Bil Horan (1 Viewer)

[Nicholas V Hall]

Been looking at some of this fellows wonderful work. So can I ask our American friends is he still alive, can you buy any of his unique creations, how much are they worth ect. The sculpting and painting is unbelievable.

 

[marco55]

Yes he is a master. Probably learn more about him if you go on Planet Figure. https://www.planetfigure.com/
https://www.planetfigure.com/threads/bill-horan-post-your-favourites-here.285694/
Mark

 

[Andanna]

He will probably be attending the MFCA in May. Brad would probably know.

 

[Nicholas V Hall]

Marco. Thankyou for that info. What wonderful creations showing such artistry and knowledge of subject. Done with a wooden toothpick, paperclips and putty. I am in awe of this fellow.

 

[theBaron]

Yes, Bill is still alive, still sculpting and painting. And as Andreas noted, he's likely to be at our show, the MFCA show, in May.

He works on commission, and though I don't know what he charges, my educated guess is four figures for a single figure, five figures for a vignette or larger pieces. He also makes figures for auctions at some of the shows, such as ours, the Military Miniature Society of Illinois' show (Shep Paine's club), and the triennial World Expo.

As far as value goes, he is a Grand Master (https://www.mfcaclub.com/the-grand-masters). He was awarded that honor in 1987, but of course, he had established a body of work over the preceding decade. That puts him at the top of the hobby.

Prost!
Brad

 

[theBaron]

Re: Bil Horan - "Small Subjects" interview

As a followup, here's the link to the "Small Subjects" podcast interview with Bill, from January 2022, that you might enjoy listening to:

https://smallsubjects.buzzsprout.com/1807994/9871878

Prost!
Brad

 

[Warrior]

His Franco Prussian War subjects is what inspired me to collect figures from that conflict; started out with a handful, 6 years later, I've got over 3,000 figures.

 

[Currahee Chris]

As far as value goes, he is a Grand Master (https://www.mfcaclub.com/the-grand-masters). He was awarded that honor in 1987, but of course, he had established a body of work over the preceding decade. That puts him at the top of the hobby.

Cheers for the link Brad- that was pretty cool looking at the OG Shep Paine and all the others. Strong Greek influence it seems since the new millenium.

Cool thing about Ron Rudat (1991)- he was immortalized as Ronald "Dusty" Rudat back in 1986 for all the work he did on the line for Hasbro. Dusty is a fan favorite (Im a HUGE GI Joe fan from the 80s). I have a lot of the unopened figures and boxes and stuff and the artwork (his and many others) inspired me as much now as a 50 year old man as it did as a teen in the 80s.

Prost!
CC

 

[theBaron]

Sure thing, Chris!

If you haven't had an opportunity to listen to the Small Subjects podcast, interviewing Bill, it's really worth it to hear him tell his story, too.

Prost!
Brad