Custom Action Figures

crusader_x · Post by **crusader_x** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:54 pm

http://www.firebladecomics.com
is now doing custom action figures. Look for them in the Customs section.
Right now we are concentrating on the Transformer movie line but I am currently working on a Duke Nukem and have plans for a Samus Aran and Joanna Dark. If you have any other video game character suggestions, let me know please!

crusader_x · Post by **crusader_x** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:44 am

Any comments, suggestions, feedback?

DancemasterGlenn · Post by **DancemasterGlenn** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 2:03 am

crusader_x wrote:Any comments, suggestions, feedback?

I'm very impressed with the quality of work, and if I had the cash I'd definitely be bidding on some of these gems. It's still fun to read the little comic situations for each figure, so that's definitely keeping me coming back. I'm looking forward to seeing Samus when she is complete... in addition, a Vampire Hunter D figure would be pretty cool... or maybe some classic Power Rangers action (original Megazord would be totally badass). But yeah, great site, great work, wish I had a little more disposable income...

Haha, how about a pimped out Stretch Armstrong?

Gonzo · Post by **Gonzo** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 2:56 am

So wait, fireblade makes custom action figures and sells them? That seems really legally hazy, due to copyright and all.

Gil_Hamilton · Post by **Gil_Hamilton** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 3:44 am

Cigar Face wrote:So wait, fireblade makes custom action figures and sells them? That seems really legally hazy, due to copyright and all.

I'm pretty sure you're 100% wrong.

How does copyright even apply? These are "original designs."

Gonzo · Post by **Gonzo** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 3:49 am

Gil_Hamilton wrote:
Cigar Face wrote:So wait, fireblade makes custom action figures and sells them? That seems really legally hazy, due to copyright and all.
I'm pretty sure you're 100% wrong.

How does copyright even apply? These are "original designs."

Because they are "origional designs" of copyrighted characters.
If you are profiting off a character someone else origionally created, and the copyright hasn't expired, then that's illegal.

Gil_Hamilton · Post by **Gil_Hamilton** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 4:06 am

Cigar Face wrote:
Gil_Hamilton wrote:
Cigar Face wrote:So wait, fireblade makes custom action figures and sells them? That seems really legally hazy, due to copyright and all.
I'm pretty sure you're 100% wrong.

How does copyright even apply? These are "original designs."
Because they are "origional designs" of copyrighted characters.
If you are profiting off a character someone else origionally created, and the copyright hasn't expired, then that's illegal.

There's a lot of exemptions in copyright law. You can't get in trouble for repainting a legally-purchased action figure and reselling it.

If he was claiming to be the original creator of Optimus Prime, that'd be different. He's not. He's just claiming to have altered the original. Possibly to have enhanced it.

The only case I know of where someone's actually tried to do something about customs was when Mattel sued someone making parody Barbies. They lost.

Gonzo · Post by **Gonzo** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 4:56 am

Gil_Hamilton wrote:]There's a lot of exemptions in copyright law.

That is true.

You can't get in trouble for repainting a legally-purchased action figure and reselling it.

That isn't. If you were to paint a mario figuring purple, sell it on E-bay as a one off thing, no problem. If you were to buy 10,000 mario dolls, paint them all purple, start a business, nintendo would sue you so fucking bigtime, and win, that you grandkids would still be paying off your legal fees.

If he was claiming to be the original creator of Optimus Prime, that'd be different. He's not. He's just claiming to have altered the original. Possibly to have enhanced it.

Whether or not he claims to have come up with the original concept is irrelevant. If you profit off a product that is clearly a rip off of another person's idea, you're screwed. Unless you change the product sufficiently from the original, as to not affect their profits, you might be Ok, but I wouldn't recommend it.

The only case I know of where someone's actually tried to do something about customs was when Mattel sued someone making parody Barbies. They lost.

Are you referring to the S&M barbie dolls? The only reason Mattel lost their case was because they didn't have their own line of S&M dolls, so technically it wasn't infringing on their product.
Nintendo, transformers and others all have their own lines of action figurines, so anyone else who makes action figurines of these products without permission is in big trouble.
And once again, profiting off someone else’s idea without their consent is illegal.

