DarkKnight7

Thanks for providing a more recent attempt using today's "dye" products. I too bought a VHT green dye to try to create Joker hair from blond and brown Dasten hair, but like you mentioned, I was a little afraid of all the "conditions" necessary for good results. I just moved out of a really cold climate and into a more humid climate, so still awaiting "perfect conditions." I'd love to show my results too when I get some, and see how it compares to your black color results. My biggest concern is also whether it adheres or seeps into the plastic itself and doesn't chip. We'll see, I guess, right? Thanks thought for your insight here! INteresting.

As the Back to the Future minifigs turned out so well (but are selling out like mad), I thought I'd try my hand at recreating them to share, as well as make a few custom alterations for other parts of the BTTF movies. (aka: Future Doc and Marty, Wild West Marty and Doc, Biff, etc.). I'll start with Doc first, and post the others as I go. Hope you like! Doctor Emmet Brown - Back to the Future I Clear Paper Version:

Hey guys, It's been a while since I posted on here and thought I'd share a new round of custom designs I'm hoping to add to over time. A friend of mine requested a decal of Mohandas Gandhi for his History class and thought I'd share it, as it turned out okay. I kind of like the idea of doing real life historical people as figs so I thought I'd start with Gandhi and add figures from time to time here. Anyway, would love your feedback on the design and any suggestions, as I have a bit of time waiting for my business paperwork to go through at the moment for my custom minifigs LLC. I'm thinking of maybe doing a Barack Obama, Erwin Rommel, General Patton, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, etc., but I'd love to hear suggestions!! As far as copyright, feel free to use this design for your own decaling purposes or for fun ONLY, but do not use for commercial reproductions and/or selling purposes without permission. I'd love to see if anyone applies these at all to a fig, please share and post them here, or links. Thanks and hope you enjoy! Mohandas Gandhi Use with flesh head, white torso, legs, and arms. White Paper Decal version/ Clear Decal version:

Yes, correct, I forgot the other zero, I need to check my writing a bit closer. This ($30,000-$100,000) is indeed the price range i was given by these printer vendors. But, I would disagree on the UV prints vs. pad printers. (Though this is highly debatable in the Lego custom community). The quality of both can vary from printer to printer and all depends on both the quality of the physical printer itself and how well it is maintained and how well the printer is trained on using it, in the case of the UV digital printers) and the experience of the printer. The most crisp and cleanest prints IMHO come from pad printing, without a doubt. Digital prints are not as sharp or clean looking, as they usually have a bubble effect that doesn't always translate as cleanly. By bubble effect, I mean that digital printing adds a secondary layer to the top of the figure surface that you can feel, which can be cool if done for a purpose (like eclipsegrafx' Apoc Drifter fig, which has a textured shirt printing all around the torso or BrickArms prototype Russian Ushankas with the insignia), but when putting them next to other Lego figs, it looks a bit odd. When you look close, the bubbles make some elements stick out (like edge lines to "muscle" or eyes or any pocket outlines) that shouldn't. And most importantly for me, printed heads look a bit odd, as eyes and mouths stick out above the surface of the head. Pad printing does not do this and has a cleaner finish, just like TLG's actual figs. While it can be a bit cheaper, if you are doing this for a business and printing in large enough bunches to sell, I wouldn't go with digital, as they aren't that much cheaper. Now, this doesn't mean that I don't like digital prints, as I do like them if done well, but overall I like the quality of pad printed figs better. What digital printing does have over pad printing, IMHO, is that you can print fades and shades, and other design elements that otherwise couldn't be printed on pads. Also, printing on legs is MUCH easier with digital than pad. I've been working with a pad printer for some time trying to perfect the leg prints, as Lego legs have a difficult print area on the front, whereas the digital print was done as it was sent, little hassle other than making sure the colors matched correctly to the design. I think the key is that it is very expensive to buy yourself and you will have to rely on the printers that are out there for the LEGO community unless you plan on starting a business. Good luck on this and feel free to email me if you have more questions about this, as this is something I've worked on for years to find the right solution.

That is so great! What a great coincidence, I've never read this book until my son and I checked it out from the library this week and we absolutely loved it! I'll have to show him your beautiful recreation! Great work!!

Yeah, I like those designs as well, including the Ice Maker guy, hadn't even heard of him, but then again I'm not as deep into SW mythos as others. Great job! My only thing I would think about though is including those logos on those of LEGO and SW, as they are trademarked and could be troublesome unless actually being commissioned by Lego. Just something to think about. Keep up the designing, I like your style!

