possible for a rider to be too tall to ride Kingda Ka - if you are tall enough that your head is entirely above the seat, you would not be able to ride as the launch could give you whiplash. Queue area Kingda Ka's line starts well before the actual entrance arch. The line passes by an ice cream stand, then goes under the entrance arch. It then enters a long switchback area, where a DJ is sometimes present to entertain the guests in the line. After the switchback area, the line passes by the lockers and then into the station. At this point, an employee will direct guests to a particular side of the station. Each train's station has a separate line for the front row. Before 2005's major malfunction, Kingda Ka's line area was much larger. It started at the main entrance arch, went under the launch track, traveled through two large switchback areas, and split into separate lines for each side of the station. Most of the entire line used to be set in the ride's infield. Due to the parts that came flying from the launch track during its first malfunction, the park (Six Flags Great Adventure) or state (New Jersey) perhaps both, felt it would be safer to have guests stay as far away from the track as possible at all times. The current main entrance to the station was previously the "flash pass" entrance. Awards and records Golden Ticket Awards: Best Steel Coaster Year 2005 2006 2007 Ranking 31 28 31

By José Manuel Serrano Esparza. SPANISH VERSION Thirty years have elapsed since the death on March 14, 1980, of a great man, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, near the Bering Sea, in an aircraft accident, when the Cessna 185 plane in which he was flying along with Teodoro Roa García, Alberto Mariano Huéscar (both of them being camera operators, focusers, photography directors and supervisors of the choosing of lenses and emulsions, together with the lighting, with Alberto having started as Teodoro´s assistant in 1974) and the American pilot Warren Dodson, crashed against the snowed ground twenty kilometers in the south of the Eskimo village of Shaktoolik (northwest of Alaska), while they were shooting one of the stretches of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the most famous competition of this kind in the world, covering 1,200 miles between Anchorage and Nome. During twenty years of impressive activity between 1960 and 1980 (beginning with his famous radio broadcast programmes which caused a sensation through the first half of sixties - along with his first TV collaborations in the program Fin de Semana, with a space devoted to Nature which was offered live from the TVE studios in Paseo de La Habana-, becoming the link between Spanish villages and big cities in the maelstrom of the rural exodus of millions of people searching for better living conditions as new urbanites, and following with his fifteen consecutive years working making audiovisual productions for TVE until his untimely death in Alaska in 1980, being 52 years old), Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, currently considered thirty years after his death the most important naturalist and zoologist maker of documentary films on animals and wild life of all time along with Jacques Cousteau (a personal friend of his, in the same way as Conrad Lorenz) and Richard Attenborough, created the astounding figure of 500 documentary films for 10 TV series, some of them legendary and internationally acclaimed like Planeta Azul (1970-1973), Fauna Salvaje, Fauna Ibérica, El Hombre y la Tierra (1974-1980), etc, that won great quantity of accolades and international awards, foreseeing in decades the current worldwide global ecologist concern. EL HOMBRE Y LA TIERRA, A WORLD HERITAGE TV SERIES This mythical image of an Iberian wolf running at twilight and belonging to El Hombre y La Tierra TVE series, enhanced by the legendary musical score created by Antón García Abril, became the hallmark of Félix Rodríguez de La Fuente´s flagship production and literally stuck millions and millions of people to the screen all over the world, with a total of 124 chapters filmed in Spain (92), Venezuela (18) and Canada (14). Incredibly, 30 years after the death of the Spanish legendary naturalist, turned into great harbinger and standard- bearer of Ecologist Movement, this amazing production entirely shot in 35 mm with the cream of professional Mitchell and Arriflex cinematographic cameras and Carl Zeiss and Angenieux lenses available during seventies, goes on currently being in the top ranking of sales, now digitally remastered in DVD, frame by frame, both in image and sound, from the original 35 mm developed chemical emulsion colour negatives. Besides, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, a tremendous driving force in himself regarding everything he did and featuring incredible strength, energy and versatility enabling him tackling the most manifold tasks at top-notch level, was the founder of the Spanish delegation of World Wildlife Fund and implemented campaigns against pollution, against the exsiccation of the National Park of Tablas of Daimiel, against the extinction of the asturcon horse, etc, also being a diehard activist against the slaughtering of whales because of commercial interests. Likewise, the unforgettable Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, guiding beacon and human icon for thousands and thousands of biologists, naturalists, zoologists, anthropologists, etc, both before and after his demise, not only in Spain but all over the world, was decisive in the fulfilment of the protection and survival of five wonderful species menaced with extinction: the Peregrine Falcon, the Royal Eagle, the Imperial Eagle, the Iberian Wolf and the Iberian Lynx. IMAGE QUALITY AND FILMING PARAMETERS COMPARABLE TO THE BEST PRODUCTIONS OF HOLLYWOOD CINEMATOGRAPHIC INDUSTRY On the other hand, as quoted by Kennart Smart (Director of National Geographic Nature Unit) Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente was the first naturalist pioneering the use of professional 35 mm movie cameras (until then the highest qualitative image levels in this domain were attained by 16 mm Bolex movie cameras with Kern Switar and Angenieux lenses) for making documentary films on animals in their environment, achieving to tell stories on animal behaviour that hadn´t been told ever before, and getting a sharpness, lack of grain and sharpness that marked a turning point in this scope, clearly beating even The Living Desert (1953) - a famous Walt Disney Productions 69 minutes documentary film on nature and fauna directed by James Algar and shot with ISO 12 16 mm Kodachrome film and Technicolor system on desert areas of USA, under a scorching sun, and whose remarkable definition made possible acceptable blow-ups to 35 mm for theatre projections-, and The Vanishing Prairie (1954), another outstanding 71 minutes Walt Disney documentary film entirely shot in 35 mm also in Technicolor system- that had been the reference in image quality regarding wildlife and nature films until the arrival of El Hombre y la Tierra, whose chapters were 100% shot with professional 35 mm cinematographic chemical emulsions between 1974 and 1980. ´The movies on Wildlife and Nature filmed by Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente surprised us and drew our attention, because both the image and sound quality was fantastic. National Geographic worked with 16 mm cameras, and sometimes with Super 16 mm ones. It was apparent that Félix worked with very advanced and extraordinarily elaborate cinematographic techniques ´ Kennart Smart, Director of National Geographic Nature Unit. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente always strove after attaining the most tremendous levels of image quality feasible at his time, on a par with the most prominent Hollywood productions, using heavy 35 mm Mitchell and Arriflex professional cameras connected to the cream of Carl Zeiss and Angenieux cinematographic lenses and the best chemical emulsions available then, making strenuous efforts to take different very heavy cameras up to specific locations from which filming his mythical productions. One of them, El Hombre y La Tierra, was unanimously chosen in 2000 as the best TVE production in history by the Spanish Academy of Sciencies and Arts, and became quickly a world referent, being distributed in different languages to a lot of countries in which it often reached peak audiences, as happened in United States, where it was number one in the top ranking of documentary films broadcast on TV for millions of people, subsequently getting even further international fame and recognition, winning in 1975 the Great Prize of Montecarlo Rainiero Prince for the chapter titled "Prisoners of the Wood", the II Great Prize of Paris de L´Emision Scientifique de Television Centre National de la Recherche in 1977 for the chapter titled "The Social Hunter", the II Great Prize of Paris de L´Emision Scientifique de Television Centre National de la Recherche for the chapter titled "The Wise Vulture" in 1978 along with the Ondas, Antena de Oro and Golden TP 1976 to the Best Spanish National TV program. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente shaking hands with another world class naturalist: Jacques Cousteau. Both of them established a sincere friendship and mutual admiration. Suffice it to say that there were some directors of both TV and Salvat Ediciones Editorial in Spain who had the chance of watching projected inside a cinematographic room on a screen the 35 mm bobbins shot by Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente team in the jungle of Venezuela and they all coincided: those wonderful images showed virtually unbeatable resolving power, contrast, color depth and visual impact, it all being enhanced by the accuracy of the world class focuser Teodoro Roa, who was at the moment one of the few professional TVE camera operators specialized on filming animals. Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente and the camera operator Teodoro Roa. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, Teodoro Roa and Alberto Mariano Huéscar. And they were right, because twenty six years had to elapse until the appearance of the high definition Heligimbal camera (able to turn 360º and featuring a very high quality zoom allowing to zoom in up to a distance of one kilometer with utter stability) introduced by the BBC in the first chapter of his television series Planet Earth in 2006 for somebody offering documentary films on wildlife and nature featuring comparable levels of spectacularity and innovation to those attained by Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in its famous TV series El Hombre y La Tierra, though in terms of image quality, colour depth and above all impact, some Félix´s documentary series, above all El Hombre y La Tierra (both the chapters made in Spain and South America) shot with chemical 35 mm emulsion with Mitchell BNC and Arriflex cinematographic professional cameras won´t probably ever be beaten, thanks to its huge adaptability to any type of digital format that can appear in future, as was recently proved with the new DVD complete edition made by Divisa Ediciones - including all the chapters - of the aforementioned El Hombre y La Tierra series, with digitally remastered image by means of a last generation professional film scanner from the original 35 mm Kodak colour film reels developed in photographic laboratory during seventies and the four first months of 1980 and which were wisely kept by Genoveve Parmentier during almost thirty years, which has allowed through a highly updated digital technology a quantum leap in quality of image and sound (also remastered in a digital way from the excellent original Hi-Fi monophonic takes) in comparison with previous editions of El Hombre y La Tierra sold in analog VHS tape or the available youtube images, and the chance of relishing a terrific and fascinating audiovisual experience with any DVD or compatible Blu-ray player. THE DIGITAL IMAGE AND SOUND RESTORATION AND REMASTERING ON DVD OF EL HOMBRE Y LA TIERRA TV SERIES MADE BY DIVISA EDICIONES: A LANDMARK IN THE HISTORY OF AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTIONS ON WILDLIFE AND NATURE The digital remastering and restoration on DVD of El Hombre y la Tierra (probably the most successful in history documentary TV series on wildlife and nature, watched during the second half of seventies by 800 million people in more than 40 different countries of the five continents, a figure which has outstandingly increased since the demise of the mythical Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, thanks to a number of further TV broadcasts) is one of the most important audiovisual projects devoted to wildlife and nature ever made in the world, and has been accomplished by Divisa Ediciones through the frame by frame professional digitization with a last generation film scanner with which every original 35 mm negative was scanned at 10 bits instead of 8, that are the usually delivered by a conventional system. That enabled working with a colour gradation of 1024 tonalities for each one of the primary RGB colours, instead of doing it with the 256 tones which would have been attained with an 8 bit device, in such a way that the maximum feasible quality was obtained for the next step: the colour correction, which was fulfilled by means of a professional last generation digital corrector able to work with infinite layers, irregular masks and tracking points to follow the movements, and after this colour correction was made, the images underwent a digital restauration phase with painstaking removing of unstability areas, emulsion scratches, dust specks, splicing locations, etc) of the original 35 mm reels. It all would have never been possible without the great foresight and wisdom of Marcelle Genevieve Parmentier, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente´s widow, who has very carefully kept the many original Kodak 35 mm reels including the 124 chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra TV series (Venezuelan Wildlife, Iberian Wildlife, Canadian Wildlife and Alaska) filmed between 1974 and 1980. The collection is made up by a total of 25 DVD discs, encompassing the 92 chapters of Fauna Ibérica, the 18 of Venezuelan Fauna and 14 of Canadian Fauna, and also including a biography on Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente written by her daughter Odile. Poza de la Sal (Burgos). 2010. Foto: José Manuel Serrano Esparza Poza de la Sal (Burgos) . 2010. Foto: José Manuel Serrano Esparza Poza de la Sal (Burgos). 2010. Foto: José Manuel Serrano Esparza Poza de la Sal (Burgos). 2010. Foto: José Manuel Serrano Esparza Poza de la Sal (Burgos). 2010. Foto: José Manuel Serrano Esparza The image quality of these DVD discs is amazing, but bearing in mind that the most updated Blu-ray players can reproduce DVD discs at their standard resolution or have the player upscale the DVD playback signal to attain 720p/1080i or in some devices even 1080p, we can go a step beyond and watch these marvellous colour productions almost in HD to practical effects, reaching a level of image quality that can only be defined as extraordinary, greatly keeping the resolving power, contrast and aesthetics of image of the original professional cinematographic 35 mm films used with Arri and Mitchell movie cameras by Félix´s team during seventies. TOP-NOTCH QUALITY SOUND OBTAINED WITH PROFESSIONAL HI-FI MONOPHONIC NAGRA III NP AND NAGRA 4.2 REEL TO REEL TAPE RECORDERS BETWEEN 1974-1980 AND DIGITALLY RESTORED AND REMASTERED 30 YEARS LATER Since the beginnings of sixties, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente becamed very fond of listening sounds produced by different animal species, recorded by the analogue tape recorders then available in Spain, whose variety and quality didn´t usually reach the level of fidelity craved for by Félix, a man gifted with high auditive capacity, being used to listening to the animals in their natural habitat and whishing at all cost to be able to reproduce with maximum feasible the wide range of sounds emitted above all by praying birds and mammals in their most diverse living circumstances for their subsequent study. After a lot of goings out to the countryside with different analogue to reel tape recorders and making many recordings without achieving the results he wanted, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, with his typical stubborness and great autodidact ability, began to deeply study the professional sound recording systems existing by that time. Till then, studio cameras were soundproof and solved the initial problem of direct sound, but couldn´t be used outdoors. Félix had already in mind the creation of the documentary movies on fauna and nature filmed on wild landscapes, which would make him famous all over the world during seventies and who would turn him into the international referent in this scope, but before it, he had to find a solution for the recording of live sound in the outdoors documentary films he wanted to make: he needed noiseless cameras (he had also studied the various systems of synchronized sound and noise reduction blimps for 16 mm Bolex cameras) which could be used in all kind of biotopes, but besides, it was wholly necessary to have a professional high fidelity sound device getting the highest quality of sound, simultaneously being linked to the cinematographic 35 mm movie camera in such a way that it allowed the synchronizing of image and sound. Finally, in late sixties he chose the portable professional reel to reel Hi-Fi monophonic full track tape recorder Nagra III NP (1962), featuring a very high fidelity of sound and Neopilot crystal sync (enabling the 100% working at the same time of both the tape recorder and the 35 mm movie camera connected without any wire, through an electronic beep which was recorded on the tape each time that the movie camera began filming, which allowed for the later synchronization with the picture), which had been the qualitative pinnacle used by Hollywood cinema industry regarding professional sound in outdoor shootings since 1963. The Nagra III, whose first model had appeared in 1957, was one of the masterpieces of the famous based in Switzerland and Polish sound engineer Stefan Kudelski, who through a wise use of germanium transistors and a servocontrolled DC motor, along with a very hard aluminium chassis and above all a modulometer measuring the decibelic peaks, managed to create this legendary and very compact professional tape recorder, highly convenient to transport (it could use 12 cylindrical D batteries as a power supply) and using flexible cellulose acetate 1/4 inch tape. It was a very reliable and virtually indestructible contrivance, even under the hardest climate conditions, delivering an extraordinary sound quality that was only improved at those moments by the Hi-Fi stereo reel to reel Ampex 3-track (with Model 300-3 valve amplifier) heavy studio tape recorder used in the second half of fifties by the great sound engineer Lewis Layton to make the legendary RCA Living Stereo Sound recordings during the concerts of Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, along with other prominent world class musicians like Jascha Heifetz, Igor Piatigorsky, Artur Rubinstein, etc. The Neopilot synchronizing system boasted such a quality and accuracy that it was almost 20 years in the market being the flagship of the professional cinematographic domain until late eighties, when it was replaced by the standard timecode, while the professional analog 1/4 inch (6.35 mm) tape was progressively substituted by the DAT System since mid nineties. So as to realize the sound quality obtained by Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente with professional Nagra III reel to reel tape recorder (which would reach its apex with the tapes recorded by the sound technician Manuel Peña in the chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra deling with the acoustic war between night preying birds and rodents, as we´ll see later), it´s important to bear in mind that though modern high-end digital recorders are technically more precise, the qualitative building level and sound realism attained with the analog reel to reel Hi-Fi recorders made by Stefan Kudelski are simply superb and made up in 1957 at the moment of the launching of the model Nagra III a revolution in the concept of the highest level professional recording with portable devices, so they became the sound standard of Hollywood industry during sixties, seventies and eighties, three decades throughout which their sound quality was only beaten by the aforementioned High Fidelity Living Stereo Sound Recordings (firstly made with an Ampex-3 1/2 inch valve amplifier tape recorder and cardioid condenser Neumann U-47 and omnidirectional M-49/50 microphones), and above all since 1961 by the amazing Mercury Living Presence Stereo Sound Recordings firstly made with a 3 track valve amplifier Westrex 35 mm magnetic sound film recorder and omnidirectional Telefunken U-47, RCA 44BX, BK 5 and KM 56, using a three mike recording technique. Both the original three track RCA Living Sound recordings made on 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) tape and the three track Mercury Presence Sound Recordings made on large surface 35 mm celluloid, were subsequently mixed down to two tracks 1/4 inch (6.35 mm) tapes to get the masters for its stereo launching into the market. They were then with difference the world reference in terms of sound quality, but exceedingly large and heavy, using valve amplifiers, very expensive to maintain and impossible to transport to outdoors locations. That´s why the brainstorm of Stefan Kudelski, making the very small and portable Nagra III Hi-Fi monophonic recorder was immensely successful, since it was very convenient to take to any location irrespective of the climate conditions, was built like a tank, and the genius managed to get a great sound quality through the use of transistors, miniaturized components, optimized preamps, top class transformers and a very thorough circuitry with highly selected components, proved to be a great breakthrough. In the same way, between 1974 and 1980, during the shooting of a number of chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra, a professional monophonic Hi-Fi open reel Nagra 4.2 tape recorder (handled both by the aforementioned Manuel Peña and Antonio Torreblanca, another great sound technician and a collaborator of D. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente) was also used. The Nagra 4.2 had appeared in 1971. It featured silicon transistors and an antidistortion circuitry with optimized audiophile components, including new specifications and even improved the the excellent sound quality of the previous Nagra III (1957), Nagra III NP (1962) and Nagra-L (1968) models, as well as adding more powerful microphones, superior preamps and built-in equalizers. It can make recordings by means of microphones or through a signal line input, featuring three working speeds: 15" /sec (38 cm /sec) which is the one delivering more quality of sound, 7.5"/sec (19,05 cm /sec) and 3.75"/sec (9.5 cm/sec), NAB or CCI standard, along with two independent heads for recording and playback, modulometer and two microphone inputs (with different models of microphones preamplifiers available with Dynamic, T or Phantom power, depending of the type of microphone attached), and a further line input through a QCE cable. Besides, it can flawlessly work at temperatures between -20º C and 72º C (with cylindrical D batteries) and between -55º C and 71º C with external power supply. In the same way as the Nagra III NP, the Nagra 4.2 (in its NQL version featuring Neopilot system - with optional accessory QGX-3 Quartz Crystal Pilot Generator for wireless synchronized filming and selectable signal frequency between 50 and 60 Hz +- 0.001 % - which was the one chosen by Manuel Peña and Antonio Torreblanca, sound technicians of El Hombre y la Tierra) is very stable to extreme temperature changes and is built like a tank, but sporting the quality and thoroughness of a Swiss watch, boasting the quartz generated Neopilot 50/60 Hz system of synchronization to cinematographic cameras, as well as being able to work both with the external ATN-3 supply source and with 12 cylindrical D batteries inside. Sennheiser MKH 816T professional directional microphone, the model used by Manuel Peña and Antonio Torreblanca to record live outdoors sound, connected to the Nagra 4.2 with a three pin XLR cable. Appeared in 1975 and featuring a weight of 350 g, 55.6 cm in length and a diameter of 1.9 cm, it was one of the first superdirectional microphones launched into market, with a low impedance capsule design making it virtually immune to high humidity and condensation, and the typical special preamplifier for condenser microphones, built-in within its casing, and enabling the transmission of the signal through a cable. This kind of microphones only use resonators in the extreme high frequencies (where coloration phenomenon is not important), so they´re by far the best ones regarding fidelity and realism in the outdoors sound capturing, certainly extraordinary, with the added bonus of an excellent reproduction of the transient sounds. It was used in a lot of chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra at a speed of 38 cm/sec to achieve maximum feasible qualities sound registers on wildlife and nature locations. A Rycote windshield for professional Sennheiser MKH 816T similar to this was used by Manuel Peña and Antonio Torreblanca in different chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra. This accessory (completely surrounding both the microphone and its connector, creating a mass of still air around the mic) gives a great protection against noise brought about by strong winds, enabling its reduction up to 25 dB, which was specially useful during the shooting of El Hombre y la Tierra chapters made in Canada (Nahanni and Kluane National Parks) and Alaska, whose sound takes were made by Manuel Peña. Since the human factor was and goes on being the key element for the quality of sound recordings, a top-notch monophonic recording made during fifties, sixties and seventies by a qualified sound technician or engineer, can sound better than a CD, SACD or DVD-Audio recorded in late nineties or during the first decade of XXI Century with much more sophisticated and expensive means. And that is exactly what happened with the recordings made with Nagra III NP and Nagra 4.2 by Manuel Peña (a great sound technician and collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente) who made the sound recordings of all the 124 chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra Series (filmed in Venezuela, Spain, Canada and Alaska) between 1974 and 1980, without forgetting the invaluable help of Antonio Torreblanca and Manuel Barroso, who also cooperated with Félix in the sound side in some of his programs. It´also important to bear in mind that both the Nagra III NP and the Nagra 4.2 are professional full track recorders in which the 1/4" (6.35 ) tape is recorded on the whole width of its cellulose acetate surface, in only one way, so the quality and fidelity of the sound obtained are excellent. In the same way as happens with the digitally remastered impressive image quality of El Hombre y La Tierra DVD discs made by Divisa Ediciones frame by frame from the original 35 mm cinematographic chemical emulsions rolls (both the "normal" edition and the one recently launched into market in luxurious box for collectors), far superior to everything available before, both in VHS tapes and in youtube, the original 1/4 inch (6.35 mm) analogue tapes recorded in Hi-Fi with professional reel to reel Nagra tape magnetophones and also wisely kept through almost thirty years by Marcelle Genevieve Parmentier, has made possible Divisa Ediciones to digitally remaster such original sound, restoring the music, the effects and the narrations, mixing it all again to get top sound quality, as well as reducing to zero the residual noise inherent to every professional tape recorder (though in the Nagra III and 4.2 it was exceedingly low, because they were the elite of the portable recorders of its time, along with the Stellavox models) making possible today, more than thirty years later, the choice of two kinds of two very high quality digital sound listening when watching El Hombre y la Tierra DVD discs: a) Top-notch Digital Hi-Fi monoaural sound; b) Very good Digital Dolby 5.1 sound created from the original digitized and restaured Hi-Fi monophonic. Professional condenser directional MKH 816T microphone with its Rycote windshield and wool container. It was optimized for live recordings in outdoors locations and the sound quality achieved by this legendary microphone was so remarkable, that it was used during eighties by the Audubon Soctiety for the recording of sound registers produced by different species of birds, and even John Feith, the engineer that designed the noise reduction filter for Sony, is currently a enthusiast user of it. This combination was the outdoors world reference throughout the second half of seventies and well inside eighties, (until later models as the Sennheiser MKH 70 microphone sporting roughly half the weight, more accuracy and even more reduced levels of distorsion, were progressively replacing it), which gives an idea of the impressive level of sound quality craved for in every location and climate by the El Hombre y la Tierra team directed by Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente. Antonio Torreblanca used highly skilfully the Nagra 4.2 connected to profesional directional Sennheiser MKH 816T microphone covered by a Rycote windshield to record all kind of natural ambient sounds in different chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra series, specially the ones dealing with the Iberian Wolf and filmed on River Dulce Valley, near the village of Pelegrina (Guadalajara), where Manuel Peña also took part in the sound register side. It must be underlined that David Attenborough also used the Nagra 4.2 for the sounds recording in its series on wildlife for the BBC Life on Earth (1979), adding the updating enabling the SMPTE timecode recording at the beginning of the eighties, though shortly after, he chose the Nagra-IV-S stereo with which aside from the built-in pilottone crystal synchronizing, it was possible the timecode recording since 1984. Therefore, it´s clear that in the same way as happened regarding image quality with his big Arri and Mitchell 35 mm cinematographic cameras, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente attained the best sound quality available in the world with portable equipments until his death in 1980, making use of the best Nagra reel to reel professional tape recorders and being assisted by highly expert sound technicians like Manuel Peña and Antonio Torreblanca, getting a highly natural and dynamic sound featuring great definition, tonal neutrality and remarkable accuracy in the obtainment of the most delicate microinformations and all kind of details of different nature and wildlife locations. The internal construction of the Nagra III NP reveals a painstaking care in every aspect related to the high accuracy mechanics and its decisive influence in the sound, without forgetting the impeccable thoroughness in the welding points (a key side to maximize the top-notch quality sound performance). In this other image of the innards of the Hi-Fi monophonic Nagra III NP we can see the circuitry made with very high quality audiophile components. The analog cicuitry topology of both the Nagra III NP and the Nagra 4.2, handcraftedly made without any compromise, with exquisitely chosen electronic components, is very apparent while listening to these El Hombre y la Tierra DVD discs, whose sound realism makes us feel the emotion of the live recording experienced by Félix and his collaborators more than three decades ago, since it is a crystal clear sound reproducing in a very truthful way the acoustic atmosphere in the middle of nature of each one of the places where a live recording for every chapter was made, with a minimal degree of auditive fatigue after a lot of hours relishing these audiovisual troves in DVD format. Image of the Hi-Fi monophonic Nagra 4.2 showing the inner area of both its upper and lower area. In the same way as in the Nagra III NP, it excels because of its great beauty of design, the lavish abundance of aluminum and a mechanizing precision inherent to Swiss watch manufactures, made with long lived noble metals able to endure a hard outdoors professional use for decades. An inside detail of the Nagra 4.2 lower area in which highlight a very refined transistors electronics, a brainstorm by the genius Stefan Kudelski, exceedingly high quality audiophile components chosen because of their sound virtues after a number of listening hours, and a hugely sophisticated circuitry for the time merging a truly high fidelity sound personality with very advanced assembly techniques. A faultless construction, guaranteeing the preservation of its efficiency for many years. It´s important to bear in mind that though logically at present, already within XXI Century, a very high percentage of professional sound recording equipments are digital, it isn´t less true that a lot of sound engineers and technicians along with experts on sound effects, currently prefer using professional analog reel to reel Nagra tape devices for recording sounds with very wide dynamic range, which clearly proves the huge realism of the sound register, the true reproduction of the acoustic atmosphere where the recording was made and the live feeling they achieve, as well as being superior when tackling unexpected signal overloads. It´s likewise a sound image sporting an indescribable realism in the different sound planes, keeping a flawless stability irrespective of the listening volume, something that can be uttterly enjoyed with Home Cinema equipments, thanks to the excellent digitization implemented by Divisa Ediciones from the extraordinary original monophonic Hi-Fi sound takes made by Manuel Peña and Antonio Torreblanca with portable high end Nagra III NP and Nagra 4.2 on 1/4 ´(6.35 mm) analog tapes. Almost twenty years would have to elapse after the demise of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente until Chris Watson, probably the most important expert in the history of recording of sound for documentary films on wildlife and nature could improve the sound quality attained by Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in El Hombre y La Tierra (1974-1980) in the David Attenborough´s The Life of Birds (1998) and The Life of Mammals (2002) series made for the BBC, respectively using the 16 bit solid state recorder and player Nagra ARES-C with Sigma-Delta AD/DA conversor and 16, 24, 32 and 48 kHz sampling frequencies with internal timecode and the Nagra DII with integrated 24 bit AD/DA converters, sampling frequency of up to 96 kHz stereo and obtention of the greatest dynamic range with a professional portable sound recorder, enabling to record a wider variety of sounds and using a significantly higher sound percentage, saving post production costs, and also featuring a built-in timecode. However amazing it may seem, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente was sure that future audio market would greatly be defined in audiovisual terms and along with the maximum feasible image quality he also looked for the excellence regarding sound quality, both in the recording and playback of it. Therefore, both the users of large size plasma, LCD and LED TV Screens and the owners of Home Cinema Full HD equipments will relish not only a huge image quality sporting the excellent aesthetic qualities (colours saturation, exceptional sharpness, etc) inherent to the cinematographic 35 mm chemical emulsions, but also an impressive sound quality both when the main characters are the different animals and when Félix speaks, an utterly new experience now available to all the persons who watched the El Hombre y La Tierra TV Series during seventies, eighties and nineties in TV and VHS tape alike with a very inferior audiovisual quality which was at light years distance of the extraordinary quality of image and sound featured by these wonderful new DVD discs made by Divisa Ediciones. HUGE MEDIATIC IMPACT IN SPAIN AND MANY OTHER COUNTRIES OF THE FIVE CONTINENTS AND EVERLASTINGNESS OF HIS MESSAGE Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente made a tremendous impact both in the Spanish society and other millions of people living in different countries of the globe, by means of his very abundant appearances in a number of TV programs in late sixties and during seventies (stages which had been preceded by not less influent radio broadcast weekly programs on animals and nature), where he displayed his colossal knowledge on different zoological species both from the Iberian Fauna and from other continents alike, and he showed his millions of TV watchers the huge passion and stubborness with which he defended his conservationist and ecological ideas, his strenuous endeavours up to the last drop of his stamina to save animals in danger of extinction, his utter conviction and mastery on the topics he dealt with, his inexhaustible working capacity, his persistence steadily being the man assuming more risks to protect his teammates (for instance, during the shooting of anacondas rescue in Venezuela in one of the chapters of El Hombre y La Tierra, he´s always who takes each huge Eunectes murinus by the head and neck, a highly jeopardous action, as would be dramatically shown in the famous scene in which one of the powerful anacondas is about to kill him after loosing his grab and trying to bite Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente´s head, though he manages to push himself backwards in the last moment), his environmental concerns, his lifetime struggle for creating protected natural spaces and National Parks conceived as shrines for animals, his incredible enthralment and accuracy on speaking - always improvising without using any script or sheet of paper with data- always finding the appropriate word without repeating, putting all of his soul in everything he said on his beloved animals, the way in which he was identified as the pack leader by wolves, his love for children and so many more things. His message paid off, people haven´t forgotten him and more and more youngsters and adults alike are increasingly interested in the figure of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, a man of huge scientific and human stature whose remembrance goes on alive, because its message paid off and his flame shall never extinguish and whose pith has been masterly explained by Benigno Varillas in his great book Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente: His Life, A Message of Future, a 761 pages work that was very recently showed up on March 12, 2010 in trhe Ministry of Environment, Rural Environment and Sea Environment by the author, Marcelle Genevieve Parmentier and Odile Rodríguez de la Fuente, proving that thirty years after his death, the great Spanish naturalist and zoologist is more alive than ever, and which in my viewpoint makes up an indispensable reference for all those wishing to delve deeply into Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente life and work, along with a lot of sides regarding his character and unknown till now details on his biography, together with features clearly proving his very wide historical scope as a visionary man who anticipated in almost 40 years, since the beginning of sixties as to the tackling of ecological, environmental and scientific topics which would bring about a great social awareness already within the XXI Century. The first sample of this book was given in Poza de la Sal (Burgos) to Policarpo de la Fuente, Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente´s childhood great friend, by Benigno Varillas. " I do remember that when I was a child, after having gone to the high barren plateaus of Poza de la Sal, my village, and already coming back home beyond evening, with the first stars, the village smelt in a remarkable way. It was the chimneys fire which then smelled of charcoal, boxwood trees, waterproofed cloths, firewood. The village smell, maybe merged with the baked bread smell and the somewhat acid and warm smell of the domestic livestock. The smell my village had every time I returned in the evenings touches me right down to the bottom of my soul ". Poza de la Sal (Burgos). 