Sharpies, Cabbage, and the Early Years of Custom Clones

[@spugesdu]

Man, what an absolute joy this was. Proper trip down memory lane. CABG was such a big deal for me back in the late 2000s, spent so much time there. So much creativity happened there, it was so inspiring. I hope everyone’s well. Genuinely moved by the shoutout. So happy to see Squad 42 is remembered fondly. Thank you. Even if you were ragging on my videos ahahahaha. Can tell you that Brad (pizzamovies) is alive and well and flew to England for my wedding last year!!

[@oboeshoesbricks]

So glad you ended up seeing this video, thanks again for all the memories. It's great to hear that you and pizzamovies are still friends after all these years, give him my regards!

[@nefariousgremlin7554]

Great to hear you're still out there, your stuff was so awesome when I was a kid, and is still fun today. If you ever decide to create more videos, I'd for sure be there to watch them.

[@borkwoof696]

My salutes to you legend

[@oshawott_gaming1830]

@@oboeshoesbricksthis forum needs a hero!!!

[@Plastic_films]

So happy pizzamovies and you are still alive

[@0rion-1665]

After spending most of my life spending all of my (and my parents) money on Lego, I finally got clean a couple years ago. Thanks for making me relapse, oboe

[@TheCobCAP]

i stopped smoking weed just to save up enough money to buy more sets. i didn't quit weed, i just replaced it with a far more expensive addiction.

[@kylorensleftballsack6594]

You are not funny for making addiction references, it's triggering to some

[@SilentKitsune333]

What do u mean clean

[@alphaenterprise2232]

He stopped obsessively buying lego sets?

[@SilentKitsune333]

@@alphaenterprise2232 or he stopped smoking 🚭

[@micahnike18]

wuzzupbob turning into CAC was the plot twist of the century

[@austinlight3613]

Yooo! MicahNike I am a fan of your channel!

[@sooperspeedy]

I would say something like “omg I regret sharpie-ing all my clone wars clones” but me and my friend had fun as 8 year olds thinking our custom clones were badass

[@SaberScorpion]

Thanks for the shout-out!

[@oboeshoesbricks]

Loved your site back in the day and so did all my friends.

[@mr_h831]

​@@oboeshoesbricks Your video unlocked a core memory with saberscorpion. I completely forgot about them.

[@lucasahumada6913]

Nostalgia from a more civilized age

[@knockrotter9372]

jesus christ man you just unlocked a deep seated core memory with those plinkett rifftracks over the stop motion, I dont think ive even ever actually seen the original videos just the commentary ones

[@oboeshoesbricks]

that means you've been watching my videos since 2007 💀

[@natelecarde962]

That title gave me ptsd, I used to take sharpies to my clones and make them into special troops. Unfortunately I did it to ALL of my clones and ended up with no regular ones by the end.

[@terrified057t4]

I'm still glad I sharpied the good ones, RIP the snow troopers getting actual paint on them. Cool asf, but they're more swamptroopers than anything XD

[@Randomlollis]

"if everyone is a special trooper, then no one is"

[@RioBricks]

Haha I recently was removing sharpie markings from some old clones to sell them and I realized how many nice pieces I sharpied

[@ethanhong5466]

Was going thru my old collection tryna sort out minfigs n non legos n found so many helmets colored, cut, and glued n found maybe 3 or 4 untainted ones (young me was smart enough to ruin almost exclusively the clone war show era helmets n nun of the og molds)

[@flippyfish4622]

if you ever want to rehabilitate any of your “custom” clones, buy an Expo marker and color all over the the sharpie and then wipe it off with a tissue. I had some “custom” P1 plain clones that I had completely covered in sharpie bullshit and I was able to get them back to looking basically brand new. Blew my mind.

[@mintpalmer]

Was never into clones, but was big into what SaberScorpion was doing with Halo. I remember making my own horribly pixelated decals on MSPaint for The Arbiter! And Spawn, for some reason.

[@floydyeager2962]

Man, dude, I spent HOURS on SaberScorpion’s website when I was a kid. His Halo Reach stuff was fantastic.

