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From basement workshop to eBay sensation, action-figure mashups from crafter-collector Jonathan Kuriscak start as standard Star Wars toys and come out as Nazi-garbed terrorists.
Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Kuriscak started his one-man operation Pack Rat Studios in 2009 after collecting figures for 16 years. "At my parents' house I have my old bedroom closet filled with figures I collected in my high-school days," Kuriscak told Wired.com in an e-mail. "I kind of went through a Darth Maul kick.... OK, maybe not a kick, maybe an obsession. I have four huge boxes of Darth Maul figures and paraphernalia ... sheesh ... I'm a dork, but I love it."
For his World War II-era Darth Vader, pictured above, Kuriscak stuck with an all-black design, except for the helmet and red armband, while trying to convey the fact that the Sith Lord "is somewhat mechanical inside."
"I made his helmet and mask metal-looking, to give it a more battle-worn look," he said. "This guy has seen stuff that may indeed render him partially mechanical, if you get my drift. Hoses and apparatuses add to the effect that he is not normal, and add a dark tone to the figure. I love the rapier instead of a lightsaber and the Luger to add to his Nazi-ness. I thought about putting Vader in a trench coat, but I had to put him back in his cape. It's not Vader without his cape."
See more of Kuriscak's creations, and learn more about his methods, in this gallery.
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