New makerspace opens for scale model building

The COVID-19 lockdown hit Kevin Matamoros hard. He was laid off from his business recruitment job in Midtown Manhattan, and his 11-year-old son’s main focus became a screen.

“We needed something to do that wasn’t iPad or wasn’t just involving ourselves with the phones,” Matamoros said.

He bought a Japanese Bandai model kit, an intricate snap-together science-fiction kit with hundreds of small pieces and a foldout paper diagram with step-by-step directions.

“When I introduced this to him, it was like a whole new world. It literally changed everything he did,” Matamoros said.

His son began sitting for hours at a time assembling model kits of fantasy and science-fiction characters. It took them a month to complete the first model. Matamoros posted photos of it on Fiverr, the online freelance marketplace, and says he began receiving requests for custom models within days.

The experience was a revelation for Matamoros, who had always considered himself creative. It inspired him to open Brooklyn Buildz, a new Sunset Park makerspace described on its website as “Brooklyn’s premier scale modeling maker space and Gunpla after-school program for kids, teens, and adults.”

“That lockdown spawned my hobby, which now spawned this business,” he said.

Brooklyn Buildz opened in mid-June at 4223 First Ave., on the fourth floor of an industrial building in Sunset Park. The 220-square-foot room has eight workstations, each with a desk, dedicated LED light and hand tools, including tweezers, two kinds of nippers, six sanding sticks of different grits, five fine brushes, a cutting board and a hobby knife.

“I gotta do something that I love,” Matamoros said about assembling models.

The space also includes a specialized airbrush station called a waterfall spray booth, which uses a continuous sheet of running water to capture paint particles and fumes, as well as a tabletop toy photo studio. Future plans include lockers where members can store unfinished projects.

The models are meant to be displayed, not played with. Most are snapped together, not glued.

While youth and adults assemble models at Brooklyn Buildz, Matamoros is available to teach newcomers the skills needed to build and paint them, using both an airbrush and small paint brushes.

Many people live in small apartments and lack the tools and space needed to build models, Matamoros said. With AI touching more parts of daily life and screens everywhere, he believes enough people will enjoy the tactile experience of working with their hands in small groups to sustain the business.

They can learn from each other, form friendships and focus on long-term projects. Some models can take multiple sessions and many hours to complete.

“It takes them off of the screens, gets them to use their imagination,” he said.

For adults, Matamoros said, the space can be “that sanctuary for all those painters and creators and hobbyists.”

Matamoros searched for commercial space throughout Sunset Park, including at Industry City, which has considerably more foot traffic and better access to local transportation. But starting a business is expensive and risky, he said, so he landed at his current location across the street from the MADE Bush Terminal campus on the waterfront.

Asked why he was set on opening Brooklyn Buildz in Sunset Park, the Midwood resident pointed to the neighborhood’s creative community.

“I chose Sunset Park because of the art community here,” he said.

Matamoros continues to take custom clients who find him through Fiverr. One client, a former military pilot living in New Mexico, asked him to create a diorama with three F-100D Super Sabre jets and a fuel tanker aircraft.

Another client hired him to create “an underground end-of-the-world bunker underneath an Amazon warehouse.” Matamoros used foam, plastic, parts from existing models, repurposed materials and some 3D-printed custom pieces to create the large apocalyptic diorama, complete with a mine shaft, elevators, working lights and shelter rooms.

“I have to use my imagination and go based off reference photos,” he said. “It’s super creative.”

Brooklyn Buildz offers $75 after-school classes that include a model kit, tools and expert instruction. Weekend group builds give adults and children a chance to work side by side. Details are available at brooklynbuildznyc.com.