Noli Coronado isn’t your average action figure custom modder. His work spans the scale of something as small as 8-inches to towering figures that go 8 feet and above. At 31, he’s made a childhood pastime into a full-blown career.
Like a Dr. Frankenstein with an X-Acto knife, dental plaster, and a bin full of loose action figure parts, Coronado’s creations end up having a life of their own. One of his early creations was a Snake Eyes custom made from a Marvel Legends Nick Fury figure. He sold the figure on Ebay after a friend’s suggestion. For a time, it held the record for the most expensive custom on Ebay, having sold for $300. After Snake Eyes, he went on to make twenty more G.I. Joe customs. The Joes ended up at an international toy event where Hasbro took notice and gave him an award for his outstanding customs.
Coronado then went on to work for Dig Deep Entertainment. Dig Deep boss Digger Mesch was impressed by an intricate Sandman figure he created from scratch. It’s the same Sandman figure that author Neil Gaiman wanted to bring home after being presented to him at a book signing event in Manila. Sculpting for Dig Deep, he’s done most of the Marvel Universe Civil War series from Diamond Select. These include The Thing, Spider-Man, Nitro, Captain America, and Wolverine. He’s also the artist behind the Marvel Zombies series.
His most loved creation however, is a tiny super-articulated action figure. Made before the introduction of Stikfas (which he also customizes), it’s one of his smallest action figures, measuring only two inches high. Over the years, he’s made several modifications to the figure, often creating accessories and vehicles for it. Coronado’s an avid motorcycle guy and his creation echoes his other passion.
Comfortably moving on to literally bigger things, Coronado has worked on bringing the entire Voltes V team to life as well as the Voltes V robot. The life-sized figures were created in only a span of two and a half weeks. In the last few years, his super-sized action figures have become popular attractions at local comic book and toy conventions. After Voltes V, he’s built other mechas such as a Gundam Wing robot and a giant Optimus Prime figure made out of wood, fibreglass, metal, acrylic, and Sintra PVC foam board. Standing in his workshop right now is a 7.5 foot high Voltron figure which is in the late stages of fabrication and painting. As for his other upcoming projects, they’re sure to stand tall as playable works of art.
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