CJ Member Name: Casimir
Real Name: Cason Pilliod
Location: McKinney, TX
Age: 34
Sex: Male
Main Customizing Interest: The Animated Timmverse
Secondary Customizing Interest: 6" DC stuff
Third Customizing Interest: The occasional statue, "real" person or block figure
Why do you customize: Primarily to fill out the ranks on the shelves. (Fortunately, the Timmverse is so big, I doubt I'll ever finish!) It's also an excuse to be creative using a variety of disciplines. I may not get to build big sets or puppets anymore, but then customs don't take up near as much room.
Where do you customize: I'm fortunate to have a "work room" with three desks, one of which is dedicated to customizing. It's really more of a work bench, with places for all the usual tools needed for projects. There's also a closet dedicated to fodder, and a spray booth in the garage.
When did you start customizing: In some ways, I've been customizing since I was a kid. I swapped G.I. Joe parts and made new characters. Remember that blue flying ship He-Man used all the time in the cartoon, but was never made as a toy? I made that out of cardboard. But in terms of customizing as an adult with an eye towards the collection, I started in college. I must have been about twenty. (I won't repeat it here, but you can read the story at my website of how the amazing Scooter inspired me with his animated Harley custom.)
When do you customize: In the evenings and on the weekends, as the family allows.
How much time, on average, do you spend customizing each week: Lately... I'm lucky to get fifteen minutes. That's because I spend most of my time with my greatest custom, my son. Once he's a little more independent, I hope to get back to logging hours and not just minutes.
How many customs have you done: I never really counted. At least 300 I expect.
What type/brand of paint do you use: I always start with a spray coat of Krylon Grey Primer. I follow this with Krylon Flat White. And then I brush on a typical craft paint like Ceramcoat. I know some people prefer more expensive brands, but I've never had any trouble with Ceramcoat. I think my results look pretty good.
Have you ever bought a custom: Only twice. The first time was the three-robot "Reflector" for the Transformers PVC line a few years back. The second (and the only DC custom I've ever bought) was the mighty Stew's "Savage Time" Batman. It's an amazing piece that I'm proud to have on my shelf. (And hey, I didn't have to spend fifteen hours making it!)
Have you ever sold one of your customs: I have sold a handful on eBay, and a few via my site. I rarely have time to make "extras," so it doesn't happen often.
Are there any other types of customs that you have never done but would like to try: I wish my sculpting skills were adequate to the task of creating maquettes from scratch. Or that I had the engineering skills to make a scratch-built Transformer. Alas, those are truly "high end " skill sets.
Why did you take part in the Customizer of the Month article: I really respect and enjoy Custom Justice and the collective membership. Not only does Custom Justice represent some mighty talent, but the participants are enthused, and encouraging to others. The members are active and always looking for ways to develop their personal skills, and expand the hobby as a whole. Educating others about our little hobby has always been one of my main goals, and I'm proud to be part of a site that does such a task so well. Everyone here takes the craft seriously, yet has fun practicing it.
What lines of toys/models do you collect: Oh, that changes all the time. Sadly, in the last few years, I've cut the collection down to a third of what it was at its height. Some current, not-yet-dead lines: JLU/the Timmverse, DC Direct/DC Universe Classics, DC Minimates/DC Legos, a smattering of Transformers, die-cast Batmobiles. I also rotate some "dead" and smaller lines on and off the shelves: Vintage Star Wars, Palisades Muppets, Nightmare Before Christmas, animated Pirates of the Caribbean, NECA's TMNT. Plus, there are lots of maquettes and statues. Not to mention my son's Super Friends, and my wife's Cars, Buffy, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes and Dr. Who stuff. Yeah, ours is a fun house.
If you could give one tip to other customizers, what would it be: Patience! Do not look upon the best customs ever made and expect to equal such results your first time out. I suspect many would-be customizers try and give up too quickly because they don't give their skills a chance to develop. Such things take a fair amount of time and practice. Personally, I wish I had much more time available. There are many tasks I suspect I'm capable of, but simply don't have the time to practice just yet.
What inspires you when you do a custom: As one my expect, I find the designs of Bruce Timm and his team to be very inspiring. As I get older, I find I'm drawn to simple yet elegant and expressive cartoon design. "Realistic" projects have less pull for me these days. I can see a well designed bit of animation (even if it's not very well animated) and get excited. I feel that way about the recent Transformers animated program. Love the character designs, but the animation is horrid.
What is your favorite custom that you have: See below
What custom do you feel is your best: I'm combining these two questions, because the answers are the same. I feel my TNBA Clayface and my STAS Mxyzptlk are examples of my best work, and consequently they're two of my favorites. Except for his hat, Mxy is a 100% original sculpt. Clayface is about 95% original, with only some portions of his knees and fingers remaining from the old Hasbro Clayface underneath. More importantly, I think these two are fairly show accurate, and given their simplicity, that's tough to achieve. (Then again, I'm also pretty fond of my Circe, Supergirl, Inque, Giganta...)
Thanks for the opportunity to be included in such an outstanding line-up of customizers!
