Name: Bob Murch
Birth: July 1964, Canadian Airforce Base 4Wing, Baden Soelingen, Germany (Canadian writer Douglas Copeland, who coined the term 'Generation X' was also born at 4wing a year earlier. The nukes we kept on base must have been leaky.)

Residence: Kelowna, BC, Canada
Household: Full of books and strange artefacts from around the world, and its getting fuller.

Short Description: the two fisted sculptor of choice for manly adventure gamers around the globe
Long Description: I'm the fella thats gonna whack my brother Bill's cranium with a shovel if he don't stop taken my copy of Spicy Detective to the out-house and tearin the last few pages outa the stories.
Favourite miniature: The old Ral Partha orcs since they were the first figs I ever owned and they still exert a certain magic.
Favourite topic to sculpt: Characters from classic pulp fiction.
Favourite writers: Dashell Hammett, Ray Bradbury, H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Lord Dunsany

Favourite Music: Sibelius, Miles Davis,(Jazz & Classical mostly)
Favourite Movies: Hammer Horror films pre-1970, Universal Horror films pre-1950, Films of John Houston, David Lean, Film Noir w/Bogart, Cagney or Alan Ladd….

Homepage Link: Pulp Figures

Miniatures made for:
RAFM - 1984 to 1995, Notables ranges for Rafm were ‘The Reptiliads’ and ‘Call of Cthulhu’, also extensive historical ranges and fantasy.
Became a freelance sculptor in 1996.
Other manufacturers - Gallo Pewter, Wizards Of The Coast, Irwin Toys, Alderac Entertainment Group (where Bob did extensive work on Clan Wars), Black Orc Games, Lance & Laser, Hat Industrie (1/72 scale plastic historicals).

B.M.: I’ve been a full-time, professional artist and sculptor since 1988. I attended Sheridan College and have an Illustration degree with a major in Book Design and a minor in Advertising.

My primary area of expertise has been in the gaming industry where I have produced miniatures for games and game related products. My subject matter has ranged from science fiction to fantasy, horror and historical topics. I hold three Gama/Origins Awards (previously the H.G. Wells Award) given to me by The Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design, once in 1991 and twice in 1997.

I am the designer of the Robert Bloch Award (Bloch was the author of Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’) which is a bi-annual literary award given out by the New England Lovecraft Society. Recipients include best selling author Brian Lumley.

I currently run my own miniature company called ‘Pulp Figures’ which specializes in gaming miniatures based on films and books from the 1920’s, 30’s & 40’s-a particular interest for most of my life. Pulp is taking up all my time these days despite its initial ‘experimental’ start-up concept (a web-based, specialty themed miniature range built around one sculptor).

I sculpt in sizes ranging from very small to very large and I am a professional level painter and designer as well a scenic model builder.

On a personal level;
My wife, Dr. Susan Murch, is a world renown amino acid expert and ethno botanist. Hense we sometimes travel to interesting locals such as Egypt and the Sinai and I occasionally work in exotic places like the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kauai, Hawaii where I borrow the jungle office of Q. Gardens Director Sir Gilliam Prance. Susan is currently travelling in Lappland. These adventures might explain some of the directions my Pulp Figures ranges have taken.

Bob, how would you describe yourself?

B.M.: I'm a very lucky fellow. Not only do I get to spend most of my time playing in a make believe world but my wife's career as a scientist and ethno-botanist allows me to occasionally have one-of-a-kind experiences in the real world. I've been on an botanical expedition into the Sinai, visited the oldest Christian monastery in the world, seen pyramids in two separate parts of the world, Kayaked through mangrove swamps, hiked above the clouds, lived in a colonial residence on a private estate in Hawaii, attended a scientific conference at Sundance Utah, seen actual dinosaur footprints in the desert as well as pre-historic petroglyphs and rock art.

- What was the first mini you sculpted?

B.M.: He was a Byzantene soldier. Sorry, no pic was ever taken but he did get me a job a Rafm. The first Reptiliads were my next creation.

You have an Illustration degree in Book Design. It's probably also an interesting profession and business. How did you come to idea of working as sculptor?

B.M.: I've been making model figures since I was a very young child. My medium from age 5 to 15 was plasticene. I always had a work space in the living room, in front of the television. Other kids made snakes, I made robots, elves, fleets of battleships. Getting into miniatures and sculpting was very natural. I payed my way through college with sculpting. The hobby was financing the 'real world' job and in the end I stayed doing the hobby job.