[@GhostCapital]

Core memory

[@SlapStyleAnims]

>SaberScorpion Holy crap I remember ordering Halo stickers from there

[@Legohead458]

It's funny how a whole generation of kids ended up customising their clones mainly due to the 2009 Clone Walker Battle Pack. I remember getting specialist even with waterslide decal paper and varnish back then along with those Arealight helmets which were so satisfying when they arrived in the post! :D

[@austinwrighteous]

This is such a deep cut... the algorithm was spot on here.

[@legowars82500]

„Original clones could only dream of looking this good“ No need to dream, they already looked way more majestic and LEGOetic.

[@smamspizza]

SaberScorpion jeez thats a name I havent heard in forever. this really took me back to being a kid, i loved keeping up with the custom clone community as well as making my own troopers when i was little. amazing video!

[@christhepotato]

Justin still seems to be going strong at it!

[@MrSaurusOfficial]

Man, this really hit me where I live. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I should really post my old clone stop motions

[@FormulaPurple]

This made me feel nostalgic, and I was born after all of this

[@WombatCombatPictures]

God, this was a nostalgia trip!

[@themocingbird2488]

I know he wasn't as early as some others, but The Noble Artist will always be the GOAT of clone customs in my eyes. I actually got the chance to meet him in person at one point (through honestly kinda stalker behavior on 12 year old me's part) and he was so nice and giving.

[@LFPAnimations]

This video is like a trip back to a golden age. I was never on CBG Forum, but was active in the Lego SW KZbin community at the time. You can still see Little Arms Shop blasters in my Brickfilms, I even recently went through the trouble of ordering replacements from a reseller. Overall incredible video.

[@ethanbenson]

This is very nostalgic. I distinctly remember making a video as a kid trying to sell my crappy sharpy custom clones and being in awe of Michaelmgf’s work

[@jacobholcomb7547]

wow this brought back so many memories being a lego star wars kid. thank you

[@MLPGamer44]

I’m happy to see someone talk about this. Finger nail clippers, sharpie, rubbing alcohol, some old clothes and you could make so many cool clones. I ruined so many plain clones with my clippers and sharpies…and old clothes with small holes made in them to make custom cloth pieces. Also, man the CABG admins loved banning me for not posting properly 💀

[@A_N1ne]

what a blast from the past. those were some good times. I still have some of my sharpy clones, in all of their faded green glory

[@BrickMania2]

Nowadays Lego Star Wars man-children just complain about getting random clone commander #53 instead of customizing their own

[@codybrady6637]

Yeah it's absolutely irritating to hear the whining about the official Lego Minifig designs. The only time I agree with them is that I shouldn't have to buy a $500 Lego set to get some special Minifig. Really Lego should just put more basic designed minifigs in the sets and then just sell the high quality ones separately or do a collectible Minifigures series with them.

[@McSwaggerMuffins]

This is some Warhammer levels of effort and it makes me wish there was a fleshed out game to have these guys fight in

[@terrified057t4]

I remember a few videos being made on a Clone Wars MMO, but I never had any experience on it. Garry's Mod however, now there's a gem.

[@CAMSLAYER13]

You could probably play starwars legion with lego figs

[@Sanguivore]

Lots of good tabletop wargames out there! Could probably just reskin something from One Page Rules.

[@kaminopub0903]

You nail it with this. That whole era was really special, it was the first youtube experience for many of us. Back in 2017 i did a backup of all those youtube videos when i realized how important they were. Still miss a couple( Fireguy789, Brickunit and Justsuper9 ''How the clones saved Christmas'') plus anything from the old 2003 Lego star wars website. But overall i still got 90%of them so i'm happy that the memory is preserved.

[@Sanguivore]

Man, this made me super nostalgic for all the years me and a childhood friend spent on a site called Droidz back in the early 2000s that was dedicated to a stick-figure animation program called Pivot. I still remember all the friends we met there and all of their usernames, as well as their signature figures and animation styles.

