Hawkgirl

First of all, while certainly "presentable" as provided, my patronage of Eaglemoss is driven by my desire to acquire depictions that "strike a chord" of my favourite comic book characters at extremely reasonable prices with the intent to strip and repaint the subject. Let's face it, what is more cost-effective: a US$15-20.00 80-85mm pre-paint; or a US$65-70.00 65-75mm poorly cast and designed kit?

First up. . . Hawkgirl! Growing up, Hawkman and his lady wife and/or companion were one of the few characters that would have me cross into DC territory. They were not only cool looking, but they were armed with ancient/medieval weapons! What more could one ask for?

But I digress. . . Eaglemoss's Hawkgirl is their 63rd DC release (you can get an idea of what you get here). Ironically, this is the poorest example of an Eaglemoss figurine I have received to date: the paint job was well below average, there were glue-streaks on the figure, and the spear arrived broken. The first two are non-issues as the figure will be stripped; the latter come to think of it, is a non-issue as well, as I always intended to replace the spear. So. . . no harm, no foul.

Eaglemoss is very conscientious about cautioning the prospective buyer that these are LEAD figurines! Well, they might contain lead, but the alloy being used is significantly harder than the Marvel kits I have been working on during the second half of the year! RE: health concerns, anyone who has been in the hobby for over 25 years has handled a LOT worse: just use common sense and follow best- modelling practices. These figures obviously contain lead, but no more than the most popular--and common--casting alloys of the 80s and early 90s.

AND. . . this is a multi-media kit! As I was agonizing how to best separate the figure from its base, and the wings from the figure (the spear is provided separately), I discovered that the DC-logo'd plinth and the wings were cast in polyester resin! What might have been a 2-3 hour job was completed in less than 20 minutes! And I found but a single(!) air bubble on one of the wings. The figure is now ready for stripping, clean-up, and detail enhancement!

Before closing, this offering measures 80mm to the eyes.

More to follow!

FOLLOW-UP. . . The figure is now stripped!!! While I will elaborate in the days to come, I just wanted to point out yet another [WELCOME!] surprise: the cheek pieces on the helmet are custom-cut shims of brass individually epoxied/Gorilla-glued? in place prior to painting! This degree of attention to detail on a "mass-market" pre-paint? Boy, is our industry behind the pace!!!