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Archive for the ‘Sculptors’ Category

Sculptor Kent Kidwell focuses for now on his original
creations and hopes to work with more familiar characters

December 1st, 2009

The Head Merchant. What a name for a character. When he lumbered onto the garage-kit scene a couple years ago, I was struck by both his originality and his familiarity. The character is a cheerful but deadly, axe-toting barbarian on the back of a … whatever that horned creature is, packing a bouncing supply of severed heads. If someone told me this was an image that flowed from the paintbrushes of Frank Frazetta, I would have believed it.

But it’s not Frazetta’s work. It was created by sculptor Kent Kidwell, and for many hobbyists it was a memorable introduction.

Kent Kidwell, 40, lives in Florence, Ariz. He’s married to Linda and has four kids, Chessa, 4, Gabriel, 6, Kaleb, 14, and Samantha, 17. His business is Kidwell Concepts, which offers sculpting, mold-making, casting, design and multimedia. Running his business is a full-time endeavor for Kent; he says it’s all he knows how to do.

“Sadly, almost 20 years of sculpting, mold making and casting has made me unqualified for normal employment,” he said. “I would get fired at Taco Bell, I would get caught making a zombie bust made of beans and that would be it.”

The majority of his clients are private buyers who want unique fine art for home use, some office, but he has done work for larger companies as well.

“Being so young in the resin kit industry, I have just focused on releasing original kits,” he said. He’d like to do familiar characters such as the Hulk or Batman. “For some reason, I haven‘t been pursued for that genre much, not sure why. But I’m pretty sure I will be doing some comic characters soon, I hope.”

For now, the garage kits available directly from Kent are the Head Merchant, Pod Creature and Shadow Host General of the Undead.

I always ask the subjects of these interviews to share photos of themselves. Kent declined, but suggested readers envision him as “Quasimodo meets Uncle Fester, with charm.”

Q&A WITH KENT KIDWELL

Resin the Barbarian: You sort of burst onto the garage-kit scene a couple of years ago with your Head Merchant kit. Since then, what have you most enjoyed about being involved in the hobby?

Kent: Before I answer that, Todd, I just wanted to thank you for the chance to meet your readers. This is my first interview based on this hobby so I’m flattered.

To your question, I think there are two parts for me I enjoy. The first is the original kits side of things. I sincerely love the creative process of doing something that is uniquely your own, and being free to expand on that… Read the rest

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The Headless Hearseman digs up classic figure kits,
gives hobbyists a 21st century lesson in Monstrology

September 3rd, 2009

The impression I get is that Fritz Frising, “The Headless Hearseman”, could happily start his day watching his 4-year-old son, Andi, put Band-Aids on his monster models’ ouchies, move on to a comfortable tea-time chat with a WWII veteran’s 88-year-old widow, then finish up late discussing deathrock icons in the heart of a group most men in their early 40s would go out of their way to avoid.

A blend of past and present, courtesy and peril, elegance and roughness, plus a healthy dose of talent, that’s how Fritz strikes me … much like Monstrology Models, which Fritz has resurrected.

MonstrologyLogoMonstrology originally rose in the 1990s under founder Jon Wang. “I was a huge horror movie fan and Aurora monster model builder since I was a little kid,” Jon said in an e-mail interview. “At the Fangoria and Chiller shows of the late ’80s and early ’90s I saw incredible sculptures by guys like John Dennett, Thomas Kuntz, Yagher and Bowen and of course the Billiken stuff — and was inspired to start sculpting.

“I hadn’t really planned on starting a company, but things just spiraled and eventually Monstrology was born — the idea being the ‘study’ of these horror characters through sculpture.”

The company produced more than its share of early garage-kit classics, particularly a handful of figures sculpted by William Paquet, “who did what I consider to be some of his best work for Monstrology,” Fritz said via e-mail.

Those figures include a John Barrymore Mr. Hyde, based on the 1920 movie “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”; Vincent Price as Nicholas Medina in 1961’s “The Pit and the Pendulum”; and Charles Ogle as the Monster from Edison Studios’s 1910 production of “Frankenstein”. Jon also sculpted his share of great figures, including the ape man from a lost 1927 film called “The Wizard” and Glenn Strange as Petro from 1942’s “The Mad Monster”.

“It was satisfying to bring a project from something in one’s imagination to something 3D and all that went along with that as far as marketing and advertising — box art, instructions, etc.,” Jon said. “And it was fun to work with all the people involved in creating those projects — people like mold maker MP Stehlik, of course master sculptor William Paquet and graphic artist Rich Hilliard — who were most involved at least early on. Of course Fritz as well, who was initially a great supporter of Monstrology and then by way of our friendship and similar artistic visions became a collaborator — he’s also a huge Lugosi fan and that’s a passion we both share.”

