The GI Joe A Real American Hero toyline not only captivated fans after its inception nearly 3 decades ago, but as such, has a rich history. It’s not often that we get a glimpse at what went on behind the scenes. While Hasbro and retailers alike tend to focus on present toylines/media tie-ins(and sometimes constant re-invention) as a way to keep the GI Joe brand relevant, it wouldn’t have come this far without major stepping stones in the past. Being that the ARAH line not only lasted 15 years, but also outlasted Kenner‘s Star Wars line, we can objectively say that it was a major stepping stone for the brand.
Earlier this year, HISS Tank boards members Gyre-Viper, Roshan, and Jaimanstone worked on an interview with Bill Merklein, a freelance sculptor who worked on the line, and many others. Questions from the interview were drawn from various board members here, and the interview has been in the works for a long time. It covers the history of the line, the sculpting process for figures, and more! Thanks goes out to the aforementioned boards members who worked on the interview, and those of you who submitted questions. Thanks also goes out to Mr. Merklein for taking the time to shed light on his work and the line that not only breathed new life into GI Joe, but captivated our imaginations during childhood. Without further ado, here’s the interview:
Gyre-Viper says
Bill Merklein was a sculptor for Hasbro in the 80's. He sculpted more than 70 GI JOE 2ups for the line including Zartan, Jinx, Slaughter, Recondo, Night Viper, Lady Jaye and literally tons of others. He is the creator of the B.A.T. character and concept. He even sculpted the infamous canceled Rocky 2up. He also worked on lines like X-Men and X-Force for ToyBiz, Mighty Max, Star Wars (Kenner), Visionaries (the character Merklynn is based on his likeness or rather a nod to him as a sculptor for the line) and Dungeons&Dragons. He also worked on canceled concepts like the unrealized Krull and Tribes lines. He's responsible for the 1:1 sculpt that can be found in the form of a holographic dove on any given Visa credit card... 1:1 meaning that the sculpt the hologram is based on... is actually THAT small.
This interview has been a long time coming. All of the questions submitted were from members of Hisstank.com. Within this interview, Bill covers some GI JOE history... some GI JOE stories... but he also talks about and goes into detail regarding a bit of his sculpting process: what he used when sculpting for Hasbro (tools and materials; the 2up process) and what it was Hasbro would actually send him to get a project going. So this interview should actually cater very much to customizers and people looking to possibly get into the toy making business, as well as people looking for a taste of GI JOE ARAH history.
The interview is split up into 7 parts.
It was edited by Hisstank.com's very own Jaimanstone, who as you may or may not know, has an insatiable passion for vintage Joes and is on a quest to absorb any and all knowledge of the subject, which is why I asked him if he wanted to edit the interview, actually. I would like to take this moment to thank Jaimanstone for all the hard work he put into editing the interview and cleaning it up. So THANK YOU, J-Man. I'd also like to thank Roshan but he'd rather I didn't, so I won't. HAHAHAHA. And of course I'd like to thank Mr. Merklein for being a great sport, great sculptor, great man, and a great friend.
Some notes about the interview:
Recently, it has been revealed, that a Big Boa 2up was sculpted in-house at Hasbro. Since Bill did NOT sculpt Big Boa, his assumption was that possibly his Rocky 2up had been retooled INTO Big Boa. But we now know that there are actually 2 separate sculpts out there (unless they were destroyed).
Also keep in mind that as a freelancer... Bill was not always privy to changes that were made, unless he was asked to make the changes.
I've also posted a link to the for sale thread regarding the internal Hasbro art copies that Bill is selling from his collection as well as a small interview regarding the canceled Rocky Balboa concept that I did for GeneralsJoes.com's review-o-rama, just a few months ago.
YouTube - Bill Merklein GI JOE Interview Part 1
YouTube - Bill Merklein GI JOE Interview Part 2
YouTube - Bill Merklein GI JOE Interview Part 3
YouTube - Bill Merklein GI JOE Interview Part 4
YouTube - Bill Merklein GI JOE Interview Part 5
YouTube - Bill Merklein GI JOE Interview Part 6
YouTube - Bill Merklein GI JOE Interview Part 7*
Here is the small interview with Bill regarding the Rocky sculpt:
YouTube - Bill Merklein discusses canceled GI JOE Rocky Balboa concept PT 1
YouTube - Bill Merklein discusses canceled GI JOE Rocky Balboa concept PT 2
Here is the art that is for sale with links to pictures of the art:
http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...ml#post1987660
alexan2dros says
awesome!!!!
sorry about before!
Gyre-Viper says
sorry about before!
hahahaha no worries. I'm impressed you found it so quick.
OSOK says
thats pretty sweet
jaimanstone says
alexan2dros says
miscreant says
Wow. I love stuff like this. Massive thanks to Bill and Gary, and anyone else who helped make this possible.
Zartanman says
WOW.. Gyre. I know you take a lot of flak man but damn dude, this is perhaps the most important video concerning GI Joe, Toys, Sculpting etc I've ever seen.
Thank you man! SO SO Much for doing this.
daremo says
Joe gold, Gary! Joe gold.
He answered my question(s) too. Now the wife really thinks I'm a dork.
Gyre-Viper says
Thank you man! SO SO Much for doing this.
I really hope you enjoy it!!!!!!!!!
Keep reading: Bill Merklein GI JOE Interview. - Page 2
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