[@SmitzPNK]

This is a huge nostalgia trip

[@alexander.tahtadjian]

Now this brings back memories. I won’t and say that I did indeed use sharpie to draw on some of my generic clone troopers to make them unique. I still kept a few of them today and I still treasure them as some of my favourite clones I own. So it’s was nice that you were going back down memory lane and honour the early days of custom clone troopers creation. Good job and I can’t wait to see what you do next.

[@skateordie280]

Holy shit the nostalgia of this video. I spent many many hours on Saber Scorpion forums, as well as Bricklink and MOCpages. I also used those decals and customised the shit out of my clones. Still have them too, absolutely top notch. I couldn't afford little arms shop though

[@wer4599]

Seeing CABG literally gave me goosebumps brought me back instantly

[@NoahR_]

I lost so many of my childhood clones to sharpie, but those sharpie customs are what got me into the custom painting figures. Now I do custom Vintage Collection 3.75" clones, except I use proper model paints instead of sharpie.

[@aeopu]

Dude that was such a cool dive into a nice culture I had no idea existed. I hope you're able to do more of this kind of stuff!

[@turkeydinnerchewie2499]

Wow. This video really unlocked some deep memories and feelings for me. All the KZbinrs you described had videos that I watched on repeat. One other channel that I watched back in '08 and '09 was The374thGroup. His progress videos on his ARC Gunship and CR20 perfectly encapsulate some of the LEGO clone culture of the era.

[@A-Creed]

I have mangled so many clones in my day, countless fins were removed, all thanks to the Noble artist. (love that guy)

[@Moon-cj6in]

This was a really cool vid. I remember watching squad 42 and the other early stop motion videos and then scrolling through clone army customs just wishing I had money to buy anything. Seeing these early KZbin and Lego cultures treated in an archival way as well as going into detail about your own sharpied up clones was honestly kinda moving :/ sometimes things seem simpler and more fun when you’re a kid.

[@remake223]

Banger video, so many niche topics to explore within the lego star wars youtube community back in 2008-2011. RIP Fireguy789

[@Gryfflovesmemes]

finding out oboe has a lego channel just made my day

[@calebtheobserver]

from the sharpies to sabre scorpion, this video brought so much back!!!

[@infinitybuilds715]

Great video, I also remember thoes old videos and followed solidbrix before his name change. Been inside clone army customs too, very cool place. Moved to Grand Rapids 5 years ago never knew it was such a nexus for Lego

[@McCluckles38]

Well this was a nice trip down memory lane! And yeah I do remember those voice overs... Glad you're doing something more productive these days 🤘

[@milliman4]

This channel takes me back man. Could you do a video on Drome Racers? That was such a cool theme, with high tech cars, recognisable characters and a bunch of games.

[@quinnmiddleton3082]

Took me on a whole journey back in time, I remember the good ol days of Pizza movies!

[@legowars82500]

This is the perfect video for me to see right when I’m just getting back into custom clones for the first time since 2010. XDDD

[@KeronOliaro]

The CABG sounds like a government-sponsored secret police force

[@NEON_HOTDOGZZ]

oh this takes me back

[@nolanogrady6030]

ty for reminding me of some of my favorite times as a kid

[@Chatter_Blocks]

Babe wake up Oboshoesbricks uploaded 🗣🗣🗣 Pizzamovies is the goat! ironically growing up in in the Clone Wars era I never really cared for customs. I tried with 3 sharpie clones and gave up and just played with the normal ones.... until fatefully moving to Batman LEGO in 2012

[@Jamie_06]

You're so underrated bud keep up the work 👍

[@ariyarose]

I spent an hour today scrubbing the sharpie off my older clones.. this video gave me a laugh. RIP to my Arc trooper, apparently I wanted the helmet and belt to be red..

[@ANEbk9]

Not a custom clone memory but a custom droid memory: My brother and I once used a lighter to weld a B1 head into the torso of a B2 superbattledroid, essentially making a B2 that actually had a neck. This was a regular beige B1 head mind you (with plenty of burn marks because of the production process) so it didnt look great. A few months back I relocated all of the lego from my parents and came across this guy again. I decided to give him some much needed love with some model paints. After many more than a decade in development, the final product is pretty fun.

