Меня зовут Наталия .

🛍 Мой магазин мастер-классов: https://pro-rukodelie.com📚 My shop for beading master classes in English: 🇺🇸 http://ETSY.me/383DSxB

Here's some ZBrush renders of the hyena I made for my master class for the upcoming Artstation/Gnomon 2018 Master Classes. Check it out here: https://www.artstationmasterclasses.com/ Cheers!

🔥 My Digital Art Bootcamp - GET YOUR ART GLOWUP!! (22+ classes)https://digitalartbootcamp.com |ω･)ﾉ Hey guys! Here's the THIRD episode of the Master Class s...

Russian artist Pokrovskaya Vera (_from.dust_) Эмальер 6ого разряда и мастер с руками из плеч) Энтузиаст и хранитель раритетных знаний! Веду мастер-классы в Санкт-Петербурге. I am an enamel artist and a teacher of hot enamel master classes. My workshop is located in St. Petersburg Instagram _from.dust_ https://vk.com/club148976778 https://t.me/fromdustenamel

Russian artist Pokrovskaya Vera (_from.dust_) Эмальер 6ого разряда и мастер с руками из плеч) Энтузиаст и хранитель раритетных знаний! Веду мастер-классы в Санкт-Петербурге. I am an enamel artist and a teacher of hot enamel master classes. My workshop is located in St. Petersburg Instagram _from.dust_ https://vk.com/club148976778 https://t.me/fromdustenamel

Hey guys, Here are a couple of experiments on crates fences and planks based on Will Weston's teaching. As I don't live in los angeles, I can't attend his master classes, but I do believe I can reverse engineer his teachings trough his instagram posts. I already have learned quite a bit by doing these exercises. Going back to form, balance and design principles is never bad I believe and I needed to get back to pencil drawings for my own fun :D I know there are things to fix here, but here is an exemple of what studying is to me :) Next is going to be those huts! Please, all credits for these teachigns go to: https://www.instagram.com/willwestonstudio/

Master the art of adding and subtracting decimals with this informative quiz designed for grades 4 and 5! This single assessment aligns with CCSS standards 4.NBT.B.5 and 5.NBT.B.7, testing your ability to solve problems involving decimal addition and subtraction. Before diving into the quiz, solidify your skills with the included 4-page review section packed with engaging practice problems. Get ready to conquer those decimal operations! The author retains copyright. This product is intended for the exclusive use of the original downloader. Unauthorized copying for multiple individuals beyond the original downloader is strictly prohibited. Commercial distribution of this product is not permitted; it is exclusively designed for classroom and personal use ONLY. You have permission to make as many copies as you need for your students in your own classes. I frequently have new resources added to my store. Check out my other items at Scholastic Champions. Join my email list so you can stay up to date on all my latest product offerings. New subscribers get a FREE resource. Sign up HERE. https://mailchi.mp/6606ddee8864/library

"5,000 DnD Tokens Mega Pack" ✨ If you're a Dungeon Master, I recommend checking out all my other packs here: https://www.patreon.com/c/tabletoptreasures862/shop and especially my DM's Toolbox (whole shop bundle) available here: https://www.patreon.com/TabletopTreasures862/shop/dungeon-master-toolbox-270000-assets-113029 Elevate your gaming experience with my expansive pack of 5,000 tokens! This collection has been carefully curated for both avid players and dedicated Dungeon Masters. Whether you're detailing your character sheet, chronicling tales in your campaign journal, or bringing stories to life, our tokens ensure every scene is visually captivating. Perfect as a gift or a must-have for your personal collection, dive into a realm of high-quality fantasy artwork that enhances every adventure. ? As a Game Master (GM) myself, I wanted to bring variety in dnd Tokens choice, at an affordable price. Here's a pack of over 5000 Tokens (circular and cut-out / transparent) to illustrate your online games on virtual tabletops . ? In this pack, you'll find, (for example) : Angels Assassins Barbarians Barmaids Bards Bashees Cursed warriors Dark Elves Demons Druids Dwarves Elves Elementals Fairies Ghouls Ghosts Giants Goblins Gladiators Golems Guardians Kings Kobolds Knights Mages Mercenaries Minotaurs Monks Necromancers NPCs Ogres Orcs Paladins Rangers Rogues Sailors Satyrs Skeletons Undeads Vampires Various Monsters Warriors Wizards, Mages, Witches ... ... And MANY, Many more varieties... This pack doesn't claim to be perfect; there are probably missing races and classes, but I simply wanted to bring variety and choice. ? , I can't send it directly to you via patreon, when your order will be made, you will automatically receive a PDF file with the link of the google drive account on which I stored the images, all that will be left for you to do is download them. These are unique creations inspired by the fantasy medieval world, and they are not labeled DND artworks. You can use them for other universes like Pathfinder, Shadowrun, GURPS, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Call of Cthulhu, or for your personal projects. ⚔️ I created images with passion, being myself a game master on DnD, who always had trouble finding illustrations ⚔️ Digital Download: Please note that this listing is for a digital file only. You won't receive a physical object. -Personnal use only, contact me for commercial projects. The purchase of these partially generated by AI images does not give you the commercial right on them, you are forbidden to trade them Feel free to contact me if you have any questions !

Recently I had the great privilege to interview Barron Storey, an artist with decades of experience drawing, illustrating, and teaching art. When I first saw his work he instantly became one of my heroes, and when I had the opportunity to sit in on his illustration class I was blown away by his teaching. Many are familiar with his work, which includes; Time Magazine covers, rain forest illustrations for National Geographic, the first commissioned space shuttle rendering by NASA, the iconic cover for the 1980 reissue of Lord of the Flies, and illustrations for Neil Gaiman's The Sandman: Endless Nights. I was fascinated with learning more about Barron's life, career, and artistic philosophy, so I asked him if he would be up for an interview.  He agreed and the text below is our transcribed conversation. -- Download a PDF of the Interview Here -- A = Aaron Silverberg B = Barron Storey A: When did you first get the idea that you could be a professional artist? Was there a specific moment when you thought you could turn drawing into a career? B: I wasn’t even aware of it, but it had become a career. My parents were very proud of what I could do, I could draw a likeness and that was pretty impressive to them. I drew famous people, and they would send those things to the famous people, and we would get their letters back from their office, saying “Oh, thank you very much, it’s really nice... Blah blah blah.” I didn’t think of it as a job, I didn’t think of it as a career, I was just doing it. Then in school, I was the go to artist for posters, illustrations for the yearbook, portraits of the teachers. All of that I took in stride, proud that I could manage to please people. I didn’t think of it as necessarily a career choice. When I graduated out of high school I was planning to go to an engineering school. However, my grades drooped my last years in high school thanks to the fact that I started paying a lot of attention to girls, and I needed an absolute top notch grade to go to M.I.T., which I was planning to do. And I didn’t have the grades. That perplexed my parents quite a bit. My dad, trying to save the situation, thought maybe I should travel a little bit to get matured. Would I like to travel and go to Europe? Or would I like to go to art school? I chose art school.  But, it was more than that. When I was in high school, I took a correspondence course, the Famous Artists Course, and I was teaching myself a lot. I was checking out books right and left, doing copies of master drawings. It was pretty clear that was the direction I was headed. I didn’t know about the career aspects of it until I got out to Art Center in California, and realized, “Yeah, people do this for a living.” A: Was there any moment where you consciously made the commitment to pursue the arts? B: Yes, there was a double reverse. I left Art Center without graduating, and I left very disenchanted with school. They had canceled the illustration program, which was the whole reason I was there. They really didn’t cancel it, they were threatening to cancel it and had told everybody that they were going to, but they didn’t because, let’s face it, illustration draws in a lot of students. People like it. But I was very unhappy with the schools attitude about it, and I left under somewhat of a cloud of protest. I had to go to work, so the only thing that I knew how to do was drawing. I tried to stay away from ‘commercial art’, as we used to call it, but I had to make a living so I took a job as a draftsman. I was working at Texas Instruments in my hometown of Dallas, and I was doing maps of Russia, showing potential targets. Department of defense kind of work. While I was there they discovered that I could illustrate. So they started getting on me to do illustration for their conference meetings. Pretty soon I was doing fairly large paintings of a helicopter, tipping a sonar device in the ocean, looking for subs, things like that. They would take these to meetings, and put them on an easel just to attract attention. Somebody told me, “You know what, you’re getting paid nothing for that. You could get good money for doing that.” I was making two dollars and one cent, an hour. So I thought, ‘yeah I guess that’s true. Where do I go to get a job where they will pay me better?’ I moved into a graphic design studio as an illustrator and I wasn’t doing much illustration. I was doing things like toothbrush spatters in taped borders to represent layers of the earth for the Halliburton Oil Company.  Then from there, I went to another studio where I got closer to doing illustration, and finally I got a job with a very sharp designer, who saw in my portfolio that I could do some interesting stuff. Together we started winning awards and art director shows, and that was strong evidence that I had what it took. But the job was in Dallas, it was the provincial market, and I didn’t particularly like the type of jobs that were coming in– booklets for a company that made car air conditioners; pamphlets for a firm that sold tract houses, things like that. It wasn’t all that terrific, although, I was proud to be making a living on my own. But then my wife got pregnant, and she decided that we should move to New York before the baby came. And we did.  Once in New York, I had to hit the market place and see where I could find a job. I worked for a few years in advertising, doing comps. In those days they didn’t have Photoshop, so they had people do an actual hand done rough for an ad they wanted to run. I had grown up as a car guy, I had built my own car from scratch, and I drove an Alpha Romeo, so they shifted me to the Ford account. I sat there, at J. Walter Thompson, and painted a lot of cars for their ads. A guy who had just left a different agency and had moved in to my room said, “ you know, you should go get my job.” He knew I was not getting much pay, and he was right. I went and got his job and tripled my pay at a different agency. At that point, I was doin’ ok.  Barron Storey- De Tomaso 'Mangusta' I didn’t like doing advertising work, but I was doing freelance illustration on the side. I was on a career path, definitely. When I got to New York, I realized it was wrong to think that I could be a painter because I had never dreamed of the kind of extreme works that the painters in New York were doing. When I saw them, I just thought, ‘Oh my god, there’s no way I could build a fourteen foot high electric man out of naugahyde, like Claes Oldenburg.’ I realized, ‘ Yep Barron, you’re an illustrator. You’re not a painter.’ I was painting, but my paintings were pathetic compared to the other things that I saw. So my last objection to my career crumbled, and luckily it was at a time when I had a very inspiring teacher who taught me to be proud to be an illustrator.  A: During that transition period from student to professional, what did you learn about visual communication and drawing? What did that period teach you?  B: It was a shake down. I had natural tendencies, in visual communication and drawing. I had been on the track to be an engineer, so I had a lot of technical interest and I drew a lot of technical things. I designed machines and built them from my drawings. My dad was an architect so it was in my family to make drawings prior to building something. Because I had this knack, I got work doing technical stuff. I was also a guy who had been involved with motorcycles, I was a motorcycle racer, and I lived right down the street from a place that published a motorcycle magazine. I walked down there and said, “Hey, I know motorcycles. Maybe I can do some work for you.” It’s not quite as simple as that, I went through a process of rejecting that idea first. But eventually, I recognized the motorcycle work as a calling, and when I tried it, I really loved it. So I spent the whole first part of my illustration career, doing machines basically. Cars, motorcycles, airplanes, finally spacecraft; which shifted into doing things of a scientific sort. Because I had been engineering inclined, I was able to understand details and structure in technical materials, that made me a natural. But I wanted to paint people, it took me a while, but I got there too. Barron Storey- Letter to my father A: What was the job that you did with NASA? You mentioned working on the spacecraft, what exactly was that job like? B: That was a very exciting part of my life. Recently a television program called Cosmos, the new version of the old Carl Sagan series, really captured my attention because that was the world I was born to be involved in. The space shuttle project was a direct outgrowth of my work for airplane magazines. I did a lot of work for a magazine called Flying, somebody at NASA picked up on it, and I got a call, “come to Washington, we want to talk to you about a project.” Pretty soon I was traveling around the country, going to various NASA installations, seeing the shuttle. It did not exist as a total system at the time, it was in pieces in different parts of the country. But they sent me around, and I got to pretend I was an astronaut. I thought of myself as a real cool dude for getting this job. Barron Storey- Illustration for Flying Magazine It was tricky. It was the first time I had ever worked for the government, and what I didn’t know was that in government contracts if you miss the promises that are built into a contract, they don’t owe you a dime. If you miss the delivery date by one day, they can legitimately tell you they don’t owe you a dime. I worked on that project for four months, and it looked like I wasn’t going to get it done on deadline. But I had put a tremendous amount of work in it, and they knew it, so a group of suits came up from Washington and took a look at my painting. The painting was about seven and a half feet wide and pretty impressive. They saw that they had something cool on their hands, so they rewrote the contract, and I did not get stiffed on that job. And now that painting is in NASA headquarters, and I’m pretty proud of it.  Barron Storey- Space Shuttle Cutaway A: I read that you got to sit inside the space shuttle. Was it just part of the space shuttle at that time?  