Many of the characters were monsters — rough, slouching beasts of demented or evil intent — yet they were so artistically created… Read the rest

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Mike Hill’s career in clay begins on an English riverbank,
leads to helping remake ‘The Wolfman’ in L.A.

August 10th, 2009

Anyone with more than a passing familiarity with garage kits knows the work of Mike Hill. His hands have shaped some of the hobby’s most respected figure kits, including the characters in my personal all-time favorite, Janus’s incredible Dracula and Bride deluxe combo.

Read any “grail” list in an online forum and you’ll find Mike’s works cited repeatedly. If not the Janus kit, then perhaps one of his wonderful “Curse of the Werewolf” pieces, or a Universal Frankenstein Monster, or a Spider-Man, or … well, the list goes on.

The kits — Mike guesses there are more than four dozen of them — have been offered by a range of producers including Killer Kits, Janus, Forbidden Zone, 5th Sense, GEOmetric Design, G-Force, Creatures Unlimited, Jayco, Zotz and, of course, his own company, Shapeshifters, which he ran from about 1992 until 2000.

Then there are his other works. To quote his biography from Mike’s website, mikehillart.com, “his career to date has included figure kit sculpting, wax figures, creature designing, prosthetic makeup, and creating hyper-real character statues.”

Mike has done amazing life-size sculptures, including full-size versions of painter Alex Ross’s Superman and Batman for Ross himself. He’s done wax figures for Madame Tussaud’s and recently visited online forums to share photos of an astounding life-size sculpture of Boris Karloff being made up as the Monster.

He has also worked in movies, including the current “Wolfman” remake with makeup legend Rick Baker.

“I am in the process of developing my own movie projects with my own production company, Pure at Heart,” Mike wrote in an e-mail interview.

Rick Baker, Alex Ross, Hugh Hefner and more own pieces of Mike’s work.

Mike Hill was born in Cheshire, England, and now resides in Los Angeles. He recently celebrated his 40th birthday with his wife, Jessica, and his two sons, Colum and Connah.

He goes by “mickkk1969” in various online forums, a moniker he says originated with a difficulty he had selecting a username. “I was having problems with my log-ins so I typed something real fast. ‘mick1969’ … didn’t work. ‘mickk1969’ … didn’t work. ‘mickkk1969’ did. Groan —  stupid answer I know. I really need to change it.”

His lifelong love of fantastic subjects, nicely illustrated on his website, helped inspire him to become a sculptor. “I messed with clay as a kid, I used to dig it up from the riverbank and sculpt various renditions of Kong and his dinosaurs, but I guess I took it more serious around 17.”

MIKE HILL’S WORK WEEK AND TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Resin the Barbarian: What kind of work do you do most? And, what kind of work do you most enjoy… 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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Andy Bergholtz creates the Salty Sea Dogs

July 11th, 2009

Originally published Aug. 16, 2006, at GJSentinel.com.

“THE SALTY SEA DOGS”
Sculpted by Andy Bergholtz of AB Sculpture Studio.
Available from Dark Carnival.
1/4 scale, resin.
The first two “Sea Dogs” sell for $75 plus shipping; price on the Captain is $85; the set of all three is $175.
Kits in pictures painted by Phil Sera.

The truth about pirates was ugly. They were thieves and murderers sailing the high seas, and the closest thing they probably got to taking a bath was the occasional saltwater spray from the waves. No fun at all. But the iconic images of pirates built around sources such as the Pirates of the Caribbean and Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” – that’s fun.

Sculptor Andy Bergholtz celebrates those iconic images with his “Salty Sea Dogs,” a trio of buccaneers who are obviously very happy about being very bad. They’ve never had what Andy calls “official” names, but he refers to them as the Captain (the most recently introduced), Deadeye Henry and Frosty Bill.

Andy, 27, lives in St. Louis. He’s married and has kids: Lucy, 3; Andy Jr., 18 months; and a third on the way.

Norm “Kitman” Piatt wrote a terrific interview with Andy in the Spring 2004 issue of the now-defunct Modeler’s Resource. The magazine doesn’t seem to be available through the MR Web site, but it’s worth searching for you if you want a more in-depth piece about Andy. For now, I’ll share what he told me through e-mail.

Andy Bergholtz

Q&A WITH ANDY BERGHOLTZ

Resin the Barbarian: Were the Sea Dogs based on some kind of illustration?

Andy BergholtzAndy: I didn’t use any illustrations as a basis for the designs, they are all original. I was heavily inspired by imagery from the Pirates of the Caribbean Disneyland attraction, which has always been an obsession of mine. Old-school Disneyana is kind of a hobby for me, I’m a huge fan of anything related to the Pirates or Haunted Mansion, etc. These busts are in large part an homage to the old greats like Marc Davis and Blaine Gibson.

RtB: The first two “Salty Sea Dogs” have been around for more than a year; the Captain is new. How long, roughly, did it take from the first, “let’s do this” step when you (and Robb, I resume) decided to do this until now, when all three are ready?

