This week I snagged Veers and 4 Gonk Droids/Treadwell Droids. The Hoth wave is here in abundance, having seen all of them in multiples for the past 2 weeks.  I only bought the 5 figures as I have no  interest in any of the others.

When the Geonosis wave hits, I only plan on getting Sora Bulq, Sun Fac, and a quartet of Republic Commandos (for customizing purposes, I'm not a Clone fan in the least but they'll make good base bodies for armored mercs ).

I like the addition of the knee joints,well done

Stopped into the RT4 TRU today and found 3 of these new "Sea Life" sets! I snagged the recolored Giant Squid and the Killer Whale (which I have wanted for some time now but didn't want to pay the $20.00 for the set with the helicopter in it). I passed on the Tiger Shark/sea turtle set as it is the same exact shark (not even redeco-ed ) as Razor Sharkie from the "Pirate Expeditions" line (which I have already).

Here's the Giant Squid:



Here's the Killer Whale:



And here's the boxes' backs:



At first glance, it appears that all 3 of the Frogmen are identical except for their vest and fin colors, but they're not! The one packed with the Giant Squid has articulated ankles, a differently molded pair of swim fins, and a working ankle sheath for a diving knife (no knife is included though ). Sadly, it looks like Chap Mei really cheaped out on the decos for the Frogmen, they only have 1 or 2 color applications on the entire figure, they don't even have their exposed skin painted

They also had a "Knights" set as well! It was the larger dragon previously only found in the K-Mart set and the smaller, blue dragon often seen packed with Orcus The Wizard Count, and the King Leo figure for $14.99. I probably should have snapped a pic of this set (along with the Razor Sharkie repack) on my cell phone, but I was actually on the phone with Rasputin (from JoeCustoms) at the time and didn't think of it until I was back on the road again

Updated to reflect current deals and add a bunch of new Joe stuff to my Haves List including "Ninja Battles" figures (11 of each! 8O ) and some more Star Wars mini "holographic" figures

Sorry Spec, on behalf of those of us who "crank out clones" at the rate of 1 or 2 a month, and have little time or money to spend on much else hobby-wise, I sincerely apologize for the following:

A - Not being knowledgeable enough in other lines of toys to offer a decent opinion.  I know nothing about Predator action figures and therefore have no basis to offer constructive criticism, since you could've taken it right out of the package, posted a pic and said "Voila!" without us ignorant, unimaginative clone-crankers knowing any better.  Sure I could do a little googling and find out what you did to make the character better and more unique, but I have frozen burritos to cook, which require a careful, tending hand.

B - Many clone-crankers are fairly new to the hobby, and choose to hone our skills butchering easily fixable, faceless clones.  I myself have about 1 of every ROTS and AOTC Jedi and other non-clone figure, and about 50 clones total ranging the line.  So before I attempt to better (and most likely butcher) what I believe are very fine Jedi and other character sculpts, which I have in lower quantity due to budgetary restraints, I'll keep "cranking out" clones.

C - I like clones more than Tarkins, Veers's, and most Jedi.  So sue me.

D - This is all my own opinion, but the vast majority of cross-line part swaps end up looking out of proportion, with heads that don't fit the body, and limbs that just "don't look right," for lack of a better description.  Biceps that are twice as long as the forearm, that extend to the waistline look strange to me (general example, not citing or impugning your work in particular).

E - All opinion here as well:  If someone ports a head, limb, or accessory over to the SW-themed "universe," with a feable or nonexistent attempt to make it "Star Warsy," I don't think that much creativity or imagination was required.  While the work involved in doing so may have taken much time to do, the "creativity factor" is greatly diminished, since you just lopped off something and glued it onto something else.  You and many others here feel the same way about clone customs:  Little creativity and imagination = a lesser quality custom.  That's your opinion and I can respect that, but don't bitch and moan if someone who might hold a low opinion of your work refuses to give a false and disingenuous appraisal just so you can have a warm fuzzy.

