Grace, Peace, and Thanks to each of you. As you read below, amy you have a fond memory of your own creativity, however it was executed.

Ms. BigPileOfDust is my favorite customizer. The comparison of her work to mine is like comparing the Sistine Chapel to a stick figure. She is an artist, and her work is literal art to its most full meaning. The way in which her paint applications and sculpting not only serve as figural representations of moments in the history of the Buffyverse but also capture the emotion and the beauty of the characters within those moments. She is a customizer and artist of the most pure form, and her thoughts are well worth your time. Read on for more!

1) I think it’s fair to say that you are arguably THE premiere customizer in the 6” Buffy/Angel line. I’ve seen your customs go for hundreds of dollars, and you are a constant source of knowledge and wisdom for all getting in the game. How does it feel to be considered an authority on the matter?

I’m really not any kind of authority. I’ve had no art training apart from watching my mum paint her canvases, so I often don’t know how to guide others with step-by-step instructions.

I have some methods, which I talk about on my website but, when I’m actually sculpting, I work on instinct and that’s hard to explain.

My best advice is never to rest on your laurels and continue to push yourself. You can sometimes make blunders but you don’t learn otherwise. I’ve been experimenting with different media this last year and it has kept my interest alive.

2) Your site boasts pics of several hundred customs. Many of them are listed as now being in other countries, and I know you don’t make duplicates. Is it fair to assume you’re more interested in building a portfolio than a personal collection? How do you feel about the portfolio you’ve amassed so far?

That’s right. My website is my ‘virtual’ collection. I only have 3 pieces which I have kept for myself:

Self-Portrait Sasha, for obvious reasons, and Silver-Coffin SMG, which I like because she’s unobtrusive and can lie horizontally in front of my DVDs.

I seem to have a yen for the landscape dioramas because I have now opted to keep one more figure, from a seminal moment in BtVS. I made it for CustomCon 16. I think it’s my favourite custom ever; sad, romantic and beautiful. I will reveal it in April.

I am proud of my work. I also know my failings. I do see the flaws but I love them anyway. The reason I’m proud is that I can see the progression over the years, the experimentations which led to successes or blunders.

3) What currently unproduced license/property would you most like to see get the action figure treatment, and do you plan to customize it yourself at some point?

There are some shows that I adore, like Battlestar Galactica, but I very much doubt I’ll ever make customs for those shows. I’d most like to see DST make more characters from Whedonverse shows, so that I can use the head sculpts to continue with my Whedonverse customs. For instance, I’m glad Kendra and even Kennedy have been made.

4) As a die-hard collector, how do you feel DST has done with Buffy figure license up to the present? Are you pleased with it? Disappointed? How bout compared to MAC’s figures?

Strangely enough, I’m not a collector. I just see these figures as custom fodder.

As fodder, I’m pleased with the work of DST. They’ve pumped out a ton of stuff and parts of each are excellent. There are other parts which I just put in the bin. Same with MAC.

5) What’s your favorite aspect of customizing and collecting?

As I said, I don’t collect. As a customiser, I get the biggest buzz from the sculpting, because I feel that it is *my* thing in a family full of artists.

My mum is a super artist. My brother was the one who also followed up with doing cartoons and sketches. I was just good with home decorating and colour co-ordination. Even though recent years have proven (to both myself and the family) that I can actually paint well, the sculpting is something that no-one we know has ever done. The general consensus is that I was able to paint through osmosis from hanging around the Powell clan, but the sculpting is something entirely new.

In recent months, I have also enjoyed pushing the design aspect of my creations by using lights and gels. I find it stimulating to ‘engineer’ my projects, with planning and problem-solving.

6) What is the most difficult aspect of customizing for you, and in what ways have you overcome it to complete your projects?

I keep coming back to this but the first venture into sculpting was the biggest leap for me. I made 50 customs before I ever used sculpting clay. I felt fairly confident with limb-swapping and repaints but I was convinced that I wouldn’t be able to sculpt.

When I first tried, it was hard to keep my fortitude. I had been getting good reviews from the forum for my repaints. My early sculpts looked really clunky. The reviews of my new work on the forum and from friends became much more negative. I understood why, but it was so tempting to go back to the safe zone. It was a make-or-break moment for me as a customiser in early 2004. I continued practising and after the first 50 sculpts, my work really improved. That was when I recognised myself as an artist and stopped wanting to be a collector.

7) What is the best advice you would give new customizers? How bout advice for customizers that have been at it but aren’t seeing improvements in their work?

Again, see above! I know that ‘negative’ comments about your work feel like a slap in the face. I’ve felt that slap and still do.