Gil_Hamilton · Post by **Gil_Hamilton** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 6:27 am

Cigar Face wrote:
You can't get in trouble for repainting a legally-purchased action figure and reselling it.
That isn't. If you were to paint a mario figuring purple, sell it on E-bay as a one off thing, no problem. If you were to buy 10,000 mario dolls, paint them all purple, start a business, nintendo would sue you so fucking bigtime, and win, that you grandkids would still be paying off your legal fees.

Flaw 1: These ARE one-time deals.
Flaw 2: People HAVE started businesses off of custom jobs. Like the aforementioned Barbie guy.

If he was claiming to be the original creator of Optimus Prime, that'd be different. He's not. He's just claiming to have altered the original. Possibly to have enhanced it.
Whether or not he claims to have come up with the original concept is irrelevant. If you profit off a product that is clearly a rip off of another person's idea, you're screwed. Unless you change the product sufficiently from the original, as to not affect their profits, you might be Ok, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Flaw 3: Every single toy he sells was purchased at retail. At best, he has no effect on sales, as his custom substituted for a toy that normally would've been bought straight at retail.

The only case I know of where someone's actually tried to do something about customs was when Mattel sued someone making parody Barbies. They lost.
Are you referring to the S&M barbie dolls? The only reason Mattel lost their case was because they didn't have their own line of S&M dolls, so technically it wasn't infringing on their product.

And the fact that he was using the trademarked Barbie name and logo was completely irrelevant?

Mattel actually lost because there's explicit parody exemptions in US copyright law. Same reason they've lost many other lawsuits.

crusader_x · Post by **crusader_x** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 12:17 pm

Wow didn't mean to cause such a debate over customizing...
I've searched google for answer regarding customizing and copyright law and haven't had much luck, but I would like to point out that customizing action figures has been around for a very long time. It's a very good sized community and many people sell their work on ebay or through their own online store. Go to ebay sometime, go to Toys > Action Figures and just search for "custom" and you'll get an idea.
I have read on customizer's sites that every now and then they will receive a cease and desist from some big company who owns the rights to the toy or image of the character they are creating. I think however most toy companies aren't battling the customizers but rather just ignoring them. And how do you define a custom anyways? Some of what I've done are simple repaints, yet other figures I have coming up are totally new characters from the original (a John Cena wrestling figure into Duke Nukem).
I think the key here is that I've never laid claim to the image or intellectual property, I make it clear what you're buying, what the original figure was, and what I've done to it. Believe me, if Hasbro wanted to cause some trouble there's a lot bigger fish to fry than me. Probably the most popular customizer on ebay right now is Jin Saotome http://www.jinsaotomesdangeroustoys.com/ who makes a whole heck of a lot more money at this than most of us (as in, hundreds to thousands). If Hasbro thought someone was cutting into profits, they'd probably start with this guy

Gonzo · Post by **Gonzo** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:06 pm

crusader_x wrote:Wow didn't mean to cause such a debate over customizing...

Ok, hold on a minute....what exacly do you mean by customizing? I was under the impression that you were making custom action figurines from scratch and selling them. If that's not the case, then what are you doing?

This reminds me of something I was going to mention before I got side-tracked. The action figurines I saw look really cool, but the website doesn't do them any justice. In short, the website is kind of confusing.
You really need an about section that clearly explains what the website is about. I mean, what is Fireblade Comics? Are you some kind of online comic, do you distribute comics, or what? And your customs section needs a hell of a lot more info. If I hadn't have read this thread before going to that site and I went to the customs section, I would have been like, "So this guys posted his figurine collection....great." And I probably would have left that site without a second thought.
Basically, the site needs more content.

Joe Camacho · Post by **Joe Camacho** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:22 pm

Cigar Face wrote:
crusader_x wrote:Wow didn't mean to cause such a debate over customizing...
Ok, hold on a minute....what exacly do you mean by customizing? I was under the impression that you were making custom action figurines from scratch and selling them. If that's not the case, then what are you doing?

Dude, did you even read the site? You can see both the action figure BEFORE and AFTER it was painted, well at least the transformer ones. And in the DBZ one it states it in the first paragraph. Maybe he should had said "repainting" instead of "doing" in the Opening Post, but still, you should pay more attention to the site.

Gonzo · Post by **Gonzo** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:31 pm

Gil_Hamilton wrote:The only case I know of where someone's actually tried to do something about customs was when Mattel sued someone making parody Barbies. They lost.

And the fact that he was using the trademarked Barbie name and logo was completely irrelevant?

