I have an idea for an action figure, but I don't know who could make
"custom made" dolls.

I found a company on the internet:
http://www.andgor.com/Personalized_Figures/personalized_figures.html
but I would like more sources like this, since I would like to have
more than one quote, and I don't think the latest one is very reliable
since they have never returned my calls.

The ideal situation would be to find 3 to 4 companies like andgor (in
the US or overseas), or, alternatively, sculptors who can create a
"head" for a 12" action figure, and manufacturers who can mass produce
the heads with the prototype done by the artist, to plug in standard
GI Joe bodies or similar, and who can make the boxes with a design
that I will provide. I am thinking about a small production run of
about 10 action figures initially, and 5000 or more if my idea is well
received.

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Request for Question Clarification by techtor-ga on 10 Feb 2005 09:20 PST

Hello lmsanch,
I have spotted only two custom action figure makers on the Web who do
it as a business. If it's certain that only two are available, would
you accept only these two for an answer?

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Clarification of Question by lmsanch-ga on 10 Feb 2005 11:07 PST

Yes, assuming that these 2 do not include andgor.com. Thanks.

Greetings lmsanch,
I have posted this answer in the assumption that I have found the kind
of companies you are looking for, which are custom action figure
makers. I am posting them below, with a little description of each:

1st one:
Toy Builders - Custom toys, custom toymaker, custom plush toys &
custom action figures
http://www.toybuilders.com/action_figures.htm
- Claims to be the largest custom toymaker in the world. Here is their
page of custom action figures. Vicale Corporation seems to be their
mother company. Another one of their websites is below:

Action Figure Builder
http://www.actionfigurebuilder.com/pages/1/index.htm
- Connecticut-based maker of custom action figures. It may also be
associated with the Toybuilders website.

Herobuilders - Custom Action Figures & Personalized Action Figures
that look like you
http://herobuilders.com/custom/
- This also seems associated with Toy Builders.

2nd one:
T.M. Lindsey - Custom Action Figures:
http://www.tmlindsey.com/actionfigures.htm
- Website may not be finished, but you can see the custom action
figure work it claims to be able to do. There's even believable
packaging for the figure. This most likely isn't part of Toybuilders.


I also decided to skip mentioning pricing since at least one site
shows it on its web page, while the others just ask you to email them.
These seem to be the only custom/personalized makers so far, but I
think the industry will grow.

Other links:

Halfbakery: Personal Action Figures:
http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Personal_20Action_20Figures
- This is a forum posting with an idea for making one's own custom
action figure, just in case you might think of doing it one time.

Yahoo Directory > Toy Shopping > Action Figures in the Yahoo! Directory
http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/Toys/Action_Figures/
- While it doesn't list only custom action figure makers, it lists
many major action figure websites that might be helpful to you.


Google Search terms used:
custom action figure
personalized action figure/figures

I hope this answer has given you correct information for your needs.
If you need something clarified, or have a problem with the answer, do
please post a Request for Clarification before rating and I'll come
back to you as soon as I can. Thank you.