You might expect someone with a "full-time hobby" of creating custom Xbox 360 plates to have a different plate for every day of the week, but Webb's personal collection is surprisingly small. "The only plates that I have created myself and then added to my own collection are autographed plates. Two people that meant a lot to me growing up were Radio DJ, MC and music historian Dr. Demento, and blues musician Taj Mahal. They were both at an event at UCLA a few months ago, so I made custom plates for each of them and they signed them for me," he says.
Webb's Iron Giant faceplate was signed by the movie's director, Brad Bird, who went on to helm Ratatouille and The Incredibles. Epic's CliffyB signed Webb's custom Gears of War 2 plate, Peter Molyneux added his signature to a Fable 2 piece and members of Rare signed Webb's homage to Banjo Kazooie.
Members of the gaming industry aren't the only signatures on Webb's "to get" list, however. "I just finished a plate with the logo from the Northwestern, the boat featured in the show and game Deadliest Catch.," he explains. "I was given a tour of their boat and made one for the Elite they play during downtime. I'm hoping they'll sign one and return it to me for my collection, too. I'm trying to work a deal to meet the people on the American Idols: Live! tour. I need to get a plate ready, just in case."
Despite the impressive array of faceplates he's created, Webb downplays his abilities ("I think my creativity and sense of humor blind people to my lack of artistic talent," he jokes) and is swift to point out that there are a number of faceplate customizers within the Xbox community. "The hard part is tracking them down," he says, which is why the denizens of XboxAddict created a forum specifically dedicated to the customizing crowd. The XboxAddict community also recently launched what Webb describes as "the quintessential faceplate database," which lists more than one thousand manufactured and custom plates. Plans are in place to make the database searchable and to let visitors mark off their favorites or indicate that they have a plate to sell or trade. "There is no central location for this hobby, and we're trying to rectify that," says Webb.
Webb hopes the database will not only entice collectors, but also inspire budding artists to create their own custom plates. "I've had people ask me about making plates because they didn't want to 'steal my ideas.' I want to make it clear that it is my desire that everybody try their hand at making their own custom plate, even if it's only drawing a design on a plate with a permanent marker," says Webb.
If your Sharpie skills are somewhat lacking, you can always ask Ed Webb to help give your Xbox 360 a bit of personality. But do him a favor - don't ask for a glowing Yoda.
Susan Arendt thinks her Viva Piņata plate looks absolutely smashing on her 360 Elite.
