This was something I wrote over at Custom Justice that has been brewing in my head for a while now and exacerbated by seeing lots of terrible custom work for sale on ebay. I just wanted to discuss some ideas about what makes a custom a custom in the first place and how that affects the landscape of what customizers do as artisans of the craft.

Any and all comments are welcome.


Custom toys are something I think we can all agree that we love. One doesn't have to be a master level maker to appreciate a good piece of work or produce one, all it takes is a little creativity, a little skill and you too can have a custom figure that you can be proud of. But this begs the questions, how little can you get away with and legitimately call something a custom?

So how much or how little work needs to go into a piece before you can call something a custom? Can it be something as simple as swapping heads? Cutting of a limb? Replacing a limb? Changing the color of the eyes on a figure? Or the hair color on a figure? What is the baseline for what we consider to be a custom piece? And is something truly a custom if it doesn't meet certain criteria and what are those criteria.

Everything I say from this point on is opinion and I welcome anyone challenging my ideas on any subject and certainly don't take anything I say personally because nothing is an attack or condemnation if I do mention names, I am simply using examples to help illustrate points.

In my eyes simple head swaps and limb swaps aren't customs. My justification for this is that the person doing the swapping hasn't changed anything about the figure aside from adding a new component. If changing a head out on a figure can be considered making a custom then I just made a custom life sized motorcycle when I replaced the tires on my bike a few weeks ago. Or your car is now a custom because you put a new set of seat covers on. I used Apple jelly instead of grape on my sandwich and made a custom peanut butter and jelly.

Let me backtrack a little bit here for a second to help flesh out my previous point. Lets define what a custom is and how a custom becomes one. Custom toys or anything else called a custom is brought to life as a means of creating something new and not seen previously by means of altering or intrinsically changing the base nature of said item. Making a custom is an act of creation that mandates that you take and original item and do something to fundamentally change the nature of that thing, not just add something to it as a process of change.

So where does that get us? Is repainting the eyes of a figure enough to call it a custom? Its changing the hair color of a figure enough? Yes it is. You are taking a base item and changing its nature in such a way that it is altered from its original state of being and not just added too. You didn't just throw a gun and a vest on from another figure and call it a custom job because that is just adding something to it and not changing it.

So changing eye or hair color is enough to qualify for the title of being custom but some people might say that's not enough, and I would tend to agree on some level. This brings up the idea of "anyone can do this" and how that affects the perception of something being a custom. This also brings up the idea of the ego and how it affects our perception of what is and what isn't a custom.

I know I have done this plenty of times when I've seen something and been dismissive of it because it didn't meet my standard. I look at something and say to myself "anybody could do that, its not a custom" but this is my ego trying to separate what I do from other levels of skill and trying to make myself feel better because I've been there before on the road to becoming a more polished craftsman. I often have to tell myself, hey they are just starting out and will get better over time or something to that effect because my ego gets in the way and so this discussion takes yet another interesting turn.

Customs can be almost anything, but when you step back and look at the overall landscape of custom works, a lot of it boils down to skill level and where someone is on the road to becoming a custom artist. Some folks are further along and some are just beginning so what they consider as being a custom might not fit the artisan definition of what it means for something to be a custom. I think we can all agree that simply switching out parts does not a custom make.

So where do these augmented items belong in the discussion of customs? Where do head and limb swaps find their place in the family tree of customizing figures? They don't. Not to say there is anything wrong with them and they cant live side by side, but they are not customs. They are fun experiments, they are interesting pieces and are always good for a shot of inspiration from time to but they are not customs. Changing the tires on your car does not make it a custom, painting the tires tiedye pattern however does.

There is nothing wrong with head swapping and I would wager its the reason most of us are now here doing what we do. I got my start customizing from the simple act of taking off Gung-ho's head and putting it onto Muskrats body, but that wasn't a custom, that was a gateway drug haha!

Customizing is about creation. Its about not being satisfied with what we are given and using our skills as artist, makers, creators and thinkers to change the landscape and make something (hopefull) better. Customizing is about sharing ideas, techniques and knowledge so that there we create this stew that we all can collectively eat from and see what each of us comes up with. We throw all of our ideas into the pot that is the internet and tons of crazy stuff results from that mixing of ideas and experiences. I can take 5 people, give them the same figure and a handful of paints and I will get 5 distinctly different pieces back. That is what customizing is, its creation and expression of ideas filtered through our own experiences. But swapping heads is not customizing no matter how much you want it to be. Its fun sometimes but its not customizing.

It can be something as simple like an eye color change. My first custom was a TNBA Batman. I changed the color of the belt from yellow to gold. Not an intricate custom by any means, but it was a change from what the factory produced.

Had it not been for the success of that little detail, I doubt that I would have tried doing anything else. It was only luck on my part that it did work. I used Testors enamel paint. If I had painted the limbs it probably would have stayed sticky just due to the type of plastic.

However the one thing I don't consider a custom (but it does take the same, if not more skill) is a repair of what should have come out of the factory. A paint blemish or a full on restoration. Not a custom, but requiring skill none the less.

Hey man thanks for taking the time to post a comment. I was hoping this would stir up some more interest and get some more opinions but I guess not, folks around here seem a bit tight lipped at times haha. Anyhow thanks for taking part and getting involved. Do you have a gallery up of work you've done recently? I mean aside from the belt ;D

Thanks again and I would love to hear other peoples opinions on this subject. Anyone that wants to get involved feel free to call bullshit on me but please be prepared to support your arguments.

I think headswaps are still customs.

I took the alternate bearded head from the DCSC Starman, but it on a Ghostbusters Walter Peck body and put it in an X-men movie Professor X wheel chair and made my own DCUC Doom Patrol "Chief" Niles Caulder figure. No paint, but still a unique, style and scale custom figure.

D

I'd say once you start painting stuff, you're in custom territory.

On the other hand, I changed the eyes on my MOTUC Rattler because they didn't match, but I'd hardly call it a custom.

This brings up a subject I didn't really get that deep into and that's the ego of the customizer. I think in a lot of ways (I know in my case anyhow) ego plays a big part in what we perceive as a custom.

On a basic fundamental level, I still hold to the idea that switching limbs is tantamount to building with LEGO and unless you are intrinsically changing the piece through new sculpting or paint its not really a custom. But that is in part my ego wanting to separate what I perceive my own personal work as being different and potentially better than someone elses work. Not to say that it is but again this might just be an ego thing.

I made the argument about changing car tires and I feel like limb switching is the same things because you're just taking a piece from this place and putting it over here. Not to discount the effectiveness of this but in my mind it seems like calling that a custom diminishes the value of other works and this again is ego talking.

I guess I'm trying to find a way to classify and compartmentalize things in a way that is efficient and also not derogatory at the same time, which is hard when ego is involved. Like most people who do custom work I started out as a limb switcher and I feel my craft has grown considerably stronger over time, and having never considered limb switching as being a custom its hard for me to equalize that idea in my own mind that some folks would consider that a custom item.

I feel like limb switching is a developmental stage in the process of becoming a customizer, much like when you're a student in dental school you aren't a dentist, that is the eventual goal but until you graduate you cant claim the title...and again here we are at ego haha! I think limb switching is an important developmental step in a process of understanding and creativity but I don't feel like it deserves the title.

I guess I'm a little stuck on it because of my own experiences and my own development as an artist and a toy customizer and the idea, like in any other creative field of work or study, that you pay your dues and learn and at some point you can claim the title or move to the next level of being an artisan in that particular field.

