Knight Models' Loki Laufeyson (KMV027)

Some might say I'm a glutton for punishment--and I would hesitate to argue the point too vigor- ously. However, I do know what I like, and I certainly liked Knight Models' , and especially the sculptor Jérôme's (in my Notable Acquisitions posting for Sept/Oct, I made the guarded assump- tion that this is KM regular, Jérôme Renaud), take on the Norse god of Lies and Mischief:

Sixth time must be the charm. . . or, KM had a long talk with their caster--or got a new one!. . . or, I finally lucked out. In any event, casting #39/500 is everything one might expect in a 21st c. white-metal kit! The 9 white-metal pieces are crisply cast in what appears to be a somewhat harder alloy, with no apparent distortion, and little clean-up to be done (at first glance). The base/ "throne" is cast in resin, and even this is notable improvement--though there is a soft-cure flaw, and some air voids (I've seen three to-date) that will have to be corrected. All in all, this is a solid A, casting-wise!

As with GG, this rendition of Loki may not appeal to the purists: it is taken from the time of the "Siege" storyline. Personally, it does it for me!

FOLLOW-UP. . . In the spirit of complete transparency, here are some "hands-on" observations:

• The alloy, while decidedly harder, still requires careful handling. All the more so given the finely rendered mail "tunic".
• Shrinkage differential remains a major shortcoming, though nowhere near the magnitude of the Doctor Doom kit. In fact, I am dealing with this as I write: the fit of the figure to the "throne" is considerably less than one would hope; however, given that the figure is significantly less interactive with the seat, and the latter is cast in one piece, it is a relatively simple, albeit painstaking and multi-step, fix. KM needs to re-evaluate their choice of resins; OR, forgo mixed-media kits entirely!

The figure is now assembled, minus the arms and the detailing pieces; and it is currently under the lamps in Step 1 of the "re- bedding" to the "throne". If all goes as planned (does it ever with a KM's kit?), this might be the last figure added to the Show lineup. . .

FOLLOW-UP (2). . . On to Step 2. . . Step 1 eliminated the over-whelming majority of the gaps in the fit, but did not provide a consistent locator "marker" of any sort. This is what I hope to achieve in Step 2. That accomplished, I could then begin to re-focus on the figure itself.

Before closing, I would point out that I shortened the base by some 5mm. This gives it more of a "throne-y" feel--at least AFAIC.