Kotaku: Custom

Custom Castle Crashers You Will Never Own

Stuart Houghton — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:20:00 MDT

Teddy Troops are typical examples of that strain of kidult 'collectible' not-really-a-toy that they sell in those shops that also sell skateboarding clothes to people who don't own boards, and never will.

Soon, the economic downturn will mean that such frivolous purchases will be beyond the spending power of anyone not likely to be on MTV Cribs but until that fateful day, people will keep buying the grumpy military-themed bears and - with luck - customizing them into awesome Castle Crasher merch like this.

Custom Castle Crashers Teddy Troops [Albotas - thanks to BrownKidd for the tip]

My Little Master Chief Pony

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:40:00 MDT

We're not sure that you're ready to enter the world of custom, one of a kind My Little Pony creations, but perhaps the bitter pill of fandom tucked within a meaty treat will help the medicine go down. This unique pony, decked out in Master Chief's Mjolnir armor, is almost exactly how we pictured it in the many fanfics we've read on the My Little Pony-Halo crossover forums and certainly not too rich for our blood.

Just think, your little Master Pony will always be there right by your side. He'll be there right by your side. Definitely worth dropping $100-plus on to get the promised hand-sculpted assault rifle. Bid early and often, folks.

Master Chief From Halo OOAK My Little Pony Custom [eBay]

Neon Xbox 360 Arcade Controller

Brian Crecente — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:00:50 MDT

If you're going to go to the trouble of getting an old-school arcade controller for your Xbox 360 it might as well have neon in it right? Right? ShaolinDrunkard, built just such a beast. His hand-built arcade controller uses parts from Sanwa and Seimitsu and then knocks things straight back to 1977 with LED backlighting behind each button and the knob. The whole thing is housed in a chunky oak box that screams arcade culture.

the ultimate xbox 360 arcade controller [Technabob, via Gizmodo]

The Patapon BearBrick Vinyl Toy

fdemarco — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:00:00 MST

Artist Rolito, the man behind the stylish graphics of Patapon has produced this vinyl toy based on the upcoming PSP game. The toy, which is part of the custom BearBrick series, will be available in stores on Feb. 26th. There's no word on the price, but given the size and what I've seen of other BearBrick prices it should be around $5.99 or so. But, don't quote me on that.

[via A Little Bit of Awesome on the Side]

Custom Agent 47 Figure

fdemarco — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 08:00:00 MST

Kotakuite CyK sent in this shot of his amazingly well done Agent 47 custom figure. According to Cyk, Agent 47 stands 12" tall and has multiple points of articulation. The head is incredibly well sculpted and quite impressive. He comes with two silverballers, a custom made Walther WA2000 sniper rifle and an "accurate" barcode on the back of his head. And to make things extra detailed, Cyk also includes a tiny lockable briefcase and four one sixth scale spent 7.62mm shell casings. If you'd like Agent 47 and all his little accouterments, you can bid for him on eBay.

Thrift Store Treasures: The Ugliest Dreamcast You Will Ever See

fdemarco — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 16:00:00 MST

Thrift stores are a constant source of amazement to me. How can so many horrible things all end up in one place? Yet, if you do some digging you can find some really cool stuff. Some if it is cool and you buy it and some of it is so hideous it's cool. You laugh at it and then put it back on the shelf. This Dreamcast is one of those finds. Had I not already owned one I probably would have picked it up seeing as it had four controllers , two light guns and memory cards. Instead I just snapped a picture so I could share the horror with all of you. Behold the ugliest Dreamcast ever decorated. I challenge you to find an uglier one! In fact, if you can find another one, send a picture in. Whoever submits the most hideous one will get a game from my personal collection. And no, you don't get to pick it.

PS: It can't be a picture you found on the internet...

The Kill Bill GH Guitar

fdemarco — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 13:00:00 MST

Inspired by yesterday's Evil Dead guitar, artist Jonathan Nagle sent in this pic of his sweet customized Kill Bill guitar. Whenever I see these custom controllers I always think "Hey, I could do that!" I've even gotten as far as pulling the paints out and putting newspaper down but them I chicken out . Knowing my luck I would render the thing completely hideous and unusable. I suppose I could do a test run on one of these old PS2 GH guitars. It's not like I'll ever be able to use them on my PS3... (and before you comment in saying there is an adapter, I tried it and it's shite)

The Evil Dead GH Guitar

fdemarco — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 13:00:00 MST

From artist Frank C., the creator of the No More Heroes Wii, comes this custom Evil Dead Wii GH Guitar controller. Who doesn't need a little more Bruce Campbell in their life? Great work Frank, can you teach me how to to that? I'm feeling the need for some kind of customized system or peripheral. Better yet, I'll just send you a check and you can do it for me. I'm too ~~lazy~~ busy writing.

