Super heroes get new costumes all the time. And they should, because their costumes probably smell pretty gross after fighting bad guys all day. So let's take a look at some new custom Minimate looks for popular heroes.

First up is Thor, wearing the Destroyer armor. If you've read Walt Simonson's Thor run, you know the details on why Thor seizes control of the most deadly weapon his father Odin built. If you haven't read Simonson's run, then I don't want to talk to you and you should just move on and look at the next custom.

Next is Iron Man in a brand new armor of my own creation, made only because I had the parts and no better idea what to do with them. So check out Heavy Metal Iron Man and his electric guitar and bask in the musical metal glory.

The AoA Magneto hairpiece. Normally it's hard to reuse, but give it a haircut and do a little sculpting work later, and suddenly it's useful to me.

Now with the Flashes done, I can move on to the next batch of customs. And they involve a bunch of sculpting.

Lots of characters have been the Flash. And back when DC Direct was making Minimates, we've got a couple of them. But there are gaps in the Collection of Flashes. Gaps like the Barry Allen Flash, and the Wally West Flash in his most recent costume. Gaps that may never be filled. Unless you're a customizer with some extra Flash Minimates. Go check them out, won't you?

This update is by special request for Moo2172 - Flash has now gained decals and painting, and should be completed soon. You shouldn't be in suspense much longer.

Sure, he may be the fastest man alive, but when it comes to repainting him, he's slower than a broken car full or turtles. My fault for using a new glossy red paint, I guess. Hopefully he'll be finished up soon.

Coming up in 2012 - more customs! More irregular updates! My long-delayed big bunch of Green Lantern customs! A web site upgrade! And these two Minimates will be painted!

With Christmas mere days away, there may never be a better time to post the holiday-themed custom I made for my Secret Santa gift this year - Christmas Captain America! The birth of Jesus and the birth of America - now as one convenient Minimate! Go check him out as you have a wonderful holiday season.

And in case you missed them during CustomCon, I've gone ahead and added my Crayonmates to the site as well. Now you have no excuse to not look at them.

My customizing activities go at a much slower pace so I can enjoy the season. But one of my recent projects premiered today at CustomCon 30 - Crayonmates, the perfect combination of crayons and Minimates. Go check them out, and check out some of the other great Minimate entries from earlier this week. You'll be glad you did.

One of the best things that Diamond came out with this year was the Calico Jack Pirate Ship for Minimates. Wonderful detail, lots of playability - it's perfect for all your Minimate pirate ship needs. And Diamond is coming out with many different versions of the ship (including a great glow-in-the-dark ghost pirate version), but I think there's a lot more they could do. For example, they could make a bright pink version that my daughter would love. Instead I made one. So go check out the Pretty Pirate Ship, won't you?

Extreme Close-Up Teaser Photo for Top Secret Custom Con Project. They're done and ready to go - you'll see them when Custom Con goes live in December.

Extreme close-up of a new face decal I'm working on for a future custom.

Tonight - one night only - the battle of the editors! Two journalists enter the ring in a bout to knock the other guy out!

In this corner, hailing from New Your City - he's the Editor-in-Chief of the respectable tabloid The Daily Bugle, nicknamed "the Spider-Slayer" - J. Jonah Jameson! Possessing a righteous flattop and explosive temper, J. Jonah is ready to write his opponent an editorial of brutal beatings!

And in this corner, hailing from the City of Tomorrow, Metropolis - he's the Editor-in-Chief of the major metropolitan newspaper The Daily Planet, nicknamed "Don't Call Me Chief!" - Perry White! Possessing high journalistic standards and a friendship with the greatest super hero on Earth, Perry's ready to deliver an early edition of defeat!

Check them out, and then place your bets on the winner!

You might have noticed the silver circles in the background of the last picture. Those are Toys R' Us exclusive stickers, found on every exclusive set of Minimates they sell. I have a habit of peeling them off the package and putting them on my box of paint.

As you can see, I've bought a lot of TRU exclusives.

Random Parts Teaser Photo #1 for Top Secret 2012 Custom Con Project (because there's no way I'm going to have these ready this year).

Finishing up work on a very special repaint of the Minimate pirate ship.

I like Halloween. I like to do a lot of monster-related customs each year to celebrate. Sometimes I use some pretty obscure characters. And while I'm making them, I keep thinking to myself that I'm the only person who will appreciate this custom. This is another one of those times.

I present the obscure Vampire By Night. A fairly new vampire character to the Marvel Universe, I'm still a fan of the concept - Paris Hilton by day, bloodsucking vampire by night. Go check her out, and don't let your Halloween candy bite you.

Remember that Hulk cover for a post ago? I love Vampire Red Hulk so much I made a custom of him. And just in time for Halloween! You should get started celebrating Halloween early and check it out.