Learn to love the pain. Listen to the comments. Do something about them, if you can, or remember them for next time. You can still improve, even after making 450 customs.

I do notice some people who’s work doesn’t improve, particularly people with great vision and talent but poor technique. I applaud confidence, I have it myself, but you also have to quash your own ego and be open to critiques.

Some customisers misunderstand what is meant by accepting critiques. They thank people politely for their comments and then explain why those comments are unfounded. Those people will make great politicians but won’t ever improve as customisers.

Any product recommendations for art supplies (brands/types of paints/types of sculpting putty) ??

I have a ‘How To’ section on my website:

http://msbig.sashapowell.co.uk/mbframehowto.htm

9) How long do you intend to keep up this hobby?

I think I’ve found my forte in customising. I tried writing, dancing, acting. I tired of each after a few years. After 4 years, I don’t feel tired of customising at all. I don’t even feel tired of customising Buffy. I suspect I’ll eventually segue into just making ‘real’ people or some other type of sculpting, but I suspect this will continue, in some form, forever.

10) Quick last question, Are you going to be making more Firefly/Serenity figures?

Unless I’m making customs for charities or conventions, I only usually make commissions these days.

I do have some Firefly/Serenity customs coming up in the next few months.

Jinxieman is another member of the Buffy Figure Forum whose work always impresses me. I really love his attention to character minutea and detail. Frankly, he really outdoes himself with each new offering from him I see, and I really encourage you to click the above pic and go check out his site. Here are his thoughts on the hobby!

1) What motivates you to make custom figures and how Do You decide what figures to make?
I usually get motivated when I’m watching an episode or looking through Screen caps and I see an outfit that I think would be interesting to make…and that I could make using parts that I have or could get.


2) I am in love with your “Not Fade Away” Lorne and Faryl Demon Giles. Which is your favorite you’ve done so far?
Thank you. It’s hard to say what custom is my favorite…but I hate reading the answer “I like them all for different reasons” so I will try to give a more satisfying answer. I am fond of my “Not Fade Away” Lorne, he is also my first custom, so it’s nice to hear that he is one of your favorite. My Faryl Demon Giles is also high on my list because I feel he was a real challenge to sculpt and I accomplished it well. The feet, the lower torso, and the arms are completely sculpted (the arms are sculpted over) and he is blended very well too, I can’t even tell where the MAC sculpt ends and mine begins.

But I have to say that my favorites are my “Afterlife” Buffy, I just feel she turned out very nice. I am also proud of both of my “Once More with Feeling” Willow and Tara sets, and my “No Place Like Home” Buffy, Dawn, and Joyce set. The Chinese Slayer slaying Spike from “Fool for Love” That I have just finished has also turned out really nice. And I have to give a mention to my Vampire coming out of the grave base for my “Lessons” Buffy and Dawn figures…I was really happy with that base. Oh and My Bargaining Willow, I think she turned out really cool!

Okay, I’ll stop there before I mention every single one of them.

3) Your site is primarily focused on Buffy/Angel, and I must say, your work is ultra-impressive. Much better than mine. Are you intending on branching out into other types of figures, or stay within the Whedonverse?
I am a fan of the Whedonverses, especially Buffy and Angel (But I do enjoy my Firefly), therefore that is where my passion is and why I enjoy making customs of the characters that I relate to so well. I do have some commissions from other shows that I not gotten to yet. I made a Booth custom from Bones for a gift exchange, and I made a Jayne custom from Serenity…I just don’t have them on my site…but I should put them there. Oh, I also made some “Wicked” customs for my Wife for Christmas, she wants me to make a whole line for her now.

4) Some of your figures are very statuesque in nature, similar to the work of McFarlane toys, are you more interested in this style of customizing, or in making figures that are more similar to the Diamond Select Style?
Diamond Select Toys! As a customizer my goal when I set out to make a figure is to make it fit in with an existing DST/MAC collection of Buffy/Angel figures. I guess that’s kind of my signature. I started out customizing because I wanted a Variant to Lorne (Not Fade Away) that DST did not produce. I thought it would be easy enough to make using Vampire Angel’s Jacket. So I read some tips on the Btvsfigs Forum and went and got some paint and went to work on him. I was very happy with how he turned out so I made a few more, then my wife got me a dermal and Sculpty for Christmas and it was all down hill from there. At first I was just making them for my collection, but I was getting offers on them on the forum and I thought it would be fun to sell some of them. I get a real kick knowing that my customs are treasures in other people’s collections. I only have a few of my own, I have a custom Fred for my Angel collection and a I’m making a set of “Once More with Feeling” figures for my collection, I’m working on Xander now and Intend to make all of them from the end of that episode.

