Psych! I'm gonna talk about toys!

As a customizer, eventually you're going to get requests for characters that look really simple to make, but quickly turn into an exercise in frustration once you actually start working on them. Characters with very rigid, repeating shapes, like The Shield here, are a prime example.

Stars and stripes, everyone loves them until it's time to paint them. The usual approach is to use narrow tape (check the pinstriping section at your art store) to mask areas as needed to get sharp lines. Narrow, vinyl tape flexes better without wrinkling like paper tape. However, you can use the tape itself to create the designs! How good it look varies by character, and you can see the potential on this custom.

I'd love to use the hole-punching method BiggBubb used for the stars, but I can never find punches or stickers in the size I need. (Usually I have to print out a star template and snip it out of the tape.) I'm glad Bubb found something that worked for his project.

The white stripes and glove/boot cuffs are also made with tape and look pretty good. From the usual display distance, I don't think anyone would be able to tell they weren't painted.