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I wanted to show you some new custom LEGO accessories from one of my favorite LEGO customizers, Arealight Customs. Bluce Shu (a.k.a. Arealight) is a very talented LEGO customizer from Taiwan I have been following from the time he casted each items from resin by hand years ago. Due to high demand for his products, Arealight eventually upgraded to more modern methods using ABS plastic mouldings and pad-printing.

Custom LEGO Capes by Arealight

Arealight mostly focuses on Star Wars related custom LEGO accessories, however in the past he also produced historic items like Asian-style helmets, and just recently (and finally!) he reproduced his original resin-cast minifig cape from soft ABS plastic – along with several other soft plastic items. When Arealight originally made these capes from resin they were one of his most popular items. The beautiful flowing design was perfect for warriors, Jedi masters, and wondering outcasts. I have 16 of these original capes in red and dark-red for my Greek warriors (see below), and they are some of my most treasured custom LEGO items. (They were very expensive those days because of the hand-casting process.)

Custom LEGO Spartans

Arealight – being the perfectionist he is – wasn’t entirely happy with the capes though. Because they were made of resin – which is like rigid ABS plastic – they limited the movement of minifigs. Arealight was especially unhappy that minifigs using his capes could not ride on horses. So he experimented with various materials to try to make the capes more flexible, as myself and other fans of the original capes were patiently waiting. And we had to wait for years! Eventually Arealight found a type of plastic that had both durability and flexibility that made it work!

Custom LEGO Star Wars Elements by Arealight

Earlier this year Arealight sent out the following announcement: “Hey, everyone! We are very excited to announce that we will be releasing our new soft mould items. We’ve spent a long time working on this mould and hope you like it! It includes lots of new pieces and an old fan favorite. This new mould consists of seven different pieces: a one sided pauldron, a two sided pauldron, a shawl, a hood, a loin-cloth (with different designs on each side), a waist-cape, and a cape. These pieces are produced from a soft plastic – not rubber – for a nice shiny sheen. Happy customizing!”

Custom LEGO Accessories by Arealight

I placed an order instantly. I would have been very happy with even regular ABS plastic capes as the limit in movement didn’t bother me, but these more flexible ones are even better! And yes, now caped minifigs can now ride horses too! Also, now so many more colors are available than in the past: white, dark-red, dark-blue, dark-green, dark-gray, dark-tan, brown, black! And they are only $2 each! All my minifigs wanted them! 🙄

Custom LEGO Flexible Capes by Arealight

Besides the original capes, Arealight released some other, new designs in soft plastic: a nicely flowing shawl, a hood that works really well with either the shawl or the cape – or even both! There are also a couple of pauldrons and a waist-cape. Then there is the loin-cloth which is my new favorite piece; it has a different designs at the front and the back, and you can choose how you want your minifigs to wear it.

Custom LEGO Loin Cloth by Arealight

You really have to see Arealight’s custom LEGO elements personally to fully appreciate their beauty. One of the things I like most about them is that they are quite thin, while remaining sturdy. They really don’t take up any more space between minifig body parts than a cloth cape or waist-cape would, so they look quite natural with no extra bulk or thickness added. The soft plastic feels really nice. It is basically like ABS plastic, but with some flexibility. It also has the nice shine of ABS plastic. Much better than rubber that tends to get rigid and crack with age, and also pick up dirt easily. (By the way, in case you were curious, I never had any problems with the original hand-casted resin capes; they look and feel like durable ABS plastic, and they are now 7 years old. So resin is definitely a good option for LEGO customizers who are just producing small batches of items for themselves.)

Custom LEGO Soft Plastic Capes by Arealight

Anyhow, I’m super happy with these new custom LEGO elements, and just wanted to share them with you. If you are interested to get some, you can order them directly from Arealight’s Online Shop. Please note that Arealight ships directly from Taiwan, so it takes about 10 days for your package to arrive. You can also order from official resellers in the USA, UK, Canada, etc. at this link. And you can also find more pictures at Arealight’s flickr gallery.

Custom LEGO Soft Plastic Part by Arealight

If you already have some of Arealight’s custom LEGO accessories and would like to share your own review, feel free to include it in the comment section below. I’m sure other readers would appreciate it. And if you would like to learn more about Arealight’s products, you can check out the following links to earlier articles I wrote about them:

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LEGO Star Wars posters collection for 2015

Although Star Wars Day is over, Star Wars related events and promotions will continue until Star Wars: The Force Awakens film will get released at the end of this year. During the May The 4th Be With You promotion you were able to get a free LEGO Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope poster with any LEGO Star Wars purchase, and there will be more posters coming from now until the end of the year. So if you are interested in collecting these, I recommend you mark the dates, as the promotional period for each poster is quite short. Below are the details. 🙂

LEGO Star Wars Poster Promotion

  • May 2-4: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope poster
  • June 22-28: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back poster
  • July 20-26: Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi poster
  • August 24-30: Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace poster
  • September 21-27: Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones poster
  • October 26-Nov 1: Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith poster
LEGO Star Wars Posters 2015

All of these free LEGO Star Wars posters will be automatically added to your shopping cart with qualifying purchases. What the requirement is going to be for each period is not clear at this point, but I would assume it will be LEGO Star Wars related. The posters are only going to be available at official LEGO stores and at the Online LEGO Shop, while supplies last. To make sure you don’t miss out, on the above mentioned dates visit your local LEGO store or check the Online LEGO Shop.

Shop LEGO Star Wars

Collecting LEGO posters is a niche within the LEGO hobby that many LEGO fans pursue. We have discussed the topic previously, and if you are interested, I recommend you check out the related articles at the end of this post. LEGO posters are also collectible items that appreciate in value, so they are also worth considering by investors.

LEGO Star Wars Poster Collection

What do you think? Do you collect LEGO posters? Do you have a favorite poster or favorite theme of posters that you like to collect? Feel free to share in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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