Malaysian Action Figure Creator Gaining International Recognition

By Sakini Mohd Said KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 (Bernama) -- As a child Azwan Abdul Karim was a huge fan of animated television series and he longed to possess action figures of his favourite superheroes. Since his mother, a divorcee, could not afford to buy them for him on the meagre RM300 pay she earned as a kindergarten teacher, the youngster decided to make his own. The nine-year-old lad, who lived with his mother in Jerantut, Pahang, got hold of some cardboard and, armed with a pocket knife, stapler, gum, colour pencils and plenty of imagination, started making his own three-dimensional versions of the action figures. They may have been crude replicas of the original, but unbeknown to him his hobby managed to uncover a reservoir of creative power that lay within him, which he would put to good use some 20 years later. Now 39 and holding a Master's degree in Fine Arts (Sculptures) and Design Technology, the small-town boy has come a long way. He has his hands full lecturing at the Faculty of Creative Technology and Heritage at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan in Bachok and avidly pursuing his hobby. The days of fashioning action figures out of recycled cardboard are long gone. His improvisation has gone up several notches in terms of technological sophistication and he is now a customizer, specialising in creating transformable action figures and other models from the "Transformers" science-fiction movie and television series. CREATIVE IDEAS "Back in the 1980s, kids like me enjoyed watching animated series like Thundercats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Ultraman, The Real Ghostbusters, Starcom and M.A.S.K. "I was so fascinated with the superheroes that I badly wanted to have action figures of them but they were costly. Just a single Ghostbusters action figure would cost about RM15, which my mother certainly could not afford," he said. When Azwan decided to create his own line of action figures out of cardboard, he found it easy to procure the raw material as his grandmother owned a sundry shop in Ladang Sungai Mai, Jerantut, where there were plenty of cardboard boxes of all sizes lying around idly. "Frankly speaking, I still don't know how I got the idea to use the cardboard boxes to make my own toys," he told Bernama during an interview, here recently. He was just nine years old then but single-handedly, through trial and error, he succeeded in constructing "Transformers" characters such as the robots that could be transformed into vehicles without being dismantled. These days, the ever-innovative Azwan – who is known as Wan De Real in the action figure customisation circles – is drawing the attention of like-minded enthusiasts not only in Malaysia but as far as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia through his De Real Transworks Facebook page and blogspot, where his works are exhibited. Some of the models in his "Transformers" line can fetch a price of up to RM10,000 each. CUSTOMISATION "I'm not exactly a fan of static action figures, such as those from the Gundam, Power Rangers and Star Wars series. I'm more inclined towards models whose shapes are transformable. "This is why I'm more interested in the M.A.S.K. and Transformers (series). Just ask me anything about the superheroes (from these series) and I will be able to answer," he said confidently, describing himself as an expert in customising the action figures from the two animated series. When Azwan starting working in 2004, he lost interest in action figures as activities like skateboarding and rap music caught his fancy. However, after watching the first "Transformers" movie, directed by Michael Bay, in 2007, his passion resurfaced. "Since I was already working (as a lecturer) then, I could afford to buy my favourite Transformers action figures," he said, smiling. The following year, he delved seriously into the business of creating custom-made action figures from the popular series. While he had already bought all the action figures from the "Transformers" series that were available in the market, he felt his collection was incomplete as he did not have the model of one of the prime characters, Masterpiece Bumblebee Generation 1. "The ones available in the market were small in size and made out of plastic, which did not do justice to the character," he pointed out. CREATING AN AUTHENTIC BUMBLEBEE Noting that all true-blue "Transformers" fans like him would love to have a fitting die-cast Masterpiece Bumblebee in their collection, Azwan decided to make his own. Using a 15.24cm long by 11.43cm high die-cast Volkswagen Maestro toy car as his basic building block, he first cut it up and then connected the pieces to other objects to create the perfect Masterpiece Bumblebee transformable robot, whose "alter ego" was a Volkswagen car. "It took me months to perfect my Bumblebee model due to time constraints. Making a transformable robot is very challenging indeed, but I was able to do it," he said. Azwan's efforts had not been in vain. As his die-cast Masterpiece Bumblebee was the first such one in the market, he started getting orders worldwide for customised models of the character. What is more, his invention was declared “Custom of the Month” in May 2009 by Sector70.com, a United States-based international online forum for discussions related to action figures. PROTOTYPES, FILM PROPS Spurred by his success, Azwan went on to customise other ''Transformers" characters like Blaster, Predaking, Astrotrain and Sixshot. His technical expertise enabled him to create robots that could be transformed into up to six different shapes. "Masterpiece Sixshot, for instance, can change into six objects including an aeroplane, pistol and armoured vehicle. "Masterpiece Astrotrain, on the other hand, is a robot that can transform into a locomotive and spaceship," explained Azwan, who is the founder of Malaysian Customizer or MyCust, an organisation for people specialising in producing customised action figures. In September 2010, his Astrotrain model won the Triple Threat Challenge at a competition organised by Sector70.com for customizers of "Transformers" action figures. Besides customising action figures, the industrious young man is also involved in building product prototypes, film props, dioramas and sculptures for various clients. Not long ago, he received an order to make a life-size model of the Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter head for a Malaysian documentary titled "Black Hawk Down: Heroes of Peace", that was aired on Astro Awani in August this year. "Whatever (creative and artistic) work it is that I do, it requires a great deal of patience and meticulousness for me to get the job done properly. "Although the work can get complicated, it's worthwhile. Since I started making and selling action figures, I've been able to earn some extra income. "I've also shown the world that Malaysians are also good in this (action figure customisation) industry," he added. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA