Merklein horses

[milminwh]

Greetings,

I had to reorder Merklein horses the other day and got into a conversation with Bill Merklein, who sculpted the horses and owns the company.

Bill was somehwat surprised that I have had any success selling his bare horses (54-mm scale cast in resin, photo below, and entire line can be viewed here
Merklein horse line

Bill does not use the internet, and asked me to post some questions here on his behalf. He is looking for ways to increase sales (rightfully so, since the castings are so nicely done!)

1) He is thinking about releasing the heads separately, which would contain horse accessories sculpted onto head, such as bridle bits. Should he proceed this way?
2) He is thinking about releasing compatible saddles (EG McClellan saddle, cowboy saddle, Napoleonic saddle, etc.) ....good idea? Which saddles should he do?
3) Any other suggestions to improve his line?
4) Any other feedback?

I'll gather replies and get them back to Bill. He sends his regards to PF members.

Here is a photo of one of the horses from his line (Shying Standardbred #MRK01):

Regards,
John McNenney
Military Miniatures Warehouse

 

[Anders Heintz]

I think all of his ideas are good. I would personally like to see a Quarterhorse type single bare horse to use for cowboy and other western figures. I like the saddle idea as well, no one makes a saddle pack in 54, and if he could make maybe a plantation saddle, McClellan, Nappy saddle(s) and maybe a western saddle it would make for a nice pack.

As for the heads, that is also a great idea, sell the heads seperate with different type of tack, such as Civil War CSA/Union Headstalls, nappy western etc. That would make for an excelelnt addition and for those of us who dont like to make tack it would come in handy if the price was right. I would sell the headstall heads as single pieces though as if you need a specific type of headstall you wouldnt want to pay extra for the other things you would never use.

 

[19th Century Wars]

Originally posted by milminwh@Mar 12 2005, 10:52 PM
1) He is thinking about releasing the heads separately, which would contain horse accessories sculpted onto head, such as bridle bits. Should he proceed this way?
2) He is thinking about releasing compatible saddles (EG McClellan saddle, cowboy saddle, Napoleonic saddle, etc.) ....good idea? Which saddles should he do?

Would he not have to make one of each type of saddle, for each type of horse in his line? I think that would be quite an effort, as there are many varieties of Napoleonic saddles, plus, the marks and ornaments vary from regiment to regiment. To fit properly he would have to sculpt each saddle type, on each of his horses.

The heads might be possible. Perhaps a generic French Napoleonic bridle, which could then be altered to make the Hungarian style might be a good idea. He could include bits, rosettes, etc., that could be used with all heads, and would not need to be specific to each horse, like a saddle would.

He might consider doing a few in 120mm.

 

[KenSullivan]

I've sculpted a horse or 12 over the last few years & have toyed w/ the idea a sculpting a line similiar to Merklein's in 1/30th, 1/35th or even 1/16th scale. Trouble is, I have no interest in making molds & casting them.

Is there someone out there who would be interested in helping me out? Is there a market for this? What scale would be most popular? I would assume the Historex 1/30th, right?

To see some of my stuff, check out my website at:

Ken Sullivan Fine Art Bronzes

There's even a variety of western saddles/bridles/bits there also. "Give Thanks" & "Ride It Out" are both 1/15th scale.

I would love to hear some feedback on this.

Thanks,

KJS

 

[Einion]

Hi John, here's my two bits:

1, yes I'm sure there would be a market for these.

2, definitely. Which ones I think the mounted fans here will have the most to say about but I'd guess appropriate to the breed pretty much.

3, more than one pose for a given breed. As the range builds I'm sure this will happen anyway but I thought I'd mention it.

Einion

 

[Einion]

Hey Ken, great to see you here, it's good to have a chance to see more of your work. I hope it's enjoying great success, it sure deserves it.

You working in clay now, or wax maybe?

You might try contacting Pegaso and Soldiers, their figures are often well above the 1/32 scale mark (being 60-65mm tall) despite being marketed as 54s. You could try Andrea too but best of luck trying to get an answer!

Einion

 

[Dan Morton]

Interesting thread! Ken, John & Bill - Please keep us informed about what you're going to offer. Bill - Beautiful horse!

Speaking only as a potential customer [Horses being well beyond my abilities as a sculptor!] - I'd like to see some 75mm and 90mm horses in "motion" poses cast in resin, multiple heads, possibly multiple legs(?), FPW and WWI period tackle and saddles. BIG request, I know.

See related thread "75mm, 90mm, 120mm horses". Personal opinion - the only really good horses in those scales and in motion are the ones offered by European makers at the uncompetitive $ - Euro rates of exchange, so you'd have some market advantage for the US buyers.

all the best,
Dan

 

[Bluesking]

I have to agree with Dan, having bought some of these horses I would like to see more poses and different scales. In terms of horse equipment and saddles - there is too many different rigs to satisfy everyone so I would leave that area to others.