5) I saw on your site that you offer commissions. When doing a figure someone else requests, do you find it more difficult to be motivated to get it done?
That is a very interesting question…and my answer would be sometimes. Sometimes I get really excited and start on it right away, other times it will take a while to get in to it. But some of my favorite customs have been commissions that I wouldn’t have chosen to do because of the difficulty, (for example Afterlife Buffy). So I have really been pushed in my creativity because of commissions, and I feel that is the reason that I have grown as much as I have in my customizing abilities.

6) For you, whats the hardest part of customizing?
Sculpting curly hair. I just have not gotten it down to a point where I am confident with it yet. I use to be scared to sculpt folds in clothes, but I am really getting the hang of it and I enjoy it now. If I’m hung up on something I look for tips in the Customizing section of the Btvsfigs Forum. I’ve learned a lot from Ms. Big Pile of Dust, Alyrenee, and Shondrasu….they are my customizing heroes. I hope it’s okay to mention them here, but they are.

7) Do you plan to keep customizing, and if so, what’s in store for those who love your work?
Yes I do! I haven’t gotten as much done as I would like to lately because I took a new job that takes up a lot of my time, but I’m getting back into it. I have several customs to complete, some for commissions. I’m working on a new “No Place Like Home” Buffy in her jacket, a May Queen Cordy from “Out of Sight Out of Mind” a “Reunion” Darla to go with my “Reunion” Drusilla, A “Passion” Jenny, an “Apocalypse Nowish” Wesley and Lilah as Fred set as a gift for someone, a six piece set form the opening of “Buffy vs. Dracula” when they are at the beach…and several other on my list…I really need to get caught up.

Pick up some of Jinxie’s customs on ebay, under seller name, “adam_victor” Thanks again for your time and your art, Jinxieman!!

(pictured above [from top-to-bottom, left-to-right]: Caleb; “Not Fade Away” Lorne; Fyarl Demon Giles; “Triangle” Anya, Xadner, and Willow; and “Not Fade Away” Wes and Fred.

What’s fantastic about this next customizer is that I have been able to see her progress via the Buffy Figure Forum, and her growth as a customizer has been incredibly encouraging! She is a constant inspiration given her consistent efforts and offerings to the Buffy customsverse, and I really enjoy seeing what she completes next!! Give her interview a read and enjoy!!!

1) You have a diverse array of customs from Buffy/Angel, Music, Film, and Real Life. Which Category is your favorite and why?
Buffy/Angel customs are definitely my favorite to make. It’s easy for me to put a lot of effort into a show that I love vs. something I don’t know that well.

2) How Do You decide what figures to make?
Well some are commissions. I also have a huge to-do list that I wrote down while watching episodes to give me ideas. It’s usually interesting and challenging outfits that catch my eye.

3) Your customs show alot of skill and time. What is the most difficult aspect of customizing for you?
I’d have to say sculpting. I’m very picky about outfits, they have to be sculpted just right, so sometimes it can take awhile to get something right. My least favorite part of customizing though is sanding, it’s so boring.

4) When you are making a new figure, what is more important to you: Articulation or exact appearance? For example, would you sacrifice a joint in order ot produce a better sculpt?
Exact appearance is definitely most important to me. As I said before I’m extremely picky about having the outfits just right.

5) I saw on your site that you offer commissions. When doing a figure someone else requests, do you find it more difficult to be motivated to get it done?
Sometimes it can be hard for me to get motivated to make a commission. It just depends on what it is. If it’s from Buffy, Angel, or Firefly I usually have no problem getting motivated. But if it’s something odd, like from a movie/tv show I haven’t seen before or don’t like then it can be hard to get motivated.

6) What is your favorite custom that you’ve done and why?
I’d have to say “Bargaining” Buffy has to be my favorite that I’ve made so far. I think she turned out extremely well. She challenged me in some ways, and she was very fun to make.

7) What’s in store for Jsebold’s future customizing endeavors?
I’ve been playing with some episode specific stances/poses lately and I really want to develop that more. I also want to up the quality of my bases and accessories, because I feel that it adds so much more to the custom.

You can look for Jsebold’s customs on ebay under the seller name, “Jsebold87″. Thanks again for the interview, Jess!!!!

(Pictured above [from top-to-bottom, left-to-right] Hermione Granger from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, “Jaynestown” Zoe from Firefly, “Selfless” Anya, Hogwart’s School Outfit Hermione, and Caleb.)

