I ask fwooshmembers questions.
They answer them.
Zombie 13 " A Love bird that I HATE."
Where do you live?
I live in Louisiana but I’m from Mississippi. But when I meet someone outside of the south I always get asked where I’m from because I don’t sound like other southerners. I choose not to speak with the southern drawl.
Where do you work?
Heh, Where haven’t I worked? That should be the question. I like to consider myself a Taskmaster. I’ve been a Silkscreen Artist, a bus boy, food server, bar tender, baker, cashier, (working) supervisor in the food industry, a painter, floor technician (waxing floors and such), and Housekeeping supervisor. But currently I’m in Maintenance at a hospital.
Who is in you family?
I live with my wife. None of my "family" lives in Louisiana. Which suites me just fine. My wife’s family is enough family for me.
What does your wife think about all things fwoosh-like?
She’s ok with it as long as she gets what she wants. Lesson to all other guys out there:
If you get your wife what she wants, it’s good leverage to get something you want.
Any pets?
Two Cats, whom I call my two furry sons. A Love bird that I HATE.
What is a "love" bird and why do you hate it?
Haha! Well, A lovebird is…well, it’s those birds you see in a pet shop that are usually paired together. You’re suppose to have two I guess, but if they don’t like their partner, they pluck all the feathers off the other bird and eventually kill it. I hate him because every night when I come home from work, he squawks with this ear-piercing screech. He’s relentless. He looks like this.
What are your future plans?
Tough to say, I’ll let you know after 2012 AD. In the mean time, I’m just trying to make it and be happy with what I have.
Do you customize?
Yup!
How many customs have you done so far?
Well over 100 I’m sure. Not everything gets shown here at Fwoosh. Not because I wouldn’t want to, but some of them are customs modeled after or inspired by other fwooshers customs. I wouldn’t want to turn the spotlight away from their work just to show off mine.
About how many per year?
That really depends. I’ve gone a whole year without making a single custom and sometimes I just crank them out like I’m a machine. Lately I’m averaging about 20 to 40 a year.
How did you get started into customizing?
I started out when I was in the 4th grade with the original 3-inch G.I. Joe figures. I’d unscrew the one screw in the back and use the spring-loaded gun they usually came with to make them "explode." Then I’d mix up the parts and make my own characters. From there I moved onto the 5-inch Marvel figures and was using Enamel paint (yuck!), some of which still to this day are not dry.
How do you get those clean paint details?
Practice, practice, practice! I’ve been painting figures for almost 18 years. I took art in school since the 7th grade through the 12th and it taught me a lot about paint. What you can and can’t do with it. I don’t mask off any areas when I’m painting, it’s all freehand. Which is kind of funny because I’ve got some crazy shaky hands!
How do you prevent the dreaded paint rub?
Ah, the curse of the dreaded paint rub. This is probably what takes me the longest during customizing. Usually I can paint the joint with, lets say an arm, raised up and I leave it for 24 hours. Then come back the next day and paint the other side, with the arm joint in the down position, and leave it for 24 hours. If the joints still rub off any paint, I take out my Dremel tool and use a small sanding bit to grind down the parts that rub and repeat the 24 hour process until the paint doesn’t rub off any more. I’m not that good at putting joints back together after pulling them apart, so I just cheat with this system.
Do you keep or sell your customs?
I use to keep EVERYTHING I made. It wasn’t until a few years ago I sold my first custom on ebay. It went ok, but it didn’t go as well as I had wanted. I soon found the fwoosh and it wasn’t long until I had people asking me to make things for them. I do commissions from time to time as well as work on my own things nowadays.
Since you customize are there characters that you are looking forward
to getting or is it just spectacular fodder for you and your purchases?
Tough question. Nothing has really made me get that tingle inside when you see something and say, "OH I’VE GOT TO GET THAT!" Don’t get me wrong, there is some great stuff coming out this year. I’d have to say the one MUST have item for me is the DCUC Wonder Woman.
What is important to you when you are making a custom?
