Resin the Barbarian

Originally published April 27, 2006, at GJSentinel.com.

• "MOLE MAN BIG HEAD"
• Produced by Earthbound Studios.
• Designed and sculpted by Mike Falcigno.
• Scale according to Mike: Technically the Big Head line is 2/3 scale, basically very close to 1/1 scale but people sometimes think they are 1/1 because if you take a 7-foot monster's head and make it 2/3 scale it is still the size of an average human head, hence the confusion.
• Material: Resin.
• Price: $150 plus shipping.
• Kit pictured painted by Steve Parke.

Occasionally, some garage-kit fan will visit one of the various Internet forums available and ask the assorted members: What's the appeal of a bust? This question inevitably leads to a bunch of sophomoric jokes about women and bosoms; I don't have the stats to prove it, but I suspect at least 75 percent of the people who build these kinds of kits are male, and like most guys we'll take any opportunity to discuss female anatomy with a level of sophistication that rivals Beavis and Butt-Head.

Then genuine explanations get thrown around. Busts are distinct from the full-figure kits and have their own unique appeal. Since busts generally don't go much beyond head and shoulders, the scale is larger and the facial expressions more interesting. Busts are more "artsy". They use up less space on the shelf. The smaller ones don't take long to complete. And so on.

However, I think most of us get the appeal of the Big Head busts from Earthbound Studios. First, the sculptures are simply fantastic. Second, they're big, and that's important to guys. You don't appreciate just how big until you actually see one right in front of you. Third, the subject matter (most of them are B-movie monsters). Fourth, they're offered by Mark Brokaw's Earthbound Studios, which means you'll get a first-rate kit for a fair price. The sculptor of this week's Mole Man, Mike Falcigno (pronounced "fal-cig-no"), said $150 for the Big Head busts is an "incredible value" for their size and quality, and he's right.

I traded e-mails with Mike recently to find out a little more about him and his work. He's a 31-year-old resident of Milford, Conn., produces garage kits under the name TerrorForm Design, and has been with his girlfriend, Erin, for five years. Mike is talented enough to make his living as a full-time 3D/2D artist and he writes a weekly home video column called "Digital Creep" for the Fairfield County Weekly.

In addition to the Mole Man bust, Mike's 3D work includes another Big Head, "The Fiend Without a Face"; a piano-key deluxe base for Forbidden Zone's "Phantom of the Paradise" and an upcoming 1/4 scale bust of Peter Lorre for Forbidden Zone.

Mike's works for TerrorForm include a popular 1/3 scale "Abominable Doctor Phibes" bust (picture below), a "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell" bust, a life-sized "Invader from Mars" Martian wall plaque under his Creature Cranium series and a bust of infamous dead punk rock icon G.G Allin.

Mike creates life-sized monster figures through commission. "I am currently finishing a life-sized Karloff Mummy for a client that had me do all the Universal classic monsters," he said. He also takes on the occasional film effects job.

The "2D" part of Mike's career is "a lot of ink and paint work. Mostly character design, graphic work, tattoo design and commissioned illustrations."

A Q&A WITH MIKE FALCIGNO

Resin the Barbarian: What is the original Mole Man sculpture made of? I assume Super Sculpey, but I'm not a sculptor and so my assumptions count for nothing.

Mike: Actually the Mole Person was sculpted entirely with the Aves Apoxie line of products. A hard foam
understructure was used as a base and worked up to its finished stage with Apoxie Sculpt and a few areas in Apoxie Clay. The claw was sculpted in the same manner.

For the sand areas of the base I used Aves ClayShay over a hard foam understructure and used more Apoxie Sculpt to render the rocky terrain and mushrooms.

It's really incredible stuff, the detail you can push into the material is astounding and the fact that it cures without baking makes for a "crack"-free project. I did find it very strange at first because of the working time involved, but with a little messing around I worked out a method for sculpting with it in no time.

RtB: How long did it take you to sculpt this?

Mike: Well, if I kept a time sheet next to all my sculpts I would probably slip into a depression because of how long some take compared to the pay rate, but for the Mole Person I would roughly guess over 100 hours from start to finish, this includes the base.

RtB: From what I've seen of your articles in Amazing Figure Modeler, you do a lot of sculpting to enhance the kits you build and paint. Have you always done this with your model kits, or it something you started doing after time?

Mike: I was into sculpting before model kits so it's just a natural tendency of mine to want something that's more a one- of-a-kind piece. Granted, when someone paints a kit it's the only one like it, but adding or augmenting an existing design makes the finished piece even more personal.

RtB: How long have you been involved with model kits in general and garage kits in particular?

Mike: Building models goes back to my preteen years, probably 6 or 7 years old. I used to build them too at my grandmother's house every Sunday (in between making monsters with Play-Doh). Various family members could be swayed into buying me kits if I promised to finish them.

My earliest figure models included AMT's Bigfoot, Aurora monsters, Monogram's Allosaurus and ankylosaurus and anything else that would have appealed to a my warped little-kid sensibilities.

