The Master (Roger Delgado)

I've always regarded the character of the Master, the evil Time Lord who is sometimes referred to as the arch-enemy of Doctor Who, as the quintessential Moriarty, playing opposite the Doctor's version of Sherlock Holmes. He's suave, brilliant and ruthless but never crude, crazy or crass. It was reassuring to me to listen to vintage Doctor Who television interviews and to discover that many of the TV program's  creators (the classic, pre-2005 version, that is), viewed the Master in precisely the same manner.

Given those parameters, the portrayal of the sinister Timelord by Roger Delgado is head and shoulders above the attempt by his successor Anthony Ainley (though he gives it a valiant attempt) and not even to be compared with the weird  portrayal of the Master as sadistic psycho which modern Who fans had to endure (as portrayed by John Simm), the less said about, the better.

Appearing first in the Terror the Autons in 1971 and sharing the limelight for 8 stories until Frontier in Space in 1973, the image of the charmingly sophisticated yet evil Time Lord, perhaps even superior to the Doctor in technical expertise, has been burned into my subconcious.

And of course, we do not have a Funko POP figure of the Master (or any POP Doctor Who related figures for that matter, as of this writing.   something I decided to remedy.

Here's the reference pic of our favorite baddie:

and here's our custom POP Doctor Who figure of the Master:

The customs recipe to easily create your Arch-villain is as follows:

• Both the head and body are from a Sinestro, POP, repainted. In fact, it's difficult to look at a Sinestro POP without seeing the Master in there! 

Doctor Who (Jon Pertwee) Custom POP

(Note: This is another in our series of custom Funko POP figures of the Doctor Who Time Lords. Be sure to check out the rest by selecting "Doctor Who" from our search list.")

The third doctor, portrayed by Jon Pertwee, from 1970-1974 is a very interesting incarnation of Doctor Who, and perhaps a unique one in several ways. Unlike his other versions (before or since), this Doctor was witty, warm, avuncular, charming and even knew Venusian aikido (sometimes also referred to as Venusian karate) and wore an extensive wardrobe of velvet suits and frilly sleeves.

This was the Doctor Who for the James Bond years. Exiled and confined to Earth for most of his tenure, he had a penchant for adventure, driving all manner of vehicles (including Bessie, his prized yellow vintage auto), and acting suave and sophisticated, before dispatching such baddies as Daleks, Silurians and of course, his arch enemy, the Master (skillfully played by the sorely missed, Roger Delgado).

This was not the quirky Who, the overly emotional Who or even the cranky Who. Jon Pertwee's interpretation of the Doctor was a one-of-a-kind, and perhaps ideal for those bygone days.

Naturally, I would like a Doctor Who POP! figure of Jon Pertwee, but alas, Funko has not made one as of this writing.

No matter, we will make our own. While the 3rd Doctor had a wide and diverse wardrobe of velvet suits, we've chosen to go with a variation of his maroon one... here's a reference pic:

And here is our Jon Pertwee custom Funko Doctor Who (minus the purple cape):

The recipe is as follows:

• The head is from a Johnny Rotten POP, repainted (and earring removed)
• The body is from a Mad Hatter POP, repainted and with frilly sleeves sculpted on and tea cup removed.
• The Tardis is a type 40 (now obsolete) issued on Gallifrey and reported missing.

Star Trek (classic)

Now, here was my favorite science fiction show growing up as a kid in the 1960's. (Yes, I saw it real time, I'm O-L-D... ). Even with its limited budget and saddled with primitive special effects (my todays CGI standards), there is still something very magical about the original Star Trek.  The original episodes with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy portraying James Kirk and Mr. Spock are classic entertainment (with the possible exception of the notarious "Spock's Brain" episode, lol).

So, why don't we have POP figures from Funko?  Well, at the time I am writing this it was recently announced that competing company, Biff Bang Pow had secured the rights to Star Trek for bobbleheads so that might make it difficult (but perhaps not impossible) for Funko do gain access to the property.

No matter. I am TheFunkustomizer.  Just get me some dilithium crystals, some anti-matter and some acrylic paint and the result will be some Star Trek custom Funko POP figures.

We don't need a reference picture but hey, why not...

And here are our custom Funko POP Star Trek Kirk and Spock figures:

All ahead Warp Factor Three! 

The customs recipe for our fearless Federation heroes is as follows:

Capt. Kirk

• The head is from an Aquaman POP, repainted.
• The body is from a George Harrison POP, repainted.