F - That's about it.  You get just over an average of 1 reply per 12 views, which is nothing to complain about, and slightly better than my unimaginative clone-laden clone-cranker thread gets.  If you'd like to receive a million one-word replies to the tune of "Cool!" then this is the wrong place to be.  If you want more feedback on obscure, non-SW figures on a SW-themed board, you're barking up the wrong tree.  Since I pattern my entire life after the lessons learned from the movie Bambi, I think the following applies:  "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all."

Sincerely and with much loving and adoration,

B

At first, I wasn't going to respond to this as it's general tone was rather rude (whether that was truly implied or not) , but I think a clarification is in order:

The statement I made about "just cranking out Clones" is more of a statement of frustration than an attack against those who do crank out Clones. Take a good look at all of the Star Wars customs boards out there- what do you see, over and over again? The same 2 dozen or so Clone designs being done by everyone and their brother. They get tons of feedback (mostly just one line "cool!" garbage, but sometimes actually thoughtfull and constructive criticism) while more technically complex and original (as in not Clones) get next to nothing. "Clone-mania" has been going on for almost a year now and has gotten rather old.

There was a similar event 10 years ago when everyone was doing Mandalorians. The major difference, though, was that the majority of customizers doing Mandolorians actually put some effort into making their designs UNIQUE (as in they were not all doing the same designs) which lead to some amazing customs.

Also, anyone who has followed my customizing work over the years knows that I am not out to get a"warm fuzzy" or an ego stroking. I share my work with the customizing community out of an actual love of the craft and nothing more. It's just annoying to see the same tired Clone designs repeatedly getting feedback everytime a new one is posted while the work of seasoned, non-Clone customizers (and I am not just referring to myself here) is more or less ignored because their creations are not decked out in white armor with various hued stripes

As for your line about cross-line parts swaps/porting other concepts into Star Wars looking out of proportion/not being creative, that's not the case if you actually use a little knowledge of anatomy, scale, and imagination. Just about anyone can lop off a part of one toy and add it to another, but there is a bit more involved to it than that to make a good "crossover" custom. Take a look at the customs in this thread, with the exception of the Doomtroopers and Predators, there are almost no re-used parts from other lines, just parts modified to look like their other line counterparts. The major part of creating a "crossover" custom is how you work it into your Universe, some creative writing and a good knowledge of the Star Wars Universe goes a long way, read the bios of the customs as well as looking at the pictures and you see how backstory and custom mesh together to creat a cohesive vision.

I know alot of Clone customizers are new to the hobby, and it's good that our ranks are swelling, but too much of the same is not good for the longevity and overall health of the hobby As soon as "Clone-mania" is over, alot of these new customizers will most likely leave the hobby instead of moving onto other customizing subjects, same thing happened after the Mandalore craze wore off...

You may not have a familiarity with these Predator figures as you don't collect them, but there is a little blurb under each entry that gives a little bit of an idea of what parts they are made from and what mods were done to them. Never, would I ever try to pass off a production toy as a custom. This may be a Star Wars-themed board, but you'll see that there are other customs here as well.

Enjoy your burritos

Added some more goodies to the Swap Shop's inventory including another Train Battle Spiderman figure!

Most of what is "known" of the enigmatic race of hunters known only to a select few as the Yutja is little more than legend and rumor. It is believed that they are extragalactic in origin, having travelled across the starless void of interstellar space looking for new hunting grounds. There are tales that they are revered as gods on backwater worlds that they have taken pity apon and helped to develop into some form of civilization (some legends tell of a small, primitive blue world in a galaxy far, far away called "Urth"). Artifacts and sculptures depicting the form of the masked hunters can be found on countless primitive worlds scattered across the outer and mid rims. Legend tells us that they are drawn by heat and conflict. Other legends claim they have the power of invisibility (although educated people believe it to be a form of micronized, wearable cloaking technology, not any form of mystic power) and can track their prey unerringly even in the pitch black dark.

