Toy Customizer: Juan Luis Salido Bruque

Interview with Toy Customizer:  Juan Luis Salido Bruque

Welcome to another awesome Toy Customizer Interview!!

Toy customizing has quickly become an ever-increasing hobby thanks to adult-collector toy lines, and the slow pace at which they release new product. There’s nothing stopping you from creating your very own ideal action figure. Today we are talking with a guy who goes by the name of Juan Luis Salido Bruque from CUSTOMOTUCS KEMAO.

Juan Has made some awesome customs and he can basically make you any MOTU Classic figure that hasn’t been made yet!!!

MOTU!: Hi Juan and thanks for taking time out to do this interview with me. (Click here to read the interview if you missed it) Ever since I interviewed you as a Toy Collector and I saw the incredible custom figures you have made I decided I must do a follow-up interview with you. That awesome Custom Bravestarr and Custom Tug-O-War figure are awesome.
 

Bravestarr and Tug-O-War

Can you tell us a bid about yourself?

Juan: Hello again, friends. I'm a big fan of MOTU, I make my own creations and I also direct the Spanish podcast La Cueva Del Terror. (a.k.a. The Fright Zone) with other Spanish Collectors. (La Cueva Del Terror - Facebook)

MOTU!: So Juan, how did you get started doing action figure customs?

Juan: I started painting Warhammer figures about twenty years ago. From that I went directly to do some sculptures, since I studied the Art in Spain. My first custom I made was with the 200X MOTU Figures. I didn't have money for an exclusive Moss Man so I created one for myself with a Beast Man. After that, I made some more characters, but for a while I was doing nothing. When the MOTUC arrived, I got some cheap ones through the net and started to create some characters and also to create existing figures like Fuerza T and Blackstar. I haven't stopped since. Now I share my hobby with my friends Jordi from Toplus Customs, Fer from Mismotus and Pablo Gerrero Masilla. We exchanged pieces and knowledge.

MOTU!: How long have you been customizing figures?

Juan: My first custom was Tara, sister of Seahawk. I did it in 2010. I think by 2020 I will do her daughter. LOL.

Tara, Sister of Seahawk

MOTU!: You do a lot of sculpting on your figures, not just the same old repaints seen elsewhere. What materials do you generally use to "make the magic happen”?

Juan: I use materials that I try. There are some like Super Sculpey, which despite being used by many people, I do not end up liking. In the end I discovered a material that is made in my city and has no brand. It is only sold in a store here and is a mixture of two components. Sometimes I use more typical materials. In the USA it is easy to do this job. Here it is more complicated and expensive.

As for painting, use Montana Spray and Liquitex paints. Sometimes I do not like the result. Some colors go sticky, but I keep experimenting without stopping.

MOTU!: Your paint jobs are very well done. Can you tell us a little on your technique for getting a sweet paintjob that gets past the pesky joint rub problem?

Juan: As I said, I usually make a first Montana Spray base. Then I paint details with acrylic paint and brush. Sometimes I use the airbrush with Tamiya.

The problem with joints and painting is the eternal dispute for a customizer. Personally, I do not play with my customs, so I do not worry much. I have tried many ways to solve the problem, but sooner or later, the painting comes off. The trick of protecting with a thin layer of super glue or sanding the area, does not always work. I must say that MOTUC figures are not very well made and this problem is in many of them.

There are some customizers that have found the solution and hide it. The day I find out, I'll make it public. On the other hand, those customizers who say that they do not skip the paint on the joints, I would like to touch their figures and check it. But well, as I said before, I do not play with my customs. Some, I know that I can articulate them and with others, I must be very careful .

MOTU!: Any horror stories of something gone horribly wrong?

Juan: A lot of things have happened to me. Let some figures change the tone of color after a few months. That in summer they fall by the heat and that the painting sticks to the ground. Let the chrome paint never dry. Let the 4 Horsemen take out the character I created or thought to create. The last horror story I'm living with is creating the Galaxy Rangers. It's costing me a lot, because they have more work than I thought at first.

MOTU!: On the opposite end of blood loss, what has been your favorite custom to date? Not necessarily your favorite character, but one that just turned out exactly, or better, than you planned.

Juan: I think my favorite is Bravestarr, but I have better ones. STRAGON, for example, is my masterpiece. The problem is that it is a little away from MOTUC and looks like a Seventh Kingdom character, but I love it.

Stragon

ICE HACKER is another beast that I like very much, although I am pending to change the tail and to restore it a little.

Ice Hacker from the MOTU Mini Comic, The Dragon's Gift

I love STARRBLOOD. It's based on a bootleg figure I had when I was a kid. The GUERREROS DEL ESPACIO.

Duckman from Guerreros Del Espacio

I recently met the creator of those bootlegs and now I am friend with his son, another collector of MOTUC. K'TLOR is a very cool character. I used a head from Kevin Kosse, sometimes I use pieces from other creators, I really like to think of a kind of collaboration between two artists.

K'Tlor

KING CRINGER is just that. A collaboration between two. It is a creation of my friend Fer. He gave us some of his works but Jordi Toplus and I asked him for permission to transform it more. And there is the result.

King Gringer

SCORPON-OR is a very crazy design that I had stopped for a long time. The end result is great. One of my favorites for a long time.




Scorpon-Or

TUG O'WAR is a beautiful design by Axel Giménez. In addition, it is very simple to create. Hopefully you are prepared to leave this year through Super 7. LILITH and ASHURA did it at the same time. Two characters for the POP line, very bizarre but with beautiful colors.

