Anyone who has been around the online fandom has heard of the name Bill Merklein by now. Back in the 80’s he was a big part of the design process for the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line, and his own two hands sculpted many of our favorite figures.
Gyre-Viper and Roshan had the privilege of being able to sit down and talk with him one-on-one quite a bit over the past year or more, and one of the things that came from this conversation was the fact that many fans really don’t know what goes into sculpting, designing, and producing a toy. Well, Mr. Merklein agreed to film a very detailed sculpting tutorial focusing mainly on the head sculpting techniques he has used over the years.
Keep in mind, while he’s working at a 1:1 scale in the videos, all of these skills and techniques can be utilized at a 1:18 scale as well. And remember while watching these that this is the guy who sculpted Zartan, Recondo, Mutt & Junkyard, and plenty of other 80’s figures from your youth…I would estimate most of your favorites. Check out the videos below, and give a huge thanks to Gyre-Viper, Roshan, and video editor jaimanstone for getting this all together. This really is a rare opportunity and a very insightful series.
Click on the “Read the Rest of this Story” link below to check out all of the videos in their entirety.
Bill Merklein – Sculpting the Human Head
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
very very cool! my son and i watched it together, and it was a great learning experience for us both. a great introductory lesson into the world of sculpting and i hope it influences others as much as it influenced us.