Mr. Spock

• The head is from a George Harrison POP, repainted and resculpted.
• The body is also from a George Harrison POP, repainted.
• The hand phaser is a standard Type 2 issue,

What's all this about alternate timelines???   In my POP Trekverse, we're too busy fighting Romulans and Klingons.  The planet Vulcan is very much intact, thank you too!! LOL! 

Doctor Who ( Christopher Eccleston) 9th Doctor

(Note: This is another in our series of custom Funko POP figures of the Doctor Who Time Lords. Be sure to check out the rest by selecting "Doctor Who" from our search list.")


There is something amazing about Christopher Eccleston's portrayal of the 9th incarnation of Doctor Who very appealing. I'm not sure if it is the manic grin, the constant flip from serious to satire or maybe it's just that he's from the North (most planets have a North). 

In any event, despite the fact that he only starred in the role for a single season, This was my favorite of the modern Doctor's thusfar (my wife, who is a David Tennant fan, would disagree).

As such, I wished that Funko Inc. had made a custom Doctor Who POP figure of him, but unfortunately, as of the date I am writing this (Feb 2013), they have not.

Not to worry. I'm the Funkustomizer, last of the Funkustomizer-Lords, veteran of the Customs Wars and ... well, you get the idea.  

I had to make my own.

Here's the usual reference picture: 

 And here is our 9th Doctor custom POP Doctor Who figure:

Doesn't he look ..... FANTASTIC??  

Here's the customs recipe:

• The head was from a POP Blake Griffith NBA, repainted and with the additional enlarged "ears" sculpted with Magic Sculp.
• The body was from an Avengers Nick Fury POP, repainted.
• The Tardis is an obsolete type 40 (with a broken chameleon circuit).
  
  

 

Doctor Who (David Tennant) Custom Funko POP

 (Note: This is another in our series of custom Funko POP figures of the Doctor Who Time Lords. Be sure to check out the rest by selecting "Doctor Who" from our search list.")

Allons-z!  It's time for the warmest, friendliest and most frantic incarnation of Doctor Who, namely the 10th Doctor, as portrayed by David Tennant.

This modern (2005-2010) take on the Doctor captured the heart of many female viewers an was equally greeted with approval and admiration by legions of male fans.

And yet, as of this date, Funko has not made a POP figure of him.

My wife demands it.

Well, since my wife has more influence over me than over Funko, Inc, we proudly present our custom take of a David Tennant 10th Doctor Who POP figure.

But first, for the few who might not be familiar with this version of the Doctor (let's see, there are one or two of you, right? Stationed in the Arctic, were you? Right), Here's the reference pic:

And, without further adieu, here's our Funko custom 10th Doctor Who POP!

Allons-y!

And Here's a special extra pic of the Good Doctor about to do battle with a couple of his arch-enemies, the Daleks:

See how cool he looks under pressure (I bet he just said something brilliant! ) Will we have any Custom POP enemies for him to battle? Hmmm.... watch this space..

The Customs recipe to make this version of the Doctor is as follows.

• The head is from a 1950's style Elvis POP, repainted.
• The body is from a Beetlejuice POP, repainted.
• The Tardis is a type 40 (used and obsolete).
• The Daleks were constructed on Skaro and designed by Davros.

Doctor Who custom POP Cyberman

Next to the Daleks, the Cyberman are easily one of the most classically identifiable villainous monsters depicted on Doctor Who. With their lumbering walk and monotone voice, they stomp around in formation, promising to "upgrade" us humans. The catch? Well, having one's brain removed and encased into a metal shell is the cost of admission. I think I'll pass.

The Cyberman have undergone a variety of changes in design over the years but every version still retains some of the basic design elements (not to mention the menacing look).

Here are a couple of reference pics:

Now for my custom Funko POP Cyberman:

The custom recipe:

• The head and body are from an Iron Man 2 POP
• The headpiece is custom made from several odds and ends including a couple of action figure stands, a playmobil connector and a couple of socket pieces.
• The processing center was provided by the Cyber Leader. 

Would you like to be upgraded?

Birdman

Growing up as a kid in the mid 1960's, life revolved around Saturday morning cartoons and comic books. While the latter had tons of heroes of every description, the list of the former, appearing weekly on my TV (my color  TV!), was shorter. This was some overlap of course, but there were a few that were unique.

One such example, appearing on Saturday morning cartoons from Sept 9, 1967 until Sept. 6, 1969 was BIRDMAN.  From the same creative genius' at Hanna-Barbera  (and created by Alex Toth), this was something special, in the same league as Space Ghost (check out our Funko POP custom) and Jonny Quest.