The Kotaku PS3 Theme

fdemarco — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 13:00:00 MST

Do you love Kotaku? Do you love it so much that you must customize everything you have with our pink and green color scheme and fancy lettering? Well thanks to Playstation Universe poster Shawn, you can make your PS3 Kotaku-tastic with this custom theme. So far twelve users have ~~risked the pointing and laughing and~~ downloaded the custom theme and are presumably showing their love to the world at this very moment. Will you be lucky number thirteen?

Thanks Shawn, we are most flattered.

Kotaku PS3 theme [PlaystationUniverse]
[Thanks, Justin]

Guitar Hero 3 Skins

Brian Crecente — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 11:00:41 MDT

HeroGear.Net, maker of custom Guitar Hero skins, announced today that they are releasing 15 sticker sets for the Guitar Hero 3 controller.

The prices aren't listed on the site yet, but GH2 sets sell for $16, while the pick guards sell for $11 and the Fret Boards sell for $8.

Custom Yoshi Wii for Sale

Mark Wilson — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:00:22 MDT

A customized Yoshi Wii is up for sale on ebay. Warranty voided for the paint job, current bidding is at $400 including an extra Wiimote, Wii Play and Mario Party 8. And for that value, our more anal side could overlook what appears to be streaks of unpainted white around where the case intersects with more case. No, it couldn't. We're that nitpicky regarding the accomplishments of others. Seriously, huge pricks. Children cry just looking at us.

Yoshi edition CUSTOMIZED NINTENDO Wii CONSOLE [ebay]

The Kotaku Ferrari 360

fdemarco — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 11:00:00 MDT

Kotakuite SnprSlick has created this great Kotaku themed Ferarri 360 for the new, customizable Forza Motorsport 2. He will be making three of these available to players at the in-game auction house starting on Monday for 24 hours. The bidding starts at 100,000 in game credits and he will also be posting two other cars; a Lamborghini Gallardo for 70,000 points and a Nissan R390 for 150,000. He will also be offering free Scion tC's with a slightly more basic paintjob. If you wuld like to sign up for one, please visit his forums at sprtngaming.com.

Pretty sweet job, SnprSlick! Now go my loyal Kotakuites and show your pride on the racetrack with one of these fine automobiles. You'll be the coolest kid on the block, I swear! Make the jump to see a clip of the car in action. Flynn De Marco

Ben Heck's Mystery Solved

Mike Fahey — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:20:13 MDT

Ben Heckendorn, who's mutant power involves pulling dreams out of my head and making them a reality, has finally unveiled the mystery product McWhertor mentioned back in late April, and I am very pleasantly surprised.

It's not the one-handed controller McWhertor predicted. It's the Audio FX Pro 5+1 Headset, a custom made USB headset that eschews modern sensibilities for the sake of...well, comfort. Look at those poofy ear cups, designed to cup your ears instead of crushing them. Sure it might get hot, but I'll take a little heat over bright-red ear soreness any day of the week. It even features a low-frequency force feedback effect for when that one guy in your WoW guild who still finds it hilarious shouts "Leeeeroy Jenkins" for the millionth time.

The headset will be shipping to retailers in July, and right now you can preorder one from eDimensional here for $79.95. Between Lord of the Rings Online's built-in voice support and Second Life getting it soon (much love to the Sumos couch), I'm definitely picking one up. Finally a Ben Heck custom I can afford. Michael Fahey

The Audio FX Pro 5+1 Headset [benheck.com - Thanks Scott!]

It's Only for the Canadians?!

Kim Phu — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 15:20:00 MDT

Totally unfair ruling! Not one, not two, not three, but SIX. Six, different custom-designed Wiis by Canadian artists are up for grabs at The Art of Wii.

If you're Canadian, all Nintendo of Canada, together with Magic Pony (a grown-ups' version of Sanrio Surprises) and Udon Entertainment (high-end creative services house for illustrationists and designers), want you to do is go online and sign into My Nintendo to be registered to win.

If you're from somewhere else, Nintendo of Canada wants you to lose your mind on eBay trying to find any one of these for the next three weeks. Kim Phu

The Art of Wii [Nintendo]

The Stained Glass PC Case

Brian Crecente — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 17:33:26 MST

Cathode Tan located this impressive and very shiny PC case mod over at MAKE. The case, we're told, is made from canary wood, copper, lead and stained glass. That is really amazing, though the choice of stained glass is sorta crap. Brian Crecente

Stained Glass PC [Cathode Tan]

Get Your Mii Sculptures

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 21:40:56 MST

Miis on a Wii-mote. Miis on a t-shirt. They're nothing compared to a 3D recreation of your carefully crafted Mii, one that's custom made to your specifications.