Another example of a personal nature is I worked in the framing and gallery world for over two decades and when I started out I worked in a schlocky poster framing wing of a department store and I was for all intents and purposes a framer. But over time I moved around and worked in different places and gained more knowledge and more skill and by the time my career in that arena came to a close, I was a professional craftsmen in the framing industry. I had learned techniques in preservation of antique documents, I had learned to to guild frames, I had learned how to make frames from scratch, I had learned an abundance of skills that working in a poster shop would never have come to me had I not knowingly and actively pursued those ends and in doing so I became a professional in the field.

I guess I have trouble divorcing myself from that idea pertaining to custom toys but I think it holds a legitimate place in the discussion of what is and what isn't a custom. But again this is an idea and argument based on my own ego and my own experiences as a toy customizer and now maker over the last 35 years of my life, so its a hard conversation for me to have with my built is bias but one I am willing to entertain and that's why I wrote this little piece up.

Ego is a hell of a thing to contend with, but I try and temper the feelings generated by mine with the understanding and presentation of the experiences that went into informing and creating that ego, which is my hope that they are well founded and well held and not just "oh my shingbling is better than yours" kind of reasoning that is so often the case when people don't like something someone else is doing or someone holds an opinion that isn't their own.

Julius thanks for contributing and being part of the discussion.

Shellhead - Exactly. Stuff like fixing eyes is correcting a mistake but when you paint a base figure to create a completely new figure than the one intended, you are certainly making a custom...which could be said of limb switching, CONUNDRUM! HAHA!

GeekVarietyDotCom........


I read your post on Custom Justice and now here, you changed a little bit of your thoughts but pretty much the same out-come.......what makes you a customizer ?

I started collecting Super Hero Squad (SHS) figures about 6-7 yrs ago. I had picked up a few figures because I thought they were pretty cool lookingl I was ONLY interested in comic books, never wanted to collect figures. I stopped after picking up 12 figures and put them in a plastic bag and in my daughters toy box they went. After my son was born and he started playing with toys........I found those 12 figures. My son wanted to play with them and I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to introduce Super Heroes to my kids.

That's how it ALL started......it's been almost 2 yrs now and we have a HUGE collection of SHS / Action League & Brave and the Bold figures. While looking on eBay for figures to purchase for our collection, I found a figure that I had NEVER seen before.

What is this ?

That was my first view of a custom figure.....it was AWESOME. I started researching custom figures (SHS/AL & B&B) on the web.....and found so many different figures/customizers that had turned the factory figures into cool looking NEW creations !! I had to have them !!

Looking on eBay for custom figures ( )....crap, they are NOT cheap. I found a guy that would do a figure for me as a commission piece (Daken). I paid him the money and my new figure showed up in the mail about 2 months later. The figure was great but my wife said...."REALLY, you paid that much money for something that you could have done yourself !"

.....

I have a BA in Commercial Art but I have not used that skill in many years (thats what happens when your life goes in a different direction). So, more researching I go.......HOW TO CUSTOMIZE figures. I wanted to FILL IN THE GAPS THAT THE TOY COMPANIES DIDN'T PRODUCE........my kids were so excited about the possibility of having LEX LUTHER / HYDRO-MAN / POISON IVY and WONDER GIRL. I had to try !!


After all the research and time in customizing a figure......I can understand how someone can look at a head swaps as changing/creating a new figure (BUT) I think Geek is right, this is the early stage of becoming a true customizer. I looked up (yah, more researching) the work "custom" and was redirect to Modding:

Wiki- Modding is a slang expression that is derived from the verb "modify". Modding refers to the act of modifying hardware, software, or virtually anything else, to perform a function not originally conceived or intended by the designer.

I have done over 100 small figures within the one year I have been customizing......I have done head / arm / legs swaps and even built figures to create a NEW figure to add/fill in to our collection. I would NOT put myself or skills next to Geek and the others at Custom Justice but I would call myself a customizer.......I create NEW, never seen before figures that could be seen at store to purchase (lol, in my eyes)

.........I believe that any type of modification to a figure (adding paint / adding or replacing something) would classify you as a customizer. You just have DIFFERENT levels of the craft





just my thoughts
D's