Happy New Year, everyone. Here's a quick look ahead at one of my projects for 2011 - painting this figure.

After 37 waves, classic Spider-Man villain the Lizard is getting his very own Minimate (going on sale this week!). And it has all the classic Lizard features, like his scaly green skin, toothy grin, long tail and lab coat. Why would a savage lizard-man wear something as human as a lab coat? Because the Lizard has a human side, too.

Presenting Dr. Curt Conners, the Dr. Jekyll to the Lizard's Mr. Hyde. When the Lizard was first announced, I hoped we would get extra pieces to make a Dr. Conners from the Lizard. Sadly, we are not, so I had to put my own together. And I think he's the best one-armed lab coat wearing scientist I've ever made. But don't take my word for it - go check him out yourself.

With Christmas just days away as I write this, it's a good time to show off the Minimate I made for a Secret Santa gift - the Christmas Dynamo! He's the perfect representation of high-tech holiday cheer.

And in case you missed them, I've added my latest CustomCon entry the Eyes of M.A.R.C.H. to the site. So go check out the customs, and have a great holiday season.

Quick update to announce that my entry for CustomCon 27 went live today! It's an original group of Minimates called the Eyes of M.A.R.C.H., and I could explain them, but it's better if you actually see them. So go check them out right now, and some of the other great entries in CustomCon as well.

Custom work tends to slow down for me around the holidays, and this year is no exception. I do have a couple of customs in the works, but updates to my custom site will be infrequent at best for the next month or so.

In the meantime, please enjoy a special sneak peek at a custom I'm making for my Secret Santa gift this year. I edited it a little to make sure it's still a surprise.

Teaser Photo #3 for Top Secret Custom Con Project. You'd think that since I'd been working on these for most of the year, I'd have them ready to go by now. Yet here I am, less than a week from the entry deadline and I'm still working on the final details for my submission.

The jack o' lanterns and candy are gone, but I've still some Halloween spirit left in the form of two more Marvel horror character customs. The first is Satana, the devil's daughter and sister to the Son of Satan. While her brother struggled to contain his demonic side, Satana was straight-up evil who struggled with her humanity. It didn't matter, though - their father thought they were both a disappointment.

Next up is Gabriel, Devil-Hunter, the character inspired by the movie "The Exorcist" (true fact). Sadly, he did not get pea soup or head-twisting powers. Go check them out, and Happy (late) Halloween!

Halloween is over, but my string of Marvel horror customs isn't done yet. I've got a few more left to finish that I'll be posting soon, like this one on my workbench that I'm currently painting.

I'm buzzing on Halloween candy right now, so I'll keep this introduction short - it's Lilith, the daughter of Dracula. Before you can say "Who?", let me explain: she's another obscure character from Marvel's 70's horror comics. Cursed by gypsies to be an eternal foe to her father, Lilith fought her father a couple of times and then drifted away, forgotten. It might have helped if she had tried to develop her own identity instead of going around introducing herself as Dracula's daughter. Maybe Vampwoman, the crimefighter vampire? I dunno...

Anyway, I have more peanut butter cups to eat, so go check her out and have a Happy Halloween!

Whoo-hoo! One more Halloween-themed Minimate done! And it's obscure Marvel horror comics star The Straw Man - the mystic champion of hay fields everywhere.

I'm not kidding when I call him obscure - The Straw Man originally made only three appearances in the 1970's, under the name the Scarecrow. After two stories, the Straw Man failed to make any sort of impact and drifted into obscurity after teaming up with the Thing in Marvel Two-In-One. Which is too bad, because there's something appealing to the Straw Man. A silent, unstoppable monster who shows up, causes chaos and leaves - he's like Michael Myers or Jason, but for good.

The Straw Man was brought back in the 90's by Roy Thomas, who renamed the Straw Man to avoid copyright conflicts, which was good. But them he gave the Straw Man a background, a purpose and had him talk, which was not good. After the story, the Straw Man again drifted into obscurity. Well, except for this custom Minimate. Go check it out.

Quick shot of my "parts easel" Minimate modeling the hat of my next Halloween Minimate. I use this poor Minimate to hold parts that I'm painting, like hands or hats.

At least one of my Halloween-themed Minimates is now done! And you don't have to wait until Halloween to see him! But you do have to wear a costume. Go ahead and go put one one - I'll wait here.

Got your costume on? Then you can check out my new custom - The Son of Satan! His father is Satan* - how can he be anymore Halloweeny? Maybe if he was a walking skeleton made of candy corn...

*Not really - he was just a lying, but powerful demon.

Painting has started on the first of the Halloween Minimates. He's going quickly - should be done long before Halloween.

Halloween Minimates - now with primer. We'll see how many of them are fully painted by Halloween.

A look at the how my Halloween Minimates spent part of the weekend, relaxing the the comfort of the In-Progress Box before their date with a can of primer.

Results from sculpting last week. Halloween-themed Minimates take a lot of unique accessories.

Here's a forgotten custom from the back of my display - the Spider-Man ally The Prowler. He's a former window-washer who uses the pneumatic safety equipment he developed to fight crime and leave deep claw marks in building. Originally created in the 70's by Stan Lee & John Buscema, the Prowler was rarely seen until he surged back to popularity during the 90's, when artists loved drawing characters with big flowing capes and claws for fingers. So go check him out.

I shared this during a customizers chat this week, and thought I should post it here as well. It's a screen shot from Illustrator, full of a bunch of artwork for some Halloween-themed characters. We'll see if I can get them done it time, or if I'll have them ready for Christmas.

Teaser Photo #2 for Top Secret Custom Con Project.

Finishing up work on another couple customs, which is good. But I should be working on some Halloween-themed customs in order to have them ready for Halloween. Should figure out which characters would be appropriate first.

It's the end of Batmonth, the holiday I made up as an excuse to post a lot of Batman-related customs. And we finish it up with customs of the man himself (Batman, not Shaft). This week we feature the Rainbow Batman, or that time when Batman revealed he had a Batman costume for every color of the rainbow.

But it doesn't stop there for the multi-colored Batman customs. You can also check out a recreation I made of the Detective Comics cover that introduced the world to Rainbow Batman. I made it for a Minimate poster contest, so I replaced the characters on the cover with Minimates. Which hopefully explains why I would make five differently-colored Batman customs. Go check them out, and stand by for the next time I declare Batmonth.

A bonus custom this week, because the new Fantastic Four Minimates are now hitting Toys 'R Us stores. So in honor of the first family of Marvel Comics, I present the most unexpected Fantastic Four related custom ever - Willie Lumpkin, official postman for the Fantastic Four. Created by Stan Lee, Willie is an often forgotten part of the Fantastic Four family. So go check him out and understand the magic of this humble postman, before email and postal rate hikes destroy the Postal Service.

It's Batmonth, where we work through a heaping pile of Batman related customs! On the pile this week is the Riddler, Batman's tricky and vain foe. Sure he's smart, but that's not good enough for him. Riddler wants you to know he's smart. He wants to rub his high IQ in your face. He would totally do a victory dance after a really good chess move.

So for my new Riddler custom, I made a Formal Wear Riddler, with his iconic question mark-covered suit. In fact, I almost called him Question Mark Suit Riddler, but that just reminded me of the other question mark suit guy who had the infomercials and tried to sell you a grant money guide. And no one wants to be associated with him. So please, go enjoy my grant money free Riddler.

It's Batmonth, with nothing but Batman related customs! This week, let's take a look at the greatest villain/love interest that Batman has ever had - Catwoman. At one time Catwoman was one of Batman's top foes, with her own henchmen and Cat-illac getaway car (Get it?!?!). Lately she's been more heroic, becoming a trusted ally and occasional lover of Batman. As she's changed roles, Catwoman's also changed her costume. Let's review a couple of her looks, shall we?

First up is the Silver Age Catwoman, wearing a sleek little number that shows off a lot of leg, but I have to imagine that the long cape would hinder your cat burglar abilities. After that, we've got the 90's Catwoman, best remembered for a simple costume accented with really big boobs. Go enjoy, and think

It's Batmonth, with nothing but Batman related customs! Some people might try to tell you it's September, but you should hit them with your batarang until they agree with you.

This week we take a look at the best sidekick a Caped Crusader ever had with some Robin customs. First up, it's Earth 2 Robin - the Robin from another dimension (called Earth 2) that grew up and took over for Batman and took his costume, sort of.

I also present another Earth 2 Robin, the Super Squad Robin, where Robin joined the Justice Society of America and got a much better costume, to boot. Go check them out, and enjoy.

It's Batmonth! Nothing but Batman related customs! Villains! Heroes! Dead parents lying facedown in an alley! Anything's possible in Batmonth!

The first custom for Batmonth was inspired by the only good piece in the Silence of the Lambs Minimate set - the straightjacket. And if there's a comic book character that's going to wear a straightjacket, it's going to be the most insane villain with green hair ever. And so I present Asylum Joker - all the crazy of a regular Joker, but with 50% less mobility. Please enjoy.

Guess who actually had time to work on new Minimate customs this weekend?

Behold! Feast your eyes on the 2" glory of my Minimate collection:

Huh. Kinda missing the glory at that size. Maybe if I present my collection in a bunch of close-up photos?:

Top Shelf, First Rack - the Spider-Man section, with Spidey on the front row and his villains on the second. The third row is a mix of his villains, allies, and Luke Cage and Iron Fist who are there because I don't have a better spot for them.

Top Shelf, Second Rack - On the front tier, it's the Avengers (most of them). On the second row, it's Captain America and his friends and foes (and a few more Avengers). And the third row is the Fantastic Four and their enemies, with plenty of room for the upcoming TRU Fantastic Four Minimates (gotta plan for the future).

Top Shelf, Third Rack - Up front, it's the many armors of Iron Man (with room left for more). On the second row, it's all things Hulk or purple pants related (and a few more Avengers). And the third row is the gritty, macho urban characters like Ghost Rider, Daredevil and Brother Voodoo.

