Customizer Gallery - Derek Combs

I am a "johnny-come-lately" in the Mego customizing world, but I have loved every minute of making these figures!!! Growing up as a kid, I always wanted to be an animator/artist for the Walt Disney studios. I loved to draw and create - I won several art awards in high school and even had one of my pieces tour the US with a traveling exhibit. I don't do much drawing anymore; I have instead turned my "creative" juices towards customizing. Most of what I do is Spiderman related because he was my favorite as a kid. I really love the Ditko/Kirby early Marvel art, and many of my customs betray that.

1963 X-Men

I have always like the original X-Men (almost as much as Spiderman!). X-Men suits and heads are from Brian Leitner with my paints on the heads. Professor X's head is from Laurie Halbritter (she also painted it). The wheelchair comes from a Rocky figure which is Mego-sized.

Copperhead

This figure has always intrigued me, even though I'm not a big DC or Batman fan. The head is an original sculpt (my first attempt) inside a fisher price toy. The two have been "fused" together with apoxie sculpt. This was also my first attempt at sewing a suit (born out of necessity - I couldn't find an orange jumpsuit anywhere!). The boots and gloves are plasti-dip.

The Scorpion, The Lizard, and Electro

Scorpion is a Jim Hampton sculpt (my paint) on a Green Arrow body with a reproheads suit from Austin. Very easy and simple - I love it! The Lizard is one of my personal favorites. This head comes from Russ at customslab and is a shrink of the Bowen's mini-bust sculpt (my paint). I added the lower legs and lower arms/hands to it from the Spiderman Origins Lizard. The pants are hand-sewn; the labcoat and shirt are reproductions. Electro comes from Austin (head and suit) with my paint on the head and plasti-dipped boots. The gloves are from Classic Plastick.

Hobgoblin, Mysterio, and Punisher

Hobgoblin's suit is from reproheads. Don't remember where the head came from, but I painted it. The belt, bag, and boots are reproductions. Mysterio started out as a custom I purchased from Todd at illegalmego. I redid the cape, eyes, and hands/arms. The suit is from reproheads, and the boots are CTVT. Punisher came to from Paul Riggs, and I completely redid him. Repainted the head, re-worked/painted the belt, added Classic Plastick gloves, and Castaway boots.

The Enforcers

Interesting set of villains to make for sure. "The Big Man" wears a suit from a Dick Tracy 9" villain with some alterations. His head is from Russ at customlabs with some extra sculpting added (my paint). The hat is an altered AJ hat. "Ox" wears clothing from several different sources: his trousers are from a Tonto figure, his shirt comes from a $4 doll at Wal-Mart (same one I used for Velma in Scooby Doo), and his vest is something I whipped up myself. The head is from Austin at reproheads with extra hair sculpted on. "Fancy Dan" is made on a 5" CTVT child's body with a Dick Tracy villain repainted head. The suit and tie are hand made, and the hat is a reworked CTVT. "Montana" sports a purple Herman Munster suit, a CTVT white shirt, CTVT boots, a head from Russ at customslab (my paint), and a Hobby Lobby white hat.

Rhino, Kingpin, and Dr. Octopus

The second custom I made was Rhino. He is a repainted hulk body with a Brian Leitner head. Kingpin is a repainted Notorious B.I.G. figure with an orange scarf added. Doc Ock is built on the CTVT fat body with custom hands and a reproheads suit. I got this head from Paul Riggs (don't know who sculpted it), reworked it with some apoxie sculpt, and painted it.

Battle-ravaged Spiderman, 1967 Animated Spiderman, Peter Parker, and J. Jonah Jameson

. Todd at illegalmego gave me the idea for the battle-ravaged Spiderman. I saw his and had to have one. A simple custom, he wears a cut up Mego Spiderman suit, a cut up Mego Spiderman head over a Shazam head, and craft foam/paper clip web-shooters. I saw the 1967 animated Spiderman suit on Austin's website and knew I had to make one of these. It is just a reworked Mego Spiderman head with Austin's suit. Peter Parker was the first custom I made. Shazam head with Fonzie's jacket, yellow CTVT shirt, and Fonzie pants. Throw on some CTVT tennis shoes and paste part of a Mego Spiderman suit on his chest and.viola! a transitioning Peter Parker. JJJ is a head I received from Dave Mc (my paint) with a Doc Mego gray business suit. I shrunk down the newspaper cover from an image that Thomas Meuleman posted at the Museum.

1st Appearance DareDevil, Wolverine, 1st Appearance Ghost Rider, and Moleman

DareDevil's head comes from Austin (my paint). His suit is a yellow CTVT suit with a red altered CTVT suit over it. The gloves are Classic Plastick with highlights added; the boots are plasti-dip with highlights added. The belt comes from Steve at stevostoys.com. The stick is plasti-dip over a CTVT brown staff. Wolverine is a head from Dave Mc (loved the Mego-likeness) with my paint. The suit/shorts are CTVT. The boots are black boots with blue plasti-dip. Gloves are Classic Plastick with blades added. Shoulder "pads" are left-over from the boots after cutting them dipped in plasti-dip. Ghost Rider is a white CTVT suit on a white CTVT body. The head is from Russ at customlabs (my paint). Cape and cuffs are hand sewn. The spurs on the boots are sculpted; the belt is CTVT plasti-dipped. The horse comes from a toy set found at Alco. Moleman is Ed Nagy's head (my paint) on a 5" CTVT body. The suit and cape are hand-sewn by my wife.

Scooby Doo and the gang

When I set out to make these Scooby Doo customs, I had no idea what I was getting into. At the time, the only heads available were Shaggy and Fred (from Russ at customslab). I was on my own for Velma and Daphne. These figures sport a variety of clothing that comes from several sources: hand-sewn, Mego, CTVT, vintage Barbie and Skipper, and Wal-Mart dolls. Scooby himself is a reworked/repainted Krypto dog from Fisher Price.

Scooby Doo villians

My ever-expanding set of villains/monsters from the Scooby Doo cartoons. I remember thinking as a kid, "I wish I had Scooby Doo figures to play with while I watch the cartoon." So far, I've done Witch Doctor, Charlie the Robot, The Creeper, Black Knight, and Captain Cutler's Ghost - with many more to follow!!!

The Green Hornet and Black Beauty

One of my favorite customs in my collection, The Green Hornet was one of my favorite shows as a kid. Built on a CHiPs body, he is wearing one of starbuk's fedoras, an ABMAC sculpted head (my paint), a Theressa original overcoat, and CTVT clothing. Black Beauty is a customized RC 1966 Chevy Impala.

All of my boxes come from Anthony at thetoyroom.