I met cbla_member on the BrickArms forum, he’s a pretty cool guy and a very talented custom minifig builder and MOC (my own creations) builder, I’ve seen a stack of his work at his photo site, I think you’ll agree that these are some awesome MOCs and custom minifigs.

so over to the interview with cbla_member

who is cbla_member?

My real name is Aaron I live in Victoria B.C. Canada I came out of my “dark age” about 2 years ago and I’m 25 years old.

1. how did you find out about customizing mini figs?
I joined VicLUG in January and was shown the Brickarms site, after that I trawled MOCpages and Brickshelf. Since then I’ve moved on to flickr which is an amazing source for pics of custom figs but I still check out the fig section of the Brickarms forum.

2. how big is your collection now?
I buy Lego all the time so its almost impossible to track my figs let alone all my bricks. I know I don’t have nearly as many figs as most people but I get by.

3. your mini figs seem to follow the RAMM, there seems to be quite a few Lego armies out there, any reason why you chose to follow that format rather than strike out on your own?
To be honest RRAM is a bit of a poke at all of the fictional armies no offense intended I just don’t want RRAM to be taken very seriously because no matter what army you build its still in essence playing with toys which is all about fun. I have and will continue to strike out on my own with all of my other building styles my personal fave custom fig being my Punisher. (seen here) Military is in no way my most prominent building style either, I build space, mecha, castle and town. Every creation has its own custom fig thats part of the entire piece.

4. for those of us who are just starting out with minifig customization, do you think there’s any thing particular newbies should be aware of?
Always apply a clear coat to waterslide decals I learned that the hard way thats why my Punisher fig sports that battle damaged look. Aside from that whether you’re dismantling and experimenting with different leg arm torso combinations or getting crafty with decals paint glue or sculpting remember that these are toys and as long as your having fun then your doing everything right. When you do post pictures of figs take any criticism with a grain of salt as there are people out there who take this way more serious than you do.

5. in your opinion whos the mini fig customizer you most admire?
Thats a hard question Will and Ian Chapman are definitely up there its not very often a custom minifig gets worldwide news coverage. (you can see the fig here) Other than them I really think OBX crew does really nice customs he has a very keen eye for little details I like that a lot, Hazel did some really nice sculpting with his Gears of War figs, and recently Jasbrick has been posting these really great Brickviet figs with beautiful paint jobs on the Brickarms forum. Thats the beauty of custom figs theres so much to choose from and always new talent popping up too.
Thanks go out to cbla_member, you’re officially the very first interviewee on customminifig!

Here are some great examples of cbla_member’s work, you can see more here.