Hi All,

TOY MONTH 2007 continues with another interview with a fellow customizer from the Buffy Figure Forum. Today we’re celebrating the work of “Jedidoug”, a fellow Buffy, Angel and Star Wars with a great array of figures from all three series, as well as a few really unique and well done customs one might be suprised to find. The Pic up top leads to his site, so check that stuff out!!

1) I gotta ask, why did you stop customizing Star Wars figures?
I started customizing action figures with my vintage Star Wars collection. I always wanted a Slave Leia to display with my Jabba playset, so one day I decided to make one. I ended up making a few other characters to fit in some holes in the collection. When I felt satisfied that I’d done all I wanted, I stopped. Soon, however, I was doing 12″ customs, and then customs of the 1990s Star Wars figures - again to fill the gaps. Eventually Hasbro began to catch up with some of the characters I was making or planning to, and I decided to adopt a “wait and see” attitude. Their workmanship has really improved, and they are able to do a better job than I can in that scale.

2) Your site is focused on Buffy and Angel, but I saw a few other pieces (Wicked, for exmaple) hiding in there.What led you to do these outside-Whedonverse figures?
I get inspired to make figures from the strangest things; I don’t really know why. I guess it starts with an emotional connection I have with a TV show or film or whatever, and it grows and develops in my consciousness until it wills itself to be made. I make customs figures for myself, and seeing them on the shelf takes me back to the experience I had, and makes me smile.

Are they some of your favorites?
I consider my “Brokeback Mountain” and “Wicked” figures to be great achievements because there was no existing figure line to work from; I pretty much had to invent a figure. I do adore all my customs though. Each one means something different to me - even my “Ambiguously Gay Duo” figures.

3) Okay, you and I are both grown men, and yet we have a hobby many people would feel is limited to high schoolers. I know I’ve taken flak for this hobby in the past, have you, and if so, how have you dealt with it?Most people who see my collection of toys are surprised - even shocked - initially, but I think they all consider it an interesting hobby. Friends and relatives have contributed to my customizing in various ways - such as buying me materials and tools - so I feel they are supportive. I do realize it’s not something the average person does, but it makes me happy being creative. I can say, though, that when I was watching “The 40 Year Old Virgin” with friends there were some scenes that hit very close to home and had my friends laughing at my expense - in particular the scene where he is staying home to paint one of his figures. I can laugh at myself, though. I try not to take myself too seriously, even if I am very protective of my work.
A couple years ago a friend of mine got married and I used my abilities as a customizer to make a custom topper for their cake. My sister has asked me to do the same for her this year. So they are happy that I have this hobby and some talent!

4) Your figures are varied in sculpt and painting. It’s all really great stuff. What’s the hardest single piece you’ve had to do, and was it worth it?
Each one brings a new challenge - which I guess is what compels me to keep doing it, because I enjoy pushing the boundaries of my abilities. To date the toughest was a figure I did of Glinda from “Wicked.” It involved a lot of sculpting because it’s basically a skinny blonde in a huge ballgown. Pretty much the entire figure from the mid-torso down is sculpted. I am glad I took the time to get all the detail right though because she is the crown in my custom collection so far - until the next hard one, I guess!
Is that piece your favorite?
Some days, yes. Other days, my Brokeback figures are. I guess it changes, depending on my mood. I am very proud with my Adam custom. I feel like I really nailed that one and I spent alot of time sitting in front of the computer with the figure to get the sculpting perfect. About 4 years ago I made a custom of Cordelia from “Halloween” in the cat costume, and over the years I’ve been enamoured with it less and less. I recently had the opportunity to fix up the problems I’ve had with it, so it’s my favourite now.

5) While Looking over your site, I noticed some of your figures are primarily improvements on the Diamond Select Releases. I’ve done this myself when I find the DST release off by so much I can’t bear the figure, like the out-of-scale Fred or Bright Blue shirt on “Rain of Fire” Wes. What is it that motivated you to make the improvements you do on the figures?
Typically it stems from dissatisfaction with a factory release, as you’ve mentioned. I collect carded figures as well as loose ones, and one thing that bothers me is the shifting scale of DST’s figures when they are displayed alongside earlier ones. Sometimes it’s a case of a simple repaint to make a figure more episode-specific or to bring out a likeness better. It isn’t a slight on DST. I feel like I’m taking what they’ve done and making some embellishments to make a figure even better so they display better on the shelf.

6) How do you feel about the regular Buffy Line coming to an end this year with the Build-a-figure wave?
I have mixed feelings. Part of me feels the line has run its course, and isn’t sad to see it end - especially considering my ambivalent feelings with regard to recent releases. My passion for the show and the figure collection waxes and wanes, and lately it’s been waning, so it’s not a big deal to me. On the other hand, I am a bit disappointed that some characters never made it to the collection. That’s what keeps customizers like me busy, though.