As a qualified book designer and advertiser do you find that your two professions influence or refine your sculpting work?

B.M.: Not too much. I've never really tried to be a full time book illustrator. I've used those skills when called upon to produce advertising material supporting the miniatures. It comes in handy these days when I have to perform many jobs as owner/operator of Pulp Figures. The professional illustration world rather left a sour taste in my mouth. What was considered good from a gaming miniatures perspective was often considered bad subject matter in illustration school. I remember hearing one of the instructors announce on the first day that anyone who drew a dragon could leave right now. They did teach me to work hard though. Artistic navel-gazing was not allowed.

Is there a sculpting direction of which you consider yourself a part?

B.M.: I would have to say I subscribe to the school of personality oriented sculpting. Miniatures which try to encompass a character that almost tells you his/her story.

What sculptors do you like and admire? Which designers do you feel a kinship with?

B.M.: Tommy Meyer is the technical master. For virtuoso skill with the epoxy putty he is Mozart. Mark Copplestone is guy who showed what fun historical figs could be. He has a minimalist style that captures enormous character. Otherwise there are a rather large number of great professional sculptors out there these days.

Have you been influenced by other artists and if so, how?

B.M.: The illustrator Arthur Rackham is very influential. That whole romantic period of illustration was very much the legitimate fantasy art I admired most. On the more popular side, Frazetta and Jeff Jones were the artists I liked most when I began sculpting. These days I really enjoy the lurid old pulp art from the 30's and 40's. Sleazy, colourful powerful stuff.

Would you perhaps give us some comments on the changes of the scene of sculpting in last years (development, people, general design level or standard and so on)?

B.M.:Huge numbers of new sculptors are entering the market place. The professional level is becoming higher. I'd say style has become much more important. It isn't enough to just make a nice figure. The figure must also adhere to the public sense of what is 'good'. This perception was, of course, heavily influenced by Games Workshop.

B.M.: I'd say it has become very fragmented. Gamers can pursue any of a number of very different genres. I've actually become deliberately distant from most aspects of the hobby. In creating Pulp Figures I've basically committed myself a narrow field. In an ever expanding marketplace I felt it was necessary to specialize and specialize in an area that I was knowledgeable about. I also felt that there was little need for more orcs or elves or space marines, or historical Romans for that matter. Pulp was fairly fresh territory though there now seems to be quite a small explosion in pulp rpgs and miniatures. No big players yet but that is a matter of time.

What do you think of the new sculptor generation? How would you compare the old (you, Tom Meier, M.Copplestone, Sandra Garrity and so on) and new generations from your perspective?

B.M.: I can't really keep track of the new guys. Miniatures have become rather like the comic book field in that there is a lot of quality talent wedging itself into a small(ish) market place. From the consumer perspective its good because the quality of the product will be better and better. As for being a sculptor and making a living at it, it can be a tough game. Back in the 80's (insert cermudgeony old voice here) there were few sculptors and I think we had the run of the joint.

Will there be a degree?

B.M.: Maybe at the Games Workshop Academy though I'd bet the tuition will amount to more then the graduates will earn in their first four professional years.

B.M.: Enjoy doing it. I still do. Study and analyse the work you admire.

B.M.: Right now I'd be happy to be sculpting at any time. I've been so busy running my business that getting back to my work desk is just a dream right now. When things are normal, I work in stretches all day long. I don't have a schedule. I just do it when I can. I tend to work late though. The best movies are on after 10 pm anyhow.

Do you enjoy sculpting?

B.M.: Very much most of the time. It becomes a job when I'm working on subject matter I'm not interested in. As a professional, it is then my resposiblity to deliver a quality job.

How would you describe your current sculpting work? Historical fiction?

B.M.: I like to call them 'Hollywood Historicals'. The Pulp era is a fictional setting in a historical context. The fictional research sources are just as important to know as true historical sources are to a purely historical range.

Do you have a certain imagination of aesthetic appeal of sculpted miniatures?

B.M.: When I first saw a 25mm figure, one of the original Grenadier Dungeons & Dragons figs, a spell was cast. I couldn't get enough. The first time I entered Rafm and saw shelf upon shelf of miniatures, I was in heaven.

For many sculptors and companies, fantasy is without doubt a major topic; you've sculpted in comparison not too much fantasy. Do you not like fantasy? Do you attempt to go your separate way?

