Bowen Designs
Encyclopedia
First established in 1978 (first incorporated as Bowen Designs, Inc. in 1991). Bowen Designs is a company dealing in the creation and sale of entertainment-based collectible statues. Most Bowen products released thus far are based on Marvel Comics
characters, but products based on independent comics and movies have also been created.
The primary designer and sculptor for Bowen Designs is Randy Bowen
. He started as a garage kit
creator and quickly moved up to being the best known and respected sculptor in the industry. Currently, Bowen Designs consists of many more people and often employs freelance sculptors and prototype painters due to the large amount of product being released. Bowen's line of Marvel statues and busts was largely responsible for a new era in collectible statues. Previously, comic statues were cheaply made, and the detail in both the sculpt and painting of these pieces was lacking. No comfortable medium had yet to be found between the price point, quality and edition size until Bowen Designs came upon the scene. This was also due to Marvel comics flooding the market with similar licenses. Now, the collectible statues market has grown by leaps and bounds and includes various other companies who have each found their niche in the market.
began as early as 1997. In May 1998, Bowen released the first Bowen Marvel Mini-Bust in the line (The Hulk). In December 1998, the first in a series of Bowen Marvel Statues hit the market (Daredevil). The license once covered mini-statues, done much smaller than Bowen's other Marvel statues, but few were released and the mini-statues were not revisited. The Marvel license periods were broken up into "phases," where a new phase was started upon confirmation of renewal of the license. A Phase IV has recently been confirmed by Bowen Designs.
. This includes mostly mythology based pieces so far. Being untied to any sort of license agreement, this gives the sculptor and designer free rein over all aspects of the character sculpt.
And many others...
And many others...
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
characters, but products based on independent comics and movies have also been created.
The primary designer and sculptor for Bowen Designs is Randy Bowen
Randy Bowen
Randy Bowen is an American pop culture sculptor and the founder of Bowen Designs.Originator and pioneer in the field of limited edition sculptures based on pop-culture icons. Primarily noted for the innovation of the mini-busts and statues of characters from films as well as characters from comic...
. He started as a garage kit
Garage kit
A garage kit or resin kit is an assembly scale model kit most commonly cast in polyurethane resin. They are often figures portraying humans or other living creatures. In Japan, kits often depict anime characters, and in the United States depictions of movie monsters are common...
creator and quickly moved up to being the best known and respected sculptor in the industry. Currently, Bowen Designs consists of many more people and often employs freelance sculptors and prototype painters due to the large amount of product being released. Bowen's line of Marvel statues and busts was largely responsible for a new era in collectible statues. Previously, comic statues were cheaply made, and the detail in both the sculpt and painting of these pieces was lacking. No comfortable medium had yet to be found between the price point, quality and edition size until Bowen Designs came upon the scene. This was also due to Marvel comics flooding the market with similar licenses. Now, the collectible statues market has grown by leaps and bounds and includes various other companies who have each found their niche in the market.
The Marvel License
Bowen Designs' tie to Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
began as early as 1997. In May 1998, Bowen released the first Bowen Marvel Mini-Bust in the line (The Hulk). In December 1998, the first in a series of Bowen Marvel Statues hit the market (Daredevil). The license once covered mini-statues, done much smaller than Bowen's other Marvel statues, but few were released and the mini-statues were not revisited. The Marvel license periods were broken up into "phases," where a new phase was started upon confirmation of renewal of the license. A Phase IV has recently been confirmed by Bowen Designs.
MYTHOS Editions
The MYTHOS line was conceived as a way for Bowen Designs to release statues related to licenses that are in the public domainPublic domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
. This includes mostly mythology based pieces so far. Being untied to any sort of license agreement, this gives the sculptor and designer free rein over all aspects of the character sculpt.
Sculptors
Sculptors employed by Bowen Designs for various projects include:- Randy BowenRandy BowenRandy Bowen is an American pop culture sculptor and the founder of Bowen Designs.Originator and pioneer in the field of limited edition sculptures based on pop-culture icons. Primarily noted for the innovation of the mini-busts and statues of characters from films as well as characters from comic...
-main sculptor - Tim Bruckner
- Ulises Cantu
- Rick Force
- Stephen Hickman
- The Kucharek Brothers
- Thomas Kuntz
- Jim Maddox
- Barsom Manashian
- Tony Mcvey
- Mark Newman
- Gabe Perna
- Ruben Procopio
- The Shiflett BrothersShiflett BrothersThe Shiflett Brothers are Texas based sculptors working in the comic book and gaming industries.-Life and career:Brandon and Jarrod Shiflett began their sculpting careers working on the character maquettes for the video game "Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee"...
- Erick Sosa
- Joy and Tom StudiosJoy and Tom StudiosJoy and Tom Studios, Inc. produces hand sculpted prototypes for the pre-painted statues and collectibles industry. The company, located in Sanford, Florida, was founded in 1983 by Joy and Tom Snyder. Their portfolio of work consists of many statues, busts, and portraits based on licensed properties...
- Carl Surges
- Neil Surges
- Ray Villafane
And many others...
Prototype Painters
Prototype Painters employed by Bowen Designs for various projects include:- Randy Lambert
- Danno Cope
And many others...