On behalf of this joint project by One Sixth Republic and myself, monkeyboner, welcome to what is planned to be a weekly showcase for the wonderful and talented 1/6th scale figure customizers (apparently the word customizer isn’t recognized by the dictionary but we aim to make it legit!). Each week we will shine the spotlight on an artist or team of artists to find out more about their craft and to present their amazing work to the rest of the world. If you have any suggestions as to who to feature in the upcoming weeks, feel free to shoot me an email at arthurliam@gmail.com.

GEEWHIZ CUSTOMS

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term Gee Whiz as ‘characterized by wide-eyed enthusiasm, excitement, and wonder’. Well, you’d be hard pressed to not share that sentiment when you see the work of GeeWhiz Customs headed by Bleau Aquino from Manila, Philippines. Their services include One Sixth Scale Tailoring, Diorama Building, and Commissioned 1/6 Figures. Bleau and his team recently won the top prize for his Super Mario entry for the Philippine One Sixth Kolektor’s Video Game Custom Figure Contest that was held at the Collecticon event in September, 2014. You can view that figure and more below.

How and why did you get started with customizing toys in general?
“My interest in customizing toys started with my passion for Toy Photography. In 2007, my brother asked me to team-up with him to join a Toy Photography contest at the Philippine Toy Convention. I didn’t know anything about photography but I have always been a toy collector with a vivid imagination. Like any other kid growing up, I always dreamed of being able to display my toy collection in such a way that I could re-create iconic scenes from various media such as film, TV, animation & comics.”

“Toy photography was the best avenue for us to unveil our creativity because both my brother and I are experienced in making digital graphic artwork and composites. I was into collecting animation robots at that time and our concept was to make these robots look as photo-realistic as possible. To execute our ideas, this meant I had to weather and battle damage my toys, which I refuse to do. I wanted to keep my toys fresh and mint and did not want to weather them for any battle damage, so our final resort was to add the weathering in post (production) through photo manipulation. Since digital enhancements were allowed in the photo contest we were joining, we unleashed our creativity to try to make photo realistic renditions of two of the most influential animation robots from our childhood. Below are our first takes on Virtual Customization through digital manipulation.”

“We didn’t win the contest with our heavily manipulated entries, but the experience challenged me to do better the next time as I learned that there was more appreciation for “un-Photoshopped” contest entries. The following year, I challenged myself into making a diorama environment for my photo contest entry and discovered I was creative enough to produce these environments. I saw 1/6 scale figures had the detail I wanted and was just the right scale for me to make dioramas out of whatever scrap material or old toys I found around the house. My brother helped in art direction and we ended up making these two photos. One was shot in our dining room, while the other one was shot at a rooftop of a condominium in Makati City.”

“As the years went by, I started developing more complex projects and soon got commissioned to do custom work for various international clients. I created GeeWhiz Customs to start branding my work as a hobby but as the number of commission requests grew I started partnering with other artists, sculptors, tailors and craftsmen. Since then, I’ve focused more on designing and producing to be able to stay on top of several commissioned projects at a time. Since I have decided to focus full-time on GeeWhiz Customs, we have experienced a steady growth in business in the last three years. The international client base of GeeWhiz Customs continues to grow and spans across Asia, Europe and the Americas. Through the years we have partnered with the best international artists doing several limited custom figure runs and single commissioned works for various clients around the world.”

Are you a collector yourself? If so, what can we see in your collection?
“All this passion for custom figures is drawn from years of collecting. Apart from custom figures I’ve done in the past, I do have an extensive collection on 1/6 Scale Figures from various makers such as Hot Toys and Enterbay as well as some Soul of Chogokin and Customized Transformer Robots.”

Do you think toy customization is an art form? Why?
“Definitely. Every aspect of customization requires artistry and creativity. More than an art form, it is also a highly skilled endeavor to customize toys. It requires years of experience in material sourcing, sculpting, casting, painting, tailoring, digital design and printing.”

I would say Material Sourcing, Pattern Making and Design Work are the most challenging stages.

Which aspect of customizing is the most difficult for you? Why?
“Every aspect of customization is difficult and each step presents its own set of challenges. But I would say Material Sourcing, Pattern Making and Design Work are the most challenging stages. Once you have surpassed the design and sourcing stage, if you have the right suppliers and skills, it’s all just a matter of execution.”

Beside yourself, who do you think are some customizers that deserve recognition and appreciation?
“Everyone who ventures into customization deserves to be recognized for his or her effort and for taking on the challenge of customizing a figure regardless of the end result. The Internet in general is full of people who love to bash other people’s work with negativity. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that constructive criticism helps a lot, but there are proper ways and avenues to say it. I just think we need to be more encouraging because anyone who customizes definitely wants to grow in his or her craft. The best way to help them raise the bar is to compliment them if you feel they deserve it, or just PM them politely if you have some advice or critique you’d like to share with them.”

If a job opportunity presented itself and you had the chance to work in a large company like Hot Toys or Enterbay, would you take it and why?
“Hard to say at this stage. It all depends on the job being offered.”

So what sort of role can they offer to make you stop your full-time work with GeeWhiz Customs?
“Hard to leave something you started all behind since I have a team with me. So I guess it would have to be an outsourced partnership or joint venture type of arrangement.”

Which of your products are you most proud of?
“ALL! It takes so much time and effort to produce each piece but the custom Arkham Knight Batman I produced holds the record in most amount of imagination, time and resources spent.”

What is your favorite non-custom, commercially available ⅙ scale figure? Why?
“There are actually a lot of favorites for me but these are my top five based on the level of detail and likeness of the entire figure: Hot Toys MOS Superman, Hot Toys DX-12 Batman, Hot Toys Thor: TDW Light Asgardian Armor Version, Art Figures Judge Dredd.”

If you weren’t making custom figures/dioramas, what do you think would be keeping you busy right now?
“Travelling and experiencing outdoor adventures.”

Any projects you’re working on that you’re excited about?
“Yes, Working on Metal Gear Solid Solid Snake, The Flash, Mad Max and a new Robin Williams Popeye and Shelly Duvall Olive Oyl runs.”

Finally, any tips or suggestions for those who want to start customizing their figures?
“Always practice and keep raising the bar. Every challenge has a solution, all you need is to be patient, resourceful and imaginative. Do not engage people who give you negative feedback, take what they say as a challenge for you to improve. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re work is not worth it, value your craft and aim to excel and inspire.”