I just wanted to take a moment to offer a few words on a custom sculpt Darren had worked on for me. I have been insanely busy these past few months. Whoever thought moving and getting married right around the holidays was possible needs to get a swift kick! My fiance and I bought our first home and we close Friday, and we are getting married three weeks after Christmas!
A while back I asked if some of our wonderfully talented customizers might be wanting to work on a project for me. Everyone who responded was incredible and generous, and I was disappointed that I could only choose one. My fiance and I looked at everyone's work, and she liked Darren best due to some of the painting he has done. I was looking to get a WWI figure of my grandfather, and didn't have many photos to work with...I had little hope for this project, but I wanted to try. My dad is a huge collector of toy soldiers, and loves marching regiments particularly. He served in the military like his father before him, and has always loved small toy soldiers. For his birthday, I had gotten him the two figures from Sideshow's Fife and Drum collection, and he seemed to really appreciate them, even if he hasn't taken them out of the box.
I wanted to do something special for my dad, and when I saw some old photos of my grandfather in uniform, I remembered that SS had produced a figure in this exact same uniform. I thought about just getting the figure, but when I saw what some of the guys around here are capable of, I knew I had to take it to the next level and try to get a custom portrait.
I began working with Darren around March, and we had been in communication throughout the whole process. Darren got the idea to make a custom hat, to match my grandfather's dress uniform, and while he wasn't sure how it would work, he was excited to try to do something special. Darren even found patches that match the rank my grandfather held. When Darren sent along pictures of the sculpt in progress, I was amazed at what he was creating. When he sent along pictures of the paintjob, I marveled at the detail. When I got the figure back in hand, I was absolutely floored. I can't begin to describe how amazing this figure is. Everyone who has seen it has been thrilled with the likeness, and I can't wait to give this figure to my dad on Christmas.
After this project, I got the idea to have Darren turn two of my friends who are big Star Wars into Jedi. He is currently taking some time to make these big SW fans and toy collectors into toys themselves. Darren is also creating something very near and dear to me: the Cake Topper for our wedding cake. I'll be sure to post more info as things settle down, and I can't wait to tell you all how my dad reacts. Thanks for all the cool feedback on this figure. Sorry for the essay, but this was hugely important to me!