That's what one industrious sculptor is doing, giving the Wii obsessed a chance to see their digital bobbleheaded selves redone in handcrafted form.

Artist Mr. Thiel is apparently going to open up orders for an unknown number of internet users to submit orders for their own mini-Mii creations at an undisclosed price. Interested? Hit the link below to find out how to contact the poor sap willing to whittle you a Mii. Michael McWhertor

Get your Mii Sculpture... [via Joystiq]

Behold The Portable Wii

Mike Fahey — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:40:10 MST

It is a dream of mine to one day have the money to commission Ben Heckendorn to create a custom console all my own, but as it stands I am flying to New York next weekend to party with some of you people and don't own any socks without holes in them. Instead I daydream of owning something as awesome as the custom Wii laptop Ben has created for Engadget. This semi-sleek little number has everything you need to get your Wii on wherever you go. Imagine how much fun it would be to sit down in a crowded plane, whip this baby out and start swinging your arms about like a madman.

Ben will be posting a comprehensive, episodic how to starting next Tuesday over at Engadget, so with any luck I'll be well on my way to completely destroying my console and setting my apartment on fire in no time. Michael Fahey

The Wii Laptop! [Thanks Steven!]

Chromed Out Xbox 360 Shells... Cheap!

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 19:40:37 MST

Let's face it. Faceplates are for chumps with no commitment and too much money on their hands. Stickers? Strictly for little girls. You don't want that nonsense on your Xbox 360. If you want a custom console, what you really want is a fully chromed out replacement shell, not just a DVD drive bay cover with that coveted mirror shine.

Fortunately, NCSX has what you're looking for. Your Xbox 360 will become untouchable—mostly due to the fact that oily fingerprints will become a huge problem. But untouchable nonetheless! It will also show your dedication to standing out, as the chassis replacement process is a intimidating 25-step one, requiring (included) custom tools.

Console pimpers looking for a more subtle custom job should also check out the "Diamond" (clear plastic) and "Black Knight" (black plastic) replacement shells. All will run modders a mere $49. Whatta bargain! Michael McWhertor

Xbox 360 Replacement Shells [National Console Support]

Red and Silver Third-Party PS3s Coming

Brian Crecente — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:00:14 MST

Michal Birecki over at PCN just shot me a note about a new line of custom Playstation 3s they are going to start selling.

After seeing how our White PS3 sold on ebay, PCN got the idea to start producing its own line of colors for the Playstation 3.
We will be working on a silver model in the coming weeks and we have decided to make a more unique looking PS3 as well.

Introducing the world's first Red Playstation 3 (design only). This will be the 3rd color we will be making, so stay tuned to see some exciting PS3's appear on the net for sale!

Spanky. I kinda like that red one, it would look nice next to my 360 with the reader-created Kotaku faceplate. Brian Crecente

Amazing Custom Gears of War Figure

Mike Fahey — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 15:40:26 MST

Emilio Lopez, the artist for a webcomic called Terranova, created this custom Gears of War action figure to give to his cousin for Christmas.
He started with a Munny do-it-yourself action figure from Kid Robot, added paint and Sculpy, and even created a custom box to create a toy I'd be proud to spend money on. Not for sale unfortunately, but you can certainly pick up a Munny or two yourself and have a go at it. Check the link below for the full process, from sketch to completion. Amazing work! Michael Fahey

Custom Gears of War Munny [Emilio Lopez - Thanks Chris!]
Munny Series 2 Do-It-Yourself Toy [Kid Robot]

Custom Guitar Hero Guitar Sells for $1k

Brian Crecente — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:00:36 MST

That sweet custom crafted Guitar Hero controller that Joel Johnsn was selling on eBay for his Child's Play Funde Razor wrapped up recently, bringing in another $1,026 to the charity. That pushes the charity drive to more than three times what it made last year. Brian Crecente

Buy a Full-Sized Custom GH Guitar

Brian Crecente — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:22:49 MST

Joel Johnson just listed on eBay one of the hand-crafted Guitar Hero controllers he was showing off at last week's Funde Razor.

The proceeds for the guitar, made by Joel Miller ID, will be given directly to Child's Play.

The guitar being auctioned is the red-and-black model with flames. (The other two guitars were raffled off at the event.) It has been tested to work with both Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II and includes a wireless dongle. It uses batteries which can be replaced by removing a screw-off panel on the back. The headstock features a custom F nde Razor II logo, making this a unique change to own a part of F nde Razor II history. (Okay, that doesn't mean much, but still...)
Winners will receive the guitar, dongle, a strap, a soft case, and a guitar stand. They will also receive the warm feeling of knowing that they're getting a totally radical guitar and helping to buy toys and games for the children treated at the Montefiore Children's Hospital in the Bronx.