Lilith

Ashura

QUICKSILVER and MAKO are top five. I created them to be able to have the podium of the Thunderforce next to Lion-O. Thunderforce was a project to join the series of Thundercats, Silverhawks and Tigersharks, but did not take place at the end.

Quicksilver

Mako

MIGHTOR and ZANDOR are two characters of Alex Toth. I'm thinking of creating the majority of those legends we saw through the Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
 

Mightor and Zandor from Herculiods

MOTU!: Do you have upcoming MOTUC customs that you're excited to be working on, or planning out?

Juan: I'm working as I said in the four Galaxy Rangers, but I have other creations in progress. Force Destroyer T in Filmation version. Iron Lion of the Infaceables. Iron Jaw of the Cosmic Cowboys. Hercules & Goliath, Birdman and Spaceghost of Hanna-Barbera. Tex Hex by Bravestarr. Dargon and Spidrax of Sectaurs. Besides these characters, I have three creations of my own prepared, but those are surprise.



MOTU!: Where can people see more of your work? Also, what is the best way for someone to get in touch with you for commissions?

Juan: You can view my work on my Facebook at CUSTOMOTUCS KEMAO at:  www.facebook.com/customotucs/

Actually I don’t do commissions at the moment, but perhaps in a few weeks.

MOTU!: Thanks Juan, great talking with you! We are look forward to see more sweet new customs from you during 2017.

Juan: Many thanks to you. Everything done for the benefit of our Masters Of The Universe is appreciated. A greeting to all.

Toy Collector: Juan Luis Salido Bruque

Interview with Toy Collector: Juan Luis Salido Bruque!

Welcome to my Third interview segment, where a collector answers 13 short questions. The same questions will be given to every collector appearing in this segment.

I’m really excited to welcome Spanish Masters of the Universe Collector, Juan Luis Salido Bruque onto the blog.

MOTU!: Before we start with the magic 13 questions, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Juan: Hello friends. I’m a die hard MOTUC collector from Spain. I also customize them and I have time to produce the MOTU Spanish podcast La Cueva del Terror (a.k.a. The Fright Zone) with other Spanish MOTU collectors. (La Cueva del Terror - Facebook)

MOTU!: 1. What inspired you to collect?

Juan: I’m a monster lover. When I was a child, my mother rent me a lot of horror movies despite the age ranking. This carelessness build the geek that I’m now.

MOTU!: 2. How long have you been collecting?

Juan: I have been collecting since I was a child. In fact, I have a few figures from the eighties that I preserve.

MOTU!: 3. What do you collect?

Juan: Actually I collect MOTUC, Thundercats Classics, S. H. Figuarts Kinnikuman and cherry pick Marvel Legends.

MOTU!: 4. What’s your grail and favourite piece in your collection?

Juan: I think that my favourite piece is a Bravestarr MOTUC custom I made myself last summer.

MOTU!: 5. What collectors inspire you?

Juan: All MOTUC collectors inspire me. I’m very proud to see that we are a very important crowd. We only need to help each other.

MOTU!: 6. What is your most embarrassing moment as a collector?

Juan: I have a lot of them. But I remember typical problems when you discover broken pieces in MOC figures or cockeyed characters. I hate cockeyed figures. What kind of quality control have the companies??

MOTU!: 7. What is your favourite MOTU Filmation or 200x Series Episode or MOTU Mini Comic and why?

Juan: It’s easy. The Last Stand. The King Grayskull episode. It was great to see the beginning of all the MOTU history. The Battle Lion, Hordak in action. The seconds of life of Calix, like Saurod in the MOTU Cannon film.

MOTU!: 8. What would you change about the collecting community?

Juan: Scalpers. They are a cancer. You have to know that international customers have to pay high shipment costs and taxes. One Mattycollector figure shipped to Spain, for example Clawful was $40 and if we include another figure, I have import risk and need to pay one figure more for taxes. If scalpers devastate the sale day, we have to pay more.

I think that all collectors need to help us. This is what we are doing with La Cueva del Terror movement. Keep MOTU alive, help all honest collectors and alert scalpers.

MOTU!: 9. Forums or Facebook groups?

Juan: La Cueva del Terror Podcast and Customotucs Kemao. But I also like any MOTU forum or page that contribute to keep He-man alive.

MOTU!: 10. What MOTU character do you most resemble?

Juan: I think Man-E-Faces. I need to change my personality with my friends, family or work. It was my first MOTU figure. I love it.

MOTU!: 11. Is there one thing that collectors may not know about you?

Juan: I’m very transparent about my personality with collectors. I usually talk about my experiences with collecting and try to help them. We have very long social gatherings about it, in our podcast. In Spanish unfortunately.

MOTU!: 12. I notice that a lot of collectors also collect comics (myself included). What do you think is the common factor that draws some people to both of these hobbies?

Juan: Comics come to life our favourite characters. I think is necessary to create a history of them. It creates a kind of soul around the character and it’s very important. And I have to say that both hobbies have a common factor, the nostalgia.

MOTU!: 13. And finally, what is it about the hobby that has kept you collecting for all of these years?

Juan: I will continue to collect until Super 7 in this case, leave us abandoned. At that point, I will simply continue to create my own characters.

MOTU!: Well thank you so much for joining me today Juan. It has been an immense pleasure and I’m sure my readers will enjoy reading your answers as much as I have!

Juan: Thank you so much for the interview. I hope everything is good for us this year and that we help each other to increase our collections, without treading on each other. Regards!!!

Check out more YouTube Video Clips from the awesome MOTU Collection of Juan Luis Salido Bruque!!