I ask fwooshmembers questions
They answer them.
RoboKillah "The destination was totally worth it."
Where do you live?
I live in Northwest Arkansas. Fairly close to one of the largest cities in the state, but would still be regarded as small by other "largest cities in their respective state" dwellers. So essentially, I live in the backwoods area of a backwoods town near a backwoods city.
Are there any Fwooshgatherings in or near Arkansas?
No, not yet, but we have a damn fine group of guys in the state. Would love to have an Arky Toy Run meet and greet. Nearest past Fwooshgathering was just a couple of weekends ago in Dallas at WizardWorld. Okay, that was just me, VB, and Prodigy, but it was a spur of the moment thing.
Where do you work?
I work in a precision metal shop. I’m the guy who the bosses come to when they need a sheet of metal bent into practical objects like a computer chassis or vending machine frames. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of prototyping for new parts coming into the shop, working with the CAD engineer to make sure tolerances stay within 30 thousandths of an inch after bending.
Basically, I stand behind a guy at a computer, calling out dimensions and angles. Then I go out to a 50-ton press, load dies, bend the part after it comes off the laser, then take it back in and make changes. Which consists of me standing behind a guy at a computer….
Who is in you family?
My immediate family is my wife and 3 kids. I have a mom, and a dad, and a brother. Then about a metric ton of aunts, uncles, cousin, distant cousins. All within a small community. Think Mayberry.
What does your family think of theFwoosh?
My wife understands. She knows that the Fwoosh grew from a hobby, and at it’s roots, is still a hobby.
To my parents and co-workers, it’s some magical venture that puts me into a global scope that will someday allow me to run some media company. I don’t know, no matter how much I try to tell them it’s about collecting toys, if I get any more specific than that, all they hear is "Yeah, I’m friends with a guy from Denmark" or "Some guys who work at __________ company invited me to a press party." They all have this fanciful picture of me being way more important than I actually am.
Which isn’t a bad thing, I guess. But I know the cold, harsh truth.
Any pets?
I have a mop with legs that wanders back home every now and then. He spends some days across the street, some days with relatives down the road, then some days greeting us as we pull in the driveway. I like the uncertainty.
What are your future plans?
To keep on livin’. L-I-V-I-N. I have no illusions of grandeur. If my life stays exactly how it is today, then I can die happy. Roof over our head, a little play money for toys, a job that I do 8 hours a day and can leave at the shop.
Is there an average fwoosher? We hit the male, 18-30 pretty easy.
I think I can agree with that. Sure we have a few younger, who seem older, and a few older, who seem younger. Then a handful of women. But for the most part, we’re just a bunch of people looking for toys.
The best part of the Fwoosh is the interacting; then the info; then
the entertaining. Do you agree with this statement?
I’d flip the info and the entertaining. That may be just a personal outlook though. We’ve always been about the interacting, but personally I look for the funny posts, the characters, more than I do the info. Of course, we’ve been doing this for 6 years now. Info is info.
How does real life intermesh with Fwoosh?
I have more numbers belonging to Fwooshers than family members and local friends saved on my phone. I’ve had opportunities to expand my horizons by going to places like Dallas and San Diego and Los Angeles because of Fwoosh, places I wouldn’t have gone without it.
I sure as hell wouldn’t have hopped on a bus and traveled half way across the nation if not for Fwoosh. The destination was totally worth it. The ride there….was an experience.
What are the emotions connected to banning someone?
It’s a mix, really. Most of the time we try to hold off for as long as possible. It’s mostly bittersweet. Leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
Unless the poster in question is a total punkass, having never posted a contributing post in their (usually short) time here, and goes on a rampage. Then I feel like lining up every registered member in a long line and doing a running high-five. Chest bumps for those of you who deserve it. You know who you are.
Do you have any pre fwoosh memories? What was that like?
Yeah, Pabs and Ron and DD and I (among others) used to all hang at the Delphi Custom forums. We eventually set up a weekly group chat that started there and eventually moved to the RTM room, where we met Indy. This was slightly before ML, but we were trying our best to make due building Marvel type customs.
Then one day Pabs, who had a small little forum where Ray posted, hit me with an email with a link to the first version of Fwoosh, asking me to join and test it out. At the time, and I don’t mean to sound cocky or anything, there was not really any kind of forum dedicated specifically to ML. So of course I jumped in. Who wouldn’t, ground floor on a new forum with guys you’ve already been talking to for a while? I believe it opened up within the next two days. We quickly gained a core group of posters who reveled in toy talk and drifting threads, and the members multiplied steadily. It wasn’t until a few months later that Pabs put out a call for a moderator to help with the daily upkeep. I threw in my hat, and here we are, 6 years later.
What was the growth like? How many noobs per year?
I have no idea of exact numbers, but we saw and still see steady growth. We die down a little when the toy world hits lulls, and pick up heavily around Toy Fair and SDCC time.