B.M.: Hmmm, I did do quite a few fantasy ranges for Rafm but I always liked to make my stuff a bit different. I did do my share of elves and orcs but the fantasy ranges I'm quite proud of, even if the sculpting is now dated, are the Rafm Angels, Death Angels, ghosts, gargoyles and Necromancers. Are Cthulhu monsters fantasy, or nightmare?

What kind of an audience do you envision yourself sculpting for?

B.M.: Myself mostly. My work is the stuff I want right now. I'm happy that Pulp Figures are getting such an enthusiastic response from the customers but they are figs I wanted for my imaginary world.

Do you have a favourite pulp adventure movie (Indiana Jones, Mummy, Shadow, Quatermain)? Are such movies an inspiration for your work? Or are there other sources of inspiration?

B.M.: Books are the primary source of my inspiration. I love literature-both legitimate and pulp. Film is a great medium at times but the screen can never paint a better picture than a book is capable of painting in your mind. Being a visual person and having attended the school where many of those digital animators came from, I tend to watch modern films with a critical eye. If the effects are too noticeable I don't enjoy the film as much. Old films with hokey effects or no effects are somehow better for me. The original Tarzan films have a certain magic. Maltese Falcon can't be beat.

When you are sculpting your Pulp miniatures, do you have a view of history, period, and whole optic? Do you research into it? How much research did you do on the figures before sculpting this?

B.M.: I've been drawn to this genre for most of my life. I've always loved old movies and radio shows like 'The Shadow'. The books I read as a child were reprints of pulp era fiction. My fantasy inclinations were more toward Robert E. Howard's Conan then Tolkien's hobbits. I still read a lot and that's where much of the inspiration comes from. I have stacks of Pulp re-prints to get through.

B.M.: I'm a big fan of Dashell Hammett, of Maltese Falcon fame. I've only recently become interested in mystery fiction so it's a new and exciting world for me.

You say pulp era is "a particular interest for most of my life". Are there other themes that you prefer? Or avoid?

B.M.: Space Marines. I was persuaded to do a derivative range years back and I wasn't happy about it. I don't like trying to capitalize on some else's successfull idea. I also find them to be silly. I'll do a sci-fi range some day but it will be different.

Any chance to see sometime an archaeologist pack by Pulp Figures? Diggers, evil priests?

B.M.: Very likely.

Could you tell us something about the history of beginning the RAFM Call of Cthulhu miniatures line?

B.M.: I was burning with Lovecraft fever and just started doing the monsters. Rafm didn't have the licence and didn't really want it but I eventually had a collection of nearly ten models and they finally decided to go forward with the project. Fortunately Greg Stafford of Chaosium was a friend of the Rafm guys so obtaining the licence wasn't too difficult. Its still one of their most successful ranges.

All the Cthulhu monsters, do you have invented the models by yourself or were there artworks?

B.M.: I would begin by re-reading the story in which the monster appeared. Most of the models were my interpretation of what I read in the source material.

Do you have a favourite Cthulhu miniature?

B.M.: The Great Race of Yith came off nicely considering how silly it might have looked.

How long have you needed design the Great Cthulhu model? Was it really your imagination of him or work from conception artwork?

B.M.: The Great Cthulhu model was drawn from my imagination again. Much of the design was an attempt to make as large a model as possible while minimalizing metal consumption. Hense the hollow form and many holes.

Do you like to read Lovecraft's books?

B.M.: Most certainly.

You are the designer of the Robert Bloch Award. It is a big challenge for you sculpting such pieces?

B.M.: I've only designed the Bloch award so far. Again there is the book connection. It was an honour to be asked and it was a thrill to meet Bob Bloch and several of the other recipients: Brian Lumley, L. Sprague de Camp.

Besides making miniatures, what do you, or would you, like most to do?

B.M.: If I wasn't a sculptor I would likely try to be a writer. Again with the books. Otherwise, I've made some attempts to learn to surf since we've been spending some time in Hawaii. My son can do it already. Mountain biking is my favourite recreation though. I biked in Utah last year and will try to get back there again soon.

Is there anything your fans are going to be surprised by?

B.M.: Sure, but I can't let the cat out of the bag too soon.

What are your plans for future work?

B.M.: Lots of Pulpy Figs. I have a 'to do' list longer then my arm.

Thank you, Bob!