Name: Bryan Bossart (AKA Boss)
CM: Any Personal Info you are willing to share: (married? Kids? Pets? Occupation? Where from? Other hobbies,/Interests?).
BB: Been married for 13 and 1/2 years to a wonderful woman. We have two beautiful sons and two idiot dogs. Currently I'm Creative Director at a medium size advertising agency in St. Louis.
CM: How did you get started collecting mego?
BB: My dad was in the military, so we moved a lot when I was growing up. Unfortunately all my original megos were thrown away sometime in the late 70's or early 80's prior to one such move. 15 years go by and... thank heaven for the internet. I remembered the figures from the 70's but didn't remember the mego name. After a little on-line searching in the mid-90's, I stumbled across a toy store in Texas that had a few megos for sale. I immediately ordered a Joker and Robin. It's been all downhill ever since.
CM: What is your favorite original mego figure and line?
BB: I'm a huge WGSH fan. That's pretty much all I had growing up. Out of that line, I think the RC Batman is my favorite.
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).
BB: Probably Flash. I would have played the heck out of that as a kid.
CM: What motivated you to start customizing?
BB: Like a lot of others, I would have to say seeing Charlee Flatt's work planted a seed. I still think his Green Lantern is the best custom I've ever seen.
CM: What was your first custom?
BB: My first was either a Flash or Green Lantern. For the Flash I bought a red cowl from Dr. Mego (which at the time, blew my mind that someone would make something like that). For GL, I made a mold out of hot glue and did a push cast with plumbers apoxy.
CM: How did it come out? (looking back on it now)
BB: Terrible. But it got me over the hump of being afraid to try.
CM: What have you done/learned that has improved your customizing skills?
BB: I beg, borrow and steal as much as I can from other customizers. I bought the Megocon DVD several years ago and really paid attention to DaveMc's painting seminar. I didn't realize how bad I was at painting until I tried Dave's method. He's still the best mego painter by a mile, but at least now what I do is respectable.
CM: What areas of customizing is your strongest points, or favorite things to do?
BB: I really like to paint. I also like to use existing parts as much as possible. I think I have a good eye for using pieces in new and different ways.
CM: What resources make it easier for you as a customizer? (is there a source for parts? Information? Etc. that aids you more than anything else?).
BB: There are so many parts available now, it's incredible. When I started it was difficult to find a nice type-2 body. Now you can get near perfect reproductions from Dr. Mego or totally new shapes and sizes from people like Russ and Fred and Jason... the list goes on and on.
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?
BB: I think my Destroyer era Gene Simmons is my favorite (and my best). It really came together nicely.
CM: Why do you choose the projects you choose?
BB: I pick what interests me. I'm a huge KISS fan and had never seen 8" customs that I liked. I also am drawn to trying to create "definitive" versions of my favorite heroes (like Superman and Batman).
CM: What are your favorite customs others have done and why?
BB: There are several. In each case, I think the customizer nailed the look of the figure so much that I can't imagine anyone making a better version. Flatt's Green Lantern. Megospidey's Captain America. the McDunsel Trek series. Gabytoy's Shazam. Captain Mego's Superman and Batman.
CM: What is on your "to do" list in the near future?
BB: Mainly I want to finish up several figures I have "on the table". Superman in particular.
CM: How do you think customizing affects the mego collecting hobby?
BB: For me, it makes it much more enjoyable. I'd love to have the biggest collection of carded figures in the world. Unfortunately, I don't have a budget to support that. Customizing gives me a way to expand what I have and not break the bank.
CM: Any tips or words of customizing advise to new customizers?
BB: Just keep trying. I have way more bad customs on my shelf than good. But the more I do it, the better the results. I also like going back and remaking figures I've already done. It shows me how my abilities have progressed (or in some cases not progressed).
CM: Do you sell custom figures or parts? If so, why?
BB: I make most of my customs just for my own shelf. But occasionally, I will post a figure and people will ask me if it's for sale. I've sold a few sets of KISS figures and other odds and ends over the years.
CM: What does your family/friends think of your mego custom work/hobby?
BB: They are all very positive. However, I get the feeling when I show them my stuff that I could have just as easily shown them the world's largest ball of twine. They appreciate the work that went into it, but have no idea why I do it.
CM: Thanks for your time Bryan!