So . . . let's try this again.

Back in late October, I thought I might start submitting custom figures again. I posted three. And then I had a car accident that messed up my arms and leg and destroyed my car and my iPad, which was also the only camera I had. Thus preemptively aborting my intended triumphant return. My life. *rolls eyes* No worries about me, I'm fine now, and thanks to the few that dropped me a line to see if I was ok. Much appreciated, guys!

The last several months have been dedicated to working and making enough money to pay the debts I incurred over this little disaster. Time has, understandably, been at a premium. However, I have managed to find opportunities to continue building customs, and I recently finished a long-term project that I've been slowly working on for the last few years. Seeing as I just completed the final piece of the set, I decided it was high-time to get back on The Realm and show you guys what I've been doing with my life. Got myself a half-decent camera, and with that little hurdle out of the way, I'm back,and hoping for a less brief reemergence than last time.

So, to celebrate, let me share with you my latest series, the More-Than-Complete Guardians of the Galaxy! First in the line-up, who else but the leader of the team, the halfbreed hero, the legend in his own mind, the one and only Peter Jason Quill, otherwise known as Star-Lord!

Unlike most people, I was familiar with the Guardians before the movie was announced, though only vaguely so. I'd read a few issues of the comic, and while it was fun, I'd never been big in the Marvel space fantasy/cosmic adventure books, so I wasn't terribly invested. However, I did like the character designs, and thought I might try my hand at some of them eventually. It wasn't until after Hasbro released figures of both Drax and Rocket that I actually decided to move ahead on my plan. And of course, Star-Lord was going to be the first on the docket.

The recipe isn't anything revolutionary, you've all seen it before. Take an Ultimate WWII Captain America figure, resculpt his head, modify his gloves and jacket, paint. The Kree sub-machine-guns were made using a pair of Uzis from some generic soldier figures, cut apart and put back together with a couple of hand-grips from a TMNT weapon to make the "magazines" hanging from the front. Star-Lord also has an alternate unmasked head, courtesy of a DCUC figure (though which one I couldn't for the life of me tell you).

Old common recipe notwithstanding, I love this figure. So much so that when I received the SDCC Thanos Imperative box set as a gift, I sold the official Hasbro Star-Lord figure online and kept mine. The SDCC figure was too big and too dark, but my Star-Lord feels just right, and he goes perfectly with the complete set I ultimately crafted. I'm overjoyed to share him with you here, and I can't wait for you to see the rest of his team over the coming weeks!

Excelsior!