SPOTLIGHT: The Mysterious "PF"!

Dropship Horizon recently caught up with the French sculptor known only as “PF” to get an insight into the person behind the impressive creative talent.

First of all, how did you get into the hobby and science fiction?

I think I began to love space opera and especially aliens with the Shi’ar Empire depicted in the X-Men comics. There wasn’t much, but I really loved those cool and weird aliens in the background. At the time I also had Star Wars toys but only saw the movie several years later.

I guess I got into the hobby like many others; I read Steve Jackson books where you were the hero, then discovered RPGs and little metal fantasy soldiers. I often hear miniatures were much cheaper in the good old days but when I was a kid, collecting an army was just an expensive dream and I couldn’t do much more than paint them (or rather ruin them!) with Humbrol paints. One day, I wanted to find another box of those plastic space marines I liked so much but my older brother told me they had disappeared and brought me a Warhammer 40,000 box instead. That was pretty cool. Still, I didn’t really start collecting and painting armies until I got a job at a GW shop in Paris. It’s there I got the virus.

I discovered 1:100 sci fi two years ago after John Bear Ross told me I should try to make a few aliens in that scale. So I would really like to thank him for the suggestion as I’m having a lot of fun with 15-18 mm!

How did get started sculpting and who have you sculpted for?

GW showed sculpts in the White Dwarf and wrote they were made out of that “green stuff” they were selling so I tried. There aren’t many fields where you can have access to the professional stuff for very little money. In the early days of coolminiornot.com I created an account (which has been erased since and recreated), posted a sculpt or two and was contacted by a small company, met some cool guys and started to earn a few Euros for my sculpts. Most of the companies I have worked for can be seen on my website.

What are the key sources of inspiration for your sculpting and art?

Except when I’m commissioned or for some subjects (animals, fabrics, well, to be honest, too many things), I tend not to use inspiration. I mean there are probably enough subconscious inspirations (movies, comics, etc.) at work when I sculpt so when I go “freestyle”, I try to empty my mind like a space ninja!

When you're sculpting do you start with a plan or image of what you want sculpt?

It really depends. Sometimes, I just have a general idea of what I’m beginning to make - say a girl, a small alien - and sometimes I have a pretty precise idea of what I want to make - a space girl in spandex shooting with a pistol with lines on her clothes like that and a helmet like this, a D***head alien with three eyes and tentacles running!

Why not check out PF’s website and blog for more pictures of his work.