I got into garage kits when I came across an issue of Model and Toy Collector when I was about 13 and from that point I would save months of paper route money just to blow it on a garage kit, then start the process all over again. Billiken's Creature, Horizon's Mole Man, Tsukuda's Metaluna Mutant, Screamin's Freddy and some Lunar/Dimensional Design kits were my first garage-kit figures.

RtB: What model kits drew you to the hobby as a sculptor?

Mike: I ended up pursuing special effects makeup for many years (through and after college), which caused me to devote far less time to figure kits.

A few years ago I came across some of William Paquet's stuff online (“Plague of the Zombies," etc). I was blown away by the quality of his work and tracked down his phone number. After a few lengthy phone calls, we ended up having a lot in common and started hanging out in person.

William is an immensely talented and giving person, I would have to cite him as the catalyst for me getting back into the hobby as a sculptor. The days spent in William's studio inspired me to start sculpting smaller-scale pieces and I eventually had my first work produced by Mark Brokaw of Earthbound Studios.

RtB: What do you buy and build these days? And do you build as much as you buy, or do the kits accumulate faster than you can build them?

Mike: Amid my personal workload, I don't have time to paint much in the way of kits. Writing for AFM and AVM (Amazing Vehicular Modeler) enables me to paint a piece every few months which is nice.

Recently, I started collecting the built-up work of artists who I feel are the industry's best painters in hopes of building a diverse cross-section of museum-quality statues. I am always running out of space so I only buy sculptures that I truly love.

RtB: Who are your sculpting "heroes"?

Mike: This is a very tough question because I'll never be able to name them all. I am heavily inspired by various types of artists. From the brush paintings of Basil Gogos, James Bama, Jack Davis, Ghastly Graham Ingles, Frank Frazetta , Rainer Engel and a slew of others to musicians, writers and kit painters.

As far as sculptors go, William Paquet, Andy Bergholtz, Barsom, Mark Newman, Tony Cipriano, Takeya, Oniki, Jeff Yagher, Stuart Jackson, Jordu Schnell, John Pinkerton, Mike Elizade, David Grant, Thomas Kuntz, Dave Grasso, Miles Teves,Tony McVey, Ray Harryhausen, Mark VanTine, Thomas Keubler, Rick Baker, Mike Hill, Mitch Devane, Gabe Perna, Casey Love, Mike Petryzack and Gabriel Marquez all immediately come to mind.

There are plenty of names that escape me and some I'm not yet aware of but all the people listed above have created some truly beautiful works of art.

At the risk of putting readers to sleep, I should move onto the next question.

RtB: Is anyone else in your family involved with the hobby?

Mike: My younger brother Mark is a hardcore Hot Rod/Lead Sled builder. He works on real cars along with scale car models, which in itself is an artform.

RtB: As a home-video columnist, what would you say about the 1956 movie "The Mole People" (upon which this bust is based) to persuade someone like me, who's never seen it, to put it in his Netflix queue?

Mike: "The Mole People" is a textbook example of great ’50s-era entertainment rising from a pool of cinematic cheese! You've got hilarious opening exposition presented by a melodramatic "scientist", a bunch of square-jawed adventurers (one of whom is actually Ward Cleaver from "Leave it to Beaver" fame!!) delving into the bowels of the Earth, a beautiful girl in peril, a race of subterranean albinos who enslave bizarre mutant beings that eventually run amok, putting the humans in a perpetual state of terror.

Did I leave out the ear-screeching musical score, cardboard props and hammy acting? Oh yeah, and the Mole People can't stand sunlight and live off giant mushrooms!! Oh, the simpler times ... before morons like Stephen Sommers had to ruin everything great about monster movies!

Unfortunately, the film isn't available on DVD so you'll have to seek out a bootleg or old crappy VHS copy.

RtB: What are your favorite movies?

Mike: Again with the impossible questions!! Here's a partial list:

The silent horror films all monster fans like ("Nosferatu," "Häxan," "Caligari," etc), the classic Universal stuff, anything with Peter Cushing, Chistopher Lee, and the rest of the wonderful Hammer Horror players.

I love "Big Trouble in Little China," "American Werewolf in London," the Romero "Dead" films, the "Blind Dead" series, good Fulci flicks, Argento films, crazy Asian horror and weird s--- like "The Calamari Wrestler."

"Creepshow" No. 1 is awesome, I like my kaiju served with lots of rubble and beginning with the letter G Godzilla, Gamera, Gargantuans, etc.), I can watch B-monster flicks till my eyes dry out ("Fiend Without a Face," "Black Scorpion," "I Married a Monster from Outer Space," etc).

Have you seen "OldBoy?" That movie is friggin' amazing!!! "Hellboy," "Devil's Backbone," "Blade 2," "Mimic" and anything else Del Toro makes in the future is fine by me.

"Ichi the Killer" - you'll feel dirty watching that one.

"Fearless Vampire Killers," "Fright Night" and lest I forget the granddaddy of in yo' face balls-out horror — Tobe Hooper's "Texas Chain Saw Massacre."