As long as there is a toy line out there that has fans, there will always be people who want more out of a toyline, to the point of creating and improving their own.
I like the upgrade.
The new board came about from total necessity. The old version was giving us fits behind the scenes. It was time. It also helps that there are a lot of new bells and whistles for both the mods and posters.
The look is pretty plain-jane stock for this version of the board. Even the profiles being on the right. It wasn’t some malicious intent to drive posters crazy, it’s just the way it came and it’s a long convoluted task to fix. At this point I think most are used to it by now. I say most.
Do you cook? Favorite food?
I do not cook. I’m more of a "go get it" kinda guy. And my favorite food is shrimp, no contest. I’ll eat those in any way imaginable.
Got any customs you are working on?
After a long hiatus, I think I’m back to working on less involved, easier to handle projects. I’m full-on into the DC universe now, and have a few going. The awesome thing about DC at the moment, there is a such a wealth of fodder because of DCD and DCUC. Big, big change from the early days of ML when we were scrounging for usable bases and parts.
Why so much love for painting? You ever just put stuff on canvas
or metal?
The painting thing was a gradual realization that I can’t sculpt worth a damn. I spent years and years trying to do all aspects of customizing, the base choosing, the mixing and matching, the assembly, the sculpting, the sanding, and the painting. Too many things to try to get good at once, so I finally just threw my hands in the air, said screw it, and decided to focus on the aspects I enjoyed.
So sculpting was out the window because that’s about the most maddening part for me. Painting it was. I enjoy that the most, followed closely by choosing parts. It’s at the paint stage that the piece falls into place for me. That final turn of the big race, with the finish line in sight. So I just buckled down and started trying all the techniques until I felt I was decent at it. And here we are today.
But I’m terrible at putting paint to anything flat. Can’t do it. Think about it. Painting an action figure is basically painting by number with the color chart lying beside you. The lines are already laid out in front of you in the form of sculpt, costume edges, logos, clothing wrinkles, stands of hair. All I have to do is fill them in.
What is your favorite color?
Black. I know, that’s probably the most common answer in the world, especially for a guy my age. But black goes with anything. And black paint covers everything.
And it’s so slimming!
How many colors do you have? How do you mix a color and then
match colors?
I have no idea of the different shades and colors.
As far as mixing, I actually took a color class in college. And still pretty much suck at it. I’m getting better, but for my purposes it’s just easier to pick a color that’s close and then lighten or darken it.
Matching, I’m more of a "paint the whole thing so the one color matches" rather than a "don’t want to paint the one part so I need to match that color" type of guy. And matching comic source material? That’s the beauty, having different artists and colorists to go from. It boils down to just picking a personal preference and going with it. Another aspect I love.
What other sites do you visit?
Gmail and toy retailer sites. A couple of model and garage kit forums where I just lurk. RTM. Aaaand that’s about it. Mostly I just hit refresh on Fwoosh about 200 times a night.
What does that mean when people type parenthesis in their posts?
Is it their secret most meaning? Is it another view at things?
Are they (un)necessary? (Do you know what I mean?)
I think of them as an afterthought to the poster’s initial post. That last little comment to summarize the entire post or to drive the point home.
What’s the best way to change someone’s mind?
Passion? Logic? Ethos?
Logic. Passion just makes the other person’s convictions stronger most of the time. Ethos usually comes off as arrogance to most people, leading to the same conclusion as passion. But logic is just cold hard undeniable truth that slices right the heart of the matter. Hard to deny logic.
If those don’t work, I usually challenge to a tickle fight.
And yes, I had to look up “Ethos”.
What are the definitions for "Ethos"?
From what I gathered, and I’m too lazy to look it up again, it’s the act of establishing your knowledge and expertise about a selected topic to the person you are to debate with about said topic.
What are some of the favorite posts, the ones you look for?
The posts from people who find what they are looking for. When they are excited and passionate and completely in love with the find and the hobby itself.
Followed closely by posts from the same person two days later after the leg breaks off and the world is crashing down, the company sucks, and they are out of the game until the next wave hits.
I don’t know, I enjoy the extremes. The Yin and the Yang of this whole crazy game.
You started the "last movie you watched” thread*,
Have you ever read someone’s post and then actively went out to
watch that movie?
I think that came more from necessity than my own interest in movies. If I remember right, the topic originated somewhere else, if not within another thread about some other aspect of movies. Just made sense to gather all those up and stick them into a dedicated thread.
*Editor’s note: It’s been rebooted!
Do you ever win stuff?
Not since a coloring contest in the 5th grade. I won free stuff from WM! Who knew I would still be trying to attain that same prize 20 years later?
How tall are you?
I’m all of 5’9". Which I thought was a respectable height until I met Pabs. I’m height partners with Indy, though.
What is wrong with you?
I am a chronic procrastinator. It’s not always my fault, but most of the time it is. I come from a long line of talkers, not doers.
I also have a fetish for commas.
Thanks Killah!
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