Nocturna Productions
Originally published June 14, 2006, at GJSentinel.com.
Yesterday, I had a Q&A with sculptor Dave Grasso, discussing the upcoming reissue of his classic “hatted” Nosferatu kit through Nocturna Productions. Today, I have a Q&A with Cindy and David Fisher, the folks behind Nocturna.
Pretty much anyone involved with garage kits knows the background of David Fisher and his partner, Terry Webb, because most everyone involved with the kits has discovered their magazine, Amazing Figure Modeler. If you’re not familiar with it yourself, or even if you just haven’t read it before, click HERE for a fantastic write-up.
Cindy and David live in Tennessee. They met in art school and have been married for 24 “terrific” years.
Q&A WITH CINDY AND DAVID FISHER
Resin the Barbarian: Anyone who’s interested in the work of David Fisher finds out quickly he’s a fan of Nosferatu kits. Cindy, are you also a fan of the character?
Cindy: Most definitely, but not as obsessed David! I love silent movies in general, from Harold Lloyd to Lon Chaney. I find them fascinating as an art form and as period time capsules.
RtB: As I recall (and my memory may be failing me), Nocturna was introduced as a company run by Cindy, but plainly David is involved as well. What role do each of you take in the company, and do the products you sell reflect both of your interests?
David: Nocturna Productions is completely Cindy’s company, but I obviously help with advice and my connections to sculptors in the hobby, as well as the graphic design of ads and packaging.
I’ve also sculpted bases for kits such as the Gothic base, Skull Pit and Lab Base, which Nocturna has produced throughout the years.
As for Cindy, Nocturna began as a simple business created to help Mike Hill sell his Hammer bust series in the U.S., then she commissioned a sculpture from Mike of the “Curse of the Werewolf” which was in production until just recently when the third set of molds wore out. Then she commissioned a set of silent horror super-deforms from sculptor Rick Force. Most recently she worked a deal with Staffan Linder to re-release the Swede Creations Nosferatu, and will soon release David Grasso’s Nosferatu as well.
I guess she does everything but cast the kits!
RtB:I presume the reissue of the Swede Creations Kinski Nosferatu was a success for you; I know it generated a lot of buzz last year. Is that part of what inspired you to approach Dave Grasso? What else led you to do this?
Cindy: It has been very successful, the kit is such a beautiful sculpture, and even modelers that aren’t Nosferatu fans seem to appreciate it. So many modelers missed out on the kit it needed a second run, and with the addition of Staffan Linder’s new base, it’s an impressive work of art.
The kit is temporarily out of stock due to the loss of our resin caster, but we’ve struck a deal with a new caster who should be up and running within a few weeks, which will time out perfectly with re-releasing Dave Grasso’s kit.
David has always admired Dave Grasso’s sculpture, and over the years, many modelers have contacted him about how to find one. After the success of Swede Creations’ kit, David thought it was worth a try to approach Dave Grasso about letting me handle a re-release of the piece. The timing was perfect since he had already been thinking of another run of it himself, so another much sought after kit gets a second life!