B: I got to sit inside the trainer, it was a simulated space shuttle. It was the control cabin of the shuttle, and the windows had very primitive, computer displays. You could sit there and deploy the arm that was in the bay. In those days the only kind of computer graphics they had was really simple vector graphics, almost like connect the dots. So it wasn’t very realistic, but it was still very exciting. A: You've mentioned that artists need sensitivity rather than strength, and I was wondering if you think this applies to the concept of discipline? What does discipline mean for the artist?  B: Discipline is a wonderful tool to have in your toolkit. Some arts are more demanding of discipline than others. In many cases, drive will substitute for discipline. As a matter of fact, discipline, very often, guides you away from an art career. Art is subjective, it’s not as quantifiable as other things. As a result there is more wiggle room around the doing of the work than there is in other fields. Now an artist can, essentially, get away with things that would be inexcusable in a more proletarian context. I’m very romantic about art, and the idea of discipline does not resonate for me. I wish I had more access to that tool, but I am more compulsive than disciplined. I can’t stop, I can’t stop. If you define discipline as being able to stop when you needed to stop, I am undisciplined; and so, by the way, are most of the artists that I admire. It doesn’t mean you can get away with violating an agreement because  illustration is a commercial endeavor, it’s business. And you cannot bail on doing what you have told people you will do. It requires discipline, and not fulfilling the job you have been hired for is unforgivable, and your career will be over quickly. So you need discipline. I say sensitivity over strength because art is so very, very subjective, in my opinion. Two people looking at the same image can have radically different reactions to it’s value, and that’s not true of the hard rules of economics and business. With things like business and economics, bottom line is bottom line. Art is different, It’s magical. As an artist, you’re setting yourself up to be something of a shaman, and that means you're risking being thought of as a complete faker. But it works out because of the incredible results that are achieved by artists. That’s why I say sensitivity is more important than strength. Strength is definitely more important than sensitivity if you’re a football player.  A: Speaking of how different people interpret your work, what is the usefulness of feedback, and how do you get useful feedback? Is there a way that you have found to understand how your work is communicating? B: The long, long career that I have had has put me through many different kinds of feedback loops. I get general respect from a certain kind of people when they want me to do work for them. I’m sometimes astonished of how much they think of what I’ve done. Other times, it should be particularly obvious to me that I have done something wrong, but it’s not, because I’m so into what I’ve done. And I can’t really learn much from the negative feedback that comes back because I’m so devoted to what I’ve done. But this is typical of all kinds of endeavors and the kind of art that I make is a popular art, so there are barometers. If you get another job, it means that the last job you did was the best promotion piece you could possibly have done. It’s that way for an actor, for a musician; it’s that way for many, many people who use the skills of the arts to earn a living. I’m somebody who has never quite matured, a terminal adolescent, and I’m still somebody that is hungry for approval. So when I get it, everything is hunky-dory. When it’s not there, I start crashing really bad. Especially now that I’m older, and I’m dealing with a has-been kind of profile. I’ll show things, and I think they're going to go over really well, and they don’t; I really bottom out. I should be used to that with my long career, but it’s still that way. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced it, but I can be working away at my board  and somebody will walk into the room –they won’t even look at what I’m doing– but just because they’ve walked into the room, I start seeing what I’m doing differently. It’s as though I’m seeing it suddenly through their eyes. I haven’t got a clue what they think of it, but all of a sudden, I’m not in my own skin.  It’s sometimes referred to in a derogatory sense, as ‘people pleasing’. You know, I’m a people pleaser. I want people to like what I do. I don’t have the guts to do things that they dislike, even though I see some geniuses that really go to town on things like that. I like people to like what I do. Over the many, many years I have been working, I have become addicted to whatever kind of positive feedback I can get. I’m clearly not objective about it. If somebody says they like something I’ve done, I don’t go through a process of evaluating, “well how important is that one, what are the credentials of this person to say something I did was good?” I don’t go through that. I just go, “Oh, thank you!” I’m just pleased as punch. I draw on the street all the time and people always come up and say, “ Wow, that’s great.” That does it for me, I’m buzzed. I really appreciate it.  A: You must have a lot of life sketching stories after sketching so much. Is there one you can share with us? B: I do have a lot of stories. One of my favorites is when I was drawing in China. I was in Hong Kong, but we took a train into mainland China. The deal was, unless you had a certain passport, you couldn’t get off the train, but you could ride the train. The train would make various stops at market places along the way where you were expected to get off, buy something, and get back on. They were not checking passports there either, so I got a tour of mainland China this way, without having the right passport. I was traveling with my buddy, who was a really brilliant photographer, but everywhere we went, people shunned him. It was like he was a spy. They saw that camera and they were not pleased. Nobody was smiling in front of him and nobody wanted to get their picture taken. It was not cool that he was taking pictures. On the other hand, I’m drawing with a pen and ink, and that is part of the Chinese soul. That is the way they write, and the way they write is directly related to the way they think. So I was a comrade, and people would gather around me and watch me draw. It was complimentary, and I appreciated it, but there was something about the cultural differences that began to be weird. I would be making marks in my book and people would come up and while I’m making marks in the book, they would lift up the pages and look in the back of the book. They thought that, like a Chinese person, I had started from, what you and I would call, the back of the book.  They were looking for some other drawings in there, while I’m making marks on the paper! I mean, are you serious?! That was amazing.  Also, on various occasions somebody would see something in my book, and they would want it, and I was supposed to give it to them. In China, that’s the customary response to somebody in expressing a desire to have something that you have. You don’t give it to them for nothing; they give you something, you give them what they want. So I met people who would look at my book, they would like something, would go away for a little while, and come back with something, like a map of a Chinese territory or an advertisement for a big hotel, that they would give me with great ceremony. I didn’t want it! I had no interest or need for that and, “Damn, am I supposed to give you one of my own drawings for this hotel advertisement?” But, the answer was yes... that was what I was expected to do, and I did it. I regretted losing my drawings, but you know, when in China, do as the Chinese do.  A: Now your drawings are out there, in homes, all across China.  B: (laughs) We were performing in a theater and we had to take our shoes off to go inside, and so did everybody else. So there was a huge pile of shoes just outside the theater door, and I started drawing the shoes. Those were the drawings that people wanted, so I would draw a few shoes and give it to somebody... draw a few more shoes and give it to somebody. A: So that trip to China was for theater then? B: Yeah I was a part of a performing ensemble that did some tours in Europe and China. It was interesting, it was really interesting. I loved what we were doing, but it was  controversial because the performers were naked, and they had shaved all the hair off their bodies. It was awesome to see because there was nothing ‘strip show’ about it, it was high art! But it was not seen as that by some of the authorities, so we were very controversial in China. They would arrange interviews with the press where we would be asked very challenging questions. This was on the front pages of the newspaper, like it was the big scandal or something. So it was dicey for a while, but the good news was, with the young people that came to our shows, they absolutely loved what we were doing. The audience kept us for a long time after each show, having a question and answer period through an interpreter. On one of the last shows we did, a guy showed up in military uniform, and stood up when we were doing the question and answer period. He told the audience, in Chinese, that it had become the official policy of the government that we were not pornography, we were art. That was big news! Of course we knew that! But for them to give us that stamp of approval was important to the audience. When they heard that, they came down, off of the rather steep risers in this auditorium, in a swarm. We were all sitting on the stage for the question and answer period, and they just swarmed around us like a school of fish! It was an amazing, amazing experience. It was one of the very, many things that art has given me, in my years of working in different areas.  A: Did your involvement in theatre teach you any lessons that applied to the graphic arts as well?  B: Absolutely. I worked with a group of actors and performers that specialized in doing deconstructed classic plays, a lot of which were Shakespeare plays. I came on because I knew some people in the company and they liked my drawings, so they thought I could design sets or do costume design. Pretty soon, I was doing stage props and things like that. Gradually, I got more and more involved in the group, and I even began to act in some of the shows. It was because I was doing these classics –like Hamlet, or The Tempest, or Macbeth– that I got in the habit of documenting that endeavor through a journal that was completely dedicated to that show. So I have a lot of journals. Two of the journals I have in print are entirely about the show I was working on at that time. One is based on King Lear, and one is based on Marat/Sade, as it’s generally called. Both plays that I was a part of and participated in. I also did one, that has not been published, on Julius Caesar, another play. And I attempted to do some on Goethe, but I didn’t get through it. Barron Storey- Marat/Sade Journals Cover My parents really pushed me to read, but I was not as bright as they were. I was the kind of the kid who wouldn’t read a book unless it had pictures in it, which was a signal that my destiny was to be a provider of those pictures. If I did read, it was always something that made my parents very happy, and they wanted me to read classic things. So I’ve illustrated a lot of classic things. When I was involved in theater, it was a connection to classic things as well.  A: When you were a kid you were really into the Treasure Island illustrations, right?  B: Yeah, what’s not to like? They’re very, very cool. If N.C. Wyeth were around today and entered his stuff into Spectrum, he would make it in for sure. Those pictures really moved me, I was really young. I still use one of those as the first slide in my slide lecture. A: Have you noticed, from your earliest drawings as a kid to your work now, a through line connecting everything you’ve done?  B: It’s even connected to before I was born. When the sad end of my Aunt’s life occurred, I was invited into her house. She wanted to share the things that she had in that house. She didn't have a specific will, but she had left a note that I should be allowed in the house, and I could have anything I wanted. One of the things that had interested me was a drawing that had looked like I had done it; I didn’t remember doing it. I looked closer, and my dad had done it! It looked exactly like I had done it, and I was never conscious of copying my dad’s way of drawing. But there it was. It was drawn just the way I draw. Artists sometimes say that their inspiration is not coming from within them, it’s coming through them. I feel that, that’s the evidence for that one! I was channeling something that had already been there in my dad. A: What was the drawing of? B: It was of a Mexican house, with a big tree next to it. It was done in pen and ink, like it had been done with a rapidograph pen, but I don’t believe they had rapidograph pens back then. Some sort of a fine point pen line. Like the drawings I was inclined to do, it had a more structural, rather than tonal, look to it. But it wasn't a plan, like a drafting of a house, it was all freehand. And a lot of the drawing was organic things rather than mechanical things. It was vignetted in a certain way that is like the way I would vignette a drawing, and it was about the same size, and everything else. I looked at it and thought it was my drawing. I thought that my aunt had wanted me to take it. I didn’t remember giving it to her, but there it was. “Oh my god, that’s my dad’s drawing!” A: What would you say is the role of the conscious versus the subconscious mind in the creation of art? B: I think it’s a synergy between those poles. My own instinct veers toward the subconscious. As I said, I was supposed to be an engineer, which is all about the conscious mind. With the exception of the hypothesis that inspires creative invention, basically you’re dealing with logic. But ever since I was a kid, I’ve been really fascinated by psychology. It was in vogue, when I was a youngster. There were movies about psychiatrists. People used the word ‘shrink’, it was part of the language. Sigmund Freud was talked about quite a bit. So I went to my school library, checked out the books that I heard about, and studied psychology in my own little self-teaching manor, really interested in what made people do what they do. It has followed me through many phases in my visual art. I’m very interested in accessing what some might simply think of as the imagination. Like in the case of dreams, there is a feeling that it’s the imagination but it’s something within that you are accessing. That can be called, and I too think of it as, subconscious thought. I’ve developed all kinds of rituals, and games, and techniques, just to get in touch with what’s inside my head that I can’t see without these rituals. It’s a little bit like self-hypnosis, or a sophistry, if you really want to get to a social criticism place. I’m very, very interested in that. The plays, stories, books, films, that really move me, are all about psychological things. I’m bored silly by large scale dramas about wars between good guys and bad guys. I grew up in an environment that really laughed at that. That was ridiculous. We all knew that there were good guys and bad guys in everybody. That was a pervasive reality. So when things started swinging towards good guys and bad guys per say, I hated it. In the 70‘s the big deal was Star Wars... Star Wars. You would have thought that being into science, and being into fantasy, I would have loved Star Wars. But it pissed me off, because, I had been watching movies all my life, and none of them –including war stories, and cowboys and indians– none of them dared make disposable enemies. All of a sudden, it was perfectly ok to blow away as many of the enemy as you could. Almost like playing a pinball machine, the score runs up. The crowd would cheer every time Luke, or somebody else, would blast one of Darth’s little storm troopers out of space. I was going, “Huh? What? It’s ok to kill people? It’s ok to blow people away,  and not even worry about it, not even clean up the mess?” It really offended me, and so has everything else since! The whole culture has bought that idea, in a big way. Now we’re doing it to ISIS. A: After talking about a story you really dislike, what are some stories that you really love? What are some films, or books, that have really inspired or influenced you?  