Topic: Xizor's Virago: Custom Figures!

[XizorsVirago]

Oh, nice! I haven't really read many SW comics (though I would like to, if I start getting paid more, haha!), just the first Clone Wars graphic novel and the ones that come with comic 2-pack figures. Might be time to expand my star wars horizons, I think! Any recommendations of good comic series to get into that are still in print?

[dana.raye.smith]

You can find all kinds of good ones. and they have been around quite a while.
Older Darkhorse SW comics from the late 90s and early 2000s are not overly expensive if you arent a comic nerd collector worried about mint condition bagged and boarded books, which I used to be sadly enough. The art from the earlier ones seems better to me, although lots of them now have great covers but lack the same calibur work inside. some of the older ones too.
I dont have too many any more, but you used to be able to look up back issues and specialty miniseries books for title info, and then just search and try to buy on ebay for single issues or series runs(not the cheapest way). If you do your research right, you will find books about whatever era fits your tastes best. Jedi/Sith War era was mine, and there was a great 4 book miniseries that forshadowed the Darth Bane books about 6 or more years before they released the Bane books. And that is where they introduced his apprentice the first time too. Lots of big Jedi names like Hoth and big Sith Lords...
Personally, I just look for used Graphic novels at local used bookstores like Hastings or whatever they are in your area.
Or you can occasionally read the synopsis and get the basics about a storyline and a few pics from the books at www.wookieepedia.com by searching for a title or storyline name there, and it expands out to most characters and locations and about any other thing you can think of. But the search engine is only as smart as you are, so I have trouble sometimes.
Lots of these bookstores will mark down comics to get rid of them, so you can get bargains. Or just read them there like everyone else that makes me so mad when i go looking. Lots of nasty grubby hands all over the books and cant get near them to see what they do or do not have.

[XizorsVirago]

Haha, yeah, people who read the whole things in bookstores do suck... it's not a library, people, it's a business. Graphic novels are probably a good way to go... I just don't want to really like something only to find out that one issue is impossible to find, best have the whole story in one place! I've been kind of interested in the whole story of the Royal Guards thing, but haven't gotten around to actually looking for it, think it's easy enough to find?

[dana.raye.smith]

They had a mini sreies about Carnor Jax and Kir Kanos that was really good . And then expanded it later where Kir Kanos was a bounty hunter after the royal guard thing was done. Basically just so he could hunt down who he thought were bad Imperials without people trying to collect the bounty on his head. Cant remember the name he used for the life of me right now.
And when I tried wookieepedia it was down. that sucks, cause it is a great way to look up lots of SW stuff in one place, but its stuff put up by fans like us and fact checked and ussually pretty right on factually.

[XizorsVirago]

Nice, sounds awesome! I first heard about the series when I got a Senate Security figure and read about the sculpting for the armor beneath the soft goods being based on those. Can't wait to find them to read!

[spudafett]

And when I tried wookieepedia it was down. that sucks, cause it is a great way to look up lots of SW stuff in one place, but its stuff put up by fans like us and fact checked and ussually pretty right on factually.

I use wookiepedia to get ideas for my customs alot of times...

Look up a character you want to do on there and usually they will list ALL possible data on them.  Even EU stuff.  I've gotten alot of Ideas for boba from his article on there that I still havn't been able to put to actual figs yet.

[XizorsVirago]

Okay, time for some custom guns I've made! I was sick of having piles of locker-pack-in guns lying around and nowhere near enough clones to use them (since every new clone had a whole locker!), so I decided to make some better guns out of them. I'll try to explain what they're made from, but ask if you have any other questions. DB=Droid Blaster, EG=EMP Grenade launcher thing, P=DC-15S Pistol, R=DC-15A Rifle.

- On top is a shotgun: Barrel from DB, front grip is SR scope, body and rings from EG, butt is another handle from EG, with a wide trigger guard so that my Scout Trooper can use it (definitely a great figure!)

- Middle is a double-barrel blaster thing I like to cal the Excommunicator   : Barrels are SR barrels, rings & body from EG, I forget which gun the front grip is from (same as with the trigger guard on the shotgun, oops!), and top handle thing is from the DB.

- On the bottom left, I have two custom pistols I made from the DC-15S  pistol to replace the two puny little pistols that come with the Clone Commander... I really liked the way the originals look in the holsters (mine don't fit), but they were just too tiny for my tastes. I basically just chopped off the barrels and re-glued the tips at different lengths for the heavy & the light one, and gave the heavy one a sliced-longways SR scope on top for a little extra bulk.

- The bottom right is a Jedi communicator I made with the EG handle and some various greeblies left over from making the guns. It needs a few more colors, but it works well enough since I already have wide-stance Episode III obi-wan, and refuse to buy essentially the same figure with  a narrow stance just for the stupid comm. Yay cheapness!

I have a few more that I need to photograph, including a chain-gun that I think you guys will like, but you'll have to wait for now! I also made the Scout Trooper's Pistol seen in the pic below, but i haven't gotten good detail pics of it yet. Enjoy!

[spudafett]

xv we must be on the same wavelength... this is creepy.  I was customizing weopons this morning too.  I got real into it too. I'm going to do a bunch more out of the random weopons that I have laying around that I don't like.

something I did though was had a couple busted dvd players that I scavenged greeblies from and used those to detail alot of them with.  NEVER throw away old electronics as they are a great source of small greeblie detialing for customizing!

[customclone]

sweet custom man it looks awsome

[customclone]

hasbro needs to hire you man that gun is awsome

[Tamer]

Wow, love the guns. Man, you customs guys can just make whatever the heck you want. I can't even see where any of the joins are!

[KesselRunImports]

A lot of really good stuff, liking the Guri. I think you made it into a better figure than it was. The most outstanding piece I see here though is the Bossk gun. Sweet paint job on that one, I'd give it a 10. What kind of paint do you use?

[dana.raye.smith]

With about 15 lockers of guns just laying around, now I have more ideas what to do with them.
Thanks and great job.

[Clonehead]

Wow, Virago, those custom guns are kickin! The top one is my favorite!

[UnitedStatesDemocrat]

Yeah, Ryan.  Those guns are really cool!