Mattel actually lost because there's explicit parody exemptions in US copyright law. Same reason they've lost many other lawsuits.

I can not find a mention any where that mattel lost their case due to any parody exemptions. Every site I have seen says this:
http://www.tdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=2958

Unless you are talking about another case.

But in this particular case, the judge was wrong. The woman did infringe on Mattel's copyright and should be in prison, especially if she used their trademark.

By the by, what on earth does this have to do with fireblade? I have yet to read a mention of their figurines being parodies, so any supposed parody laws would be inapplicable anyway.

Gonzo · Post by **Gonzo** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:37 pm

Joe Camacho wrote:
Cigar Face wrote:
crusader_x wrote:Wow didn't mean to cause such a debate over customizing...
Ok, hold on a minute....what exacly do you mean by customizing? I was under the impression that you were making custom action figurines from scratch and selling them. If that's not the case, then what are you doing?
Dude, did you even read the site? You can see both the action figure BEFORE and AFTER it was painted, well at least the transformer ones. And in the DBZ one it states it in the first paragraph. Maybe he should had said "repainting" instead of "doing" in the Opening Post, but still, you should pay more attention to the site.

I wasn't aware you could click on the pictures, therefore I didn't read anything he wrote.

*EDIT*
My mouse pointer never rolled over any of his pics, so I never saw my pointer change to a finger. And I wouldn't have bothered clicking on the pics anyway, because who creates links on pages that way without any indication? I would have just assumed that they made the pics larger and I could see them fine as they were.

MorteTheSkull · Post by **MorteTheSkull** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 12:03 am

As my first real post on this forum in years, I will point out the necessity of a Magus action figure.
Also
Kefka
Ark from Terranigma
Edge from FF4
Cecil (Dark Knight) from FF4
Frog from Chrono Trigger
Star Wolf
Vicious from Cowboy Bebop
....all that comes to mind at the moment.

Oh, a Ralph Nader action figure would be pretty amazing.

Demios · Post by **Demios** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 6:10 am

statues/statuettes are not action figures.

Gil_Hamilton · Post by **Gil_Hamilton** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:54 am

Cigar Face wrote:
crusader_x wrote:Wow didn't mean to cause such a debate over customizing...
Ok, hold on a minute....what exacly do you mean by customizing? I was under the impression that you were making custom action figurines from scratch and selling them. If that's not the case, then what are you doing?

*bangs head*
So you were firing your mouth off WITHOUT SO MUCH AS LOOKING?

He's buying production toys off retail shelves and repainting them. With minor physical alterations, such as drilled out gunbarrels.
I believe I stated as much earlier, and it would be immediately obvious if you'd bothered to look before you started ranting about copyright infringement.

He's not even doing anything like rebadging Wreckage as Megatron.
(which I've done with my own personal Wreckage, because he looks more like Megatron than the movie Megatron does. ZOMG I R STOEL HASBRO'S TRADEMARK SAVE ME FROM TEH LAWYERS!1111).

Gonzo · Post by **Gonzo** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 11:20 pm

Gil_Hamilton wrote: *bangs head*
So you were firing your mouth off WITHOUT SO MUCH AS LOOKING?

No, I did look;

Cigar Face wrote: I wasn't aware you could click on the pictures, therefore I didn't read anything he wrote.

*EDIT*
My mouse pointer never rolled over any of his pics, so I never saw my pointer change to a finger. And I wouldn't have bothered clicking on the pics anyway, because who creates links on pages that way without any indication? I would have just assumed that they made the pics larger and I could see them fine as they were.

Gil_Hamilton wrote: He's buying production toys off retail shelves and repainting them. With minor physical alterations, such as drilled out gunbarrels.
I believe I stated as much earlier, and it would be immediately obvious if you'd bothered to look before you started ranting about copyright infringement.

I thought I was quite clear with my first question.

Cigar Face wrote:So wait, fireblade makes custom action figures and sells them? That seems really legally hazy, due to copyright and all.

You didn't correct me till much later on, and by then you had been ranting quite a bit yourself.
If you go back and read the whole thread, taking into consideration I was unaware of the links on firebladecomics site that gave information, you might see why you looked like a complete tool from where I was sitting.

But anyway, now that I know exactly what fireblade is doing, I do have to agree, even though I still find it a little legally hazy, I doubt fireblade comics is violating any copyright.