If I'm in the mood for brain eating it's "Return of the Living Dead." "Alien," "Fight Club" and "Halloween" also rule!!

VINCENT PRICE films are ... well ... Pricelessly good fun.

As for remakes. "The Thing" and "The Blob" rock and if I want to feel sick I'll throw in anything directed by German auteur Jörg Buttgereit ("Nekromantik," etc).

So you see, Todd, I'm a movie geek. I love the stuff. All the pictures I rattled off don't come close to all my favorites (here's another one I just though of — "Blade Runner"! And another — "Time Bandits," which then leads me to "Brazil" and "Fear and Loathing." This is madness!!). Besides, yer only reading a horror film chain of thought.

I also really enjoy comedies, animation (NOT MANGA except "Akira" and "Blood"), ’70s grindhouse sleazoid pictures, crime thrillers, and s--- — even a few dramas. Let's move on to the next question.

But first I must recommend John Carpenter's segment of the "Masters of Horror" series: "Cigarette Burns." It stars Udo Kier and it's sweet!

RtB: What media and snacks do you have on hand while you're working? Do you watch DVDs, perhaps, or drink caffeinated beverages? What's the environment like? Where is your workroom?

Mike: I like to drink strong iced coffee by the quart and smoke Camel Lights by the carton. The latter I really should quit but I'm a weak little slave to the nasty things and I lack the willpower to stop at this point in time.

The studio environment is wall-to-wall stuff. All the things I love surrounding me in one studio, which is set in a basement location, kinda like a modern-day dungeon but minus a cauldron of boiling oil and any real corpses.

I can't watch movies while working and prefer music, mostly soundtracks to films or bands that I like.

RtB: You recently became a moderator for the AFM Forum, in part I think because David Fisher couldn't monitor it closely enough and things sometimes got out of hand. Do you get aggravated by the politics and occasionally strange behavior you encounter among others involved with the hobby? Do you have any problem keeping yourself separate from the battles that arise?

Mike: Wow, that's a touchy question. I'll answer it but expect vague generalities because I don't care enough to argue with any of the paranoid people that repeatedly assume the worst with no valid reason.

Fisher is an artistic genius. The guy single-handedly lays out an entire magazine, his work ethic is inspiring to say the least. David and Terry Webb have managed to build the only figure magazine still in existence owned by the same people there from its inception. Therefore, the dedication to producing the highest-quality magazine possible keeps both of them from moderating the forum full time.

For the record, the AFM Forum was never intended to branch so far out into the hobby but as a place for readers to share tips and ask questions about things pertaining to AFM and kits in general. Where everyone connected to the forum was happy to see it take off without any heavy promotion, the unfortunate reality of the Internet is that select diabolical idiots troll all the forums online with trouble stirring on their minds.

Terry is too busy with the business side of AFM and David is always up to his ears with art duties, so I joined as a moderator in an effort to take up some of the slack.

As for the politics and strange behavior of some kit guys, it's like any other business. Basically, ---holes exist in all walks of life. These "bottom feeders" are annoying but they do serve a purpose, namely, they make all the good people look even better in comparison.

You'll find that most people in the hobby that are artistically talented (sculptors, painters, mold makers and promoters) or have a TRUE love for the subject and the art form. Producers, dealers and writers are for the most part great people.

Every so often an egomaniac/ bitter human being/deranged lunatic decides to lash out against someone they perceive to be an enemy and arguments inevitably insue. I (like most) don't have time for this and would rather be doing something constructive but at times it's unavoidable.

The important thing to remember is that these weak little goons won't last very long. Everyone has the ability to change for the better and ignore those that have nothing positive to offer.

RtB: How long have you been writing for AFM?

Mike: My first article was for issue 28 (The "Denizens of the Deep" issue). I may have written some kit reviews prior to No. 28 but I'm not sure. It's all a blur at this point!

RtB: What do you think was more important to Terry Webb and David Fisher when you got involved with the magazine, your ability as a model-builder or your talent as a writer?

Mike: I'd have to say that both factors played equal importance. AFM is an incredible publication to write for.

David and Terry are both genuinely nice guys and the magazine has always had an open-door policy. I had talked with Terry in the past and when we met in person and hit it off, he asked if I would be interested in writing for them.

The AFM staff are, for the most part, working professionals outside the hobby so the work we do with kits is fueled by a desire to take great sculptures and created finished works of art. I have always had the feeling that if any of our writers needed a hand with a project they could call a fellow staff member and find it.

Thanks for taking an interest in my work, Todd, it's really been a pleasure talking with you.

Originally published April 20, 2006, at GJSentinel.com.

TYRANNOSAURUS "CENTENNIAL" REX
Produced by Cliff Green Studio of Price, Utah
Sculpted by Cliff Green, who also does his own painting
6 inches tall, 12 inches long. It's 1/35 scale, representing a 38-foot-long dinosaur with a 5-foot-long skull
$50 for an unpainted kit (two parts, dino and base), $140 for a painted resin statue, $1,000 for a bronze statue

My interest in model kits was sparked somewhere around age 7; my interest in dinosaurs predates that by at least a couple of years. These two fascinations have risen and fallen with me over the years, but neither has ever faded completely away. So, when I found out recently about Cliff Green, a sculptor whose works include small dinosaur sculptures he sells as kits, working practically in the neighborhood, I had to get in touch to find out more.