B: Oh god, there’s so many. The one’s that I have illustrated, the classics I have illustrated –I’ve been really fortunate– they’re good. I did the short stories of Sinclair Lewis, I love ‘em. I did the short stories of Theodore Dreiser, I love ‘em. I did modern authors, James Dickey and Deliverance. I did super classic tomes, Tolstoy’s War and Peace. I did Hemingway. I’ve illustrated stories over, and over, and over again, that are classics. Not the least of which is some religious stuff. I love music, and a lot of what I respond to is storytelling, but it’s storytelling in song. There a million tunes loaded into my mental jukebox, and each one of them has a component of storytelling in it. They come up on their own, right out of subconscious land, and because I’m in the habit of taking them seriously, I always find new interpretations of these tunes. I lived through what was called the folk music era, and this morning, when I got up, a tune was going through my head that involves a story. It was an old folk tune from Leadbelly. I was doing a drawing, and I put the two together; the words and the drawing. I very often substitute words for those in the original lyric to fit my own context. Just as I illustrate Julius Caesar, and King Lear, and various other classics, using material from my own life. So I woke up hearing this song, I heard it in my head, and I realized “This song isn’t relevant to what I’m doing.” I was doing prep for my class. But, because I was in the habit of taking it seriously, I wrote down the words to the song, and then it became a puzzle, “why is this song coming up for me?” That’s like trying to be a fortune teller, or a shaman . Who knows? Who cares? But I make it into a challenge to find out what the connection is. I started singing the song over and over, I was still singing it when I hit the shower. I could do a little twirl on each word in the lyric to find out where it was coming from within me. I do that kind of thing a lot! It’s self indulgent and because of it’s personal content it’s, very often, completely meaningless to other people. But I think it deepens my understanding of things, so I go ahead and write that down. The same thing is true of stories that I might see performed in a play, or hear enacted on the radio.  Today a student gave me a copy of a comic book that he likes a lot. It’s called Preacher. I read the slogan on the back cover which said that it was “bloodier and more blasphemous than any other comic that had made it into the mainstream.” I looked through it and sure enough there’s a ‘Fuck you’ on every page, and gallons of blood flowing around. It was nicely drawn, it was very effective in it’s concept, but it was a non-story to me. A non-story, there’s no story there. Nothing in it was believable, it was just hyperbolic, imaginary projection.  On the other hand, I spent all day yesterday taking my students through stories by a writer that I tremendously admire, Steven Millhauser. Breaking them down word for word so that the students could understand what a real story is. Not just a game, it’s an insight into life. These stories were great, just stunning, but they’re not that entertaining to my students who are very tuned into hyperbolic characters, courtesy of animation. So I took them very carefully through the Millhauser stories, I pointed out the artistry of a great writer, and they got it. I was really proud of that. I had to break it down to individual words. A great writer is like a hypnotist, talking to you in what you think is just a straightforward conversation, but inserting things in the conversation that arouse thoughts. That is fabulous.  A: It’s amazing when you find a good book that does that.  B: I got that from David Mitchell’s, Cloud Atlas. Amazing book. Sometimes I'd be reading along and I'd think, ‘What in the world, what is going on?’ The first chapter ends with a completely blank page. You’re reading along and then, all of a sudden, there’s nothing on the page. It’s like, “ok, that is the hippest non sequitur you could’ve come up with, Mr. Mitchell.” It was so dazzling that I could only read a little bit at a time. It was like Ice cream with way to much sugar in it, or way too much something! Too intense, but I do appreciate it. I’m proud to be somebody who is involved with giving another dimension to great stories. Barron Storey- Lord of the Flies Cover Barron Storey- Fahrenheit 451 Cover  A: Can you tell me about the ‘Crew of You’ assignment? Where did that assignment come from?  B: That came from the theatre. I’ve always shared this background with the students when we do Crew of You. As I mentioned, the group that I worked with did a lot of Shakespeare. I love Shakespeare, but I’m inclined towards the dramas, I’m not that much into the lighter fare. Not like I know all of the plays. There are some famous, famous plays that I don’t know very well, and I forget the names of the characters in them, but I’ve got the tragedies dialed in. They are part of my brain. The company decided to do one of the lighter pieces, The Tempest. I started working on it, started reading the play,  I hadn’t read it before. This is a fantasy play where there is a wizard like scholar called Prospero, and an all out savage called Caliban, and magic creatures that fly, and things like that. It’s really bizarre for a guy who’s used to seeing European history reenacted in a Shakespeare play. There’s no history here, it’s all a dream, midsummer or not. As I worked on it, I got disenchanted. Unlike the tragedies, nothing changes in The Tempest. At the end of the play, everybody’s just like they were at the beginning of the play. There’s a potential in the play for all kinds of changes to happen, and none of it goes down. It comes up, does a little dance, and then goes away. Caliban thinks he can impress the visiting midlander, Miranda, who wants to get married so badly she’s actually game for entertaining a flirt with the savage. But no, that’s not going to happen. And various other things in the play are just not going to happen. So I went to my director and said, “You know, I can’t get into this. Nobody has a change, there is no real conflict, it’s just playing around. At the end, everybody’s just the same. What am I supposed to do with this?” She explained that, that play was of a type written by many playwrights, in which the playwright dissects his own personality and being, and makes out of himself a group of different characters, none of which are truly recognizable as himself. He throws them into a setting, or a scene, or some sort of a milieu, and just watches what happens. What happens when Shakespeare’s scholarly, magical self interfaces with Shakespeare’s primal, savage self. What happens when Shakespeare’s talent, that is so extreme that it’s like being able to fly, gets in direct conflict with other parts of his persona that insist upon the fact that no one can fly. Ah yeah, that’s kind of fun, that’s kind of interesting. So I took it seriously, and I designed the set to be inside one big human body. We had a good run, good notices, everybody happy. I thought, ‘Wow, that turned out alright. I think I’ll try that with my students!’ Crew of You is just Tempest format, drawing people on stage to see what will happen when they are unrecognizably, but emphatically, part of one person.  A: Another exercise you have is the ‘Big Heads’. Is there an origin story for that too? B: Oh yes, there’s always an origin story. I’m always ready to share it, although I do talk too much a lot of the times, but I’ll tell it. This centers around an absolutely awesome artist that I was lucky enough to meet and get to know. Her name is Sue Coe. In the New York that I was living in, in the 80’s, Sue was a frequent illustrator for the New York Times, and all of her work was incredible. I was attending meetings of various artists, and we had a special group of people interested in doing comics and graphic novels. I went and Sue was there. I was really, really impressed with her, so we developed a friendship. I eventually invited her to come and co-teach with me at Pratt Institute, and she did. She didn’t take on a whole semester of the class, but she made more than one appearance, and she generated some of the activities we did in the class. One of them was this ‘Big Heads’ thing. It was Sue’s invention. She wanted people to deal with drawing their parents, so we devised a way to make that happen. It’s basically the same exercise I’ve been doing for thirty years. People draw their parents without any reference, they draw them from memory, and I quiz them about their parents while their doing that. They rotate around the room, everybody working on everybody’s drawings. By the time we are done, it’s an iconic parent rather than a specific parent. We get an amazing amount of creative work done that way, and produce a really amazing, gigantic mural in one class. A: You’ve taught so many different types of students, from beginning artists to advanced artists. What is the difference between teaching beginning and advanced students? B: There is a pedagogical difference in attitude between teachers. Some feel that the best education is a clear, stepping from one elementary level to an advanced level, step by step. That’s logical and makes a lot of sense, but I’ve always been impressed by what passion and dedication I saw in young artists. That was actually balanced against the fact that some of the advanced artists I’d worked with were less responsive to me than the younger ones. So it’s significantly different. I will say this: Some of my most successful classes have been advanced classes where the students have already been disciplined and trained, skill wise, and they get set free by my more expansive goals and ideas. It makes sense. People who don’t have to worry about the technical side that much, who can do whatever they decide to do, are fun to work with! You just wind them up and let them go, and great things happen. On the other hand, there’s something super, duper exciting about the ambition and the goals of someone who is excited to get into the endeavor from the beginning. I teach high school students, and I love teaching the high school kids, they’re great, they're absolutely stunning. They’re discovering. Everything is exciting because they don’t know it. The advanced people get into a place where their going, “Ok, last assignment was good, but I’m not into this one. I’ll just kind of, phone it in.”  You do see that. So there’s good news and bad news with both ends of the spectrum. A: After all the years you’ve been teaching, what is it like to see the amount of influence you’ve had on the art world and other artists’ lives? B: Well I... gosh, that’s kind of hard to answer because I’m not that aware of it! And I think it’s not an unusual thing. I was influenced by people. Some people pick up on what I’m doing, and it’s not me, it’s the person that inspired me. It’s a through line, rather than something that came out of inside. It’s like we were saying before, it’s channeling something, rather than inventing something. I do get proud, and it’s pleasing, when someone says, “ Oh you’ve really inspired somebody.” But it’s also like; I notice, people say, “Oh, wasn’t Dave McKean one of your students?” No.(laughs) “Wasn’t so and so one of your students?” No. “Well, didn’t Bill Sienkiewicz work with you?” Bill Sienkiewicz came to some of my classes, but he was never my student. He’s obviously more impressed, or more influenced, by other illustrators like Bob Peak. Even though the odd triangle is drawn by people like David Mack, that stuff is just coming through me, it’s not my stuff. I don’t own it! I’m unable to do a lot of it, so it’s not something I can pluck about. It really drives me nuts! You know I had a student that could do me better than me!  yeah, I’m not kidding! I went to his shows, and I’d see things in his shows that I almost got mad about, because the people there had thought I had done them. With no evidence, other than the fact that it’s got to be me because it’s exactly like me. It’s very, very flattering to have someone think highly of something you’ve done, but you also run into the other side of that which is: People like what you did twenty years ago more than what you’re doing now. Like a rock band that comes in and everybody wants them to play hits from an album from the past, instead of their new music. So it’s not without a downside. But it’s still really great, I have been very lucky, and I’m proud and happy to be a part of things I had never thought I would be a part of because other people have picked up on things that I have done.  A: You’ve talked previously about seeking to expand your process rather than solidify it. What is the importance of experimentation for you?  B: I like the way you’ve set it up there. Expansion of the process rather than solidifying of it, yes absolutely. It is something that is probably related to the background that I told you about. I was always hugely attracted to science and one of the basic differences between science and the arts is that: In science, everybody owns everything. You do not pay royalties to Einstein. Science is based on the common benefit, and I really, really love that. I don’t like credit taking, formulas of creation, or delegating to assistants. I don’t like people that turn themselves into a thing, a popular thing, or a popular it. I expect every artist to be like every scientist; to be always pushing the frontier, always reaching for that which has not been touched before. It makes it totally boring for me when I see an artist who has come on a really cool riff that’s very popular, and is just cranking it out. Maybe these artists are absolutely passionate about their process, what they're doing, how they're pushing it, but I’m not astute enough to tell that in most cases. Even artists that I love, I get impatient with their repetition. I read philosophy, and that’s referred to by some philosophers as ‘proletarianizing’ yourself. In other words, making yourself do something that, if you made somebody else do it, you would have to pay them well, because it’s work. Science is not like that. Science is hard, it requires discipline, intense discipline, but there is always the excitement of the frontier. Barron Storey- Illustration for Stamford brochure Gravity Probe B We are now in the middle of a very, scary plague, the Ebola crisis. It’s got to be taken care of, it could decimate huge portions of the population of the planet earth. And who’s going to do that? Not somebody who’s just living comfortably with knowns, because there are unknowns in that equation. We don't know how to beat it. And I’m not just taking about vaccines or treatment, I’m talking about dealing with the social ramifications, the racial ramifications, all kinds of things. I lived through the AIDS crisis, and I saw the incredible things that happened with that, a lot of which were not even about HIV. They were just about social stigmas and things like that. So hello artists, hello scientists, hello people, what are you going to do about this? What are you going to do, just stay in your studio and knock out your usual stuff? And if you do choose to do that, are you really thinking you can do something as significant as participating in this battle?  