2010. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. WORLD TOP AUTHORITY IN THE KNOWLEDGE ON A LOT OF PREY BIRDS Dr. Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente holding his famous Peregrine Falcon "Durandal" (Falco Peregrinus). The great naturalist was one of the scientists signing in 1954 the Spanish Society of Ornithology. From this platform and thanks to the field studies he personally implemented, it was possible to protect both the Falcon Peregrine and the night prey birds in Spain in 1966, something for which was also highly instrumental the 1963 International Congress for the Protection of the Preying Birds in Caen (France), where he displayed his extraordinary research on the populations of Peregrine Falcon in Spain, an event very enhanced by Dr.Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente through his widespread worldwide relationships with other falconers and biologies (for instance, Michel Terrasse, VicePresident of Birdlife France was a great friend of his) fighting for attaining a change of mentality on preying birds, who were sadly deemed till then as harmful animals, so they were often killed by the use of poisons, shooting (even paying money for it) and pesticides. Always working at the end of his tether, Félix managed to achieve his goals in this regard, turning Spain into the flagship country on the study of prey birds through a wide assortment of conservationist laws. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente was always enraptured by the exceptional beauty and features of the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), and his idyl with this fairly beautiful bird prey began during thirties, being a little boy in Poza de Sal (Burgos), his native village, when one day, being by a big pool located in the outskirts, he suddenly heard a whistle and saw a Peregrine falcon diving steeply from a great height at an astounding speed (it can reach up to 400 km/hour in its stoop) against a flying duck, killing it with the impact of its claws at high velocity, with the duck still alive falling by him. This experienced exerted a huge influence in the life of felix and his future deep interest and study of different preying birds, steadily being fascinated by the falconry art which enabled a man to hunt in synergy with an utterly free bird, which after the flight came back to its hand. The contact with this amazing bird prey (such is its beauty and elegenace that its variety Falco peregrinus brookei inspired director John Huston for the creation of the statue of the 1941 film Maltese Falcon, with Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor and Gladys George) was decisive during Dr Rodríguez de la Fuente´s youth to foster his interest in the world of animal etiology, which he´d subsequently stretch to many other species, birds and mammals alike. And Félix, wholly aware about the need of conveying this conservationist message on prey birds to society, began writing a lot of articles on the topic in various magazines and made his first feature film: Wings and Claws: The Wonderful World of Birds, which won some prices like the Golden Archer of Gijon Festival. Besides, he won an international award of falconry and started a life devoted to communication, both on radio and television, whose turning point was an incredibly successful appearance in the Spanish TV programme Fin de Semana, in which speaking on his beloved Peregrine Falcon "Durandal", he charmed millions of people. Dr Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente with a golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) perched on his right hand. This highly powerful superpredator praying bird, featuring a tremendous visual capacity equivalent to high quality 10x binoculars enabling it to spot preys at a distance of up to 1 kilometer, was the main character in a number of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente´s documentary films, dumfounding the TV watchers with astonishing hunting scenes like the mythical one in which a huge golden eagle dives over a kid located on a very high cliff and captures it with its claws, quickly taking it (already dead because of the piercing of the mammal´s head by the golden eagle talons) flying to its nest, an incredible flight which was recorded from various angles throughout its whole trajectory with three 35 mm cameras located on different surrounding crags, proving that thanks to the big buoyancy planes of its wings, the golden eagle is able to transport much heavier animals than itself, as well as being a great acrobat of the sky in spite if its great size, so it can likewise hunt very small birds in flight. On the other hand, Félix brought back to life in Spain the ancient art of hunting with golden eagle, which had almost extinguished both in Europe and rest of the world, with the main exception of the Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Mongolian eaglers, called Berkutchi or Kusbegi, who have developed the hunting with golden eagles (berkuts) for thousands of years, specially in the northern and central regions of Kazakhstan, a tradition and knowledge which was highly secretly transmitted from fathers to sons and which has historically converged on the Altai Mountains of Central Asia, with the city of Bayan Ulgii as a core. Dr Félix Rodriguez de la Fuente was always fascinated by the high art necessary to train a golden eagle and the ancestral synergy between it and man hunting together, as one of the oldest methods of food obtaining, something that Felix knew had been mastered during Bronze Age on the Eurasian steppes several thousand years ago (as is proved by petroglyphs from the Andronov Age) and in Western Europe during Middle Ages, and he finally managed to become a world class expert in the training of both eagles and falcons.The visual sharpness of the Golden Eagle is one of the most perfect optical systems in Nature, and enables this superpreying bird to spot its preys up to a distance of 1 km. RECOVERER OF THE ANCIENT ART OF FALCONRY Falconry had been an art extinguished in Spain for 150 years, and there wasn´t any living falconer in the Iberian Peninsula when Dr Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente began his activity in this scope. Already being a teenager in Poza de Sal, he often risked his life climbing with only a thick rope to reach the nest of different preying birds´ nests located in very high areas of mountains in order to watch them from a very short distance.So ardent was his craving for watching them from as few meters as posible, usually taking his father´s binoculars to also observe them while soaring at high altitudes. By dint of tenacity and perseverance, Félix Rodriguez de la Fuente managed to acquire high knowledge on falconry reading a lot of almost forgotten medieval books written during XIII and XIV Centuries by Prince Don Juan Manuel, Canciller Pero López de Ayala and Juan Sant-Fahagun, along with the work on hunting with goshawk made in XVI Century by Fadrique de Zuñiga and Sotomayor, etc, until he became a world referent on falconry during mid sixties, beginning to write a lot of currently indispensable works on falconry, daily living with and training a wide assortment of preying birds, specially the sublime Peregrine falcon, of which he was top authority in the world until his death in 1980. Therefore, Dr Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente became the link between the binomium Spanish medieval European works on falconry and two very significant works on falconry plus a further significant work also known by the great Spanish naturalist: De Arte Venandi cum Avibus written in 1248 by the Emperor Fredrick II of Hohenstaufen , another hallmark book on the study of birds of prey, and through his deep research on the etiology, ecology and population interactions of preying birds, he forestalled two decades to the great book Population Ecology of Raptors,written by Dr Ian Newton in 1979. With his historical and highly important treatises and divulgative documentary films on prey birds, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente pioneered from 1959 the revival of falconry in Europe, what is technically known as practice of the hunting with birds (even before J.G Mavrogordato, the other then world class expert on Falconry,whose activity took place in USA and author in 1966 of A Falcon in the Field), some decades before the appearance of later relevant works on falconry like A. Oswald The History and Practices of Falconry (written in 1982),E.Ford´s Falconry, Art and Practice (written in 1992),Wakasuri Minogus´s Takajou ha kataru-Takajou Niwa Arie san wo shinobu (A Falconer Tells-In Memory of the falconer Niwa Arie) written in 1996, N.Fox´s Understanding the Birds of Prey (written in 1996), Viktor Mikhalovich´s Sokolinaya okhota (Falconry)(written in 2005),Joe Roy III´s Duck Hawking-The Art of Falconry written in 2004, the Apprentice Study Guide of the California Hawking Club (Written in 2004), etc. Dr Félix Rodriguez de la Fuente with his great friend Aurelio Pérez, a remarkable naturalist from Soria, known as ´Félix´s right hand´. Sadly demised in April 2008, Aurelio Perez was a world class expert in falconry and praying birds and worked for many years as Félix´s assistant during the shooting of the documentary films on praying birds, specially eagles and falcons. He was a great trainer of different species of eagles, hawks and also some mammals like wolves and genets. Aurelio Pérez also reached international celebrity through the training of the famous ´milana bonita´ appearing in the movie Los Santos Inocentes, directed by Mario Camus and inspired on a novel written by Miguel Delibes. Fauna Mundial, one of the most important encyclopedias ever made on animals and nature in general ever made in the world. It appeared at the beginning of seventies and achieved an unprecedented success, being translated into 14 languages and selling over 22 millions of volumes. This extraordinary work, also known in subsequent editions during eighties and nineties as Enciclopedia Salvat de la Fauna, was the fruit of a formidable team gathered by Editorial Salvat, whose driving force was Dr Rodríguez de la Fuente, who was the author of the texts, and other very young and thriving professionals of biology, naturalism, arts, and photography: - Javier Castroviejo (biologist) - Miguel Delibes (biologist). - Cosme Morillo (biologist). - Pedro de Andrés (biologist). - Carlos G. Vallecillo (biologist). - José Lalanda (sketcher). - Ernesto Cerra (sketcher). - Marcelo Socias (sketcher). - Miguel Angel L. Castaños (sketcher). - Des Barlett (photographer). - Bruce Coleman (photographer). - J. Burton (photographer). - Nino Cirani (photographer). - Gatti (photographer). - B. Hunter (photographer). - W.T.Miller (photographer). - N. Myers (photographer). - M. Quarishy (photographer). - E. Hosking. - J. Robert (photographer). - A. Root (photographer). - S. Trevor (photographer). - C. de Klemm (photographer). Fauna Mundial (Encyclopedia Salvat de la Fauna) was greatly made through a huge toil and effort at every moment, under the helm of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, whose working capacity was virtually impossible to follow, something which compelled the team to often work literally on the brink of exhaustion. For instance, there were times in which because of the very high standard of quality Félix wanted for this work, he made Miguel Delibes Castro (currently a prestigious and international level biologist and then very young) repeat his texts up to five times until they had the thoroughness wished by the Maestro. Working conditions during the development of this colossal work were very hard, because it was weekly sold in Spanish newstands through fascicles, week by week, with the different volumes being finally bound in volumes and a total figure of 3,000 pages, an amazing figure for that period, making up the complete illustrated encyclopedia. With this truly world class work, Salvat Editorial had tackled the greatest tour de force ever made in this domain, and the necessity of delivering a new fascicle each week for the huge quantity of purchasers brought about a lot of moments of maximum stress and fidgets. Félix seemed to be never tired, his energy was inexhaustible, and the brutal working rhythm he established put everybody through his paces, what turned the Encyclopedia Salvat of the World Fauna into an invaluable life school for every member of the team. The texts of this work are considered among the cream of the cream ever written on Fauna, and were greatly made by Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, who dictated them to a secretary that typed them, also painstakingly supervising the texts created by other members of the team, which were revised by Félix, line per line, word by word, until getting the tremendous level of accuracy he had a penchant for. The success of this legendary Encyclopedia Salvat of the World Fauna was such that all the successive editions made between beginning of seventies and late nineties were quickly sold out and coveted by the millions of Dr Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente´s admirers both in Spain and abroad, because it was translated into a lot of different languages and it is nowadays on display in vast majority of natural museums all over the world, as Miguel Delibes Castro had the chance to verify, year by year, after the demise of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in 1980. On the other hand, apart from the high number of professional photographers hired by Editorial Salvat to make the pictures of this unique work, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente supplied a great graphic documentation encompassing many colour slides made by him, which greatly fostered the work, without forgetting the wonderful drawings of animals both in black and white and colour and specific details of them made by the aforementioned professional sketchers, who fairly strengthened the quality of this editorial masterpiece (suffice it to say that in one of the pages devoted to the African elephant there are three sketches showing their milk teeth and molars´ evolution between 13 and 45 years), along with very interesting maps showing the geographic distribution of every species in different countries and continents, along with each scientific zoological name complemented by deep information on their physical features, habits, reproducing cycles, hunting techniques, longevity, etc. But there´s more. This Encyclopedia Salvat of the World Fauna is even more unique and outstanding because Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente wrote a tremendously detailed caption under each photograph and sketch (and there are many thousands) with an incredible knowledge and passion for Fauna. This is absolutely amazing: it is all the same if a three pictures series depicts a leopard hunting a young papion in the Amboseli National Park in Kenya (18 page chapter 17 titled The Conquerors of Firm Ground devoted to papions), if a sketch depicts the courting of Lavanco dabchick Podiceps cristatus with the ceremony of the discovery and the subsequent three phase greetings (Chapter 76 Eurasia/North America Volume), if the picture shows the Kalahari oryx (Chapter 28 The Arid Lands of the African Southwest), if it is a Przewalski horse in Mongolia (Chapter 56 Ungulates of the Steppes), or the famous white gorilla Copito de Nieve at the Barcelona zoo (wonderful 20 page Chapter 41 The Gorilla, explaining his drinking way wetting his hand following his fellows´ technique when they´re free in their natural habitat), or if the photograph shows the sublime Iberian Lynx hunting in ambush (Chapter 59 The Mediterranean Lynx). Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente had always both exceedingly deep knowledge and huge passion to spare, enabling him to write a highly informative caption under each photograph, an aspect in which the Encyclopdia Salvat of the World Fauna also excelled. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente writing down on a notebook inside a tent in Kenya, during one of the frequent trips he made to Africa - a continent which always enthralled him- during seventies. WORLD TOP AUTHORITY IN THE KNOWLEDGE ON THE IBERIAN WOLF Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente tightly hugging a wolf. His tremendous knowledge on this species of wild canids along with his direct contact with some wolf packs through decades, brought about that he was considered the boss by the rest of members of the group. This wolf would easily be able to kill Félix with a quick bite, but the mutual utter confidence between human being and the animal prevents it. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente with a cub of Iberian Wolf in Pelegrina (Guadalajara). The great love, admiration and knowledge on this species by the mythical Spanish naturalist was a decisive catalyst in its survival, because in late sixties only roughly 200 Iberian wolves remained in Spain and currently there are approximately 2,000. A very young Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente caressing a wolf. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente went beyond the initial studies on observation of wolves´ gestures carried out by the ethologist Schenkel in 1947 with colour illustrations (in which according to the different positions of the tale you could infer the menace degree with which it behaves regarding the other members of the wolf pack), and with the help of his great team of sketchers (Iván Fernández, Josechu Lalanda, etc), he developed a very deep scientific research on the body language of wolves, their various facial gestures and their meanings, along with the strong social hierarchy inside the pack, including the roles of dominance, submission and conduct patterns shown by means of olfactory, tactile, auditive and visual signals, together with pronounced submission guidelines inhibiting aggressive lethal fights, so enabling the survival of every member of the group. An impressive image of Dr Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente fairly enraptured while he is fondling a wolf and smelling it. An enraptured Dr Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente under the effects of a passion attack the day he listened to the world famous original soundtrack of the TV series "El Hombre y la Tierra" for the first time. The man by him is Antón García Abril, the great Spanish composer author of the music. Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente shaking hands with King Juan Carlos I of Spain, while he´s bestowed one of the many awards he received during his professional lifetime. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente with a genet. Seeing images like this, it´s easy to understand why both during his life and after his passing away this man was called ´The Friend of the Animals´all over the world. THE MYTHICAL CUADERNOS DE CAMPO OF DR RODRIGUEZ DE LA FUENTE Within the exceedingly comprehensive production made by Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente during his lifetime, there´s one which was always considered as a unique trove of information on different species of animals: his world famous countryside notebooks made throughout two decades of hard work, depicting in a very painstaking way every aspect - even the most hidden ones- of each one of his most beloved creatures, which quickly sold out thirty years ago and are currently eagerly sought by naturalists, biologists, zoologists and enthusiasts of nature and its fauna as a whole. They were a total of 60 field notebooks each one featuring 52 pages, launched by Editorial Marín, each one being a masterpiece merging highly in-depth texts thoroughly describing every detail of the species dealt on with amazing passion and brutal knowledge: apperance and size, variations depending on the age, hunting techniques, ecologic distribution, geographic distribution, ways to detect them, ecological ranking, territoriality, feeding, mating periods and rituals, dwellings for reproduction, cubs behaviour and development, familiar cohesion, zoological classification, ecological role and ranking, cronological frame of the reproduction cycles, natural enemies, speed and resistance, acoustic signals, hierarchy, corporal language, etc, it all being lavishly complemented by a large assortment of top-notch colour drawings, diagrams, schemes, statistics and bar graphics, geographical maps, etc. The launching into market approximately thirty years ago by Editorial Marín of the Cuadernos de Campo of Dr Rodríguez de la Fuente represented a milestone both in the history of naturalism and ecologist movement. However incredible it may seem, these field notebooks are currently, already in the second decade of the XXI Century, looked for as jewels by biologists, naturalists, etc. In this image we can see the 60 little volume complete collection of Cuadernos de Campo of Dr Rodríguez de la Fuente, thirty years after the death of the Maestro. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. Front cover of the number 1 of the Cuadernos de Campo of Dr Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, dedicated to the Lynx. The legendary sight of the Lynx.- Since ancient times the lynx has been referred to with legends linking it to practically supernatural powers. As a matter of fact, its named is based on Linceo, a mythological character able to see through the objects. Albeit evidently the lynx sight doesn´t pierce the matter, it features such a sharpness that it makes out its possible preys at large distances, as was proved by Lindeman in his famous field tests and which are schematically depicted here. Ecological Distribution.- The Mediterranean or Iberian Lynx occupies currently a unique and exclusive biotopus within our Peninsula: the impenetrable formations of thicket and Mediterranean wood, needing indeed a great vegetable covering to survive, which it only finds nowadays in the unaltered maquis, garrigas and shady places of our central and Andalusian mountain ranges. On top left: Mediterranean wood: The most distinctive vegetal species of the bioma occupied by the Lynx are likewise the most representative of our Peninsula. Middle: Mediterranean thicket and wood. On low left: Cork oak. On low middle: oak grove On low right: Madrone and broom. The Lynx cubs.- They´re drab and rather clear throughout the two first months, also featuring scarcely developed whiskers and very thin brushes. From the fifth month of existence, they become very speckled. Only the adult ones sport the long panaches and beards. Cachorro de 1/2 Mes. Dependen de la Madre: 1/2 month cub. They depend on the mother. Ojos abiertos a los 8 / 10 días: Opened eyes eight or ten days after birth. Madurez sexual altera el ritmo del crecimiento: Sexual maturity alters growth pace. Peso al nacer 200 / 300 gramos: Weight at birth 200 / 300 g. 1/4 cachorros por parto: 1/4 cubs per delivery. Meses: Months. Juegos a partir de los dos meses: Playing since they are two months old. Cachorro de 4 meses: 4 months cub. Front cover of the number 4 of the Cuadernos de Campo of Dr Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, dedicated to the Night Preying Birds. Appearance and Dimensions Eagle Owl (Bubo Bubo) Height: 65-72 cm. Weight: 2500-3000 g. Wing: 41.5 - 48 cm. Wingspan: 155 -180 cm. Beak: 4 - 4.7 cm. Tarsus: 6.5 - 8 cm. Tail: 22 - 28.5 cm. Very big, with facial panaches. Tawny and drab mottled plumage. Red-orange eyes. Long-eared owl (Asio Otus) Height: 35-39 cm. Weight of the male: 250 g. Weight of the female: 300 g. Wing of the male: 27.6 - 31 cm. Wing of the female: 27.5-32 cm. Wingspan: 85-100 cm. Beak: 2.5 - 2.8 cm. Tarsus: 3.5 . 4 cm. Tail: 13.2 - 15.3 cm. Medium size. Featuring panaches. Elongated head, not rounded like the carabo. Yellow eyes. The vermicular array of the ventral areas is cross-shaped. Screech-Owl (Otus scopus) Height: 20-21 cm Weight: 78-92 g. Wing of the male: 14.4 - 16.4 cm. Wing of the female: 14.4 - 16.6 cm. Wingspan: 49 - 54 cm. Beak: 1.7 - 1.8 cm. Tarsus: 2.5 - 3 cm. Tail: 6.3 - 7 cm. Small, with ears. Highly vermiculated grey drab. It is more elongated than other small owls. On the left.- Grande y rechoncho: Big and chubby. Plumaje muy mimetico: Very mimetic plumage. On the right.- "Orejas" muy largas: Very elongated ears. "Orejas" no muy visibles: Not very visible "ears". Muy pequeño: Very small. Cabeza redondeada: Rounded head. Disco facial muy marcado: Rather pronounced facial disc. Fase gris: Grey face. Fase parda: Drab phase. Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) Height: 37-46 cm. Weight of the male: 331- 490 g. Weight of the female: 336 - 495 g. Wing of the male: 24.5 - 27.3 cm. Wing of the female: 25.5 - 27.5 cm. Wingspan: 90 - 100 cm. Beak: 2.7 - 2.9 cm. Tarsus: 3.4 - 4.5 cm. Tail: 14.5 - 16.5 cm It features the same size as the Buho Chico, but with rounded profiles, without ears and with black eyes. They can be drab or greyish colour. Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Height: 33 - 39 cm. Weight: 330 g. Wing of the male: 26.5 - 29 cm. Wingspan: 91 - 95 cm. Beak: 2.3 - 3 cm. Tarsus: 5.5 - 6.2 cm. Tail: 11 - 12.5 cm. It is very white on the ventral areas and golden on the dorsal ones. A few of them feature cinnamon colour. Its eyes are black and his face white. Disco facial muy marcado: Highly pronounced facial disc. Muy blanca: Very white. En edificios: in buildings. Little Owl ( Athene noctua) Height: 22 - 27 cm. Weight: 124-198 gr. Wing of the male: 15.2 - 16.9 cm. Wing of the female: 15.6 - 17.7 cm. Wingspan: 57 - 61 cm. Beak: 1.8 - 2.1 cm. Tarsus: 2.9 - 3.4 cm. Tail: 7.5 - 8.3 cm. It is small and tubby, with a big head. It has yellow eyes, whitish belly and drab speckled chest. ¡Muy abundante! : Very abundant! Pequeño y rechoncho: Small and tubby. 1 Localización acústica: Acoustic spotting The Weapons of the Night Hunter (Behaviour) On starting the hunt, owls remain motionless on their lookouts, listening to the noises made by rodents while they´re moving and eating. Owls are able to spot the preys to capture them in full darkness. Atención: Paying attention. Penachos plegados: Folded panaches. 2 Localización óptica: Optical locating. Usually, after spotting the rodent through its ear, the owl tries to locate its position. The stereoscopic sight enables the owl to accurately know the distance between it and the rodent. 3 Hunting flight Once it has spotted the location of the prey, the owl dashes into it with powerful and deep wing strokes ending in a sliding with its wings half folded. The structure of its plumage becomes the flight soundless. Silueta aerodinámica: Aerodynamic silhouette. 4 Capture The capture is always made with the talons, with close with a mathematical precision on the victim body. Death is brought about by pressure and wound in vital organs. Hunting Techniques To practical effects, every night preying owl follows the same guidelines of predatory behaviour: in the evening they shake off the drowsiness of its daily immobility and set about a silent flight towards their lookouts and watchtowers, in the midst of the hunting territories. From there, they spot their possible preys through their ears. Once they have accurately determined the location of the victim, they appraoch without making the slightiest noise and dive over it. The fearful traps of the powerful claws of barn owls and owls will close on the mouse or rabbit without these have had any chance of becoming aware of the attack. Eagle Owl: Though he usually hunts stalking, highly often he doesn´t wait for the preys being at its reach and begins a plundering flight, even hitting the underbrushes with its wings in order that the rabbits scare away, so being able to capture them. Vuelo prospector: Exploration flight. Ataque: Attack. Tawny Owl: It always hunts from a lookout. Once it has spotted the prey, it plunges over it in a very abrupt but silent dive, in the same way than all the night preying birds. Ataque súbito: Sudden attack. Captura: Capture. Vuelo prospector: Exploration flight. Cernido: Hovered flight. Ataque vertical: Vertical attack. Barn Owl: It often hunts in open fields, using sometimes a very peculiar technique: it flies over the sown lands at low altitude and when he detects a rodent or an amphibian, it hovers to spot its exact location and falls flat. It all happening at a height not exceeding 2 meters. Persecución aérea: Aerial chase. Hawk Owl: It doesn´t only resemble the sparrow hawk because of its shape and name but also behaving as a diurnal preying bird as to its hunting techniques; it lineally persecutes its prays - most times birds - and hunts them in full flight. Atalaya: Lookout. Picado: Diving. Little Owl: It often hunts in broad daylight, mainly birds it reaches thanks to the speed of its dives and evolutions made at a low altitude over the ground. Persecución Lineal: Linear chase. Front cover of the number 3 of Dr Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente´s Cuadernos de Campo dealing with the wolf. Wolf Appearance It is the biggest, most energetic and popular of the European mammal predators. Both robust and slender, its silhouette portraits the inexhaustible runner and efficent killer: its deep chest, its warped loins and the long and muscled limbs are traits of the champions of endurance; its convex skull, its upright and watchful ears, its transparent eyes and its protruding snout indicate sharp ear, keen eyesight and infallible smell. Its massive jaws and powerful dentition - providing its face ´an oriental appearance´ show an exceedingly lethal apparatus. Thanks to so high psychic and physical qualities, the wolf has been able to survive in spite of the ruthless war against him made by man. Its coat features remarkable individual and racial differences ranging from the white Artic wolves to the melanic ones from the North American woods. In the Iberian wolf the chromatic shades vary from greyish drab - sporting rather silvery hues- and the reddish drab, with high percentage of ocre tones. In the typical scheme of the Iberian wolf we must underline the black lines of the front limbs, which have given the race its name - signatus - , the face outline in which there´s an alternance between dark and light tones - with a pronounced white stripe around its lips-, the large greyish spot of the withers - resembling a saddle - , the tuft of black hairs on the tail tip, and finally the much clearer back of its ears. Body Length: 1.10 - 1.40 m. Tail: 30 - 40 cm. Withers height: 75-80 cm. Peso: 35-45 (maximum 65 kg). Perfil Cóncavo: Concave outline. Envés Auricular (Llamativo): Ear Back (showy). Melena: Mane. Caso Excepcional Lobo Muerto en Polonia Alcanza Peso Límite 90 kg: An exceptional case: Dead Wolf in Poland reaches a maximum weight of 65 kg. Silla de Montar: Saddle. Diseño Facial: Facial Profile. Diseño del "Signatus": Outline of the ´Signatus´. Vientre Pálido: Pale Belly. Cola, Mancha Central Negra: Tail, central black spot. Cola, punta negra: Tail, black tip. Punta Cola Hasta el Corvejón: Tail tip reaching the hock. Ecological Distribution: Nowadays, finding a wolf in nature turns out to be specially difficult. The searcher managing to locate it can notch a true success. The scarce samples still living in the Iberian Peninsula remain limited to the most barren and least travelled areas of the northwest quadrant. At present, he can be greatly considered to be a mountain inhabitant, but this isn´t its natural biotope at all. Some decades ago, wolf was widespread all over the Iberian Peninsula, occupying every classic bioma of our geographic space: salt marshes, oak and cork oak trees woods, Mediterranean wood, even half-deserted like the Southeast ones, cerealistic steppes, caducifoious woods, conifer woods and high mountain. In all of its habitats wolf has featured an impressive ability to move from one place to another, with operating ranges of up to 100 km per day; such an autonomy and his relative nomadism prvides the deceptive feeling that the quantity of wolves is bigger, since the same specimen can be detected in different locations during a short elapse of time. Therefore, we must state that wolf occupies - or at least can occupy - every large bioma of our country. The graph shows the staying time in each of the various depicted biotopes. Montaña: Mountain. Bosque de Coníferas: Conifer wood. Bosque caducifolio: Caducifolious wood. Bosque Mediterráneo: Mediterranean wood. Estepa: Steppe. Ríos, Lagos y Marismas: Rivers, lakes and salt marshes. Costa: Coast. Wolf Cubs, Young Wolves and Adult Wolves: The broods are composed of a variable number of cubs - between 1 and 11-, more commonly between 4 and 7 pups. At this moment, their fur coat is shot and black and they´re called wolf cubs. The suckling period lasts between 3 and 5 weeks during which the male feeds the female by regurgitating the foods. After the weaning, the she-wolf stays by the cubs and they all are fed by the male - which is sometimes helped by the wolf pack - without moving away from the surroundings of the lair during the three long months encompassed by cubs´ growth. Wolf cub up to 5 weeks. After three months and coinciding with the first short trips of the family, the wolf cubs become young wolves when they change their pelt into another one greatly resembling the summer fur coat of their progenitors. Young Wolf from the end of lactation to late summer. Eight months after their birth, in full winter, the young wolves appear as stout as adult wolves, albeit covered in a rougher pelt in which both the facial spots and the saddle are less pronounced. Young Wolf 1st Winter. Young Wolf 2nd Summer. After their first year of life, the young wolves lose their winter fur and they appear indistinguishable from the adults, covered with the short and tight summer pelt. Summer 1st Winter Fur. On reaching their first and a half years after birth, the young wolves become adult ones. Speed and Resistance: While running, wolf is slower than a lot of its preys. As we indicate in the sketch, even seemingly clumsier animals -like the muflon- or smaller - like the fox - are able to develop a quicker run. The theoretical antilogy that a relatively slow animal manages to feed upon other being faster is solved when we learn its hunting tecniques, and above all its huge resistance in the running, enabling him its pace through hours, in such a way that they wear out any of its preys. Uninterrupted running wolf journeys of up to 200 km without any stop have been verified. Everything they lack as sprinters is made up for by its performance as indefatigable long distance runners. Lobo: Wolf Zorro: Fox Muflon: Muflon Gamo: Buck Galgo: Greyhound Liebre: Hare Venado: Stag The year of the wolf: Pelo Invierno: Winter fur. Pelo Verano: Summer fur. Clan Familiar: Familiar clan. Celo: Heat. Gestacion: Gestation. Lactancia: Lactation. Lobeznos y Lobatos: Wolf cubs and Young Wolves. Manadas: Wolf Packs. Aislados: Isolated. Aislados Grupos en Cubiles: Isolated Groups in Lairs. Semana: Week Dos Mudas: Two moltings. Peso en kg: Weight in kg. Evolucion del Peso de los Lobeznos: Evolution of wolf cubs weight. Semanas: Weeks. Denticion: De leche 28 piezas: Dentition: 28 milk teeth. Lobezno: Wolf cub. Adulto 42 piezas: Adult 42 teeth. Lobo: Adult wolf. Incisivos: Incisives Caninos: Canines Premolares: Premolars Molares: Molars. ACOUSTIC WAR BETWEEN NIGHT PREYING BIRDS AND RODENTS: EL HOMBRE Y LA TIERRA STRENGTHENS EVEN MORE ITS POSITION AS UNDISPUTED WORLD FLAGSHIP REGARDING QUALITY OF IMAGE, SOUND AND COMMENTS AMONG THE DOCUMENTARY SERIES DEVOTED TO WILDLIFE AND NATURE, EVEN CLEARLY BEATING NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTIONS Between 1974 and 1980 Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente achieved with his El Hombre y la Tierra series qualitative levels of image, sound and depth of content unknown till then in the scope of documentary films on fauna and nature, using for it professional 35 mm movie cameras and high end reel to reel Nagra III NP and Nagra 4.2 hi-fi monophonic tape recorders, it all being complemented by his own commentaries full of huge knowledge and passion, which brought about the astonishment and admiration of Keenant Smart (Director of the Nature Unit of National Geographic), because until then the best documentary films on animals were made with 16 mm - or very few times in Super 16 mm- Bolex cameras and Kern Switar primes or Angenieux zooms. The arrival of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente and the first chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra shot in 1974 in the Venezuelan jungle with heavy 35 mm professional cinematographic cameras made a sensation within the international naturalistic and biological domain, which would be subsequently backed up by further chapters on Iberian Fauna with such species as the wolf, the golden eagle, Spanish Imperial Eagle, the lynx, the genet, etc. Nevertheless, there are in my viewpoint three chapters in which El Hombre y la Tierra reaches even more extraordinary heights which will be exceedingly difficult to beat in future: the ones devoted to the Iberian night preying birds (eagle owls, long-eared owls, tawny owls, screech owls, barn owls and little owls) in their acoustic war against the rodents in the middle of the darkness. With his typical mastery exhibiting his documentary films as stories, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente shows us with images and sounds how in full night darkness the night preying birds located on their lookouts try to spot through their ears the rodents to hunt them, while these strive after feeding themselves making the fewest possible movements and noise to avoid to be detected. Besides, these chapters make up a prodigy of cinematographic technology and sound engineering, beginning with the installation of minute short wave radio transmitters who are put inside one of the long tail feathers of different species of night preying birds chosen beforehand, whose location is monitorized by Carlos Sanz (then a student of Biological Sciencies and currently a prestigious naturalist) with a short wave receptor Falconer 4 enabling the tracking of the night preying birds up to a distance of 8 kilometers. Later on, a 3 meter hide is built, and Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, a camera (often Teodoro Roa) and the sound expert Manuel Peña spend a lot of whole nights inside it. We are watching fascinating moments which were an international turning point in these kind of documentary films. Teodoro Roa´s experience and talent with the 35 mm Arri camera and its cinematographic lenses, above all at full aperture, are really impresive, playing with the depth of field planes and a lot of different framings as a full-fledged master, making use of a very wide range of cinematographic techniques under fairly dim light conditions and attaining splendid results remarkably enhancing the stately beauty of the Iberian night preying birds that are consecutively appearing very concentrated and listening on the screen and subsequently hunting their preys in the midst of night darkness. The optical quality of the lenses at full aperture is incontestable. They´re extensively using the best cinematographic lenses available in the world then at their widest f stops, and it is very apparent in the amazing image quality, since however good a Full HD plasma, LCD or LED screen between 32 and 50 inches may be, if the quality of the lenses with which the image is taken don´t make the grade, is virtually unfeasible to get professional quality images. Likewise, the frequent use made of very sophisticated slow motion cinematographic techniques by the 35 mm movie camera operators of El Hombre y la Tierra render these eerie images even more dramatic and unique. On his turn, Manuel Peña makes a brilliant work, recording all the sounds with his professional reel to reel Nagra III NP hi-fi monophonic tape recorder with Neopilot sync to camera, having previously installed some microphones in different areas of the wood where the action is taking place. The usual background noise begotten by the combination of microphone and preamp (in the latter brought about both by its inherent noise and the noise signal called thermic noise) and disturbing the recording of low level sounds, have been reduced to negligible levels, praiseworthily holding sway over the phons and the ASA "A" area of frequency response. You can watch perfectly how the modulometer of the Nagra III NP tape recorder reaches intermediate intensity decibelic peaks when the rodents are eating and top levels when the night preying birds make noise on catching them with their claws, while the rodents cry. The quality of the recorded sound is top-notch. The sound engineers of Divisa Ediciones have taken maximum advantage of the original reduction up to practically insignificant levels of modulation noise, medium range distortions and tape background noise attained in the analog 1/4 inch (6.35 mm) reels by Manuel Peña with the Nagra III NP at a speed of 19,05 cm/sec during the original sound take (the most important key factor) more than thirty years ago, which proves once more than the labor of a professional sound technician and his working methods are fundamental to record an excellent live sound, along with the possibility of using microphones ( different to the ones in the camera) and high end filming and recording equipments (Nagra and Arri respectively) during the second half of seventies, perfectly synchronized by the Neopilot system. The spectator feels the live thrill, due to the flawless location of the sound image, in a Hi-Fi monophonic sound clearly going beyond the PCM stereo in terms of quality, thanks to the superb original sound takes made more than thirty years ago and to the professional digitization of the analog 1/4´(6.35 mm) tapes made by Divisa Ediciones, and boasts a sound quality slightly over many modern digital recordings of compact discs carried out with HDCD code/filter and on the threshold of the qualitative level obtained by Super Audio CD format through digital DSD coding. It´s an extraordinary Hi-Fi sound quality, comparable to the original Hi-Fi monophonic quality of sound of the different 16 minutes 1/4 ´ (6.35 mm) tapes recorded by expert British sound engineers (belonging to the shooting film) with each of the two professional Nagra III NP reel to reel recorders connected wireless to two cinematographic cameras (Arri 16 BL with Angenieux 12-120 mm f/2.2 with 400´ magazines) through Neopilot crystal synchronizing system and used during the early stages of the Get Back Sessions rehearsals in the Twickenham Studios at St Margarets, London, on January 3, 1969, which were edited thirty three years later by Yellow Dog Records in 2002 with the title The Beatles Stereo A-Cam B-Cam at Twickenham. January 3th 1969, availing themselves of the fact that during that specific day, both Nagra III NP recorders worked simultaneously, each one with its own microphones, so it was possible more than three decades later to synchronize the sounds from the analog tapes A and B recorded on that January 3, 1969 by each one of the Nagra professional magnetophones and get a remarkable binaural stereo effect, something which wasn´t possible with the rest of Nagra tapes of the Twickenham Get Back Sessions, because from January 4, 1969 till January 31 of that month (the date in which the recordings finished) the cinematographic cameras used the same audio feed. In these chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra devoted to the acoustic war between night preying birds and rodents. he quality/noise sound ratio, the frequency response waveform and the sound planes stratification are excellent. There´s a complete immersion of the listener into the existing ambient during the moments of the real live sound take, a kind of return to future in which personal experiences and emotions are shared with Félix and his collaborators, in the same way that the aforementioned Nagra recordings of the Beatles at Twickenham Studios make you believe that you are there, above all if you listen to them through headphones. This is Stefan Kudelski ADN sound. The stress reaches a lot of peak levels while the spectator watches and listens to the development of this acoustic war between night preying birds and rodents, and at the same time you can see how Félix, Manuel Peña and a camera operator are standstill inside the hide during complete nights, enduring very low temperatures, a climax being brought about with every attack of eagle owls, long-eared owls, screech owls, tawny owls, barn owls, little owls and hawk owls on mice, dormice, etc. Owing to the excellent sound amplification of the live take with microphones located in the wood and connected to the Nagra III NP Hi-Fi, we can listen to the sounds made by the rodents while they are eating, the flight of the night prey birds when they change their watchtowers to optimize the spotting of their preys, the lightning diving attacks over the rodents that are hunted, the moment in which the claws of each night preying bird pierce their victims´ bodies and how these ones cry during their last seconds of life. Once more, the technically exceptional original live sound take (on which everything depends to a great extent) has managed to get a fabulous precision in the faithful capturing of the sound atmosphere of the moment, perfectly dimensioned, with a very tangible sound stage, plenty of informative density and accuracy in the display of the different planes in which there are sounds, giving rise to great realism and an outstanding reduction of the auditive fatigue, since besides, the wholly metallic construction of the Nagra III NP guarantees both an impeccable structural integrity and an immunity with regard to all kinds of external vibrations. They are practically imperceptible sounds at the height of night darkness, but the ability of the Nagra III NP to record the decibelic low intensity acoustic signals with amazing definition turns out to be of invaluable help for the successful differentiation of the most various sounds sent forth by the diverse species of night preying birds and rodents, without forgetting the very pure and pronounced silences during the impasse moments fostering even more the sound personality of the professional monophonic take in High Fidelity. Later on, during the filming of El Hombre y la Tierra chapters shot in Canada (Canadian Fauna), Manolo Peña made in July of 1979 another exceptional work recording all kind of ambient sounds, animal sounds and machine sounds (piston engined hydroplanes, helicopters, jet engine driven boats, etc) in wonderful landscapes of the Nahanny National Park, Kluani National Park, Yukón Territory, Vancouver Island coast, etc, being one of the pioneers in the use of large windshield for external mike connected to his Nagra 4.2, significantly reducing the noise brought about by powerful winds frequent in these areas. Everything suggests that Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente perfectly knew that future digital technologies would enable this huge audiovisual quantum leap in quality with which both the current generation and the next ones will be able to watch his immense bequest on large Plasma, LCD and LED screens approaching to a theatre quality in image and sound alike. This man was truly extraordinary, irrepeteable and unforgettable. A multidisciplinar visionary that went more than three decades beyond his time and a deep humanist, very exacting in the work with his collaborators but mainly with himself, frequently at the end of his tether. It must be underlined that after Félix´s demise, in both the professional cinematographic domain and the audio high end scope, throughout eighties were used professional reel to reel Hi-Fi tape recorders featuring sound quality and specifications superior to the Nagra III, as the Nagra IV-S with Neopilot synchronization, the Nagra IV NQS-TC with timecode and separate heads for recording and playback (both of them with speed choices of 38, 19 and 9.5 cm/seg) and in a lesser percentage the fabulous Stellavox designed by Georges Quellet (sporting even further electronical miniaturization and mechanic accuracy) as the SP-8 and the SU-8, the sound quality, reliability and resistance to the toughest professional use of the Nagra III (an icon design by Stefan Kudelski which revolutionized the professional recordings of the Hollywood cinematographic industry since the beginning of sixties) was still so remarkable that a lot of scientists and naturalists went on using it in their experiments and field tests. To mention only an example, in 1986 the expert American ornithologist Douglas A. Nelson from the Research Center of Rockefeller University in Millbrook, New York, used a Nagra III at a speed of 19 cm/seg and coupled to Sennheiser MKH 816 microphone to record sounds emitted by field sparrows in 98 different areas, with the sound being subsequently transferred to a computer at a 20.8 kHz sampling frequency for its analysis by means of a special software program and further study, which enabled him to state that field sparrows (Pusilla del Spizella) integrate information of at least five different traits in the recognition of the song typical in its species, but give more importance to information from a constant feature and to the song frequency than to the information stemming from variant features. This way, it´s apparent that regarding sound quality, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente used the best of the best available in the world until his death in 1980, and being aware about the huge significance of the original sound take, he looked for great sound technicians like Manolo Peña and Antonio Torreblanca to optimize the final results as much as possible, which he utterly attained, for together with an exceptional image quality, the El Hombre y la Tierra DVD discs enable to relish an audiophile Hi-Fi experience in digital monophonic sound or an excellent and very spectacular Dolby 5.1, it all thanks to the good work made by Divisa Ediciones sound engineers, almost thirty years after the chapters were made. CANADA: THE ICING ON THE CAKE OF AN EXCEPTIONAL CAREER Invited by the Government of Canada and with the support of the Service of Nature Protection of canada, the Department of Fishing and Environment of Canada, the Canadian Embassy in Madrid and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa, Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente filmed between 1979 and 1980 the 14 last chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra series in Canadá, being deeply impressed and infatuated by both the landscapes and the rich wildlife of this great country, which he masterfully depicted with amazing shootings among which highlight: a) Nahanni National Park.- Coming by aircraft from Whitehorse (capital of the Yukon Territory) El Hombre y la Tierra team lands on a little airport of Nahanni National Park and undertakes the ascension of the South Nahanni river (one of the most spectacular wild rivers of North America, being 540 km long and flowing into the Liard River, which on its turns feeds the McEnzie river that empties into the Glacial Arctic Ocean), with the aim of reaching the impressive Virginia Falls (96 metres, twice the height of Niagara ones ), travelling 250 km in three stages from a established point on board of some very fast stainless steel boats driving them 80 km/h upstream, thanks to their Berkeley jet engines able to attain such a speed against the current. It´s part of the very beautiful north section of the Canadian taiga, an area which hasn´t mostly been trodden by man, because the 476,560 hectares Nahanni National Park (declared World Heritage Site in 1978, a year before Félix´s arrival) is located on the virgin zone of Canada Northwest Territories and can only be explored by aircraft or fluvial vessels, since there isn´t any terrestial route or road linking it with Fort Simpson. It´s an area sporting a wide orographic variety: mountain ranges, rolling hills, high plateaus, incised valleys, canyons between 460 and 1200 m deep and an intricate labyrinth of caves inside its mountain ranges. The temperatures oscillate between extremes of 0º C and 27º C in July and August and -50º C during the winter months. We see a vegetation with profusion of firs and birches, along with an entanglement of rivers and meanders surrounding Nahanni river Basin, together with a rich fauna -made up by more than 40 species of mammals and more than 180 species of birds- of golden eagles, mooses feeding on subaquatic plants (one of them is photographed by Félix), beavers, trumpeter swans, giant uapiti elks, etc, without forgetting the species living in its boreal wood like caribous, grizzly bears, wolves, lynx, etc, and the ones inhabiting on its high summits like Dall´s sheep, Rocky mountain goats, etc. On the other hand, the waters of Nahanni river contain 16 different species of fish. The shooting conditions are rather tough, for the boats advance at full speed and Félix, Teodoro Roa and Alberto Mariano fight at the end of their tether to film all the landscapes and animals progressively appearing around both sides of the boats during their voyage through Nahanni river, so looking for maximum feasible stability, install a huge tripod on the deck of one of the boats with a 35 mm Arri camera on it, while they also film handheld with a second Arri 35 mm camera from another of the boats. The naturalists Carlos Llandres and Patrick Lowsey, who are also part of the El Hombre y la Tierra team, make likewise a praiseworthy labour helping in everything they can. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente is enraptured watching so much beauty, and explains everything we see with a tremendously lavish description of details and data of all kind. This man is a living computer, with a prodigious memory and very deep knowledge on Zoology, Biology and Animal Ethology. He lives every second with top passion and intensity, knowing as nobody how to transmit it to the audience. Félix is exceedingly fascinated by Canada. Suddenly, after some days of upstream navigation, they arrived at the very dangerous area of quick waters of Nahanni rivers, in the canyons, a very risky zone because of the presence of rapids with rocky outcroppings, where the old pioneers were bound to tow the canoes from the bank. The Nahanni, a wild river featuring a remarkable geological history, carved four deep canyons on the rock, keeping its excentric course. But Félix is with very experienced Canadian jet engined boat pilots, whose great knowledge of Nahanni river enables them to drive the vessels without touching either the rocky outcrops or the rolling stones shoals. Finally, after a three days voyage through Nahanni river against the current, they arrive at Virginia Falls, whose deafening noise fills everything. The sight is gorgeous. Teodoro Roa and Alberto Mariano enchant us with images shot from every direction, audiovisually revealing the Nature strength in one of its maximum expressions. The power and energy of the immense water torrent of Virginia Falls are awesome, in the same way as the mist impregnating a significant percentage of the zone. The Maestro is enthralled by emotion, joyful, astounded. Once and again, the boats move very near the massive water fall, while Teodoro and Mariano film this wonder of nature and treasure of Canada. Suddenly, the climax arrives when Teodoro Roa begins masterfully moving the zoom, making unforgettable close-ups of the Virginia Falls waters dropping en masse while framed by the mist (in the middle of the clangour recorded by the sound technician Manuel Peña with his Hi-Fi monophonic Nagra 4.2), and then there´s a merging of the Virginia Falls waters with the turbulent surface of Nahanni river waters, the chapter ending with further close-ups of the waters of Virginia Falls while a very nice music is heard as a background music. b) Grotte Valerie: Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente solves the mystery of the Frozen Cemetery of 116 skeletons of Dall sheep.- In 1979, during the stay of El Hombre y la Tierra team in the Nahanni National Park, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente undertook one of the most risky and difficult enterprises of his life: the thorough inward exploration of the Grotte Valerie, a huge cave located inside the north wall of the First Canyon of Nahanni river, with a very arduous access, whose entrance is on a steep 300 hundred meters cliff and where the skeletons of 116 Dall sheep had been found during the previous years, all of them having died because of unknown reasons inside the cave, and featuring an antiquity of 2,500 years. Both the Grotte Valerie and its Great Room where were the 116 skeletons of Dall sheep had been discovered in 1972 by Jean Poirel, a remarkable Canadian explorer and parachustist, born in France and resident in Montreal, who had found 250 caves in Nahanni National Park during four expeditions made in 1964, 1970, 1972 and 1974, the most important one being Grotte Valerie, to which he gave his daughter´s name, and he also made a lot of significant cartographic maps, measuring of the length of a lot of caverns by means of highly accurate devices and topographic writing downs which paved the way for the strengthening of Nahanni National Park, whose main driving force was the Canadian Premier Pierre Trudeau. But the enigma surrounding the death of the 116 Dall sheep 2,500 years before went on unresolved, for the very low temperatures in Winter, Autumn and a good percentage of Spring, only enabled the secure access to the cave during the months of July and August, though always with a temperature inside the cave of -15º C resulting in quick hypothermias. Besides, its floor was very slippery, with a constant jeopardy of falls and accidents. The Dall sheep skeletons had been quickly marked and dated through the carbon 14 technique, but it hadn´t been possible an in depth investigation inside the Grotte Valerie, because of the hypothermias and the many logistic difficulties of conveying to the cave the very heavy lighting equipment necessary to properly illuminate it. Needless to say that the very dangerous working and staying conditions inside the cavern, wholly in darkness, with alternations of tunnels and very narrow passages featuring a height between 1 and 1,5 meters, made virtually impossible the transport of very big 35 mm movie cameras and their lenses, and above all of powerful and very heavy lighting appliances. There had been all kind of hypothesis in Canada on which had been the real cause of the death of so many Dall sheep, an authentic shambles in which 116 of them had died. They were all surmises and the riddle remained unexplained. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente had already gleaned information about Grotte Valerie, having had access to all the reports made on Grotte Valerie by both Jean Poirel and Canadian scientists, including the perfect numbering and dating of each one of the 116 Dall sheep skeletons, together with a black and white photographic dossier, and in June of 1979, once on Nahanni National Park with the El Hombre y la Tierra Team, and after having reconnoitering 250 km of the South Nahanni river on board of fast boats going upstream until reaching Virginia Falls, he decided to tackle the scientific research of Grotte Valerie and try to find an answer to a puzzle whose keys had been indecipherable for more than ten years. Therefore, El Hombre y la Tierra team got ready to fulfill a feat: the conveyance of almost a ton of lighting equipment (ten 800 watts quartzs, clamps, tripods, 100 square meters of cable, 2 autonomous quartzs of 650 watts, three batteries for the 650 watts quartzs, 4 front lamps, three chargers, 15 batteries of 2 volts and 60 amperes, a very comprehensive medical kit, etc) which coming from Vancouver on a plane, had arrived at Fort Simpson, and from there it had been transported in three flights towards El Hombre y la Tierra base camp in three flights by a little piston engined hydroplane, while the transfer of all the supplies for the mounting of the base camp and the fuel for the helicopter was implemented for three jet driven fluvial vessels. Once in the base camp, the approximately 1,000 kilos of lighting equipment had to be transported by helicopter towards the surroundings of the Valeria Cave, since it was impossible the landing of the aircraft on the steep 300 meters cliff on the river South Nahanni in which the entrance to the cavern is placed, so all the stuff had to be very accurately and carefully lowered in some trips by the helicopter with a big net linked to the aircraft by means of a cable. This risky adventure begins with the moving of the 1,000 kg of illumination equipment with some small piston engined planes and fluvial boats up to a camp made by El Hombre y la Tierra team on an area of nahanni National Park located at approximately 10 minutes by helicopter from the cliff in which the Valeria Cave is. Ten trips of the helicopter from the base camp to the cavern were needed to transport all the electric and cinematographic elements required for the filming, since Félix and his camera operators knew that to try to solve the enigma it was necessary to light everything with the maximum power feasible and also to shoot and document both the different areas of the cave and every Dall sheep skeleton, perfectly preserved in the Great Chamber of the Valeria Cave thanks to the very low steady temperatures that it has had for thousand years, with a high percentage of its galleries being frozen. The audience is given a clear idea of the difficulties and risks of this operation by the watching of the helicopter flying near the giant cliffs. Due to the rough orography of the ground, the aircraft can´t drop the members of El Hombre y la Tierra team on the entrance of the cave, so they have to reach it through a trail, and once there, the helicopter will unload all the equipment in a total of ten trips. The goings and comings of the helicopter are filmed. Bruce, its experienced Canadian pilot, with outstanding precision, forces his way between the many firs by the Valeria Cave entrance, without touching them, preventing the hanging net net with all the equipment fastened to the chopper with a cable from getting caught on the branches of any of them, and softly takes off all the equipment on a little shelf opening beside the mouth of Grotte Valerie. Highly showy utterly shots made by Alberto Mariano from bottom to top in which we can see the helicopter and the big net linked to the helicopter through a cable, clearly show the risks taken by Bruce, the aircraft pilot, whose trips from the main camp to the mouth of the Valeria Cave have a duration between 10 and 15 minutes. We often see the helicopter blades passing very near the rock walls of the imposing cliff. But the most strenuous thing is still to come: the conveyance of all that equipment (approximately weighing one ton) along 800 meters of the cave (whose total length is almost 2 km) until reaching the Great Chamber of Grotte Valerie, in which the frozen skeletons of 116 Dall sheep are. Everything is checked, specially the 15 large truck batteries (each one featuring a 30 kg weight) that have to make possible the lighting of the cave, whose very low internal temperatures considerably dwindle the duration of any artificial luminous source. All the members of El Hombre y la Tierra team are aware about the dangers of going into the cavern, because all the equipment has to be manually carried taking it on the shoulders with rucksaks under very hard conditions , often through very narrow passages, with a huge cold, on slippery terrain and the hypothermia constantly on the lurk. There´s also the risk that a member of the team could miss or be isolated because of any reason inside the cave, so they decide to mount three camps between its mouth and the Great Room of the Grotte Valerie. Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente´s face reveals a huge anxiety. It´s perhaps the most difficult adventure in his whole lifetime and he strives after reducing as much as he can the risks for his collaborators. Félix is the first advancing, helped by some of his teammates, who tie down one of the heavy 30 kg truck batteries to the framework of his rucksack, and taking it on his back, he starts walking slowly through the Valeria Cave. Images show vividly the context of extreme roughness of this hauling for a courageous man who in spite of being 51 years old still has huge stamina and boundless perseverance. His example stirs the rest of the team members, who take more truck batteries and other different equipment, advancing slowly behind Félix. Each meter seems an eternity. Most times they must advance very strenuously. After a few minutes, many of them are almost exhausted. Cold has begun making an effect on them, but albeit more and more slowly, they continue to advance moving forward, keeping themselves in contact, as near as possible one another, lighting the areas just in front of them both with individual lanterns attached to their helmets and powerful portable reflectors they grab in one hand. They know that they´re bound to make things as soon as possible, because if they run out of electrical energy to illuminate the Great Room of the Valeria Cave, they won´t be able to film the skeletons of the 116 Dall sheep and its surroundings to try to solve the mystery of their deaths. After a lot of suffering and advancing through the same tunnels and narrow passages crossed by the Dall sheep 2,500 years ago, they mane to reach the Great Room of the Grotte Valerie and the great moment arrives when Alberto Mariano switches on all the big batteries utterly illuminating the place. All of a sudden, they realize that their efforts and risks have been worth: before their eyes appears the skeleton of a young Dall sheep male half buried into the ice and perfectly preserved thanks to the very low temperatures.The floor, completely frozen, has it trapped. The ceiling of this Great Room is a big ice filigree, and Teodoro Roa delights in filming it with his Arri 35 mm movie camera. It´s fossile ice, sporting a blue tonality, which has probably been unchanged for the last 100,000 or 200,000 years. The emotion is unutterable. There are panoramic shots of the place, along with close-ups of specific areas. At a few meters distance from the hall is the accumulation of skeletons, in whose beginning are young males and females, while the adults are mainly in the bottom. They light and film every skeleton in detail. Highly dramatic moments are being lived. This is a flull-fledged Frozen Cemetery of Dall Sheep. Dall sheep usually get into the labyrinths of caves of Nahanni National Park, above all in Winter, looking for warmer temperatures than outside and also to lick the mineral salts contained by the walls of these caverns, going out of them when the circumstances are favourable. Then, What could happen? Which was what killed such a great quantity of these animals? Why the vast majority of them died so close one another in the Great Room of the cave? Which made that not even one of them could escape after going into the Grotte Valerie? We see a large male with its almost intact horns, together with many other skeletons and a vast quantity very well preserved remains of Dall sheep who died in the most various positions and sparsed throughout this big natural crypt. The stress becomes unbearable. The faces of the members of Félix team clearly reveal the shock brought about by everything they´re watching and for which they are not able to find an explanation. But a few seconds later, the conundrum denoument comes to an end: the camera is shooting Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, who is examining the area of the Frozen Cemetery and its surroundings, when unexpectedly his facial expression changes utterly and becomes visibly affected by something. Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, with his typical intuition, experience and ability for the reading of natural grounds, has just solved the mystery of the death of the Grotte Valerie Dall sheep, the terrible reality of what happened there, which he begins to explain in detail. All of a sudeen, there´s an eerie close-up of a female of Dall sheep with its baby, died in a very convulsed and agonizing posture. The mother fought until the last moments, trying to escape and save its baby´s life. This is undoubtedly one of the most dramatic moments in the history of El Hombre y la Tierra series. A FORCE OF THE NATURE A very young Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente the day he beat the 400 m record during the Universitarian Championships held in Valladolid in 1946, when he was 18 years old. We can realize his amazing natural physical strength, his huge width of shoulders and his very powerful muscles. Since his childhood, Dr Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente spent a lot of hours in the countryside, always trying to watch his beloved animals from the shortest feasible distances, and was used to making a lot of kilometers walking or running. It all turned him through years into a formidable athlete featuring great strength and power, complemented by high doses of stamina, resistance to the fatigue and incredible perseverence in everything he did, to such an extent that vast majority of times his collaborators found very difficult to follow his working pace. Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente seemed to never get tired and always took the biggest risks when the team had to deal with dangerous species, as was apparent during the shooting of the Venezuelan chapters of "El Hombre y La Tierra" in which he was the man grabbing the neck of every giant anaconda. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in Kenya speaking with two other naturalists. The tremendous physical strength of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente is highly visible in this image if we compare for example the width of his arms and legs with the other two men. AN IMPERISHABLE REMEMBRANCE IMPORTANT INSTITUTIONS AND PEOPLE PRESERVING FÉLIX RODRÍGUEZ DE LA FUENTE´S LEGACY - Félix Rodríguez de La Fuente Foundation.- Created in 2004 by the family of the world class naturalist having as an aim to safeguard, projecting and fostering his life, works and legacy, updating it through new projects encouraging the harmony between Man and Earth. It is a private and independent foundation, whose President is Marcelle Genevieve Parmentier. - Marcelle Genevieve Parmentier.- Widow of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente and President of his Foundation. A woman who deserves the greatest accolades, because she suffered very much with the untimely passing away of his husband, and has endured the elapse of time since 1980 with praiseworthy discretion and elegance, waiting for many years until finding the best moment for the inception of the Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente Foundation. She was the great support of the Maestro until his death, and helped him raise a lot of wolf cubs and birds of prey, specially in his starting years as a naturalist after giving up his work as an odontologist. - Odile Rodríguez de la Fuente.- General Manager of the Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente Foundation and Vicepresident of it. One of the three daughters of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente. She features a great physical resemblance with his father, also sharing his passion on speaking about nature and wildlife. A key figure in the preservation of Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente´s remembrance and work, along with the spreading of his scientific, social and environmental bequest. She is a University of Los Angeles (California) Bachellor in Biological Sciencies and Cinema and Television Production, having also specialized on Audiovisual Media in the National Geographic Department in Washington, D.C, where she was working for four years and a half. A great lover of agriculture and the concept of the earth as a living entity. - Alvaro Will.- He´s presently the General Manager of the Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente Foundation. He´s a lawyer specialized in International Relations and Law, Information Technologies and Cooperation to Development, also sporting know-how in TIC and Third Sector. Antón García Abril.- Great composer and creator of the mythical music of El Hombre y La Tierra series, maybe the most impressive and awesome soundtrack ever made in the world for a documentary film on wildlife and nature. A key figure in the life of Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente, both were great friends and went often to the Madrid de Los Austrias area to have lunch. Antón García Abril was present the day of the first projection of the mythical scene of one of the chapters of El Hombre y La Tierra series in which a royal eagle captures a kid on a high cliff and takes it flying a lot of hundreds of meters up to its nest. He saw cry Dr Félix Rodriguez de la Fuente on watching it projected on screen with the original 35 mm Kodak chemical emulsion bobbin in a special room with cinematographic king size screen. Today, thirty years after the demise of the unforgettable Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, Antón García Abril´s legendary musical score of El Hombre y La Tierra goes on making people feeling under a spell and stopping everything they are making to watch each chapter of this memorable World Heritage TV series (above all in DVD or upscaled Blu-ray, an absolutely dazzling audiovisual experience, which we can confirm) shot in 35 mm with David O´Selznick quality parameters). This is in my viewpoint a musical feat at the reach of very few. - Miguel Molina.- Camera operator belonging to the team of El Hombre y la Tierra and a survivor of the aerial accident of Alaska on March 14, 1980 in which the pilot Warren Dawson, Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, the camera operator Teodoro Roa (then one of the best specialists in the world on filming of wild animals) and the camera operator assistant Alberto Mariano Huéscar died instantly. Miguel Molina and Dr. Rodríguez de la Fuente had arrived at Alaska on March 11, 1980, while Teodoro Roa and Alberto Mariano Huéscar had been there since February 28, 2010, shooting the Iditarod Sledge Dog Race. On March 13, 1980, Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, Teodoro Roa, Alberto Mariano Huéscar, Miguel Molina and the pilots of the two El Hombre y la Tierra team aircraft had dinner together. Tony, one of the pilots, told Miguel Molina that he had a pawl of the crankshaft loosing oil, and he had had to be replacing it, so there wasn´t any of it left. The next day, March 14 1980, was Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente´s birthday, and the El Hombre y la Tierra team prepared to travel on board of two hydroplanes. In the first one, the USA pilot Warren Dawson (on front left of the cabin), Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente (who went on the right of the pilot), Teodoro Roa (behind on the left) and Alberto Mariano Huéscar (behind on the right) took off. In the second place, an Eskimo TV aircraft, also painted in orange color, took off, and thirdly, the hydroplane manned by the pilot Tony and Miguel Molina on his right took off. A few minutes later, when they went flying over the iced surface, both of them saw the first aircraft in which the pilot Warren Dawson, Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, Teodoro Roa and Alberto Mariano Huéscar went on board, falling spinning until crashing against the frozen land, after the hydroplane had lost one of their floats. During the thirty years that have elapsed since then, Miguel Molina has been in a discreet and elegant second place, though he was one of the few persons who shared with Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente his last hours of life. - Angela Minaya.- Direction Secretary of El Hombre y La Tierra. A woman featuring great working capacity, mental strength and thoroughness in everything she did. Dr Felix Rodriguez de La Fuente trusted utterly on her. She travelled with the mythical team that shot the 18 chapters of Venezuela belonging to El Hombre y la Tierra series, and was very near Felix when the huge anaconda was about to tear his head apart. She was very impressed on watching live the Amazonic jungle remote tribes, and still remembers the tremendous working pace of Felix, and his amazing constant scheming of ideas. Angela Minaya was a key figure in the huge international success of El Hombre y La Tierra series all over the world (it was broadcast in 30 countries and even reached number one audience of documentary nature and fauna programmes in USA) and has remained in a very discreet role through the thirty years elapsed since the death of the Maestro. She also implemented a significant labor throughout the many months spent by El Hombre y la Tierra team in the area of Pelegrina, Guadalajara (raising a group of wolf cubs which had been found inside a wolf lair, until they became adults) on a camp located in the glen of the River Dulce, using a Olivetti Lettera 32 typewriter to type everything Dr. Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente told her, as well as jotting down a lot of data of all kind. Probably a number of important things wouldn´t have been feasible, specially in the moments when people were on the brink of exhaustion because of Felix´s boundless energy and constant toil, without Angela Minaya, who endured the pressure and transmitted strength to the rest of members of the team. - Luis Miguel Domínguez Mencía.- Prestigious naturalist and director of documentary films, who was one of the direct collaborators of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente during seventies. He´s widely known for having made a lot of TV series on nature and animals, though he has also implemented a significant work in radio, conducting programs like Al Cabo de La Calle, El Ciempies, or Todos Somos Naturaleza. Likewise, he takes part currently in some broadcasts of the Spanish TV Cuatro Channel Fourth Millennium directed by Iker Jiménez. His last production is Treasure from the South, a four chapter documentary series on the fauna and flora of Andalusia and his Mediterranean climate. He has also been a member of the directive board of entities like Adena/WWF, Greenpeace, Survival International and WATU, having excelled as a great advocate of animals in dange of extinctions like the Iberian wolf. He is a great admirer of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente and a man who feels himself utterly identified with Félix´s philosophy of life and his naturalist and conservationist message. Besides, he has won a lot of important prices related to nature, research and science:National Prize of Arts and Popular Traditions (1987); Prize to the best scientific TV series (1994); Prize Jules Verne to the Best Divulgative Series (1994); Honour Accesit of the Prince of Asturias Prize for Young Researchers (1978 and 1983); Prize of the Federation of Friends of the Earth (1988), Prize Healthy Life (2003), etc. His main written books are: Guide of the Street Fauna; Walking through Lower Manzanares River; Our Land, Our Life; Do you want to be a naturalist?And within his TV series we must underline: Vietnam, Life After Death; Amazonia, Last Call; Natural Spaces; Live the Way; Discover Your Gulches; Treasures From The South; Going to the Countryside without lunch; The naturalist at home; The Show of the Records; The Sight of Anselmo; The Friend Bull: Naturalists, etc. He was also the creator in 2001of the Exotarium, the only center existing in Spain devoted to the gathering, lodging and care of exotic animals, which held around 500 different animals and existed until 2009. Juan Carlos del Olmo.- Prestigious naturalist and currently General Secretary of WWF Spain, a position he holds since 1996. He is another great admirer of Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente, who exerted a huge influence in his life, in the same way as happens with all of his enthusiasts. He´s a skilful ringer of birds and has collaborated since his youth with a lot of conservationist organizations,. having also made a number of documentary films for TVE, and is one of the flagships of the Climate Coalition of thirty organizations belonging to various scopes asking for a basic agreement independently on the political parties in power in order to build a common fighting way against the global heating menacing our planet. He is likewise a world class expert on the effect of the deforestation for the presently uncontrolled cultivation of soybean, stating that if we don´t begin outlining mechanisms to stop that bias, establishing criteria to decide the areas where soybean can be grown or not, there will be a moment in which not even a tree will exist either in Amazonia, the Chaco or in the rest of South America, without forgetting his concern about the firstly promising biocarburants which have currently become a nightmare, because top priority must be to guarantee the sustainable origin of raw materials. - Benigno Varillas.- Writer by trade and author of the excellent authorized biography of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, a colossal 761 pages book encompassing tons of very interesting data and details of all kind related to the life of the great Spanish naturalist and maker of documentary films on animals. A lot of years of hard research and love for Félix´s legacy have been necessary for the launching of this indispensable work. Throughout almost thirty years elapsed since Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente´s death in 1980, Genevieve Parmentier waited patietnly and wisely until the circumstances allowed the inception of the Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente Foundation, having also kept with great foresight more than 2,000 original documents and letters written by Félix, together with 400 recordings made by him with his voice and broadcast by Radio Nacional de España during the second half of sixties and many tapes of lectures, press conferences and interviews, an huge legacy greatly unknown by the public and whose access was granted to Benigno Varillas by Odile Rodríguez de la Fuente, Félix Daughter and a key figure as to the spreading and knowledge of the thought and work of the world famous great Spanish naturalist and conservationist. The book Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente: His Life, A Message for the Future, launched into market in March 2010 and which has unveiled plenty of unknown till now information and data, has settled a before and an after in the knowledge on his figure, life philosophy, future projects, revolutionary environmental ideas, immense scientific and cultural equipment, and even the pioneering vision of internet and the global society of knowledge together with a highly extensive concept of the cosmos and how to focus the future of human being as a species, all of which was in the mind of this extraordinary man who was Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente. He also founded the environmental journalism section of El País newspaper, in which he worked between 1973 and 1978. Founder and Director of Quercus ( the senior magazine in Spain devoted to the observation, defense and study of Nature) between 1981 and 2001. He edited the Memoirs of José Antonio Valverde (an eminent biologist and naturalist who was one of the inspiration sources and a personal friend of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente) between 2003 and 2006. Columnist of the Sunday supplement of El Mundo newspaper in 1995. Founder of the Association of Friends of Nature in 1972 and of Greenpeace Spain in 1984. National Prize of Environment in 1989. - Joaquín Araujo.- A prestigious naturalist who was a collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente during his six last years of life between 1975 and 1980. He has written more than 150 books on nature, national parks, Mediterranean woods, various species of animals, the water as key ingredient of life, the rural world and culture, the Pyrenees, ecology, Lanzarote, the valley of La Rioja, natural spaces of Extremadura, the Royal Eagle, protected species, the world of the jaguar, how to speak to the chuldren about Nature and Environment, etc. He´s the Commissar of the Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente Itinerant Exhibition which has gathered audiovisual documents on the work made by the world famous Spanish naturalist died in 1980 since October 2005. He is one of the most prominent experts on Wildlife and nature in Spain, having been bestowed a lot of prizes and awards during his professional background, among which highlight: - Healthy Life Award to the best article on biological agriculture (1983). - Special Prize of the 5th International Cinema Contest of Madrid 1984 to the best script for the programs " The Oak Grove" and " The Grazing Ground " of the Noah´s Ark TV series. - Prize of the Cinema Festival of Riga (Latvia) 1984 for the Noah´s Ark. - Prize Global 500 for divulgative labor United Nations 1991 in favour of environment, which was awarded to him by the King of Sweden on June, 5 of that year. This is a very important award, which was previously granted among others to Sir David Attenborough and Jacques Cousteau. - Environmental Award 1993 of Madrid Town Hall for the best press labour as editor of the Biosphere Supplement of Diario 16 newspaper. - Adenex Award 1995 for his work as a creator of the Vento Biological Reserve in Extremadura. - Finalist of the Espasa Calpe Essay Prize for his book " XXI: Century of the Ecology ". - National Prize of Environment of Communication Media 1997. - Prize 2000 as recognition to the best Spanish TV series of all time for El Hombre y la Tierra, whose alma mater was Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, a TV series which was finished by Joaquín Araujo after his demise, as author of the further texts and scripts. - Prize of the National Congress of Environment 2000 for his trajectory in communication media. - Nomination for the Hollywood Oscar 2003 and Goya Prizes of that year as a director of the Spanish team in the Jacques´s Perrin film " Nomads of the Wind " (2002). - Ondas Prize 2003 as a member of the program directed by Pepa Fernández. - BBVA Foundation Prize 2006 for his spreding labor regarding the values of biodiversity. He is also author of an important biography on Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, written in 1990: "The Voice of Nature: The Biography of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente". Salvat Editorial. - Miguel Pou Vázquez.- President of the ONG Félix Project and the Federation of Associations of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente. He is a zoologist and naturalist who has won a lot of awards, amongst them the World Fund Prize for the Wild Life (1983), the Second Prize of the Prince of Asturias for Young Investigators (1984), the Second Prize Holland of Phillips (1986) with an astounding research of 2,200 pages which attained the creation of the Natural Reserves of the Llobregat River Delta. He is also a Professor of Communication and writer. He has been a lot of years implementing a dream come true: the creation of the greatest database in the world on Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente. He has written three great books on Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, titled "Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente: The Man and His Life", "Félix, The Animals´ Friend" (an improved revision and enlargement of the previous one) and "The Wonderful Childhood of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente". - Carlos Sanz.- Prestigious field biologist, naturer and wildlife photographer and documentary film maker. In 1975, being a Biological Sciencies student, he began collaborating with Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in different chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra, helping Félix to raise a five wolf cubs brood whose mother had been shot in Villadiego (Burgos). During the shooting of the filming of the three mythical chapters on Night Prey Birds of El Hombre y la Tierra, Carlos Sanz, already then a great photography lover, used Yashica TL Electro-X (with Yashinon-DX primes) and Nikon F2 Photomic (with Nikkor S.C Auto 50 mm f/1.4 to make pictures of eagle owls, long-eared owls, tawny owls, screech owls, barn owls and little owls, mainly of their bright eyes, of their massive earlaps, of their sharp talons protected by the feathers, of the velvety flight feathers with its lacking fringe leading edge to soften the air friction, enabling a noiseless flight, etc. Likewise, Carlos Sanz was a collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente using the short wave Falconer RB-4 radio receptor which received the signals sent by a minute short wave emitter which had previously been placed inside the hard hollow stems of the wing feathers of each night preying bird by Félix and Aurelio Pérex for their spotting and tracking up to distances of 8 kilometers. Having a great passion for the wolf, Carlos Sanz had in Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente an admired teacher who was a key factor in his decision of becoming a biologist, and during these thirty years gone by since Félix death, he has bred some wolf packs, living with them and being integrated within their social structures as one of their members. He has photographed the most various species of the Iberian Fauna: the lynx, the gold eagle, the woodpecker, the dormouse and many more, including the genet, of which he´s a significant expert. Likewise, his work as a recognized documentalist working as an adviser, script writer, biologist and field naturalist has included El Hombre y la Tierra, Naturaleza Ibérica, La Marisma y el Llano, De Polo a Polo, Enclave Verde, Madrid: Ritmo Salvaje, La Ruta Alternativa, Las Montañas del Lobo, La España Salvaje, etc. He was director and script writer of the tv series Pacto con Lobos. Creator of the Zoological Center Carlos Sanz Wolf Productions, in which a lot of scenes on the intimate life of the Iberian wolf were shot for more than 10 years, including the birth of a litter of wolves inside a wolf lair, it all complemented with images on various social and cultural aspects and measures carried out in Spain for the preservation of this species. On October 1, 2006, Carlos Sanz reached the Spanish TV audience record of that year, with two millions of viewers during the first day of broadcast of the two chapters The Iberian Wolf and Its World and Legend and Reality of the Iberian World.Coauthor of the book Friend Wolf with Julio García Robles in 2001. He has also been author of excellent photographic reportages for the magazines Periplo, Natura, Ambienta, Biológica, etc. He owns a very comprehensive photographic archive on fauna, flora, landscapes and human aspects of Spain and America. Prize 2008 EDC Natura for the preservation of Nature. Prize 2008 Panda WWF/ADENA of Environmental Communication awarded to his itinerant Friend Wolf exhibition. After the passing away of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in 1980, Carlos Sanz has been a very important naturalist in the preservation of the Iberian Wolf species and the spreading and knowledge on this species. - Miguel Delibes de Castro.- Eminent biologist, son of the world class writer Miguel Delibes. He was the Director of the Biological Station of Doñana Park for twelve years. He is currently the world´s greatest authority on the Iberian Lynx, one of the most beautiful animals on earth. He made an astounding doctoral thesis in 1977 on the trophic ecology of the Iberian Lynx and has developed an extensive labor as a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, working in different research groups in Spain, Argentina and Mexico, being also an advisor during the 1992 Rio Environmental Summit on Biodiversity. He is President of the Spanish Society for the Preservation and Study of Mammals, having made a wide range of field works and scientific studies appearing in many books and articles written by him, and he is considered nowadays an international level biologist. He is currently the Director of Ecology of Carnivores of the Doñana Biological Station, where he studies the Iberian Lynx within the programmes for preserving this endangered species. He started his professional activity in late sixties, collaborating with Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente as a redactor of the extraordinary Encyclopedia Salvat of the Fauna. - Carlos de Prada.- Naturalist, journalist and writer. A great expert on all kind of topics related with Fauna and Nature. He´s taken part very actively in a wide range of both TV and radio programs devoted to wildlife, has also written a lot of books and countruyside guides. He has been a great admirer of Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente since his childhood, and has spoken about his figure in many debates and broadcast spaces. - Miguel Ledo.- He´s a Superior Technician in Audiovisual Productions. Another great admirer of Dr. Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente. He has worked for different televisions, but descovered his true vocation thanks to the documentary series España en la Vereda along the journalist and naturalist Carlos de Prada, also being a lover of nature, fauna, and wild flora since his childhood. He´s often spoken on the huge historical significance of Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente in a lot of lectures, programmes and debates. - Manolo Peña.- An expert sound technician and collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in a number of chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra. He made from inside a 3 meter high hide, by means of a professional reel to reel Nagra III NP monophonic tape recorder and some microphones located on various areas of a wood, the recordings of the sounds emitted by different night prey birds and rodents (the former ones standing still to spot their preys through the ear since they´re practically invisible at night, and the latter ones trying to feed themselves making the least possible noise and movement not to be detected) during the chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra dealing withthe acoustic war between eagle owls, long-eared owls, tawny owls, screech owls, barn owls, little owls, etc, and mice, dormice, rabbits, etc, in the middle of an almost utter darkness. - Antonio TorreblancA.- An expert sound technician and collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in a number of chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra, registering natural ambients with the professional reel to reel Nagra 4.2 monophonic tape recorder, obtaining top-notch quality hi-fi sound. - Manuel Barroso.- An expert sound technician and collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in a number of chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra. - Suso Garzón.- A prestigious naturalist, personal friend of Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente. - Continuadores de Félix Rodríguez de La Fuente.- A praiseworthy oraganization devoted to steadily foster the memory of The Friend of the Animals, striving after making his work and legacy known to new generations of youngsters interested in both the preservation of fauna and the welfare of nature. This remarkable group of Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente enthusiasts have been working for 24 years gathering information on the Maestro, pioneer of the Spanish Ecologism, and had managed to make a gorgeous publication: The Magazine of Felix Followers.They´re currently trying to develop the " Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente Camps " 30 km in the south of Ordesa, with the intention of imparting ecologist awareness as a meeting place of Felix continuers of both Spain and abroad alike. Among other of their aims is the creation of a museum on Dr Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente. - Josechu Lalanda.- Great collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente and his main drawer of animals. Félix´s great capacity of description enabled Josechu Lalanda make impressive sketches, something which was clearly shown when he depicted the way in which different predators hunted. - Joan Salvat.- General Director of the Editorial Group Salvat during late sixties and seventies, when Dr. Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente made the world class Encyclopedia Salvat of the World Fauna. - Rafael Onieva.- Still photograph expert. Collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in a lot of chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra, using a wide range of professional equipment: a) Canon F1 with semispot metering and manual focusing Canon FD lenses featuring Brrech Lock mount. This clever choice by Rafael Onieva was instrumental during the chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra filmed in Canadá (Nahanny National Park, Kluane National Park, etc) where very low temperatures are very frequent, because the Canon F1 didn´t need any battery (only for the light meter) and was designed to perfectly endure temperatures between 60º C and -30º C, along with humidity levels of 90º. On the other hand, the Breech Lock special mount of these pre nFD lenses was the best, because it was very similar to a bayonet and enabled to keep the objectives wholly rigid while being attached to the camera, without any loosed spaces anywhere. b) Motorized medium format Hasselblad EL/M with central shutter Carl Zeiss CF lenses. A real luxury, clearly showing the technical level of El Hombre y la Tierra team. Rafael Onieva used this camera in different chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra, both in the Iberian series for example near Pelegrina (Guadalajara) during the breeding of wolves and in the Canadian Wildlife series, for instance in the chapter titled ´ Rescue Operation ´ (DVD 25 of the Divisa Editions collection) dealing on the saving of bald eagles in Yukon River, where he appears using this 6 x 6 cm format camera with a special handle to optimize the handheld shooting and a coupled prism HC3-70. - Carlos de las Heras.- Camera assistant. Collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in a lot of chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra. - Antonio Soubrier.- Camera assistant. Collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in a lot of chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra. - Faustino Ocaña.- Camera assistant. Collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in a lot of chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra. - Pedro Sevilla.- Montage technician. Collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in a lot of chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra. - Miguel Angel Pinto Cebrián and Suso Cubeiro.- Authors of the book The Three Skies, Child Adventures of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente. - Javier Ceña.- Prestigious naturalist who was a student of Biological Sciences in mid seventies, when he met Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente and became one of his collaborators during the raising of some wolf cubs in Pelegrina (Guadalajara), where he also fed tawny owls. - Herminio Verdú.- Maker of the legendary La Aventura de la Vida radio programmes throughout seven years, between 1973 and 1980, which were broadcast on Thursdays of every week and in which The Maestro got levels of expectation never seen before in Spain, reaching all the boundaries of the Iberian Peninsula, thanks to the portability of little transistor radios, which brought about that he was followed by millions of listeners both in the great cities and villages, and even in the field by agriculturists, cattle breeders and shepherds. He was one of the most deeply affected persons by the death of the Maestro and remembers perfectly the incredible radio live speeches made by Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente without any kind of script, improvising everything with huge levels of accuracy in his words, sporting boundless knowledge and passion and reaching the pith of all the listeners, every day, without exception, something unheard-of till then and which highly probably nobody will be able to emulate in future. - José Laiz Blanco.- Naturalist and collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in a number of chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra. - Fernando L. Rodríguez.- Naturalist and collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in some chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra. - Luis Serrano.- Naturalist and collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente. - José Luis Nava.- Naturalist who has performed a significant role after Félix demise in the development and promotion of the Las Hoces del Riaza shelter, one of the most important sanctuaries of the Spanish geography from an ornithologist viewpoint, including a lot of varieties of eagles, vultures and other birds. A stubborn fighter for the salvation of the griffon vulture and hooded vulture in the Iberian Peninsula. - Carlos Llandres.- Prestigious naturalist, collaborator of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in different chapters of El Hombre y la Tierra and in the Canadian series The Adventure of Life, directed by Félix.Expert ring installer of the Spanish Society of Ornithology. Collaborator of Periplo and Aire Libre magazines. Director of the Castilla-La Mancha Environment Courses. Professor of Ornithology in the courses of Natural Environment of the Community of Madrid. Director of Guías de Doñana, S.A. Founder and Director of Projects of Madre-Tierra Productora S.L. Director, script writer, producer and maker of a lot of TV series on Iberian and African fauna for TVE, Canal Sur TV, etc. Author of the books on nature and fauna Las Rapaces(1980, WWF), La Perdiz Roja (1985, Fundación J.M.Blanc), Check List of the Birds of Doñana National Park and Border Areas of Cádiz, Huelva and Sevilla (1988, Guías de Doñana), Las Aves de Doñana (1990, Lynx Editions), Sevilla y sus Aves (1996, ZigZag Producciones S.L), etc. - Javier Castroviejo.- President of the Spanish Committee of El Hombre y La Biosfera. He was one of Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente´s collaborators in late sixties and beginnings of seventies as a member of the legendary staff of biologists, naturalists, photographers and drawers who made the historical Encyclopedia Salvat of the Fauna, weekly bought by millions and millions of people for a lot of years through fascicles which were subsequently bound. - Fidel José Fernández.- A personal friend of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, with whom he had a steady direct contact between 1972 and 1980. President of the Fund for the Fund for the Refuge of the Hoces del Riaza.. Promoter of the Refuge of Montejo. An outstanding expert in the making of censi of preying birds, storks, herons, etc, specially in Segovia, Burgos and Soria provinces, a task for which he has devoted 35 years of his life. After the death of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in 1980, Fidel José Fernández has been a very important figure in the survival of griffon vulture and hooded vulture and different preying birds in Spain, personally supervising the population development of them year after year, and being in permanent contact with mythical WWF Spain guards like Jesús Hernando Iglesias, alma mater of the Refuge of Montejo. - Pedro Retamar.- Author and biographer. He is both a journalist, photographer and specialist traveller on nature and ecotourism. A frequent collaborator of the supplements El Viajero y Tierra of El Pais newspaper and chronicler of the blog "botasvagabundas". He´s likewise author of the illustrated books: Naturaleza Monumental de España, Villas Medievales, Los Rostros del Paisaje Español and Senderos Perdidos (abridging some of his most outstanding reportages published in El Pais. He has made great pictures and reportages on the routes used by Dr Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente to make his legendary documentary films, specially the Cazorla Range in Jaen, where the Maestro filmed unforgettable sequencies of the El Hombre y La Tierra series, on the bellow of the stag on the shores of El Tranco reservoir, the heat of the mountain goat on the ranges of El Pozo and La Cabrilla, and the hunting of kids by royal eagle, which are already a part of the indelible memory of many lovers of nature. FELIX HASN´T DIED Copyright Text and Indicated Photos Jose Manuel Serrano Esparza. LHSA

