Mangling Toys with Custom Figure Maker, Toy Mangler.

Fed up with many of the big 12" action figures/dolls by established companies and really wanting my own Kurt Russell as MacReady, I decided to take action earlier this year and contact the Toy Mangler. As a result of his killer work on Mac, I decided that my "tattoos" if you will, would be Toy Mangler made custom figures of characters I've created in screenplays and stories.

Thanks to Toy Mangler, I've finally written a couple of characters that have been stewing for a very long time and look to get them published in the next year or so. The additional cool factor, is that I feel like I'm working with an FX designer on these guys. For more on Toy Mangler, please visit his site. And thanks again for all the great inspiration & support.

Figures...

Regarding his history, Toy Mangler says: As a kid I played with GI Joes, Captain Action, and Star Trek figures, Legos, Play-doh; I built models (Universal Monsters were my favorite). I drew and painted a lot too. I worked in an art gallery where I met many artists, and picked up various techniques using several different mediums to create 3-dimensional art. I’m always learning and trying new techniques for my art. Even my woodworking skills help at times. I like to keep my work one-of-a-kind (ooak), this is why I tend to sculpt many parts of the figures - faces, hands, heads, torsos, boots, hats, etc - this leaves them truly unique. In 1994 I started collecting & selling vintage GI Joes & Barbie dolls (60's & 70's) - my main focus at the time was repairing the Joe "talkers" and re-rooting the vintage barbies when needed. Then I started customizing dolls and figures into ones that I wished were available in the stores - of course now there are plenty more available. In 1997 my main focus turned to custom figures and "ToyMangler" evolved.

Some of your most impressive figures are the musicians (Led Zep III era Jimmy Page, Dave Navarro, Dimebag Darrell) etc. Is there a particular musician you hope to do?

Not ONE musician, but my ultimate group set - Slipknot! I've already finished Mick Thomson & Chris Fehn, and have the prototype layout of Joey's drum kit...

Moving to action figures for a moment, what's you're opinion on like the McFarlane Movie Maniacs etc.?

I like them and have collected them! I have always been a fan of McFarlane and find him to be an extremely impressive entrepreneur.

I notice your film roster is filled with anti-heroes or villains. Any particular villain you'd like to do?

I have quite a list in my head; I would really enjoy making a Monster Man figure and then would like to get Michael Bailey Smith's picture with it. I am also working on a "regular" Otis Driftwood figure for myself.

Speaking of Otis, love the Ritual Otis you did for Bill Moseley, besides Bill and musician J.R. have other celebrities requested work?

I get more comments from them regarding my work, more than requests. - i.e. Linda Blair liked a diorama I made of her in the Exorcist, so I made one for her. Dave Navarro seemed a bit un-nerved over his figure and mentioned it on his site...but hey, it's all good. Mick Thomson commented he liked the figure I made of him. I hope the small buzz the figures have created will get more celebrities talking and wanting them.

Hands in Clay

What aspect of creating the figures is your favorite, and what is your least favorite?

Favorite aspect - Geez - that’s a tough one as I enjoy pretty much all of the figure creating process from start to finish. I guess my favorite part is when a person sees their figure and gets excited over it. My least favorite aspect – waiting on the line to get fabric cut! If that’s the worst of it then I shouldn’t complain – but hey, you asked!

I've been quite impressed by the amount of research and resources you shown me in our working together. Do you enjoy doing the research as much as building the figure?

You know it!

The market seems to be growing for custom or heavily detailed 12" or larger dolls. People just don't want to wait for the big companies to make a character they want anymore. What's the one character you'd like for yourself that hasn't been done yet?

A Slipknot set... I'm hoping to hire me to finish them as soon as I can afford myself! LOL!

If a large company wanted you on their team, what element of figure production would you want to be involved in.

Only ONE element? :) ...hmmm…I’d have to say whatever element puts my hands in clay...

For interested parties, what are the costs/specs and rules about getting a figure from Toy Mangler? (What will you do/won't you do etc.)

My figures run anywhere from $250 - $850 depending on the specs. Since every figure is different, I usually just ask questions and shoot emails back & forth a few times to get a better idea of what the person is looking for, and then I can give a price. I try to stick with what I feel I do best so if someone asks for let's say a Paris Hilton figure I will tell them flat out that’s not my forte and I'd rather pass on it. I get some out of the ordinary requests here & there and will turn down anything that I feel is too controversial.

For pictures of Toy Mangler's great take on MacReady, please go here.

Legalese: This site is not affilited with any films and/or characters mentioned in the interview, 2008 - Present K. August.