I ask fwooshmembers questions.
They answer them
Fugazi: “Hell yes!”
Your username: Fugazi?
‘Fugazi’ is an Old Italian slang term for fake or impostor. I use to hear some of my relatives say it when I was younger and always liked the sound of it. I do like the band, but that was not the reason I use the name.
Are you an old school skater?
No. I use to skate when I was much younger but I was never very good.
Where do you live?
All over. Within the past six years I have lived in AZ, OR, MA, WA, and NJ. Part career/part desire.
Who is in you family?
Myself, wife, son, baby on the way, and dog.
A Jack Russell Terrier…oh and my son has a hermit crab. Speaking of which, I haven’t fed that thing in like a month. I think it survives by eating its own feces.
Is your Jack Russell very energetic?
Yeah he’s a spaz, but he’s awesome! At 9 years old you’d think he’d calm down.
What are your future plans?
Personal=to visit HI, AK, KS, MI and then I will have been to all 50 states.
Is there something in common that all the 50 states share?
Other than speaking the English language and having a McDonald’s every other mile…not really. The tri-state area (PA, NJ, NY) offers the best food in the country. WA & OR offer the most beautiful coastline and can’t forget about Creator Lake, AZ has the most beautiful sunsets and the Grand Canyon; there are sooo many more places I could mention that I could be here for another hour.
Do you customize?
Hell yes!
How do you approach your customs?
First I picture it in my head, then I try and find the parts that match that mental picture, finally I piece it all together.
Are you self-taught in the sculpting and painting?
Yes. One day I ordered some Apoxie Sculpt (at the time that is what I heard a lot of other customizers were using) picked up some paint and began working. I had zero training, only the desire to create.
How long does it take to make a “regular” custom?
I spend a lot of time with my family and working so I don’t have that much time to dedicate to customizing. I usually customize in spurts of 15-30 minutes. Though when I paint I usually try to dedicate an hour. The overall process for a regular custom is between 1-2 weeks, 3-4 weeks for a more in-depth custom.
Do you use a magnifying glass? Do you spray the paint? How do you get clean lines?
Haha, I don’t use a magnifying glass, although that might be a pretty nice thing to have because my eyesight isn’t the greatest. I don’t spay paint. I tried using spray paint before but it never worked out too well for me. Clean lines are a challenge for me like they are a lot of other customizers. In all honesty I don’t think my lines are that clean, not like Cal’s or Loose Collector’s. One thing that I have found to help with keeping clean lines is to use a very clean super fine brush, I use a Testor’s size 0, and thin down the paint a little with a drop of water. When the paint is thinned out just a bit, it tends to go on nice and smooth. If I don’t thin it out than I notice it will get a little clumpy. It also helps to go back and touch-up the other side of the line.
How do you choose which one to make?
Inspiration from other customizers, art work, anything really. Currently it has been playing old video games.
Why did you do the Mike Tyson punch-out realistic NES set?
I loved the game growing up and thought about how it would be cool to see some MTPO figures. I knew that would never happen, so I decided to give it a shot.
Who are those new people you are making?
They are characters from the 1986 Nintendo game Pro Wrestling. It is a game that I spent many hours playing with my friends and still have many fond memories.
Do you sell most of them? Do you keep some of them?
Unfortunately, I don’t own a single piece of my own work With the exception of my GI Joe customs, I always create with the intention to keep, then I want to make more customs and need more space and money, so I sell them off. As far as the Joe’s…in the beginning I made them just for kicks. Eventually a person who bought a few from me from ebay asked me if I would make a couple more. I just keep making them and making them to the point that I have made probably about 70-80 percent of the original line up. I still enjoy making Joe’s and I actually have a gold-headed version of Destro in the works right now.
When will you start doing some (more) manga style customs?
Don’t know. I wouldn’t mind doing a Kinnikuman custom because I grew up loving those little pink muscle men, but other than that I don’t have any current plans for manga style custom.
You really only post in the Gallery and the trade threads, to me that says that you are very hard core customizer.
I wouldn’t say hard core…customizing is an amazing hobby that I discovered a few years ago. I find it lots of fun and very relaxing.
What did you do with the Chicago Bears ‘Fridge custom?
I sold it to the same guy who owns almost all of my GI Joe customs.
Do you cook?
Don’t need to, my wife is an excellent cook and she makes dinner every night. I can cook pretty well though. My mother was old school Italian, so she was always in the kitchen. I was always her helper, so I picked up a lot of knowledge.
What is in your collection?
Not much anymore. I don’t collect like I use to. I still have quite a few Transformers from my childhood. I also have a smattering of other 80’s pop culture toys like m.u.s.c.l.e men, Go-Bots, Army Ants, GI Joe’s, Garbage Pal Kids, Smurfs, etc.
Why so much love for G I Joe?
It was just a lot of fun to make a larger version of the toys I enjoyed as a kid.
Do you share your action figures with your son? I mean is he interested in them?
Oh yeah he loves checking them out. He even learns most of their names. Eventually when he gets a little older I will make him one. Right now his favourite character is Zurg from Toy Story. He got a Zurg for Christmas but he was disappointed that it didn’t come with the big blaster the character had in the movie, so I made him one and he got all excited. It made me feel really good to be able to make him something that he is able to actually play with.
What other sites do you visit?
TNI, and Seacon Swamp are the only forums I browse. I like to ebay occasionally and I HAVE to get my weekly fix of Naruto from one manga.
What do you spend your money on?
My family, music, custom fodder, and cheese steaks. My wife and I like to travel so we’ll go out and explore neighboring cities, states, museums, national parks, etc…
What is wrong with you?
I am addicted to customizing…and Zelda Spirit Tracks.
Thanks Fugazi!
Additional Links
