Luke's Customs
1- What does the word customizer mean to you?
To me, a customizer is anyone who creates something to fill a gap in their collection. This could be as simple as swapping heads on two different figures or as complex as sculpting a brand new figure from scratch.
2- How did you begin customizing?
I guess you could say I started customizing when I was eight years old. I was given an extra He-Man figure for Christmas. So with a set of blue, green, and black sharpies, He-Man became Zombie He-Man. Back then, if I didn’t like a figure to have a neon-green sword, I would paint it silver.
More recently, I started making my own figures about 5 years ago. I was really into horror movies, and I wanted a 3 ¾” set of horror figures to go with my Star Wars and GI Joe figures. So Jason Voorhees became my first complete figure. He is still one of my favorite figures.
 |
Jason |
3- As a customizer what do you create?
I tend to customize whatever toys I am really excited about at the time. I started with horror customs because of McFarlane’s Movie Maniacs series, then I moved on to Simpsons customs because of Playmates’ World of Springfield figures, and now I mostly do Marvel customs to fill gaps in my Marvel Legends and Marvel MiniMates collections.
4- What is your process when you are customizing, from start to finish?
The process always begins with searching for parts. Sometimes I already know which parts I will need, and other times the search can go on for months. When I made my 3 ¾” Freddy Krueger figure, it took me six months to find a hat for him. I just happened to pass by the toy aisle at the drug store, and there was a GI Joe knock-off figure with the perfect hat.
Once I gather together all of the parts I need, I combine them, and figure out what I will need to sculpt. Some of my figures, especially my minimates, required very little sculpting. Others, like my Marvel Legends Onslaught, needed hours of sculpting. After the sculpting comes the sanding to get that smooth finish. The last step is painting the figure. This usually takes the longest.
Ok, I lied. The last step is taking pictures, posting them online, and getting feedback from people. That is my favorite part of the whole process!
 |
Wolverine (Claws) |
5- Have you ever sold any of your customs, if so where?
I have sold some of them on eBay, and others I have been commissioned to do by people online. I usually end up selling them on eBay when a better replacement comes along. For example, when NECA released the first photos of their excellent Hellraiser figures, I knew it was time to sell my 7” Pinhead custom.
6- What has been the highest price that you have received for a custom?
I made a 12” Deadite from Evil Dead as a commission piece, and received $100 for it. Most of my customs sell for around $50-$75.
7- Do you get requests?
I get requests every week to do figures from many different toy lines. If I had more time, I would probably do more of them.
 |
Onslaught |
8- What has been the oddest request?
Someone wanted a Bea Arthur figure from The Golden Girls. That would be scarier than any horror custom I could ever do.
9- What has been the easiest item to customize?
Some of my minimate customs have only taken 15 minutes. For Iceman, I just removed the paint on a Twilight Frodo minimate, and added the white highlights. Also, Ka-Zar, Beast, and Ultron were quick customs.
10- What has been the hardest item to customize?
My Marvel Legends Onslaught was the most difficult custom. In order to get him to look the way I wanted, I had to combine existing parts with Super Sculpey, Milliput, legos, pieces of plastic, and sheet metal. He took over 12 hours to complete.
11- When you are customizing what are the essential tools one needs?
I used to only customize with a hobby knife and sandpaper, and that worked fine for me. But now I have a dremel tool, and that makes customizing a lot easier. They are only about 20 bucks, and will take care of 90% of the cutting, sculpting, and sanding. In addition to that, you will always need some fine sandpaper to smooth everything down before you paint.
For painting, I always use Testor’s Model Master Acryl paints. They don’t leave the sticky residue on some plastics like many other paints do. Plus they have a huge selection of colors, and are decently priced. For sculpting, I use both Super Sculpey, and Milliput. Super Sculpey is best for totally new sculpts, like a new head for a figure. Milliput is best for adding to an existing figure, because you don’t have to boil or bake it.
 |
| Dr. Doom |
12- Who in the customizing world or other has been an inspiration?
When I started doing Simpsons customs, HeadsUpCustoms was a big inspiration. Later, when I got into Marvel figures, there were many people who were an inspiration for me, including DoubleDealer, Pablolobo, SamuRon, and Ken of Mattman’s. Also, the fantastic work by the toy companies themselves, including Toybiz, McFarlane Toys, Playmates, and DC Direct.
13- What project would you like to take on as a customizer?
If I had the space, and the time, I would like to create a Galactus figure from the 36” Spider-Man 2 movie figure. That figure is not articulated enough for my tastes, so I would have to add a lot of articulation. It would be a huge project. I would probably go through ten packages of Milliput, and ten jars of paint, but it would be worth it.
14- When you want to see other customizers is there a place where you go?
I spend most of my time over at the Fwoosh (http://www.fwooshnet.com), but I also stop by SCS (http://www.simpsonscollectors.com) and the Art Asylum boards (http://www.artasylum.com).
15- What has been the best creation that you or someone else has made?
I think the best custom that I have made is my Onslaught figure. It is one of my only customs where the end product is exactly what I was looking for. As far as other customizers, the ones that come to mind immediately are the Marvel Legends style Batman and Robin that DoubleDealer made. Also, some of the sculpts by HeadsUpCustoms have blown me away.
 |
Sentinel |
16- On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate yourself as a customizer?
I would give myself a 7 out of 10. I need to get a lot more experience under my belt before I can rank among some of the excellent customizers out there.
17- What would you say makes your customs different from others?
I am one of the only customizers doing minimate customs right now, and I think that sets me apart from others. Also, I spend a great deal of time on each custom, and I really try to make it the best I possibly can, and I think that shows in the final product.
18- Why do you think people started customizing? And where do you think customizing will lead to in the future?
People started customizing because toy companies cannot possibly produce every figure. People have been customizing for years for this very reason. It is growing in popularity, and I think it will continue to do so. In the future, I think we will see more “blank” figures being released that are easily customizable.
19- Do hope to create your own toy line like McFarlane?
I don’t really have aspirations to create my own line. However, I am working on my own comic book series, and I will be making myself a set of figures from that book.
 |
Thanos |
20- Do you also collect toys or artwork perhaps for inspiration?
I collect all of the toy lines that I customize from. They are the inspiration for my customs. I also collect comics, which serve as a major source of inspiration for new figures.
21- Any advice for anyone looking to get into customizing?
I would say to start off small, and be patient. Your first custom will not be a work of art. Don’t expect perfection. But if you are careful when you work, and put a lot of time into getting a smooth surface, and keeping your lines straight, you can definitely make something to be proud of. And your next one will be even better. And the one after that will be even better, and so on. So don’t get discouraged at first!
 |
Simpsons Casino |
 |
Nightmare |