We did Ebola pictures today in my class and one of the students asked me, “why are you always giving us assignments that have some kind of a social aspect to them?” I have an answer for that. I’ve been interviewed about these things a lot so I do repeat myself, but basically, I believe in the artist as witness. I believe the artist is the only one that can really see what really is. This get’s back to the ‘not strong, sensitive’. Most people are too involved in survival to even notice what’s going on. Whether it’s a global plague, or just a local election. The plight of some people is dismissed by other people. Ok, they’ve got the right to that choice. Artists are the ones –that don’t necessarily make up for that by feeling strongly when other people don’t have any feelings at all– but artists notice. Who feels? Who doesn’t feel! Who has something to say? Who doesn’t have something to say! Who has an answer. Who doesn’t have an answer. Who puts the right emphasis, and who doesn’t put the right emphasis. That’s not just ‘social studies’, that’s not just a job for a journalist, or a writer. The artist, the artist can see that, and see it in great detail. It’s what Shakespeare refers to as holding the mirror up to reality, so that it may see itself. That’s what art does. It lets reality see itself. It doesn’t have anything to do with realism as an art style, it means noticing...noticing.  A: Going back a little, what time did you live in Westport, Connecticut? B: I lived in Westport from about ‘72 to ’75. We lived in an old, old captain’s house that had a widow’s walk around the top, so we could go up and look out over the neighborhood. Really, really cool. In Westport I felt like I was in paradise. Deer would walk through my yard, and there was a duck pond close by with wild geese on it. I had been living in New York City for a long, long time so this was, wow, amazing. A: The library there is so nice, that space is beautiful.  Westport Library B: You know the library in Westport used to have, and maybe it still does, an incredible collection of works of illustration that they got from the Famous Artists Course people, which was based in Westport. A: Was Bernie Fuchs living in Westport while you were there? B: Bernie Fuchs, Austin Briggs, a whole lot of the top notch illustrators lived in Westport. Westport was like a town full of famous illustrators.  A: Was Mark English there as well?  B: Yep, absolutely. Fred Otnes was there. On and on goes the list. My memory is very poor at this point in my life, I can’t even remember some of the names. Randy Enos was my friend, and he was there, still is. The library was filled with illustrators looking for books, looking for scrap, looking for this, looking for that. Westport was ‘the place’,  but it became not ‘the place’. New York City was very competitive, and with the advent of the Push Pin Studios, a whole new kind of art began to grow in New York City that was alien to the kind of art produced in Westport. Westport had great support from the Society of Illustrators in New York, and it was directly connected to the tradition of illustrators, but illustration started moving in a very, very different direction. Pretty soon the Westport illustrators looked really old fashioned. I once asked my teacher, who was one of the avant-garde illustrators, Robert Weaver, how I should feel about the fact that there was this big tension between the New York City artists that were trying to be really original and really innovative, and the Westport people that were staying in traditions. His answer, short and somewhat cynical as always with Mr. Weaver, was, “Don’t beat a dead horse.”(laughs)  A: So did you guys all get together in Westport? All the illustrators. B: It wasn’t just Westport. Lot’s of those people would get together over at Alan Cober’s house, which was in New York, but right parallel to the Connecticut towns. I had illustrator friends that lived up the Hudson on the New York side. There was quite a community there. We had get togethers, and everybody sat around and talked about what schools their kids were going to, hardly ever talked about art. When I moved to Westport it was lovely, but I missed the energy of the New York crowd. I always identified more with the New York crowd than the Westport crowd. Let’s face it, in Westport, they were living high on the hog. They had showplace homes, Bob Peak had six Ferraris. They were livin’ large, and I was living small. We were different social niches.  A: I noticed in a drawing that Bernie Fuchs did, it looked very similar to the ‘stop and go’ method you described in class. Can you describe that for us? Bernie Fuchs drawing B: That’s very astute of you Aaron to pick up on that, because that is, pretty much, the source. The Westport people were almost all ‘Lucy’ artists(referring to the Lucigraf projector). They had opaque projectors, and the style was to project a photo and to draw over it very loosely. So it looked like a legit drawing from life, but it was really, a tracing. That meant that the ones that could do it the best developed a linear style that was very sensitive to contour, and would have these little accents at various places where they paused to look for the next contour to make a line go onto. That was the essence of the ‘stop and go’ exercise, or ‘hesitate and go’ as I’ve always called it. I understood it so well, that I could fake it really well. Working in ad agencies doing comps all day I used to fake it all day long. The art directors loved it! I got to the point where I illustrated whole books without any reference at all, I just drew it out of my head, in that style. And that style, because it was derived from photography– it was after all, tracing photographs– had a certain look that was not characteristic of drawings done from imagination; but I had learned that look, and I could fake it. Sometimes people pick up on some old books that I have done and I have almost forgotten about, there’s one called 27 Cats Next Door. Barron Storey- 27 Cats Next Door A: Yeah, I saw that!  B: People said to me, “what did you use for scrap(reference)?” And I said, “I didn’t have any scrap, I made it all up!”  A: Wow! B: I might be remembering wrong, I might have had some pictures of cats, I don’t know. but I do remember I was doing it in my fake Bernie Fuchs style. Bernie Fuchs was really an inspiration. When I was in school in the late 50’s, Bernie was doing things that nobody else could even touch. He was the first of a young group of artists that spawned the Westport crowd, and that used photo reference literally without trying to hide the fact that they were using photo reference. Everybody, from Al Dorn and the other artists of the Famous Artists group, right up to just before Bernie, and Austin Briggs, and others, who began to do the projected ‘Lucy’ stuff; had used photos, but had hidden the fact by not doing them literally. Bernie started doing them absolutely literally. He didn’t shoot stills, he got his models together, put them in costume, and had them act out, in motion, a situation from a text. Shooting it with a motor drive Nikon, he got a hundred pictures to look at and would find one that really had the feeling in it. Very often it was a very subtle bit that made it have that feeling. So it didn’t look like any of the illustration that had gone before. It was very candid looking, caught, a very fleeting gesture; stunningly rendered too. His early work was done in gouache, and was unbelievably detailed gouache painting. Tiny little details that were perfect. Really impressive, and very, very influential. I met him when I was very young and I was so in awe of him that I came across as the most obsequious fan boy you could imagine. Oh I was just so excited to meet him! He had been up all night drinking with the older guys in the Dallas illustrators club, had a heavy hangover, didn’t want to talk to anybody; and I was coming on like this puppy dog. I realized at a certain point he didn't want to say anything, but I just couldn’t help myself and I said, “ Is there any artist that really has inspired you that I should look at?” And he just said, “Bonnard.” He didn’t say look at Bonnard, he just said Bonnard. And when I looked at Bonnard I went, ‘Oh my God, that’s him! That’s Bernie. Thats what he’s doing!’  So like other examples I’ve talked about, It’s not like something came directly out of somebody, it’s a channeling through. If you look at Pierre Bonnard, you’ll see the outrageously beautiful and decorative color that Bernie Fuchs used, and you won’t see it in the other illustrators of his era until his influence forces everybody to go that way. I talked to an art director that he worked for, and when Bernie was doing comps for his illustrations, he said Bernie would come in with a red one, a yellow one, a blue one, a green one, and maybe a brown one! (laughs) An incredible artist, I’m a huge fan, and I imitated him a lot. I thought thats what an illustrator was, at a certain time in my life.  A: How would you recommend learning the ‘hesitate and go’ method?  B: How I learned it was tracing. I hated tracing from a projection, so I would practice by taking a magazine, usually a fashion magazine, like Harper’s Bazaar or Vogue,  putting a piece of tracing paper over a photo, and drawing it. Trying to draw it very, very freely rather than an exact copy. It really helps, in that style, to draw with your arm instead of your hand. So I would work on a 45 degree angle board, instead of a lower angle. I’m using my arm as I’m drawing. It’s not difficult to get a good drawing, because, after all, I’m tracing. I began to see things about contour, and the interaction between tone and line. It’s important to realize that when I went to study illustration, fashion artists were the top of the heap. They were the illustration elite. If you were anybody who’s interested in illustration, you had to know Vertès, you had to know a lot of European fashion artists whose drawings were all over the fashion magazines. They worked in line, not in tone. People talked a lot about line quality. So a number of artists of that generation developed a linear style that, never the less, looks like a photo! That’s the way Bernie drew. It was hugely influential. A: I noticed that too with Bob Peak, with his advertisement illustrations. Did he use that method also?   B: Absolutely. Bernie and Bob lived close together and knew each other very well.  A: Last year, you drew the whole class for the ‘zine ( a magazine produced by his illustration class). I was sitting in that night, and didn’t notice you drawing at all! (Barron laughs) When I saw the drawing, and saw myself there, I was like “What? How did he do that? I didn’t even notice!” Do you purposefully try to not draw attention to yourself while you’re drawing people?  Barron's drawing of the class B: Well no, it’s kind of the opposite. I like to draw people who are too busy doing something to notice that I’m drawing them. I just did one of those, in fact I did two of those! Now I have two classes back to back at San Jose State, and I usually draw during what I call the ‘Pro/Con’ exercise, in which they have to create a work of art right there in the class, within the class time. They’re so busy, that they don’t notice me over there drawing them. I did both classes in the same drawing. A: Was that with the ‘Bernie Fuchs faking’, ‘hesitate and go’ method? B: Well I wouldn’t call it that at all anymore. It comes so natural to me that I don’t think of it as fake at all. I’m drawing what I see. It may be that I’m seeing things that wouldn’t see if I hadn’t gone through a phase of being influenced by photography. That’s quite possible. My teacher, Robert Weaver, really emphasized photography because he felt  photography was just damn good seeing, and that we didn’t see that well. So we should look at photos because, as he would put it, “there is much less information in a photo than in your drawing, Mr., and the photo is much more convincing. What do you think of that?” So I looked at photos and drew from photos, not just tracing fashion like I did when I was in school, but later on I looked at great photography and noticed all the things Mr. Weaver was talking about. Deliberate use of troublesome tangencies, one thing right behind another thing; areas of value that were completely without information, washed out by the light or dropped into black in the shadows. It was a logical extension of the interface between photography and drawing. Then that became more extreme when I went through a photorealist period, working on grids, and really looking hard at what was in the photograph. I was inspired, of course, by Chuck Close.  There’s a very beautiful and fascinating series of paintings on the wall at San Jose State, that are done in the styles of a whole squadron of master artists, and they’re amazing! They’re maybe not museum quality, but they’re just amazing! They’re adding some new ones, and I had been very curious how the fuck they did those! And I caught them! They’re doing some new ones, and the first thing they do is put the grid on the wall.  So they’re girding up from a classic self portrait, just like I did with photorealism.  A: You’ve talked about how a grid has helped you see better, and helped you draw better.  B: Yeah, you don’t realize how much information you tune out on when you look at the world. You just look at what you’re interested in, what about the rest of it? A: I’ve heard a lot of artists talk about a period of feeling lost or about when they’ve lost their artistic voice after a very large success, have you ever experienced this or have had troubles with success? B: That’s an interesting question, one that I’ve been asked by Allan Amato in the Temple of Art project. I referred earlier to it; I went to New York from Texas and thought I would be a painter, but when I got to New York I saw that I could not cut it. This was a real downer, and it almost killed my ambition to be an illustrator. I was threatening to run away and become a social worker. I’ve been pushed in that direction by my parents and a lot of my friends. High school friends and others had given up the arts and gone out to the south, to help get black people on the election roles, or became freedom writers in the civil rights struggle. I thought, ‘you know, I don’t have it to be a fine artist as New york defines it.’ It’s worth being reminded that, at that time, New York had displaced Paris as the center of the art world. Whatever was being done by the likes of Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell; that was influencing artists all over the world, and I could not even began to compete with that. So it was like, ‘Ok I guess I’ll be an illustrator, but look, I’ve already decided illustration is hack work. Oh no, I’m lost, I’m lost.’ I had to make a living so I went to work for advertising agencies and spent years slogging away in that environment, like some character in a Mad Men episode. It was a downer, a big downer.  I hated illustration when I left Art Center. It was called, in those days, ‘commercial art’, and the word ‘commercial’ was derogatory. If you were commercial it meant that you were a sell out, to use another term from that period. I was raised by very idealistic parents who wanted me to do something really special. I thought, ‘I’ve just learned how to be a hack, I don’t want to be a hack. What can I do with myself?’ It was very, very depressing for a while. I gradually discovered things that I could do, and I could do them really well, and that felt right. I could paint motorcycles really well because all the other artists that were trying to paint motorcycles had never built one, from a single ball bearing up! And I had built a whole lot of them. So I could draw motorcycles better than many, and I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I did that. It made me feel like, ‘oh I can be an illustrator without having to draw crappy things. I can draw things that I really care about, and that are really interesting to me. Maybe I’ll get to draw something like the Space Shuttle, maybe! Maybe I’ll get to draw something like the rain forest, maybe!’ And I did all those things.  Barron Storey- Rainforest illustration for National Geographic It was fabulous getting over that hump, and Mr. Weaver's philosophy helped me a lot. He preferred illustrators to artists. He felt a strong need for the witnessing of what was going on in the world, and he saw illustration as being a part of the answer to that need. It was righteous. Meanwhile, in fine art, while I was with him as a student, we were already seeing ridiculous successes going on all around because there was big money to be made all of a sudden. Before Jackson Pollock broke in the popular press, fine art was hidden away from the mass public. Some artists who were trying to make incredible art, and did, –like Pollock’s teacher Thomas Hart Benton– were just getting into trouble, and not pleasing the people they were trying to serve.  We went to go see the Thomas Hart Benton murals in the Missouri state capitol. They were incredible, but they were so scandalous that they tried to paint them over several times; because they showed crooked politicians, and smarmy street life, and prostitutes, and commercial exploitation, and all these things. Stuff that was real, but not stuff that the politicians of the state house particularly wanted to show! As a result, Benton and others never did break as big as Pollock and the younger, more adventurous artists. They looked pretty old fashioned by the time I was in New York. I still love the works. That’s why I went to Benton’s studio and loved it. I went to see the other important works like the John Brown Mural in Kansas City, and oh my god, that’s part of american art history and a part that I really loved.  A: Are there any projects you’re involved in right now that you would like to talk about? You mentioned Temple of Art.   B: That project has won a big Kickstarter grant, and Allan has incredible ambition. He wants to make a film about each of the 52 artists that are in the project, and he’s already started to shoot footage of me. So that’s going on, other than that I’m on hiatus. I did six shows last year and I haven't done any this year, so I’m taking a break. I’ve got such a heavy teaching load that I couldn’t handle any shows anyways.  A: Thanks Barron, this has been amazing! B: Ok, glad you feel that way about it. I hope that after you take a look at the enormous amount of words that were spinning out here, you find something useful in it.  -- Works by Barron Barron Storey- Magazine illustration Barron Storey- F. Lee Bailey Feb. 16, 1976 Barron Storey- Journal 40: Continuation. Page123. Barron Storey- Illustration for Stamford brochure Gravity Probe B  Barron Storey- The Big Mask Behind the Little Masks from "Life after Black" Barron Storey- From Joker Series Barron Storey- Judgement Barron Storey- Big Map of Belgian Things Barron Storey- Published in this New York Times article Barron Storey- Published in this New York Times article Barron Storey- From his gallery show "Black Iraq" Barron Storey- from his  gallery show "Factum 1 and Factum 2" Barron Storey- from Factum 1 and Factum 2 Barron Storey- Abandon Barron Storey- Bit of a cliché... Goodbye from his gallery show: "Suicide" -- Barron Links: Website The Journals Tumblr The Journals Blogspot(archival) Eidolon Fine Arts Galleries Additional Interviews: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] CCA Video Interview Temple of Art Video: Paper Planes Video of looking through a few of Barron's journals -- Artists mentioned in this interview: Allan Amato and Temple of Art Alan Cober [2] Al Dorne [2] [3] Austin Briggs Bill Sienkievicz Bob Peak [2] Bernie Fuchs Claes Oldenburg Dave Mckean David Mack Famous Artists School Franz Kline Fred Otnes Jackson Pollock Jasper Johns [2] [3] John Brown Mural by John Steuart Curry Marcel Vertès Pierre Bonnard Randy Enos Robert Motherwell Robert Rauschenberg [2] [3] Robert Weaver Sue Coe Thomas Hart Benton Willem de Kooning -- Image Sources: *  =  Site contains additional Barron works! http://blog.typogabor.com/page/88/ http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1916.html *   http://leahnoartsourced.blogspot.com/2010/11/barron-storey.html *   http://raggedclaws.com/2009/12/11/heads-up-barron-storeys-the-marat-sade-journals/ http://raggedclaws.com/2013/01/23/look-here-two-paperback-covers-with-art-by-barron-storey/ *   http://einstein.stanford.edu/content/pict_gal/barren_storey/ http://www.illustrationart.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html *   http://todaysinspiration.blogspot.com/2011/08/storey03-by-leifpeng-on-flickr.html *   http://www.natgeocreative.com/photography/barronstorey# http://daprune.tripod.com/7172cycle.htm http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19750519,00.html http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19760216,00.html http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19760419,00.html http://barronstorey.blogspot.com/2011/08/journal-40-continuation-page-7.html http://barronstorey.blogspot.com/2013/01/journal-40-continuation-page-123.html *   http://www.galleryad.com/art/archives/2005/06/index.html *   http://supersonicart.com/post/49952147880/barron-storey-factum http://illustration.org/2012/02/11/barrey-storey-show-this-week-february-11th/ *   http://www.bgfa.us/artists/storey/ http://dailydujour.com/2010/05/25/sneak-preview-%E2%80%93-tarot-an-artists-vision- of-the-future/storey_judgement-2/ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/science/28hobbit.html?pagewanted=1&8dpc&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/science/12newton.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 *  http://store.spoke-art.com/collections/the-black-robe *  http://www.galleryad.com/art/archives/art/backroom/barron_storey___suicide/ *  https://spaceintext.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/zombies-greed-belgium-barron-storey/

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

There are several varieties of this ancient plant. They grow in most temperate regions of the world, which is not surprising as there were forests of the giant ancestors of Horsetail covering the earth just several thousand years ago. Now, we know them as weedy wild plants that often grow in waste areas. Regardless, they are among the most useful herbs in the pharmacopoeia. Among other things, these plants are one of the best sources of the mineral, silica. If you harvest them from the wild, be sure the area has not been contaminated by water or soil pollution, and the Horsetails readily absorb toxins in their environment. Dioscorides wrote of “Hippuris”, which derives from hippo or horse: Hippuris grows in moist places and ditches. It has empty little reddish stalks distinguished by joints growing one into another, and around them many thin rushy leaves. It grows to a height climbing on the trunks of trees standing nearby, and hangs on them. It is surrounded with many black filaments similar to the tail of a horse. The root is woody and hard, and the herb is astringent. The juice of it stops discharges of blood from the nostrils. A decoction (taken as a drink with wine) helps dysentery and induces urine. Pounded into small pieces (and sprinkled on) it closes bleeding wounds. Both the root and herb help coughs and asthma. It is said also that a decoction of the leaves (taken as a drink in water) joins openings of the intestines, and any cutting-apart of the bladder, and hernia. It is also called trimachion, anabasis, cheredranon, phaedra, itiandendron, gis, or schoniostrophon, while the Egyptians say pherphram, the Magi, cibus Saturni, the Romans, equinalis, and some, salix equinalis, anabasion, or ephudron. Hippuris alterum has a stalk that is straight, even higher than a foot (as it were) empty, with shorter, whiter, softer filaments at distances. Mixed with vinegar it heals wounds, having the same strength as that above. It is also called equitium, chedra, or gyon, while the Romans say salix equinalis. Father Sebastian Kneip called Equisetum arvense “Shave Grass”: The manifold and excellent effects of this medicinal herb cannot be too highly estimated. It not only cleanses the house-utensils, for which it is considered a first class polisher by all house#wives, but it also heals the interior and exterior infirmities of the human body. On old injuries, putrid wounds, on all, even gangrenous ulcers, or caries, shave-grass operates in an extraordinary manner. It washes away, dissolves, burns out, as it were, all that is injurious. The herb is used either as decoction for ablutions, bandages, vapours, and compresses, or it is wrapped up in wet cloths and laid on the suffering part. The services rendered to the interior parts by the shave-grass, are still more manifold. Its tea purifies the stomach. A cupful is taken from time to time (not daily). It eases the pains caused by gravel and stone-disease, and above all relieves the sufferers who have difficulty in discharging their urine. For this it stands alone, is not to be replaced, and is invaluable. Shave - grass vapours, specially for this disease, are here only just hinted on. Exactly such diseases are frightfully painful —and so frequent! Take particular notice of The simple herb, which may be had without any trouble whatever! Such patients should take daily a cupful of shave-grass-tea, together with the required exterior application. For bleedings, blood-vomiting, it counts among the first and best teas. Those who vomit blood should take it without delay. I know cases in which after four minutes even a perfect cessation took place. In cases of violent bleeding at the nose, such tea is drawn up through the nostrils. It operates in a contracting manner, and its effect is soon felt. Such as are visited with hemorrhages, I recommend to drink daily one or two cupful of this tea. There should be a sufficient supply of shave -grass kept in every home dispensary, so that in times of need, which often occur suddenly, it may be quickly at hand. Brother Aloysius wrote of the same herb that it was useful for bladder complaints, painful bladder, gravel, stones, difficult urination, heavy bleeding, vomiting blood, nose bleeds, skin ulceration, suppuration, cancerous sores and as an astringent. Fr. Künzle wrote: Horsetail (Equisetum species) thrives in some fields and one cannot get rid of it; it has often bee condemned and angry perpetrators have evoked ghosts! But some of them have already long been resting in the graveyard. If he had collected the horsetail in good time, dried it and used it, he would still be alive and perhaps still grow as old as the Rabbi from Bascher, who would not make his last will before he has seen the Falknis mountain green in summer and white in winter for ninety times. Pastor Kneipp called the herb “Zinnkraut“ and prescribed it for external use against all the rotting wounds, or sitting over steam, against suffering from stones; I have seen for myself how an 86- year-old man recovered from the most terrible suffering from stones after a single steam remedy session and then afterwards he lived for many more years. The horsetail heals the strongest blood flow and Hematemesis taken as tea in a very short time, almost instantly. Later in the Germanic tradition, Maria Treben wrote extensively on this plant: ln early spring the brown fertile stems with a terminal cone-like catkin containing the spores grow from the deep and creeping rhizomes. The green summer fronds grow later to a height of 40 cm. and resemble small, evenly built pine-trees. Horsetail grows in fields, on hedge banks and railway embankments. The ones growing on pure clay soil have the greatest healing qualities. Depending on the place it grows it has 3 to 16% of silicic acid which makes it so valuable. Of course the Horsetail growing on chemically fertilized ground should not be used. The Horsetail with the finest branches, the Wood Horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum) which grows on edges of woods and copses, has medicinal properties too. ln popular medicine Horsetail was much esteemed in old times, especially for its blood-staunching effect and its success in kidney and bladder trouble. But with time rts values were forgotten. lt was no other than our great and popular herbalist Abbé Kneipp who put the Horsetail back to its important place. He declares it as "uniquely irreplaceable and invaluable" for bleeding, spitting of blood, bladder- and kidney disorders, gravel and stones. "For old troubles", he says, "foul wounds, even cancer-like growths and ulcerated legs, Horsetail is of great value. lt cleanses, clears up and burns away everything bad, so to speak. Often the moist, warm plant is placed into moist cloths and applied to the affected parts." The Swiss Abbé Kuenzle says that all people from a certain age on should drink a cup of Horsetail tea every day all year round and all pain caused by rheumatism, gout and nerves would disappear and every person would have a healthy old age. He tells of an 86 year old man who was relieved from stones which had caused him a lot of pain, by taking Horsetail steam baths and who still lived for many years. He also states: "This plant, taken internally as a tea, will stop the strongest haemorrhaging and vomiting of blood in a short time, yes, almost immediately." For painful bladder catarrh and cramp-like pains there is no better remedy than a decoction of Horsetail, if one wraps oneself in a bath robe and allows the hot steam of the decoction to work into the bladder for 10 minutes. Repeat several times and it soon will bring relief. Old people who suddenly have trouble urinating, together with pain, because the urine is not expelled or does so only drop-wise, will find relief through the hot steam of Horsetail, rather than having the doctor use a catheter. For gravel and stones in the kidney and bladder hot Horsetail sitz baths are taken and at the same time warm Horsetail tea is sipped, the urine is held back and finally emptied under pressure. This way most stones will pass. On the strength of this suggestion I have received letters which confirm the above: Through this treatment the kidney stones were passed, the persons concerned are well and without any pain. In cases where other diuretic means failed, Horsetail helped, as for example in accumulation of water in the pericardium, pleura, or in kidney disorders, after scarlet fever and other bad infectious diseases with water retention. lt is an excellent remedy, internally and externally, for the whole kidney and bladder system. For pyelitis a bath alone can work wonders. For this can be taken - and only for external use – the Great or River Horsetail (Equisetum maximum) that grows in bogs, on banks of rivers and has finger thick stems. An acquaintance