Can I buy any of your custom figures/vehicles/decals/design plans?
You know you could mass produce these figures and sell them?
Can you post your decals/design plans so others can make their own customs?
What sets did you use to make your [enter specific] Vehicles? Where did you get [specific] colors/parts?
Do you build one vehicle then take pictures and take them appart to make something else or do they all exist individually?
How many LEGO pieces do you have?
Are you on LUGNET/BRICKSHELF? Why dont you post your designs on LUGNET?
You should contact Hasbro & Lego and get them to mass-market this idea.
Any plans to show your customs at GI Joe conventions?
Do you have any Non GI Joe customs?
Do you post on any message boards? Give us a heads up on whats going on with your site?
Can I buy any of your custom figures/vehicles/decals/design plans?
Sorry no custom LEGO work shown on this site is for sale. I have no extras to part with, infact I'm still in search of certain parts and buy a set here and there to make those finishing touches. 
You know you could mass produce these figures and sell them?
It would be copyright infringement to mass produce and sell these. A few sites have been shut down for doing just that and for even less. My intentions were never to make money off them. I only have one of every figure with exception for the army builders. I couldn't part with one piece. They are part of my collection just like the Hasbro action figures.
Can you post your decals/design plans so others can make their own customs?
Originally when I started version 2.0 of my website I considered and planned halfway through on a page of not only printable images of my decals but a "how to guide" featuring step by step instructions and tips for making custom mini figures. I've recieved a lot of requests and even sent these tips to people who asked via email years ago - something I later regreted.
Unfortunately greed and copycats have become a major problem. Shortly after the launch of my site and word of mouth a few copycats poped up with near identical versions of my custom mini figures and similar vehicles using currently available pieces and were selling them for outrageous prices ($30 a figure!) on eBay and webstores (now shut down for infringement). It went as far as even peddling decals way too similar to my own on message boards with the exact step by step guide I gave out via email years ago. It still continues to this day unfortunately. Click here for more on this.
I could post my decals but have no way of controlling what people do with them including exploiting my work to gouge people by selling them at obscene prices or taking full credit on their websites/custom sites or message boards. An individual already went through the trouble to trace several of my decals off pics from this site and went on to post them on a message board taking full praise and credit and planned to sell them. It took another poster on that board to point out where his true inspiration came from and a follow up post by this person admiting he saw my site initially. You can imagine what unscrupulous people like this can do if they have these things just given away to them.
Similarly I am to believe someone totally into GI Joe & LEGO and net savvy enough to build websites of their own happened to stumble onto the net only recently miss this website completely when it even comes up on simple gijoe+lego google searches for few years and created one of their own with a similar twist on the "Real American Hero" logo and claim absolutely no inspiration at all from here?
While I encourage others to create their own customs I do think its shady to re-create other's projects so closely and in some cases so blatantly similar down to website details without at least giving credit where credit is due. There was a time not long ago when an archived google group search would turn up no results on custom GI Joe lego of this scale. I set the stage and others jumped on the bandwagon after the fact. I couldnt even tell anyone the amount of time and work that went into the decals I made, at a time when custom mini figures shown online were just part swaps with no details or, understandably, sloppy paint jobs (due to their tiny size) and lumpy clay custom parts. It was a project I started as a kid with pen, paper & markers drawn by hand and later spending countless hours on the computer. To have people come to my website and just copy what they see to grab 15 minutes of fame or profit off it is more then a little disheartning and makes me wonder about those in the joe collecting community that do this and the ones who support them. Which is why I chose to postpone future developement for a while.
What started out as a way to help others [without thinking] turned into a money maker for unscrupulous opportunists exploiting my hard work. And they ruined it for everyone else as I scrapped the idea for this website and will not offer decals.
The whole purpose of "custom work" is to create your own... custom work. Give it a try. You may have your own unique style and aproach that can set you appart from the rest.
What sets did you use to make your [enter specific] Vehicles? Where did you get [specific] colors/parts?
That's a bit difficult to answer. Most sets came out 10-15 years ago. There were many sets I purchased specifically for parts to certain vehicles. There was a point where I didn't even assemble the actual sets and took the parts I needed the rest got thrown into the mix.
