190 Customs by Drgnrbrn316. Top row: Leonardo, Raphael, Zombie Giant-Man, Goliath, Hobgoblin, Stilt-Man, Ghost Rider (w/Hellcycle), Cloak, Sandman, Yellowjacket, Lizard, Apocalypse, Doc Ock. Second row: X-23, Shriek, Beast, Shocker, Deadpool, Patient Demon (Silent Hill 2), James (Silent Hill 2), Ash (Evil Dead/Army of Darkness), Elvis/Sabastian Haff (Bubba Hotep), Rand al’Thor (Wheel of Time), Locutus (Star Trek TNG), Venom III, Daredevil (Danny Rand), D-Man, Jester, Jack o’Lantern. Third row: Cyclone, Gambit, Red Skull, Jackal, Prodigy, Ultimate Iceman, Electro, Baron von Strucker, Ox, Hydroman, Owl, Falcon, Speed Demon, Astonishing Emma Frost, Nick Fury, Looter. Forth row: Zombie Powerman, Baron Mordo (WIP), Spider-Lizard, Demogoblin, Kraven the Hunter, Nitro, Black Widow, Yellowjacket, Thor, Vulture, Morbius, Black Cat, Chameleon, J Jonah Jameson, Zombie Colonel America, Anti-Cap. Fifth row: Beetle II (WIP), Sinister, War Machine, Black Tarantula, Tigra, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Blade, Lightmaster, Namorita, Firestar (Civil War: Frontline), Bishop, Raft Spider-Man, Matt Murdock, Dr. Jonas Harrow, Fancy Dan. Sixth row: Scorpion, Mysterio, Basilisk, Namor (WIP), Black Panther (Marvel Zombies), Bullseye, Hercules, Cyclops (Civil War), Iron Spider-Man, Cloaked Iron Spider-Man, Maria Hill, Night Thrasher, Dr. Curt Connor, Carnage Cosmic, Days of Future Past Wolverine, Doc Ock (Labcoat). Seventh row: Storm, Zombie Iron Man, Sin Eater, Luke Cage, Human Torch, Spider-Woman I, Dagger, Cable (Civil War), Arachne, Goliath, Moon Knight, Overloaded Cyclops, Norman Osborn, Johnny Storm, Invisible Woman (Civil War), Invisible Woman (Invisible)(Civil War). Eighth row: Big Man (WIP), Jean DeWolff, Kaine, Wrecker, Elektra (White), Iron Man (Gold), Captain Universe Spider-Man, Green Hood Spider-Man, Phoenix (Green), Rogue, Speed Racer (w/Helmet), Bucky, Astonishing Wolverine, Zombie Mr. Fantastic, Zombie Thing, Tony Stark, Bishop, Crime Master (WIP). Ninth row: Big Wheel, Boomerang (WIP), Zombie Wolverine, Battle-Damaged Wolverine, Felicia Hardy, Nitro-Blasted Wolverine, Quicksilver, Astonishing Beast, Amazing Bag-Man, Quick Change Spider-Man, Richochet, Scarlet Spider, Electro-Proof Spider-Man, Zombie Human Torch, Zombie Invisible Woman, Sentry (Long Hair), Brisco County Jr., Cletus Cassidy. Tenth row: Hawkeye, Task Master, Red Sonja, Dormamu, Prowler, Dr. Strange, Astonishing Kitty Pride, Astonishing Cyclops, US Agent, Punisher, Mr. Fantastic (Civil War), Knight, Carrion II, Powerhouse Venom, Powerhouse Colossus, Powerhouse Juggernaut, Riot-Attack Spider-Man, Tombstone. Bottom row: Eddie Brock, Powerhouse Hulk, Ultimate Colossus, Man-Spider, Six-Armed Spider-Man, Powerhouse Spider-Hulk, Microbe, Zombie Spider-Man, Hydroman (Water Form), Octo-Spidey, Black Panther, Zombie Hulk, Storm (Modern), Spider-Armor, Iron Man (Modern), Skrull, Captain America (Civil War), Webbed Up Spider-Man, Howard the Duck, Spider-Man (w/Black Cat’s Mask), Beverly, Robbie Robertson, Black Fox, Fusion II, Spot, Hammerhead, Powerhouse Rhino, Zombie Wasp. Can’t see the picture too well? Click here and here for larger pics!

By Jatta Pake

Few people can brag about having a collection of over 190 Minimates. Even fewer still can claim 190 custom Minimates. But the customizing machine known as Drgnrbrn316 can brag about an insane collection of over 190 Custom Minimates as well as a regular collection of hundreds. I had a chance to sit down with Drgnrbrn316 and ask him a few questions about his madness.

