Minifig Design?

[CHTrilogy]

Pretty big question. What's the best way to make a customised minifig? I'm told they print the design directly onto the figure for that picture-perfect finish. How would I go about doing that? I don't suppose it requires a lot of equipment? What about that fancy decal stuff? Is that easy to get?And one other thing: how can I possibly model some new hairstyle that'll fit onto the figure's head? I tried clay a few times, but what I used seemed... fairly brittle. I wager that requires moulding plastic, doesnt it?

Edited September 30, 2012 by CHTrilogy

[Timelady Gallade]

Well I'm sure the first minifigs used had stickies for torsos. u could try buying some off Ebay and taking off the stickers. But hair... I dunno.

[Dralcax]

I think custom hair is supposed to be made with sculpey, and engraving the minifig might cost a lot, stickers might be better.

[Timelady Gallade]

For hair try Shapeway. I think a guy made the ORIGINAL IGNIKA from Shapeways.

[Meiko]

For the custom hair, this 3D printing service seems to have an awful lot to offer in colors and materials. Heck you could even make the things in real metals. Hope that helps.

[CHTrilogy]

Ah! Well that'd be useful! Of course, I'd need a VERY precise size.....

[bonesiii]

I sometimes use cutout lineless index cards attached by nonpermanent adhesive so you can freely remove it later. Colored with Prismacolor pencils or the like.As for a relatively easy way to make custom parts, if you mean you literally tried actual clay, I'd recommend Sculpy instead of real clay. I've had mixed results with that with a few tries. Some deformed when baking so they didn't actually work, but others worked. It is brittle, though. Myself, I'm too lazy to try anything like custom plastic molds or the like, so I have no idea there.