Cliff loves prehistoric animals and for the last seven years has made a living as a professional sculptor specializing in prehistoric fauna. He recently worked on a full-sized Dilophosaurus wetherilli bronze monument for the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm and hopes to start a full-sized Brontotherium hatcheri bronze monument for Badlands National Park in South Dakota soon.

For "self-therapy", Cliff also sculpts, casts and sells 1/35th scale prehistoric animals, including the T-rex pictured above. I was glad Cliff suggested focusing on this in my blog, because the T-rex has long been the dino that most fascinated me (probably because I thought he was the toughest). Cliff describes this sculpture as being rendered under the direction of some of the top Tyrannosaur experts of the 21st century, during the June 2005 "100 years of T-Rex Symposium" in Hill City, S.D. The anatomy, pose and skin are based on the experts' critiques.

Cliff works out of the garage and front room at his home but hopes to buy a studio when the Brontotherium commission in South Dakota comes in, "hopefully very soon." In the meantime, he says people are welcome to visit him at his address but need to call at least a day ahead of time "so I can hide the bodies." If you're interested, give him a ring at (435) 636-0887 or send him an e-mail at dinonaut@emerytelcom.net; I'll leave it to him to share the actual address. He can also send you a price list if you contact him through e-mail.

For fellow garage-kit enthusiasts, it's also worth mentioning that Cliff's brother, John, ran John Green Models for 25 years. That operation closed up shop within the last couple of years and is remembered fondly by longtime hobbyists.

Cliff let me ask him a few questions through e-mail; I kept it light, partially in an effort to avoid exposing my ignorance on the subject of dinosaurs since the last book I read in-depth about the subject was heavily illustrated and written (for little kids) around the time Raquel Welch donned a fuzzy bikini for "One Million Years B.C."

Me: Can you point to anything as inspiring your interest in prehistoric animals?

Cliff: I have been interested in animals, prehistoric and otherwise, for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of looking at my grandparents' old encyclopedia, and marveling at the photos of Charles R. Knight's Chicago Field Museum murals. My older brother and I would recreate the murals in clay and display them, sometimes for months.

Of course, I loved the old Aurora Prehistoric Scenes model kits. I was one of those kids that was absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs. Unlike most children, I never outgrew that passion.

Me: What sustains this interest for you now?

Cliff: Sculpting prehistoric animals for museums, parks, and occasionally the film industry is extremely rewarding to me. I am far from wealthy, but I have been able to support my family as a full-time professional sculptor for seven years now. There is nothing better than being your own boss and making a living doing something you love.

The downside is that sometimes the commissions dry up, or clients are slow to pay, or have financial boondoggles. It is always a feast-or-famine lifestyle.

Me: Which came first for you, an interest in dinosaurs or living in Utah?

Cliff: Definitely prehistoric animals are my primary interest. I am not originally from Utah. I was born and raised in Southern California, and most of my family still lives there.

I moved up to Utah in the early ’90s, looking for work, after I graduated from college in Phoenix. I met my wife 10 years ago in northern Utah, while working construction of all things. We have been married 10 years now, and moved here to Price five years ago.

Price has a lot of bang for the buck, when it comes to paleontology, affordable homes, and a less hectic lifestyle. Having grown up in giant overcrowded cities, this town is a nice change of pace. I don't know if we are putting permanent roots down here, but Price works for us right now.

Me: Do you have a favorite dinosaur?

Cliff: Horned dinosaurs are my favorite dinosaurs as a group, but if I had to pick one favorite dinosaur specifically, it would have to be the Utah state fossil, Allosaurus fragilis. It is a really cool-looking carnivorous dinosaur.

Originally published April 13, 2006, at GJSentinel.com.

"THE ULTIMATE SOLDIER"
Produced by Mad Dog Resin
Sculpted by Alterton
1/6 scale, resin kit, comes in 10 unassembled, unpainted pieces
$135 plus shipping
Kit in pictures painted by Norm "Kitman" Piatt
It's amazing the people around the world a hobby can put you in contact with, thanks largely to the Internet. Before getting re-interested in model kits in late 2001, it would never have occurred to me that one day I would encounter Alterton, a former dentist who now works as a freelance sculptor. And if these facts alone don't strike you as at least slightly off the beaten path, consider how Alterton describes his home to this geographically unsophisticated fellow:

"I am in a small city called Trelew in Chubut province, to the south in Argentina in a beautiful region called Patagonia. I was born here and turned back at the end of 2005 with my lady after 11 years living in Buenos Aires."

This fellow from Argentina is a comic book fan, and he's the creative force behind the sculpture of the red, white and blue hero in the pictures. A few weeks ago, I spoke with Norm Piatt of Paradoxx Resin and John Allred about an Alterton piece called "Aldrhiel The Forgotten One"; this week, I'm pleased to say Alterton fought past the flu and a bad Net connection to tell me a little more through e-mail about himself, "The Ultimate Soldier" and his work in general.