For myself, I have to like the character. I just can’t make a figure of a character I’m not interested in. I’ve been working on a perfect version of Udon Taskmaster for four years. I believe in quality over quantity. As for commissions I take on, I still try to make the best version of that character I can. Because I know the customer is as passionate about the character(s) as I am about the ones I like, I try to give them the best I can. I like to give them options and I even make suggestions if I think something might work or look a little better and sometimes I throw in a little something extra if I can. It might be just that little bit of detail that sets it apart from every other custom out there of whatever character it is. And that’s what matters to me when I’m working on other people’s stuff. I like knowing I’ve made them happy. I also think it’s important to stand behind my work. I’ll check in from time to time and see how their custom is holding up. If something is wrong with it, I ask them to send it back and I will repair it if I can.
You seem to have theses big ambitious projects for customs.
Thanks. I like to do things not too many people are willing to make. I won’t take on a custom unless I feel it’s a challenge. I’m not saying I don’t make some of the easy stuff, I just tend to not show the easy stuff in my thread. I’ll spend a crazy amount of time just researching a character before I start on a custom. I want to make the best possible custom of that character or it’s not worth my time. I’ve been thinking of starting sculpting from scratch. Things like statues and the like.
Is it just time constraints or is there an emotional roller coaster
when you leave the boards for a bit and then come back, and then
leave again? Are you a cat?
I don’t think I’ve ever been asked if I was a cat before, a machine maybe, but never a cat. Well, if I staid on Fwoosh all the time, I wouldn’t get any work done now would I? Real life does get in the way with my online time sometimes, but we all go through that at some point or another. I’ve never really been in the spotlight here at Fwoosh ever since I joined. But that’s ok. I may not comment on everyone’s custom works, but I do check it out. And by the numbers I see on my views to my gallery, that shows me that people are doing the same for me.
On a side note, I did get a comment from Mark Brooks on the AoA X figure I did based off of his art. I’d have to say that has been the highlight of my fwoosh experience for me. To have the artist responsible for the inspiration to a custom I made comment on it is the greatest for of flattery in my eyes.
What do you think about the upcoming spiral?
I’ll admit, it has potential, but I’m not impressed. It’s lacking a few POA if you ask me. Plus I’ve only seen the Prototype shots. I’ll still try to get one, but I may end up chopping her up and fixing her the way she should be. You’d think that with a character with that many arms, they’d put all the articulation that an arm needs in there. Am I right?
Do you cook?
When I get the chance, yes. Fried Chicken fingers, steaks, home made potato chips, cookies, and funnel cakes. I’m thinking of cooking a Love Bird right this minute.
What is in your collection?
Way too much to list here. But I collect mostly Marvel figures. Not that I don’t have any DC or other companies products. To be honest, I’m not even sure what I have when it comes down to it. Everything is boxed up. I don’t have room to display anything. I’m cramped inside a small two bedroom apartment. Everything from Half-Naked Japanese Girl statues to old 80’s vinyl Dinosaur toys I’ve had since I was a small child.
Where do you vacation? Where would you like to vacation?
I vacation on my duff. When I take time off, I relax. I’ve been "vacationing" before and it was EXACTLY like those National Lampoon movies where anything and everything goes wrong. I could script out my life and sell it as a movie. I swear!
What other sites do you visit?
I’ve been a member of www.gaiaonline.com for a couple of years now. That’s where I got my avatar form. I wanted the same user name, but I had to go with zombieXIII because someone else took the "13."
Where do you go when you disappear from fwoosh?
Usually to bed. At least lately anyway. Hard to say, depends what time of day it is.
What do you spend your money?
Mostly bills these days. And food. And Gas. Which is why I’ll sometimes take on custom commissions if there is something figure wise I want but can’t buy.
What is wrong with you?
Woof! What ain’t wrong with me? I’ll get into customizing and I’ll get to a stopping point, but I’m constantly working on it in my mind. I’ll have the custom finished five different ways in my head before it’s done in reality. It sometimes keeps me up at night. I guess I just like to figure out what might work and what wont before I get to it in reality, that way I’m not stuck with it in my hands. I don’t like being in large crowds. I actually READ playboy. I can’t spell small simple words, but can spell the long complicated ones. I’m right handed. I eat soup. I’m comfortable in graveyards at night. I don’t like Zombie movies (ironic isn’t it).
Thanks Zombie!
Additional Links