10/16/04

Now here's a pretty fun Dawg Bite.  I found this cleaning out my home PC.  My nephew had to interview someone for his business class paper.  Without a dad with a cool job title and options running low, he look to the one person he could count on to bail his butt out at the last minute.  Who else but yours truly?  It was just fun trying to explain the hobby to someone who has never really had any exposure to figure collecting or customizing.  The following is a retyped taped conversation he used for his report. Enjoy. . .

Q.  1/6TH Figure Customizing is an interesting hobby.  So how did you get started in it?

A.  Well, I kind of fell into it.  A few years back I would never have looked twice at anything that remotely resembles a Barbie doll.  A friend and coworker of mine had been collecting a lot of Dragon and other 1/6th military figures and I'd always make fun of him.  I'd pull the figure's pants down and asked if he got a kick out of playing dress up with his dolls.  Ken, that was his name, had an evil smirk on him that kind of said "you don't know what you're dealing with."  A few days after that incident (which also happened to be Christmas 2001), Ken brought me a present.  You can guess what he got for me right?  He bought me a "1/6th scale action figure" as he'd put it.  The rest is really history as they'd say.

Q.  That was it?  Just one figure and you're hooked like that?  What really drew you to the hobby other than the level of detail?

A.  Actually, a few other things happened before I really got hooked into customizing figures.  For the longest time - probably 8-9 months of collecting this stuff - I didn't; I never really explored customizing.  I just thought it was cool to buy and collect the figures.  In my search for some of the more rare and hard to find figures, I stumbled across a few customizing websites and that was how that actually began.

One of the most interesting facets about this hobby is that there really is no limit to what you can achieve.  The thing that trips me out most (when I first got into it) is the fact that you can make really cool stuff out of things you take for granted.  It's cool to see a figure in person, but then when you look closer, you realize that a lot of the parts are made from stuff like bowls and dishes or paperclips and stuff like that.  It tripped the hell out of me when I first saw a figure like that.  After awhile, I kept thinking, "hey if I screw this up, it's just gonna be another spoon that I could throw away, but if I grind it right it would look like a really cool sword."  I think making something out of nothing is what really drove me into the hobby more than anything else.

Customizing figures is also a really fun outlet for creativity and relieving stress.  Unlike watching a movie or playing video games, this hobby never really ends.  Honestly, you almost never run out of ideas and your best ideas usually creep out of nowhere.  You could be driving on the road and BAM! You think of a way to finish that one item you've been scratching your head to do in the last few months.

Q.  You've been in this hobby, what 2, 3 years?  I've seen a lot of people just go crazy looking at your figures at your shop so you must do pretty good stuff.  I think you do a pretty good job, but, say, on a scale of 1 to 10, where would you rate yourself?

A.  Three years is about right, but I think it's technically about two years 'cause my first year in this hobby was just basic collecting.  I didn't do anything but buy figures and let them gather dust.

On a scale of 1 to 10?  I'd probably say five.  I'm not being shy or flattered either.  I honestly think my skills, if any, are nowhere near A LOT of other customizers.  I think if a customizer gave himself an 8 or 9 rank, he probably doesn't know a whole lot of other customizers.  It's either that or he's extremely cocky with his work.  I'm neither.  I know a lot of other customizers both in the U.S. as well as Internationally and I feel like a novice when I see some of the other guy's works.  I still feel I have a whole lot of things to learn.  I might do well at certain things, but not others and I think most people are like that.  For example, I dabble in everything, but I don't truly feel that I've perfected or mastered any one technique.  A sort of 'Jack of all trades, master of none' if you know what I mean.  Heck, Dan Chung once told me that you're not a true customizer if you don't sculpt your own heads or gear.

Q.  So if you don't sculpt your own heads, you're not a real customizer?

A.  No, I didn't say that.  Dan Chung, who is another friend and well known customizer I know told me that once it I never forgot it.  To a certain extent, that is true, but I don't feel that qualifies you as more or less of a customizer.  I do dabble with sculpting, but I think I still suck at it.  Customizing is not about doing "everything" from head to toe yourself.  I think if you just repaint a head or a gun - that qualifies as customizing.  As long as you're not kitbashing, then that's different.

