Here’s a peek at the Halloween release from Dedham Pond Designs. Sculpted by Joe Simon, 1/8 scale. First release will be in resin.
Here’s a peek at the Halloween release from Dedham Pond Designs. Sculpted by Joe Simon, 1/8 scale. First release will be in resin.
Got this today from Cortlandt Hull:
DVDs will start mailing out at the end of June. Look for ordering information at www.preservehollywood.org.
On his Facebook page, Troy McDevitt describes his business, The McDevitt Studio, as “a magical place. For the past several years, I’ve laid a lump of clay out on my workbench before going to bed at night and in the morning, someone has used it to sculpt a brand new statue! This is where all my cake toppers and other sculpts have come from.
“Once, my wife and I hid in the closet and we saw that it was, in fact, two adorable little elves that sneak in and create these wonderful little sculpts for us as we sleep. She suggested that, as a way of repaying them, we should make them some little pants and shirts and shoes, since they were barefoot and the clothes they wore were all dirty and tattered. It was getting very, very cold outside and she felt this was the least we could do for all that they’ve done for us.
“I told her to keep her stupid suggestions to herself and that the cold air would help keep them awake. Call for pricing!”
Plainly, Troy approaches his work with a sense of humor and his work reflects it. Just look at one of his latest pieces, “Charge!”, a licensed 1/6 scale reproduction of a painting from British artist Aly Fell. Commissioned by Marc Havican of Space City Resin, “Charge!” is a perfect translation of the artwork into three dimensions, a wonderful sculpture that’s both sexy and funny.
Troy, 38, lives in Concord, N.C., with his wife, Stephanie; daughter, Lexi, 8; and son Tanner, 5. Running The McDevitt Studio is his full-time job. “This is all I’ve got,” he says, “and if I can’t make it work, I’m screwed because I have no other skills.”
Most of his work until recently has been garage kits and one-of-a-kind pieces, but he has gradually been doing more prepaint statues for different companies. “I look at it as a sign that my work has improved and I’m finally able to produce the kind of work that some of the larger companies require.”
So far, Troy has worked with Bowen Designs, ARH Studios, Reel Art Studios, Resin Pimps, Dark Carnival, and several independent kit producers and private collectors.
“My primary focus is, of course, the sculpting, but I think you have to be able to do it all to survive and even prosper in this hobby,” he says. “You need to be able to mold and cast your own work and at least be a little more than proficient at painting, for one-of-a-kind pieces and paint masters for prepaint statues. Honestly though, I enjoy the end results of painting, but I… Read the rest
This month’s entry comes with a soundtrack. Hit the play button below if you’re up for a little music.
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| Donovan – Atlantis |
What a great time for fans of plastic figure models. Five years ago, it seemed the “big guys” had declared our hobby dead and not worth resuscitating. Polar Lights was at the end of a spectacular run of kits, including a few wonderful originals and many “repops” of classic Aurora monsters and heroes. But Playing Mantis, PL’s owner, was purchased by a larger company that was much more interested in Johnny Lightning cars than model kits.
The message that seemed to come down to figure-kit hobbyists was, “You’re not worth our time anymore.”
Fortunately, a few “little guys” decided not to accept that the hobby was dead and took steps. Moebius emerged and started producing terrific figure kits. Monarch’s Nosferatu was a hit.
Wasn’t long before figure kits started appearing from other companies that had the molds handy. Revell has put a handful of Aurora classics on hobby store shelves for the umpteenth time. Polar Lights is back in the game.
Still there’s plenty of material to mine. Hobbyists throw out wish-list material at every opportunity, hoping for revivals of kits they knew and loved as kids, and for stuff they’ve never owned but always been interested in.
Enter Atlantis Model Co., another small producer ready to make some of those dreams come true. The company has already released three UFO models. It plans to follow up soon with reissues of Aurora’s American Buffalo and Black Bear kits.