Second Shelf, First Rack - This one is full of Marvel characters that have no better place to go. The front tier has the Champions, Invaders, Defenders and some leftover Avengers. Second row is all Marvel villains. Third row is assorted characters and the Marvel Zombies.

Second Shelf, Second Rack - We move into the DC Minimates, with the front row made up of assorted characters like the Doom Patrol and my various Starman customs. The second row is made up of Justice League characters. And the third row is made up of Justice Society & related characters.

Second Shelf, Third Rack - More DC. The front row is all Superman and SuperFriends. The second row is Batman villains (with room for more), and the third row is for the many looks of Batman and his friends.

Third Shelf, First Rack - Still more DC. The front row is full of assorted villains The second row is for Green Lanterns (with room for more). And the third row is for characters that didn't fit in anywhere else, like Sgt. Rock and Ambush Bug. Off to the left is my Suicide Squad customs and my army of OMACs.

Third Shelf, Second Rack - it's the Mighty Marvel Movie Minimates! X-Men & Spider-Man are up front, Iron Man is in the middle, and in the back are more Iron Man characters with Punisher, Hulk and Wolverine. You may notice that I didn't put any blocks on the top rack for the Minimates to stand on because I forgot and didn't even notice until I took this picture. Oh well.

Third Shelf, Third Rack - It's the Ghostbusters, taking up the first and second rows of this spice rack. In the back on the third row is my Star Trek Minimates. I admit, this rack is way too crowded, but until I can find another place to display my Star Trek Minimates, the Ghostbusters are just going to have to stand pretty close together.

Fourth Shelf, First Rack - We're back to Marvel characters, who should be grouped with the other Marvel characters two shelves up, but I would have to move my DC Minimates and I wasn't going to do that but now my display doesn't make any sense and I'm thinking about this way too much. Anyway, the front row is devoted to army builder and related characters like M.O.D.O.K. Second row is Ultimate characters, Dark Avengers and Thunderbolts, and third row is the Cosmic section with space-related characters. Oh, and my Watcher custom is off to the side because I ran out of room on my cosmic shelf before I could add him.

Fourth Row, Second Rack - it's mostly mutants! Front row are some mutant-related army builders, plus the X-Statix and Excalibur. Second row is X-Men villains, and room for the upcoming X-Men box sets (always gotta be thinking ahead). And third row right now has my non-comic related customs, and the Steel Spider, whose mechanical arms make him too big to fit anywhere else right now.

And finally, Fourth Row, Third Rack - All X-Men, starting with the early X-Men in the front row working towards the 80's and 90's X-Men on the second row. In the third row are the modern X-Men, X-Factor, and every Wolverine Minimate ever made. I admit, I wouldn't have a space problem if I didn't insist on displaying every Minimate, but I can't help it - I bought Patch and Civilian Logan, and I'm gonna display him, no matter how ridiculous 20-some Wolverines look together.

Ah, August. As you finish, so does the summer, and so does my hectic summer schedule. Summer has been very brutal on my free time, and things are beginning to slow down, letting me catch up on my Minimate customs, and yes, even update my site. I apologize for the recent lack of content (assuming anyone still visits).

Hopefully, I'm going to have more free time in the future to make and post more customs. But for now, all you're going to get is this:

The Minimates above are standing on 1" square blocks I made from cardstock, then decorated them with squares cut from comic books. I made them years ago when my Minimate collection was small, and I had the free time to make 1" square stands for them to stand on. I really liked how they turned out, so I made of bunch of them. As my collection grew and I started using spice racks to display my Minimates, I used the blocks to create a riser on the very top row, so the Minimates in the back could be seen.

This year, my collection has grown and I had to add more spice racks to my collection. But I ran out of my 1" blocks, and I don't have that kind of time to make dozens of new ones. So I compromised.

Instead of making dozens of blocks, I made eight 7" long risers instead. I get the same effect and can still decorate them with comic book art, but had them done in an afternoon, not weeks.

Here's a shot of my new risers in action. They worked out great, and were exactly what I needed to finish setting up my Minimate display. Which I'm going to show pictures of this week - stay tuned.

Since Minimate production is kinda slow right now, I've been taking the opportunity to reorganize my Minimate display. I'm not done yet - you can tell because you can still see some blank space on some of the shelves.

Teaser Photo #1 for Top Secret Custom Con Project.

This is an old picture I took back when I was making my Tom Servo Minimate. I never posted it at the time because I didn't want to ruin the surprise of my MST3K Minimates, but knew someday I'd post to to share the horror of Servo with a face on his belly.

The final round of Charitymates auctions is now live, including some great robot Minimates along with my other two robot contributions. Go check them out, but hurry - these are only three-day auctions. Unless you're reading this and the auction is already over, in which case you really missed out on some great customs.

Hey, let's take a look at what's happening on my workbench right now:

That's right - nothing. Between summer activities, extra work and assorted other things, the workbench is kinda vacant right now. I am finishing a few customs, but they're for the next Custom Con and I don't want to ruin the surprise. So you'll just have to wait a little bit until I have new customs to show, and in the meantime I'll see what content I can put together.