The talent of Michael Amore is highlighted in our fifth interview in the series. Michael’s excellent sculpting ability and passion struck me at first when I first reviewed his figure so I thought it would be great for everyone to get to know this talented customizer. You can view Michael’s work at his website as he as some awesome pieces there.

AFC: Tell the fans of your work a little about yourself

Michael Amore:
I was born in 1973 and grew up in a small New England town. As a child I loved comic books and action figures. I was into Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Transformers, MEGOs and any hero based action figures I could get my hands on. In 1984 I bought my 1st Spider-Man comic book and that was it for me. I began going to my local variety store every week looking for the the latest issues. Though I did not know it at the time, I was reading reprints of the original 1960’s classic tales. I loved the characters and the art and that is when I began really drawing/writing my own stories, and customizing my own figures. At first I would add armor to my Lego figures, holsters to my G.I. Joes, rip apart my Secret War’s figures and make new characters…that kind of stuff. When I got older I got into all kinds of art and my influences included musicians and writers and all types of artists. After High School I attended art school for a few semesters but ran out of funds to finish so…after that I spent the next decade or so writing and publishing books of poetry, along with drinking, getting in trouble and breaking my own heart!

AFC: When did you start making customs?

Michael Amore: I finally got sober a few years ago and really began customizing in earnest. I’ve been at it almost two years now and have worked hard to hone my craft to the highest level! I feel that these characters helped me so much in my youth, and now as an adult, here they are again helping me overcome a pain in the ass addiction…so my work is really important to me, these characters are really important to me and I really want to recreate them to the best of my ability…the way I would like to see them done!

AFC: How many customs do you work on at one time?

Michael Amore: I like to have 4 or 5 figures going at a time…this allows me to jump from one to another while I’m painting and drilling and sanding and grinding and sculpting…that way I don’t over work any one figure. Right now due to a lot of special orders and some unfinished projects I have over a dozen that are in various stages production!

AFC: What is the custom you are most proud of?

Michael Amore: Hmmm…I really love my new Nighthawk at the moment.

AFC: What is your favorite toy line to do customs for?

Michael Amore: Marvel Legends of course!

AFC: What customs do we have to look forward to in the future?

Michael Amore: I have orders for: the Enchantress, the Molecule Man, Nightwing, Battle Armor Thor, Mocking Bird…and some personal projects that include repaints of: Angel (with new wings), two Doom figures, 5 Iron man figures, the Sentry…and an all new Black Panther and a super surprise version of the thing!

AFC: If you had one piece of advice for other customizers out there, what would you say to them?

Michael Amore: Do what you like, not what you think will sell.