Green Scar - Prepwork 1

My first step was completing assembly of the lower body by permanently attaching the right leg.

Most of the primary work on this figure will be removal of the decorative elements on the torso. That is well underway; however, the majority of the actual work will revolve around the surface finishing of the flesh and reconstruction of the musculature.

I have roughed-in (MS) and begun reduction of the shoulder plate of the manica, which is worn on the left-shield(!)-arm. I was very tempted to correct this obvious mistake; but as it is canon, I de- cided to stick to the sources (nb: I will take this opportunity to point out that I will be taking more 'licenses' than is my wont on this project). As a sidebar, the shoulder plate will remain a separate piece until the painting of the arm and body has been completed.

Finally, I've begun reconstruction of the helmet crest. . .

Movin' right along!

FOLLOW-UP 28.10.2018. . . The raw shape of the shoulder plate is now scaled and all-but-done.

The left arm has been located and pegged in anticipation of its removal and reconfiguration as 
a separate sub-assembly. FOLLOW-UP. . . The arm has been removed and re-positioned--pre-finishing prepwork can begin in earnest.

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Planet Hulk

I hit a bit of a brick wall with health issues earlier this month, and all the momentum to-date has been largely spent. Now it's time to see how to get things going again. . .

What with regaining my strength and well-being, and the increasing Q4 workload, I think it will be a while before Spidey or Venom resume their rightful places on the front burners. What is impor- tant now is to get back in the groove, and re-establish the routine.

To this end, I have decided to pursue a project quite dear to me and relatively simple, albeit chal-lenging. Those of you who know me know that Planet Hulk is one of my favourite Marvel story lines. Exceptionally well-written and illustrated, its plotline revolves around gladiatorial combat and insurrection.

Nearly a decade ago, I acquired a masterful figure that was--is!--to be the base for the Green Scar, the Hulk's nom de guerre on the planet Sakaar. One of the Green Scar's opponents is the Silver Savage, the nom de guerre of none other than the Silver Surfer. The Silver Surfer was cap- tured by the Sakaar Empire, enslaved with an obedience disk, and declared damnātum, much as the Green Scar would be.

That very figure, Yedharo Models' King of Destruction, is now back on the bench. It will soon be joined by Eaglemoss' CMFC #7, The Silver Surfer. Before it is all said and done, I hope to have the two headliners of the Sakaaran Imperial Games in my collection. . .

Stay tuned!!!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Venom - Prepwork 2

In my account of the opening round of prep, I mentioned that I intended to design a "special the- matic pedestal". Well, the first steps were taken today. . .

My concept is hardly original. Conceptually, it is the amorphous alien 'goo' transmogrifying into Venom in an additive fashion. To date, I have built up the core of the pedestal with MS; next comes the hard part. . .

Stay tuned!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Spidey - Painting--Intermezzo: The Lenses

As I indicated in my last posting, I intended to paint the mask lenses chrome silver, per canon. Per usual, I planned to use G-S Mr. Metal Chrome Silver, which will require buffing. This means that any proximal paint, like the black borders of the lenses, will have to be redone. 

The chrome has been applied; and, yep, the black borders will most definitely have to be re- painted! I will probably do this later today DONE, so I can proceed with the mask and cowl over the weekend.

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Spidey - Painting (3b)--Oils: "Reds"

Now things get interesting. . . 

While there is no such 'thing' as Spidey Blue--it can be painted with any blue colour ranging from indigo to cobalt, with virtually any bias (nb: keeping in mind that the original costume was black with blue highlights; blue was not the official colour until 1966), Spidey Red is where it really gets tricky. I've always felt that the red was more orange-y than not, if only because Peter grew-up in Queens, and those are the Mets' colours. Or if that is too granular, they are the colours of New York City. Regardless, it is the miniaturist's call. 

I settled on Grumbacher's Cadmium-Barium Red Light as the base colour, with Ivory Black as the shade and Liquitex Cadmium-Barium Orange as the highlight, carefully punched-up as necessary with Zinc White. To date, I have completed the plastron and cummerbund, and the results are ve- ry encouraging. As a word of caution, the webbing is rather heavily modeled/cast, so 1) be care- ful with paint accumulation; and 2) leave the painting of the webbing itself until the "red" is at least dry to the touch.

I think the next item to be painted will be the mask and cowl. Anticipating this progression, I went ahead and painted the black borders of the lenses earlier this afternoon (NOTE: this was very likely the wrong call as I intend to paint the lenses a chrome silver--I will probably have to repaint the black borders after I finish buffing the lenses).

More to follow. . . 

UPDATE 05.10.2018. . . The head (mask and cowl) are done! At least the foundation layer has been applied. Given my experience to date, I think there will be at least 3 phases to each "red" section--not including the final painting of the webbing. Coming along nicely. . . 

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Venom

Back in the day, if one wanted a superhero--or villain--figure that transcended the polystyrene predecessors of the 60s, there was but one source: Horizon Original Models. Based in the US, but with strong ties to Japan, it afforded itself of the immense creative and productive talent in Japan. Within 5 years of its premier launch (Horizon's first generation of Universal Monsters), it had expanded its coverage to DC and Marvel protagonists, and the rest, as they say. . .

If you are a "regular" on this site (THANK YOU!), you well know that I am a HUGE fan of the Spidey villains. Well, sometime in the mid-90s, I acquired Horizon's Venom (©1992), a 1/6th scale, 10-piece vinyl kit sculpted by Taishiro Kiya (Kiya-san also sculpted Horizon #056, argu- ably the best Joker model kit ever, released a year later in 1993). As a bit of meaningful trivia, Venom was still Horizon's best-selling kit of all time in 1997, a year after it had been disconti- nued!

