Episode 37: Gary Baker, hair, and Historex

In this episode, your hosts have a fascinating chat with British native, now San Diego-based painter and modeler Gary Baker. In addition to being big fans of his work, and agreeing that he’s one of the finest gents we’ve met in the hobby in recent years, we were eager to hear Gary’s thoughts about sculpting and painting hair—he’s a professional stylist and the creative director at UNITE Hair—and he made us think even more about how much character hair adds to a figure, as well as paying attention to the fine distinctions in hair styles in different eras. We’re used to focusing on uniforms and equipment and the way such change, even within the span of one conflict, but Gary got us going even deeper. To illustrate, here are some photos Barry found of radically different hair styles just within the Napoleonic period. (That’s a British surgeon in 1811, French General Lasalle, and some guy Joaquin Phoenix is playing in a new movie that Jim for one is eager to see, even though he doesn’t like Joaquin as the joker.)

Above: examples of Gary’s work in 1:1 scale (the second photo is one of his “hair sculptures” that he shared with Barry). Below: Some outstanding examples of Gary’s painting in much smaller scales.

Gary seems to have been born to teach! Below left, he’s educating hair stylists in Paris; at right, a recent meeting of the group of San Diego miniatures painters he’s been organizing and encouraging.

Changing subjects, how did your hosts get hooked on Historex? Barry’s eyes opened when he checked this book by Philip Stearns out from the library in Utah. Jim’s mind was blown when he first saw a picture of Shep Paine’s “A Whiff of Grapeshot” in a modeling magazine.

Below: An unfinished Shep Historex piece—the only one he left behind—based on a famous print of the death of Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia. Jim took Shep’s pieces, which were assembled and base-coated, and mounted them on a base to give a sense of where he was going with this aborted project. Look at the animation of that white plastic!

Clearly, Barry and Jim are excited about the Historex group build that sprung from the enthusiasm of their listeners. (Join the fun and follow along in the Facebook group here!) Below: Barry’s horse-in-progress (for going on 15 years now) and Jim’s vignette in the works. Hopefully, you’ll see both at the MMSI’s Chicago Show on Oct. 20-21.