Andy: Well, the first two busts were not planned, they were just clay sketches… Read the rest

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Sam Greenwell’s Umber Hulk

July 11th, 2009

First published June 23, 2006, at GJSentinel.com.

Sam Greenwell\'s Umber Hulk

“UMBER HULK”
Inspired by the Dungeons & Dragons character.
Sam Greenwell's Umber HulkSculpted by Sam Greenwell, who also painted the kit pictured. (“Krylon primer, gel stain, done.”)
Produced by Greenwell Studios.
10 inches tall; 15 resin parts.
Price: $110 plus shipping; e-mail contact@greenwellstudios.com if interested.

Not long after I discovered garage kits, I discovered eBay. It’s easy to find a ton of problems with the online auction giant, but it’s often the best place to watch if you want to find a model kit that’s out of production for a decent price. It’s also where you’ll occasionally find new pieces, which is what happened to me when I happened upon Sam Greenwell’s auction for the “Umber Hulk.”

Sam Greenwell's Time BanditWhat is an “Umber Hulk”? I had no idea, but it looks like some kind of bug. A NEAT bug, and a big one, too. Maybe part gorilla. So I looked it up and found out it was part of the D&D role-playing game. I’m one of those geeks who’s never played D&D and still don’t want to start, but at least I’m more interested now than I was.

This sculpture comes to GK fans courtesy of the talented hands of Sam Greenwell, who thinks the first of his sculptures to be produced as a garage kit was “NomadAx” for Jayco Hobbies in 1995.

Sam, 36, lives in Georgetown, Ky. He is married and has two kids, a 10-year-old daughter and 6-year-old boy.

Sam Greenwell

Q&A WITH SAM GREENWELL

Resin the Barbarian: My parents both come from Hazard, Ky., a town I loved when I was small but haven’t visited in about 26 years. Have you ever been there?

Sam: No. My best friend growing up was from Hazard but I’ve never been there myself. I think the closest I’ve been would be Pikeville.

RtB: The “Umber Hulk” is, for me, the latest example of a resin kit I like that leads to me finding out more about the source material. What drew you to sculpt this character? Are you a D&D fan? Did you consider the market potential or just want to do it?

Sam Greenwell's Umber HulkSam: I wanted to do a cool monster so I flipped through monster books, I have a LOT of monster and creature reference books, and chose that one.

RtB: I’ve been doing a little Web surfing for pictures of the Umber Hulk. While most of them were consistent about a few things (such as the mandibles),… Read the rest

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Joe Simon’s Blue Boy and Neo Nazi

July 11th, 2009

Originally published June 16, 2006, at GJSentinel.com.

Blue Boy

“BLUE BOY”
A companion piece to the PSI “Hellboy” bust.
1/3 scale resin bust, 13 inches tall.
Nine parts.

Neo Nazi

“NEO NAZI”
1/6 scale resin model kit. About a foot tall.
Nine parts.
Both sculpted by Joe Simon and offered through 3rd Eye Design.
Price for each is $100 plus shipping.

Joe SimonJoe Simon must be one of the busier garage-kit sculptors around, judging by the number of companies he works with. In addition to the kits he makes for his own company, 3rd Eye Design, Joe works with GEOmetric Design, CultTVman, Kitbuilders Magazine, Model Giants, PSI and more. He’s the kind of sculptor who can produce more wonderful work in a year than half-talented kitbuilders like myself could actually hope to build and paint.

Joe, 33, lives in Bangkok, Thailand. He moved there from Minnesota almost four years ago after a friend invited him to Malaysia for Chinese New Year; he planned to stay a week and “see the world from a different view,” now he feels at home there.

Joe’s not married but has been with “the boss” about three years. She’s “10 years younger (and) dreams of taking over the world,” he wrote in an e-mail. “She started with me!”

Joe says he comes from a huge family and plans to leave carrying on the name to the rest of the bunch. “I never wanna stop being a kid myself, playing with clay, paint and guitars!” he wrote.

I’ve been watching for a chance to get in touch with Joe for several months now, and his new “Hellboy”-related kits gave me the perfect excuse.

Q&A WITH JOE SIMON

Resin the Barbarian: I’ve never actually read the “Hellboy” comics, but I like the movie a lot. Can I safely assume these kits represent the characters as shown in the film?

Joe: I have to honestly say I didn’t read the “Hellboy” comic either, didn’t know much about the characters till the movie came out … I was hooked instantly!

HellboyVisually the characters inspired me.. that’s why I’ve done three sculpts so far, and hope to do more. More than likely, I will stick to the movie version on those also.

RtB: These are pieces you are selling through your own company, so I guess that means no one commissioned you to make them. What drew you to this subject matter?

Joe: Originally Jerry Buchanan of PSI Kits had commissioned me to sculpt a 1/3rd scale Hellboy bust. After watching… Read the rest

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