My LEGO Customizng hobby began way back, when I simply drew on stickers and stuck them on minifigures. After that, it went to ordering from Saber-Scorpion's Decal Shop, and then making my own non-water-slide decals. Next, I found the paper, spray and craft knife needed for Water-Slide decals. And that is the point I am at now.

Customizing takes many forms. There are many customizers out there, ranging from the simple swapping of parts to all out painting, cutting and water-sliding. Customs shops range from Custom decals to custom ABS Plastic-injected weapons and armour. In many cases, the Custom is better than an actual LEGO sword, as shown above. On the left, a standard LEGO sword, and on the right, a Little Armory Toys shortsword, clearly the better and more historically-accurate accesory.

Another good example would be helms. On the left, a Brickforge Great Helm, and on the right, a LEGO helm. As you can see, the Brickforge helm is more accurate and clearly better.

And then of course, there are many different kinds of Customizer. They include the simple purist part-swapper (centre), who just swaps over official LEGO parts, the Liberal Purist (Right), who dislikes decals yet happily uses weapons and armour from places like Little Armory Toys, Brickarms or Brickforge, and the Liberal Customizer (Left), who uses wrap-arounds and non-water-slide decals and also uses custom weapons and armour.

Then we come to the Customizer. He (or she) uses water-slide decals, custom weapons, and what-ever he/she requires to get the minifigure just right to what that person has in their mind.

A more direct comparison to finish off - on the left, a full blown customizer exhibiting Brasso, Brickarms, Brickforge and a water-slide decal. On the right, a purist using official LEGO parts.

My view? Anything that gives you your desired image, as long as it looks LEGO-ish, is best. That's my view, though; make up your own mind.

- Elliot