I'd like to put this question to the Union...what is it about a toy(figure) that makes it great for customizing? For instance, what makes Dunnys, Munnys or Mighty Muggs so popular to the customizing community? Is it the shape, size, or simplicitythat draws artist to them?

So here's the question...What are the qualities that any figure has to have to make it a great piece for customizers?

I would love to hear what everyones favorite piece is and why they like to use it so much. I look forward to hearing everyones imput.

That is a great question, for me personally It doesnt have to be a specific figure...or DIY for that matter...Its all about what I see, in my mind, when I first see a figure/toy...then I go from there. Usually the ones I do are because of the random ideas that pop up at random times of day that are the " Damn, you know what would be awesome to do to this toy or figure?"...I think for myself and most artist every piece is a great piece to customize. Sometimes I'll do them based on a random idea or sometimes I do them from difficulty...I like to do the ones that just seem impossible to do anything to...but thats just me

^ is there one in particular that is your favorite to work with?

Right now Im diggin the Celsius platform...Of course I still do munny's and I have recently picked up doing 3" dunny's ( never worked on a dunny)....MADL's are pimp too...alot of work area.. I would love to get into doing the jaws pain and paws and some other high end figures but im too poor for that haha

very cool. until recently i stuck to mighty muggs. but then i saw what else was out there. right now im experimenting with 3" dunnys. im way too scared to try anything on the high end of vinyl figures. lol

for me, a good platform is one with nice curves, nice edges, and a nice open surface to work with. i think that as pieces get more detailed and specific they lose a certain creative approach. not sure if that makes sense. i don't mind having a defined head, arms, legs, ect., but when noses or mouths are added it just looses that "unknown" factor and i believe it completely changes one's creative approach..kinda changes it from a round canvas to a toy. The Gosho figure for example....it's a fat dude....not much room to run with it unless you want to give the figure a complete overhaul. i think the reason that mad*l's, dunnys, munnys, ect. are so popular and fun is how wide open the sculpt leaves everything.

personally i have LOVED the mad*l and the few touma pieces i've had the opportunity to work on, they were very fun...and of course the munny

^i couldnt agree more. your right about the specific features. it does kind of dictate what you have to do in that area unless you want to sculpt over it or something. iv seen alot of good stuff come from these madL figures. do you think its worth it to pick one up?

chris.o.saur put it very nicely. A nice simple piece is the best to work with as it leave a lot of room for interpretation on one's vision. The simpler the toy the better for a custom in most cases, but some great custom work has been done on more detailed toys like coarse stuff too. I think it really comes down to what the artist like to work with and how they see their canvases; I for one prefer the dunny. My preference stems from the fact that when I really started getting into toys about 5 years ago, the dunny was the hot item to customize and it seems to just have stuck with me that the dunny is the best platform to work with.

^Dunnys are pretty awesome. i'm working on one now that is an interpretation of the tortoise and the hare(it makes sence cause the dunny is a bunny after all). its been a great canvase to work with.

Ever thought of casting your own figure?

I don't customize toys but I love MadL!!! Great Platform for artists to inject their vision onto the surface

Things I look for in a customizable figure are the materials used. I do a lot of cutting and sculpting. Vinyl toys are nice because they can be easily manipulated. Mighty Muggs are probably my least favorite to work on as you either get shitty plastic or shitty plastic with vinyl heads. I think it's crazy how most people here came from customizing Mighty Muggs and started with them before finding Designer Vinyl platforms like Qee, MadL and Munny. I think it's not so much that Dunnys/Munnys are the choice for customizers, but that consumers prefer that platform. Also they are easy to come by. Anybody that buys/collects Dunnys end up with dupes so they are just easily available.

Everything can be customized to some extent. It's really just a matter of what you want the final result to be. There isn't any one specific platform that is superior.

Good point.