of mine was in hospital with a bad case of pyelitis for weeks. Since there seemed no end in sight, she sent a letter to me. I advised her to take a Horsetail sitz bath. A few days later I received another letter: "You have saved my life. I am at home. The sitz bath took away all troubles and gave me new strength." The Great or River Horsetail is used for sitz baths only. The Field or Wood Horsetail is used for teas taken internally. After a difficult birth young mothers sometimes experience visual defects, the reason, most likely, is an affected kidney. Sitz baths stimulate the kidney and take the pressure off the eyes, so that slowly the visual defects disappear. The German physician Dr. Bohn highly praises this plant: "On the one side Horsetail is a remedy for haemorrhaging and on the other - and even more so - a kidney remedy. After drinking the tea, a large quantity of dark coloured urine is easily passed. For dropsy it is a quick, effective remedy." lf no other diuretic remedy works, all other herb teas are avoided and from 5 to 6 cups of Horsetail tea are sipped daily for 4 to 5 days (in persistent cases 6 days). Experience shows that in most cases the water passes. For itching rashes, even if they are festering or scabby, washings and compresses of a decoction of Horsetail are helpful. Horsetail washings and baths are beneficial for inflammation of the nailbed, cracked feet, caries, old festering wounds, cancer-like growths, bony projections on the heal, fistulas, barber's itch and other herpes. The scalded herb, wrapped while warm in a cloth, can also be applied. For painful haemorrhoids and haemorrhoidal knots the pulp is used. For persistent nose bleeding a compress made from the cooled decoction of Horsetail is applied. As a blood-staunching remedy it helps to stop bleeding of the lung, uterus, stomach and haemorrhoids. Of course stronger decoctions are required. Normally t heaped teaspoon per cup (1/4 litre) is used, but for bleedings 2 to 3 heaped teaspoons per cup are required. Horsetail together with Speedwell is a good preventive remedy for hardening of the arteries and for amnesia through its blood cleansing action. One can call it the best cancer prophylactic. Horsetail tincture (see "directions") is an excellent remedy for sweaty feet. This tincture is rubbed into the well washed and dried feet and a cup of Horsetail tea is drunk on an empty stomach half an hour before breakfast daily. Foot baths are also good for sweaty feet (see "directions"). For dandruff, the hair is washed with a decoction of Horsetail daily and then the scalp massaged with a good olive oil and the dandruff will soon clear up. A tea of Horsetail and St. John's Wort - 2 cups daily and a nonliquid meal in the evening will relieve bedwetting. This tea can also be used as a gargle for tonsillitis, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the mouth, stomatitis, and inflammation or bleeding of the gums, fistulas and adenoids in palate and throat. For white discharge in woman, sitz baths are used. Don't forget, Horsetail is one of the best remedies for chronic bronchitis and tuberculosis of the lungs. Through its silica content, the tea, if drunk regularly, helps heal the lungs and removes the general weakness. Results of the latest research, according to the Austrian biologist Richard Willfort, justify the assumption that tumours are inhibited in their growth and finally eliminated through the use of Horsetail tea for long periods. This is also useful for polyps in the abdomen or anus. For greater benefit in both cases Horsetail steam poultices and sitz baths are used. These poultices are also useful for stomach pains, liver- and gallbladder attacks, bursitis and for painful congestions which press upon the heart. On December 19, 1977 l received a call from an old farmer, who had a very painful, hard growth on the sole of his foot and was therefore unable to step on it. He spent a few days in hospital but was sent home again. I recommended Horsetail poultices which can even eliminate malignant tumours. I was quite surprised when on December 22, he called again telling me that the growth had disappeared. The skin still felt soft and flabby but the hard growth was gone. - A new miracle from God's pharmacy! I have found through experience that the worst disc lesions insofar as they are not caused by a pinched nerve, often disappear very quickly through the use of Horsetail sitz baths. lf X-rays show degenerated vertebrae caused by age, there is no reason to suffer pain. The pressure of a kidney disorder pushes up ward and along the spine where it presses on the superficial nerves causing pain, as experience shows. Therefore it is the pressure of the kidneys and not the disc lesions which causes the pain. A Horsetail sitz bath because of its deep penetration relieves the pressure. A 38 year old woman was under treatment for disc lesions for 3 years, but her pains became worse, her shoulders and neck area were so stiff that she could only get out of bed in the morning with the help of a bar her husband had fixed over her bed. At this time I met her at a lecture I gave. You will be quite surprised to learn that this woman lost all her stiffness and pain after only one sitz bath. This applies also for disc lesions caused by driving a tractor. The rattling movements do not harm the discs but the kidneys and immediately there is a pressure upward which Horsetail sitz baths relieve' A lady from Switzerland had a stiff neck for years. Every year she took a cure which gave her only limited relief. By chance I met her. Skeptically she promised to take Horsetail sitz baths. Soon I received a call and this happy lady told me that after 10 minutes in the bath all the stiffness had disappeared. As I know, it has not returned since. The great neurologist Dr. Wagner-Jauregg said in his writings: "two thirds of all mentally ill would not go to a mental home had they healthy kidneys." Up to now I have been able to advise many unhappy people who, through kidney disorders, suffered from depression, delusions and fits of rage and would have ended in a mental home but for Horsetail sitz baths. For these conditions besides Yarrow and Stinging Nettle teas, a cup of Horsetail tea mornings and evenings must be drunk. For serious kidney disorders with all the accompanying symptoms, fresh Horsetail sitz baths should be used, the best, as mentioned previously, being the Great or River Horsetail. A 5 litre bucketful of herbs is needed for 1 bath (see "directions" and "sitz bath" under General information). For the sitz bath the kidney region must be under water - the bath must last 20 minutes! Do not dry yourself, but, still wet, wrap yourself in a bath robe and remain perspiring in bed for one hour. Only then, dress in dry night attire. The sitz bath water can be re-warmed and used twice. DIRECTIONS INFUSION: ¼ litre of boiling water is poured over t heaped teaspoon of Horsetail. POULTICE: A heaped double handful of Horsetail is placed in a sieve, which is hung over boiling water. When the herbs are hot and soft, they are wrapped in a piece of linen and applied to the affected part. Keep absolutely warm! SITZ BATH: 100 gm. of Horsetail are steeped in cold water overnight, the next day brought to the boil and added to the bath water. 20 minutes are required for a bath. Don't dry yourself, still wet, wrap up in a bath robe, remain perspiring in bed for 1 hour. The bath water must reach above the kidney region. TINCTURE: 10 gm. of fresh Horsetail are macerated in 50 gm. of pure whisky. Keep in the sun or a warm place for 14 days. Shake daily! PULP COMPRESS: Fresh Horsetail is washed well and crushed to pulp on a wooden board. The French herbalist, Maurice Messegue also used Horsetail in his remedy for hemorrhoids. He recommended, Hipbaths of one handful of milfoil flowers, one handful of milk thistle roots and leaves, one handful of couch grass roots, one handful of lavender flowers, one handful of field horsetail and one handful of knot grass roots. Sophie Hodorowicz Knab tells us of the Polish tradition: There are nine different varieties of Horsetail found in Poland. Syreniusz recommended preparing it in wine for dysentery and bloody lungs. He also recommended it in the form of a bath, compress, or as a rub for wounds resulting from duels. It was used in the form of a grated powder mixed with water for ulcers on the liver and uterus, and mixed with wine for intestinal wounds and stomach ulcers. Fr. Kneipp used it for internal bleeding and bloody emesis. The Gypsies of Poland added Horsetail to the feed of their horses to strengthen and improve their appetite. Horsetail Herbal Bath (for rheumatism, neuralgia and excessive perspiration of the feet) 2 quarts water 1 cup Horsetail Boil the Horsetail in the water and add to bathwater. Bath should not exceed 20 minutes in the evening. Deatra Cohen and Adam Siegel explain the Horsetail was an important herb in the medical traditions of the Ashkenazi Jews: Horsetail was commonly found growing in the fields, meadows, glades and forests of the Pale betweent he World Wars. In the Podolia region Equisetum arvense was used to promote urination. In Shvartz-Timeh, Uman and Birzula a decoction of Horsetail was used to treat kidney disease. In Shvartz-Timeh it was also used as a diuretic. For tuberculosis, head colds and coughs, healers in Kiev, Anapol, Boshlov and Zvenigorodka gave their patients a decoction of the plant. The same decoction was prescribed for shortness of breath in Zhitomir and for gout in Shvartz-Timeh, and for those who suffered from catarrh of the stomach, the folk practitioners of Broslev and Ladizhin offered them the same strong brew. Folk healers washed wounds with an infusion of the plant in Titzev to protect them from infections. In Ladizhin a compress soaked in a decoction of the plant treated eczema. In Kharkov eczema-infected areas were exposed to a steaming plant decoction while the patient was simultaneously given a strongly brewed combination of horsetail and several other (unspecified) herbs to drink. Healers in Shvartz-Timeh, Uman and Zvenigorodka, in an identical treatment to that found in Poland, gave those suffering from rheumatism and rheumatic pain a steam foot bath to treat the feet and other effected parts of the body. To stop excessive menstrual bleeding, midwives in Monasterishtche and Kanev gave women the plant decoction to drink, To induce menstruation the same drink was given in Monasterishtche. Midwives in Ulanov and Kolenivka also relied on this remedy to stop hemorrhaging during childbirth. In Broslev midwives turned to the same brew for (unspecified) diseases of the uterus, a treatment similar to one attested in seventeenth-century Poland for ulcers of that organ. In Khmelnik and Polona the decoction was also a well known styptic for staunching nosebleeds and bleeding in the throat In Barditchev horsetail was a remedy against hemorrhoids, mirroring a treatment in Russian folk medicine. In Letichev folk veterinary medicine sought the plant for treatment of bloody urine in cattle. Igor Vileavich Zevin tells us of the Russian tradition: Horsetail is found throughout Russia. Archaeological excavations reveal that the plant was popular many centuries ago as a healing herb. An old Russian manuscript refers to a “coughing disease” that affected a beautiful young maiden in the town of Ryazan. The situation was so bad that “blood dripped out of her mouth,” a probable reference to tuberculosis. The story describes how a local healer took some “shave grass, which was like sand and stones and gave it to the maiden. The sand and stones were placed on her chest, and the cough ceased.” The description accurately conveys the abrasive nature of horsetail grass, which is rich in silica. In times past, horsetail was used to clean pots and pans. Although modern abrasives have replaced horsetail as a pot cleaner, millions of Russians still use it regularly as a medicinal herb. Turning to the British, Gerard wrote of several varieties: 1. Great Horsetail riseth up with a round stalk, hollow within like a Reed, a cubit high, compact as it were of many small pieces, one put into the end of another, sometimes of a reddish colour, very rough, and set at every joint with many stiff rush-like leaves or rough bristles, which maketh the whole plant to resemble the tail of a horse, whereof it took his name: on the top of the stalk do stand instead of flowers clustered and thick catkins, not unlike to the first shoots of Sperage, which is called Myacantha: the root is jointed, and creepeth in the ground. 2. This small or naked Shave-grass, wherewith fletchers and comb-makers do rub and polish their work, riseth out of the ground like the first shoots of Asparagus, jointed or kneed by certain distances like the precedent, but altogether without such bristly leaves, yet exceeding rough and cutting: the root groweth aslope in the earth, like those of the Couch-grass. Kinds of Horsetail 3. Horsetail which for the mot part groweth among corn, and where corn hath been, hath a very slender root, and single; from which rise up divers jointed stalks, whereon do grow very long rough narrow jointed leaves, like unto the first described, but thicker and rougher, as is the rest of the plant. 4. Water Horsetail, that grows by the brinks of rivers and running streams, and often in the midst of the water, hath a very long root, according to the depth of the water, gross, thick,and jointed, with some threads annexed thereto: from which riseth up a great thick jointed stalk, whereon do grow long rough rushy leaves, pyramid or steeple fashion. The whole plant is also tough, hard, and fit to shave and rub wooden things as the other. 5. This kind of Horsetail that grows in woods and shadowy places, hath a small root, and single, from which riseth up a rough chamfered stalk jointed by certain spaces, having at each joint two e of rough bristly leaves set one against another like the other of his kind. 6. The female Horsetail groweth for the most part in waterish places, and on the brinks of small rills and purling brooks; it hath a long root like that of Couch Grass, from which rise up divers hollow stalks, set about at certain distances with small leaves in roundels like those of Woodruff, altogether barren of seed and flower, whereof it was called by Lobel, Polygona fœmine semine vidua. So sayeth our author, but it is sometimes found with ten or more seeds at each joint; whence Bauhin hath called it Equisetum palustre brevioribus foliis polyspermon. 7. In some boggy places of this kingdom is found a rare and pretty Hippuris or Horsetail, which grows up with many little branches, some two or three inches high, putting forth at each joint many little leaves, clustering close about the stalk, and set after the manner of other Horsetails: towards the tops of the branches the joints are very thick: the colour of the whole plant is grey, a little inclining to green, very brittle, and as it were stony or gravelly like Coralline, and will crash under your feet, as if it were frozen; and if you chew it, you shall find it all stony or gravelly. My friend Mr Leonard Buckner was the first that found this plant, and brought it to me; he had it three miles beyond Oxford, a little on this side Evansham ferry, in a bog upon a common by the Beacon hill near Cummer-wood, in the end of August, 1632. Mr Bowles hath since found it growing upon a bog not far from Chislehurst in Kent. I question whether this be not the Hippuris lacustris quædam foliis mansu arenolis of Gesner: but if Gesner's be that which Bauhin in his Prodromus, pag. 24. sets forth by the name of Equisetum nudum minus variegatum, then I judge it not to be this of my description: for Bauhin's differs from this in that it is without leaves, and oft times bigger: the staks of his are hollow, these not so: this may be called Hippuris coralloides; Horsetail Coralline. 