I entered the first $50 bid only to find that the auction hadn't yet met the minimum. Damn you Joel, damn you to hell! Brian Crecente

Custom Crafted Guitar Hero Controller in Real Guitar [eBay]

The One-Handed Xbox 360 Controller

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 18:20:00 MST

No, you twisted, hentai wanking filth, this is not a controller made for Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. Put your debit card away. This custom wireless Xbox 360 controller, hacked by Ben Heckendorn, was made for a serviceman injured in Iraq. You might remember Heckendorn's previous custom electronics, like the Xbox 360 laptop and the Neo Geo Portable.

According to his making-of post, the device is controlled mainly with the left hand, triggers and buttons on the posterior side within reach of the four fingers, with analog sticks and d-pad controlled by the thumb and right leg.

Ben has seen so much interest in such a device that he's considering mass manufacturing. Let's hope that Heckendorn and company are successful in accomplishing their goal of getting more of these into the hands (or hand) of the injured and disabled, and that we're not forced into shaming controller manufacturers into doing this sort of thing.

Actually, scratch that. Console and controller manfacturers should be doing this shit, like, yesterday. Michael McWhertor

Single-handed wireless Xbox 360 controller [thanks, Alejandro]

Wii To Support Custom Soundtracks? Cool!

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 17:20:43 MST

The kiosk hounds of NeoGAF snapped a handful of photos of the up and running Gamestop Wii display units, only to uncover a heretofore unknown (possible) option for Monster Games racer Excite Truck.

Appearing on the sound options menu, the SD Card option, seemingly inactive here, leads us to believe that the potential for reading MP3's from the memory card will at least be an option in one game.

Nintendo has made mention of MP3 playback previously, indicating that custom soundtracks would be available during Wii Photo Channel slideshows. This makes the muddin' hayseed within want to fire up some Mountain or Skynyrd... hell, any southern rock will do... and pick up Excite Truck at launch. Curse you and your attractive feature set, Excite Truck! Michael McWhertor

Wii Kiosks [NeoGAF]

Pirates MMO Promises User-Submitted Content: God, We Hope Not

egauger — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 15:40:32 MDT

Intellectually elite, virtual environment-obsessed blog Terra Nova (that's Latin for "New Earth", you proles) heard that Flying Lab Software is intending to shower the Pirates of the Burning Seas MMO players with user-submitted and peer-reviewed content. Bullshit, says Terra Nova:

It simply cannot be the case that Flying Lab mean what they say above, that the designs will be submitted to a peer-reviewing panel and the "best" ones will be implemented. The developers must intend to have a high degree of control over the designs that make their way into the world, because it is a certainty that if they don't the entire Port Royal harbor will look like t-shirts at a fan faire, with sails that feature large breasted elven princesses, Darth Vader in a jaunty pirate hat, and slogans like "Minus 50 DKP" or "WTS [Wang] PST".

This, my adorable airborne simians, is what is known as the "Tragedy of the Commons". And it will inevitably taint any wild n' wooly user-submission scheme like the one Flying Labs seems to intend.

On the other hand, maybe YTMND on the high seas will have a certain charm. LFG Eliza Gauger, have tank and healer

WTS Custom Designed Doubloons PST [TerraNova]

SNEXBox Made Out of Legos

brownlee — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 14:40:10 MDT

Johnny, the leathery faced, grimacing webmaster of thermos14.com, ripped apart an XBox and an SNES and encased their inner workings in a hodge-podge Lego chassis.

I call it the SNEX it is the un-holy merger of the XBOX and the SNES in a custom made box of Legos. It took me probly 15+ hours to build from scrach.

In addition to more pictures, Johnny has posted details on how he built his Lego SNEXbox, in addition to a laundry list of his various medical complaints, which include: a h-pylori infection, acid-reflux, five ulcers and spleen surgery adhesions. Sounds like a fun guy! FLORIAN ECKHARDT

SNEX (via Destructoid)

Redwood Xbox 360

Brian Crecente — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 06:00:14 MST

Who needs custom faceplates when you can have a custom console. The guy who put together a hardwood iPod and hardwood computer decided to build a redwood Xbox 360 case. This thing is a beauty, but I keep thinking about the heat.

Update: Well, it looks like this is actually just a computer built to look like a Redwood Xbox 360. Sorry about that.

Hardwood Xbox 360 [Flickr]