A Wolfman Rarity

Mord · July 18, 2019, 04:54:25 AM

Quote from: Joseph_Baeza on July 18, 2019, 03:28:39 AM
I have nearly all the Billikens, and to me, the Frankenstein Monster and Phantom sculpts are the greatest ever produced for any garage kit (or figure, for that matter). Just exceptional pieces, and the reason I got back into collecting garage kits.

I agree. Those two plus Dracula adorn my mantle. I also had a near complete Billiken set (all Universal, all A.I.P.,The Thing, even the Nicholson Joker). Now,I only have the three I mentioned and the Saucerman. Divorce is a bitch. Btw, were Billiken kits garage kits? I always thought they were licensed. They were so perfectly produced. You could leave them semi-poseable and use them as figures.

Joseph_Baeza · July 22, 2019, 03:45:27 AM

Quote from: Mord on July 18, 2019, 04:54:25 AM
I agree. Those two plus Dracula adorn my mantle. I also had a near complete Billiken set (all Universal, all A.I.P.,The Thing, even the Nicholson Joker). Now,I only have the three I mentioned and the Saucerman. Divorce is a bitch. Btw, were Billiken kits garage kits? I always thought they were licensed. They were so perfectly produced. You could leave them semi-poseable and use them as figures.

Sorry to hear you had to part with most of your Billikens, Mord. Ouch. And yes, I also loved the fact the kits were semi-poseable. Billikens were licensed and technically not "garage kits", as I had mislabeled them. But they did start my love for garage kits.

Mord · July 22, 2019, 05:23:15 AM

Quote from: Joseph_Baeza on July 22, 2019, 03:45:27 AM
Sorry to hear you had to part with most of your Billikens, Mord. Ouch. And yes, I also loved the fact the kits were semi-poseable. Billikens were licensed and technically not "garage kits", as I had mislabeled them. But they did start my love for garage kits.

Yeah, same here. The first one I saw was the Phantom. I was all in right there. I used to go to the shadiest area in downtown Los Angeles (with hundreds of dollars in my wallet) to buy them. Frankenstein was incredible (fave Frank in my collection). Dracula simply floored me. I wouldn't take a chance doing them myself. I found an up and coming sculptor named Thomas Kuntz to do them. He was also doing his own sculpts. His Nosferatu, Caligari (Cesare), and Golem are iconic in the kit world. I got the first Nosferatu kit he painted. It debuted at the 1991 Fangoria convention. Forry actually held it and joked about trading his Dracula ring for it ( with Tom). All of the figures on my mantle are done by him. Amazing talent.

Joseph_Baeza · July 23, 2019, 04:16:55 AM

Tom Kuntz is an amazing artist! I own all of his Artomic kits (for the exception of Vampira on her sofa), and his Cesare diorama is one of the greatest pieces in my collection. I also love the new, creative things he is doing as an automatist. So cool that he did your Billikens for you, Mord!

Mord · July 23, 2019, 04:39:11 AM

Quote from: Joseph_Baeza on July 23, 2019, 04:16:55 AM
Tom Kuntz is an amazing artist! I own all of his Artomic kits (for the exception of Vampira on her sofa), and his Cesare diorama is one of the greatest pieces in my collection. I also love the new, creative things he is doing as an automatist. So cool that he did your Billikens for you, Mord!

Thanks. Tom was a 25 year old goth guy when I first met him. Ogre (from Skinny Puppy) would later become his roommate. He painted my 13" Cesare with an exact replica of his box/coffin and gave me his first painted Golem as a prototype (with two heads). He hated painting, but needed rent money. Do you paint your own kits? That is a talent that evades me.

Joseph_Baeza · July 23, 2019, 04:52:20 AM

I only paint my cheaper plastic kits (Polar Lights, etc.), simply for nostalgia. I don't possess the skills (nor the time) required to handle my high quality/valuable kits, so I commission artists to handle the job or buy my pieces already built-up. I literally live within 10 minutes from Monsters-in-Motion, so the owner (Terry Fitton) usually hooks me up.

Mord · July 23, 2019, 05:09:31 AM

Quote from: Joseph_Baeza on July 23, 2019, 04:52:20 AM
I only paint my cheaper plastic kits (Polar Lights, etc.), simply for nostalgia. I don't possess the skills (nor the time) required to handle my high quality/valuable kits, so I commission artists to handle the job or buy my pieces already built-up. I literally live within 10 minutes from Monsters-in-Motion, so the owner (Terry Fitton) usually hooks me up.

Dude, we must have crossed paths! I've been a customer of Terry's since the previous location. Do you know John Green? He is/was a big vintage kit seller in that area.

Joseph_Baeza · July 24, 2019, 02:47:41 AM

I wouldn't be surprised if we have crossed paths before, Mord. I've been a fan and customer of MIM since the 90's, and have become good friends with Terry and some of his former employees over the years. I'm not familiar with John Green, though. Did you ever attend the Mad Model Party conventions in Pasadena back in the day?

Mord · July 24, 2019, 03:57:27 AM

No, I don't think so. I've been to the one at a hotel by Knott's Berry farm. Though, I met Koontz at a con ( might have been the Pasedena one). I bought Terry's painted display copies of the Aurora box art kits (Dracula, Phantom, Wolfman). He used to have a booth at Frank & Sons. Have you been there? It's huge, but parking is a bitch.