Me: How did a person from your part of the world get involved in sculpting a character who is so distinctly United States-oriented?

Alterton: Thing is, I have always loved fantasy-related stories. My grandfather and then my father were fans of an Argentinean editorial called Columba, with great fantasy characters and stories, those were the days Argentina had a great production of fantasy comics with magazines like Nippur de Lagash, El Tony, D’Artagnan, Scorpio, etc etc etc.

We had great storytellers and 2D artists working for national publications and international comics, especially from Europe (France, Italy, Spain, Germany). As for the American comics; Mexican, Spanish and Argentinean editorials (VID, Abril, Novaro, etc) were reproducing Marvel and DC characters.

By the time I was a child and living at the a** of the world (yeah, Trelew is 932 miles south from Buenos Aires), it was really difficult to get those American publications, so I had to wait until summer holidays to go to Buenos Aires to spend Christmas with the rest of my family to get them. Then we had the "SuperFriends" TV show to watch and the ol’ Marvel cartoons. I was also a great fan of "Master of the Universe" toons and my parents got me all the toys.

When I started school, I also started to take drawing lessons and by my 17s I was studying with a great advertising guy. Nowadays don’t ask me to draw cause I am not able to do a smiley face!

Me: What sparked your interest in sculpting garage kits?

Alterton: It wasn’t garage kits; hey, I didn’t know there was a collectible business!!!!! I thought everything was death after the action figures!!! Everything changed when I moved to Buenos Aires at my 18s to start dentistry at the university. I was taking a walk and suddenly I found The Comic Club, a comic store, the first one I saw in my life.

I was amazed, everything comic-related in one place! And the first thing I saw was Bowen’s Hulk vs Thing bookend! Bum, I dropped dead!!! I loved it... I asked the salesman how much that beauty cost and he told me something like 300 bucks each one…he was out of his mind. So on my way home I thought, "How hard could it be to sculpt those pieces by myself?" (how naïve was I?), so I bought some regular clay and I started to sculpt. The Internet showed me the rest.

There was a whole world behind that statue, and there were a lot of them and there were people behind them, sculptors and they had names and styles, so I started to scroll the Net for all the info. I discovered a new world I didn’t know it was there.

After two years I stopped sculpting to finish my career until thanks to the Clubhouse back in 2000-2001 I met Norm "Kitman" and then Martin Canale, they were the ones who pushed me to go back and grab some epoxy to start again, and two years later Jayco was producing the "Iron Dictator," I was amazed! People were buying a sculpt I did and they were assembling it and painting it and customizing it!!! It was a shock!!!!

The GK world is fantastic because of two things: first, it allows to wannabe sculptors to show their stuff, to practice, to create their own style until the big call; and second, it helps the pros to do what they can’t do with big companies, like their own versions of established characters or to release their own creations in small runs. Besides, it is beautiful to see how modelers give their personal touch to the sculpts!!!! It is an awesome underworld I will always love!

Me: What is your favorite of your own works so far, and what can fans of your work expect to see next?

Alterton: So far, my best piece is my first original design sculpture, the "Portal of the Gods," don’t ask me why cause when I see it I see a lot of faults and imperfections, and I mean a lot, but that winged wolf is like all my dreams together captured in 3d form. How sick is that?

And what is next? Well, I am really excited about "The Forgotten Ones" series Paradoxx Resin is releasing. Norm is doing such a terrific job with it and it is really an honor to be able to work with one of the most important persons in my sculpting career.

Besides, seeing the paint job Allred is doing is killing me! I almost died when I saw "the Forgotten One" painted, those bastards never told me what they were doing, and believe me when I said it was a great surprise.

I never pictured the sculpt painted and when I first saw the pics, wow!!!!! I was speechless!!!!! It was really beautiful!! Can’t wait to see how the next pieces will look.

The next figures to be released will be "For Hire" and "Ahead We Must Go." And we are talking to Norm to see what is next … so expect more news from us!!!!!

First published April 6, 2006, at GJSentinel.com.

Question: Whose idea was it for you to sculpt your own visions of these comic villains?

Gabe Perna, sculptor: It was one of those things where I just kinda started one and saw that I was having some fun. I wanted to make a sculpt that was sort of "museum bust"-like, with the sides and back truncated, in a larger scale than some of the stuff I had been doing at that point. No sooner than I finished the first one, I had started the second. They were quick and a real blast to sculpt. I showed ’em to Randy of Killing Time Kits and that was that!

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If you're looking to kill a little time by building a model, Killing Time Kits has three killers worth considering. They're the unique visions of DC Comics villains by the sculptor Gabe Perna, dubbed "some of Gabe's best work" by Randy at Killing Time, which is saying something.

