I have been working secretly on a Christmas present for Mary. As a result I can’t share it with you until after she opens it on christmas Eve. It has taken most of my time at the studio last week and this week although I finished it yesterday.

With a few orders that came in I’m busy pouring parts and yet another communion bust.

Rubber in the mold. I shoudl pull this from the mold later today and paint it this week.

The P-51 Mustang and other personal projects are all on hold until after the holidays. With my busy family and grandchildren scheduled to descend on me for the next two weeks these things will have to wait. I will continue to squeeze time in between the lines to finish my orders.

Next year I’m planning to make a series of Famous Monsters masks from the classic movies. They have been made before and they are available. But since I was a kid I have always dreamed of having these masks and wanted to make them. I just want to make them and experience the joy of making them.

They will be offered for sale as I go along. I’m also planning a Curse of the Demon mask. I always loved that design.

Paul Wood sent me these pictures he took with the beautiful Sandy Gimple at Starbase Indy Con. Paul has bought two of my masks and he brought the  Salt Vampire to the Con to meet her.

Here’s what he had to say:

Hi Steve. I wanted to let you know that your/mine Salt Vampire mask was a HUGE hit with Sandy Gimple last weekend at Starbase Indy.

She asked me for your information so she could order one for herself!  She said she had never seen one so well done. She had a HUGE smile on her face the whole time she was looking at it.

I had a placard made for her to sign to be displayed with the mask. Similar to the one I had made for Clint Howard’s Balok mask.

I have included some pictures we took of her with the mask and some with all “Three” of us. Feel free to use any of the pictures for your blog/site.Thanks Paul! This is what makes doing this work so worthwhile. My recreations from the original Star Trek have been a gateway to meet some of these amazing people that worked on Star Trek and have them see my work. It even caused me to make friends with Gene Roddenberry( among others) and work on two of his Star Trek movies and the TNG TV pilot. And now the actor that played Nancy the Salt Vampire in the original Star Trek series (that started it all for me when I was just 16) has seen my work. Wow. Thank you again Paul, thank you Sandy, and thank you Star Trek!

2 hours and I got this including making up the dummy glasses and teeth. I need to have all this to be sure I was getting it right. 

As you can see without the glasses and teeth it’s a neat roughed out Moon man but it doesn’t look like Mac. Put the glasses on and the teeth and he’s there.

There is a part 2 video rendering now where you can watch me rough the sculpture out. Over the next few days I’ll refine it and make a mold next week.

It was a quiet weekend at home although I did drive the Fiat a bunch. Yesterday I took her to our flying field. Who says you can’t get a few planes and a bunch of equipment in a sports car? I did.

I flew my P-51 Mustang and Luscombe. That Pony really rips up the sky. Such a smooth plane to fly.

Once I got home I worked some more on the slot car track and drove some of my favorite cars. The two open wheel cars are both Coopers. The T-73 and the T-51 both scratch builds of my own.

The Dan Gurney Lola T-70 was a special addition Revell-Monogram car that came in a special box I have had for 12 years now. Recently the rear tires rotted away and I replaced them with good tires and this car runs like a champ.

Over 4 weeks later after covid and I’m feeling much better. I’d be deader than a doornail if I had got all my vaccinations and boosters. I wish some people I once knew had done the same.