The Customizer Spotlight is a recurring post where I hope to put a spotlight on great Star Wars customizing artists and the customs they have produced that I have in my personal collection. I will also provide ways for our audience to view or acquire future work that these artists may produce. _____________________________________________________________  CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #1: JACKOFTRADZE JACKKOFTRADZE is a professional Toy Designer who has been working in the industry for over 10 years designing real toy products! He has been a very committed 1/18th scale Star Wars collector since 1991! He collected when no one cared about Star Wars and has been with the line ever since. He recently created a blog and as you read his blog you get the unique perspective of a Toy Designer and a Collector. He has been an active eBay member for over 10 years and for over 4 of those years he has been creating custom figures to enhance his collection. He has a lot of cool customs and insights to share that I think you will enjoy. We only started buying customs in the summer of 2010 and the first three we ever bought were from this great artist. Here are his custom action figures that we own below. WOOKIEE JEDI by JACKOFTRADZE JACKOFTRADZE has awesome paint jobs and great concepts for his super-articulated action figures like this Wookiee Jedi. CHAGRIAN JEDI by JACKOFTRADZE Here JACKOFTRADZE demonstrated how by switching and using parts of figures you have laying around the house, you can create a brand new figure that looks better than most figures you can find at your local store. QUINLAN VOS by JACKOFTRADZE From what we've seen JACKOFTRADZE makes a lot of his figures with soft goods which is great for using his customs in vehicles. We really love JACKOFTRADZE Quinlan Vos custom action figure because of the removable soft goods. By creating the action figure in this way, it feels like we have several different figures in one. Whipid Pirate: Gra Guk by JACKOFTRADZE PART II Since our previous Customizer Spotlight on JACKOFTRADZE, we have acquired several more Star Wars custom action figures and we decided to use the slideshow format to showcase them all just so we could save on space. Check out the newest JACKOFTRADZE additions to my collection! JACKOFTRADZE CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT: UPDATE With excellent concepts, paint application with attention to detail, super articulation, and providing soft goods for use of his action figures in vehicles, JACKOFTRADZE customs are second to none and we highly recommend picking them up at his ebay auctions. He posts new customs every Sunday night so keep your eyes open. We hope you enjoyed our Showcase Spotlight of this great Star Wars customizer and we hope you start to add some of his customs to your collection too. Dad said if it wasn't for JACKOFTRADZE he doesn't think he would have started customizing himself. So I owe a lot to JACKOFTRADZE and that's why he is the first artist we're showcasing in our blog. Hope you enjoyed the post. Click the graphics below to check out JACKOFTRADZE's blog & his auctions on Ebay. _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #2: I-AM-BOBA-FETT Hello, and welcome to Customizer Spotlight #2. This time around we are happy to introduce customizer I-AM-BOBA-FETT. I-AM-BOBA-FETT has been making custom figures, ships, accessories, you name it, for almost 20 years. We have seen many variations of Jedi on ebay for sale, but so far I-AM-BOBA-FETT is the only customizer we have seen to tackle the Selkath. I-AM-BOBA-FETT sculpted the Selkath's head, left hand, and his feet then cast them in resin plastic. The clothing was completely handcrafted. The action figure is a unique piece of Star Wars inspired art. His work is generally made for display with the adult collector in mind, but I have been using him as a diorama filler as well. "The Selkath were a sentient aquatic species, native to the ocean-covered planet of Manaan. As an aquatic species, the Selkath were skilled swimmers. They resembled anthropomorphic sting rays and had blue- or green-colored skin, which was patterned for underwater camouflage, and their mouths were bracketed by cephalic lobes. They tended to stroke these during conversation, analogous to the Human habit of stroking facial hair, such as mustaches. All members of the Selkath race had retractable, venom-tipped claws. Similar to the Wookies, the use of these claws in any form of combat or attack was considered dishonorable and a sign of madness; to do this was to give in to animal instincts unbecoming of a sentient species. " taken from Wookiepedia at: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Selkath SELKATH JEDI by I-AM-BOBA-FETT "BUNNY BOT" by I-AM-BOBA-FETT Recently added this little guy to my collection too A long time ago, Star Wars customizer, I-AM-BOBA-FETT, created a cool PLNK Droid that really caught our eyes.  So much so, that we wanted one for our collection.  Originally he made the action figure utilizing two old Vintage Power Droids as his base figure.  When we asked him to make a PLNK Droid for us, we asked if he could use the new Vintage Power Droid from the 3-pack so that our PLNK Droid could have a removable lid.  I-AM-BOBA-FETT did not disappoint. He was even able to provide our custom figure with all the magnetically attached accessories that were included in his original version.  We love the way our PLNK Droid came out! PLNK DROID w/ ACCESSORIES created by I-AM-BOBA-FETT Keep your eyes out for I-AM-BOBA-FETT customs for purchase at his ebay store located at: Click Image You can also check out I-AM-BOBA-FETT customs at his Photobucket account: Click Image You can also check out I-AM-BOBA-FETT customs at his Facebook page: Click Image _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #3: SWK KUSTOMS / kr2700 Kevin, or SWK KUSTOMS / kr2700, created two very cool figures in my collection. A Jedi version of me that he sent as a gift for showcasing his work and a Vergere action figure that we bought on Ebay when we first started collecting custom Star Wars action figures. SWK Kustoms started making custom Star Wars figures in 2007. He said his wife Lynn bought him a Han Solo figure as a birthday gift. “You should always get at least one toy on your birthday,” she said. His own collection started shortly after. He thought about making a battle mock up of 100-200 Jedi and Sith, a scene that he imagined would be in the Clone Wars! The prequels went down a different path however… Soon he had around 50 custom Jedi & 50 Sith (Jedi spray painted black). A few months later he began to get bored with just doing simple figures, so he started to experiment. He went through a phase where he made a lot of alien Jedi . He also did more interesting Sith Lords. Lynn then suggested that people might be interested in his figures, so he put some on eBay and his new hobby started to generate some interest! Now four years later & around 300 customs under his belt, SWK Kustoms specializes in fully articulated figures! SWK Kustoms creates fully articulated and detailed Custom 4” figures. Star Wars, Star Trek, DC, Marvel or anything you can think of. With SWK you can also become your favorite character as well: Jedi, Sith, Storm trooper, Mandalorian and much more. Figures can be purchased upon request. Price is based on how hard the piece is to make, usually between $50-150. All figures come with specialized weapons or gear & name plate stands. Add an SWK action figure to your collection today! Vergere (pronounced /vɚ'ʒɪɹ/) was a Fosh Jedi Knight in the waning years of the Galactic Republic. Almost immediately after she hatched, Vergere was taken under the wing of Jedi Master Thracia Cho Leem, who later instructed her in the ways of the Jedi. In 33 BBY, Vergere was part of a Jedi task force sent to Asmeru by Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum to capture the leaders of the Nebula Front. According to an account given by Lumiya to Jacen Solo in 40 ABY, Vergere was a rogue student, secretly studying sources outside of approved Jedi doctrine. Lumiya claimed that Vergere's studies of other rogue Jedi, including Count Dooku, had led her to Darth Sidious, and at some point between 32 BBY and 29 BBY, Vergere became a student of the Sith Lord. According to Lumiya, Vergere subsequently attempted to kill Sidious when she discovered the extent of his megalomania, but her murder attempt failed, forcing her to flee from his assassins, accepting a mission from the Jedi Council to Zonama Sekot, where she was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong and disappeared in 30 BBY, finding the Yuuzhan Vong on Zonama Sekot and secretly living with them for half a century. During the time of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Vergere reappeared and tortured Jacen Solo, wanting to turn him into a future Sith apprentice. She was hunted by the New Republic and hid herself, helping Warmaster Tsavong Lah and other Yuuzhan Vong as well as Solo. At the climactic Battle of Ebaq 9, she sacrificed herself, killing many Yuuzhan Vong and saving Solo. By 40 ABY, the Sith revealed that Vergere had also, secretly, been one of them. Eventually, Vergere's training helped turn Jacen into Darth Caedus, the Dark Lord of the Sith. It is possible that her difficulty to be easily categorized as a Jedi or Dark Jedi inspired the retcon that re-classified Vergere as a Sith. As Vergere's final words affirmed that she saw herself as a Jedi, it is possible she saw no difficulty in holding allegiance to both the Jedi and Sith orders simultaneously, that she believed herself to be redeemed by her actions prior to her death, or that she entirely rejected the moral restrictions of both the Jedi and the Sith, a potential view similar to that of Kreia in the distant past. It should also be noted that Vergere appeared as a Force ghost to Jacen Solo shortly after her death, an ability usually manifested by (redeemed) Jedi. (Taken from Wookiepedia at: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Vergere) VERGERE created by SWK Kustoms kr2700 designed and executed this wonderfully sculpted action figure from the Star Wars Expanded Universe. kr2700 has made a Vergere action figure 8 times already. Email him at [email protected] and see if you can talk him into making one for you. With a customized head, soft good skirt, and a borrowed body from Hasbro's Wioslea action figure, his Vergere action figure is top notch. With a long history like Vergere's, this is an action figure that is capable of providing hours of play time in your Star Wars universe. Jedi Elias Fulton created by SWK Kustoms Now that Star Wars Rebels is in full swing and we have a few of the first episodes behind us, we thought that it would be a good time for our blog to display some Star Wars Rebels custom action figures to add to the excitement building around the show.  SWK Kustoms did a masterful job of adding elbow, knee, wrist, and ankle articulation to the figures from the 3-pack that is available in Toys R' Us without experiencing any of the downfalls associated with paint rub.  The customized lightsaber for Ezra was also handled in an impressive manner.  We especially loved the removable blade on his saber.  Almost all of us complained about the 5 points of articulation in the Rebels line that Hasbro was releasing, so it's nice to know that there are customizers out there providing the articulation that we all desire to give our figures more pose-ability for play. SUPER-ARTICULATED "KANAN JARRUS" & "EZRA BRIDGER" created by SWK CUSTOMS SUPER-ARTICULATED "GARAZEB ORRELIOS aka ZEB" created by SWK KUSTOMS SUPER-ARTICULATED "ZEB" with SUPER-ARTICULATED "KANAN JARRUS" & "EZRA BRIDGER" created by SWK KUSTOMS Another Star Wars Rebels character gets some increased articulation thanks to SWK Kustoms. The figure was well worth the expense of having to make it myself. The joints SWK Kustoms added are seamless and strong. These are very well engineered figures. While, the custom figures that he has made do lack ball jointed shoulders, even I will admit as a seasoned customizer myself, that even I would forgo the modification. It would be more trouble than it was worth. Almost all of us complained about the 5 points of articulation in the Rebels line that Hasbro was releasing, so it's nice to know that there are customizers out there providing the articulation that we all desire to give our figures more pose-ability for play. With around 300 customs under his belt, SWK Kustoms specializes in fully articulated figures! SWK Kustoms creates fully articulated and detailed Custom 4” figures. Star Wars, Star Trek, DC, Marvel or anything you can think of. With SWK you can also become your favorite character as well: Jedi, Sith, Storm trooper, Mandalorian and much more. Figures can be purchased upon request. Price is based on how hard the piece is to make, usually between $50-150. All figures come with specialized weapons or gear & name plate stands. "THE INQUISITOR  with INCREASED ARTICULATION"  created by SWK KUSTOMS We love the custom flight mask that he made! Also check out: INQUISITOR LIGHTSABER MODIFICATIONS by Darth Daddy We just got the last of the Hasbro released Star Wars Rebels figures that we wanted in more articulated form.  Star Wars customizer, SWK Kustoms, really transformed Hasbro's action figure of Cikatro Vizago by adding ball-jointed elbows, knees, and ankles to their five point articulated figure.  SWK Kustoms even added some swivel wrists as well.   Here at Customs for the Kid, we had always wondered what this line would have looked like if consumers were able to obtain the superior craftsmanship that was available in The Clone Wars 3 3/4" action figure line, before the quality of the action figures was drastically reduced.  The idea of more articulated Rebels action figures was just dreamy.  Deep down I think many collectors wanted to more articulated figures made and available on store shelves.  Especially if they opened their figures. Vizago was the fifth Rebels custom action figure we purchased from SWK Kustoms. We really liked how he maintained the Hasbro aesthetic in his customization of his Rebels figures.  The action figures all had extremely durable construction and were manufactured out of ball joints taken from multiple action figures. (It takes the ball joints from several super-articulated action figures to create a custom action figure that was made out of a 5 POA figure.  This means improving the articulation on the action figure can become a very costly enterprise.)  When we saw SWK Kustoms Rebels figures available for purchase, our immediate response was to buy them right away. The savings we'd receive just in parts and labor alone made purchasing his versions a real bargain.  Because we were already in the process of working on more than six custom Rebels figures of our own and we were using the same technique with the very same style that he was...it was a no brainer.  It was like shopping out half of the work on our project.  We couldn't have been more pleased with out decision. STAR WARS REBELS  "CIKATRO VIZAGO" custom action figure  featuring Increased Articulation  created by SWK Kustoms SUPER-ARTICULATED STAR WARS REBELS "AHSOKA TANO" created by SWK KUSTOMS Visit SWK KUSTOMS on facebook:  www.facebook.com/swkustoms Email SWK KUSTOMS at:  [email protected] Check out his "profile page" on ebay at: http://myworld.ebay.com/kr2700?ssPageName=ADME:X:CEM:US:1181 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #4: Stocos28 Our latest customizer, Stocos28, is from New Jersey and he specializes in custom 3 3/4" figures for the adult collector. He offers great customs that can be played with. He's huge fan of Star Wars, G.I. Joe and all things 80's. Stocos28 has been an ebay member since July of 2005 offering custom action figures to the ebay community. With a 100% positive feedback score from over 1,350 ebay buyers, we think it's safe to say he puts out exemplary work. We bought a human Jedi named Kentar Framic from Stocos28 a while back that we featured in our Customizer Spotlight and recently added a second custom action figure created by Stocos28 to my collection, Jedi Master Ey' Dee. He'll tell you that he's no Sith_Fire30, but in our opinion he's working real hard at getting there and the results are evident. This talented customizer even offers resin cast sculpts from the customs he makes over at Slayer Design Studios. If you ask us Stocos28 is a customizer to watch. Kentar Framic by Stocos28 We love that this figure included a detachable comlink! The action figures body was taken from the Prince of Persia toy line that customizers have been eager to use for the detailed clothing the action figures offer. The clothing is just perfect to use as Jedi robes. The Prince of Persia action figures can be found on clearance in toy stores everywhere if you know where to look. We saw a couple of these on clearance in a local Target. Jedi Master Ey' Dee by Stocos28  Stocos28 once again graces our shelves with this wonderful custom 3.75” Fennec Shand action figure from The Mandalorian!  The figure sports a stunning likeness to Ming Na Wen thanks to the talents of Watto’s Scrapyard, and Stocos28’s beautiful paint job.  The figure features soft goods, an alternative head with her helmet, as well as full range of articulation.  Her screen accurate sniper rifle was provided by Aude’s Workshop. All in all, this is a great figure.  Her sculpt is on point, and her paint is beautiful.  Because she is super articulated, she has all the range of motion you would want in a bounty hunter action figure.  The option to change between her helmet and her head is another feature to appreciate.  Stocos28’s exemplary work never fails to impress us here at Customs for the Kid.   Be sure to visit his eBay store at http://myworld.ebay.com/stocos28/ to keep up with his latest creations! "Fennec Shand" created by Stocos28 You can view the ebay page for Stocos28 and see his items listed for sale at: https://www.ebay.com/usr/stocos28 You can also email him at: [email protected] _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #5: Order66Customs/Fritzkreig Time for yet another edition of Customizer Spotlight. This time around we are featuring the work of Order66Customs, also known as Fritzkrieg. We have several pieces made by this artist and Dad says these are some of his favorites in my collection. Dad likes the diorama fillers with no back story. He says these figures provide a lot of freedom when we play because we don't have to worry about messing with the Star Wars timeline. Just last night Dad came across the work of Order66Customs in the Yakface Forums (http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=267). We got to see the action figures shown below posted there before they had been added to my collection. We were shocked when we realized how long ago the figures were made. They were all created in 2007, but we did not acquire them until this year. Anyway enough talk, check out the skills on this artist. Hope you enjoy as much as we do! P.S. - Make sure you check out those forums. His custom vehicles are over the top. Wish I had some in my collection. SPACE JOCKEY by Order66Customs Love the paint job on the helmet. KUBAZ TRAVELER by Order66Customs We had so much fun with this action figure that he took up an entire days worth of playing. Still having fun with him. TUSKEN WAR CHIEF by Order66Customs Chukarr Karott Seduced by the technology of the outlanders, as well as their drink. Chukarr veiws the old ways as foolish and craves the power that the outlanders possess. He secretly plots to take control of the five clans. He has been hoarding a cache of outlander weaponry, buying his time for just the right moment.  PIRATES by Order66Customs Twi'lek Pirate Nautolan Pirate You can find Order66Customs action figures here: http://shop.ebay.com/order66customs/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #6:jimjedi3002 Below are two custom action figures from my collection made by jimjedi3002. He is today's Customizer's Spotlight. The heads on these action figures are too loose for play, but they are both great for creating photo novels. MARA JADE - THE EMPEROR'S HAND by jimjedi3002   The Mara Jade is highly pose-able. A very simple custom, but a big payoff for the effort. OZZIK STURN Ozzik Sturn was a Human male Imperial captain and big game hunter. Using family connections, Sturn rose through the ranks of the military. When assigned to various worlds, he would spend time hunting native creatures, taking their heads as trophies. Sturn desperately wished for an opportunity to hunt a fugitive Jedi during the Great Jedi Purge. He did not get his wish, however, as he was installed as Chief Magistrate on the Mid Rim world Malastare. No longer satisfied with hunting animals, Sturn had sentient prisoners released into a private hunting reserve, in which he would hunt them down. This outraged Malastare's native Dugs and Grans, so the captain was transferred to the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk and tasked with overseeing the construction of a large skyhook in orbit by Wookiee slaves. There, he would hunt the native Wookiees, going so far as to wear their pelts as part of his uniform. He even had a private trophy room to display the severed heads of animals he had killed. In 2 BBY, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan arrived on Kashyyyk as part of a trap set by Emperor Palpatine to prevent her father, Senator Bail Organa, from rebelling against the Empire. Should Senator Organa rebel, Sturn promised Leia that she would die in a Wookiee uprising. Jedi Master Rahm Kota, an ally of Senator Organa's who had led a brief rebellion against the Empire months earlier, learned of Leia's situation and tasked Galen Marek—"Starkiller," the secret apprentice of Darth Vader—with rescuing her from Kashyyyk. Leia then, in turn, tasked Marek with destroying the skyhook, and so Sturn finally saw his chance to hunt the man he assumed to be a Jedi. While Starkiller was busy removing the tractor pins that anchored the skyhook to the planet's surface, Sturn entered his personal AT-KT and attempted to kill him. Starkiller destroyed his AT-KT and killed the captain instead, just before destroying the skyhook itself. OZZIK STURN by jimjedi3002  Love the Wookie pelt. You can view his ebay auctions at: http://shop.ebay.com/jimjedi3002/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686 or view his ebay profile page at: http://myworld.ebay.com/jimjedi3002&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSX:SELLERID _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #7: Deimos Customs Season 3 of the Clone Wars TV series has just started and Deimos Customs just created the action figure of the newest Star Wars character that all fans are dying to see ... Savage Opress. This is a very well made figure and our Savage Opress action figure's already leading the Separatist army across our living room floor. Savage Opress was a Zabrak warrior who was recruited by Count Dooku during the Clone Wars. During the Clone Wars, Dooku met an intermediary, the Dathomiri witch Talsain, who introduced him to Opress. The warrior was said to be related to Zabrak Sith Lord Darth Maul. SAVAGE OPRESS by Deimos Customs  You can view his ebay auctions at: http://shop.ebay.com/deimos-customs-collectibles1707/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686 or view his ebay profile page at: http://myworld.ebay.com/deimos-customs-collectibles1707/ You can also email him directly at: [email protected] You can also add him as a friend on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001455980797 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #8: Pack Rat Studios Welcome again to Customizer Spotlight. We've gotten a lot of buzz from our readers about our latest artist and his awesome droid creation since we listed our Coming Soon post. Pack Rat Studios is a studio that specializes in Developing, Building and Painting Custom Action Figures. Most of their works are put up on ebay for Auction. Also, Pack Rat Studio deals in Vintage or Current Action Figures and Collectibles. R2-Bertie by Pack Rat Studios At home we also call him Goliath.   He has fully pose-able arms, elbows, fingers and thumbs. BARBARELLA by Pack Rat Studios Originally we bought her on ebay under the listing of "Female Bounty Hunter" but she has since been incorporated into our band of pirates. She is always seen with her trusty droid R2-Bertie. You can check out their blog by clicking the blog links on our page or by going to: http://packratstudios.blogspot.com/ You can view the ebay seller page for Pack Rat Studios at: http://myworld.ebay.com/packratstudios?rvr_id=146108397772&VER=seller&POS=seller&seller=packratstudios You can contact Pack Rat Studios at: [email protected] _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #9: INSIDIOUS CUSTOMS Hello again and welcome once more to another edition of Customizer Spotlight. This time around, we are showcasing a custom Juno Eclipse action figure made by Insidious Customs. Eric LeFeber is a professional toy designer, game designer and marketer with over 13 years in the entertainment industry. When he's not creating new products for the top toy and game companies, he makes them for himself. He also has items for sale at his Etsy shop or on ebay auctions which we have posted at the links below. If you have something special in mind, you can even contact him for a commission.  Juno Eclipse  Juno Eclipse was a Human female who served the Galactic Empire as an Imperial officer and pilot during the Great Jedi Purge. Her exceptional skills in leadership and combat were noticed by several high-ranking officials in the Imperial Military, including the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Rising through ranks in record time, Captain Eclipse was personally chosen by Vader to lead his Black Eight Squadron. Although she initially considered service under Emperor Palpatine's right-hand man to be the highlight of her career, her role in the Bombing of Callos caused her to doubt some of the Empire's policies. Although her beliefs wavered due to the mass genocide and complete sterilization that rendered Callos uninhabitable, Captain Eclipse was unwilling to abandon her allegiance to the Empire, nor her hard-earned position under Darth Vader's command. However, Vader came to the conclusion that Eclipse lacked a certain quality in ruthlessness that he found necessary in those who served him. As a consequence, he reassigned her to a highly confidential detail. Hence, in 3 BBY, Eclipse became the latest pilot of the Rogue Shadow, a stealth vessel that was piloted by several individuals in turn. The purpose of her top secret assignment was to transport Darth Vader's agent to wherever his missions required him to go. During that time, she was unaware that the mysterious young man was Vader's secret apprentice, codenamed "Starkiller." Although she learned that Starkiller was a Force-sensitive assassin, who was tasked with hunting down the last of the Jedi, her attempts to learn any personal information about him were met with failure. Upon inadvertently discovering Vader's plot to kill Emperor Palpatine with Starkiller's aid, Eclipse's loyalties became divided between her Emperor and immediate superior. Nevertheless, she continued to carry out her orders to the letter, and took great care to not allow the apprentice to learn of her accidental discovery. But when Vader unexpectedly betrayed his disciple at the behest of the Emperor, the Dark Lord branded Captain Eclipse as a traitor due to her association with Starkiller. Stripped of her rank and all that she worked hard to gain, Eclipse was imprisoned on the Empirical. Six months later, Juno Eclipse was freed by Starkiller, whose apparent death was faked by Darth Vader in order to continue their assassination plot against Palpatine. Eclipse, forced into the life of a fugitive, reluctantly renounced her allegiance to the Galactic Empire and joined with Starkiller on his mission to create the Rebel Alliance. However, she was unaware of the fact that the apprentice remained loyal to his master; nor did she realize that the Rebellion's purpose was to distract the Emperor's attention in order to create a new opportunity to kill him. During their adventures, Eclipse and Starkiller gradually developed a rapport that eventually turned into love. When Vader betrayed the apprentice for a second time, Starkiller denounced the Sith and embraced his Jedi heritage. By that time, Eclipse learned that the apprentice's birth name was "Galen Marek." However, their relationship was brought to an untimely end when Marek perished in battle against Emperor Palpatine by sacrificing his own life in order to save the founders of the Rebel Alliance. Shortly after Marek's death, Eclipse witnessed the official founding of the Alliance to Restore the Republic on Kashyyyk. She chose to honor the fallen apprentice's legacy by joining the Alliance Fleet as one of its first officers. Less than a year later, Juno Eclipse was commissioned as the captain of the Rebel flagship, the Salvation. Although Insidious Customs loved the Toys R Us exclusive box sets of figures, he still felt that Hasbro didn't get Juno Eclipse right. So in anticipation of The Force Unleashed 2 video game being released later this month, he created another Juno Eclipse and this time she's even better. JUNO ECLIPSE (CASUAL ATTIRE) by Insidious Customs He used the new box set version of Juno as a base, replaced her long sleeved arms with custom sculpted shorter sleeve arms, sculpted that disheveled hairdo she had when she kissed the Starkiller for the first/last time, and then repainted the whole figure. Read Insidious Customs own review of this action figure at his blog located here: http://insidiouscustoms.blogspot.com/2010/08/juno-eclipse-casual-attire-custom.html You can view his ebay profile page here: http://myworld.ebay.com/snake-eyes0217/ To see his current auctions listed on ebay click here: http://shop.ebay.com/snake-eyes0217/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686 To see what he has available for sale on his Etsy page click here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/insidiouscustoms If you are interested in having a commission piece made you can reach him by email at: [email protected] _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #10:starwarsgeek171 Hello everyone. Yes, I know it has been a while since we have posted one of these. We have been waiting for responses from customizers for some of the action figures we are still waiting to post, but today I am happy to present starwarsgeek171 and his Tantive IV Co-Pilot. starwarsgeek171 has been a seller on ebay since 2004. His Tantive IV Co-Pilot looks great next to my Jeremoch Colton action figure. Together I have them both flying my vintage Rebel Fleet Transport Ship. TANTIVE IV CO-PILOT by starwarsgeek171 You can see the profile page of starwarsgeek171 here: http://myworld.ebay.com/starwarsgeek171?ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1181 You can buy starwarsgeek171 customs at his ebay page located here: http://shop.ebay.com/starwarsgeek171/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg= _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #11: darthjohnboystoys Hello everyone. So happy we can showcase another Customizer's Spotlight for you all. We just received a response from customizer darthjohnboystoys and got the go ahead to post a really fun custom, darthjohnboystoys Zombie Stormtrooper. darthjohnboystoys has been a seller on ebay since 2004 and playing with his Zombie Stormtrooper just makes me want to go and customize a small zombie stormtrooper army. ZOMBIE STORMTROOPER by darthjohnboystoys You can see the profile page of darthjohnboystoys here: http://myworld.ebay.com/darthjohnboystoys?ssPageName=ADME:X:CEM:US:1181 You can buy darthjohnboystoys customs at his ebay page located here: http://shop.ebay.com/darthjohnboystoys/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686 Background image created by Star Wars artist Joe Hogan. You can see more of his great Star Wars art at his blog located at: http://iwillbeastarwarsartist.blogspot.com/ and at Joe Hogan's webpage located here: http://xjapanrox.deviantart.com/gallery/ and here: http://joehoganart.com/ Straight out of Joe Schreiber's "Death Troopers" _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #12: JUSTIN COOK aka YAK_CHEWIE Can't tell you how happy we are to present you with another edition of our Customizer Spotlight. Justin Cook, who is also known in the Yakface Forums as Yak_Chewie is by far one of the most talented and creative customizers out there. Anyone looking for inspiration for a custom action figure or an action figure recipe needs to look no further, Yak_Chewie has more recipes than a cookbook. His great body of work has already landed him a spot on our "Customs I Wish I Owned" page and if you watch the video we posted of his customs you'll immediately see that his body of work is something special. Yak_Chewie is an administrator over at Yakface Forums and he oversees the custom creations part of the forum. He is also the creator of "The Enloe Chronicles" which is probably known to be one of the most famous Star Wars photonovels there is. We recently mentioned on our blog that we participated this year in Yakface's Secret Santa and showed you the Zombie Jedi gift that we sent out to Mungo Baobab. Well, I can't express how happy we were when we received our yellow plastic bubble mailer and saw the name J. Cook in the upper left hand corner of the package. We were even more excited when we could feel not one but two action figures inside the package. Below is a quick video showing the joy a great customizing activity can bring when you participate in one of the community projects you can find located at a customizing forum. Yak_Chewie sent us these two incredibly awesome action figures for Christmas: JEDI MASTER by Yak_Chewie We love the color scheme that was used on the sleeves and robes. It really brought out the potential for customizing the Starkiller action figure. SKIFF GUARD by Yak_Chewie If you watch the video for Yak_Chewie in our "Customs I Wish I Owned" page, this figure you will find. Yes... I realize I just talked like Yoda. For the last three years now, Dad participated in Yakface.com's Secret Santa event. This year, Dad was assigned Star Wars customizer Justin Cook aka Chewie as the recipient of his holiday custom creations. Chewie had us our first year participating in the event and he was kind enough to send us two custom action figures rather than just the single required figure the event promoted. Dad wanted to return the favor when he participated in this year's event. Dad thought Justin would appreciate two unique Star Wars zombies.  Off went the figures and we awaited to see who our Secret Santa would be.  Dad was floored when he saw who our Secret Santa was...and even further blown away when he saw what was inside the package that was sent.  Chewie was our Secret Santa and he had sent us three Star Wars custom action figures.  He also sent us Dad's favorite figure of his, Kelos!  Also included in the package was an Utai Traveler and one cool looking Weequay.  The paint apps on the Utai really excentuated the sculpt of the figure.  The Weequay's paint had beautiful contrasts and masterful use of paint washes.  The gift was so generous.  Thank so much, Justin.  Dad's going to be sporting a permagrin for months YAKFACE.COM SECRET SANTA  CUSTOM ACTION FIGURES created by CHEWIE "WEEQUAY" created by Chewie   "UTAI TRAVELER" created by CHEWIE   "KRELOS" created by CHEWIE  SECRET SANTA FIGURES SENT:  Abyssin & Vurk Zombies  created by Darth Daddy These are links to see more of Chewie's work:  Yakface Forums viewtopic.php?f=14&t=80&start=1455 (great place to find action figure recipes)  The Custom Alliance http://www.thecustomalliance.com/cook/default.asp The Photonovel Alliance (The Enloe Chronicles) http://www.thephotonovelalliance.com/pn ... icles.html (for a good read...) Customs I Wish I Owned http://customsforthekid.blogspot.com/p/star-wars-customs-i-wish-i-owned.html Click the link below to see other Secret Santa figures posted on the Yak_face Forums this year: http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1101&start=345 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #13: PARASITE COLLECTIBLES We saw the "Mandalorian Renegade Traveler" created by Parasite Collectibles on Ebay recently and we really liked the paint scheme and parts mix. Once we saw the opening helmet and the blue sunken eyes underneath, we knew we wanted to bid on him. Thankfully, we were also the winning bidders on the item and this figure now rests among my other cool custom action figures. Wayne J. Bunce Jr. (a.k.a. Parasite Collectibles) has unique designs, mixing parts from different toy lines to create his custom action figures. Wayne says he prefers making Mandalorians over Jedi or any other Star Wars character and says he is constantly striving to improve his skills so he can sell a better product. Mandalorian Renegade Traveler by Parasite Collectibles   PARASITE COLLECTIBLES custom action figures can be viewed at: http://www.starwarsspace.com/madalorianoutpost.mysite.com You can email PARASITE COLLECTIBLES at: convoysreturn @yahoo.com Or just visit his ebay page at: http://myworld.ebay.com/parasitecollectibles/ _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #14: WRAITHNINE Wraithnine is a 40 year old customizer from the southeast coast of Essex, UK who has been customizing Star Wars figures and vehicles for about 3 1/2 years now. He mainly creates custom action figures of astromechs and clone troopers, but along with the astromech we purchased, we were able to obtain some awesome looking Mandalorians that he recently created too. Wraithnine not only spends his time customizing, he also reviews Star Wars products on Youtube under the name Rasputin37. Wraithnine is currently a moderator on www.imperialshipyards.net and has been a die hard Star Wars fan since '77 . When we saw these figures for sale on Imperial Shipyards, we knew we wanted to add them to our collection. R7-A4 by Wraithnine   Wraithnine is well known for his custom astromechs and it isn't hard to see why.   