So much for the introductory background. Later this week, Sony will release the long-awaited cinematic showcase of the alien symbiote--we'll ignore the deplorable screen debut of the sym- biote in the mess that was Spider-man 3 (2007). Since I'm working on Spidey, why not comme- morate the release of Venom?

I would have preferred an in-scale version of the symbiote, but the KM entry of Venom is nearly impossible to find, and is cast in resin--and we all know what in-all-likelihood that means. . . Toy Biz released a 1/12th scale, polystyrene, Level-1 Venom in the late 90s, but it did nothing for me. Which left me with the only model kit of Venom worth having: the Horizon entry!

The only drawback to this superbly designed and sculpted kit is its size: the piece is over a foot tall sans base, and massive! Since I have neither the room to display such a beast--nor the incli- nation to build it, the full figure is now a fully-assembled bust! (nb: in spite of many a gripe, this is one of the better designed, engineered, and cast Horizon kits, which--if properly prepped, will virtually assemble itself!)

I am now in the filling stage of the prep. Save for some annoying trapped "subcutaneous" bubbles (less than 30), which most modelers would either overlook or ignore, the only filling required are the arm joins. And if you are patient and careful, you should not have to concern yourself with any post-filling finishing. . .

Stay tuned!

UPDATE 04.10.2018. . . The arm joins are now filled and mostly finished (not really necessary), and I am working my way through the bubbles. 

I have also pegged the bust and mounted it on its temporary work base. I have a special thematic pedestal in mind that could potentially extend the benchtime of the prepwork, but it will be well worth it if I can work out the dynamics. . . 

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Spidey - Painting: Cab--Painting (5): Glass

I took the respite provided by the blue oils drying to continue work on the final stage of the cab: the glass. 

I am satisfied with what I did; but frankly I am not pleased. IMO, this is a no-win situation. Even the Spanish and Russian maestros would be severely challenged by the limitations and geome- try of the canvas, and the scale of the piece. This is an artificial sub-text that must be made to "fit" AND remain secondary to the 3-dimensional aspects of the presentation. Finally, it is a fluid dynamic that is frozen in time, and while suspension of disbelief is an inherent requirement in what we do, I, for one, must draw the line somewhere.

To date, I have applied an achromatic glaze in oils, using the highlights to bolster the geometry of the canvas, as well as influencing the visual flow. I will be revisiting this during the remainder of the project  to tweak here and there as I perceive necessary, and finally seal it with gloss lacquer, before "weathering" it down. But for now, the cab is DONE!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Spidey - Painting: Groundwork (2)

The sidewalk section has been completed. . . at least the foundational colouration has.

This was done entirely in acrylics, using two cool tones and two warm tones. The colours were applied with a stippling/scrubbing action using an essentially dry brush. The overall effect is spot-on, afaic, and will provide an ideal foundation for the rubble and weathering to come.

Stay tuned!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Spidey - Painting (3a)--Oils: Blues

Phase 1 of the "Spidey Blues" has just been completed.

Due to the relatively small size of the figure, to say nothing of the awkward engineering, I opted to execute the respective colours in two installments: upper and lower, working my way from top to bottom. 

Today, I began with the upper blues; and things went quite well. Pthalo Blue is, IMO, a perfect match for Spidey Blue, and its responsiveness to white is a dream--which should come as no surprise! I did some preliminary outlining of the blue panels with Ivory Black, and this is equally ideally-suited for the task--especially as Ivory Black is the tonal extreme of the Blue dyes.

I will revisit today's work later this evening and reexamine the highlights, adjusting where required in anticipation of the [upper] leg blues. 

More to follow. . . 

UPDATE 01.10.2018. . . Got to pay your dues if you want to paint the blues. . . (my apologies to Ringo--and George). . . Spidey's blues can now be deemed completed! Surprisingly, the legs were considerably more "challenging" than the torso: while the canvas is more open and acces- sible (which makes sheen more of an issue), the final display position is a factor that one ignores at ones peril. . .

As with the torso, the legs will be revisited later - and over the next 48-72 hours - to refine the fea- thering and punch-up the highlights. . . 

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Spidey - Painting (2)--UCing

The chromatic adventure has begun!

I ordered a bottle of Vallejo Vermillion (70.909) to uc the "orange-red" portions of Spidey's cos- tume, and I was more-than-just-a-little-concerned about the opacity of the paint. All for naught! It is a rich, opaque, and brilliant colour that will easily cover in one coat--but I suggest applying in two, slightly thinned coats.   

The "red" on Spidey is now mostly done. All that remains in primer is the spider logo on his back, the "cummerbund", and the "plastron" (chest). . . DONE!

More to follow. . . 

UPDATE 26.09.2018. . . With the "orange-reds" completed, I've begun to "block-in" the blues (Vallejo Dark Prussian Blue [70.899]). . . DONE!

NEXT: OILS!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Spidey - Painting (1)--Priming

The figure is now primed! 

As with the sidewalk, since this will be a rather hectic week at work, I will begin undercoating as time and circumstances allow. . .

Stay tuned!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Spidey - Painting: Groundwork (1)--Priming, etc.

The groundwork has been primed! 

After the primer settled and cured, I went ahead and painted the road/curb section of the ground- work. And after letting that sit for about 30 minutes or so, I decided to go ahead and permanently attach the cab(!). I will be the first to admit that this might have been a bit premature, if not impe- 
tuous, but it will allow me to integrate the cab to its setting in situ.

As this will be a rather hectic week at work, I will begin working on the sidewalk section as time and circumstances allow. . . 

Stay tuned!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Spidey - Groundwork (3)

The plastic groundwork has been permanently attached! By the end of the weekend, I should have the cosmetic finishing done. Once I can sign-off on that, I can proceed with the priming and painting . . .

Movin' right along. . .

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003