Customizer's Spotlight: Xander Martin
Published by D_Martin on November 29, 2008 at 07:27 PM CST
| Cool Toy Review’s Customizer’s Spotlight: Xander Martin |
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Name: Xander Martin
Located: Charleston, SC
| South Carolinian customizer Xander Martin has a fond appreciation for the original G.I. Joe A Real American Hero action figure line and through his customizing work has proven that the original designs are still some of the best.
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To many, customizing is an attempt to make an existing product better. A little nip here, a little dab of paint there. All in an effort to change what the original toy makers had designed. Seldom do you see work that honours the original concepts that we found on the store shelves and that is a shame when you consider how many truly well designed figures have come out. More time should be taken to appreciate the fantastic craftsmanship that created toys both old and new.
How Long Have You Been Customizing?
I started customizing DC Direct figures back in ’02, before they got the Super Bat license. From there it went to Marvel Legends but I eventually changed scales and began collecting 1/6 scale figures starting with Sideshow’s Star Wars and soon to other sci-fi movie figures. Soon enough I began customizing the big guys, mostly troops like Clone Commanders and Stormtroopers.
    
What Inspired these customs?
I’m a big fan of the original GI Joe A Real American Hero figures from the ‘80s. I played with the toys and watched the show religiously as a kid and some years ago when I got back into collecting them I also got into the original Marvel comic. Then this past February SSC announced that they had the GI Joe license and that’s sort of where these came from. It started with Flint who I thought would cool with their Snake Eyes, then I found the parrot that would become Polly and thought why not do Shipwreck too. The whole thing snowballed from there.
    
What's the recipe?
To start, Hot Toys owns the 1/6 scale world in terms of bodies and articulation while still looking realistic when clothed. All the bodies used so far have been from them. The heads are also from Hot Toys but each one has been retooled and/or repainted. A couple have added or removed facial hair as well. The clothing is pieced together from all over the net, usually EBay and Monkey Depot. For the most part the items are hemmed or dyed to get that signature look of the original figures. Arming them gets a bit tricky though since so many of the rifles that the originals had are simply not available in 1/6 scale, which is why a couple of them have M-16s or M4s. Luckily I did find a perfect .50 caliber machine for a project down the road.
Here are a couple great customizing sources I’ve used in the past:
-www.monkeydepot.com
- ritdye.com (really good Dye chart)
    
What's next?
Rock n Roll is next up, and from there I’ve got a pretty good start on Snowjob. Roadblock is high on my to-do list and I’d really like to try Mutt and Junkyard as well.
Where can we find you?
sector3601.com (all kinds of work-in-progress shots and exclusive pics can be found here)
meanwhilebackathq.blogspot.com
Think your customs have what it takes to be featured? Drop us a line.
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