We love Wraithnine's use of water slide decals to enhance his custom action figures. He did a great job using water slide decals on the head of this astromech. R7-A4 was turned into a trading card by Kessel Run Imports. FYNN ST'ANN by Wraithnine These Mandos are awesome. Great paint applications and again masterful use of the water slide decals. DHUR' KAN by Wraithnine   It's cool to see how Wraithnine used the Pre Vizsla action figure to create two totally unique action figures. Mandalorian Bounty Hunter Kel Sha'rak by Wraithnine See these action figures that we own in Episode 7 of the Kessel Run Review. These next two droids were both created by Star Wars action figure customizer Wraithnine.  When Dad heard that Wraithnine was selling the R2-C2 that he created, Dad thought it would be cool if we gave him a home next to the Ziro the Hutt that he created.  Dad bought him right away as a birthday present for my ninth birthday back in October.  What's even cooler was that Wraithnine sent me a R2-T8 astromech as a birthday gift from him.  Thanks so much Jay! That was very generous of you.  The droid is a shining example of why you are the astromech king! I love seeing Ziro and R2-C2 next to each other.  Your droids make my room seem magical.  "Ziro's Droid R2-C2" created by Wraithnine Ziro the Hutt created by Darth Daddy "R2-T8" created by Wraithnine "CLONE WARS DROIDS" created by Wraithine Customs D-SQUAD created by Wraithnine  So I have added D-Squad to my collection thanks to the "Astromech King". Yes, Star Wars customizer Wraithnine recently created the five-member droid squad formed by the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars, that consisted of QT-KT, U9-C4, R2-D2, M5-BZ, and Corporal WAC-47. Led by Colonel Meebur Gascon, D-Squad was sent to steal an encryption module from a Providence-class carrier/destroyer. This fun group appeared on Star Wars: The Clone Wars in the following episodes: "Secret Weapons", "A Sunny Day in the Void", "Missing in Action" and "Point of No Return". These episodes were a lot of fun to watch. These figures are really special to me because I was interviewed on the Voice of the Republic podcast with Dad the same night voice actor Ben Drisdin (WAC-47) was interviewed and I got to talk with Ben that night.  WAC-47 was my favorite character from those episodes and it's really cool that I was able to add this whole set of droids to my collection. M5-BZ  & Colonel Meebur Gascon created by Wraithnine WAC-47 created by Wraithnine U9-C4 created by Wraithnine QT-KT created by Wraithnine R2-D2 created by Wraithnine D-SQUAD created by Wraithnine Star Wars customizer Wraithnine's 501st troopers: (from left to right) Dogma, Hardcase, Jesse, Tup,  and Kix. "CLONE COMMS OFFICER" created by WRAITHNINE Wraithnine Customs on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WraithnineCustoms You can see more custom action figures from Wraithnine here on Imperial Shipyards: http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=768.0 Wraithnine has a channel on Youtube under the name of Rasputin37 that you can find here: http://www.youtube.com/user/rasputin37 He posts as Wraithnine on Rebelscum.com here: http://threads.rebelscum.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=4418696&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=93&fpart=1#4418696 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #15: OMAR RIVERA The latest customizer we'd like to introduce you all to is Omar Rivera from Puerto Rico. When this husband and father of two isn't busy making his awesome Star Wars action figures, he works as an art and history teacher and as a pastor as well. Dad first saw his customs on ebay when Omar had three stunning Padme Amidala action figures that were just incredible to set eyes upon. We didn't have any money at the time, so somebody else won the figures and let's just say that the somebody who is out there is one lucky individual. Fortunately, the following week we did have money when Omar posted new figures up on ebay and they were really cool ones that one wouldn't want to pass up on. Omar openly states that customizing action figures is one of his passions and his passion is definitely visible in his work. Omar told us that he has created over 100 customs to date. So here are the three Star Wars custom action figures created by Star Wars customizer, Omar Rivera that you can find in my collection. Enjoy! Khaleen Hentz by Omar Rivera Khaleen Hentz was once a Separatist agent sent by Count Dooku to spy on Quinlan Vos, as a mole in his spy network. She later turned to the Galactic Republic and became the wife of Vos and the mother of his child. K'Kruhk "Dark Times" created by Omar Rivera K'Kruhk was a male WhiphidJedi who lived from around the end of the Galactic Republic to the time of the One Sith and the Second Imperial Civil War. The apprentice of Lilit Twoseas, K'Kruhk survived his Master's death during the Yinchorri Uprising and went on to serve with distinction in the Clone Wars. A disastrous loss of life at Teyr led K'Kruhk to question his cause, and he joined a dissident movement on Ruul. Betrayal by one of his own, however, caused him to reaffirm his absolute loyalty to the Republic and the Jedi High Council, and he would go on to serve on Saleucami in the final weeks of the Outer Rim Sieges. Despite countless brushes with death, K'Kruhk survived both the Clone Wars and the Great Jedi Purge, living to see the demise of the Galactic Empire and the return of the Jedi, albeit while in hiding from the agents of Darth Vader. Only when Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order was well-established and the last elements of Palpatine's Empire destroyed did the Whiphid finally emerge from hiding. Some period after the Yuuzhan Vong War, K'Kruhk joined the New Jedi Order and was still active even past the rise of Darth Krayt, serving as a member of the Jedi High Council, and taking a leading role in the Jedi resistance to the ascendantSith. K'Kruhk's efforts were integral in forging an alliance between the Jedi, the Galactic Alliance Remnant and the Fel Empire. With the death of T'ra SaaatTaivas, K'Kruhk became the oldest and most experienced of the surviving Jedi, and participated in the alliance's final assault on the Sith-held Coruscant. Following the deaths of Darth Krayt and Roan Fel, K'Kruhk became one of the three Triumvirs of the restored Galactic Alliance. Thisspiasian Jedi created by Omar Rivera Queen Neeyutnee Queen Neeyutnee was a Humanfemalepolitician who ruled as the Monarch of Naboo during the tumultuous time of the Clone Wars. Elected in 21 BBY as the successor to Queen Jamillia, the very young but mature Neeyutnee harbored no illusions about the war and met problems with appropriate action. She became closely involved with the Naboo Royal Advisory Council, the Royal Security Forces, and BossRugor Nass of the Gungans, ensuring that her peaceful homeworld remained relatively unharmed by the war. Not long after ascending to the throne, Neeyutnee was faced with a subtle Trade Federationincursion when a Separatistbattle droid patrol was found in Naboo's grasslands. She worked swiftly with CaptainGregar Typho and SenatorPadmé Amidala to uncover the nature of the threat, and Amidala's investigations resulted in the discovery and eradication of a secret Separatist laboratory that had been recreating the Blue Shadow Virus on their world. When the Confederacy later sowed Gungan–Naboo tensions in an effort to invade Naboo, Neeyutnee again worked with Amidala and RepresentativeJar Jar Binks to avert the threat of invasion to their homeworld. Thanks to their combined efforts, the Confederate GeneralGrievous was forced to recall his battle droid army from Naboo, and Binks also restored the Gungans' alliance with Neeyutnee's regime. She later oversaw the Festival of Light in celebration of the 857th anniversary of Naboo's union with the Republic. Neeyutnee only served one term before stepping down as Naboo's monarch, and, by 19 BBY, she had been succeeded by Queen Apailana.  Queen Neeyutnee by Omar Rivera To go to Omar Rivera's ebay store click below: http://myworld.ebay.com/albalindaalba?ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1181 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #17: Peakob1 Yesterday was my birthday, and Dad knows how much I love the custom action figures created by Peakob1 (peek-O-B-One). You couldn't imagine my surprise when I opened up my birthday present and it was a box full of Peakob1 action figures. Especially when they were action figures I used to only dream to one day own. I created a video of my new birthday presents that showcase the figures with pictures that were taken by Peakob1. Thanks Chad for making it possible. Chad Peak (aka: Peakob1 or CAP) has been a Star Wars fan all his life. He makes customs for the love of the hobby and you won't find a more dedicated fan. He hopes one day that he can have an entire custom collection simply because it is personalized to him and he never seeks financial gain by doing his customs, although he has done a few commissions at reasonable prices. He started customizing in '95. He doesn't count some of the vintage Ewoks that he colored over with black and brown markers as a kid. He refers to his style of customizing as "hard sculpting" opposed to using sculpy to mold his own figures. He uses bits of existing parts and dremels those down to make a new result. He believes that it makes for a much stronger figure because he's a little like Jar Jar, "hesa clumsy" and often drops figures. Usually they don't break if he builds them properly. He finds customizing very exciting and he has many projects on the horizon. Hope you enjoy the Peakob1 customs from my collection! He displays his customs on Yakface, Imperial Shipyards, Droids and Ewoks and Jedi Defender. CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #17: Peakob1   My Peakob1 video was featured on the front page of Imperial Shipyards. This post was also featured on Ed Johnson Presents: STAR WARS The Clone Chronicles (Webcomics & SW News). DASH RENDAR, LEEBO, & CHEWBACCA  (BOUNTY HUNTER DISGUISE)" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "TEEBO" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations Hondo Ohnaka's Pirate Gang    A project started when Dad bought a Gwarm custom action figure from customizer Peakob1 for my collection .  After Hasbro released Hondo Ohnaka without any of his Weequay pirates, Dad toyed with the idea of creating Hondo's pirate gang. When Dad saw that his friend Star Wars customizer, Peakob1 had started to create some of the characters he was hoping to make, Dad commissioned his help in getting the project done.  Peakob1 is well known in the customizing community for his Clone Wars custom action figures and throughout the past year we formed a really good friendship. The two of them chatted about the Wars, figured out who was going to create what, and Dad got off the phone.  Then Dad grabbed some parts that he bought a while back off of a shelf in the corner of our kitchen, and he started to create two pirates of his own.  It was such a fun project.  It was the first time Dad worked on a project with another customizer other than me and he said it was an awesome experience.  The figures are just incredible! I only wish Hasbro would create them so all of you could have them too.  Dad said that this project will definitely go down as one of his favorites even if it did take forever to get group shots done. "Dagu Flask, Turk Falso, Barb Mentir, Gwarm and Pikk Mukmuk" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations All other pirates created by "Customs for the Kid" All other pirates created by "Customs for the Kid" ORIGINAL POST The Hondo Ohnaka Pirate Gang created by Peakob1 and Darth Daddy was featured in the Customizer Spotlight over at Yakface.com. The Hondo Ohnaka Pirate Gang group photo of Peakob1's and Darth Daddy's customs was featured on the front page of Imperial Shipyards. Peakob1's three pirates were featured on the front page of Imperial Shipyards. "DROIDS" action figures created by Peakob1 I picked up two of these action figures pictured below in an eBay auction and the other two I got directly from the source. Peakob1 had recently updated his Mungo Baobab action figure and sold us his original when Dad commissioned Peakob1 to make us a Jord Dusat to go with the Thall Joben and Kea Moll we won in the auction. I'm really happy that I have some custom action figures from the Droids cartoon now too. Especially ones that fit in so well with the rest of my collection.   MUNGO BAOBAB created by Peakob1 "Thall Joben, Jord Dusat & Kea Moll" created by Peakob1 "Jann Tosh" created by Peakob1 THE CLONE WARS  "Peppi Bow" custom action figure  created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations  UNDEAD NIGHTSISTER Although I already have a lot of customs by Star Wars customizer Peakob1 (peek-O-B-One), when he asked me if I wanted his latest creation, I jumped at the chance to pick up this incredibly cool Undead Nightsister that he created.  The detail in the sculpting and the paint applications are just truly amazing.  I can't wait to get the Target 3-pack that should be hitting stores soon so I can get a proper Dathomir set up going.  Look out Grievous! "Undead Nightsister" by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations All other Nightsister action figures created by "Customs for the Kid" The world Dathomir holds many dark secrets -- such as ancient incantations that could raise the dead. When the planet was attacked by the Separatists during the Clone Wars, the most ancient and knowledgeable of the Nightsister clan used her power to stir the bodies of the Nightsisters graveyard. From preserved cocoons built to resemble the trees of Dathomir emerged mummified warriors. The shrieking zombies mindlessly attacked their enemies, swarming over battle droids in droves. Peakob1's Undead Nightsister was featured on the front page of Imperial Shipyards. Peakob1 has already added so many wonderful action figures to my collection and believe me there are still more to come.  The latest two custom action figure is an updated look for a character as he appeared later in Season 5. While Hasbro does have plans to release a version of this Sith character, they plan on releasing him in a realistic sculpt featuring only 5 points of articulation figure that upon viewing the prototype we just weren't very impressed with.  Compared to Peakob1's version, it doesn't hold up.  Peakob1's creation is a version of Darth Maul that I wish everyone had a chance to obtain and I couldn't be happier to be the one to have this figure in my collection.  It is the epitome of a missed opportunity by Hasbro. "CLONE WARS DARTH MAUL & MANDALORIAN SUPER COMMANDO" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "Savage Opress & Maul Mandos" created by Darth Daddy of "Customs for the Kid" "Jakoli, Sixtat, Sinrich, Mantu, Derrown & Cad Bane" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations CLONE WARS  "BULDUGA & ONCA"  created by Peak-OB1 Cuom Creations "Droogan" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "CASSIE CRYAR, BANNAMU  & MASTER SINUBE" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "Ione Marcy" created by Darth Daddy A few years ago I featured a Cut Lawquane custom action figure created by Peakob1. The character was always our favorite clone trooper from the Clone Wars series.  When Peakob1 recently made a Suu Lawquane custom action figure, I knew I wanted to add it to my collection.  She features a 100% sculpt by Peakob1, who has created some of the coolest Clone Wars custom action figures out there. "Cut, Suu, Jek & Shaeeah Lawquane" created by Peakob1 Custom Creations One of the coolest surprise gifts came form Star Wars customizer Peak-OB1 who sent me a Shaeeah Lawquane custom action figure to complete the Lawquane family for my Clone Wars collection. "JAYBO HOOD, AMIT NOLOFF &  RE-PROGRAMMED BATTLE DROIDS" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "RAMY & TRANDOSHAN HUNTER" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "Sai' Torr Kal Fas" created by created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "SUGI & RUMI PARAMITA" created by created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "DUCHESS SATINE KRYZE" created by created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "ASSAJ VENTRESS -  BOUNTY HUNTER" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "Dr. Nuvo Vindi" created by created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "Sy Snootles" created by Peak-OB1 "Ziro the Hutt" created by Darth Daddy "Gregor - The Dishwasher & WAC-47" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "D-Squad" created by Wraithnine (except for WAC-47 created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations) "Clone Commander Gregor & WAC-47" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "D-Squad" created by Wraithnine (except for WAC-47) "WAC-47" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "NIMM" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations "GOTAL" created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations THE CLONE WARS  "Rafa & Trace Martez" custom action figures created by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations Peakob1 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Peakob1 Peakob1 on Yakface.com: http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5631 Peakob1 on Droids & Ewoks: http://droidsandewoks.forumotion.com/customs-and-art-f13/ Peakob1 on Jedi Defender: http://www.jedidefender.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=20796.0 To go to the ebay page of Peakob1 click below: http://myworld.ebay.com/peakob1/?_trksid=p4340.l2559 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #17: Darth Phantom Ever since we started creating custom Star Wars action figures, we have been participating in the Secret Santa exchange that is held every year over at Yakface.com. Not only is it a great way to get into the spirit of Christmas, but it is also a great way for customizers to acquire each others works of art. This year our Secret Santa was none other than talented customizer Darth Phantom from Germany and he sent us some super cool action figures this year. So what's the deal with this event, and how does it work? Well if you wanted to get involved, you must have been a registered forum member prior to September 1, 2011 to be eligible. They do not want to risk anyone signing up for this just to get a free custom from another forum member and not fulfill their end of the deal. In early October, 2011 we were contacted via email with the information of another Yakface forum member who was also participating. Then we made a custom figure for that person and mailed it to them in time for Christmas. The deadline to sign up was 11:59 AM CST, on October 1, 2011. So obviously the ship has sailed if you wanted to get involved, but hopefully this post will be an incentive for you all to become forum members if you aren't already so you all can participate next year. SECRET SANTA CUSTOMS created by DARTH PHANTOM Our favorite in the bunch is this Jedi created by Darth Phantom. His beard reminded us a lot of Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth. This Hoth Han Solo created by Darth Phantom is super cool. I love the knife attached to right arm of this 501st Clone trooper created by Darth Phantom. He'll fit in great with my army of 501st troopers. THANKS DARTH PHANTOM!!! _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #18: SILLOF This summer, Sillof ran out of room in his workshop and was looking to sell some of his custom action figures. I have always been a huge fan of his work, so when I found out that I actually had a chance to own one of his action figures I jumped at the chance. I loved Sillof's various renditions of Chewbacca, and I was really happy when I was able to acquire his 1st Lt. Chuck Backer from his World War line of figures. It's the only 6" custom action figure that I own, but I totally love it. It's one of my favorite pieces. 1st Lt. CHUCK BACKER created by Sillof This 6" custom action figure created by Sillof can now be found in my personal collection. 1st Lt. Chuck Backer was created in 2008 and was featured in Sillof's Star Wars 1942 line. Sillof is pronouced "Si" (like Psi or Sci-fi ) and "llof" (like cough or pilaf) and no it is not his real name. He's a high school history and film teacher. He has no formal art training, other then art classes in middle school. If something turns out good, he says it is just from years of practice, or luck. He started building custom figures and dioramas when he was a kid. He opened a website in 1999. It was then called "The Wookie's Workshop" and "The Wook's Workshop". before he had his current website www.Sillof.com. His work has been featured online on blogs, websites, and online news services, newspapers at the local, national and international levels, in books and magazines nationally and world wide. His customs have even been featured on television in local news, national news, cable, and overseas, in independent films as props, costumes, and set designs. His action figures have been publicly displayed at contests, fairs, & conventions including 3 of the 4 Star Wars Celebrations. Most recently his work has been seen in Toyfare and Star Wars Insider Magazines. Unlike other customizers, Sillof has gotten away from faithfully creating characters and has begun to redesign these figures in various time periods or aesthetics. He creates these works out of admiration for their original designs, but rather than just recreate another person's work he enjoys putting his own spin on classic characters, as well as creating his own new characters. This is all just the creations of his spare time. He starts with a general concept or direction (samurai for example) Then he brainstorms what he wants. This is mostly done in his brain. Then he makes a list of adjectives and descriptions of the character, maybe a little back story and the physical elements he wants to include in the figure. He then begins the actual construction. He usually works on all of them at once. So while the glue or paint is drying on one he works on another. Some parts of the figures are recycled from existing toys. They are cut off and glued together. Sometimes he sculpts over the old toy parts. Sometimes he dremels down the part using it more as an armature and sculpts over it. Often times, he will sculpt an entire new piece. Some of the figures are completely built from scratch. It really just depends on what he wants, needs, and what he has on hand in his various drawers of parts. He sculpts using a 2 part epoxy polymer sculpting compound called Apoxie by Aves Studios. You mix 2 parts together and then in few hours it is hard a rock. It is not as easy to work with as sculpey but more then makes up for it with it's durability. Sillof says it gets easier to work with practice. You can see more custom action figures created by Sillof here: http://www.sillof.com/ We also recommend checking out his "Toy Wars" film series where he brings his action figures and dioramas to life at this link here: http://www.sillof.com/Toywars.htm Our CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT post was featured on Ed Johnson Presents: NERD NEWS. _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #19: LUKE SPRYWALKER Luke Sprywalker hails from another father and son customizing team. He has been displaying his custom action figures since 2008 and has created some really noteworthy action figures. You need to check out the video Dad created of his action figures in our "Customs I Wish I Owned" page. He is one of the first friends we made when we began our custom action figure hobby and his work is always an inspiration around the house. Success in customizing sometimes relies on the artist having the right part for the job. We received this droid as a thank you from Luke Sprywalker when we sent him some much needed parts that he was looking for to complete a build. I was really excited when I got this custom in the mail, because I love droids and it was created by one of my all-time favorite artists. YELLOW DROID created by Luke Sprywalker Here is the Mandalorian I received from L.E. Spry aka Luke Spywalker as my Imperial Shipyards Secret Santa gift featuring a new bucket mash up, custom rifle so he can shoulder it, a soft goods strap, removable armor, greeblied out kama and fully weathered as if he lives for a good sand storm. Spywalker also made me a small dio/stand combo in his wonderful trash to treasure style.   A really incredibly cool Secret Santa gift.  When it comes to custom action figures, they don't get any better than this.  Believe me, I've seen  a lot of customs. "MANDO" created by Luke Sprywalker The head is a mash-up of the newest TFU trooper helmet that was cast by Clonehead and a Jango Fett faceplate from SithHappens.       Click the links below to check out Luke Sprywalker's latest customs: http://s167.photobucket.com/albums/u130/sk8twistedtrees/Jedi%20customs/ http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=1200.0 http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=1202.0 http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=1212.0 http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2971 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #20: RUNDOWN  Rundown Customs....aka ric.sea.jedi....aka Sean....started on ebay buying and selling vintage Star Wars when he came across some custom Star Wars figures and became interested in what he saw. He watched many customizers for a long time and began his research. Finally, he picked up a paintbrush in 2007. Since then Sean has made over 300 custom action figures. More than 200 of which have been private commissions. Rundown says that he truly enjoys the hobby and enjoys requests as well duplicating characters not yet made in toy form. Mandalorian Female by Rundown To buy custom action figures created by Rundown visit his ebay page where you can also contact him about commission work. To see more customs created by Rundown you can visit his forum thread over at Imperial Shipyards. _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #21: BL4CK5H33P It's been a long time since we did one of these posts, but it wasn't for a lack of wanting to. Truth is the archives were deleted due to an interface change on Blogger. We hit the edit button to update the archives and it was gone with a hit of the button. So after a month of rebuilding the archives, we have an update. BL4CK5H33P is a newcomer to the forums, but his customs look like the work of a veteran. When we saw a few of his customs for sale, we jumped at the chance to purchase two of our favorite pieces of his. These figures look great and we recommend checking out his forum thread and sales thread to see if anything calls out to you. This customizer will be one to watch. Smuggler by BL4CK5H33P    Dathomiri/Human Hybrid Nightbrother  by BL4CK5H33P   BL4CK5H33P's Custom Thread:   http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=7776.0  BL4CK5H33P's Sales Thread:   http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=7836.0 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #22: Stronox On Saturday, when Dad ran down to the mailbox, he came back into the house with a gift from one of my all-time favorite customizers, Stronox. When Dad first started customizing, one of the first friends that he made in the community was Stronox, who has some of the best customs in the Star Wars galaxy. If you ask anyone who frequents the customizing forums who their top ten favorite customizers are, I bet you Stronox would be on everybody's lists.  His paint applications are out of this world and his attention to detail is second to none.  He started off creating toys for his son and this later led to a lot of commission work from fans. Lately he has taken a break from commissions to work on more personal projects, so anyone that has a toy created by Stronox is extremely lucky to have one.  When he first started creating customs, his work was predominantly Star Wars characters, but his most recent work features more G.I. Joe, popular super heroes, and a customizer line called Desolation. I was always a huge fan of Stronox's version of Vilmarh Grahrk, so getting a Villie created by him was about as cool as it gets.  Thanks so much Rob!  He's awesome! Vilmarh Grahrk by Stronox You can get to the blog for Stronox by clicking the link below: http://stronoxcustoms.blogspot.com  You can see more Stronox by clicking the link below: http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=5253 Go to his ebay sales page: http://myworld.ebay.com/stronox117/ _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #23: INCOM aka MR.BLACK When Incom isn't working in business services, this customizer hailing from Hengelo, Netherlands is busy making some of the sweetest customs you'll ever come across.  His "Weequay Swoop Bike Racer" is one of our all-time favorite Star Wars customs.  When we saw that he was offering it for sale on Action Figure Customs Marketplace, Dad bought it right away for my birthday.   The bike and figure are just pure eye candy, from the detailed paint work to the super cool Aurebesh water slide decals, we just love it.  We always wanted a Star Wars custom action figure from this artist, but we never thought in a million years that our favorite piece of his would one day end up in my collection. Weequay Swoop Bike Racer created by Incom   Click any of the links below for more customs from Incom:   http://s740.photobucket.com/home/incomscustoms/allalbums  http://incom-t65.blogspot.com/  _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #24: MASTERCLONER Usually we have a lot to say about the customizers featured in our "Customizer Spotlight" feauture, but this customizer is more of a mystery.  We sent an email out to try and get some more information about Mastercloner, but we are still waiting for a response.  If we get one, we will update this post and fill you all in.  So here is what we do know.  Mastercloner is a Star Wars customizer on ebay and has been a seller there since 2005.  He is from the United States, and he makes really cool customs.  We bought this custom before summer began and we have been waiting to feature it ever since. Darth Krayt, born A'Sharad Hett, was a Humanmale who served as a Jedi Master in the waning days of the Galactic Republic. The son of legendary Jedi KnightSharad Hett, he eventually became the Padawan of Jedi Masters Ki-Adi-Mundi, and later, An'ya Kuro. When he was only a teen, Sharad Hett was murdered by the Jedi assassin Aurra Sing, who was later defeated in a duel by a young A'Sharad Hett. During the Clone Wars, he served the Republic as a General and established himself as a charismatic leader who often led his troops from the front. He eventually became friends with the young Anakin Skywalker and helped Anakin come to terms with the destruction which had been wrought by the galaxy-wide war. A'Sharad took part in key conflicts during the war such as the Battle of Boz Pity and Siege of Saleucami. He managed to survive the Clone Wars, and was one of the few Jedi known to have escaped the Great Jedi Purge in 19 BBY. A'Sharad Hett eventually made his way back to his homeworld of Tatooine where he vowed to wage a private war against the new Galactic Empire. However, after a confrontation with Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, he was exiled from Tatooine and later discovered that it was Anakin Skywalker who became the Sith Lord Darth Vader, who had aided in the annihilation of the Jedi Order. A'Sharad blamed himself for the destruction of the Jedi Order and became a bounty hunter. During one of his missions, he found himself on Korriban, where he trained as a Sith under the tutelage of the Dark Lord XoXaan. Hett eventually fell to the dark side after capture and torture by the Yuuzhan Vong and soon proclaimed himself Dread Lord and Dark Lord of the Sith, taking the name "Darth Krayt". As Krayt, he became the founder and leader of the One Sith. As Krayt, he rebuilt the Sith Order and kept its existence hidden from the Jedi by cloaking their presence on Korriban. To survive, Krayt spent many years in stasis before reemerging to form an alliance with Moff Nyna Calixte and to spark the Sith–Imperial War that led to the destruction of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. At the climax of the war, Krayt deposed Emperor Roan Fel and brought about the destruction of the New Jedi Order. Darth Krayt ruled the galaxy with an iron fist for seven years before the alliance between rightful Emperor Roan Fel and Galactic Alliance admiral Gar Stazi threatened his usurped rule. Furthermore, Krayt discovered the existence and survival of a Skywalker: Cade. Krayt feared that with these deteriorating conditions and his bad health would lead to his demise before his dream was finished, and sent about the hunt for Cade Skywalker. However, during a skirmish on Had Abbadon, Krayt was stabbed and sent hurtling off a cliff. The Sith Lord's powers proved strong, however, when they saved his life. Darth Krayt was then approached by Darth Wyyrlok, his most trusted advisor, who presumably murdered Krayt, believing the Dread Lord would lead to the Sith Order's destruction. But, even as he was inactive, Krayt's ideals were being carried out by Wyyrlok in his place. Krayt later healed his body from his near-death experience. Overcoming the taint of his armor, he called out to all those across the galaxy who had touched the dark side, signaling his return. With the aid of loyal Sith and a new breed of Sith troopers, Krayt retook Coruscant, slaying Darth Wyyrlok in the process, and began making preparations to rebirth the galaxy through war. However, in the final battle, he once again attempted to turn Cade Skywalker. He failed to do so, which allowed Cade to permanently kill him. Ashard Hett created by Mastercloner "ADMIRAL TRENCH" created by MASTERCLONER Click the link below to visit Mastercloner's ebay page: http://myworld.ebay.com/mastercloner&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSX:SELLERID&_trksid=p3984.m1543.l2533 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #24: DARTH DUSTY Darth Dusty is an artist that has been drawing, painting, and sculpting for over twenty-five years, and customizing for over ten. He mainly enjoys customizing figures from the expanded universe of Star Wars, and creating characters of his own, but also indulges in other areas of Pop Culture. The goal is to give people something rare, and unique, and also to challenge himself to make customs of characters that may never see the light of day on a store shelf. Creating figures for adult collectors, he loves the use of cloth goods, and hand sculpting new parts. Darth Dusty uses many materials, such as, Acrylic Paints, Apoxy Sculpt, Casting Resins, and even puffy paint, as key elements in each creation. Darth Dusty researches many of the figures he plans to build to get as much accuracy as possible without compromising the functionality of the action figure. Fairly retired from doing commissioned figures, he loves hearing ideas on what figures to make. Darth Dusty keeps a list of characters on the back burner, so expect to see plenty more figures to come. Below is the "Force Unleashed II Starkiller" custom that Dad bought from Darth Dusty to give me for my Christmas present this year.  The whole diorama is just incredible.  Especially the two charred Stormtroopers that he included.  I just love this custom action figure diorama! "The Force Unleashed II Starkiller" created by Darth Dusty   Darth Dusty's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DarthDustyCustoms eBay seller: thinkinink1972 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #25: DARTH OPTIMUS Yakface.com's Secret Santa event has always been a huge provider of Christmas spirit in our home and was a real influence on Dad's decision to run a 2012 Secret Santa over at Imperial Shipyards. Darth Optimus created the Falleen custom action figure pictured below for Dad's Secret Santa gift for participating in the Imperial Shipyard's Secret Santa event Dad hosted.  We were really impressed with the action figure when we got in the mail earlier this month.  It's been torture waiting to post this figure and having to hold out until our other Secret Santa action figures arrive.  The figure even came with a great short story attached to it.  Dad was really happy that we had another Black Sun member in the house.  Especially since Dad had recently created a Guri.   Hope you enjoy the Falleen action figure as much as we do.  Thank you, Mike! Darth Optimus hails from Texas. His name reflects his love of both Star Wars & Transformers. Darth Optimus works in the animal care field and is married with two children. He has been customizing off & on for 12 years....more so in the last two than in the last ten. He started out painting Battle Tech minis and progressed to making custom figs from Toy Biz X-men figs.  Darth Optimus next went to Transformers and completed probably two dozen figures....including a team of Junkions. Most recently he made the transition to Star Wars figures due to swappability with the different 3 3/4" lines...as well as, the possibility to do vehicles. Fan Fiction Story by Darth Optimus: "The Falleen known as Xeven was a young, promising, up-and-coming mercenary serving a long-term contract with Black Sun during the Clone Wars. After the execution of Order 66, the newly-formed Empire placed bounties on the heads of all surviving Jedi. The Black Sun organization picked up several deathmark contracts and assigned several in-house hunters to the task of finding the Jedi. Xeven was among those chosen. A capable tracker, Xeven found and dispatched several Padawans and minor Knights over the next three years. His confidence grew with each victory and he believed that no Jedicould defeat him. He was wrong. An encounter with an unidentified Jedi (but surely of Master level) left Xeven without both his hands. Turning to a Black Sun affiliated cyberneticist, Xeven chose to utilize hands from a Magna Guard series droid as replacements. Xeven meshed quickly with the robotics, and was on the hunt within a week. He is constantly on the look out for the Jedi who maimed him. Xeven's weapons of choice are fairly basic. He prefers the Relby-v10 micro grenade launcher favored by Trandoshans as his main weapon. He carries an onyx-handled Westar-34 blaster pistol on his hip as back up. The weapon is the same style carried by his idol, Jango Fett. Lastly, Xeven carries an adamantium battle blade that has been in his clan for generations." "XEVEN" created by Darth Optimus Darth Optimus even included this custom Star Wars stand. RECIPE: Topknot: AOTC Aurra Sing Head: Comic Pack Prince Xizor Torso, Arms and Kama/Sarrong: TCW Embo Hands: TCW Magna Guard Legs: TFU Kota's Elite Large Gun: TVC Bossk Pistol and Holster: TVC Jango Fett Melee Blade: Parts bin  SECRET SANTA SENT: SECRET SANTA MANDO created by Darth Daddy _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #26: Darksider80 When Dad organized the 2012 Secret Santa over at Imperial Shipyards, Darksider80 stated that he wanted to participate early in the sign-up process, but forgot to send his mailing address before the deadline arrived.  Dad matched everyone up, and then after all the emails were sent, Dad heard a response from him.  Dad felt bad leaving him out of the event, especially since he was relatively new to the custom action figure forum community.  The last thing Dad wanted was for this talented customizer to feel left out by a new community he was choosing to participate in.  As a solution Dad decided to create one extra figure and do a figure swap with Darksider80 on top of the one he was formally doing for the event.  After being totally wowed by the plethora of Star Wars custom figures on the internet Darksider80 was inspired to bust a couple out himself! The purpose of his blog is just to share his work, get feedback and make connections with other people who love Star Wars, toys, and creative expression as much as he does. He love comments, whether you love his stuff or downright hate it, so leave your opinions for him to see! He is always open to ideas and suggestions for new projects as well. Inside our package from Darksider80 was a Darth Zannah custom action figure from The Old Republic and masterfully produced at that.  Thanks so much  Noah.  She's gorgeous! DARTH ZANNAH "Zannah, known as "Rain" during her childhood, was a Human female from the planet Somov Rit. She was recruited to fight for the Jedi's Army of Light during the Ruusan campaign of the New Sith Wars but, after arriving on Ruusan, was separated from the group during a Sith attack and presumed dead. Unbeknownst to the Jedi, she had been saved and befriended by a member of the native Bouncerspecies called Laa. When the Brotherhood of Darkness later unleashed a planet-wide Force storm, Rain survived by instinctively enveloping herself and Laa with a bubble of Force energy. Not long afterward, the young girl watched as Laa was haplessly killed by Jedi scouts. Stricken with anger and grief, she unwittingly gave in to the dark side and murdered the Jedi. Her display of rage attracted the attention of the war's only surviving Dark Lord, Darth Bane, who decided to take her as his apprentice. Rain cast away the handle of her youth and instead embraced her birth name, becoming Darth Zannah. Zannah's preliminary Force training took place on the planet Ambria and involved the study of ancient Sith magic. In her tutelage under Darth Bane, Zannah executed a variety of missions designed to incite anarchist movements throughout the Galactic Republic, including manipulating the terrorist Anti-Republic Liberation Front into a botched assassination attempt on former Supreme Chancellor Tarsus Valorum. From Hetton, the ARLF's leader, Zannah also recovered information regarding the creation of holocrons, a secret highly sought by her Master, who later killed Hetton after Zannah tricked him into an attack on the Dark Lord. When the parasites that comprised Bane's body armor began to cause him concern, Zannah was tasked with infiltrating the Jedi Temple archives on Coruscant to obtain information about the creatures. Her mission complete, Zannah was surprised to encounter her cousin Darovit, who confessed that he had exposed her presence to the Jedi. Zannah fled Coruscant with him and met Darth Bane on Tython, where the Sith prepared to battle the pursuant Jedi. Despite their numbers, all of the Jedi were slain, although Bane was grievously wounded and on the brink of dying. Zannah returned with her Master to Ambria and demanded on threat of death that the local healer save the Dark Lord, which he agreed to do only after Zannah revealed the Sith presence on Ambria to the Jedi. She betrayed and killed the healer upon completion of the procedure and also used her power to drive Darovit mad. The respondent Jedi assumed that he was the Sith Lord they sought and killed him, effectively convincing the Jedi of the Sith's final eradication. With no surviving witnesses, the existence of Darth Zannah and her Master remained safely anonymous. The Sith relocated to Ciutric IV, and over the course of ten years, Zannah grew to be an accomplished Sith sorceress who equaled Darth Bane in strength. When she failed to confront him for the position of Dark Lord, Bane believed she lacked initiative. However, Zannah had already begun to contemplate his demise. On a mission to Doan, she learned of a Dark Jedi named Set Harth and enlisted the reluctant young man as her apprentice. Zannah returned with him to Ciutric IV to confront her own Master, only to find that Bane had been captured by the Doan Royal Guard. She then returned to Doan, where she infiltrated the place of Bane's imprisonment. She located Bane and fought him, but their duel ended in a draw when both were forced to flee the prison. Soon after, Bane, who had taken the Iktotchi Darth Cognus as his new apprentice, called Zannah to meet him on Ambria, where they dueled for the final time. Zannah was initially overwhelmed by her Master's attacks, but she was able to use her sorcery to injure him. As a last resort, Bane attempted to transfer his essence into her body, but was defeated when Zannah's spirit condemned his to the void of the dark side. Zannah then took Darth Cognus as her apprentice and continued Bane's legacy as Dark Lord of the Sith. "Darth Zannah" created by Darksider80  SECRET SANTA SENT: RODIAN SNOWSPEEDER PILOT created by Darth Daddy _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #27: Lucasclones Lucasclones is a customizer that dives into everything. Right now he's building mini-dioramas for his custom action figures. He customizes Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Desolation, and several other toy lines. He recently even created an H.P. Lovecraft inspired custom. He has an active Youtube channel complete with figure reviews, tutorials, and custom action figure debuts. Lucasclone's podcast has been a boon to the custom action figure community. Working with Imperial Shipyards administrator Tamer on his podcast Custom Action Figure News he made customizers accessible to their fans while getting some great tips on how to make our toys better. His recent addition of "Rountable" discusssions need to be archived for all interested in the artform. These discussions provide a free education  woth a fortune.  I can't even begin to list the many contributions Lucasclones has brought to the community.  Dad became friends with Lucasclones shortly after we appeared on CAFN.  Most of these figures from this post were the result of swaps that they have done through the years. Dad has always loved the "Eyeball" figures that Lucasclones made. They are some of Dad's favorite figures in my collection. PHASE I: ARC TROOPER "EYEBALL" created by LUCASCLONES PHASE II: ARC TROOPER "EYEBALL" created by LUCASCLONES PHASE I: ARC TROOPER "SPARK" created by LUCASCLONES PHASE I: ARC TROOPER "MONSTER" created by LUCASCLONES "DARKSIDE - AHSOKA TANO" ALTERNATE HEAD created by LUCASCLONES Like many collectors of The Clone Wars action figure line, we really wished Hasbro would have released Trandoshan hunting pods in their mini-rig line.  A few years ago, Star Wars customizer Lucasclones made a custom version of the vehicle, and it's the only one I've ever seen made.  If any start-up Star Wars 3-D printer artists want a cool vehicle to sell this would be one of them that I would like to see offered.  If Hasbro had made this I would have bought several. A few weeks ago, Lucasclones was advertising the two Trandoshan hunters pictured below for purchase on his Instagram account.  Dad shot him a text message and asked him if he still had the Trandoshan hunting pod that he had made.  We loved this custom 3 3/4" scale vehicle since the first time we saw it pictured in the Star Wars customizing forums on the web.  Not only did Lucasclones still have the hunting pod in his possession he was willing to part with it.  He even threw in the two advertised Trandoshan Hunters! The roll bar broke in shipping, but Dad was able to repair everything with a little bit of krazy glue.  I'm really happy the add this piece to my collection. "TRANDOSHAN HUNTERS  with HUNTING POD" created by Lucasclones For the link to lucasclones on Imperial Shipyards go to :   http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=3618.0  For the link to lucasclones on Flickr go to : http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucasclones/  For the link to lucasclones on Youtube go to : http://www.youtube.com/user/cha1man2?feature Go here to listen to the Custom Action Figure News podcast:   http://www.imperialshipyards.net/podcasts/index.html or http://lucasclonecustoms.blogspot.com/ If there is anything you would like him to feature on a future podcast be sure to let him know at: [email protected] _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #28:Hangarbay94 The first time we saw Hangarbay94's "Nar Shaddaa Interceptor Patrol Vehicle" we were just blown away.  The silhouette, the color, and the sheer amount of detail that was spread throughout it's entirety put this custom above anything we ever saw before.  The first words out of my mouth when I held it in my hands, "Dad, Hangarbay94's a much better customizer than you." I never saw anything like it.  The imagery was Star Wars meets Blade Runner.  The vehicle was just gorgeous.  I carried it around for two days straight.  I couldn't put it down.  I just loved looking at it.  The slide decal work and the weathering made this custom vehicle look camera ready, set to be used alongside other models and filmed to be in the next Star Wars movie. This vehicle is jam packed with play features too.  The features include a hook and crane that lowers out of the bottom of the vehicle fit for carrying a bundled load or for towing, the cockpit contains a rolling cage in the back seat of the cockpit to detain prisoners or be moved out of the way for regular passengers, opening doors, and all greatly accented by it's flashing lights and sirens.  The detailed paintwork on the super cool droid that came with it was the cherry on top. Julian aka Hangarbay94 is an avid Star Wars fan who has made a name for himself by customising vehicles and creating photo novels. His work is featured on Yakface and at Imperial Shipyards where he is also one of the forum moderators. His ongoing project is a graphic novelization of the classic PC game "X-Wing Alliance" which features a mixture of custom figures, dioramas, vehicles as well as creative artwork Hangarbay94 produced using Adobe Photoshop. Julian is self taught and admits to being heavily influenced by Chewie and other contemporary photo novelists. Amongst his more notable custom projects Julian specialises in making flat, pack-and-easy-to-store dioramas, including large scale fold aways including an LED-lit "Endor Landing Platform" a huge flat-pack "Death Star Hangar" and a "Calamari Cruiser Hangar Bay". Julian also produced a movie novel called Darkchild that we absolutely love here at home.  Jules now admits to biting a little more than he could chew, and sadly the project remains unfinished at chapter 3.  Don't let it prevent you from getting invested.  It still has a big payoff in the experience of it alone.  Hangarbay94 is a real talent in the Star Wars community with his hands in so many different aspects of Star Wars artistry. Every time I see Hangarbay94's work, Dad and I just sit there and wonder how he finds time to do it all and to the levels that he accomplishes. He's just phenomenal and raises the bar for the whole customizing community. Now it hangs suspended from my ceiling at the foot of my bed where I get to fall asleep looking at it and wake up with it being the first thing I see.  It is definitely one of the favorite pieces that I have in my Star Wars custom action figure collection. "Nar Shaddaa Interceptor Patrol Vehicle" created by Hangarbay94  "It is my favourite custom." - Hangarbay94 Hangarbay94's  "Nar Shaddaa Interceptor Patrol Vehicle"         Listen to the artist himself talk about this project: You'll find Julian's X-Wing Alliance graphic novel and movie at:    www.xwa-webcomic.com Also check out his Darkchild series on his Youtube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/hangarbay94?feature=mhum You should also check out Hangarbay94's:  Star Wars Apocalypse and Homeworld - Return to Higara. _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #29: Mikeys customs So it's time for another installment of our Customizer Spotlight.  This time around we are featuring a custom Star Wars action figure that we just had on display at Star Wars Spectacular, but wasn't yet revealed here on the blog.  Dad recently saw this Death Trooper created by Mikeys customs on ebay and we felt it would be a great addition to my zombie Stormtrooper horde.  Mikeys customs is famous for his zombie custom action figures and if you check out his albums in his Facebook profile you'll see just why. "Death Trooper" created by Mikeys customs To go to Mikeys customs ebay page click link below: http://myworld.ebay.com/mike-z_customs?ssPageName=ADME:X:CEM:US:1181 To go to Mikeys customs Facebook page click the link below: https://www.facebook.com/MikeysCustoms Straight out of Joe Schreiber's "Death Troopers" _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #30: Marcus Starkiller Star Wars customizer Marcus Starkiller made a super-articulated Aurra Sing that we couldn't pass up.  We even got a sweet bonus figure when it shipped. "Aurra Sing" created by Marcus Starkiller So it's time to present our latest edition of Customizer Spotlight.  For the month of May, we grabbed two of the newer additions to my collection that were made by Star Wars customizer Marcus Starkiller.  He made a super-articulated Aurra Sing that we couldn't pass up.  We even got a sweet bonus figure when it shipped.  We came across the Star Wars custom action figures of customizer John Bandow, aka Marcus Starkiller, while surfing the forums of Rebelscum and like us he's a huge Star Wars fan. We were really impressed with not only his customs, but also the work he put into their presentation. He recently started to sell some of his customs, and we picked up the above Aurra Sing custom action figure to add to my collection.  He threw in a New Republic Neimodian A-Wing Pilot for free.  Check out his figures and pick up a few yourselves. We can't say how impressed we were with his action figures, and we are sure that you will be too. "New Republic Neimodian A-Wing Pilot" created by Marcus Starkiller Dad also recently picked up Marcus Starkiller's "Ultimate" Durge custom action figure for me.  The action figure was beautifully constructed by Star Wars customizer Marcus Starkiller who incorporated the best elements from all of the Durge action figures that were released by Hasbro.  I had all three of Hasbro's releases, but after seeing Marcus Starkiller's awesome creation, my three figures are all obsolete.  His action figure sports full articulation and a removable helmet featuring the detailed headsculpt from the Comic Pack release.  Durge even fit well on the speeder bike I had in my collection.  This is definitely the best version of Durge I have ever seen committed to plastic.  "DURGE" created by Marcus Starkiller    Hasbro's three Durge releases.  "NIKTO REBEL GENERAL" created by MARCUS STARKILLER "JEDI" created by Marcus Starkiller "ROCKET BATTLE DROID" created by MARCUS STARKILLER  "CAMOUFLAGE BATTLE DROID" created by MARCUS STARKILLER To see more action figures created by Marcus Starkiller click here: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v319/MarcusStarkiller/Custom%20figures/ _____________________________________________________________  CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #31: HUNTER KNIGHT CUSTOMS I was recently asked what my most unique custom action figure was.  I answered, "Read my next Customizer Spotlight."  Well here is the big reveal.  It's my Pulp Fiction Jedi: Julz Saywhat.  This action figure is something Dad got a kick out of, and added to my collection.  Move over Mace Windu.  Hunter Knight Customs makes some great movies for his figures.  Be sure to check out all his links.  This is one tslented customizer that dabbles in multiple toy lines. Pulp Fiction Jedi - Julz Saywhat created by Hunter Knight Customs STAR WARS CROSSOVER FIGURE   by HUNTER KNIGHT CUSTOMS Based on the awesome cult movie "Pulp Fiction" Chris made this awesome crossover figure, featuring one of the most iconic anti-heroes of pop culture and mixed it with Star Wars. The result: the most unique action figure to ever grace your Star Wars collection! Julz Saywat is a Jedi from earth, picked up by Han Solo when he was done "walking the earth like Kane in Kung Fu" He then was secretly trained in the Jedi temple of the New Jedi Order. Now in his first mission he faces a mission similar to the one given to him 17 years ago: Deliver a briefcase safely... This figure includes a Lightsaber and a briefcase with secret contents inside! Only the winner of the auction will get to know what is inside! From Hunter Knight Customs, a leading customizing studio with hundreds of custom action figures made. Their work has been showcased in Hollywood movies such as Sex Drive (we built a car for them) and MTV. Pulp Fiction Jedi - Julz Saywhat created by Hunter Knight Customs "EMPEROR ROAN FEL" created by Hunter Knight Customs Hunter Knight Customs on YouTube ON eBay NOW:  http://tinyurl.com/cc6djv   Visit their website:  http://www.hunterknightonline.com   Visit their store:  http://www.vipcollector.com   Add them on Facebook:   http://www.facebook.com/hunter.knight...   Chek out their Interview with MTV:   http://geek-news.mtv.com/2010/11/15/i...   Follow them on twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/hunterknight1 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #32: Mercury Art Studios We thought it would be a good time to display the figure in my collection that has the most sentimental value. Michael Martinez of Mercury Art Studios did a little bit of everything in all scale, and was a Star Wars fan for years. He was killed on July 2, 2011 in a head on collision with a drunk driver leaving behind a daughter and his pregnant fiancé, Hollie. The 27 year old from Georgia was one of the coolest customizers out there, and he was also a good friend. When Dad first started customizing, Mike and Dad would spend time chatting on Facebook about customizing and the joys of fatherhood. He would share stories of his little girl holding a Dremmel to action figures and making the appropriate sound effects as she imitated her dad. He would always speak about his family with great adoration. Mike was always so generous and eager to share his wealth of customizing knowledge and help Dad out with tips or parts for a new customizing project.  Mike was responsible for showing us the host for almost all of our video content found on the blog.  We never found a customizer so enthusiastic about the art form and the community that surrounded it.  To Dad, Mike was truly an inspiration. A week before Mike died, he told Dad that he had just finished making us a custom action figure, and he was going to be mailing it to us for all that our blog has done for the customizing community.  Sadly we never recived it.  A few months after Mike's passing, Dad saw a custom action figure that Mike had made up for auction on eBay.  Dad was so happy when he was named the highest bidder and we won the auction.  I love that I was able to add Mike's Kee to my collection.  I think at some point or another, all customizers have often dreamed about what it would be like to earn a living solely from the toys we produce. Mike was doing just that. Mike told Dad that he was able to support his family by making just ten custom action figures a week and selling them on eBay. We've loved his customs ever since we first saw them on Yakface.com and couldn't tell you how saddened we are by the loss of one of the greatest talents within this community. Mike you will truly be missed. "Kee" created by Mercury Art Studios Kee When Cade Skywalker visited Rik's Cantina on Coruscant in 137 ABY, she threatened him with a blaster pistol, hoping he could reveal where her former crew members, Jariah Syn and Deliah Blue had absconded with the Grinning Liar, which they had rented after leaving Cade's employ. Unfortunately, Cade was unable to help her or Chak, though he made a joking pass at her. After Cade became enthralled to the Sith, Kee along with Chak joined the crew of the Mynock in Cade's rescue as a necessary step to reaquiring the Grinning Liar which had somehow ended up in the hands of Rav. Kee, along with Chak, Deliah Blue, and Jariah Syn, were later hired by Morrigan Corde to help rescue Cade, who was her son. She assisted Syn in attaching miniature cameras to Yuuzhan Vong bugs Corde obtained from the Empire. After three weeks, when they finally managed to locate Cade and his attempt to escape the Temple of the Sith, Kee commented on how he is "chucking Darth Hottie out the airlock. Kee flew with Chak, Corde, Blue and Syn in the Mynock over the Temple. She made a sarcastic joke about one of the craziest things Syn has ever done. The mission ended in Cade's escape from the Sith. She later accompanied Chak, Cade, and Syn in an attempt to get the Grinning Liar back from Rav. After retrieving the ship, she wished Cade well and asked him to say goodbye to Blue for her. When he told her that the two weren't interacting, the Devaronian called him a nerfherder and encouraged him to talk to her. Click any of the three links below for more from Mercury Art Studios: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Mercur ... 9501317704 http://www.myspace.com/mercury_art_studios http://www.youtube.com/user/mercuryartstudios _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #33: SITHHAPPENS This action figure is one of my favorite custom Mandalorian action figures.  I love the weathering and color scheme on this one, but I think my favorite part is the head once the helmet comes off.  Although the modifications are very simple, it shows that with just a little tweaking, a great figure can be made.   SithHappens is usually known on eBay for selling his numerous resin head casts, but if you're lucky, you can find one of his cool custom action figures too.  Keep an eye out and check his eBay page often.  You may just find an awesome score like this on your next visit. "MANDALORIAN" created by SITHHAPPENS SithHappens blog of Star Wars customs is located at:  http://sanitariumcustoms.blogspot.com. SithHappens eBay page: http://myworld.ebay.com/sithhappens SithHappens' Mandalorian was featured on the front page of Imperial Shipyards. _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #34:  Shaka's Customs aka munchkins2005 This is a cool looking Star Wars custom action figure that we saw on eBay and wanted to add to my collection.  This is a character from Shaka Customs original line, Star Wars The Lost Files: Bluestunie.  We use this figure as a street musician in one of our Tatooine street scenes. Bluestunie is Rappertunie's father, and one of the original members of Jabba's band. Shaka's Customs started by trimming some plastic from the shoulders, and head of a Rappertunie action figure.  Then he built the hair, re-sculpted his head, and a gave the figure a full paint job including his seat and instrument. Shaka's Customs is a seasoned veteran over at Figure Realm.   He has created toys from several toy lines, so you should definitely check out the links below to see more of his work.   "Bluestunie" created by Shaka's Customs aka munchkins2005 To go to the eBay page for munchkins2005 go to the link below: http://www.ebay.com/usr/munchkins2005 Also check out Shaka's Customs on Figure Realm: http://www.figurerealm.com/viewcustomfigures.php?op=4&id=2086 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #35:  JawaKing "Sise Fromm" created by JawaKing Recently we showcased some super-articulated customs action figures from the Droids cartoon that were made by Star Wars customizer Peakob1. Around the same time we acquired those figures, we also obtained another action figure of a character from that same TV show, but made by a different Star Wars artist that goes by the name of JawaKing, and this action figure also featured super-articulation. The action figure was of Sise Fromm, an elderly male Annoo-dat who at one time, was the head of the most powerful crime syndicate in the galaxy. I needed a villain to go with the rest of the action figures I had from the Droids cartoon and this creation was the perfect fit.  The soft goods were created with a heavy suede like material that is always cool to the touch and it is dark and rich in color.  The nicest soft goods material I have ever seen on an action figure.  I loved the weight of the fabric, very heavy and thick.  What I really liked about this fabric was how readily it accepted paint on its surface on how nice it looked once it was applied. The articulation on the figure is just awesome!  Ball joints at the head, shoulder, elbows, knees and ankles with swivel joints at the waist, hips and wrists.  All hidden under that gorgeous regal muumuu. JawaKing customized for the Custom Alliance over a decade ago and just started doing customs again this year.  He's a graphic designer for a paycheck, mostly designing company logos, school mascots, shirt designs, etc.  His main drive though is the large, full-sized creature sculptures he makes for the local art galleries.  He also creates a lot of monsters and decorations at Halloween for Veterans' organizations to help with their fundraising efforts.  Custom Star Wars figures are the only small-scale sculptures he does.  He can be contacted through YakChat as JawaKing. JawaKing has crafted some beautiful figures from the Droids cartoon that I saw posted in a customizing thread over at the forums on Yakface.com.  I fell in love with them the first time I saw them.  I like seeing this new trend that's developing of customizers updating the figures of older characters given a more modern incarnation.  It's also cool how nicely they blend into my collection of other figures now too.  I was really bummed when I found out that JawaKing's Tig Fromm had already been sold to another buyer, but I was so happy that I was still able to obtain his Sise Fromm action figure. I really love this Sise Fromm action figure made by JawaKing.  ____________________________________   "Sise Fromm, was an elderly male Annoo-dat who at one time, was the head of the most powerful crime syndicate in the galaxy. During Senator Palpatine's rise to high office, it appears that Sise Fromm, the elderly then-kingpin of organized crime in the galaxy, was one of several gangsters who made possible the Sith Lord's bid for power. Others seem to have included Jabba Desilijic Tiure and PrinceXizor, fledgling heir to the Black Sun criminal empire. Fromm was fascinated by the Tarkin Doctrine and Palpatine's ambitious dream of a New Order. However, Fromm was ignorant of the Senator's true nature and severely underestimated his partner in crime. Sise hired Boba Fett to eliminate his rival, Klin Kartoosh, leaving him undisputed crimelord of the Annoo system. Sise tried to groom his son Tig to replace him, but the clumsy youth accidentally destroyed Sise's vacation palace on Bolad.[1] Sise assigned soldier Vlix Oncard with damage control duty accompanying Tig. Even after the end of the Clone Wars and establishment of the Galactic Empire, Fromm continued to attempt to compete with Palpatine. However, he was far more successful in his striving than would seem reasonably possible. He even constructed a super weapon similar to the Death Star, a full fifteen years before the Empire was able to accomplish such a feat. This would have posed a serious threat to Palpatine's newly-established government, were it not for a run of incredibly bad luck that destroyed both the space station and his palace. Mad for revenge, Sise Fromm devoted his time to hunting down and destroying the individuals responsible. However, his fellow gangsters Xizor and Jabba sensed the winds of change and spent their resources more wisely, garnering favor with those who seemed to be shifting into power. In this way, Xizor and Jabba built powerful criminal empires parallel and in symbiosis to Palpatine's New Order. Taking advantage of Fromm's temporary insanity and weakened state, Jabba the Hutt made a political power-play that would rob Fromm of his power. The quick-witted Hutt struck while the iron was hot and placed a bounty on the heads of the entire Fromm organization, aiming to crush them while they were still reeling from their losses. Through a series of bad turns with the bounty hunter Boba Fett, the elderly Annoo-dat gangster was captured along with his son and Vlix, their chief officer of security, and turned over to Jabba. Sise survived the ordeal only by agreeing to a deal heavily slanted in Jabba's favor, promising the Hutt a large percentage of the Fromm family business profits and committing their army of Annoo-dat clones to Jabba's attempt at removing the Mandalorian Death Watch diaspora that had encroached on his territory."[2] - from Wookieepedia ____________________________________   "Sise Fromm" created by JawaKing    The Sise Fromm action figure from my collection with JawaKing's Tig Fromm custom action figure.  Unfortunately, the Tig Fromm was already sold. I would have loved to own that action figure too! JawaKing on Yakface.com: http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7332 To go to the ebay page of JawaKing: http://www.ebay.com/usr/itisgreenvw ____________________________________   "VLIX ONCARD" created by markpoon This is a custom replica you can buy on eBay made by Singapore customizer markpoon of a Vlix Oncard Droids action figure. Vlix represents an obscure character from the short-lived Droids cartoon series and is the rarest of all Star Wars figures to be commercially released. In the States, it was scheduled for release in Kenner's 2nd series of Droids action figures, but, due to the cancellation of the show, it was never issued. Vlix was only released in Brazil by Glasslite in 1988 & very few are known to exist. markpoon's Vlix is pressure cast from an original Brazilian Glasslite Vlix in plastic, fully articulated & air-brushed by a professional modeler to match the exact same color as the original figure. It comes complete with a black rifle (cast from an original Hoth Stormtrooper rifle). All mold lines were skillfully removed from the master copy before the mold is made so the figure is extremely well cast. http://www.ebay.com/usr/markpoon _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #36:  JediStyle JediStyle not only has one of the coolest monikers in the Star Wars customizing community, but he also has creativity and skill that fits his name. This Southern California customizer was one of the first artists that really caught Dad's eye when we first started making our own figures and posting in the Yakface forums. Dad has long admired JediStyle's creative character creations, and his ability to apply paint with such beautiful contrasts and colors that REALLY pop.  JediStyle has a great eye for color and he's one of the best painters in the Star Wars custom action figure community. We just love this customizer's imagination and his creations are a testament to how far reaching it is. There is so much to appreciate in every unique piece.   JediStyle took some time off from the hobby. Fortunately, he's back now and still has the ability to unhinge jaws. Recently JediStyle, sent Dad a message, and asked Dad if he could commission him to make a custom Star Wars action figure.   Since Dad was always such a huge fan of JediStyle's work, Dad immediately asked if they could do a figure swap as payment.  For the figure swap they both agreed to create either a bounty hunter or a Jedi for each other, and then mail it when they were finished. Dad didn't feel like he had any good Jedi fodder, at least not at the level to reach his standards. Which meant that Dad would be making a bounty hunter.  At first Dad was going to try and create some crazy alien bounty hunter, but after seeing JediStyle's Mandalorian series, Dad noticed that there were no female Mandalorians on display.  That's when Dad decided that instead of doing an alien bounty hunter, he was going to create a female bounty hunter, a Steam Punk Mandalorian.   Dad shipped his creation out early this month and two weeks ago we received our figure from JediStyle.  Just instead of one figure, JediStyle sent us TWO figures!  Two figures AND a diorama!  He sent a figure for me and a figure for Dad.  I can't tell you how excited I was.  As thanks, I'm going to create a figure for him so he can have a figure from me and one from Dad. The diorama is just beautiful.  The colors in the background are so rich.  I LOVE IT!  