I have been on the October Toys Forum for years as both an active participant AND as a semi-creepy lurker, drooling over the Glyos customs and picking up customizing tips. For those that are unaware of the October Toys Forum, its threads are filled with some of the most incredible customizers and toy-makers, specializing in all ends of the action figure spectrum. For the last few years, George Gaspar (toy designer and the man behind October Toys) has utilized the forum to create a toy line that is designed and sculpted by members of their online community: The Outlandish Mini Figure Guys– or OMFG, for short. Series 3 was recently released, and I snagged a package of this year’s offerings in the classic flesh-tone of the 1980’s M.U.S.C.L.E. figures- the line from which the presentation of the OMFG was most influenced by.
The lineup from Series 3 includes:
–Dr. Decay by Jonathan Wojcik & George Gaspar
–Barbarianaut by Charles Marsh
–Pugnacious by Bill MacKay & George Gaspar
–Fruit Punch by Scott Tolleson & George Gaspar
–Tencan by Richard Brown & Nikolos Sardos & Bryan Fulk
Without any paint apps or articulation, my long-winded review is this: I love ’em. With that over, I decided to fill the rest of this space with photos and a short interview with the Barbarianaut’s creator- Charles Marsh!
FreakSugar: How did you first get involved in designing an OMFG figure?
Charles March: I actually have been involved with the OMFG line since the beginning. George [Gaspar] asked a few of us if we’d be interested in working with him to make a line of minifigures, and I jumped at the opportunity! My character Multiskull was in the first wave of figures, and I helped with the design of the Grimm Gourd character from series 2. I have also helped out with promoting the figures by doing custom paint jobs on the resin paint masters for each of the Kickstarter campaigns.
FS: What was your concept for the Barbarianaut?
CM: He started as an almost traditional astronaut– the concept was based on the idea that you never see an astronaut who’s just beefy and ripped… the suit is always so bulky that even a big, muscly man like Arnold Schwarzenegger looks the exact same as a shrimpy, little guy in one of those suits. I wanted to make an astronaut so big and beefy he’d be testing the limits of the seams on that suit! I was going to call him “Bad Astronaut”– goofy, I know! But as I sculpted him his pose made me think of that classic Frazetta painting of Conan riding his horse down on those guys… this one: Conan the Conqueror— and suddenly I wanted to make my astronaut a barbarian… a Barbarianaut! The back story behind him came later and will be revealed down the road, but let’s just say that the wearer of that suit took it by force!
FS: Was the original sculpt for the figure at 1:1 scale?
CM: Yep. I sculpted him out of Sculpey– just as I did Multiskull before him– at the actual size. You just about go blind working at that scale after a while!
FS: Did you have any trouble spots with the sculpt or did it come together easily?
CM: The sculpt came together really easily, to tell the truth, but the design had a few hitches. A good friend of mine, Brad Rader, suggested that I make a few changes here and there– replacing the sword I originally had him carrying to an axe, furry underwear, studded wrist cuffs, etc… just little touches that really helped push the barbarian concept more. After those were put in it was all downhill… in a good way!
FS: What’s your favorite OMFG figure besides your own?
CM: It’s one that hasn’t be produced yet, actually… the Wooly Whisp by Billy Parker from series 4. That thing is amazing, and I’m not saying that just because Billy is a friend. It’s an intricate sculpt with great body language… you almost feel the weight of the character’s bulk even though the sculpt is one of the smallest in the set. If you like big, shaggy Sasquatch type characters you’ll dig that one!
FS: Other than the OMFG line, where can people see some of your other work?
CM: I have a blog and I stay pretty active on Facebook. I have a Storenvy storefront that I update regularly (probably the thing I update the most, actually) with new stuff: Monsterforge.
See? You get to know all kinds of cool-ass creators on FreakSugar! You can sign up for the October Toys Forum here, and this link will send you straight to storefront, where you can pick up your own OMFG series 3 figures and others from series past!