Q.  What is kitbashing?

A.  It's when you just buy different manufactured figures and move this guy's outfit to another guy's body, and a gun to another guy, etc.  You're basically just moving stuff from A to B and making your own figure.  You're not actually customizing anything other than moving parts back and forth.  It's still customizing in my opinion, but it's more basic and anyone and everyone could do it.  It's fast, easy, and fun as heck.  It definitely saves a lot of time and work, especially if you're like 10 years old and can't do anything yet.  Hey wait, 10 years old is a little too young for this hobby!

Q.  How old do you have to really be to take up this hobby?

A.  Well, technically, the box says 12 years and older, but I think that's not very accurate. Vonnie . . . remember her?  She's like 8 years old and she kitbashes her Barbies and does better kitbashes on CY Girls than some adult's works I've seen on the Internet. I don't think there is an age limit for creativity.  If there was, I'd probably say whatever age you learn not to gouge your sister's eyes out with an M4 or learn not to swallow a 1/6th scale action figure head.

Q.  What was your first custom figure ever and what drove you to customizing rather than kitbashing as you call it?

A.  Hehe. Oh man, it can't be that long ago but why am I not remembering?  Oh yeah, it was a barbaric CY Girl.  I went to the Men With Dolls forum and another member named Xxian did some really crazy cool ninja, samurai and medieval bashes of CY Girls using Spawn parts.  I thought it was the most brilliant thing ever . . . "hey, I didn't know you can use parts from other scaled figures!"  I just lost my mind after that and tried everything I could get a hold of.  Most of them were half-assed jobs but they were a blast to do. Heheh.

Q. Which figure is your favorite to date?

A.  Never ask that from a customizer. Hahaha. Seriously, because I think the day he picks just one, is the day he's going to quit the hobby.  I have many favorites, but with anything, they get old.  The moment I finish a new figure, he or she becomes my favorite until the next one I finish. Eventually when I look back, I have two cabinets full plus a garage full of unfinished figures, parts, and heads and legs lying all over the place.  It's not exactly easy to pick just one if you can kind of vision what I'm talking about. Hehe.

Q. Okay, I only have two questions left so I'll make the best of it so here goes.  You mentioned about selling off some of your collection.  I thought you never sold any of your works. What prompted you in doing so?  And from what I know, you're starting a company now to do this stuff. Is that true?

A.  A friend of mine, his name is Phil. . . and another friend, Felix Lu, who is also a collector and hobby store owner visited me a few months ago.  Both Phil and Felix are really cool guys I love as friends and hobbyists.  They saw me painting some heads at the shop when they came in and begged me to sell some of my stuff.  As normal, I'd give them the "no I don't sell because it's art" speech, but Felix said something that never left me and it got me thinking for weeks on end.  He said that my work was really impressive and to have it sit on a shelf without anyone seeing and enjoying it is a shame.  It got me thinking because one time I made a figure for my daughter who was only 2 years old at the time. Not that she knows anything about these figures and their value, but she'd always see me painting and doing stuff with it and I'd always yell at her when she touches my figures.  One time I felt bad so I made a CY Girl for her.  I can never forget the way her eyes light up and the big smile she had.  Getting that feeling when you see someone's face light up is something I will never get over.  It made me really rethink everything and that was why I decided to start a company.

Q.  So what is this company you're starting? Is it just gonna be a small custom business or are you planning to manufacture and everything?  What is the company gonna be called?

A.  I'm not sure yet, but I want to start a company.  I'll think of a name later. That's the easy part. Hehe. My intention is to just do some small limited runs of things I personally want to see get made.  Coming from the hobby standpoint, I plan to do things my way and get that perfect item to suit me.  I'd hate to get a nasty email from someone complaining of the quality of my work. It just sucks. Heheh.

Q.  Well, I think that is it Louie.  Thanks a lot for taking your time to sit down with me.  That was really interesting.  Most of my friends who have seen your figure are just blown away by it.  I wish you all the best in your business.  I'm sure we'll talk about it again some time soon.