COMMUNITY :: the Heart of the Ultimate Group Project :: :: Directly on the heels of the advent of the Action Figure, came the need for those who played with them, to change them in some intrinsic way. Soldiers needed different skin tones, all kinds of gear for different oops, and definitely a parachute too. Likewise, certain robots & aliens that were not produced by the toy companies needed to be made anyway. Out of this need, and the creativity of thousands of children, grew the art of customizing. Perhaps it just started with permanent marker paint jobs & a handkerchief parachute, but this propensity toward never being satisfied with what the toy companies gave us has truly grown up. In part, this is due to the ever-increasing ease with which one can find customizers & their work on the internet. This accessibility has taken the hobby from a personal past time, (which was once only shared thru magazines & in-person meetings between enthusiast), and spawned full web sites, countless forum threads, and even an on-line cottage industry to support it. With all this open communication, the free flow of ideas has allowed us to become a real community. For better or worse, we share our opinions, talents, and techniques with each other. And we have fun doing it. This is what the Ultimate Group Project is all about. It's current incarnation may not fully apply to all aspects of the hobby, but any customizer who's ever participated in a group project knows how it feels to be a part of something like that. The UGP just takes that a step farther. Almost a year ago, a customizing fiend (known as Master_Phruby to Jedi Defender aficionados) decided to take it to the next level & asked everyone from the Jedi Defender (JD) customizing community to pitch in for the biggest group project ever. The group was to create an entire, brand new Star Wars world! Everyone was invited. Now, the UGP has a presence on JD, YakFace, and several other sites - including one of the very first list serves / web sites to be devoted to this hobby, the Forgotten Force Ultimate Resource Guide (FFURG). There are many very talented customizers participating, and the project is even getting a huge space for it's diorama at Celebration IV from one of the community's most prolific diorama makers, Mr. Frank D. NiubNiub. That's right, the UGP is going all the way to C4! We hope you'll be able to stop by the booth & dio if you're there. It's always good getting a chance to meet our fellow customizers in person!