Carlos Martinez-Flores is a guy that can take a broken toy and breath new life into it. He can also modify an original figure or vehicle and transform it into something that you wouldn't expect to see! I had the absolute pleasure of getting to interview him and kind of figure out what makes a talented individual like himself, tick!
Hello Carlos! Can you tell me about yourself?
Howdy. I'm Carlos. I'm an independent toy maker, musician
and GI JOE fanatic and I live in Burbank , California
How long have you lived in California
Almost all my life. Although I have also lived in Mexico , Pennsylvania and Arizona
What is one of the most unconventional things
that you love about living on the west coast?
I'm really boring, so I just stay home most of
the time.
I guess one of the fun things I love about
living in Burbank
Other than the cars, I'm a pretty boring
guy. I love the typical 'Southern California ' stuff; good weather, great Mexican
food, and an occasional trip to a theme park.
You say you are a full time toy maker, how does
one get into that sort of thing? Because that would be my dream job!
To be honest, a few years back I nearly
completed my GI JOE collection but I wanted to have more vehicles. One day I decided to take a broken
vehicle and customize it. I
found I was actually good at it.
A few years later I left my full time job and
went out on my own.
It's hard work. It's the toughest job I've
ever had. If you don't make toys you don't eat. But it pays off
when people appreciate what you have made and you start seeing them in other
people's homes all over the world.
What is your favorite toy company? What do you
look for in a figure?
Hasbro. I grew up with Hasbro toys and
have always loved their toy lines. I look for quality paint, a nice
sculpt and decent articulation.
What toy companies have you worked for? Was this
your goal since you were a child or did life drop you into this?
Life just kind of dropped me into this. I got an opportunity to work briefly
at Sideshow Toys and the rest kind of fell into place after that.
What keeps you motivated?
My wife and my love for toys. I want to
see things no one has made yet.
Biggest nightmare project or favorite past
project?
My custom GI JOE Thunder Machine is my favorite
project. It was an early project and I will never sell it. I kit bashed it and then some. Making my own parts and even learned a
little bit of wiring so it could have flashing lights.
Biggest nightmare project would be my custom
Bruder/G.I. Joe Semi Truck. I
wound up in Urgent Care at 8am one Saturday morning on that one. My wife kept warning me to be careful
with my Exacto and I kinda tried using it to remove a difficult wheel from an
axel. Wound up slicing the
palm of my hand open. Took
4 stitches and I could see the chorizo on the inside of my hand which was both
gross and fascinating. The
stupid pain deadening stuff they injected into my hand hurt worse than the
actual cut. Of course, even
after all that, the damn wheel still didn't come off. Good times.
How hardcore of a fan of G.I. Joe are you? Can
you tell me when you first got into this line of toys? What’s a rare figure or vehicle
that you own?
I started collecting when I was around 7. A lot of those were either given to
younger family members or blown up with fire crackers. I stopped for a long time and picked
it up again when the 25th anniversary figures came out. It snow balled very quickly after
that.
One of the rarest things I have also has a
pretty funny story behind it. I
found a pretty good deal on a space shuttle. It's called the G.I. Joe Defiant and
it's not so much a space shuttle as it's a space station. It's one of the holy grail items,
especially if it's in good shape.
As I said, I found one and bought it. Only problem was, it was being
delivered by UPS on my wedding day. I'm
pretty paranoid about stolen packages and, I won't lie, I actually turned to my
wife and asked her if there was a way for me to be at home when the package was
delivered. She 'politely'
told me about UPS MyChoice, so it all worked out. Sometimes I wonder why she puts up
with me.
Your customizations are otherworldly! Can you
take me through the process of making one? What was your most challenging
project?
Thanks man! I'd say my most challenging project to
date is one I tentatively call the 'Mega Hiss'. It's an ongoing, unfinished project
I've been working on for about 3 years now. When I started that one I actually did
a couple rough sketches of what I wanted. It's mostly a Frankenstein creation
that's a little bit of kit bashing, a little re-purposing other toys and a LOT of scratch building.
When I first started assembling it, I found 4
donor tanks and put them together. I
then got a lot of styrene plastic sheets and molded and shaped it into an over
all, HISS Tank inspired shape. I
then reconfigured the tank treads and made sure they were functional. I still futz with the treads from time
to time because I'm not quite happy with them yet. I added some cannons and other
weaponry from other model kits and donor vehicles. It took about a year to get that
far. I ran out of money for
a bit just as I was about to start the interior and now it's collecting dust
while I wait for a bit of free time to get back to working on it again. When I do get back to it, I'm planning
on adding lights and video screens in addition to storage cabinets and seating.
What’s your inspiration to start doing those?
Just grew up watching a lot of SCI FI
films. I like the boxy and worn out futuristic tech. There's just something about the
'future' of the late 70's/early 80's that I find really inspiring and making
things in that style really makes me the happiest.
Your mini arcade pieces are impressive! What got
you into doing that?
I just wanted a lot of arcades for my action
figures. I grew up with arcades and I don't have room for a real one so I
make these small ones I can put anywhere.
What would your dream customization be? If you
could do a vehicle or change one vehicle, in G.I. Joe/Cobra, what would it be?
I want to make my own USS FLAGG one day.
Improve on it. I would change it by adding way more detail to it. It's an aircraft carrier, so I'd want
to beef it up, add some lights to it. Maybe
a hanger bay under the flight deck. Seal
it off. It was originally
designed to come apart and be stored under a kid's bed. So the deck supports are pretty flimsy
and the side of the ship is just a little plastic sheet that looks kind of like
those vertical sheets of plastic from apartment blinds. I'd definitely want it to be
solid. Weather it up a bit
so it looks like it's been at sea for a while. You know, all the fun stuff.
Who would you love to collaborate with?
I'm a huge fan of Sucklord. I find him really inspiring and
honestly don't think I'd be doing this today if I didn't find him so
inspiring. So I think
collaborating with him would be pretty bad ass.
 |
| The Sucklord |
Do you have any projects in the future that you
can talk about?
I have a couple projects for other people on the
horizon, but like you said, I can't really talk about them yet.
What I can talk about is that I'll be releasing
a new arcade body style in June. It's
based on the Gyruss cab and as soon as my graphic designer's schedule opens up
again I'll be releasing those. I've
also got a replica of the actual Konami G.I. Joe cab coming soon. It won't be an exact replica, but
it'll still be fun. Got a
couple new ideas I want to try out on that one. I'm also hoping to produce a table to
go with my Frida chairs in the next couple of months.
You can find Carlor on the following:
On Instagram @gijoefan312
http://serpentsystems.storenvy.com/
https://www.facebook.com/serpentsystems
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