What little that can be confirmed about their existance is that by the time you actually "see" one, you're already dead. The name Yutja is almost unknown in the civilized galaxy, but across the outer and mid rims, in hushed tones, the one word they are referred to causes even the toughest mercenaries and thugs to lock their doors on hot, humid nights and make sure their blasters are fully charged- "Predators".

All parts are from the McFarlane Toys "Aliens Vs. Predator" 1/18 scale mini-diorama sets.

Clan Elder:






Parts:
Entire figure- "Birth Of The Hybrid" boxset Elder Predator.
Lightsaber trophy- random Saga lightsaber
The metal pins (that attatched the figure to the diorama base) were removed and the legs reworked to allow the figure to stand on it's own. The only painting involved was cleaning up the sloppy paint masks from the factory.

Leader Of The Hunt:




Parts:
Head/upper torso/arms/lower legs/belly and back armor- Predator from "Alien Attacks Predator)
Lower torso/waist/upper legs- "dead" Predator from "Birth Of The Hybrid)
Trophies- skulls from "Predator" backdrop
This was the most challenging figure of the bunch to make. Lots of cutting, sanding, and painting, but it still retains it's full range of articulation!

Seasoned Hunter:




Parts-
Body- "Birth Of The Hybrid" Elder Predator
Head- "Birth Of The Hybrid" "dead" Predator
Trophy- skull from "Predator" backdrop
Knife in sheath- "Birth Of The Hybrid" "dead" Predator
A not-so-simple headswap (very difficult to remove the hard plastic neckposts buried DEEP inside the chests ) with the same cleaning up the paint masks paint job as the first figure. Besides removing the metal posts from the feet, I also removed a small cross section of each leg to shorten him a fraction of an inch to further differentiate him from the Clan Elder.

Novice Hunter I:




Parts-
Entire figure- Predator
Trophy- skull from "Predator" backdrop
Very little modifications aside from removing the metal posts from the feet and repositioning the legs to stand on it's own. Did the usual clean-up job on the paint apps.

Novice Hunter II:




Parts-
Entire figure- "Birth Of The Hybrid" "dead" Predator
Left arm blade- blade taken from under right arm of Predator from "Alien Attacks Predator"
Belly/back armor- skirt from "Alien Attacks Predator" Predator
There was actually alot of modifications on this figure even though it does not appear to be any different than the production "dead" Predator at first glance. I removed the Hybrid Chestburster, sanded down all of the abdominal damage (front and back) and made replacement belly/back armor out of the armored skirt from the "Alien Attacks Predator" Predator (the entire middle portion of this figure had to be trashed as it was stuck in an "impalement" pose with an Alien tail running through it ). I also had to completely rework the feet to allow the figure to stand (they were molded splayed out to the sides as he was lying in state). Lots of repainting to make everything match up.

Novice Hunter III:




Parts:
Entire figure (except right hand)- Celtic Predator from "Celtic Predator Throws Alien"
Right hand- "Birth Of The Hybrid" "dead" Predator
The main modification here was that I boiled and popped the Alien being thrown. I had to replace the entire right hand as it was molded in a very fat, blocky manner to allow an anchor for the Alien's weight. I also removed the metal pegs from the feet, reworked the legs to allow it to stand on it's own, and constructed a custom spear to replace the Alien in it's hands (there was little else the pose would actually be good for . There was quite a bit of painting involved as I had to paintthe majority of the inner arms (the factory left them unpainted as they were mostly covered by the Alien ) as well as the spear (matched the factory look for the armor exactly so it matches the established look of Predator technology and gear!).

The Hunt Begins...



An additional paint app on each masked figure was the addition of glossy black lenses on their masks.

The Factory paintjobs were sloppy all around on all of these figures so mst of tha actual customization time went into cleaning everything up so they looked presentable

Have:

Boba Fett
Jedi Luke x2
Stormtrooper

Want:

Just about any cool weapons or other accessories listed in my Swap Shop Wants List as I have no interest in these pack-ins