Well, to be blunt, you either have to buy a flat bed UV digital printer (like a Roland or DCS printer) either of which cost about $3,000-10,000, depending on who you buy from, or you could search out a UV digital printer dealer in your local area and ask for who they have set up that might do Legos or ABS plastics. Just depends if a) you have the money and time to learn how to do it properly, or b) you have a little less money and would like to trust someone else to do it. I would say do a little research on those printers first, and then make up your mind. Either way, it will cost you a bit of money, so if you don't have that first, it might be difficult to print legos to sell on your own. Might want to just find someone who does it in the community. Good luck!

I don't usually post in this thread, but I think it would be cool to have a series of two or three Minas Tirith set pieces. The ideal IMHO would be to have 1) a lower wall with The Great Gate, the Orc battering ram, orc soldiers and their orc leader (can't remember his name), and Gondor soldiers, 2) An upper part with Gandalf the White and Gondor Pippin and the Witch King on a fell beast, and 3) the Tower of Ecthelion with the main chamber, the tree, Denothor, Faramir, and a Gondor Soldier. The only set in this list that would be a hard sell would be the Tower of Ecthelion due to the lack of action in those scenes, but then again, they made that Rivendell scene with the only action being Gimli being catapulted into the air for hitting the ring with his axe...so you never know! With those three, you could put them together (similar to the Helm's Deep and Uruk Hai Army set) and make a complete Minas Tirith. Would be interesting idea.

Thanks guys for the comments, I'm glad you all like them! I am at work on another superhero villian at the moment (hint he is from an upcoming movie about a WW2 superhero...), and so I haven't had time to update this design, as there are elements of this one I'm still not happy with and the legs, but I'll get to them eventually. Thanks and I agree, I like the Lego version, too, but thought there should be some other options from the movie, too. I don't know if I'll do a Lara or not, as I also started a version with Jor El with the battle armour on too. Thanks Dutch, but I actually just learned to do this with practice and overtime. The best practice to get the "Legoish" feel for designs is to practice creating Lego torsos already out there that you think are good and then look at other customizers. You start to pick up the elements that make it a Lego looking fig design. But, I've been working on designs like this for over a year now, but like I said the design above was done hastily and doesn't have some of the finished touches it should have. But still, not a bad start. Thanks again everyone and I'll post my updates and other designs here later.

After seeing getting the exclusive Jor El figure and seeing Man of Steel, I thought I'd add my own decal for Jor El's Robe that he wears most in the movie, for better realism. I won't spoil the movie with where you will find this in the movie, just thought I'd share this version of him with you, see what you all think. This will not be one of the prints coming up for my Phoenix Custom Bricks figs, so no issue here, feel free to use but not for your own profit without permission. Update: there's an issue with my usual picture sharing site, so for now, I'll just provide links to my Flickr pics of the torso designs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/79156616@N03/9484653588/ - Torso Clear Decal version http://www.flickr.com/photos/79156616@N03/9484653570/ - Torso Flesh Face version Legs for these will be added soon, hopefully, to complement it, for anyone looking to use these.

Well, it sounded like an interesting request and I actually had some time on my hands to do one today, so I thought I'd try my hand at this cultural icon. Hope it works, let me know if you'd like any tweaks. I added a cigarette for attitude factor, but I can get rid of it, if you prefer.Cheers, Phoenix Customs Update: the links I usually use are not working. Here's the links to my flickr page versions for now: http://www.flickr.co...N03/9484109544/ - With Flesh Face http://www.flickr.co...N03/9484109582/ - with Clear Face for clear decaling

This was an amazingly thorough and fun review! Thanks so much for your efforts here! I was psyched when the first pictures were leaked, but this review seals the deal...gotta get this!

Hey guys, sorry I've been away for awhile working and haven't been able to keep up with the posts. I am setting up a custom design Lego minifigure company in the next few weeks (I know I've said this before, but now I have the actual time to do it ), and if I get the time, I may work on a few of these, and update the ones posted already to be more accurate (Saruman, Gandalf the White, Grima Wormtongue, etc.). I really am intrigued by the Galadriel, Denethor, and Bombadil designs, so I might get these going...just have to finish a couple important ones for my future company. Thank you guys again for these great comments and looking forward to adding some more!