"THE MONARCH"

Inspired by DARKSEID, ruler of the planet Apokolips

Painted by Dan Cope

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"ME AM #1"

Inspired by BIZARRO #1, an imperfect duplicate of Superman

Painted by Dan Cope

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"CROCODILE JONES"

Inspired by Batman enemy KILLER CROC

Painted by Joe Dunaway

All three museum-style resin busts are about 10.5 inches tall, a little larger than 1/4 scale, and sell for $60 plus shipping. They all come in two parts and are unpainted.

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Gabe and Randy are two more guys I encountered through the Clubhouse Internet modeling community. Randy started out like me, a fan of garage kits (although he's more talented), then he branched into kit production after a couple years or so. Gabe came along a bit later and quickly drew a lot of attention because of his striking style of sculpting. For some reason, both of these jokers struck me as guys a person could get along with, and I found out for sure that was true when I met them last year at WonderFest in Louisville, Ky.

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Here's more of my e-mail Q&A with Gabe:

Me: What hours of the day do you sculpt, and do you have any kind of snack or drink on hand while you're working?

Gabe: I keep the worst sort of hours (in a traditional sense). I generally stay up hammering the clay until about 5:30 am and rise again at about 10 am. I rationalize the long hours, because I'm mainly sitting on my duff for the better part of the day.

As for fuel — it's all about coffee for me. I'm fairly certain that 75 percent of what's running through my veins has also run through my coffee pot. Sometimes I'll go nutty on Red Bull, too. It doesn't really give me the pep it should, but I really like the taste of it. Odd, considering I hated it the first time I tried it...

Me: How do the people closest to you support your sculpting, assuming they do?

Gabe: One of the main reasons I do what I do is because my wife, Regina, pushed me into it. Honestly, she has more faith in me than I do — so I live under constant paranoia of letting my wife down. I couldn't get by without her!

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This is a good place to mention that I also met Regina last year at WonderFest, and I've read some things she's had to say about Gabe in some Internet forums. From what I can tell, Gabe is a long, long way from letting her down.

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Randy of Killing Time was also kind enough to answer a few questions through e-mail.

Me: You and Gabe have collaborated on a number of projects in the last couple of years. How did this collaboration/friendship begin?

Randy: Friendship first and foremost. We razz each other continuously but it's in fun. Gabe and I started talking a few years ago on the Clubhouse because of a mutual interest in some old British sitcoms. It grew out of that and we found we had a lot in common. Once I decided to start making kits, he was the first person I asked about commissioning a piece. I was awestruck by his Lobo and I wanted to see a few other characters done in the same style.

Me: You got involved in producing garage kits fairly recently. What inspired you to take the leap from kit builder to kit producer?

Randy: There were characters I wanted to see but no one had done. There are a dozen Batman standing on a ledge kits; same with Superman, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk, etc. ... I wanted to see some new faces. Doing a lesser-known character doesn't always work out. Those five characters are done because they sell.

Me: I know you've got a lot of new stuff in the works as WonderFest approaches. Can you give me a preview of what's coming?

Randy: Gabe and I are branching away from the comic book figures for a while and into horror kits. We've both got a dark side, an enjoyment of the the sick and grotesque, and neither of us will shy away from producing a figure just because it's disturbing. Things like the old Fewture kits, that were disturbing yet so beautifully done you wanted it. Over the years Gabe has started a dozen pieces along these lines and abandoned them in favor of more mainstream work. We've decided to go ahead and do the nightmare.

However, since I deal with other sculptors, Killing Time will still release comic-related kits ... and Gabe has not abandoned heroes, just taking a break to do other things.

My big summer release is a scene from when Bane broke Batman's back (sculpted by Mike Baldwin). Several years ago I was asked what type of kits I'd like to see done. The characters are more than just an image or icon. They had history and what I thought would be really cool would be a kit that shows a defining moment in that character's life. Bane breaking the Bat is one of those moments.

I hope to do more kits of defining moments, but I've learned not to plan too far ahead.

One of the first from Gabe's horror line is a bust of a zombie, called "Patient #13". The zombie is just gross. It's large, about 1/3 scale, missing parts, and should be a blast to paint.

Originally published March 30, 2006, at GJSentinel.com.

Doesn't this look like a happy fella?

Meet "Bubba the Redneck Werewolf", a 1/6 scale resin kit from the wonderful folks at Resin Realities and Wolf's Den. The kit's sculptor is Mark VanTine and it comes unbuilt in four resin parts; the one in the pictures was painted by Saul Alvarez. Bubba — who is also the star of his own comic and soon a movie — will be available in kit form for only a limited time; the price is $65 unbuilt or $75 for an assembled "bronzed" edition, plus shipping.

Sculpting Bubba "was a fairly straightforward job, which I both designed and executed," MVT told me in an e-mail. "When finished, I sent it to John to do his thing.

"I've been working with John for over 10 years now, and over the years we've both learned to trust each other enough to allow the other to do their job. That's the best way to work, if you ask me."

The "John" he's referring to is John Diaz, president of Resin Realities, a person known and admired by garage-kit fans around the world. I've known John for a few years, mostly because we're both members of the Clubhouse modeling community, and I've also done a few transactions with him. I finally got to meet him face to face in the dealer room last year at WonderFest in Louisville, Ky. It was amazing; I approached John's table with a bit of trepidation, wondering if I should bother to introduce myself; before I could decide, and while I was still several steps away, he picked out the name in small type on the tag I was wearing, gave me a big smile and started a conversation. Being able to make people so comfortable, so quickly, is a rare gift.

Here's what John had to say about Bubba in particular and producing garage kits in general recently through e-mail:

Me — What can you tell me about the character Bubba the Redneck Werewolf? (I wasn't even aware of the comic until last week or so.)

John — Bubba was a character created by a friend of mine, Mitch Hymen. The story goes that he was a dogcatcher who was bitten by a dog that had been infected due to cosmetic testing in a lab and escaped.

Bubba likes to drink beer, drive a 4x4, has a hot girlfriend named Bobby Joe and is extremely jealous of anyone around her. He is more of an antihero as he really only cares about himself and just ends up beating and eating guys who cross his path. He has a sick sense of humor and is a redneck through and through. A fun read should you get the chance.

The comic was released sporadically due to finances and was mostly in black and white and has a major cult following. The new issue being released will be in color under a new label. There will be a feature film done sometime this year and there's a good chance I'll cameo in a bit part.

Me — How did you get involved with producing garage kits, and how long have you been doing it?

John — I have been doing garage kits for about 14 years now. I was a collector first and once I discovered how unique and cool it was, I was hooked.

Back in 1992, the availability of certain merchandise — be it toys or models — was scarce or nonexistent for some characters and films. Resin garage model kits filled that need for the collector. It was like trading and selling to a few fans, and sometimes you'd make a buck and sometimes you'd be lucky to break even.

The bottom line was that you were getting these cool figures that were never going to be produced due to whatever reason or lack of interest or profit potential the larger companies had. Some of those companies were watching what we were doing, though, and we are directly responsible for the high quality of the toy and statue industry today. They basically watched us garage-kit producers and used us as product research. They knew they had the resources (money and license). So they hired the sculptors who started out doing garage kits (through which they honed and developed their talent) and began their own companies.

Look at any of the big-name toy- and statue-producing companies and I can name many of those sculptors who worked in the garage-kit industry first. So the bottom line is that we serve a real purpose here and enjoy what we do.

Me — You are a well-known person among garage-kit fans, and I think your involvement with GKs has taken you to places around the country. Can you share one or two favorite memories about life as a GK fan and producer?

John — Being a producer, you get to travel a bit doing the various shows. I have been to Florida, Virginia, Kentucky and New Jersey, to name a few. You also get to meet some very interesting people and celeberties at these shows.

One of my fondest memories was at a Chiller show in Jersey. I was to bring Tom Savini as a guest to the show to help promote a new kit. I had hired him to sculpt a Fluffy kit (an updated version of the crate monster from the movie "Creepshow." It was a large 1/4 scale figure. Tom had explained to me no one had ever approached him to sculpt a garage kit before and he'd be thrilled to do it. He did his best and sculpted an updated version of the beast with less body hair, atop the crate in a menacing pose.

I was thrilled to be working with one of the guys who was not only a great person but a top special effects makeup guy in horror film history. He also co-starred and cameoed in several films, including "Knightriders", the original "Dawn of the Dead" and "From Dusk Till Dawn," to name a few. Here he was working for me and hanging out with me at a show. HOW COOL IS THAT?

Another great memory was a couple years ago back in Kentucky at the WonderFest show. The guest of honor was none other than movie special-effects legend Ray Harryhausen. This was big, as Ray rarely if ever did these shows. The lines to get his autograph were hours long and me wanting one but being stuck behind my dealer's table, it was not going to happen.

Ray would take breaks and just walk around the dealers' room, looking at the various kits. I was suprised to see him not only stare at my table but take the time out to begin a conversation with me. He was mesmerized by several of the kits I was displaying for sale.He had taken notice of the gypsy woman Wayne "the Dane" Hansen had sculpted and particularly the bust line I had of the Bride of Frankenstein series. We had the Bride and both doctors (Frankenstein and Pretorius) displayed; the monster wasn't sculpted yet.

Ray asked if he could pick them up and look at them and said SURE. He loved the way they were presented and sculpted. He asked if I take checks; jokingly I said the answer would normally be "no," but for him I'd make an exception. We both laughed and he said he'd be back.

He came back later with his wife to show her and she was equally surprised and showed great interest. He asked if it was the painted ones I was selling. No, I said, they were just for display and my personal pieces. He looked at me and asked if I would sell the painted ones and I said I didn't think so. So he smiled and said he'd be back .

He was set up with John Ulakovic from Janus Co. and I had discussed with Mark VanTine (the sculptor) and my painter, Saul Alvarez, what I should do. Saul and MVT suggested that I give him the busts and Saul would paint another set for me as a replacement. I agreed, but I wanted an autograph (LOL), so we sent John of Janus the message that I would sell the busts to Ray, nothing else.

So John comes to the table with Ray and a crowd is following at this point in hopes of getting his autograph. So he says, "I'm here to buy these busts," and he pulls out his checkbook and asks "How much will it cost?" I joke with him ("I hope you have a lot of money") and we laugh. Saul and Mark are standing next to him as he picks up the kits again and is staring at them, reciting lines from the film and telling Mark how exquisitely he thinks these were sculpted. Mark is in heaven and I'm in awe that he comes to my table when there are over 200 hundred other kit dealers there and this legend in film history is like a little kid in a candy store drooling over the kits I had produced.

So he says how much and Saul tells him it will cost you a check for $1 plus sign some autographs. He gives us a surprised look, saying "What, all you want is a $1?" We respond its the least we can do for a legend such as you and thank him. He was genuinely touched and very appreciative of the gesture.

We then proceeded to have him sign some photos and had several taken with him. Now I didn't have to worry about waiting in line, LOL.

So, in closing, although the financial reward is not always there in garage kits, the lifetime experiences and memories can never be taken away.

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

"How many days of your life have you been sick?"

David Dunn (played by Bruce Willis) is a man sadly moving through a midlife crisis until he becomes the only person out of hundreds to survive a train derailment in director M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable." Then he finds a note under his windshield wiper, asking the question above, and things get really interesting.

David Dunn, see, goes on to meet the man who wrote the note — Elijah Price, a.k.a. "Mr. Glass" (Samuel L. Jackson, wearing a hairstyle inspired by Frederick Douglass) — and eventually accepts he has the ability to be a superhero, of sorts, in a real world that isn't as much fun as the pages of most comic books.

"Unbreakable David Dunn" is a new model kit produced by KOMA Designs and available from Amok Time. It's a 1/5 scale resin kit, 14 inches tall, five parts, includes two hoods, and sculpted by ... well, all I know is the sculptor is "a real fan of this movie who wishes to remain anonymous," according to Paul, a producer of the kit. It's limited to 20 to 30 castings, one of which my wife, Lisa, pre-ordered for me at Christmas. The kit comes unbuilt and unpainted; the one in the pictures was painted by Saul Alvarez.

A Mr. Glass kit is also in the works from Koma.

"Unbreakable" was an acquired taste for me. First time through I sort of liked it, thought some scenes were well done but overall it was so low-key I didn't spend much time on the edge of my seat. The ending wasn't as big a surprise as the one in Shyamalan's previous film, "The Sixth Sense," but I didn't see it coming. When the movie ended, I flipped off the TV and pretty much said, "Eh."

Then I couldn't get it out of my head. I bought the DVD the next week and have viewed the movie five or six times since then. Last time, when I knew this kit would arrive in my mail before long, I paid particular attention to some scenes toward the end when David battles a murderous home invader, and I started plotting ways to make his slicker look wet and dripping, like he just got out of a pool and is ready to return to the battle.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Rent the movie. Even if you hate it — which, honestly, seems to be about half the people who watch it — it'll still be a better way to pass two hours than most of what the networks air these days. Plus, the DVD set's second disc includes a documentary that's fascinating viewing for longtime comic fans like me, featuring interviews with Denny O'Neil, Trina Robbins, Will Eisner, Alex Ross, Frank Miller, Dave Gibbons and more.

Paul was kind enough to answer a few questions through e-mail.

Me: You say you're a fan of the movie "Unbreakable". Did you like that movie the first time you saw it, or did you keep returning to it and feel it growing on you?

Paul: I was in the minority, I think. The movie took hold of me immediately. I remember most people in the theater walking out clicking their tongues saying "ahh it was no 'Sixth Sense'..."

I had to wake my girlfriend up, I was ready to shout, "WHERE DID ANYONE SAY IT WAS 'THE SIXTH SENSE’!"

I am a comic book fan or fanatic and thought: If there ever were real superheroes/villains, that is how they would behave, rationalize their existence and function in a "realistic" world.

Me: This is a two-parter: Did the ending of "Unbreakable" surprise you or had you figured out the twist? And what do you consider the all-time-best surprise ending to a movie?

Paul: The ending I did see coming, but still loved the payoff. Samuel Jackson revealing himelf as "Mr. Glass" in the end monologue, I could watch a million times.

All-time best twist endings? That's a tough one, for me I've got a few favorites (no particular order): "Planet of the Apes", "The Usual Suspects", "The Sixth Sense", "Psycho", "Seven" and "SpongeBob SquarePants", I never thought David Hasselhoff would save the day like that!

Me: Do you expect this kit to be a quick seller or is it simply a labor of love?

Paul: My friends have dubbed this kit "Unsellable", another friend who does not like the movie called it "Unwatchable". However, if I ever listened to anyone but myself I would be in a different business right now. Modeling as a whole is a labor of love, almost a lost art form. The feeling of accomplishment when you are done seeing your project through is the best reward. It is something that cannot be understood unless you are a part of it. Some projects you break even, some you may not. LOVE is what keeps this hobby going. Many companies/people do not understand it. Garage kits are about love, not money, and that, dear readers, is why the hobby will be around forever.