JP: Thanks for taking the time to gather this astonishing collection of custom Minimates. Also, thank you for taking a moment to answer a few questions about your amazing work.

JP: Have all of these custom Minimates in the picture(s) been made by you?
D: Yes, all the customs pictured were made by me, though I won’t deny that many of the characters have been inspired by the work of others in one way or another.

JP: How many total are pictured?
D: At present, I’d say I have in the neighborhood of a little over 200 custom figures made, but only approximately 191 of them made it into the picture.

JP: Simply amazing. On average, how long would you say it takes to make your average custom Minimate?
D: It’s really hard to estimate, as many of my customs are perpetually reworked or redone as I discover new techniques, different parts, different resources. For instance, Shocker was the very first custom I did, and the version pictured is my 4th take on him, though I have him slated to be repainted at some point in the near future. But if I had to average, I’d say each figure (or version thereof) takes between five to ten hours spread out over several days, depending on just how much sculpting, painting, etc is required.

JP: What got you started with customizing Minimates?
D: Well, it wasn’t long after I first discovered Minimates that I noticed just how limited the villain pool was. When I first started collecting, I had decided that I wanted to get the Spider-Man wave and that was it. But I soon discovered that Spidey was getting tired of beating up on Green Goblin, Venom, and Carnage. So I started searching the web and discovered Minimates Central, which happened to feature some custom pictures. When I saw Slythe’s Shocker figure and how few parts it required, it became my goal to capture that villain myself. 200 figures later and I’m still trying to capture that figure! LOL

JP: I know you’ve been involved with the Minimate community for quite some time now (appearing on message boards, etc.). Has the association with other collectors influenced your custom making work?
D: Oh absolutely. When I started, all I had was an image in my head and no idea how to get there. When I discovered the old AA Forums, it gave me a chance to bounce ideas off of other people, learn new tricks, and get some constructive criticism on what I was doing wrong. If anyone has access to my old pictures (most of them died with the old forum) and compared them to my most recent stuff, you can see just how much help the community has helped me along. Even my choice of characters and designs have been influenced by the community. As I mentioned before, it was Slythe’s work that got me started. Webhead influenced my first Iceman, Hobgoblin, and Scarlet Spider. Add to that the work of TBT, Luke314pi, Antacost, Boyd, Crippler, and countless others, I’d say there isn’t a customizer in the community that hasn’t inspired me, advised me, or otherwise guided me in my work.

JP: Of all the customs you’ve made or seen others make, do you have a favorite that stands out?
D: If I had to choose one of my own, I’d have to say Hobgoblin. He started off as a simple Dr. Doom repaint and has evolved into what you see now. The mask is removeable with a face underneath, plus the cape and “bag of tricks” can be removed without taking away from the figure.
As far as a custom made by another, its really too hard to pick just one. The work of the other guys and girls just blows me away, as they get me excited about the characters, even ones I’m not readily familiar with. All that said, I’d say the one custom that stands out above all others (both figuratively and literally) is Cloneme’s Wooden Maximate. That was probably the first custom to venture that far out of the 2″ scale and still remains the benchmark.

JP: Any problems setting up the display?
D: I have to be careful walking around the table I have the display on. Most of the left side of those bleachers is just balanced by hope and prayer, as I didn’t have the time or resources to update their feet to C3.

JP: What is your favorite trick or tool you use for customizing Minimates?
D: Patience. When I first started customizing, I’d try to get the whole figure finished ASAP, and it really showed. So, patience is the best tool you can use. If you have to paint, sculpt, or otherwise alter a figure to get a desired result, don’t make it a quick custom. Take your time, let the paint dry, let the sculpt harden, slow down on the detail work. It’s a lesson I have to keep reminding myself, but I’d say its worked the best for me.
That and keep a box of bandaids nearby when working with a sharp knife. To say I pour blood, sweat, and tears into my work would be a pretty accurate description. Seriously, Howard the Duck’s suit is red under that blue paint.

Want to see new customs by Drgnrbrn316? Check out his custom thread at the Minimate Multiverse here!

Marvel wave 17 & 18. Pic from Diamond Select Toys.

By Fujis

On each day from March 19th to the 23rd three new Minimates from waves 17 and 18 were revealed on different websites, including the Minimate Multiverse. The complete line-ups were supposed to be revealed last Friday but one Minimate was missing: Battle-Damaged Spider-Man. That is until today.

DST added spectacular product shots of both waves in their online store. We also get to see Flint Marko’s accessories which appear to be newly sculpted “sand-arms”.

DST and Art Asylum have really stepped up their game with their latest offerings. I imagine it’s because of the addition of Barry Bradfield to the design team and the arrival of the DC Minimates, which are going to continue to be stiff competition.

