Hey guys, I'm Malak (means Messenger in Arabic, and it's not my real name. I'm american :D). New here but have been ordering from BF for a while, but moving on now!

I'm creating custom Minifigs from the Mass Effect Xbox 360 Universe. And I have most of them done (For those of you that know what Mass Effect is, I have Shepard and the rest of the human crew, Krogan, Drell, Turian, Salarian, Quarian, etc., and they are all original builds. Not copied from Saber Scorpion or anything. Pictures soon!)

But..
I want them to be perfect and I'm at an impass with the Asari.
So I decided to create my own lego head instead of building one (after trying for hours..).

My question is: How do you make your own custom legos?

You can PM me if you don't want your method to go public and I promise I am in no way going to sell your idea or anything, I'm 17 haha. And I won't repeat it either. But if you don't mind, post away!
I won't repeat it, regardless of PM or posting.

I can get any supplies necessary, from modeling clay, to paint, to crafting custom molds, anything. I do have an oven, and I expect to have to use it for this lol.
I consider myself a talented artist so sculpting would be fantastic.
But molds are also just as great.

I need the directions on how to do it and all.

Any help is insanely appreciated guys, and thank you in advance!

P.S. it would help if I knew what material LEGO makes their legos out of.

Clay. I've heard sculpey is best.

Welcome to the forums. The best advice is to search on the net using either google or you tube for some examples. Searching Flickr may also show you how some of the skilled customizers go about making their customs. BrickForge doesn't have a magic box where an item is created by mixing a few ingredients and out comes a perfect object. The process takes a long time and involves all kinds of methods including but not limited to drawing, sculpting, and 3D rendering. When I first broke into the customizing scene, one of the first things I saw was a tutorial on how to make a replica storm trooper helmet. It involved using molding putty (which you can find at a place like Micheal's), and silicon or resin. I can't remember the exact way it was done. There was also another customizer that had some exceptional skill in this area. She went by the screen name of Recluse Mage and you can see an example of her skill on this miniquin ( the hair piece) used in the BF store and her brickshelf. She has been out of the hobby for some time though.

Brickshelf Link

Also, I know a forum member here (Hawkxs) uses sculpy and "Green Stuff" to make a few items. Good luck and be sure to show us your results, good or bad.

There's a lot of ways to pull an item together ...

The Asari: I would look for the Mad Scientist's hair, and a few thin rolls of the 'green stuff'. Using the hair piece would give you the 'connection' you'll need and the beginning base to add any extra 'tenacles' you think she needs:

I can't get the pic to work ...
http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?S=col04-16

Be sure to share!!

And welcome to the BF forum :o)

Edit: I'll be right back. I'll grab a couple of pics showing you what I mean with the 'green stuff'.
Edit:edit: Here is a project I've been working with using the green stuff only (following Hawkx advice with the foil - which I why I'd recommend a hair piece)



Sorry for the poor pic quality, but you get the idea. I rolled the 'green stuff' into very small rounds for this. The idea should work perfect with the Mad Scientist's hair (may for the Turian too).

Yep. Google minfig customization and you ought to get some good stuff. here's the tut on green stuff: http://hawkxs.deviantart.com/art/Custom ... -175971005

Recently I've delved into CAD and 3d printing- awesome if you can afford the software [my school has it!]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys!
I'll definitely be looking into hawkxs method, as well as the molding putty and silicon/resin idea too.
I think I'm sold on the crazy scientist hair, it looks good enough for me, just have to paint it blue and give it some decals/detailed painting, but my only issue is getting my hands on a few of them..

I have one more question..
Is it possible to melt down lego objects and use that to create more lego pieces?
Or would sculpey work better?

My understanding is that the brick-ABS is somewhat toxic ....
I do know that some people do melt them down and I've seen (via google) something about making a putty, but it'd be easier, and maybe safer to dry the different putties and see which works best for you. The green stuff is easy to work with once you've gotten used to it; I'm sure other's would be similar.

Metal polish and a drilling tool.

And sometimes glue.

-Omi

Thanks very much for your help guys!