 

[dario966]

I agree wiyh Dan too. In my opinion it would be benficial if Mr. Merklein developed scales 75mm, 90mmm, 120 mm instead.
And instead of these saddles and tack etc definitely we must have some Spanish mustangs, steppe tarpan/mogolian pony, akhal-teke and barb in those aforementioned scales.
By the way, anyone using Breyer horses? I see these model horse people are doing some amazing conversions..

 

[slaj]

I agree with all the ideas.Not so much having the bridle bit attached though. I would also like to see holse halves apart from just heads. Something like the historex thing. Also the saddles , especially the napoleonic type. How can I contact Bill? Is it through his website direct?


Stephen Mallia

 

[KenSullivan]

Howdy Einion, been a lurker for a while but thought I'd pipe up on this, my favorite subject. A lot has changed in my life since I met you in Chicago, 2 fine sons - one 3 yrs & the other 3 months , a lay-off, my wife was laid off, new jobs, plus trying to get into the fine art business. I don't get to mess with figures much although I've been doing some painting.

The sculpting is done in an oil-based clay made by Chavant. There are various hardnesses some even getting as hard as wax. As for success, I guess just doing it is part success, but with the commissions I have this year I might even make money! :lol:

I think I might try those manufacturers you suggested. However, I think that you're too optimistic about whether there is a market for this type of thing. It may be better to offer to sculpt the horses for these manufacturers' kits than offer a line of just horses in different poses.

The idea of having a system like Historex with horse halves that can be mixed and matched is cool, but the problem is, real animals don't move that way. Motion begins in the spine, hips & shoulders just like the human figure which makes this type of system problematic. IMHO, horses look stiff when done this way.

KJS

 

[Luis R.]

Producers tend to neglect the fact that armies have used a wide range of horses for very different purpouses. I mean, guns and carriages were towed by heavy, powerful horses, while hussars rode little, fast ones. So modellers who want to depict a heavy or very light horse have to rely on extensive conversion work on available "standard" horses, which is quite tricky as a heavy horse is not simply a "scaled up" light horse. It may be a good idea to produce a range of different built horses in a given scale.

 

[Figure Mad]

Hi

I think we definately could do with a supplier of such fine horses within the UK

Dave

 

[Steve]

My two bits: Go, Bill, Go. Go, Ken, Go. Riderless horses are the most under represented of common figures. The head idea is superb. Despite the observed variety of used types, ANYTHING from which to start is great. I personally would like to see downed-wounded and dead-horses as well. Great drama there. Thx for the chance to have a say, John--

 

[Automata]

I'd probably buy the individual heads. Personally, I would rather make the bridles myself though.

The saddles might work fine, especially if you made them as generic as possible. For example, just the French light and heavy cav. saddles themselves, but not the saddlecloths.

What I'd mostly like to see is more of the basic horses in different poses. The ones that are available so far are beautiful.

Barry

 

[Billhoran]

My two cents...

I agree with Barry. Saddles can be pretty tedious to sculpt (particularly the McClellan with its wooden frame) and minor differences between similar saddles will in most cases be obscured by the rider and other equipment. For example, the standard British saddle changed little from Waterloo to the Boer War.

The bridle idea sounds good, but I know I would NOT use them. Bridles are the easiest thing to make in horse conversion. Sheet plastic or vinyl tape make beautifully clean straps with nice sharp lines. After this, you only need to add a few buckles.

I would also like to see more breeds and poses - MANY more. As for the larger scales, its a nice idea, but look around at figure shows. These scales - aside from WWII subjects - don't seem to have nearly the popularity they had 10 years ago. Fewer and fewer manufacturers are producing them - probably because they are not selling.

Bill

Bill

 

[KenSullivan]

So it seems there is something of a demand for bare horses of distinctive breeds in various poses but mainly in the 54mm scale.

There is no way I would recommend to Bill Merklein to do bridles or any type of saddle because they are too specific & I don't think the potential sales would justify the effort. Besides, Historex has already done it & they are still widely available & what they haven't done can be modified pretty easily, especially considering the guy sitting on it is going to cover it up anyway.

From looking at show reports in the magazines, very few of the figures shown are massive conversions or scratch-built jobs like Bill does, and fewer still are mounted. In the HM #47 Chicago Show report, out of 50 photos, there were only 4 showing mounted figs. In the Figurines #61 Euro report, of the 46 photos, only 6 were of mounted figs. All but 2 of the 10 mounted figs were 54mm. If one can conclude that most shows reflect these same proportions, it ain't good from a business sense.

What makes the most sense to me, if one would do this, is to make the horses in the 54mm scale thus maximizing your potential in what is already a very tiny market. It would also NOT make any sense to me to make just heads because you couldn't sell them for enough.

another $.02

KJS

 

[milminwh]

Greetings All,
Many thanks for the great feedback. I am printing these screens and mailing to Bill Merklein.
Best Regards,
John