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An interview with Moebius Models

July 11th, 2009

Originally published Nov. 15, 2007.

What you see below is what I was able to recover of a Moebius Models blog entry I lost when the Clubhouse moved to a new server in early October 2007. The loss of that entry isn’t the worst inconvenience the Clubhouse experienced, and at least I held onto this much. The Q&A with Frank Winspur, the most important part, is intact, and for that I’m thankful.

Please keep in mind that Moebius has continued to make announcements about its future since I wrote this entry; check the Moebius Web site for information.

Resin the Barbarian: Why did you name your company Moebius?

Frank: The first two choices were turned down at the trademark office. I am a fan of the artist Moebius, and when I did a little more research and found out it is actually a mathematical term, I thought it would be a cool name. Its reference in mathematics is very interesting, I encourage everyone to check it out online at one of the many sites devoted to it.

RtB: As I understand it, you’re about to issue your third and fourth editions of the Dr. Jekyll as Mr. Hyde kit. The first was the long-box version; the second was a glow-in-the-dark Wonderfest long-box; the third will be a glow version released the week of Chiller; and the fourth will be a square-box glow version. Is it safe to say, then, that the doctor has been a success?

Frank: The doctor has been a great seller. We hadn’t planned on four releases of it, but the limited WF kit got quite a bit of e-mail sent to us. The Chiller edition will be visually different in the way of box art, but still the Frightening Lightning edition. Slight color change. More copies this time, 480, hopefully everyone that wants one will get one!

RtB: Is it true that the teeth were trimmed off the Jekyll mold master by someone in China? And, is there any chance the figure’s teeth will be restored in a future issue of the kit?

Frank: That’s not quite the whole story. We started out with a ’72 version to tool off of. There was basically nothing left for teeth on the kit we got, either head. It was a sealed kit, so I know no one tampered with it. I can only think that some of the detail wore off through all its pressings earlier. We have had much e-mail on this, and it will be fixed. The only problem is, how to get heads back out to customers… Read the rest

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More with Monarch Models

July 11th, 2009

Originally published July 1, 2007.

Thought I’d begin with an image I was anxious to see, and I’ll bet I’m not the only one.

As 2006 drew to an end, the future of the plastic figure model kit looked grim. Polar Lights was out of business and the established model companies didn’t seem to have any interest in figure kits. Then, in the middle of a thread at the Clubhouse’s “Styrene Dreams” forum, Jeff Yagher advised members to keep an eye out for Monarch Models.

I decided not to wait for news, but asked Jeff if he could put me in touch with the guy behind the company. He electronically introduced me to Scott McKillop, who was happy to talk about what he was up to. I wrote a news story that ran in my “Resin the Barbarian” blog during the holiday season, then I sat back and awaited updates from Scott.

A few weeks later, Frank Winspur of Doll & Hobby Shop exploded back onto the kit scene with Moebius Models, which he was launching with a repop of the long-missed Aurora Dr. Jekyll as Mr. Hyde, and following that up with a lot more. I was excited, but also concerned about what this apparent competition might mean. Scott, though, was just as happy as anyone.

Monarch’s first kit, Nosferatu, should be on work benches in a few weeks. Two more – the Moon Suit and the Ghost of Castel-Maré – have been announced and should be available this fall or winter. “We are also working on a cool little project that will hopefully come out in the early new year,” Scott said in an e-mail. “Real cool and real cheap. Plastic of course.”

Seems like a good time to get an update about where he’s heading with his new company.

Monarch Models

Resin the Barbarian: What’s your current expectation for when the first 2,000 Nosferatu kits will reach North America?

Scott: The Nossy kit should be in North America by the end of July. Gary is working on the instruction sheet and the second test shot has some tiny part fit errors being corrected as we speak.

RtB: Do you have a sense of how well the kit will sell? Does the potential for distribution look promising? I know a number of online dealers are offering presales.

Scott: The pre-order sales of Nossy are excellent. The last big distributor bought the last 404 kits. The first run of 2000 has been sold out (by Stevens Int., Hobbytyme, and Squadron). If a person hasn’t already… Read the rest

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Monarch gears up to become 21st century Aurora

July 11th, 2009

Originally published Nov. 28, 2006, at GJSentinel.com.

Monarch

In this era of shopper mania about PlayStation 3 or TMX Elmo, it’s easy to grow nostalgic about a time three or four decades past, when the Aurora company’s plastic monster models beckoned menacingly – but quietly – from store shelves.

Wide-eyed boys gazed at the bright artwork on those boxes, created by painters such as James Bama or Mort Kunstler, depicting the Frankenstein Monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man, Dr. Jekyll as Mr. Hyde, the Phantom of the Opera and more. At home, they struggled with the glue and paints needed to assemble the models, then often played with their creations until they fell apart.

Scott McKillop was one of those Aurora fans, and if he has his way, plastic monster models will return to excite boys of all ages by Christmas 2007.

MonarchMcKillop, 40, a doctor in London, Ontario, is dedicating one year of his salary to starting up Monarch Models, which he plans to launch late next year with a “Nosferatu” kit, based on the Max Schreck vampire, Graf Orok, in the 1922 F.W. Murnau silent film based on Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula.” The film has moved into the public domain, and thus no licensing of the character is required.

The kit, designed by artist Gary Makatura and sculptor Jeff Yagher, and sculpted by Yagher, will be in one-eighth scale, the same as most of Aurora’s best-known monster kits, and will be “packaged to harmonize perfectly with the early Aurora long boxes,” McKillop said in an e-mail interview. He hopes the kit will make “the toughest die-hard Aurora fan feel like a 10-year-old again.”

McKillop wasn’t ready to be specific about what will follow the Orlok kit, but he did say the second offering is “a gift to the sci-fi fans, and the third offering is sure to spook you.” After that, he said, Monarch will “step into the murky waters of licensed properties.”

Makatura said Monarch will aim to be true to what Aurora could have actually produced “in both substance and spirit.” He will be in charge of original kit design and box-art illustration.

Monarch also intends to reissue classic Aurora kits that have been often requested by fans, McKillop said. This will be largely determined by how easily the company can get licensing agreements, and so he couldn’t say yet which kits might be reissued.

The company’s Web site is scheduled to be unveiled in February. McKillop said it will feature illustrations by Rod Keith, who will also be in charge of illustrations for Monarch’s… Read the rest

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