I love this cover.

That is all.

Years ago when I was in elementary school, I was fascinated by the Crestwood Monster Books. These were a series of books about famous monster movies like Frankenstein, Dracula and Godzilla, full of movie summaries, pictures and had distinctive black and orange covers. I loved them. I spent hours pouring over them, memorizing the plots and becoming fascinated with monster movies years before I would be able to see them. Years later, my library had a book sale, and I bought the Frankenstein book.

I guess it's my history with Frankenstein that leads to my latest custom - the Son of Frankenstein style Frankenstein's monster. He's a lot like the traditional Frankenstein's monster, but in the movie he wears a furry vest. It's the only classic Universal movie where the monster wore something different! And because I know that (thanks, Crestwood Monster books!), I had to make a custom for it. Please, go check out the monster's fashion sense.

Trying to finish up some new customs before Halloween. We'll see if I can make it...

Sometimes you just need to see a super hero fight a super villain. Not a super-serious fight with major consequences - just a simple fight against a villain who can make the fight look interesting, but you always know that the hero will will. If you're looking for that kind of fight, might I suggest the Brothers Grimm as your villains? They're two brothers with magical suits that can make flashy weapons like razor-sharp stars and explosive pies appear in their hands like, well, magic. And they ride clouds! The Brothers Grimm make villainy look visually interesting - too bad they're too dumb to actually win any fight. Go check them out, won't you?

I'll explain this later.

Also, happy 8-year anniversary to my customs site.

Teaser Photo #1 for Top Secret Custom Con Project. Hopefully.

Since it was announced that a Deadpool Corps box set is coming, now seems like a good time to show up a custom I put together recently - Headpool, the zombie head member of the Deadpool Corps. Who's also coming in the box set. Which kinda makes me feel a little like I wasted my time. Please, go check him out and make my effort seem worth it.

Things I Drew At Work (part 2)

Things I Drew At Work (part 1)

See the Amazing Spider-Man cover over on the right? It's from an upcoming issue of the Spider-Island storyline, where a whole bunch of people on Manhattan gain Spider-Man's powers. Even villains like the Shocker, who happens to be on said cover with six arms. It's a bold new look for him, but would it work as a Minimate? Find out now, with my new Six-Armed Shocker custom!

Latest batch of Minimates ready for some primer.

This is another case where my sculpting probably went too far.

Is it time for an easy repaint? Sure! Check out the silver Dreadnought!

Like cars, Dreadnoughts come in a choice of colors. If you're big on their classic appearance, then you're happy with the standard metallic blue color. But if you're like me and remember first seeing Dreadnoughts as they fought Iron Man, then you'll want a sporty custom silver edition. Which you'll have to make yourself. But you can use mine as a guide! Go check them out!

Well, I've tried to put it off as long as I could, but it's time to wrap up another Ironmania. Yup, this is the last of the Iron Man customs for a while. Please, don't get choked up over this. While it's a sad occasion, just remember what Tony Stark says - "Don't cry. Or your armor will rust."

Our first armor today is Mark 1 Gold Iron Man Armor - which is the movie version of his first armor, but painted gold instead of gunmetal grey. It's the kind of easy variant that Hasbro would make to fill out an Iron Man action figure line, and I'm not too proud to make one myself.

The final Iron Man custom was inspired by another custom by the ridiculously talented Shamrock - the Iron Bat! Shamrock originally mixed Batman with Iron Man in a wonderful custom, and I had to make one for myself. So stop reading this and go look at them both!

One of the perks of being a friend of Tony Stark? Eventually you'll get to wear the Iron Man armor. And if you're a really good friend, he'll make a special set of armor just for you. Just ask Jim Rhodes, longtime friend and pilot of Tony, who received his own set of armor and became known as the hero War Machine. Since suiting up in the 90's War Machine has had a few distinct looks. Why don't we take a look at a few of them in custom form?

First up is the Prismapolymer War Machine, a very shiny armor designed to resist laser beams. The Prismapolymer armor only appeared once, but once is enough to get a custom from me!

Next is the Ultimate War Machine from Marvel's Ultimate Universe, which is like the regular Marvel Universe without the history. Except he's not really from there - he's based on the Hasbro action figure and I don't think he's ever been in the comic in this armor. Confused? Just go look at the custom and feel better!

Iron Man isn't content with being known as the Golden Avenger - I think he wants to be all the Avengers. My evidence? The patriotic red, white and blue of the Captain America Armor. Is Iron Man trying to soak up some of that Captain America movie love for himself? Go check out the custom and decide for yourself.

And while you're there, you can check out the other original custom Iron Man armor I made - Volcano Armor Iron Man. It's perfect for fighting Lava Men in volcanoes or in giant Hot Pockets or any other lava-filled spaces. Go forth and enjoy.