[@spartanforlife13]

Sharpie clones and the memories take me back. Appreciate this video Oboe🤙🏻

[@SolarE845]

I found some of the youtube videos me and a friend made in around 2010 as 12yo kids. Some of the custom clones I made were awful but I'll cherish the memories forever

[@inspiredhalo]

Awww I totally forgot about Pizzamovies Lego Star Wars stop motions. Thank you for reminding me of that master piece.

[@GhostCapital]

Michael MGF I haven’t even thought about that guy in at least a decade holy fuck man

[@dorinthompson1974]

I have always had a passion to make some sort stop motion or film thing because of Early Lego videos the light saber fights went hard bro lol my dad introduced me to the early brink link and I'm happy some one else actually remembers that

[@tek.t0k]

what a throwback to an incredibly nostalgic era of lego youtube for me. i remember printing on the labels being a hassle but i always used to put sellotape over the top to give it a gloss finish like lego’s 😂 never knew about TLAS drama, i still have a tonne of those today! great video man!!

[@SolomonMagnus819]

11:05 “hopefully he is still alive” while showing the page, whose bio says “hey i’m not dead”

[@trexoil7774]

11:21 NHAAAA the scene of the barc speeders pilling up will not ever not be ingrained in my memory's from my child hood and early youtube

[@jm01157]

For real. It is what pops into my mind whenever I think of Lego stop-motion

[@SteezyCollector]

Man, what a great video. Many of my 2007-2010 clones also got the sharpie and printed decal treatment too. I need to dig them all out to have a laugh and cringe a little! Loved the video, and the Alpha team one too. I subbed from my other account 2 weeks ago and figured I better leave a comment off my toy account instead of some random account with no videos. I love this style of video and I'm looking forward to more!

[@RoachDoggJr2112]

More Lego content please oboe I’ve been coming back and checking this channel routinely

[@yolsil775]

SABER MENTIONED Dude I remember finding his Halo builds and POURING over the pictures so I could copy his builds. I built 3 elites, a banshee, and a warthog thanks to him. Absolutely goated.

[@RioBricks]

I remember using sharpie on old lego clones and other minifigs, the nostalgia this brings me.

[@punishedmorshu2487]

Saber Scorpion, now thats a name I haven't heard in a long long time.

[@thatguywithoutahead]

I loved the battle packs. I'm glad I only ever painted 2 of my figures. One to make my own char in the army and one for a commander I wanted.

[@jerbpickle175]

Bro I used to watch so much lego star wars youtube back in the day. Me and my best friend at the time made our own stop motion but never uploaded it anywhere. I came across it on a burned DVD when going through some old stuff. I remember MichealMGF was the first youtube channel I subscribed to, customs were such a different animal back then

[@adamgoggio9304]

Damn this is crazy! I bought a house recently and moved all my old Lego from my parents house. Found MANY sharpied clones and my own custom CABG troopers! This video definitely brought me some great nostalgia! Thank you all for the fun times and great memories, had to unlock them a bit but this made me happy! -SithAssassin

[@NintendoConsoleGamer]

Thanks for making this, so much nostalgia.

[@arcblooper2699]

God I miss the late 2000s internet, I started off on youtube making brickfilms in 2008. I actually got a decent following but youtube inexplicably deleted my channel in 2018 (including a video I made with 800,000 views :( )

[@tychoradio4415]

I swear Oboshoes it's like we lived the same life, any video you make its like you take my memories straight from my head! , Love your content!

[@jabronijoestar7038]

Holy shit never thought I'd see a saber scorpion shout-out. Dude was the goat.

[@randomperson2797]

While I never saw the others, 5 year old me watched pizzamovies 501st CONSTANTLY, I was so young that I couldn’t understand how stop motion worked, nor that it was the same MTT getting blown up in different battles (I assumed he had multiple) While I was never on those forums, I do remember being awed by people’s custom clones on KZbin, and trying to make my own by just adding small bits of a light green marker onto one of the battle pack clones, it’s still visible on some of those pieces all these years later Real nice little trip down memory lane here

[@zachpeterson4519]

I forgot about CABG, and I used to be all over that place. This video is a trip man.

