Alex Streeter looks anachronistic as he stands tall in a downtown basement art studio, waiting for his profile to be immortalized in green filament.
The New York jewelry artist and silversmith, who now calls Tucson home, dons a top hat straight out of “Gangs of New York.” He’s got a vintage Colt cap gun tucked into his jeans, and wears ostrich boots with exceedingly pointy toes.
Streeter keeps perfectly still as artist Rudy Flores circles around him, scanning his frame, from head to toe, with a structure sensor attached to his iPad.
Flores’ partner, Teresa Estrella, documents the experience with her cellphone, and posts shots of the action to Facebook.
When completed, the 360-degree capture will be used to transform Streeter’s image into a toy not unlike the plastic, green army men of old, using the studio’s state-of-the-art FlashForge 3-D printer.
Streeter is one of nearly 100 Tucsonans who have participated in Flores and Estrella’s Army Man Project.
Familiar faces representing the Old Pueblo’s eclectic community of artists, musicians, business owners and all-around characters can be found throughout the studio at 19 E. Toole Ave., including pint-sized depictions of Lindy Reilly, owner of Lindy’s on 4th, fire dancer Jill Hofer and artist Danny Martin.
“The whole thing is fantastic,” Streeter said. “I love the idea of being shrunk into this parallel world.”
When all is said and done with the first series of Tucson toys, about 200 in all, Flores hopes to showcase the creations in an art exhibit at Hotel Congress, tentatively in November.
A Kickstarter campaign, launched late last month to help support the project, was $600 away from reaching its $5,000 goal as of print time.
The list of potential subjects that Flores and Estrella have compiled has grown steadily since the scans began in February, mostly through word-of-mouth recommendations.
“We try to catch each person in their element, whether they be a chef or photographer or whatever,” Flores said. “We want to get in as many people as possible.”
3-D printers and iPads haven’t always been the tools of choice for Flores and Estrella, who work together under the studio name Bestia Dentro (The Beast Within).
Flores’ background is in linocut art. He has worked with Cook & Company Signmakers for nearly two decades.
Estrella paints and is a teacher at a day school.
The duo purchased a printer late last year, curious about what they could create.
The initial idea was to use the machine to produce their own line of monster action figures.
“We both had created our own monsters through paintings and illustrations,” Flores said. “We wanted physical pieces. There are so many materials out there and a community willing to help you get started with do-it-yourself toys.”
As they learned the ins and outs of what was possible with the printer, they decided to tinker with producing human figures, using a structure sensor to scan in their test subjects.
Their first attempt was with Flores’ son, Gabe Flores.
“We had him hold a guitar from the game ‘Rock Band,’” Flores said. “It was very low-definition, but we were excited that it captured him. We knew we were going in the right direction.”
From there, they began scanning their favorite notable downtown figures.
Some of their earliest subjects included magician Kenny Stewart and hairstylist and Hotel Congress bartender for the last 19 years, Barb Trujillo.
“I was honored when they asked me to participate,” Trujillo said. “It is such a positive, feel-good thing.
“You can’t be sad about becoming an army man.”
“Barb has always been really awesome with us,” Flores said. “She personifies what we like about downtown Tucson.”
Each person who signs up to join the Tucson Army is given the opportunity to wear whatever they want and to bring in props related to their field.
Some scans needed a bit of improvisation.
In order to get a figure of Reilly holding one of his famous, nine-patty OMFG burgers in his hands, “I taped a bunch of electrical tape together and molded it to look like a burger,” Flores said. “There was some creativity involved.”
Animals receive the same treatment. Pets are often added in post-production.
“They won’t stay still long enough to be scanned into the system,” Estrella said.
The whole thing has been a learning process, Flores said.
“There have been a lot of tutorials,” he said. “A lot of YouTube videos and making mistakes.”
Flores and Estrella have now honed their methods to the point that they are scanning and producing up to 10 characters a week, and not just Tucsonans.
When popular rock group the Melvins came through Hotel Congress in early June, the musicians, led by the wild-haired King Buzzo, came into the studio for the Army Man treatment.
Flores said touring bands get copies of their figures, but also have the option of putting a second set up for auction. The money raised goes to charities of their choosing.
Other national bands that have become army men include Fireball Ministry, Anvil and YOB.
“King Buzzo is a big toy collector,” Flores said. “He was excited about becoming one.”
For the Club Congress exhibit, Flores originally envisioned members of the Tucson Army wrapped in packaging, hung up on racks like you might find at Toys ‘R’ Us, but is now leaning toward placing figures in dioramas complete with Tucson-themed backdrops.
“People appreciate seeing their friends and family,” he said. “I want to see all these people in the same place at the same time.”
After the big debut, Flores and Estrella hope to begin on Series 2.
“We want to get as many people as we possibly can, from every corner of Tucson, involved,” he said.
