Thursday, February 24, 2011

Skeksis Castle from »The Dark Crystal«


This little Gem was sculpted and released in small numbers by Swiss artist Laszlo Borka a few years ago. It's not available anymore anywhere, so don't ask. Painted with acrylics and no airbrush involved.



Monday, February 21, 2011

The Morlocks! They're coming!


From the George Pal version of H.G. Wells »The Time Machine« comes this interpretation of the cave dwellers from the future called the »Morlocks«. This bust was sculpted by L.A. artist Russ Lukich for Squid Kits. He cleverly included the Sphinx from the movie on the back, even including the stress marks on the ground from the stolen Time Machine. Painted with acrylics using an old toothbrush for the speckles on the skin. A big »Thanks!« goes out to my pal Mike Falcigno who treated me this gem for Christmas a few years ago!




Wednesday, February 9, 2011

»I have no soul.« or Frederic March as Mr. Hyde...


»I have no soul. I'm beyond the pale. I'm one of the living dead! «
Dr. Jekyll

A few years ago the British company »Tower of London« treated the GK community with the release of a classic Jeff Yeagher sculpt: »Mr. Hyde« from the Paramount Pictures version of »Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde« from 1931. Fredric March scored an Academy award as »Best actor« in 1932 for his dual performance as the troubled scientist and his brutish alter ego.

About the model kit: It's a wonderful sculpt, an easy built and practically painted itself. I used Vallejo acrylic paints and - for the first time after a decade - airbrush. I tried more pink/reddish tones for the skin color to achieve a newborn baby look - I think with every transformation he is born again, only just a bit meaner ( and apelike ) then before...



»If you do one thing I don't approve of while I'm gone, the LEAST little thing, mind you...
I'll show you what horror means!«
Mr. Hyde

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Phantom of the Opera - Bust by Silver Screen Icons



Silver Screen Icons released this nice bust in 2008 based on Lon Chaneys apperance as »Phantom of the Opera« from the Silent Screen Classic. It was sculpted by Mark VanTine and was followed by a Chaney Hunchback bust a year later ( you can find my build up here). I only wished they would made it as a full figure kit.....




Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Classic Plastic Part five: Aurora/ Moebius Gigantic Frankenstein



Sorry for not posting so long, the last link in a chain of events slowing me down in the past three months was breaking my right hands wrist. But I'm at least back on track in the web (while still not able to draw and paint) and delivering the last installment of my Classic Plastic series: Gigantic Frankenstein.

Once the holy grail of AURORAphiles, mainly because of the hefty pricetag back in the 60ties. For $4.95 you could buy 5 regular AURORA monster models or tons of candy. So most kids skip it, resulting in poor sales. Big Frankie disappeared quickly from the catalog and store shelves within a year and haunted the minds of Baby Boomersever since.

Demanding up to $2.000 on Ebay for a complete kit in the past decade Moebius Models finally reissued the kit in 2008 after Polar Lights passed the bucket before, making it available to modellers who couldn't afford the Original.


Build up Frankies dropped in price once the re-pop was available, but the original box is still a sought-after collectible if in pristine condition and basically impossible to find. Part of the magic is the sensational artwork by James Bama depicting Glenn Strange in the classic Karloff makeup.



Building the kit is a challenge indeed due to the size. Handling isn't easy while painting - I subassembled most of the parts and put them together after painting, but some major gaps needed putty and repainting. I removed the chain and stone, mainly because I don't like them to begin with. He is a great, humorous addition to the Frankenstein collection. So go, make a friend and build the friendliest Monster in town yourself! (You can get one here...)