[@jossipierce]

this vid brought back so many memories for me. Saber Scorpion!

[@grizzlyM850]

I really like this type of content from you

[@fallyangy413]

I remember flattening the old clonetrooper helmet with a nail file and put on some red color on front of the helmet so i get a sev minifig. Best looking lego trooper.

[@morkak1130]

I think this sort of stuff is where I got my start with wanting to make all my stuff super custom. Now I make minis for wargames from scratch, I guess when I compare my efforts now to back then I really have improved.

[@davedumm5197]

I literally still have some of my figures that I drew on. I get my key figures from Clone army customs now with my adult money lolol but having the same sharpied figures just makes me happy

[@icanthinkofmanycoolnames]

12:48 not the jif 😭

[@liamwaddleton]

Huge trip down memory lane, great vid as always, looking forward to more

[@StopZilla07]

This video is so good. I'm suprised I've never come across your channel before

[@itMeGhostly]

That Saber Scorpion callout gave me flashbacks. I still remember being a part of his forums for a good while until it went the way of all internet communities (internal bullshit, then an exodus to Discord)

[@tommybushway9568]

This was such a nostalgia trip! Super glad this appeared in my recommended videos, definitely made my night bringing back happy memories, thank you!

[@DZstudios.]

When are we getting the Winter of Oboe?

[@spencerd3696]

Dude, FBTB and FineClonier hit me like a flashbang

[@mr_h831]

I was like 10 when this was popular, so I wasn't allowed to use power tools. 8:40 but, I did find a metal measuring tool my dad had in his tool box that he basically never used, and I used it to sand down the fins on my clone troopers, BY HAND. Needless to say, I only made a few custom commando troopers. 😂😂😂 Man those were the days.

[@lukehatcher9074]

i remember watching these as a really young kid great video

[@ggtwinbee]

I remember making custom BX-series Droid Commandos using the B-1 battle droids, that was what got me into customs.

[@Gonk75]

I used to be into trying to customize my lego clone troopers like this too and now I'm super into modeling and painting warhammer 40k..... I guess some things never change

[@Trench25]

Awesome vid, thanks for this.

[@awesomerotty]

I have some of the 2009 old clone army customs figures still such a classic haha

[@geoffshaw2775]

Man, PizzaMovies mentioned! I love those videos. So fetching good

[@GigglemaxJestercel]

This is a wonderful video, i cant wait to see more from you

[@Delerane]

Thank you for this piece of nostalgia !

[@SlapStyleAnims]

Man this brings me back. I used to use sharpie on Lego Clones and also hot glue pieces of metal to them because of inspiration by The Noble Artist. I also always made leg skirts from paper and tape, same for pauldrons

[@sweargaming666]

I'm not a Lego dude at all, like on any level, but so far the videos you've done on this channel are among the best on the entire platform...if the Borderlands video premier wasn't indicative enough, you're one of the better creators here.

[@nefariousgremlin7554]

What a great topic for a video.

[@ronbeard]

great video oboe, love the effort and research you put into these, its nice when you actually care about something

[@mr.wassell7885]

I've never understood the infatuation with clones over stormtroopers, so that segment where you utterly ruined the cool old stormtrooper armor scars me

[@tefnutofhoney2832]

It may be that clone troopers were supposed to be characters you sided with (until the later half of episode 3)

[@Tu_Scrapz-06]

@@tefnutofhoney2832tbh I never really got the whole hype around clones in general, I’ve always like the droid army more

[@Zarksch]

man I never was into any of this myself as a kid because we didn't even have wifi when these sites were around but you just gave a name for the weapons (little armory toys) That have been sitting in my collection for 1 and a half decades after getting them from a flea market

[@benquinnobi6461]

I remember looking at some rough KZbin tutorials way back when about using sharpies to customize clones. Got pretty rough results but it made me happy back then. My favorite is still just a simple Clone Commando helmet from shaving off the fin from a phase I helmet. Not much but it looks nice.