Here we had a combination superhero and spy (at least he took orders from a spy, a sort of Nick Fury look-alike) who was solar powered, and had a trained bird for a best friend and sidekick. Yup, it had something for everybody.

Years later. Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, brought Birdman back, sort of, as a lawyer of all things (named Harvey?), although still wearing his trademarked hood. For purists like me, that never happened. (The less said about it, the better, lol).

In any case, here's the classic Birdman in reference pics:

and here's my custom Funko POP of Birdman

Can't you just hear him shouting the classic "B-I-R-D-M-A-N......."

As far as the custom recipe is concerned for this Funko POP!

• The head is a Wolverine POP, repainted
• The body is from a DC Hawkman repainted

That's all there is to it ... just let him absorb some solar energy and watch him fly around the room  (what, yours doesn't do that??)

Space Ghost (& friends) Custom POP

It's September 10, 1966 and I am 7 years old.  Turning on our living room television set (the color one.... ooh ahh), I turn on the Saturday morning cartoons, not knowing that in a few minutes, I would be transported .... someplace wonderful.. the set "warms up" (they did that back then... transistors and tubes... retro tech) and suddenly a space ship streaks across the screen.

It's the Phantom Cruiser!

And aboard .... it's ...

S-P-A-C-E  G-H-O-S-T !!!!!

Wow, just wow (experiencing a childhood "cherished moment" flashback... feel the rush of endorphins.... )

From 1966 to 1968 (the first of two runs on TV), Baby boomers like me were treated to the exploits of Space Ghost, Jan, Jayce and their Space Monkey Blip (made perfect sense to me, I was only seven..lol).  Nasty villains such as Zorak, Brak, Metallus and Meltar would confront our heroes week after week and attempt to conquer the galaxy.

Naturally Space Ghost and Crew vanquished them and were victorious. This even continued through a second TV run in 1981. Still later, apparently tired from his time as a cosmic super hero, Space Ghost retired to cable TV and became a talk show host (I still think it was his evil double Space Spectre).

In any event, Funko has not made a Space Ghost POP as of yet (Jan. 2013) so it's my duty as the Funkustomizer to resolve that.... like this:

                                              Click the pic to Enlarge.

That's Jan and Jayce, his two teenage companions helping to pilot the Phantom Cruiser. Here's a reference pic.

Transforming this trio into custom POP form was a lot of fun. Here's the recipe

SPACE GHOST

1.  Head from Flash Funko POP  with ear thingies sheared off, painted.
2.  Body from Robin Funko POP, repainted.

JAN

1. Head and Body from Catwoman POP, ears sheared off and painted.

JAYCE

1. Head from Robin Funko POP, repainted.
2. Body from Flash Funko POP repainted.

So, for the purchase of three off the shelf POPs, you can relatively easily transform them  into this trusty trio.

You'll have to go to the Ghost Planet to get your own Phantom Cruiser though.

Doctor Who (Tom Baker) custom Funko Pop

(Note: This is another in our series of custom Funko POP figures of the Doctor Who Time Lords. Be sure to check out the rest by selecting "Doctor Who" from our search list.")

Well, where do I begin? (A long time ago on Gallifrey, there was a young Time Lord...) Actually, that's getting ahead of ourselves.  Grab a seat, mind the wet paint and do try not to activate the temporal transducer and send us all back to the 1970's (I've been there, you know, and once was quite enough).

So, are you still with me? Good. 

 If you're as old as I am, he IS the Doctor for you (though sometimes his predecessor, Jon Pertwee, tries to take that title from my subconscious memories).

The pic below is the finished product, shown inside his Tardis. He is complete with the telltale extra long scarf (don't ask about the hat), the long brown coat (I asked you not to mention the missing hat), and the enormous crop of wavy brown hair (alright, already, I didn't make the damn hat, so sue me. He rarely wore it anyway.  Here's a comparison shot.

and the custom Pop version:

                                                             Click the Pic to Enlarge


As far as the custom recipe goes, it's quite simple.

1. The head is from a Funko POP Bilbo Figure
2. The body is from a Funko POP Bane Figure (for the long coat)
3. The scarf is sculpted with Magic Sculpt.
4. The Tardis is a Type 40 (now obsolete) from Gallifrey. (It's bigger on the insider, you know, as seen in the first pic).

Add ingredients, stir well, and before long, you'll have your own mini Timelord.