Ben Franklin Interview

Ben Franklin is a talented artist who makes custom Zombie action figures, and sells them on his Facebook Page that you can visit here. We had an interview and you can read it below!

Chaz: I love all of your stuff. It’s so articulate and just plain creepy, in a GREAT way! What got you in the zomibe-making business?

Ben- As a kid growing up I was always fascinated with the Horror Genre In the 70s ,, I would walk 2 miles to the corner store every month to get my Horror Comics and trading cards. Back in the day… we didn’t have the internet or anything like today so this was a special treat for me. Every once in a while I would get to see a Horror movie on one of the 3 stations and I was so excited. These habits as well as many others were signs that I was hooked….Obviously….I LOVED Horror since birth. I have been an avid collector of the Horror/Sci-Fi genre and saw that there were not very many figures in the Zombie category and vowed one day to have my own Zombie Horde. As time went on and action figures grew in popularity…I started practicing one by one on trying to make real figures into Zombies. I also started to network with other artist on tips in the industry. The more I did … the better I got. This trend is what brought me to where I am today!

Chaz-  How long does it take you to make these zombies?

Ben- It depends on the figure…. Each figure has its own range in difficulty… Some are more extreme than others. Roughly it takes 2-3 days. Most of the time consuming part is waiting on paint to dry!

Chaz- You obviously have a lot of passion for the undead. Being a zombie fan myself, I’d like to know what gives you inspiration for your work.

Ben- I have a wide open imagination and love to create. The inspiration comes from the passion I have for the field.

Captain Kirk

Chaz- With all that great stuff you’ve done so far, who do you want to make into a zombie but haven’t yet?

Ben- There are many! I change regular figures into Zombies so I am limited to what is out the in the world of figures. Batman & Star Wars are on the list but the figures alone are expensive to acquire!

Chaz- What character do you MOST want to make into a zombie?

Ben- Batman & the Justice League!

Chaz- I’d LOVE to see a Zombie Batman vs a Zombie Superman. Ok, just because they are both undead, and I’d like to find out your opinion, Who wins in a fight? Vampire or Zombie?

Ben- A vampire…absolutely because it has the smarts….unless he is going up against a huge horde. He or she might then be overtaken!

Daryl from Walking Dead

Chaz- I know that you self-distribute, but have you thought about going to a bigger toy company to promote your work? Have you thought about selling some of your work to a bigger distributor like McFarlane or Sideshow?

Ben- No because I do not make the figures from scratch… I change/customize current regular figures into Zombies! Although most are my own sculpts/creations …I also network and like to use many variations of bits & pieces from many artists from around the world.

One last question, it goes out to all the other young toy-makers out there who are inspired by people like Robot Chicken and yourself, and would like to see the toys they’ve always wanted to own and see come alive.

6) What advice do you give to people who want to do what you do?.

WHAT EVER YOU CHOOSE TO DO IN LIFE….? FOLLOW YOUR PASSION…AS THIS WILL BE THE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS AND LOVING WHAT YOU DO…!

I couldn’t have said it better! Check out some of his zombies below!

Thanks a lot to Ben Franklin and his Custom Collection of Zombies. You can see more of his great work on his Facebook page here, as well as place your orders!

~Chaz