7) Is JediDoug going to be customizing the rest of his days? If so, what’s he hope to accomplish?
The rest of my days? That sounds quite ominous. I do have some characters left on my “to do” list, which includes Jenny Calendar, Kendra and the Mayor. In the next few weeks, I hope to finish up my “Chosen” and “Halloween” collections, and I have a few others I’d like to do from “Once More With Feeling.” I may try my hand at some figures from the musical “Rent” one of these days or try to do figures of real life people who probably won’t have an action figure made in their likeness. One thing I would like to accomplish is to learn to do custom mold making and casting. I think would be a lot of fun. These days, I’m not spending as much time action figure customizing as I was a couple years ago. Real life is getting in the way of my hobby, I suppose. I think I’ll always be doing art in some form. It’s just part of my nature. I guess I’ll just have to see where my inspiration takes me!

I’d like to take a moment to thank “Jedidoug” again for his willingness to particpate in this interview, and I encourage you all, my beloved readers, to check his site out!!!!

(Pictured above: [from top-to-bottom, left-to-right] “Chosen” Xander, Revenge of the Sith Padme, Witches Elphaba and Glinda from Wicked, Quentin Traverse, Anya, and Adam, and “Soul Purpose” Wesley and Fred)

Toy Month 2007 has been good times for all (hopefully), and this week, I’ve put together something really special. In the sidebar I’ve had links to fellow customizers from the Buffy Figure Forum, and this week, I have some great interviews with a few of them! I’d like to thank them all in advance, and encourage you all to take the time to visit their sites.

Today I am posting up an interview with “Alyrenee”, a really talented customizer who, like myself, loves Buffy and Angel and can’t help but improve and complete her action figure collection through customizing. Aly’s a great gal, and her work really outshines mine at every turn. Give her site a look by clicking the picture above, and read on to learn more about her take on this great hobby of ours!

1) First and Foremost, your Princess Cordy is Beautiful!!! Okay, glad I got that out, so, what got you into customizing?
Thanks. I love to paint and I often sculpt for my day job as a makeup artist. I saw customs at the old MAC forum and thought I would try my hand at it. The first one I made was a Willow using an Xmen figure. I was hooked.

2) What’s your favorite piece you’ve done?
Hmm…i still love my demon Skip. I think I really knocked that one out of the park. The recent death of buffy custom I did turned out pretty nice as well.

3) While your site is focused on Buffy/Angel Figures, I saw some Charmed figs up as well. You know, your site is not alone in this focus on “the Whedonverse”. Why do you think it is that you and so many others love to create your own figures from that universe?
Well first of all…my site is totally out of date…i really need to do some work on it but it just takes so much time since I am not very crafty with that sort of thing. I love the whedonverse and that has definitely been my focus. I have lived with these characters now for ten years and there has been little else that has captured my imagination so thoroughly. It is only now that I am starting to branch out. i have continued to create Charmed customs. I am starting on several Heroes Customs and i am gearing up to make some Smallville and Farscape customs as well. I have also been dabbling in marvel customs too. but there are only so many hours in tha day you know.

4) What, for you, is the most difficult part of making a new figure?
Really its finding the time. I usually sculpt in front of the tv. I paint while watching dvds. I used to be a huge insomniac and would always turn to customs when that occured. Thankfully I am sleeping better these days but that cuts down on the custom “magic time”. Sometimes i lose interest in a custom mid-stream and put it aside until the spark hits again.

5) If Diamond Select Toys was willing to let you choose the next 5 Buffy/Angel figures, who would they be and have you already tried your hand at customizing them yourself?
Gunn, Riley, Lindsay, Harmony, Andrew and i have made a custom of each of them…

6) What’s your favorite aspect of this hobby?
Well I get satisfaction in the completed object and making some other buffy fan happy when they put my custom in their collection.

7) How long do you think you’ll keep customizing going and why?
I think I will keep this up for quite some time. its a fun little hobby and actually helps me pay the bills on occasion. if anything it helps my fund by bad collecting habits…

Alyrenee’s ebay seller name is “alyrenee”, and she also has a Buffy podcast in which she talks about action figures and sometimes gives customizing tips. Check it out at Undead America!!!. Thanks again for your time, Aly!!

(Pictured above: [from top-to-bottom, left-to-right] Alyrenee herself, Groo and Cordy from Angel Season 2, “storyteller” Andrew, The First Slayer, and Kulak; “Over the Rainbow” Cordelia)