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Click here and here for larger pics of Marvel wave 17 & 18 respectively. Thanks to ARE-JAY for the heads-up!

Click here to join the discussion on the Minimate Multiverse forum.

College Mascot Minimates by Lurch. Click for a larger pic.

Lurch’s Laboratory: March Madness!

By Lurch

It’s March and you know what that means …. March Madness!!! How’s your brackets doing so far, not so good? Well, here are some Minimate Mascots to ease your troubles. I took some of the top teams in the NCAA tournament this year and minimated their iconic mascots (you can see the team logos on the side).

First up we have Albert for the Florida Gators … gator bait … gator bait! All the mascots have unique heads, his would be the best for some croc quick customs (got to love the little hat). He has a torso piece sort of like the Darkseid minimate with the elongated waist and a long tail attachment. Next is Jayhawk, the Kansas mascot. Yep, I took a note from the Toucan Sam design to come up with his design. Special wing arms, shortened feet and the bird head.

*halftime* cue the band .. Go, Fight, Win!!

Next is Bucky the Badger the Wisonsin mascot, again with a unique head and the same torso pice as the gator with pinstripe all around. And finally, Brutus Buckeye for Ohio State, he’s just a basic minimate body with a huge buckeye head.

I would love to see Minimate Mascots sets for each conference: ACC, SEC, Pac 10, Big 10, Big 12, etc. Perhaps even a final four, and throwback mascots (admit it, you want to see Bucky in his old dark blue and white ). Have fun watching the tournament and best of luck to all the teams!

24 Season 1 Box Set. Pic from TNI.

By Fujis

According to Toy News International the first 24 box set will include four characters: Kim Bauer, Jack Bauer, David Palmer, and Nina Myers. Click here to see the article and here for more info and pics of the 24 Minimates.

By Jatta Pake

So many Minimates, so little time. Between this and my team doing well in the brackets, this truly is March Madness. Enjoy the pictures!

By Jatta Pake

Coming up next week … pictures of DC Minimates Wave 2 and Marvel Wave 14.

By Jatta Pake

A ton of news to report this week.

First, the Battlestar Galactica Wave 1 set hit retail stores this past week.  I will have more pics up tomorrow of this wave.  And Spider-Man 3 Movie Minimates were released yesterday at the Wizard World Los Angeles comic book convention (read my review here).  Below are some packaging pics.  I will have more pics tomorrow.

The Diamond Select Toys Radical Confidential announced the planned release of a Dr. Strange Minimate (see page 2).  Three other Minimates to be announced will accompany Dr. Strange in a box set.  Speculation hints that these will be from the Defenders line-up.

DC Direct announced the sixth wave of DC Minimates at Toy News International: Battle Damaged Wonder Woman and Cheetah, Bizarro and Super Girl, S.T.R.I.P.E. and Stargirl, and Sgt. Rock and Blackhawk.

Finally, next week will see the release of images for the next two waves of Marvel Minimates.  These will be based on the Spider-Man 3 Movie.  Be sure to check Raving Toy Maniac, Art Asylum’s Forum, Minimate Multiverse Forum, and Diamond Select Toys websites for the full reveal next week.

From the Diamond Select Toys website:

The 2-pack will go on sale at Wizard World Los Angeles on Friday March 16^th and will retail for $7.00 at the show. For the first time, we will be making a convention exclusive available to the public at the same time, launching this exclusive Minimate two-pack on our online store for the same low price! Available at 3:00 PM EST, only a limited quantity will be offered for pre-order, so be sure to act fast!

A great offer and a great price from the cool cats at DST who are always looking out for the fans. Thanks guys!

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Click here to see the official announcement from DST and here to check out their online store.

BSG Wave 3. Scan by Mini-Myte.

Pics of the third wave of Battlestar Galactica were posted courtesy of Mini-Myte over on the Minimate Multiverse forums! Click here to see the full size pic.

King Leonidas, Queen Gorgo, an Immortal, and Ephialtes by Lurch. Click for a larger pic.

Lurch’s Laboratory: 300

By Lurch

Frank Miller’s new epic crashes on the big screen today and what better way to celebrate than a few concept designs from the film. This would be a good series to have army builders and large figure sets like the Lord of the Rings figures (except in the 2″ size).

First up we have King Leonidas, a slight variation of him and you have your basic army builder figure, complete with helmet, sword and shield. Then you have Queen Gorgo with wrap around skirt. Then another great army builder figure is the Immortals, with torso piece and removable mask. Last is Ephialtes; pretty much the same figure as King Leonidas but with the hunchback and larger headpiece.

So there you have it, a good start to the weekend! Now go out see the movie and come up designs for the next set of 300 figures!