8. Towards the later end of the year, in divers ditches, as in Saint James his Park, in the ditches on the back of Southwark towards Saint George's fields, &c. you may find covered over with water a kind of stinking Horsetail: it grows sometimes a yard long, with many joints and branches, and each joint set with leaves, as in the other Horsetails, but they are somewhat jagged or divided towards the tops. I take this to be the Equisetum fœtidum sub aqua repens, described in the first place of Bauhin his Prodromus: we may call it in English, Stinking Water Horsetail. 9. Clusius hath set forth a plant, that he referreth unto the stock of Horsetails, which he thus describeth: it hath many twiggy or rushy stalks, whereupon it was called Iuncaria: and may be Englished, Rush-Weed: the leaves grow upon the branches like those of Flax: on the tops of the stalks grow small chaffy flowers of a whitish colour. The seed is small, and black of colour. The root is little and white: the whole plant is sweetish in taste. 10. Dodonæus setteth forth another Horsetail, which he called climbing Horsetail, or Horsetail of Olympus. There is (saith he) another plant like Horsetail, but greater and higher. It riseth up oftentimes with a stalk as big as a man's arm, divided into many branches: out of which there grow long slender sprigs very full of joints, like to the first Horsetail. The flowers stand about the joints, of a mossy substance, small as are those of the Cornel tree; in place whereof grow up red fruit full of some juice, not unlike to little Mulberries, in which is the seed. The root is hard and woody. This grows now and then to a great height, and sometimes lower. Bellonius writeth in his Singularities, that it hath been seen to be equal in height with the Plane tree: it cometh up lower, near to shorter and lesser trees or shrubs, yet doth it not fasten itself to the trees with any tendrils or clasping aglets; much less doth it wind itself about them, yet doth it delight to stand near and close unto them. The Place. The titles and descriptions show the place of their growing: the last Bellonius reporteth to grow in divers valleys of the mountain Olympus, and not far from Ragusa a city in Slavonia. The Time. They flower from April to the end of summer. The Names. Horsetail is called in Greek Hippuris: in Latin, Equisetum and Equinalis: of Pliny in his 15th book, 28th chap. Equisetis, of the likeness of a horse hair: of some, Salix equina: in shops, Cauda equina: in High Dutch, Schaffthew: in Low Dutch, Peertsteert: Italian, Coda di Cavallo: in Spanish, Coda de mula: in French, Queue de cheval: and Caqueue: in English, Horsetail, and Shave-grass. Shave-grass is not without cause named Asprella, of his ruggedness, which is not unknown to women, who scour their pewter and wooden things of the kitchen therewith: which the German women call Kannenkraut: and therefore some of our housewives do call it Pewterwort. Of some the tenth is called Ephedra, Anobasis, and Caucon. The Temperature. Horsetail, as Galen saith, hath a binding faculty, with some bitterness, and therefore it doth mightily dry, and that without biting. The Virtues. A. Dioscorides saith, that Horsetail being stamped and laid to, doth perfectly cure wounds, yea though the sinews be cut in sunder, as Galen addeth. It is of so great and so singular a virtue in healing of wounds, as that it is thought and reported for truth, to cure the wounds of the bladder, and other bowels, and helpeth ruptures or burstings. B. The herb drunk either with water or wine, is an excellent remedy against bleeding at the nose, and other fluxes of blood. It stayeth the overmuch flowing of women's flowers, the bloody flux, and the other fluxes of the belly. C. The juice of the herb taken in the same manner can do the like, and more effectually. D. Horsetail with his roots boiled in wine, is very profitable for the ulcers of the kidneys & bladder, the cough and difficulty of breathing. As usual, Mrs. Grieve does much to clear up the confusion over common names in the British tradition of herbal medicine: Botanical: Equisetum arvense, Equisetum hyemale, Equisetum maximum, Equisetum sylvaticum Family: N.O. Equisetaceae Synonyms---Shave-grass. Bottle-brush. Paddock-pipes. Dutch Rushes. Pewterwort. Habitat---They are chiefly distributed in the temperate northern regions: seven of the twenty-five known species are British, the most frequent being Equisetum arvense, E. sylvaticum, E. maximum and E. hyemale. E. arvense, the CORN HORSETAIL, is a very troublesome weed, most difficult to extirpate from cultivated land. Many of the species are very variable. The Horsetails belong to a class of plants, the Equisetaceae, that has no direct affinity with any other group of British plants. They are nearest allied to the Ferns. The class includes only a single genus, Equisetum, the name derived from the Latin words equus (a horse) and seta (a bristle), from the peculiar bristly appearance of the jointed stems of the plants, which have also earned them their popular names of Horsetail, Bottle-brush and Paddock-pipes. Large plants of this order probably formed a great proportion of the vegetation during the carboniferous period, the well-known fossils Calamites being the stems of gigantic fossil Equisetaceae, which in this period attained their maximum development - those now existing being mere dwarfish representatives. The Equisetaceae have an external resemblance in habit to Casuarina or Ephedra, and as regards the heads of fructification to Zamia (a genus of Cycadaceae). The Casuarina have very much the appearance of gigantic Horsetails, being trees with threadlike, jointed, furrowed, pendent branches without leaves, but with small toothed sheaths at the joints. They are met with most abundantly in tropical Australia, less frequently in the Indian Islands, New Caledonia, etc. In Australia they are said by Dr. Bennett to be called Oaks. The wood is used for fires, as it burns readily and the ashes retain the heat for a long time. The wood is much valued for steam-engines, ovens, etc., and the timber furnished by these trees is appreciated for its extreme hardness. From its colour it is called in the Colonies 'Beefwood.' Though mostly inhabitants of watery places, flourishing where they can lodge their perennial roots in water or string clay which holds the wet, the Equisetums will grow in a garden near water, under a wall, or in the shade and will spread rapidly. Description---The stems spring from a creeping rhizome, or root-stock, which produces at its joints a number of roots. Two kinds of stems are produced fertile and barren: they are erect, jointed, brittle and grooved, hollow except at the joints and with air-cells in their walls under the grooves. There are no leaves, the joints terminating in toothed sheathes, the teeth corresponding with the ridges and representing leaves. Branches, if present, arise from the sheathbases and are solid. In most cases, the fertile or fruiting stem is unbranched and withers in spring, almost before the barren fronds appear. It bears a terminal cone-like catkin, consisting of numerous closely-packed peltae, upon the under margins of which are the sporanges, containing microscopic spores, attached to elastic threads, which are coiled round the spore when moist and uncoil when dry. The development of young Horsetails from the spores is similar to that of Ferns, germination and impregnation being effected in the same manner. The Equisitaceae are also propagated in a vegetative non-sexual manner by means of subterranean stolons and by tubers. The barren summer fronds give off numerous, slender, jointed branches in whorls of about a dozen; in some British species, the fruiting and barren stems are often both unbranched. A quantity of silica is deposited in the stems, especially in the epidermis or outer skin. In one species, E. hyemale (Linn.), the epidermis contains so much silica that bunches of the stem have been sold for polishing metal and used to be imported from Holland for the purpose, hence the popular name of Dutch Rushes. It is also called Scouring Rush, and by old writers Shavegrass, and was formerly much used by white smiths and cabinet-makers. Gerard tells us that in his time it was employed for scouring pewter and wooden kitchen utensils, and thence called Pewterwort, and that fletchers and combmakers rubbed and polished their work with it, and long after his day, the dairymaids of the northern counties of England used it for scouring their milk-pails. Linnaeus tells us that this species, among others, forms excellent food for horses in some parts of Sweden, but that cows are apt to lose their teeth by feeding on it and to be afflicted with diarrhoea. As a matter of fact, cattle, in this country, usually instinctively avoid these plants and would probably only eat them in the absence of better fodder. The young shoots of the larger species of Horsetail, especially E. maximum (Lamk.) the E. fluviatile of Linnaeus - were formerly said to be eaten, dressed like asparagus, or fried with flour and butter. It is recorded that the poorer classes among the Romans occasionally ate them as a vegetable, but they are neither palatable nor very nutritious. Linnaeus stated that the reindeer, who refuses ordinary hay, will eat this kind of Horsetail, which is about 3 feet high and juicy, and that it is cut as fodder in the north of Sweden for cows, with a view to increasing their milk, but that horses will not touch it. Several of the species have been used medicinally, and the older herbalists considered them useful vulneraries, and recommended them for consumption and dysentery. The FIELD HORSETAIL (E. arvense), the species of British Horsetail most commonly met with, is the one now generally collected and sold for medicinal purposes . It is common in cornfields and wet meadows, its presence being supposed to indicate subterranean, flowing waters or springs. In this species, the fruiting stems are simple, very rarely branched, appearing early in spring and soon decaying. The barren stems which appear later are branched, six to nineteen grooved, the angles rough and sharp, and terminate generally in a long, naked point; the joints are about 1 inch long and 1/24 to 1/16 inch in diameter, the teeth of the sheaths long and acute. The shoots have neither colour nor taste. The fertile stems are yellowish, shorter and stouter, somewhat succulent, with only two to five joints. In warmer climates, and even in Lisbon, as E. debile and elongatum, they require the support of bushes to which they cling. They sometimes attain a great size as does E. giganteum, though they never reach the dimensions of the fossil Equisetaceae. The rhizomes contain a considerable quantity of starch-cells. E. sylvaticum, the WOOD HORSETAIL, which grows in copses and on hedgebanks, has slender, angular stems, 1 to 2 feet high, nearly smooth, ten to eighteen grooved. It is readily recognized by the elegant appearance of the whorls of recurved branches, generally twelve or more branches to a whorl, which are very slender, about 5 inches long, quadrangular and beset by several secondary whorls so that the plant resembles a miniature pine tree. The cones of the fertile stems are 3/4 to 1 inch long. It is this species that Linnaeus informs us is a principal food for horses in some parts of Sweden. It is used medicinally in the same manner as the preceding species. E. maximum, the GREAT or RIVER HORSETAIL, already mentioned, is found in bogs, ditches, and on the banks of rivers and ponds. It is the largest of the European species, the barren stems attaining a height of from 3 to 6 feet, sometimes nearly an inch in diameter. They are twenty to forty grooved, with numerous joints, pale in colour and smooth, the branchlets quadrangular. The fertile stems are quite short, only 8 to 10 inches high, but thicker; their cones, 2 to 3 inches long. Part Used Medicinally---The barren stems only are used medicinally, appearing after the fruiting stems have died down, and are used in their entirety, cut off just above the root. The herb is used either fresh or dried, but is said to be most efficacious when fresh. A fluid extract is prepared from it. The ashes of the plant are also employed. Medicinal Action and Uses---Diuretic and astringent. Horsetail has been found beneficial in dropsy, gravel and kidney affections generally, and a drachm of the dried herb, powdered, taken three or four times a day, has proved very effectual in spitting of blood. The ashes of the plant are considered very valuable in acidity of the stomach, dyspepsia, etc., administered in doses of 3 to 10 grains. Besides being useful in kidney and bladder trouble, a strong decoction acts as an emmenagogue; being cooling and astringent, it is of efficacy for haemorrhage, cystic ulceration and ulcers in the urinary passages. The decoction applied externally will stop the bleeding of wounds and quickly heal them, and will also reduce the swelling of eyelids. ---Preparation and Dosage---Fluid extract, 10 to 60 drops. Horsetail was formerly official under the name of Cauda equina and was much esteemed as an astringent. Culpepper quotes Galen in saying that it will heal sinews, 'though they be cut in sunder,' and speaks of it highly for bleeding of the nose, a use to which it is still put by country people. Culpepper says: 'It is very powerful to stop bleeding, either inward or outward, the juice or the decoction being drunk, or the juice, decoction or distilled water applied outwardly... It also heals inward ulcers.... It solders together the tops of green wounds and cures all ruptures in children. The decoction taken in wine helps stone and strangury; the distilled water drunk two or three times a day eases and strengthens the intestines and is effectual in a cough that comes by distillation from the head. The juice or distilled water used as a warm fomentation is of service in inflammations and breakings-out in the skin.' John K’eogh wrote of the Irish tradition: A decoction of it taken internally stops excessive menstruation, dysentery, and all flows of blood. If it is pounded or crushed and applied to wounds, it stops the bleeding and any further inflammation. A decoction of the whole plant is good against cough and difficulty of breathing. The juice, if sniffed into the nose, will stop a nosebleed. In the early American tradition, the Eclectics used Equisetum: A decoction or infusion of the common Souring Rush acts as a mild and simple diuretic, and as such has been used in gravel, dropsical affections, irritation and inflammation of the urinary organs, strangury, suppression of urine, and other similar affections. King’s Medical Dispensatory of 1898 tells us: Botanical name: Equisetum arvense, Equisetum hyemale, Equisetum laevigatum The plant Equisetum hyemale, Linné. Nat. Ord.—Equisetaceae. COMMON NAMES: Scouring rush, Horse-tail, Shave-grass. Botanical Source.—This is a perennial plant, with simple, stout, erect, jointed, and hollow stems, marked with from 14 to 26 longitudinal furrows, the ridges rough with 2 rows of minute tubercles, growing from 2 to 3 feet in height, each stem bearing a terminal, ovoid spike. Frequently 2 or more stems are united at the base from the same root. The sheaths are from 2 to 3 lines long, from an inch to an inch and a half apart, ashy-white, black at the base and summit, short, with subulate, black, awned, deciduous teeth, which leave a bluntly crenate margin. The fertile plants are mostly leafless. The fruit is placed under peltate polygons, being pileus-like bodies, arranged in whorls, forming a spike-like raceme, from 4 to 7 spiral filaments surround the spores, which resemble green globules, and which roll up closely around them when moist, and uncoil when dry (G.