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A Conversation with Wayne Ho
List Member and Kaiju Sculpter
Interviewed by Sean Bogart, alias Reverend Samekh,
Introduction by Bob Schneider
Most of us are content watching giant monster movies and collecting kaiju figures, but not long-time list member and artist Wayne Ho. Lately he's been spending much of his time hidden away in his workshop Wondermint Studios, sculpting his own Godzilla figures. Recently, Wayne succeeded in doing what most of us only dream of: obtaining a license from Toho Studios for his designs then selling his sculpts to a Japanese manufacturer called Toy Pirates, who put his creations into production. The result of Wayne's efforts is a pair of vintage SD style vinyl figures representing Godzilla and Rose Biollante, which were sold as show exclusives at Japan's World Hobby Festival this year. Wayne's Rose Biollante sculpt just may be the first standard size (approximately 10 inch) vinyl representation of the monster ever marketed by any manufacturer.
Naturally, Wayne's handiwork has attracted a lot of attention among fans, especially his friends here on the DKE List. Curious about what it takes to put a vinyl collectible on the market, fellow list member Sean Bogart interviewed Wayne, asking him about his background, his art, and his plans for the future. For any other list members interested in Wayne's admirable accomplishment, here's a transcription of the conversation:
Sean: How long have you been into Godzilla or other Kaiju?
Wayne: I've been into kaijus, sci-fi and ghost stuff even since I was little. I've got several booklet collections of Ultra kaijus / Godzilla/ Kamen Rider cards all pasted in nicely along with books and toys from childhood. Too bad I have no idea where they are now. But all that sort of took a long break when I became a teenager... you know, girls, music and all that came into play. Then gradually all that started to come back in my mid-late 20's. I started working so I'd have more money to collect junk. Then it sort of started going crazy back in '97 or '98, first with that damn Ultra kaiju Namegon, then I found Club D Jim [Club Daikaiju dealer and list member Jim Cirronella], then the rest is history.
Sean: What other art have you done, and how long have you been doing your art projects?
Wayne: I've always drawn a lot ever since I could hold a pen. As far as work goes, I've actually done quite a few things: I was trained as an environmental designer in UC Davis and then illustration / fine art in ACCD (Art Center College of Design in Pasadena). But workwise, I've done anything from Buddhist script design, hariclip design, children's book, mural, anti-smoking bus ad, editorial illustration, ride film, website / logo / package / graphic design to the most recent toy design stuff, which I enjoy tremendously. I'm by no means as established as some of the veteran artists like Bob Eggleton, but hey, I'm trying.
Sean: What possessed you to decide to make sculpts that you wanted to make into vinyls?
Wayne: Must be Godzilla! What else? Actually this one sort of came unexpectedly. Originally I was only doing the DESIGN for the Biollante-Rose and Gojira. They were looking for a sculptor in Japan without success. So I thought, what the heck, if I could draw them, I could sculpt them. So I offered to give it a try. I did the Godzilla head, they loved it, then again, the rest is history. Besides, I love vinyls and toys, who in their right mind wouldn't want their own creation (even though in this case it's an adaptation) to become something they love? Now I'm officially part of the Godzilla history too!
Sean: What are the original sculpts made from?
Wayne: I used wire, aluminum foil and sculpty. Lovely and white and not messy at all.
Sean: How long did it take you to sculpt the characters?
Wayne: Oh, that sort of depends. I do them when I feel like doing them, and I never really counted the hours -- it's not too hard once I have them drawn out in all different angles. I would just have to link the images on paper onto my hands then onto the sculpts. Maybe later on I might just sculpt straight without drawing... maybe.
Sean: How long did it take Toho to give you the OK on the toys?
Wayne: Oh, that took forever and I was getting really nervous about it. First they wanted to see the drawings, then they wanted see the pics for the sculpts. We sent them some work in progess pics, they okayed all that, but then eventurally they wanted to see the final sculpts in person. So we had to send them to Japan and the manufactor rep had several meetings with Toho. Then it was just painful waiting periods, as Toho gave us the go, but we still needed to get the licence from the show (World Hobby Festival) through two stages of applications. (The show people needed another approval from Toho yet again!) A lot of politics were involved. Plus supposely all the previous Godzilla toy designers all have a connection with or related to Toho one way or another. I'm just some crazy foreigner, so I consider myself very lucky to be able to make it this far.
Sean: Do you have any other ideas for the future?
Wayne: What future? My future? Godzilla's future? My toy sculpt future? It's looking up as sevearl Japanese distributors who've seen the toys all like / love it, so I was told. The big Japanese distributor Irisawa showed interest as well. They say that if we could get the full licence they will order a special Irisawa version! I dont know... just want to thank all my friends who've supported me through all this thus far. Hopefully this pair does well, then we could expect to see wave 2, wave 3... then hey! Maybe we could even tackle Tsuburaya and make my own Baltan! Wahhh!
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