Name: Ed Nagy
CM: Any Personal Info you are willing to share: (married? Kids? Pets? Occupation? Where from? Other hobbies,/Interests?)
EN: Well this year will be the Big 40 for me. My daughter Laura will be 15 this year. My wife to be, Tracy, has three children, Nathan-17, Stephanie-20 and Jenni-22, who just had a baby girl and made us grandparents. We have two dogs, Skittles-Chihuahua and Penny-ShittyPoo (part Shitzu and part Poodle). I work in construction-inspection and have been with the same company for 17 years. Other than making customs, I enjoy sketching, playing guitar and singing. I have been the front man for several local bar bands and can still be caught sitting in, from time to time. Here's an interesting mego side note having little to do with customs, but it is the reason I joined the museum. Back quite a wile ago I was doing odd searches on ebay to find inexpensive mego bodies and after running a search for 8'' dolls I came across a full set of mint Alter Egos. They were listed individually with BIN's of $5.00 for each of Peter & Dick and $7.50 each for Bruce and Clark. They still had their baggies but the boxes were gone, also missing was Clark's head. With shipping I paid $40.00 total. They had been listed for 2 days before I found them. Needless to say someone from the Museum or the yahoo group found my good fortune not long after I had purchased them and there was a real uproar about the whole thing. I ended up joining the museum to defend myself about my purchase. There were some members here at the time that were very upset that I may not be a collector and might just resell them to make some quick cash. In the end a few months later I proved them right and did resell them, they are now a small part of a great collection just as they should be.
CM: How did you get started collecting mego?
EN: Like many of us, I'm buying back my favorite childhood toys. I started with a few Adventure Team Joes, but switched to Mego soon after. My first Mego buy was a bag of body parts at a second hand market. From that bag I got a naked Superman, Shazam and RC Batman. I made outfits for Superman and Shazam. In a way those were my first customs.
CM: What is your favorite original mego figure and line?
EN: My favorite Mego is RC Batman. I loved it as a kid and it brings back the most memories now. It's not really a line, but I will always like the first solid box figures best. I also have a special place for the Planet of The Apes line.
CM: What is, in your opinion, the biggest "hole" in mego's original lines. (what figure or figure line is missing that should have been done)
EN: I am with the crowd that wanted to see the Flash and Green LaternLantern; Of course, their biggest hole will always be Star Wars and seeing Dave Mc's Star Wars customs just drives the point home.
CM: What motivated you to start customizing?
EN: Honestly, greed and guilt. I wanted to buy a few Megos but I couldn't rationalize spending my own money to start collecting them. I watched EBay for a while trying to upgrade my newly started homemade collection (Superman, Shazam and Naked Batman) and kept seeing customs sell for high prices. I figured if I could make my own Shazam and Superman costumes, what was stopping me from making a custom. I saw a weak looking Captain Cold sell for $225.00 and knew I could do a better looking one, so I did. After the first auction, I had enough money to fund my upgrades and then some.
CM: What was your first custom?
EN: Captain Cold was my first real custom and to me, it came out great. While it was on Ebay, I received a several emails with compliments, so at least a few others liked it.
CM: How did it come out? (looking back on it now)
EN: For my first custom I think it turned out well, but I think I put too much time and effort into detailing rather than sticking with the Mego look. It has removable goggles, the drawstring for the hood worked, things mego probably never would have done. Now I try to stick to WWMD (what would mego do?)
CM: What have you done/learned that has improved your customizing skills?
EN: Learning to use a sewing machine has been a huge improvement, and figuring out how to make suits using iron on transfers was a big step. Utilizing different painting and sealing techniques, learning what brushes and paints work best for me has vastly improved the quality of my work. But my biggest accomplishment was finally figuring out how to print directly onto fabric using a printer with waterproof inks (a personal goal for many years). I feel that with the new process I use for suits I've finally accomplished my goal to be able to create custom figures with a true factory look to them.
CM: What areas of customizing is your strongest points, or favorite things to do?
EN: I don't feel I have a strong point, but feel rather well rounded in all areas. My favorite part is the feeling of accomplishment from complecompletingstep of the custom process. I enjoy the challenge of problem solving which is unique to each custom. I will admit my least favorite part is the sewing.
CM: What resources make it easier for you as a customizer?
EN: Bill Burger, he's the greatest! More than a few times I've been asked to do a character, gone to google or searched other web sites for images, only to come up empty. One email to Bill and in no time I have images from front, back, sides, whatever I need to know. He's a great guy! I use ebay alot to get raw materials and I've gotten things from the good Doc a few times. I use smooth-on products for molding and casting.
CM: What is your favorite custom you've done and do you think it's your best work? If not, what do you think is your best work?
EN: It's hard to pick a favorite, it's nearly always whatever I've most recently finished, like Kaliman. The ones that still stand out to me are Kraven The Hunter,The Sandman, Storm, The Vulture and Abomination. The best sculpt I think I've done was Gleek from the Wonder Twins and I think my best overall custom is Kraven.
CM: Why do you choose the projects you choose?
EN: Most of the time my projects are commissions, I try to always have something in the works for someone. I have a list of figures I have been asked to do, open to whenever I get around to them, I fit in between commissions. Then, once in a wile I get an urge to do something on my own that will most likely end up on ebay.
CM: What are your favorite customs others have done?
EN: There are so many great customs out there now but a few that have really stuck in my mind are: Dave Mc's Star Wars! They are just what I wanted as a kid. Captain Mego's Green Arrow, it was so detailed, Indiana Jones, again the detailing was amazing and I love the way he presented it in his photos, and Batman Deadend, his was the first one of this version I remember seeing and it was pulled together so well. Jim Hampton's Racer X and Speed Racer. I came upon his website years ago as I was just thinking of getting into customizing, I thought these were neat because they weren't superheros and I loved the cartoon as a kid. He is also responsible for a great looking Night Crawler figure I remember seeing posted and being blown away by. Starbuck's Sleestacks and Enik. His Creature was awsome but I love the Land of the Lost stuff for the same reason I like Speed Racer, they are things I would not have thought to do, and the show was a big part of my Saturday mornings long ago. again, there are so many other wonderful customs and customizers around now, these are just a few that come to mind.
CM: What is on your "to do" list in the near future?
EN: I have a list of repairs I'm in the middle of right now as well as starting a Pancho Villa & Emimiano Zapata, Worlds Greatest Mexican Heros.
CM: How do you think customizing affects the mego collecting hobby?
EN: I think it's a great addition to the hobby. Customizing has given people the opportunity to finally acquire the Mego's they wanted as kids that were never produced. It's a wonderful creative outlet and with the resources available now it's open to anyone.
CM: Any tips or words of customizing advise to new customizers?
EN: Don't be afraid to ask for help. The Mego custom community is very open to sharing ideas and knowledge. Be patient, experiment, and enjoy yourself. The hobby is open to whatever you want to do.
CM: Do you sell custom figures or parts? If so, why?
EN: I do sell just about everything I make. I prefer being commissioned to do complete figures but I have sold heads or suits a few times.
CM: What does your family/friends think of your mego custom work/hobby?
EN: Although it tends to take time away from friends and family, I know deep down my family is very proud of what I can do, although they razz me about it all of the time. They are there with me from start to finish and often times offer fresh ideas and help with the little things.
CM: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us Ed! To see more of Ed's stuff... http://megomuseum.com/gallery/Eds-customs
If anyone is interested in contacting Ed about a commission piece feel free to PM him at the MegoMuseum forums.