Back in the garage kit heydays of the '90s, I had the pleasure of meeting and befriending a brilliant sculptor and monster fan, Jim Fawkes. Not many of you may know him by name, but you may own a couple of his kits. He sculpted the Super-Deformed Scampirella and Boobira kits. He started the Aurora Monsters female companions line with Wolf Girl, Princess Ananka, and Madame Kwazimodo. Sadly, he took his own life just as he was really gaining amazing creative momentum and recognition.
So, it's been a long time, I know, but I never got a chance to say good-bye to Jim. Thought I'd start this thread so those that knew him, or just his kits, could have a say.
I've never heard of him by name nor most of those kits. But now I want to.
Here's his Boobira SD kit.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eKJ6t7X-8l4/TnY02nUhFuI/AAAAAAAAFZM/3oouaTMd6vc/s400/Boobira%20Resin%20Model%20Kit.jpg)
And here's his Wolf Girl.
(http://www.lunaticfringemodels.com/assets/images/PB120020.JPG)
Princess Ananka
(http://www.allsortsemporium.net/images/princessa.jpg)
Madame Kwazimodo
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1blMwGUqqJY/TY9RQ0pAtdI/AAAAAAAAGP8/gggUsLOfGbE/s1600/lfmadkwaz02.jpg)
I'm startin' to like this guy's work. And his Boobira is such a lifelike representation of the average girl next door (well, maybe not in my neighborhood)
Quote from: Zombiology on January 18, 2012, 12:23:43 AM
I'm startin' to like this guy's work. And his Boobira is such a lifelike representation of the average girl next door (well, maybe not in my neighborhood).
Fortunately, all the Monster-Mate Kits are available from Jimmy Flintstone Studios. (http://www.jimmyflintstonestudios.com)
Jim's best-known Vampirella kits.
SD Scampirella and Reclining Vampi.
(http://www.bucwheat.com/sl/vamp/v48.jpg)
(http://www.bucwheat.com/sl/vamp/v44.jpg)
Quote from: Count_Zirock on January 18, 2012, 12:35:52 AM
Fortunately, all the Monster-Mate Kits are available from Jimmy Flintstone Studios. (http://www.jimmyflintstonestudios.com)
Checked out the site and a lot of neat stuff. I've never seen an Alice Cooper shifter knob before. Makes me want to own a 4-speed again ;D
Jim was the first person I met at the first Wonderfest I attended. Talented sculptor -- and a heck of a nice guy. Glad to see someone remembers.
Quote from: Scary Terry on January 18, 2012, 08:45:07 AMTalented sculptor -- and a heck of a nice guy. Glad to see someone remembers.
He was such a nice guy, always smiling at shows, and he'd gab for hours. It was such a shock when John Dennett (another extremely talented sculptor & nice guy) told me Jim was gone.
There's a kit by Jim that I have, a partially nude female vampire called Lyssa, that I started painting and building, but never finished. I can't find any photos of it online, so I guess that's my incentive to finally dig her out and finish her.
Oops, the female vampire kit I have is called Lissa Monroe. Still can't seem to find any pix of it online, though.
White metal Vampirella figure by Jim. Not sure of the size.
(http://www.bucwheat.com/sl/vamp/v04.jpg)
"Fatal Kiss," Jim's first Lissa Monroe, Rock 'n' Roll Vampire kit. Painted and built by darcsyde001 at Deviant Art.
(http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs44/i/2009/091/b/e/Fatal_Kiss_resin_model_kit_by_darcsyde001.jpg)
The kit I have was the 2nd (and final) kit in the series.
QuoteOops, the female vampire kit I have is called Lissa Monroe. Still can't seem to find any pix of it online, though.
Yeah...come to think of it, I have that 2nd Lissa Monroe kit too. If it is the one where she is wearing a torn t-shirt and in a running position. Just thought it was cool at the time (early 90's?). Still unbuilt in the box somewhere. Loved Lunar Models and Mr. Fawkes' work. He might be one of garage -kitdom's founding fathers...
Quote from: Kenneth on January 25, 2012, 10:23:22 PMI have that 2nd Lissa Monroe kit too. If it is the one where she is wearing a torn t-shirt and in a running position. Loved Lunar Models and Mr. Fawkes' work. He might be one of garage -kitdom's founding fathers...
Yes, that's the one. I really need to get it finished and photographed for posterity.
Lunar Models! Holy cow, I'd almost forgotten about them. A friend of mine has a drastically customized version of their Martian tripod war machine. I need to find the pix I took of it and scan them into my PC. He got that kit in '88, I think, and still has it.
all good looking models.... uh... if i get some others built first, they are on the radar.
I took the time to become a member of this forum simply to share some photos of these statues and pay tribute to this artist. I was a huge KISS fan as a teenager when the band started in the 70's and have seen them a number of times in concert. So when I came across these statues I just couldn't resist.
Jim did the band absolute justice, and Ken Kelly who was the artist for the Destroyer album cover. It took me some time to figure out who this artist was back then, and I was greatly dissappointed to learn of his passing. On the bottom of each piece are Jim's initials J.F. and dates handwritten in red maker.
Gene - 9/18/97, Paul - 9/20/97, Peter - 9/21/97, Ace - 9/22/97. I figure Gene was his favorite since he painted him first Zombie Razz
Enjoy, and thank you for this tribute to a great artist.
(http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/5987/dsc0001ti.jpg)(http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/7789/dsc0003nas.jpg)
(http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/2266/dsc0002dt.jpg)(http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/817/dsc0004ar.jpg)
Thanks for posting. Those are awesome pieces.
Man, those ROCK (in more ways than one)!!
Thanks for the page of appreciation. Lissa is alive and well residing in Lakeland Florida with Jim's nephew. I saw her there last month.
Quote from: George Fawkes on March 19, 2012, 08:04:41 AM
Thanks for the page of appreciation. Lissa is alive and well residing in Lakeland Florida with Jim's nephew. I saw her there last month.
Thanks for that update, George. I miss talking to Jim and seeing what new sculpts he'd done since we'd last spoken. Those were great days in the '90s.