It's been a fun ride, and it's not over yet! I'm taking a hiatus from custom miniatures for awhile (as far as new ones; I will be working on making custom cards , if someone can tell me how to upload picture on the Bloo forums I'll share!), probably will stock some ideas up (ya'll can share if you want). I also have to think of a cool name, preferably one that stays in line with the first two. Any ideas

As for Disturbance in the Force (my first set, very community oriented), I've begun making the custom cards (some of you may have seen them), and they are turning out nicely. Suggestions and corrections are still welcome on those pieces; they can ALWAYS be improved. Feel free to check it out and drop some comments!

http://www.bloomilk.com/Custom/Set/1286/disturbance-in-the-force

And, for Balance of the Force, of COURSE community approval is still needed on PLENTY of pieces. Just like DitF, check it out and tell me what you think! I have the 60th piece ALMOST completed, it will be unveiled soon.

http://www.bloomilk.com/Custom/Set/1303/balance-of-the-force

And now, the credits!

Now, these are for DitF too, as I meant to do it when I revealed all the custom cards upon their completion, but since that is no time in the near future (MAYBE closer now that it is my Minis focus), I'll do it now.

First off, I would like to give a big thanks to the ENTIRE community of bloomilk, for all the rules help, comments and ratings on my customs, trades, and overall acceptance. I love this place! And ESPECIALLY to the Almighty Shinja, for making this place rock!

Firstly, to the awesome Dano, for getting me into miniatures, and then playing with me whenever possible, and sharing them unquestioningly when I can't afford my own supplies . Thanks a whole bunch!

As always, my mentor, Lord Ball, for all his patient advice, passing the ball (hehe!) to me, and sharing his veteran expertise in many areas. That first set is for you man! *cheering* Also, to General Grievous (the first 'Fan' of my Grievous ), for all the love he gave my first set.

HUGE thanks to corranhorn, without whom my second (and a lot of my first) set would be lost wandering around the snowy plains of Hoth, without Balance (I see what I did there); in fact, with a great Disturbance! By FAR the top commenter on all my sets (Shmi is probably close to second, ), always the first to share his opinion and help shape the piece into form. Huge influence on the set, and also helped me complete my first trade(s). Thanks buddy (cor)!

Thanks to everyone else who shared an idea for my '40th' and '60th' pieces in DitF (some got used in BotF too!), and voted on my polls.

Also Sithborg, Swinfeld and the hard working V-Set team. Big ups to surf-rider who shared his AMAZING expertise in an area that is hard to find any knowledge of: Custom Cards! They turned out great, mainly because of surfy. Also, to all the others who offered their help and knowledge in my custom cards thread; Thanks a bunch!

And of course, to all the others who have shared ANY comments, critiques, compliments questions or ratings on my custom sets, whether it be love or hate, critical or complimentary, 10 or 6, you are ALL heard and all appreciated.
The LONG list includes, but is not limited to, the following, much appreciated folks:
I would like to thank, in no particular order,
MaliciousCrumb
Robobob
Shmi15
Bubba Fett
AndyHatton
Squelch Dog
Saber1
harryg
Cassus Fett (I think; I only thank you if you won't drink my blood! ;; )
Prestige Worldwide
Knappskirata
Darth Reignir
phyles
Qui-Gon Ding-dong
Gungan Batman Clone
Markedman247
SignerJ
Teller
Darthweilded
kobayashimiru
DarthBane53
juice man
blondy
Joseph Blob
DaKeyring
countrydude82487
Chrinch
poppins88
adamb0nd
HighLordHim
HanSolo79
SQUISHYO
TheConsortium
pntk2
gwek
Darthsithis
spryguy1981
gholli69
pntkd2
Ronson
501 Trooper
obiwan1knight
And if I forgot you, I apologize, it's been a long time going!
Thank you ALL soooo much, for making this as fun and loveable as possible! This one's for YOU guys! *CHEERING* *CLAPPING* *WOOT-WOOTING*

Here's to some more great sets from me and you guys!

And lastly, keep your eyes peeled. The FINAL secret piece will be revealed soon! Only 2 people know of it! Yet, here's a spoiler: An *BOOM* *BOOSH* *EXPLOSIONS* *NUCLEAR BLAST* *FART* *DYING, CAN'T SHARE SPOILER*

I think its scary that you consider me an expert in card making, because I consider my one-man operation as being novice.

Regarding uploading cards to Bloo Padawan; one word - Photobucket.

One last reminder regarding cards; Quality Control. Nothing looks sloppier than a messy looking card. Line things up, center, spelling, etc.

Looking forward to your set.

Ah, I believe Photobucket wouldn't work, that's why I had to use flickr, maybe it will now.

Yeah, I found out I DO have photoshop, so quality should be a bit better (with that other program I couldn't line things up NEARLY like I wanted because it had little blocks you had to put them in, not just drag to where you wanted, so I'm surprised it turned out that well).

Thanks again, and thanks for the bump on the cards thread!

Surf, I really don't understand how you make so many customs so fast.

Hmmm .... Interesting question.

First off, I gotta admit that they're not All great (some would argue they're Mostly not great ) So I guess if you use the shotgun approach you're bound to hit something if you keep slinging things against the wall ....

Second, I read a lot and get ideas from there (sometimes they're not even Sci-Fi sources.) Books can give you great ideas and literal figure titles (got a Falleen Combat Instrutor from the SW Plagius book.) and sometimes just a hint of something will do (mentions of a certain species or job description.)

Third, I surf a lot (used to do the water kind in my youth) which is not only how I find my pics, but I find ideas when I research (one idea leads to another, which leads to another etc..... ) The pics themselves sometimes give me ideas. Plus everyday jobs and military job titles are great places to find ideas.

Lastly, use a thesaurus; one man's pirate is another man's freebooter; there are 9 synonyms for pirate alone! Pick a noun descriptor for a job title and look things up .....

I've got 30 cards in my "Mostly Done" file, another 15-20 in my "Ideas" file, a "Backburner" file where I've got ideas that I may/may not use, and probably a few hundred pics laying around just waiting for an idea to mix/match heads/body styles ......

If I release 25 a month and get 5-10 good ideas I consider it successful ......

Whether they're worth the effort is up to the community; hard for me to determine when you get 30-50 hits a day and 2-3 comments a set. I guess I'll stop when no one cares to comment any more.

Then again, maybe I misread your comment; did you mean how can I make so much junk so fast?

Cheers

.....

At last! The final piece, Anakin Skywalker, The Chosen One Redeemed is unveiled!

Well, maybe Signer should have started a new thread, how do people in general decide what to make .....

All I can say, it's a hobby, my "routine" works for me .....

Hey, I just got a great idea for a cool mini set (well, I have so many ideas for it that it may not be too mini...) that I may work on some in the spare time between sets. stay tuned!

I'm just torn if it should only be the (put faction here) troops/commanders and vehicles I got the ideas for, or if I should represent the whole battle from both sides (though the other side has been mostly represented before)? The (put faction here) alone will EASILY be over 20 pieces...