Interview with Reactor88

Tell us a little about yourself
I’m a Los Angeles-based desinger/artist. I hold a full-time job as a web designer/developer at a software company and I also do a little bit of freelance design and illustration on the side. I was heavily involved in digital/3D art, animation and motion graphics, but in the last few years I’ve gotten back to basics, and really just enjoy painting (toys and canvases) and drawing in my free time.

How and when did you get into designer toys?
I had been familiar with the scene for a while, but only as a window-shopper. I lived very close to Giant Robot in Los Angeles, so I’d always go in there and look at all the cool books and crazy toys, but I never purchased anything. I think what caught my eye first was the fact that artists I was already familiar with were making their own designer toys (Shag, Baseman, Biskup, etc.) Then the Kidrobot LA store came to Santa Monica, so I’d go in there and just look at all the interesting toys and things, but once again never really had the desire to buy anything. Finally the Munny came out, and I searched around and saw the Kidrobot forums and all the very creative things people were doing with Munnys. I was heavily into painting/building model kits when I was younger, so there was an extra crossover appeal with DIY toys for me. So a few days later I went down and bought one- and it just sat there on my desk and collected dust. About 5 months later, I was at Munky King checking out all their cool stuff, and as a surprise my girlfriend bought me a blind boxed LA Dunny. After that I was hooked..

Tell us a little about your collection
I would say the bulk of my collection consists of 3-inch Dunnys. I think a lot of people will tell you this was the “gateway” toy that first got them into collecting. I built my own little display shelf for them, and I keep the more recent ones I’ve collected on display. The rest I keep packed away. Once a new series hits, I’ll have to make room for them, so the older ones will once again be packed away to make room for the new. I also have other some random mini-figs, a couple of 8-inch Dunnys, some Qees, and a small variety of other larger toys. I also just purchased a 20-inch Mist Dunny- he’s the big boy of my collection. I have limited space and a limited budget, so I need to be fairly selective in what I purchase. I also collect a lot of artwork (paintings, prints, skate decks), which I think goes hand in hand with a lot of the designer toys.

What are your favorite toys and/or artists?
My personal all-time favorite toy is Gary Taxali’s Toy Monkey. I’ve always liked “retro” things, and there’s just something about the expression on that little guy’s face that makes me laugh every time I see it. As far as artists, there are just too many to name.

When did you start customizing?
As I mentioned earlier, I purchased a Munny when they first came out, but I didn’t actually get to customizing it until a good amount of time later. I was super busy with my job and freelance design work at the time, and I think I was on the verge of a digital burnout. I made a promise to myself to get back to traditional painting and drawing, and the timing was perfect as it was right when I got immersed into the toy scene as a collector. The next step was customizing, so I finally opened up that Munny and got to it.

What are your favorite toys for customizing?
I enjoy customizing just about anything, but I definitely lean towards figures that are a little more plain or rounder in their shape- basically things without too much definition in their form. I like to treat custom painting toys the same way someone would approach painting a blank canvas, so if a figure is too well defined I find that sometimes will force me into making a design work on the figure, instead of giving me a wide range of creative freedom within the realm of a 3D shape. With that said, I think my favorite platform to customize are Dunnys- both 3-inch and 8-inch. Although, right now I’m enjoying working on really unique toys and things. As a matter of fact, I’m currently painting a Nintendo 64…

What materials and techniques do you use?
For my customs, I like to stick with paint. A lot of folks add onto figures using sculpting clay, parts from model kits or other toys, but as I said earlier I pretend these toys are like plain canvases, so I guess that’s why I just stick with the paint I really like using Sharpie poster paint markers, but because of their limited color palette, I’ll use liquid acrylics as well. My designs are usually very flat and graphic-based, so the markers and acrylics work very well. I also dabble with flocking, and use some spray paints, but that’s rare.

How much time do you spend customizing a toy?
That’s a tough question. I’m usually working on about 4-5 projects at once, so it’s hard to determine how much time I spend on one toy. I’m very meticulous and take a lot of pride in my work, so I probably spend more time than most. I very carefully prep each figure by stripping all the paint off of them, sanding them and priming them- that in itself takes a very long time. When it comes to the actual painting process, I might re-paint things one, two, or three times until I think it looks okay. I’m also pretty methodical when it comes to the design process. I always sketch my ideas out on paper or on the computer. Once I have something I like, I’ll create some color studies- either digital or with markers, colored pencils, whatever. Once that’s all set, I feel I’m ready to begin painting the actual toy. Sometimes the final design and color scheme will deviate from my original sketches and color studies, but for the most part it stays true to the original concept. I think by laying everything out as clearly as possible ahead of time I can concentrate completely on the technique while I’m actually painting.

Do you make other art besides customizing toys?
I do paint on canvas, wood and masonite, but the bulk of my art these days is custom toys. I’d like to do some sculpting and possibly create a small resin run of some of my own toy designs, but that’s a long ways off in the future.

What other interests do you have (besides designer toys)?
I pretty much live for art- I love going to museums, art shows, gallery exhibits and all that kind of stuff. Of course being brought up in southern California, I love the beach and outdoor activities as well. It’s just hard finding time for everything these days.

Do you take on commisions?
I do take on commissions, but I’ve currently closed my list because there’s about 25 people waiting on it right now and I’m backlogged by over a year. Once I can get through the bulk of my list I’ll probably open it up again. If people have commission questions, I can be contacted via email.

Where can people see more of your work or contact you?
People can see all of my custom toys, paintings, digital art, animation work, etc. at my website: http://www.reactor88.com. I try to update it at least once a month. I also keep a much more up to date blog which can be found at: http://reactor88.blogspot.com.