We're sure you will too. "JEDI" created by JediStyle To see more Star Wars custom action figures created by JediStyle go to:   http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=357 _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #37: Hyperdrive When it comes to customizing, Hyperdrive is usually known for his signature "weathered and worn" soft goods. Hyperdrive's soft goods work is just amazing!   What many people don't know, is that Hyperdrive has created some customs that have no soft goods work at all involved.   One of these figures can be found in my own collection.  Every holiday season, Customs for the Kid participates in Yakface.com's Secret Santa event in their forums.  Darth Daddy and Hyperdrive were each other's Secret Santa, and Hyperdrive made us a unique droid in the old Vintage style that Dad grew up with.  Both Dad and I were really impressed with this figure.  Dad was most impressed with the sticker that Hyperdrive created on his computer to attach to the torso of the droid.  This figure was a really cool addition to my collection and he is now posed with the complete Vintage Droid Factory playset that I found under my tree this past Christmas.  Originally, we had planned to post this action figure back in January, but Hyperdrive had sent us two packages.  One with the figure and one with the diorama.  Unfortunately, the diorama was lost in the mail for a long time until the box and diorama had been returned by the post office to Hyperdrive's home completely damaged and beyond repair.   VINTAGE DROID created by Hyperdrive To see more Star Wars custom action figures created by Hyperdrive, click the link below: http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=6760    _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #38: MEATHEAD TOYS So I guess this isn't exactly an action figure. It's a statue. He stands about 2.5" tall and is solid hand cast resin.  It was love at first sight and we had to get him.  He'd be great in a Star Wars diorama.   MEATHEAD TOYS struck gold with this concept.  His execution is exceptional too!  We found his work surfing the net and we recommend checking MEATHEAD TOYS out.  He has a lot of fun pieces that you won't see anywhere else. He has a lot of customs for sale on his website, as well as this enlightened droid pictured below.  We really love his Droids cartoon inspired astromechs with their long skinny limbs. We'll leave his Wookiee figures as a surprise for when you give his page a look.  Love our purchase on this one.  This piece is just beautiful! "R2-DA" created by MEATHEADTOYS He's here to help open the door to enlightenment. MEATHEAD TOYS STORE: _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #39:  DAN of the DEAD "For the last 4 years, I have been creating custom action figures for Yakface.com's Secret Santa event.  It's my favorite way to celebrate the holidays since we joined the Star Wars customizing community.  The Yakface forums are where I started posting my artwork when I first started making action figures, and where I made my first friendships with my peers.  Dan of the Dead was also an artist who frequently posted there and I loved his work a great deal.  I was really excited when  I found out that he was the one to receive my gift this year and even more excited when I found out that we were the recipient of his gift. Elias hasn't been able to keep his hands off the gift we received from Dan of the Dead since we got it in the mail on Monday.  I kept noticing him taking breaks every five minutes, picking up the box and gazing at the swoop within as he worked hard at translating the Aurebesh note we received with our gift." -Darth Daddy AUREBESH NOTE The note we received from Dan of the Dead written in Aurebesh. TRANSLATION Greetings Sentient, And congratulations on your acquisition on your Die Industries Scatterblast Class Swoop. As you know, Die Industries patented dual intake engine gives your swoop unparalleled power, and the Scatterblast's unique over/under engine configuration is certain to turn heads! Regrettably, recent Imperial regulations prevent us from installing the full advanced weapons upgrade you requested!  We have credited your account for the cost of the package and hope you enjoy the complimentary, personal defense weapons upgrade installed in its place! Imperial regulations for the require us clarify that the requested detail paint scheme is to no longer be known as "Rebel Red"! The Imperial Security Bureau has suggested "Compliance Crimeon" as a replacement! At Die Industries, we understand you have a choice when it comes to purchasing swoops and other high-end performance speeders, and we appreciate the chance to serve your repulsorcraft needs! We'd also like to wish you a Happy Life Day (barring any local Imperial sanctions regulating the observation of said holiday in your particular sector.) Sincerely, Faded Datheon (Dan of the Dead) Chief Engineer "Die Industries Scatterblast Class Swoop" created by Faded Datheon aka Dan of the Dead Click the links below for more of Dan the Dead: http://www.yakfaceforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=2056 and: http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=2656.0 Be sure to check out his blog: _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #40:  ASIS FILM MODELS The next two podracers we have to share with you all were not only manufactured by ASIS FILM MODELS, but we now own the actual figures used in their advertising photos and can be found in the "Customs for the Kid" home collection. Both of these two figures were painted by ASIS FILM MODELS themselves.  ASIS FILM MODELS paint applications are impressive as their sculpting skills. These figures are just beautiful!    ASIS FILM MODELS puts out a wonderful product for those of you that want to fill out their 3 3/4" collection.  No they don't have articulation but these cast figures bring the bang in every other department.  I always loved the character design of these podracers and ASIS FILM MODELS really brings these characters to life. If you feel like you don't have the ability to paint the figures quite as well as ASIS can, have them paint one for you.  Their paint applications are stunning! We couldn't be more thrilled to own these!  "ALDAR BEEDO" created by ASIS FILM MODELS "BOLES ROOR" created by ASIS FILM MODELS  http://asisfilmmodels.com/shop/star-wars/ Below are two other ASIS FILM MODELS creations that Elias painted.  These pieces paint up beautifully! "WAN SANDAGE"  painted by Elias sculpt and cast created by ASIS FILM MODELS "EBE ENDOCOTT" painted by Elias sculpt and cast created by ASIS FILM MODELS "Customs for the Kid" podracer shelf. These two figures from The Mandalorian are another cool offering produced by Asis Film Models. They are both 3.75" scale figurines and are a great addition to any Star Wars action figure collection. Each are an ultra-detailed resin cast, painted by hand and placed on a custom cardback with a resealable blister. Both of these can be purchased online from the Asis Film Models website. Customs for the Kid has purchased numerous items from this seller in the past and they never disappoint. Buy with confidence! "The Child" is also available in the 6" scale. "THE CHILD" created by ASIS FILM MODELS "LOTHCAT" created by ASIS FILM MODELS  http://asisfilmmodels.com/shop/star-wars/ ___________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #41:  Boutros77 Early in the week, I found some really beautiful Star Wars dioramas up for auction on eBay. When Elias saw them he asked me to bid on them for him and he would reimburse me with the money he had been saving from some commissions that he did. When he won both auctions, he screamed praises to the gods above for his victory. Quite excessively and at great length to my surprise. A low bellow from deep within.  After winning the auction, I inquired and asked the seller who the artist was that made these incredible dioramas for 3 3/4" action figures. I was informed that they were created by artist Carl BouMansour who goes by the handle of Boutros77. His talent has caught the eye of Star Wars blogger/historian Tim Veekhoven who tweeted the artist's work and Boutros77 has even been interviewed by From 4-LOM to Zuckuss.com.  His Cantina and Jabba's Palace dioramas have gotten some serious attention too and I advise checking out his Flickr page. Drool worthy! "Ben's House" created by Boutros77 "Yoda's Hutt" created by Boutros77 A few weeks after we wrote our feature on the new additions to our collection, we had the opportunity to add another one of Boutros77's dioramas to our shelves. This time the display was of the inner passageways of the Tantive IV ship that carried Princess Leia and the Death Star plans.   The craftsmanship on this piece is most impressive. The opening and closing door feature is strong and sturdy, and we really love that one of the wall panels can be removed to increase the angles from which you can take photographs. These design choices really increase playability. The tabs that were engineered to hold the removable wall in place are just some of the fine details that make this a top shelf piece. "Tantive IV Passageway" created by Boutros77  Grooves and a tab are present to keep the removable wall firmly in place when completely assembled.  The tab near the top locks the wall in position. Commissions welcome: http://carlboumansour.co.uk/boutros77.htm Flickr Page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/boutros77/albums _____________________________________________________________ Customizer Spotlight # 42: "STAR WARS REBELS - SABINE's TIE FIGHTER" created by MirkoFx Studio aka Mirko Martinovic When Star Wars fans wrapped up Season 1 of "Star Wars Rebels" viewers gazed at one ultra cool variation on a Tie Fighter via to the artistic stylings of The Ghost crew member, Sabine Wren. Many fans hope that Hasbro releases a version of the vehicle from the "Fire Across the Galaxy" season finale, but as of now we're still waiting for an official announcement that it will happen.  Mirko Martinovic's painted Tie Fighter was probably the best exclusive giveaway at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, because it is one of the only manifestations we have seen of Sabine's Tie Fighter so far. One lucky raffle winner walked away with the prize on the last day of the convention.   When the convention was over, a fan commissioned Mirko to recreate his convention exclusive.  The custom took him 3 whole weeks to complete. A true labor of love! Lucky for us, the person backed out the deal at the last minute.  Mirko was getting ready to list this masterpiece up on eBay when Dad sent him an offer.  I turned 12 yesterday, and I was in complete shock when I came home and saw this beauty hanging from my ceiling with all my other Rebel ships! "STAR WARS REBELS - SABINE TIE FIGHTER" created by MirkoFx Studio aka Mirko Martinovic ("Sabine Wren" action figure created by Darth Daddy) PRESS PHOTOS FROM STAR WARS CELEBRATION ANAHEIM _____________________________________________________________ Customizer Spotlight # 43: Parintachin73 Parintachin73, aka Blaise Bear, hails from Kingston, NY where his time is divided between working full-time, being a parent to a beautiful little girl, freelance graphic designing, and cramming in as many hours at his customs workspace as possible. He has been doing custom figures for about 7-8 years now with an emphasis on Star Wars figures. Although he has been known to delve into the world of superheroes from time to time, his primary goal these days is to expand his skill set and take on new challenges.  Parintachin73 is a veteran with powerhouse skills. We added this particular figure to our collection over a year ago, but we weren't able to post the Jedi Temple Guard on the blog until now. Hasbro has only released a version of this character with five points of articulation, so having Parintachin73's super-articulated version is a real treat.  We love the soft goods he added to the figure.  The handmade keys positioned along the waistline is probably the coolest detail on this figure. We really love his paint work. His colors are so rich and warm. Very nice on the eyes! "Jedi Temple Guard" created by Parintachin73 Link for his work on rebelscum.com: Parintachin73's customs thread For commissions please contact: [email protected] _____________________________________________________________ Customizer Spotlight # 44: "Pimp2-D2's Pimp Speeder  + Exclusive Chauffeur Action Figure" by MANLY ART MANLY ART did an exclusive release of Pimp2-D2's Pimp Speeder + Exclusive Chauffeur action figure for DKE Toys to debut at 2015's San Diego Comic-Con. The run was limited to 30 speeders total. There were no more Speeders or Chauffeurs made in this colorway and they completely SOLD OUT. Each speeder was a re-purposed vintage 1970's Kenner Land Speeder with custom cast resin windscreen and custom resin seats. The set comes with a custom Chauffeur action figure, sticker sheet and instructions. The sticker sheet includes 3 different designs for the hood in addition to cockpit controls and hood interior.   This vehicle was a fun addition to our custom collection and one of the most unique gifts under the Christmas tree this past holiday. "Pimp2-D2's Pimp Speeder  + Exclusive Chauffeur Action Figure" by MANLY ART The packaging for this was really beautiful and very well done. http://manlyart.bigcartel.com/ _____________________________________________________________ Customizer Spotlight # 45:  "Garouf Lafoe" created by CRIMSON DYNAMITE Garouf Lafoe was a male Human from Tatooine. He was an ice trader, fetching ice from the rings of Adriana and bringing it back to Tatooine. Lafoe was a patron in Chalmun's Cantina when Obi-Wan Kenobi took Luke Skywalker there. After witnessing Obi-Wan whip out a lightsaber at both Ponda Baba and Cornelius Evazan, he went outside and informed sandtrooper Davin Felth of the incident. We figured Cantina month would be a great time to share this Mos Eisley related custom in our newest Customizer Spotlight post.  Garouf Lafoe was a character we didn't have represented in our diorama, so when we saw a rendition of him available for sale on eBay we jumped at the chance to add him.  We had many figures made by the artist CRIMSON DYNAMITE so we knew the figure was worth the investment. CRIMSON DYNAMITE is a seasoned veteran in the customizing community. Before adopting his new monniker he had one of the most popular Star Wars custom action figure blogs in the community.  The blog in fact that inspired the creation of our own.  His weekly eBay auctions were eagerly awaited on Sunday evenings.  Custom action figure collectors were elated when the listings returned after a long hiatus.  We have over 30 of his customs here at home.  Be sure to check out his eBay page and save him to your favorite sellers. "Garouf Lafoe" created by CRIMSON DYNAMITE    CRIMSON DYNAMITE eBay Page _____________________________________________________________ Customizer Spotlight # 46: reanimationtoys  reanimationtoys saw Star Wars in the summer of '77.  He said his 7 year old mind was blown away. He made figures from Lok Bloks, before figures were available, and made a TIE-Fighter and X-Wing out of cardboard for his Fisher Price astronaut figures. Later he made a sandcrawler from a large chocolate easter bunny box. He used to put his record player speakers behind his cantina and played cantina band (Moog) over and over and over! Back in '80, reanimationtoys made an AT-AT out of wood, and still laughs at the loose legs as it would not stand up at all!  These vehicular creations were accompanied by various custom figures in those years of characters which were not produced. Unfortunately, only one survives, a Grand Moff Tarkin made from an Imperial officer.  Too cool in the mid-late 80's for "toys", reanimationtoys interest in all things plastic was jump started again in '95 when the "He-man" POTF Star Wars figures arrived. The bug bit again. and the bite hasn't left since. reanimationtoys started dioramas in '01, and actually started with a 2001:Space Odyssey diorama, which he still hast although incomplete. Building dioramas is a way for reanimationtoys to watch and enjoy Star Wars over and over again while "checking that particular pipe in the corner of that room" or "seeing exactly where the blast marks are on that fuselage". reanimationtoys loves building these and only wishes he had more time to devote to each. Although he readily admits that if he had more time, he'd probably still be on his first project! reanimationtoys "Death Star Detention Block AA-23 Diorama" was a great addition to the Death Star display shelves here at Customs for the Kid.  The LED's make his beautiful diorama even cooler! We included a video slideshow below the pictures of the diorama we purchased so you can enjoy two other projects that he recently completed that are both "FOR SALE" on eBay now.  The link to his eBay page is included below as well! "Death Star Detention Block AA-23 - Cell 2187 Diorama" created by reanimationtoys All photos by reanimationtoys. reanimationtoys  reanimationtoys on eBay _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #47:  "Custom Star Wars Action Figure Displays & Death Star Playset"  by thecardboardgalaxy Recently on eBay we came across some very cool custom Star Wars action figure displays.  We picked up all three that were available and then today noticed thecardboardgalaxy added five more unique displays to the store as well.  We already received our first three in the mail and were so impressed with the products being offered, we purchased all five of his new displays as well. We highly recommend these displays to custom action figure artists that want to display their finished action figure art in all its glory.  If you spend hours working on a figure it deserves a good photoshoot with a nice background to complement it.  Good backgrounds are something we can't stress enough to artists just starting out.  If you want the eye of peers, a nice background is key to your overall presentation, even if it is just a clean solid background color.   "Custom Star Wars Action Figure Displays"  created by thecardboardgalaxy The included tiered risers make it easy to support several figures in your display at the same time.  "Death Star Playset" created by thecardboardgalaxy "Yavin IV Base Playset" by thecardboardgalaxy  Visit thecardboardgalaxy eBay store _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #48:  BARBARIAN RAGE TOYS "X-ray R2-D2" Scott Cherry aka Barbarian Rage Toys has been making toys for over a year now.  We were fortunate to come across his toys on Facebook and when we heard about the limited edition launch of his "X-Ray R2-D2" action figure, we were probably the first person to make a purchase when the figure was available for purchase.  Since the figure's launch there have been several variations that were released from a bloody version to a glow-in-the-dark internal skeleton figure. All of them were eye catching.  Barbarian Rage Toys continues to release these limited edition runs of unique retro figures from franchises like Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, and other influences from the 80s - early 90s.  His figures are all hand painted and sculpted. We recommend frequently visiting his Facebook page or Instagram to see what he has in store for us all next. Also be sure to check out his comic strip! "X-Ray R2-D2" created by BARBARIAN RAGE TOYS Patreon , Instagram, Facebook, and Official Website _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #49: "Rogue One - The Death Star Plans"  by Phill Scott Recently, Star Wars customizer Phillip Scott created a 3.75" accessory for the Jyn Erso action figure that I wish we all got on store pegs...the Death Star Plans.  After making the piece, he molded it and produced a limited run of casts.  When he asked if any fellow artists were interested in obtaining a cast, we jumped at the chance to add the small cartridge to the hand of our Black Series figure.  As soon as we received it in the mail, we took some pictures to show it off. "Rogue One - The Death Star Plans" by Phillip Scott THE ORIGINAL POST ON REBELSCUM: "Rogue One - The Death Star Plans" by Phillip Scott _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #50: "Star Wars Rebels" Action Figure Bleacher by Thank The Maker Around our birthdays, we received a surprise package in the mail from our good friend Thank The Maker and we couldn't believe what we found inside the box.  Back in August, we did a feature on Thank The Maker's super cool Action Figure Bleacher Kits.  He painted up a few of the kits to to show how customizable these sets were. All of them were quite stunning, and really showcased what an impressive painter Thank The Maker is.  His Star Wars: Rebels inspired bleacher especially caught our eye.  From the Sabine inspired paint scheme and taggings, to the sleeping quarters of Zeb and Ezra built into the right side of the stand, so much thought and planning went into this amazing work of art.  It's truly incredible. It made a great birthday even better! We loved it so much we spent the rest of the day rearranging all the display shelves in my room just to accommodate it, and boy it was so worth it! The Rebels shelf in my room looks amazing.  The next day we have free, we are going to do an updated video to show everything we have on my shelves so stay tuned! "STAR WARS REBELS" ACTION FIGURE BLEACHER KIT by THANK THE MAKER The sleeping quarters aboard The Ghost was such a cool touch he added to the piece! Click image above to view a 2nd bonus video! _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #51: Custom Cast Cargo Accessory Bundles" created by Empire Toy Works This year I used some of my birthday money to purchase some items from Empire Toy Works to enhance my diorama displays. In the mail, I received a variety of really cool replicas of some Star Wars crates, generators and barrels that I absolutely love.  I highly recommend checking out this artists eBay page for not only the cool accessories he has available, but also to see his gorgeous wooden Star Wars dioramas that I hope to own one day! "Custom Cast Cargo Accessory Bundles"  created by Empire Toy Works EMPIRE TOY WORKS on Facebook EMPIRE TOY WORKS website EMPIRE TOY WORKS on Instagram ROT-GUT STATION (Spaceport Playset) created by EMPIRE TOY WORKS Slideshow Video by Darth Daddy _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #52: "GLAUCUS, LARK & JONK" created by sterlistr Glaucus was a Octeroid male who was also known by the nicknames "Big Guy" and "Big Eye". In 10 BBY, Glaucus spent time watching matches of sabacc in the Lodge on the planet Vandor and witnessed matches between the smugglers Han Solo and Lando Calrissian. He preferred spectating to playing as other players could see his card values reflected in his eye. Lark and Jonk, nicknamed the twins was a Danzikan who was also present playing inthe infamous sabacc game where Han Solo and Lando Calrissian first met. Star Wars customizer, sterlistr, offered painted resin casts for both of these characters for sale an his eBay page and we jumped at the chance to add these characters to our collection. Because Hasbro has not released any of the sabacc players from the film "Solo: A Star Wars Story", action figures of any of the characters are in high demand. We highly grab picking up some for yourselves while they are still available. "GLAUCUS" created by sterlistr "LARK & JONK" created by sterlistr eBay Page for sterlistr _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #53: "RENNEK & PUCIMIR THRYSS" created by Jaeger45 Well, we are halfway through the year, and we are confident in saying that Christopher Herman aka Jaeger45, has made the two coolest customs so far this year. When Dad first saw the soft goods robe and sculpted RAF flight suit on Jaeger45's "Rennek" we were pretty sure it was the best soft goods work we had ever seen in the 3.75" scale. From the resin beads that accent the sleeves to the fur trim, Rennek had all the bells and whistles. The fit of the robe on the action figure looked like it was made by a professional tailor. When Dad mentioned to Jaeger45 that he was interested in having the figure commissioned, he agreed to the request and when the figure came in the mail, we were surprised to find a head and robes to make his "Pucimir Thryss" action figure in the box too! Jaeger45 said we just needed a Coffee colored Vitruvian H.A.C.K.s Blank Figure from Boss Fight Studio to complete the figure. We already had one in our fodder so we only had to paint the sandals to add him to our Jabba display. The paint application on the figures he sent were just phenomenal, and they were two of the nicest figures we ever added to our collection. We were so thankful and we couldn't be more pleased!  We highly recommend checking out more from this artist in the link below. "Rennek & Pucimir Thryss" created by Jaeger45 Background from thecardboardgalaxy. Background from thecardboardgalaxy To see more custom action figures from Jaeger45 click the link below: http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=9003.0 _____________________ _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #54:  3.75" "ORRAY" created by Lord Sixth Customs Lord Sixth Customs has been making amazing customs for many years now. Dad once featured his customs back in 2015 in one of his features for "Darth Daddy's Customizing Corner". What we always loved about this artist was his focus on the creatures of the Star Wars universe. When he recently made one of his latest creations available to a small number of collectors, we jumped at the chance to own one of his creations.  The Orray were one of the cooler creatures to appear in "Attack of the Clones". The Geonosian battle arena was filled with several eye-catching beasts, but while Hasbro did a stellar job bringing the gladiatorial creatures to life, the larger service creatures like the Orray were not found on toy store shelves. Orrays appeared across the screen present in the background amid all the action both being ridden by their Geonosian mounts as well as being seen pulling the chariot transporting Senator Padmé Amidala and Jedi Anakin Skywalker into the arena as they openly confessed their love for each other and shared a kiss. When building a diorama and recreating the scene at home, we felt that the Orray made by Lord Sixth Customs was a necessary addition to any Prequel collection. The paint and handcrafted accessories are meticulously executed in this piece. From the detailed paintwork on the creature's eye's down to the leather work throughout. We can't express how fortunate we feel to have this piece added to our collection.  We heavily suggest using the links below to stay on top of this artists work in case another offering like this rolls along. I would hate for anyone to miss out on a future release. "ORRAY" created by Lord Sixth Customs LOOKS GREAT WITH AN "ATTACK OF THE CLONES" BATTLE ARENA TOO! You can see Lord Sixth Customs on display at Sideshow Collectors: http://www.sideshowcollectors.com/forums/star-wars-custom-figures-and-dioramas/142239-coleccionismosw-1-6-customs.html  Lord Sixth Customs Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lordsixthcustoms   Lord Sixth Customs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lordsixthcustoms _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #55:  UZAY CUSTOMS For the holidays, I received some really cool custom pieces from artist Murat Bingöl of Turkey who goes by UZAY CUSTOMS. He carries so many pieces I have wanted to add to my collection for a long time now. I had received the Blurrgs and the Lanai for Christmas and Murat was nice enough to throw in a baby Grogu, baby Blurrg, a carbonized Mythrol, and some crate and barrel accessories with our first order. Dad asked me to wait before posting them all to the blog knowing we still had a second shipment incoming and it would be better to post everything all at once. This past weekend, I received my next batch of offerings from UZAY CUSTOMS which included some great pieces from The Mandalorian as well as a pod from the Revenge of the Sith that held Anakin's charred body after his duel with Obi-Wan on the planet of Mustafar. The Kowakian Kebab cooking station was the coolest offering from this weekend, because that was one of the biggest standout moments of the first episode of the show for me. The Heavy Cannon was the other big standout moment from the episode so it was really awesome that I was able to add both to our collection. UZAY CUSTOMS has some beautiful customs that would make great additions to anyone's collections. It is important to mention that he uses a filament printer to make his pieces so if print lines are something that bother you, you may want to take that into account. We feel like the post-print paint applications do a great job distracting you from those lines so take that into consideration as well. UZAY has upgraded his Blurrgs since our purchase, and his new version now has articulation like his new Mudhorn custom. In the near future, we are hoping to pick up some of his new Gamorrean fighters from Season 2 of The Mandalorian. "BLURRG" created by UZAY CUSTOMS Love the little Blurrg he gifted us. Uzay Customs surprised us by packing these items in with our order free of charge. "MYTHROL in CARBONITE" created by UZAY CUSTOMS This was also a cool bonus we didn't expect! "KOWAKIAN KEBAB" created by UZAY CUSTOMS "HEAVY MACHINE CANNON" created by UZAY CUSTOMS "ANAKIN POD" created by UZAY CUSTOMS "LANAI CARETAKER" created by UZAY CUSTOMS On Instagram On Facebook _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #56:  MOFF GLIDEON'S CUSTOMS Moff Glideon's Customs is relatively new to the scene, but his 3-D printed customs have caught the eyes of many collectors and his offerings have received much fanfare.  His 3-D printed Trandoshan Hunting Pods are what attracted our attention. We liked that Moff Glideon's Customs presented the option of a do-it-yourself kit for $60 or a painted version for $100. We went for a finished painted piece in our purchase. The vehicle arrived in a well packed box and the plastic it was composed of was nice and sturdy for a 3D print. The paint was well applied throughout and the lights of the vehicle are done in glow-in-the-dark paint which was a really cool detail that we enjoyed. We also really liked that the rotary gun was attached with a magnet and could move from left to right. While we purchased a less screen accurate version of the hunting pod from Lucasclones back in 2014, we really liked how well the 3-D printed version was captured in this newer edition. The new vehicle is going to look great posed with our Clone Wars Ramy and Trandoshan Hunter action figures by Peak-OB1 Custom Creations.  The MSP80 Pteropter (or Pteroptor) Hover Pod was an airspeeder model used by Trandoshan hunters on the moon of Wasskah to hunt their prey as sport during the Clone Wars. The MSP80 had a rotary repeating blaster cannon and three landing legs that folded up during take-off. The speeder was open in the back, with no safeguards. The speeders were usually parked on the landing platform of the floating fortress. When the hunting games began, three Trandoshans got on each speeder, flew into the jungle and started searching for their prey. One of these vehicles was hijacked by a group of Padawans that had survived multiple hunts; after capturing Smug, a Trandoshan guard/sniper, they mind-tricked him to call his comrade Krix and ask for transportation. Krix arrived only to find that he had stepped into a trap. The Padawans knocked him and Smug unconscious and took the vehicle. "MSP80 PTEROPTER HOVER POD" created by Joseph Glidden aka MOFF GLIDEON's CUSTOMS Posed with Hasbro's The Clone Wars Bossk action figure. MOFF GLIDEON's CUSTOMS on FACEBOOK _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #57: THE 3D PANDA  For this year's Pride month, my dad surprised me with a set of action figures from THE 3D PANDA.  Customs of Flix and Orka from the animated TV Series Star Wars Resistance. Hasbro's action figure collection from the show was a bit lackluster and could have benefited from being fleshed out a bit more with some additional characters from the show like Neeku, Tam, and the rest of the Ace pilots. That is why Flix and Orka are such wonderful additions to my shelves.  I always enjoyed the diversity of Star Wars, and to see Lucasfilm actively try to include LGBTQ+ characters in the Star Wars universe is something I greatly appreciate.  As a society we have made great progress when it comes to including minorities, and it warms my heart to know that my favorite Star Wars films, shows, and now my own shelves are no exception. The figures were purchased from the Etsy store of THE 3D PANDA. THE 3D PANDA is a husband/wife team of Norm Wilson and Christina Wilson from Knotts Island, North Carolina who make custom 3D printed action figures, displays, and more!  Orka & Flix were a "Print-To-Order" listing. Once your order is placed, the figures will be printed and painted. They list their current lead-time on painted, "Print-To-Order" figures at 4 weeks.  We couldn't be happier with these two custom Star Wars Resistance figures! Lots of bang for your buck in this set. Both action figures came with their own numbered trading card, and if you purchased both figures, you receive an exclusive trading card to complete the 3-carded set. Both Orka and Flix figures exhibited very well thought out designs. We loved how THE 3D PANDA handled the articulation by utilizing well-concealed magnetic joints. The paint was exceptionally applied also. Flix was a bit top heavy and would have had trouble standing on his own, but the artists wisely included two dabs of Blu-Tak to provide him with a firm stance eliminating any display concerns. The accessories included with each figures are pretty fabulous too and fit in the hands with some proper positioning. We highly recommend picking these up if you are a fan of the show or just Star Wars for that matter. "STAR WARS RESISTANCE" ORKA & FLIX created by THE 3D PANDA A third trading card is included if you order both figures at once to complete the 3-carded set. Orka comes with a wrench and Flix had a data pad, Orka has an articulating head as well as articulating shoulders and hips. Flix has articulating shoulders. _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #58: "REVENGE OF THE SITH" OBI-WAN KENOBI  HEAD created by Spartan 118 Customs This figure was made with a painted head that we purchased from the online store of Spartan 118 Customs. He has a lot of fantastic painted heads to choose from. When we saw his Episode III Obi-Wan Kenobi head, we knew it was time to swap the head out on our Revenge Of The Sith action figure. We had to modify the original figure by reducing the ball joint and then we also needed to increase the size of the hole in the head itself before attaching it, but we love the results. This figure looks absolutely fantastic now.  "REVENGE OF THE SITH" OBI-WAN KENOBI  HEAD created by Spartan 118 Customs _____________________________________________________________ CUSTOMIZER SPOTLIGHT #59: "Ewoks: The Battle for Endor" action figures created by Two Mirrors Treasures Nine years ago Dad made a Kaink and Chukha Trok for a fellow customizer and about seven years ago we made some additional "Ewok: The Battle for Endor" action figures for a family member. First we made a Cindel Towani and Noa Briqualon. The following year we made him a Charal.  Ever since the figures were completed we have wanted to add a set of these characters to the collection for ourselves. Recently, Dad came across some custom models on Etsy from seller Two Mirror Treasures of Prague from the Czech Republic. The painted models were very reasonably priced and Dad grabbed them to fill out our Endor Ewok Village display. After opening our shipment, we took some photos of our new figures and quickly added them to our shelves. Unfortunately, these models lack any articulation but they do fit within the 3.75" scale. Don't let the lack of articulation deter you from buying these though because the sculpts and paintwork are just wonderful. Two Mirror Treasures recently started to offer an articulated King Terak so keep an eye out for him in his store. "Ewoks: The Battle for Endor"  action figures created by Two Mirrors Treasures King Terak & Charal King Terak Turok Woodland Creature King Terak & Turok Woodland Creature Kaink, Cindel Towani, Chukha Trok, Shodu & Woklings Kaink Chukha Trok Shodu & Woklings Kaink, Chukha Trok, Shodu & Woklings Cindel Towani Two Mirrors Treasures Visit Store