Thanks for sharing that, Jamit! That would have been pretty cool to see a full version of! I'm sure it was a LOT of work, though, just to get to that stage. Appreciate the work you did!

Thanks for sharing, these look amazing! Will did a great job, as usual! Liking the look of Han's gun the most, might have to get one!

I made some of Rooney and a classic Ronaldo MU version that you can find here. It's the 2011-12 kit (and 2008 Champions League kit for Ronaldo), but United nonetheless. Hopefully some day I'll get more time to get back into doing decals again, as I was hoping to do more of these.

Thanks, Lego Train 12 Volts, the funny thing is that I forgot I posted these earlier designs. I'm glad you like that one, but the design has improved drastically since then, much better IMHO now, especially the heads. I would post a picture of the updated design prototypes for you here (of Catwoman, Batman, Bane, Joker, etc.) but I have to wait until my business side gets aligned, hopefully sometime this month (I know, I keep saying that and then I get hammered with work!). But, I will post pics here and on my Flickr page (Phoenix Custom Bricks) when they are ready for sale. My plan is to release the Catwoman, Batman, and Officer Blake figures first, along with a couple Assassin's Creed figs and a modern military fig. Then, if successful, I'll release a new design on each line (Bane, Joker, Commissioner Gordon, Talia al Ghul, Ra's al Ghul, etc.).

Thanks, Brickboy 15, I liked that design too, just not sure of how well it would sell. Once I finish getting this project up and running (would be faster without a doctorate in the way!), I'll be able to assess what will sell. But, LuxorV has it quite right above. I used the Bruce Wayne fig (found here) as the base, with the dark hair. Then I just got some plain dark tan legs, flesh head, and dark tan torso to apply the decal to. The legs design was applied via GIMP "touchup" as I've found the decals don't handle so nicely on legs. Maybe I'll sell this fig too, if it all goes well. I have a lot of Dark Knight type characters on deck waiting to be printed, as with a few other design "lines," just have to get all my ducks in a row, business wise! Appreciate the feedback!

Thanks for the great comments, guys, I'm glad you like them! I am planning on doing a Galadriel once I get my custom fig line finalized and for sale...so maybe in a few weeks. As for Tom Bombadil, I'd be glad to do it, but I need a bit bigger pic to do a good job on it. Do you have a higher res pic of him for me, Tolkien?

I really think this steampunk stuff is great!! Very interesting ideas here! Love the fig MOCs here!

Yeah, I meant to get on here earlier, but things with the prints are moving fast and furious lately...on my end at least! As we are getting very close to offering these designs in print form, we are still working out the copyright issues involved, and for the time being, at least, I've decided to take them down. I apologize for this, but it was strongly suggested by several people who are in the know about this. If it is decided that it would not be an issue, which I would hope comes to be true, they may be put on here again. But, for now, I have to take them down for copyright reasons, etc. I will update you all if and when they are added again. For now...you can see a few previews of what we're working on at BrickArms Flickr page...(click the link below)...keep in mind, this is a prototype print and the print quality is being tweaked, along with the hoods (not shown here) and waistcoats (by MMCB Custom Capes) are being worked out, but it gives you an idea for where we may be going. Our hope is that they will be available by about January 2013! Connor in White (prototype) - BrickArms Flickr Along with that, I've started a Flickr page of my own (I know...finally, right?) and that will be where I'll post any updates on the prints and prototypes in the next few weeks, and in the future. Come check me out there. Phoenix Custom Bricks - Flickr

Thanks guys, and if progress on the prints continues as planned, we may have some Faramir (my version), King Aragorn, and Grima Wormtongue (my version) printed figs in the near future for sale along with other designs (Dark Knight series, Assassin's Creed, Superhero, etc.)...cross your fingers!

Thanks for sharing that picture of the Sauron figure, awesome!! You said he walks around with Mouth of Sauron, is there a picture of him? I'd like to recreate him if possible.

Grima Wormtongue has now been added. But, again, I thought I'd do my own version that I think is a bit closer to the movie version than the Lego version. Love to hear your comments and feedback! Also, I'm trying to think of a second face for him to go with his back design but can't think of one that would be good, let me know if you have any ideas and I'll use the best one.

These are great! I especially am liking that we'll have a powdered wig and a bald head piece now! We may be seeing some historical fig designs in the minifig custom design section in the near future... But, some great pieces throughout, thanks for sharing guys!