The short answer is, if you are looking to go into a store now and buy sets to build your own you may face a challenge. Many parts I used just aren't available anymore and can be difficult to obtain. I wasnt kidding when I said I've been making these customs since I was a kid. I've always had an eye out for that next part to perfect a custom vehicle and it took almost 2 decades to get to the state they are at now. Its one of the hurdles some copycats cant overcome, time. But thats what seems to make my customs stick out more then the imitators.
The last of the good sets to use for parts, IMO, and the ones I used primarily were from the mid 80's to late 90's. Those sets had a variety of colors and "useable" basic parts. The range of possabilities was wide open. It seems like there were more parts per set back then and less focus on specialty parts which end up being useless for anything else but the primary set. Ever look on the back of a LEGO set and see the other "models" you can build with that set? And it turns out to be some goofy junk machine? Thats what I'm talking about. Years ago a plane could be used to make a boat and it looked like a boat. But those days are over. IMO, The LEGO sets available curently just dont have that freestyle quality to build things on your own like they once did.
My suggestion is If you have a LEGO outlet store near you try there. Theres always the secondary market, eBay and trading goes on at some websites for spare parts I believe. I dont used these but they may help some (I have a... "thing" about used parts with chew marks and encrusted dust... yuck).
Do you build one vehicle then take pictures and take them appart to make something else or do they all exist individually?
Never. Thats cheating. Each vehicle is built and then put asside. I use different parts to make the next vehicle and so on. This is a collection of customs I have made.
How many LEGO pieces do you have?
I hope to never know the answer to that. Even after making these customs I still have several 20 gallon rubbermaid tubs full of parts. And a few more with complete theme sets over the years kept as is and off limits for parts cause I liked them.
Are you on LUGNET/BRICKSHELF? Why dont you post your designs on LUGNET?
I'm not a member of lugnet or any other similar LEGO site/message board. I have no intention of joining. They seem like wonderful sites but I have this one built in my own style. I've seen a few things on other sites sent to me via email but other then that I dont visit them.
Besides the wonderful thing about LEGO is the freedom to use your OWN imagination and CREATIVITY, not using others.
You should contact Hasbro & Lego and get them to mass-market this idea.
More of a comment then a question but I get this frequently enough.
LEGO has a seemingly "anti-violence" stance when it comes to what they choose to produce. Themes like Star Wars or Wild West suggest exceptions to the norm but so far we haven't even seen a generic military theme. Getting the GI Joe license complicates the matter. LEGO would have to show interest and Hasbro would have to allow contract for the use of their rights. Gaining the licensing rights falls purely between LEGO & Hasbro. Considering Hasbro's lackluster "Built to Rule" side theme for their various properties may complicate matters. Would they want to introduce something so similar soon after the demise of Built to Rule? Would retail buy into another GI Joe building brick line after clearencing Built to Rule? Would LEGO want to indulge in the idea after Hasbro tried to get a footing in their corner of the building brick toy market? Gaining the licensing rights will ultimately fall between LEGO & Hasbro and whether there is a market at retail who would carry the potential line.
In the early days I had recieved a few email messages from various people. Some wanted to borrow things and show at conventions, others claimed to be from Hasbro or Lego. Dont get your hopes up. The sources I was able to confirm happened to be Hasbro retail representatives and employees of lego shops and such. The others were... well crack pots. My only contact with Hasbro, if you can even consider it "contact" was through a retail rep that really only merchandised products in stores but I wouldnt even claim to say "Hasbro approached me" or "I had official talks" with them. I'd hate to think I had any influence in the poorly executed "Built to Rule" line.
Any plans to show your customs at GI Joe conventions?
Not presently. There is never a GI Joe convention in my area and the cost of traveling out of state with everything doesnt make it much of an option.
Do you have any Non GI Joe customs?
Check The "Other Projects" button on the top of the page for non GI Joe customs that will be added in the future.
Do you post on any message boards? Give us a heads up on whats going on with your site?
I dont post on any message boards curently. I'm still in contact with a few I've met through various boards and they give me the heads up on things related to my website. I'm satisfied with my GI Joe customs at this point but I end up changing things things from time to time. I have moved on to other projects also. Keep checking back to this site. You never know what may pop up next.
