Brutto and Baklar from G-Force
Originally published June 29, 2006, at GJSentinel.com.
“BRUTTO”
1/4 scale resin bust; 7 inches tall.
Comes in two parts.
$45 plus shipping.
“BAKLAR”
One of the “Demons of Dance”; two more “Demons” (“Mubat” and “Krakor”; see pictures below) will come out this year.
1/6 scale kit, 13 inches tall on its base.
Made of resin, with 3 metal bells on the hat.
$90 plus shipping.
Both produced by G-Force.
Sculpted by Robert Blair.
Kits pictured painted by Scott Herel.
Much of Robert Blair’s sculpture is the stuff of nightmares … but in a good way. In addition to the jester and dancing demon above, he’s created a frightening assortment of clowns (including the Joker), scarecrows, a Dryad and much more. I don’t know what fires an imagination like that, but it gives our hobby an edge that’s sometimes surprising.
I like both of the pieces above, but “Baklar” is my favorite of the two. The thing just looks so flipping happy about being creepy. So I e-mailed Robert to ask him if there is a story behind the “Demons of Dance.”
“There really is no back-story about these pieces,” he answered, “I just thought it would be cool to sculpt these evil jesters in different ballet poses. We have all these Royal Winnipeg Ballet books at home, my sister-in-law was a dancer with them. Just the idea of these evil, dark horrid jesters in these graceful ballet poses was hilarious! I think it works very well.”
Gary White, 41, of G-Force was also impressed by pictures of the “Demons” when he saw them on Robert’s Web site, and he made a deal to produce them as garage kits.
As garage-kit producers go, Gary is one of the veterans, having been in business since 1988. He lives in Acton, Ontario, an hour west of Toronto, with his wife, Shari. His “day job” is in construction; he works on heating, ventilation and air conditioning, plumbing and other mechanical systems.
Q&A WITH GARY WHITE OF G-FORCE
Resin the Barbarian: Despite their originality (or perhaps because of it), these aren’t the kinds of kits I generally expect to see on people’s “grail” lists. What made you decide to produce these?
Gary: I liked them as soon as I saw them. They are different to the same old Frankenstein, Predator, etc. I also liked the feel that the poses have and the eeriness of the whole look.
RtB: G-Force has been in business more than 15 years. How many kits have you produced in that time? Care to share some highlights?
Gary: G-Force is up to kit No. 43. Some did well, others did not. I like most of the kits. I guess my favorites are “Capt’n Johnny,” “The Goblin King,” “The Old Guller’s Daughter” and now all the “Demons.”
RtB: What does “G-Force” stand for? Is the “G” for “Gary”?
Gary: No, Not Gary. I get asked that question all the time, people think my name is Gary Force. G-Force came from my early days of selling Star Wars toys. You know, the “Force,” plus G-Force is associated with acceleration and power, so I thought G-Force would be a good name.
RtB: Where do most of your customers come from?
Gary: Most of my clients are U.S.-based, then I would say Canada and Europe.
RtB: Do you consider your journey to WonderFest this year a success? Have you been before?
Gary: Wonderfest was great. I was at Wonderfest No. 2 and No. 3 when it was held at the old hotel. I never returned because it was too hard to get through U.S. customs with product for the shows. I finally got a broker, and this time I was only held up at customs for two hours.
RtB: Do you build models yourself? If so, what do you most enjoy doing?
Gary: I used to build models, but now I have no time as I do all the molding and casting for G-Force and other clients. My main collection is “Blade Runner” models.
I have about 40 different ones including over 20 Spinner Cars, 10-plus Deckards, several Blasters and other characters and props from the movie. There are still a few kits and busts I am looking for, like the ones Jim Maddox did. Hopefully I will track them down soon.
G-Force actually has a new “Blade Runner” kit available that was debuted at Wonderfest. It is Deckard walking with broken fingers. There is also an accessory base available with Sebastian’s Kaiser, a trunk and a pile of toys.
G-Force has been around the hobby for a very long time. We are still producing high-quality kits and enjoying it. I hope we can continue in the hobby for a very long time.
I don’t know if people realize that we also do high-quality vacuum molding and bubble-free pressure casting, and have been for over 14 years. I only mention this because I know there are companies out there who are always looking for molds and castings but don’t look outside the U.S. Please don’t forget to look up and use your IMAGINATION AND BEYOND.