CTV INTERVIEWS CUSTOMIZERS!
Hola y bienvenidos, fwoosh masses, to the second issue of CIC: CTV Interviews Customizers. This week, I sit down with NORM of New Jersey, famed for his paintwork and his humping turtles. NORM had a lot to say about life, love, and the art of customizing (not really, except for that last part), so fasten your bi-focals.
CTV: Welcome to CIC and thanks for sitting down with me, Norm.
Norm: You’re welcome, thank you for having me.
CTV: You’re churning out a great many customs lately, where’d you get the free time? You haven’t been fired, have you?
Norm: As a matter of fact, I am "in between" jobs right now, looking for a new position teaching art. It’s still a sore spot for me, but in the meantime I’ve been more productive than I’ve ever been with my customs. So I guess good has come of getting the proverbial axe?
CTV: I’d say a lot of good has come out of it, judging by your newest works. So, how do you customize? What type of atmosphere do you keep when working, and what does your workspace actually look like?
Norm: Right now, I have (read: my wife let me have) a room in our house where I do all my customs and artwork. I love to listen to music as I work, mostly indie rock (Arctic Monkeys, Feist are playing now), sometimes classic rock (Zeppelin IV and Boston lately). I try to keep my workspace organized, but lately, since I’ve been so prolific, I haven’t had time to clean up my previous messes, and I hate it. I’ll share an honest picture with you. This is also where I take all of my photos.
CTV: That’s pretty messy, I’ll admit, but some say messy workspaces are a sign of genius
Norm: Haha, let’s hope so.
CTV: Your wife sounds great. It was really cool of her to donate an entire room to your hobby. What about the rest of your family? Are they as enthusiastic?
Norm: My nieces (ages 5 & 6) are always asking if they can play with my action figures. They know the figures on the shelves are off limits, so I let them dig through my fodder box. They find funny things in there, like guys with no heads or hands. They prefer to play with the complete figures, while I always have to be Baron Zemo, because they want to fight a bad guy.
CTV: That’s adorable. Does their play ever unintentionally ruin a piece of fodder?
Norm: Unfortunately, their repeated play has loosened a lot of my fodders’ joints. I recently used up a Bullseye they got their grubby hands all over, and the custom has a hard time standing as a result. What’s sad is when they look for the figures they’d played with, and I tell them, "Sorry, carnage is a new figure now. He’s ascended into a new realm of existence." They understand he became one of my "projects". My wife likes that the customs give me a creative outlet; my brother and sister think they’re cool too. I don’t really discuss the hobby with people beyond my family and online peeps.
CTV: You recently started a "Customizer Appreciation Thread" of sorts, where anyone could post what they viewed to be the various strengths of fwoosh-custom regulars. What would you say is your specialty?
Norm: I kind of figured out my trademark, "simplifying." I try to take the most efficient route to get from fodder to finish.
CTV: That sounds like you. Whatever it is, it’s working. Are there any specific tools you couldn’t live without?
Norm: Standard stuff, really. Thin round paint brushes, Testors/Model Masters acrylics, X-acto knife, super glue, plumber’s epoxy putty, Dremel, cutting discs and grinding drums (such a time saver), sandpaper and sanding sponges, needle tip pliers for parts swapping, and a 100 watt light bulb… I place figures close to one of those lit while i’m working. It heats the figure for parts swaps, and saves the energy of boiling water or a hair dryer.
CTV: A light bulb, huh? Efficiency indeed, simple but effective. Kind of like your latest, NXM Emma Frost. Was she fun to do?
Norm: All my customs are fun, but that one was relatively quick and easy. Got her done in under three hours. I probably could have sculpted more parts, like the costume and hair, but if there’s a simpler way to get solid, sexy results, I’ll always opt for simpler.
CTV: How do you choose which characters to make? Do you base it on necessity, favoritism, or something else?
Norm: More often than not, I’m trying to complete teams. It’s pretty much the main reason I started customizing. For instance, when Hasbro released Xorn, it gave me the means and motivation to complete the Morrison "New X-Men" team, something I’ve wanted to do since NXM Wolvie was released in X-Men Classics. I get this tunnel vision, and I don’t stop customizing until the team is as complete as I can make it within my ability. Lately, I’ve been favoring making customs of current designs seen in the latest comics, though some classic designs will pop up now and then. I’m also trying to branch out from hero customizing, like I did with my princess bride CC15 entry. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with my blank Dunny vinyl.
CTV: Are there any customizers who really make you want to better your own abilities? Artists whose work you see and are instantly inspired?
Norm: I really love levit05’s work. The only reason he’s not mentioned among some of the "big guns" is that no one ever gets to see his work because he doesn’t take pictures! Seriously, his stuff blows me away. But he is also really great at giving me honest feedback on my own work. When I see his stuff though, I can’t help but think to myself, "if a guy who doesn’t know how to use a camera properly can make customs that good, why can’t I?"
CTV: I agree completely. I’m also really glad you mentioned levit, he’s one of my favorites as well and often doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. Speaking of other customizers, let me ask you this: If you could have one custom, any character, made by anyone, what would it be and by whom?
Norm: I’d have to pick just one? Hmm. I’d say a Doubledealer original, probably Wonder Woman. He just has such a knack with the ladies. I doubt any toy company could craft a female figure, particularly Wondy, as well as he has. If not WW, then his GIJOE Lady Jaye.
CTV: Admit it, you’d just want to stare at their butts.
Norm: It would be tempting, haha.
CTV: Okay, it’s about that time where the interview wraps up, so thanks again for sitting down with me, Norm.
Norm: It was my pleasure. Oh, and just for CIC, a sneak peek:
