For many of us, being able to create our own line of miniatures and getting to work creating stuff for major fantasy movies would be a dream come true.  Gary Hunt then is a man who is living out many people’s dreams – working initially for Grenadier UK figures in the 90's, he migrated to New Zealand and is now not only working for digital effects company Weta as an artist, but also has a sideline of his own figures at Gary Hunt Miniatures.

I asked Gary for an interview to discuss and explore some of the realities of such a job, together with where his passion for the work has come from.

Mike: Hi Gary, thanks for agreeing to this interview.  Now for many people into wargaming, the idea of fantasy modelling as a career must seem a dream come true.  Was this something you always wanted to do yourself?

Gary: Yeah it really is a dream come true, although I imagine that dreams don't involve quite so much work!

When I was younger I never really knew what I was going to do when I left school. My Dad had a Toy shop selling miniatures from Grenadier and Games Workshop etc. and I went to a lot of trade shows and swap meets, so I thought maybe I would get a job behind the till and ordering for him.

But I was also interested in painting, wargaming and art. At school I was advised to follow graphics and go to art school, so I did and alongside this I painted figures, entering The Golden Demon award, as well as trying my hand at a bit of sculpting. So yes, this is something I've always wanted to do.

Mike: Which came first for you; a desire to be an artist, or an interest in fantasy and sci fi?

Gary: Hmm, I guess they went hand in hand. At primary school I loved drawing animals and birds and because my father was so into racing cars and collecting I remember drawing Bugatti's as well.

I always loved the Greek myths they read to us and I read the Hobbit maybe when I was about 11.  However, it was reading The Lord of the Rings that blew me away and from that moment I was hooked.

I'd already been collecting and painting 25mm figs for a while and wanted to be a figure painter or sculptor. Being a fine artist seemed like a very difficult world to enter and often it seemed the artist might not have enough to live on!

Mike: It’s interesting you mentioned your dad selling Grenadier figures. I see on your website that you started out working on Grenadier UK miniatures – which lines were you involved in regarding model development?

Gary: Yes, I loved going to the toy trade fairs in Earls Court, London. as I got to chat to my hero's Nick Lund and Julie Guthrie, and meet Games Workshop reps etc.

When I finished my industrial design/architectural model-making course I applied for work at GW and Grenadier. GW wanted people on site, but I had to stay in Bournemouth. However, Grenadier were more flexible, and said they'd give me a go.

I was over the moon! I did 3 months of work on packs of Mongols, evil monks, goat headed demons, sorcerers, barbarians, undead and a very GW looking Goblin standing on the back of a prostrate Dwarven slave.

All of these, apart from the barbarians and undead, I saw released in the Virgin Mega store, London which was such a buzz (as well as, of course, in my dad’s shop) as part of the Fantasy Lords range.

Unfortunately for me, when I got back from a pre-booked holiday in Thailand Grenadier had gone bust, along with my dream, and I didn't even get paid (all the fun of being on a royalties scheme)!  However, I was sent the moulds of these figures a few years later and eventually, in 2002, shipped them to New Zealand for a company here, though they have since disappeared.

After this regrettable experience, I was offered work on Future Warriors, but this never happened.

Mike: Ouch – of course this in time would lead you to coming over here to New Zealand and joining Weta, who have done a lot of work for The Lord Of The Rings and Avatar.  Will we have seen any of your work onscreen?

Gary: Yeah, I moved to London to sculpt toys and merchandise for six years and when I heard about The Lord Of The Rings being film I just had to go.  I was going to try for anything arty, but if that didn't work I was going to learn how to ride and become a Rohirim!

Luckily, I got a job in the Art Dept, poly carving huge statues of demons and kings, using a combination of a chainsaw and hotwire.  My favourites were the Silent Watchers that confront Sam and Frodo on the bridge in Mordor. I died and went to heaven when I saw those on screen!

I also did a bunch of miniatures for Isengard, trees for Fangorn, Kings in Minas Tririth, a head for the dead marshes etc. For the Hobbit I did a load of prosthetics, design (Stone Giants had a fair amount of my work amongst others in them) as well as sculpting some orc armour, elven quivers crowns and elven ears etc!

Mike: So you have a “9-5” job at Weta, and you decided to start your own miniatures company. People must be going “but why”?

Gary: My day is typically more like 8 - 6, plus it can get busy! I'm not boasting, but hey...

But my own miniatures company... yes I sometimes ask myself why as well! Actually, the reason is simple; the film industry is very fickle and full of peaks and troughs, especially here in NZ. It often looks as if there won't be work for a while so you need to start looking for freelance work with other companies, there are a few in Wellington.

I've been really lucky and been employed by Weta as a freelancer solidly for 14-15 years now, but have had a few months off here and there or got some work in London when I went back to visit.

So basically I wanted something to fill these gaps, I can be creative at work on my own stuff and maybe also earn some money. There aren't any gaps these days quite luckily, but now I find it very difficult to release new figures and run everything else but the moulding and casting.

The Weta Cave (the merchandise shop for Weta) sells a fair amount of my figures, but they all have to be assembled and inkwashed, which wasn't the idea when I started, but I’m glad it's working. The guys who do the casting also assemble the dragons and I have some local artist painting them.

Mike: Talk us through the process of creating, mass producing and distributing a figure.

Gary: Generally, I come up with something I want to sculpt and start sculpting, though I wish it was that easy.  Mentally, I've got lists and lists of stuff I want to do, but I feel sometimes I've spread myself too thin!

I started with 54mm Historical stuff, then added 30mm sci-fi apocalyptica and then dragons, so I had to do a fantasy range as well.

I'm interested in all of them and none really outsell the other, but I can really only concentrate on one range at a time so the Fantasy range is expanding with a few historical sculpts popping up.

Zombiesmith have just started distributing in America and wanted to concentrate on Fantasy, which also sells well in the Weta Cave.  So I'm going with these for now but itching to release some sci-fi.

The Historical figures take a lot of time to research and sculpt, so when I've sculpted enough for a mould (usually about 6 figures) I send them to Regal Toy Soldiers, who create the mould and cast them, sending me a big box of pewter.

I ink some up and get to painting. I then go onto my website and social media showcasing my figures in their green, metal and painted states.  I can then set them up as ready for sale.

Of course, I could be more ordered with growing the business, however fitting it around my full time work for Weta and occasional freelance jobs makes this process a bit sporadic.  Thankfully, I’m a lot more disciplined with dealing with sorting, boxing and shipping figure orders.

Mike: I have to say I really love some of your post apocalyptic sci fi work, which I find really unique.  For me the stand out pieces are the female Amazons on chariots, the gas mask girl band and the eco-Monks.  Am I picking up a bit of a punk theme in your work here?  (I’m also noticing those goat-boys as a recurring motif)

Gary: Thanks, cool. Yes loved 2000AD and have been influenced visually by fellow British comic Tank Girl (although I never really read it).

I guess everyone when I was leaving college had a grunge post-apocalyptic fear about them and the stuff I wanted to do then is still coming out of me now!   I was into metal punk, techno, trance, techstep d&b and attended more than my fair share of crazy parties and raves with strange crusty performers.  From where I grew up, Glastonbury festival was just up the road, so I’ve always been into a very alternative scene.

Man I want to sculpt some more Chainsaw monks and Amazon vehicles I had great plans!

But the goats... my nickname was Goat, which I originally hated, but it seemed to suit me when I was a grungy techno head!  But not now, though I still have a beard to show for it, I have sanded my horns right down!

Mike: When last I met you, we were fighting over the last pot of nuln oil in the gaming store.  What hobby projects are you currently working on at home?  Has working in fantasy art dulled your interest in it as a hobby at all?

Gary: Well I'm glad there were two in my hand and I could let you have one.  It hasn't dulled my interest in fantasy hobby/work at all, quite the opposite. Sculpting is my business and a hobby at the same time, and if I cut out the business side I would get a lot more sculpting done, but would I have the same drive?

Working for a director in a team of other artists is rewarding, but you are led there and they’re dropping cool ideas left, right and centre.  But working on your own stuff you get more of a sense of ownership and direction, and can take it to completion if you want to or put it aside and come up with something else, less pressure and also more rewarding if someone likes it!

At the moment I am creating more figures for the Fantasy Warr range, this time inspired by my travels to Ethiopia. More beasts! This time a race of Geladan (Gelada being the baboon that lives in the Simien mountains - I got to hang out with them for a while). Baboon men on war beast.

As I work digitally 90% of the time at Weta now, I have started doing it at home as well.  It's good to get extra practice and printing technology is awesome and I have access to the printer at work.

I'm sculpting them and painting them digitally with a realistic render and hopefully a cool graphic or illustration will come out of it for some rules that Zombiesmith will release if I get my skates on!

I've just sent a demon (Soul destroyer) to casting (my first printed release) and so am very excited about that and I've got to get some of my masters ready to send over to the US. Zombiesmith.

I'm also working on some Dwarf, barbarian and Elven ideas to get out as well.  I’m trying to create a fantasy world that is slightly unique, but can fit in with all others as well.

Mike: Thanks for this interview, and finally, do you have any advice for people keen on pursuing a career in genre art?

Gary: Have fun, be inspired, learn from other artist's, practice, work hard, don't give up!

See more about Gary’s work at Gary Hunt Miniatures and on his Facebook page.

Mike Talks

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