Marvin the Martian – a custom minifig creation by Hound Knight

hound knight is one of the ‘old guard’ of the custom minifig world, in as much as i’d blogged much of his custom minifig endeavors way back in the day when this site was tiny. so its about time that i spent some time and did and interview with the good sir.

1. how long have you been customizing minifig for?

Well, I’ve been building my own “purist” minfigures for about 15 years. I really got started using custom decals and the like 3 years ago. There are incriminating MS paint sticker designs to prove it.

2.what got you inspired to create your own custom minifigs, and start drawing your own creations?

I guess it got started when I figured out you didn’t have to put the ‘fig parts together exactly like the instructions show. I then discovered that when arranged in a certain way, the elements could look like a character from a movie, book, etc.

As far as drawing goes, I’ve always loved creating artwork, and I enjoy drawing things that I’m interested in, so LEGO was a natural choice. Apparently people liked them pretty well, and I’m honored to have had several LEGO fansites use my artwork.

3. are there any particular minifig customizers that look up to or that inspire you?

Armothe, Omicron, Gecko, Oreo, Shmails, and Roaglann are several who spring immediately to mind, but I draw inspiration from pretty much everything I come in contact with.

4. the lego minifig collectors series has really been popular have you been influenced by the collectors series? how has it changed your custom minifigs?

I’ve gotten a lot of cool elements to use on my custom minfigures, and a lot of great ideas as well. The stands are useful too.

5. what do you do for inspiration?

Read, listen to music, watch movies, talk to people, draw.

6. whats your favouirte lego minifig?

I’d have to say Johnny Thunder. There have been so many memorable characters from LEGO over the years!

7. and whats your favourite custom minifig by any one?

This amazing Tournament Knight from Gecko/P-Squiddy.

www.flickr.com/photos/cornerstone_photos/5204964941/

8. if lego were to produce one set or minifig of your choice what would it be? why?

Either the Lord of the Rings /Hobbit or Narnia would be awesome. Both would be doubly awesome.

9. any tips for newbies to custom minifigs?

*insert overused cliche about working hard and believing in yourself here*

10. anyone you want to give a shout out to?

Look ma! I’m on TV!

Thanks for the interview, this was fun. 🙂