CIC is back from a week-long-absence! This week, we sit down with one of Fwoosh’s most talked about customizers, Flobbo! That’s right, the hair-god sat down with me to share his experiences as a customizer. Check it out!
CTV: Are there any tools that you couldn’t live without?
Flobbo: Obviously the basics (brushes, paint, etc), but the tools that I use to make my customs what they are are a round paintbrush end cut at an angle and a pin or needle. Every one of my customs utilizes those tools.
CTV: What inspired you to get into customizing?
Flobbo: I think the same thing that got everyone into it. Either the company that makes them doesn’t make who you want or they make them "incorrectly" hehe. I started when I was about 12, and it was repainting for the sake of repainting. Then I discovered Super Sculpey and went at it. I actually started with Marvel and X-Men customs before I left it to go to Buffy, which taught me a more realistic aspect to sculpting. I took what I learned from that and brought it back to ML when I began collecting them.
CTV: What do your family and friends think of your customizing?
Flobbo: It used to be my very guarded secret, but if anything at this point in my life it’s made me more popular. My girlfriend and I are working on making each other right now as a bonding project, and the income from it speaks for itself. I’m man enough to say I’m a nerd and I collection action figures. When I show them how much I can make in a month by making 3 "toys" or "dolls" then there mouths quickly shut and say "can I make one?".
CTV: What would you say your specialty is?
Flobbo: I guess my specialty is sculpting hair. It really came from my Buffy/Angel customizing time. Those were based on real people in real life, and I rarely saw a lot of customs that took those same measures. So I thought, if I take the realism of a real-life person and applied it to a comic book character, how would it look. It really makes a figure that much better by simply having a detailed hair sculpt. It’s like the crown, it sets the tone for the entire figure.
CTV: How do you choose who to make?
Flobbo: Typically I just make who I want. Usually, I try to make people either ToyBiz/Hasbro has already made (and not to my satisfaction heh) or someone they haven’t made and I dont see being made within a year. I hate repeating, especially if they make something that I deem better than what I made, I feel like I wasted my time. As of now though, I’m making them based on commissions.
CTV: How many commissions do you receive on a weekly basis? Monthly?
Flobbo: During the summer is when I take commissions. I usually will take on about 5-10 and then stop, work on all those (work on one while another is drying etc). But to give an example, i posted only a couple days ago i was taking commissions now and I have about 15-20 requests. I usually allow myself about a month to do a project, not because it takes that long but I’m working in bulk on many orders so if I just did 1 at a time, some would get them in a week and some in a month.
CTV: How do you decide how much to charge for a commission?
Flobbo: That’s always really touchy for me. I would love to just charge 300 dollars for a custom because I know I can get that on Ebay if I wanted to. But I was also the buyer at one time and the notion of paying that much for 1 action figure is quite ridiculous. So I try to find a happy medium overall. I typically start at around 50 bucks for easy stuff. I can paint anything, so a paint job to me is absolutely nothing, so I basically go on how much sculpting I have to do. The buyer supplies me with the parts so I don’t have to charge for those (and if I have them Ill give them up, clearly I wasn’t using them). After amount of work, I go by size (because clearly the bigger, the more work). But like I said, it’s tough because I don’t want to get a fraction of what I could get but I also don’t want to be overbearing about it. I like to think my prices are fair and I’ve never heard any complaints. I’m usually flexible and work things out nicely.
CTV: Have you ever gotten any odd commissions?
Flobbo: Yeah, naked Buffy and Spike, heh.
CTV: Ha, gross! Did you make them?
Flobbo: I had to. It was REALLY good money.
CTV: Are there any characters that you absolutely love to make, as many versions of possible of?
Flobbo: Gambit and Rogue. I’m a southern boy, they’ve always been my favorite characters and it’s my goal to make as many of them as possible heh. When I dream up custom ideas, I see dream lineups and boxed sets and I work in themes (or try to) so I could see a Gambit boxed set of every gambit and a rogue boxed set of every rogue, and then from those 2 I branch off other characters if I feel like more. They were pretty much in every timeline so they’re a nice basis to go by.
CTV: Buffy or Angel?
Flobbo: To customize, Buffy, as a show, I think I preferred Angel because it was a little darker.
CTV: Do you have an ultimate goal in regards to your customizing?
Flobbo: Be happy. Once I feel like I’m doing a chore, it’s not fun anymore.
CTV: What do you like most about customizing? What do you like least?
Flobbo: It gives me a chance to just relax and focus on what comes natural to me. I love art, I love action figures. Combining them is the best thing I could do. I could go all night if I wanted to.
CTV: Do you sing while customizing?
Flobbo: All the time, hah.
CTV: What type of process do you go through as you customize?
Flobbo: I’d like to say I first find reference pics, then get parts that much, but I’m far too impatient and impulsive. I usually go through my parts box, mash things together, and see what I can make. and if its not quite right, I just take the dremel to it and make it in the shape i need it heh. But there are times when I’ll specially order something for a particular recipe.
CTV: What does your workspace look like?
Flobbo: My bedroom floor…I really should get some type of desk. I get a lot of odd looks from friends wen they come in and see all the little hands and heads on my floor. They think it’s kinda creepy.
CTV: Hair: How’d you get so good at it?
Flobbo: Practice and Patience. It’s all about layers. Separate they don’t look like a lot but together they are a strong presence.
CTV: Paint: How’d you get so good at it?
Flobbo: I just have a very steady hand. Even if I have to go back 20 times to one line, I’ll do it. I also water my paint a little, it thins it and gives it some control. A lot of techniques I learn through painting on canvases. I mean thats what a figure is, a 3D canvas. I figures if I could paint detail on a canvas, it would look tons better on a 3D object.
CTV: When did you start customizing?
Flobbo: About 12, like I said up there ^_^.
CTV: Do you own any one else’s customs?
Flobbo: I’ve had the urge once or twice, but then I see the prices they go for lol. I’m quite the perfectionist and Ill always see something I would personally adjust or improve on so it’s cheaper if I just make it myself.
CTV: Do you keep your own customs?
Flobbo: Some. If I make it as the only version of that character in my collection, Ill keep it. When I make another version, I swap them out and sell the older one.
CTV: Who is your favorite customizer?
Flobbo: Hmm. When I first started I really looked up to Arkenyon, his stuff is amazing. I love MsBigPileofDust because her stuff is so outside the box and different. She takes so many risks with posing and using new materials. Also love Norm and Iron-Cow.
CTV: What was the first custom you ever made? Do you have pics?
Flobbo: Eek…no, I had the most craptastic scanner back then, and while I did have a pic, Ive been through about 7 computers since then and it was sorta lost in translation. It was a WWF custom though.
CTV: Do you have any words for customizers just starting out?
Flobbo: Don’t be afraid to try new things, and although you’re anxious, take your time and work in steps.
CTV: Which universe do you prefer to customize? Buffy or Marvel?
Flobbo: They both have their upsides. I mostly got tired of being stuck to matching a particular moment with Buffy and Angel because I had an exact reference. I have more creative freedom with marvel and I don’t have to worry about getting a likeness.
CTV: Who’s your favorite X-Man?
Flobbo: Gambit.
CTV: Flobbo also left us a sneak peak!