A bevy of Aurora figure kit releases are in the works for 2011, including Blackbeard and Captain Kidd, Gladiators and more.
The “little guys” behind Atlantis Peter Vetri, 39, and Rick Delfavero, 45, of East Northport, N.Y. They’re the owners of Megahobby.com Inc. and founded Atlantis in April 2009. They’re getting help from hobby expert Andy Yanchus, who serves as a consultant.
The company is named after Donovan’s classic folk-pop song.
Megahobby is about to celebrate its 10th year in business. Peter says he and Rick have “built many models over our lifetimes and continue to do so.”
My introduction to Atlantis Models came courtesy of Scott McKillop of Monarch. “If they can do faithful repops of the aurora kits, I will be a big fan, he wrote in an e-mail. “Looks like a great company.”
Resin… Read the rest
Monarch’s ad for the upcoming Sinbad kit. Says Scott McKillop of Monarch: “I was hoping to achieve the DC comics look that the Aurora ads had back in the Silver age.”
Look at the faces on some of these characters. Demon of the Harvest. Crookneck. Jack the Ripper. Even little Alice, concealing silverware as she awaits Humpty Dumpty’s fall. The characters look so happy, and they’re all obviously so nasty.
Welcome to the worlds of Robert Blair, a sculptor who knows our childhood fantasies are only a breath away from our childhood nightmares.
A craftsman shapes wood into a boy, and that creation magically comes to life. Would this child be the sweet but musically mischievous rascal Walt Disney envisioned, or would he be Robert Blair’s creaky, splintery, grasping monster? I liked the cartoon version when I was younger, but now I get a bigger kick out of the chiller Robert calls Gepetto’s Nightmare.
Robert’s work is so familiar, yet so different. His Garden Gnome has the beard, tall hat and outfit you expect, but this little guy is dangerous. His Nosferatu shares the bald pate, long nails and robe of all Max Schrek figures, but it creaks with extra age, malice, and long, weird arms. You wish his Cheshire Cat would turn invisible so you wouldn’t have to look at that nasty, wrinkled thing.
Robert Blair, 53, lives in Aylmer, Quebec, a small town just outside Ottawa. He worked as a hairstylist for 32 years, but retired from that. In addition to sculpting, he molds and casts, and produces his works, available to fans through his website, blairsculpture.ca. He has also painted most of his own pieces.
To date, Robert has primarily sculpted horror and comic kits. “I can proudly say most of my works are original concepts or my own takes on comic book characters,” he says.
His wife created and maintains his website.
Resin the Barbarian: Are you as fascinated with the macabre and the humorous as your work suggests? If so, could you say how this came about?
Robert: Well, I suppose you could say I have a certain fondness for the dark side. I’ve always found it a lot more interesting. I particularly enjoy sculpting pieces like Gepetto’s Nightmare or the Alice figures because I suppose I get a certain sick pleasure in taking children’s fairy tale characters and twisting them into murderous psychopaths.
RtB: Many of your creations strike me as thoroughly evil yet very happy characters. Demon of the Harvest and Crookneck are good examples, as are the Demons of Dance I wrote about in 2006. I get the idea that these are folks who enjoy a good joke. Is this something you do intentionally?
Robert: Yes. I feel there is nothing creepier than a creature with a sinister smile. You just know there… Read the rest
Garage kits have been a fascination for me since 2001. In 2006, I made my first attempt at producing a kit of my own, a bust of Ben from “Night of the Living Dead”, sculpted by Chris Wooten. It was a fun project and I’m glad I did it, but I had a lot to learn and not enough time to learn it.
Lots of things have changed in the last four years. With my wife’s encouragement, I decided to take another, more professional shot at producing a kit. To my great surprise and joy, I got an opportunity to work with William Paquet, one of the very best. The result is Alma, inspired by the work of Dick Smith. Phil Sera was the first to put paint on the bust.
I hope this is the first of many kits from Dedham Pond.
