Welcome to another installment of Artist’s Corner!
This time we have an all-new interview with wrestling action figure customizer Coltez Customs!
Artist’s Corner was created to highlight artists in the professional wrestling community whom contribute some of the most unique work around!
Photo Credit – Coltez CustomsAn Interview with Coltez Customs
If you’re a wrestling action figure collector you most likely are familiar with the custom wrestling figure community where extremely talented artists create dream action figures of either people we’ve never seen in toy form or simply creating attires we may never see mass produced. Then you have people who go way above and beyond creating super unique action figures, such as Coltez Customs, whom literally makes real outfits for his action figures!
You can see some of his amazing work throughout this article but be sure to give him a follow over on his Instagram to see his extremely impressive portfolio!
I got a chance to chat with him and learn all about his craft, which is quite fascinating!
What inspired you to pursue customizing action figures, wrestling figures in particular?
As a kid I always love clothes, and fashion in general. I always wished to change the figures outfits up. I definitely remember having a sharpie phase, and then my dad (who was an artist) said “Why don’t you get paint so you don’t ruin them as much? Then just played around with it. Was TERRIBLE, but always moved on from markers. During this time(2008-2010), I remember googling WWE (diva) action figures during this time, and found this whole word on YouTube where people made animations of their figures. That’s when the passion really kicked in and I learned about showing off customs. Took a lot of inspiration from WrestlingFigs Forums as well!
Do you have tailoring experience or anything of the sort that helped you with crafting the clothing for the figures?
I actually don’t. I just learned on the fly, with lots of trial and error. I’m pretty sure I watched a YouTube tutorial on a person cutting and seeing the fabric for action figures. My mom also gave me some pointers on the actual sewing part!
What made you decide to do real clothing than just painting like other customizers?
The biggest reason at the time when I started making clothes (2011-2012ish) was because I made a YouTube channel, wwecoltez (check it out for some fun). I wanted to keep showing off different outfits per show. When I was just painting(reminder I was terrible at it), I would keep layering the gears on top of each other. It was a mess. There were two main (diva) animation shows, Ratedwwe, and leokanellis (@echshow on instagram). I saw how amazing their clothes were and how awesome their shows turned out because they could keep switching them out. Moral of the story, I was terrible at painting and then found out about fabric!
Why only women wrestlers versus the male wrestlers as well?
See, I’d like to think it’s because as a (gay) kid, I loved to play the woman in any video games. That’s just a funny meme I relate to still to this day. I just connected with them as a kid. But now, I know I could do some men customs justice, but I like to keep the focus on the the woman. I still think woman don’t get enough credit in the business for having to if not as hard, harder. I just want to show my appreciation through them. I know a lot of “Straight fans” think the “diva fans” are something else, but in reality they just want the same opportunity to share their passion. I know for a fact if I made only male customs (how I currently do) my following would be significantly larger. I’ve been working so hard to show that woman customs can be at the same caliber as the men. I learn new techniques, get new resources, try new things. In many cases, the woman have more difficult to do the woman, due to their gears being way more intricate, especially with fabric. I hope I’m creating doors for other people to not only try doing more woman customs, but to show that there’s room for all of us!
What is your typical process without giving away all your secrets? Such as picking material, what looks to do, how long it takes, etc.
What I usually do, Is start with the figure. Sand down anything as needed, and paint flesh if appropriate. I always like to start with a fresh canvas ready to go. I only have currently, black, white, and metallic red fabric. Everything else I need to prepare to paint, on the white. My fabric is off amazon(actually all my resources), 4 way stretch, easy search! I’m hoping to add more fun fabrics in the future so I don’t have to paint everything, and save some time. I’m not even going to mention the paint I use as I’ll be judged by the community (take a wild guess), but since it’s on fabric it actually stays on well since it’s not plastic. When I was posting daily, it would normally only take about 3-8 hours depending on the complexity. But that’s also me losing sleep to keep up with my feed. Cutting and sewing take a lot of time and a lot of trial and error. I have plenty of fabric that has gone to waste. I’m an open book about my process and encourage people to ask for tips and questions!
What’s your favorite figure you’ve done?
This is a really tough one. I honestly keep impressing myself the more I do this. Some of my favorites include Sasha (any to be honest), Alexa (fiend), Candice (Halloween Havoc), Carmella (return), Liv (WM 37), and Rhea (Halloween Havoc).
What figure is on your list that you haven’t gotten to yet?
One that I’ve been dying to do… Is Ruby Riott. I was impressed on how I did Liv’s yellow plaid look, so looking forward to finishing her Joker look. Another one is Beth Phoenix. Because I still think no figure has done her 100% justice.
What’s the hardest attire you’ve created in figure form?
Any Sasha is very difficult, especially the little dots and lettering. Some of the Livs (the plaid ones) have been time consuming as well.
How many figures have you made and how long have you been customizing?
I’ve made over 200 in my life, but I really don’t look at my previous work. I started back up in January of 2020 and have made 160+ since. I felt like I had something to prove. I always say in my posts, but I hope to do justice. I took a break ten years back, but don’t plan on stopping for a while!
Have any wrestlers seen and shared your work? Have you made any figures for or given yours to wrestlers?
When making this page, I had no intention of actually having wrestlers see my work. I still fangirl when they see, comment, and share. My first one that shred was Carmella. Then shortly after Trinity(Naomi). When Trin was the first to follow me, I didn’t know how to control myself. I still get so excited to this day when they even like. For me it’s validation that they appreciated the work put in. I gifted one to Tay Conti, that was very special for me. I would love to send more to wrestlers, to have a different way of showcasing their fan art and career!
Where can people find your work?
You can find me on Instagram @coltezcustoms! I truly appreciate all of the love and support, and hope to keep sharing my customs with the community!
I got the awesome Victoria figure seen in this article made by Coltez Customs and highly recommend you own some of his work! The detail is fantastic for a 6-inch action figure and you can still pose the figure, too, which is amazing! Coltez is super easy to work with and is such a warm personality in the community. Be sure to check out all of his amazing work on his Instagram! You honestly won’t be disappointed!