—W.). History and Chemical Composition.—This plant is common to the northern and western parts of the United States, growing in wet grounds, on river banks, and borders of woods, and maturing in June and July. Together with other Cryptogamia, this species abounds in the fossil remains of coal measures, indicating that they were once of gigantic dimensions, and formed a large part of the original flora of our globe. Silica enters largely into the composition of these plants, on which account they have been used to scour, rough, polish, etc.; 1.4 per cent of a brownish-green, semi-fluid fixed oil, easily saponifiable, was abstracted from this plant by F. J. Young, by means of petroleum benzin (Amer. Jour. Pharm., 1886, p. 420). The plant left 18.2 per cent of ash, and proved to be free from tannin, alkaloid, or glucosid. Mucilage, sugar, and a soft, green resin were shown to be present. The equisetic acid of Braconnot was found by Regnault to be identical with aconitic acid. The whole plant is medicinal, and imparts its properties to water. Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—Diuretic and astringent. An infusion drank freely, has been found beneficial in dropsy, suppression of urine, hematuria, gravel, and nephritic affections; and has also been used with advantage in gonorrhoea and gleet. This drug has a specific action in irritation the bladder, and in dysuria with tenesmic urging, in the nocturnal urinal incontinence of children, and in urinal incontinence, the effect of cystic irritation, it is a very serviceable remedy. The infusion or the decoction of the green stalks is preferred. The ashes of the plant are very valuable in dyspepsia connected with obstinate acidity of the stomach, and may be given alone, or combined with powdered rosin, or hydrochlorate of berberine, etc. Dose of the pulverized ashes from 3 to 10 grains, to be repeated 3 or 4 times daily. The fresh juice may be given in 1 or 2 ounce doses, administered in water. Specific equisetum, 5 to 60 drops. Specific Indications and Uses.—Cystic irritation; nocturnal urinal incontinence; tenesmic urging to urinate; dropsy; renal calculi. Related Species.—Equisetum laevigatum, Braun, and Equisetum robustum, Braun, of the southern and western borders of our country, may be substituted for the above. Equisetum arvense, Linné; Common horse-tail.—Canada to Kentucky and Virginia. This species puts forth its sterile stems after the appearance of the fertile ones. It has the medicinal uses of Scouring rush. According to Tis Mal Crow, the Muskogee have traditionally considered Horsetail to be among their primary medicinal herbs (See his book, Native Plants, Native Healing for formulas): Just by feeling the plant you get the idea that it makes a good emery board. The high silica content and hard outer skin makes it good for fingernails, toenails and skin. The hollow tube stalk shows that it is good for problems with the tubes, including bronchial tubes, kidney, bladder and urinary tract tubes. Horsetail generally grows where it is cold and wet. This indicates that it is used for colds, fevers, and lung problems associated with colds. The joints along the stalk (and branches in Field Horsetail) look like joints with the connective tissue showing. This shows us that it is used for joint problems and connective tissue problems. Horsetail is used to strengthen hair and tails and also encourage their growth. It is taken for hair that is brittle and breaks easily or split ends and for nails that split, crack and are weak… For infections of the urinary tract and kidneys or bladder the top part of the plant is used. A tincture of the plant is preferred for this, but a tea can be used. For gravel or stones of the kidney, gallbladder or urinary tract, you need to use horsetail root. It can be used either in tea or tincture form… To help clear the lungs and bronchial tubes, and for colds, flu and fevers, a tea is preferred. Use the top part of the plant, the stems and branches to make a tea… Whenever most people think of connective tissue, they think of the joints of the elbow and knee particularly. But connective tissues are found throughout the body. An example is the heart. People worry about cholesterol, blood flow, and healthy heart muscles, but even if you have good nerve and venous action in the heart and good muscle tone, poor connective tissue can cause serious problems. The problem is known as a quiet murmur of the heart. This is when connective tissue is weak and, as the heart beats, it is actually tearing itself apart. It sounds like it is beating itself to death. Horsetail is used to strengthen connective tissue throughout the body… For most bleeding problems that are centered internally, a root tea should be used. This includes bleeding from accidents, heavy menstruation, and bloody piles or hemorrhoids. For an antiseptic mouthwash, use the whole plant of Horsetail, root and stems combines, to make a strong tea. He goes on to describe how Horsetail may be used to create and insect repellant and for various household uses such as a sandpaper or for cleaning. Bradford Angier states: The Paiutes burned the ground leaves and used the ashed for cankers and gum sores. The Shoshones did the same thing with the dried and powdered roots. Peterson Field Guide for Medicinal Plants tells us: Equisetum arvense American Indians used plant tea for kidney and bladder ailments, constipation. Asian Indians consider the Field Horsetail diuretic, hemostatic. Root given to teething babies. Folk remedy for bloody urine, gout, gonorrhea, stomach disorders. Poultice used for wounds. High silica content. Also once used for tea for tubercular lung lesions. Shown to be valuable against inflammation, though scientific validity in question. Warning: toxic to livestock; questionable for humans – disturbs thiamine metabolism. Equisetum hyemale Essentially the same as E. arvense, though this species is considered stronger by some authors. A folk remedy used throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The herbalist, Michael Moore wrote: These plants contain a lot of silica and calcium. If it has access to inorganic nitrates (fertilizer) it forms toxins. Good in mineral tea. Helps repair damaged tissues and worn out cells. Helps support cartilage. Can help prevent damage to lungs, kidneys, etc that are chronically inflamed. Helps with fractures. From SPECIFIC INDICATIONS FOR HERBS IN GENERAL USE ,Third edition by Michael Moore: EQUISETUM Emphysema, to strengthen septum cartilage. Acute cystitis/urethritis with inflammation and irritation. Incontinence, while sleeping, from chronic cystitis (with Rhus aromatica). Incontinence in aged males with enlarged prostate, poor bladder control. Ureteralgia. Nephritis with edema. Rheumatoid arthritis. Menopause, with early osteoporosis symptoms (as a tea with Medicago sativa and Angelica sinensis). Prostatitis, with irritable bladder, dribbling. Blood serum levels: creatinine, moderate elevation, renal cause. Nutritional malabsorption in moderate parathyroid imbalances. Plants for A Future states: Equisetum arvense Family: Equisetaceae (Horsetail Family) Medicinal use of Field Horsetail: Horsetails have an unusual chemistry compared to most other plants. They are rich in silica, contain several alkaloids (including nicotine) and various minerals. Horsetail is very astringent and makes an excellent clotting agent, staunching wounds, stopping nosebleeds and reducing the coughing up of blood. It helps speed the repair of damaged connective tissue, improving its strength and elasticity. The plant is anodyne, antihaemorrhagic, antiseptic, astringent, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, galactogogue, haemostatic and vulnerary. The green infertile stems are used, they are most active when fresh but can also be harvested in late summer and dried for later use. Sometimes the ashes of the plant are used. The plant is a useful diuretic when taken internally and is used in the treatment of kidney and bladder problems, cystitis, urethritis, prostate disease and internal bleeding, proving especially useful when there is bleeding in the urinary tract. A decoction applied externally will stop the bleeding of wounds and promote healing. It is especially effective on nose bleeds. A decoction of the herb added to a bath benefits slow-healing sprains and fractures, as well as certain irritable skin conditions such as eczema. The plant contains equisetic acid, which is thought to be identical to aconitic acid. This substance is a potent heart and nerve sedative that is a dangerous poison when taken in high doses. This plant contains irritant substances and should only be used for short periods of time. It is also best only used under the supervision of a qualified practitioner. A homeopathic remedy is made from the fresh plant. It is used in the treatment of cystitis and other complaints of the urinary system. Equisetum fluviatile Synonyms: Equisetum heliocharis, Equisetum limosum Family: Equisetaceae (Horsetail Family) Medicinal use of Swamp Horsetail: Horsetails have an unusual chemistry compared to most other plants. They are rich in silica, contain several alkaloids (including nicotine) and various minerals. The plant is styptic. The barren stems are used, they are most active when fresh but can also be dried and sometimes the ashes of the plant are used. A decoction applied externally will stop the bleeding of wounds and promote healing. Equisetum hyemale Family: Equisetaceae (Horsetail Family) Medicinal use of Dutch Rush: Horsetails have an unusual chemistry compared to most other plants. They are rich in silica, contain several alkaloids (including nicotine) and various minerals. The plant is anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, haemostatic, hypotensive and styptic. It also has an appetite-stimulating effect. The barren stems are used, they are most active when fresh but can also be dried and sometimes the ashes of the pant are used. The plant is a useful diuretic when taken internally and is used in the treatment of kidney and bladder problems. A decoction applied externally will stop the bleeding of wounds and promote healing. The plant contains polyphenolic flavonoids with bactericidal activity. Equisetum palustre Family: Equisetaceae (Horsetail Family) Medicinal use of Marsh Horsetail: Horsetails have an unusual chemistry compared to most other plants. They are rich in silica, contain several alkaloids (including nicotine) and various minerals. Horsetail is very astringent and makes an excellent clotting agent, staunching wounds, stopping nosebleeds and reducing the coughing up of blood. It helps speed the repair of damaged connective tissue, improving its strength and elasticity. An infusion or decoction of the plants has been used in the treatment of constipation, stomach and bowel complaints. Equisetum pratense Family: Equisetaceae (Horsetail Family) Medicinal use of Meadow Horsetail: Horsetails have an unusual chemistry compared to most other plants. They are rich in silica, contain several alkaloids (including nicotine) and various minerals. Equisetum sylvaticum Family: Equisetaceae (Horsetail Family) Medicinal use of Wood Horsetail: Horsetails have an unusual chemistry compared to most other plants. They are rich in silica, contain several alkaloids (including nicotine) and various minerals. The plant is astringent, diuretic and styptic. The barren stems are used, they are most active when fresh but can also be dried and sometimes the ashes of the pant are used. The plant is a useful diuretic when taken internally and is used in the treatment of kidney and bladder problems, internal bleeding. A decoction applied externally will stop the bleeding of wounds and promote healing. Equisetum telmateia Synonyms: Equisetum maximum Family: Equisetaceae (Horsetail Family) Medicinal use of Giant Horsetail: The plant is astringent and diuretic. A decoction has been used to treat "stoppage of urine". A poultice of the rough leaves and stems is applied to cuts and sores. Equisetum variegatum Family: Equisetaceae (Horsetail Family) Medicinal use of Variegated Horsetail: Horsetails have an unusual chemistry compared to most other plants. They are rich in silica, contain several alkaloids (including nicotine) and various minerals. Horsetail is very astringent and makes an excellent clotting agent, staunching wounds, stopping nosebleeds and reducing the coughing up of blood. It helps speed the repair of damaged connective tissue, improving its strength and elasticity. The plant has been used in the treatment of sore eyes. Botany in A Day tells us: The horsetail contains significant quantities (5-8%) of silica and silic acids plus saponins; it makes an excellent abrasive pad for cleaning camp cookware. This silica content is beneficial for hair and fingernails. The roots of some species are starchy and edible. Medicinally, a tea of the plant is mildly diuretic and astringent, useful for urinary tract infections intestinal bleeding, excess menstruation, or external bleeding. Horsetails are also rich in calcium and other constituents believed beneficial for mending fractured bones and connective tissues. Note that the fresh plant contains thiamine, an enzyme that destroys vitamin B1 stored in the body. Cooking destroys the enzyme and renders the plant safe. However, the high silica content can irritate the urinary tract and kidneys with excessive use. Also, the plants are known to accumulate heavy metals and chemicals from polluted soil. The Physicians’ Desk Reference for Herbal Medicine lists Equisetum aevense specifically: Horsetail has a mild diuretic and spasmolytic action in animal tests. The flavonoids and silic acid contribute to the astringent effect. The drug has shown to increase diureses and reduce uric acid content in blood by increasing uric acid clearing and excretion rates. Plasma composition was improved, as well as excretion of calcium and anorganic phosphorus, Unproven uses: In folk medicine, Equisetum arvense is used for tuberculosis, catarrh in the kidney and bladder regions, as a hematostatic for profuse menstruation, nasal, pulmonary and gastric hemorrhages, for brittle fingernails and loss of hair, for rheumatic diseases, gout, poorly healing wounds and ulcers, swelling and fractures, and for frostbite. Horsetail is contraindicated in patients who have edema due to impaired heart or kidney function. Health risks or side effects following the proper administration of designates therapeutic dosages are not recorded. A doctor should be consulted when the drug is utilized as a bath additive in cases of major skin lesions, acute skin lesions of unknown origin, major feverish and infectious diseases, cardiac insufficiency, and hypertonia. 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Nothing on this site has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I am not a doctor. The US government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and their is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm just a guy who studies herbs. I am not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write is accurate or true! I can tell you what herbs have "traditionally been used for." I can tell you my own experience and if I believe an herb helped me. I cannot, nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use any herb I, or anyone else, mentions you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, sensitivity or underlying condition that no one else shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. 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