It's Good to Be King

With all the attention on Peter Jackson's Kong in the last year, it's great to see the classic remembered in resin in 2006.  Not that it is a surprise, especially from New York based Resin Realities.  But boy, this is a good looking kit and a real reminder of how remarkable the original King Kong was.

I first saw this kit at Wonderfest this year.  I was milling about, minding my own business (which just so happens to be monster kits), when John from Resin Realities grabbed me and said, "Have you seen our new Kong?" 

Like the big gorilla himself, it was love at first sight.

This is a nice kit in many ways (I have a thorough review here), but it was the likeness that blew me a way.  Sculptor Mark Van Tine has done, yet again, a super job.  There are seven very solid resin parts, including an optional name plate and detailed base.  And it is one heavy kit--a couple pounds of solid resin.

The first steps in doing the kit are pretty standard--wash it in dish liquid to remove any surface impurities and test fit the parts.  I considered posting (i. e. pinning) the kit, but I found decided to try a simple 3 minute epoxy and it worked great.  Just put the epoxy in the center of the parts to be joined and CA glue

The part of the build up that I want to focus on though is seaming.  It is not particularly difficult, but fur is one of those things that you can do well if you take the time.  You need a two part putty like Wonder Putty or Apoxie Sculpt (which is what I am using here.  The putty is made by kneading together two equal parts of the putty compound.  It comes out a bit sticky at first, so give it a few minutes to begin to chemically harden. 

In the photo to the right, you can see that I have applied a thin roll of putty to the place where the arm and shoulder join on the kit.  The gap is not actually that wide, but it is a good idea to overlap a little when doing fur.

Once the layer of putty is applied, I put a few drops of water on the putty line with my finger.  This is critically important--water on the putty!  Next, I go over the fur with a wooden sculpting tool I picked up at a craft store for practically nothing to lay in the ridges of the fur.  Follow the natural lines of the fur from top to bottom in a pulling motion.  You have to clean off the tool as you go, so keep a little cup of water and a rag handy.  This is probably the single most time consuming part of the build, but it is worth it.

Next I primed the kit with my new favorite primer, Kilz.  Perfect name for monster modeling, eh?  Anyway, it is a great primer, but as you do this, it will reveal any holes, gaps and imperfect seaming, so expect to follow the modeler's mantra: sand, putty, prime, sand, putty, prime . . .

One the primer dried and I was happy with the seams, the fun began.  Painting this kit is really easy.  The parts are all very accessible and there is not a lot of complexity to the paint scheme.

For the base coat on King Kong, I used Badger's Freak Flex paints--Body Bag Black for the body and Near Black for the chest, face, hands and feet.  The mouth is airbrushed with Rose Flesh and the teeth and eyes are hand painted with Bleach Bone.

When it is dry, I put a coat of flat protective sealer on it (Testor's Dulcote) and waited until that was dry.

The base had a few pinholes to be repaired, so I took some moistened Aves putty on my finger and smeared it across the surface lightly to cover any holes I could see.  Then, I primed it with Kilz and then applied a general coat of Lifetone Tie In Brown.  The bones on the base were done with Bleached Bone and the leaves were done with Gangrene.  When it was dry, I sealed it with Dulcote.

While that was drying I turned my attention to the very cool name plate.  It is designed to fit against the base naturally and can be removed or glued to the kit and either way the kit looks great.  Very nice.

Anyway, this was simple.  I merely sprayed Ripper Red across the lettering and when it was dry, hand painted Tie In Brown on the outer edges.

Okay, back to the base.  The kit is really well balanced and does not necessarily need a support pin, but I decided to put one in since I am moving my kits around a lot lately (shelf space is at a premium).  I drilled a hole and clipped a nail to fit it.  A corresponding hole is drilled in the bottom of Kong's foot, of course.

The next thing I do is dry brush the rocky surface with Gargoyle Gray, a light brownish gray; on top of that, I dry brush Wooden Stake Brown--a great color that will serve as Kong's fur as well.  The idea is to lighten the Wooden Stake Brown without the tedious task of mixing.  The photo to the right shows progress half way through the process--as well as the light green highlights dry brushed on the plants.

At that point Skull Island is done and it is time to finish up the King.  I painted the finger and toe nails black and, as I mentioned above, the fur is dry brushed as well with Wooden Stake Brown, which serves to unify the kit a bit, though the base will be a tad lighter because of the Gargoyle Gray undercoat.

The photo to the right demonstrates a couple of interesting things.  First, as the brown is applied it tends to accentuate the difference between the gorilla's gray chest and black undercoat.  Secondly, you can't see paint on the brush.  Why?  Because the brown is only on the tip and this has been pulled off before the application (see drybrushing in the modeler's dictionary if you are new to the hobby).

Okay, once the dry brushing is done, the temptation is to just start on the details, but really it is important to take two more steps.  First, seal the kit again to protect the work you have done--from the next step. 

It is really worth your while to oil wash the whole kit and base before getting the details.  I take a dap of Burnt Sienna oil paint (Windsor and Newton is my brand) and mix it with about 4 ounces of mineral spirits until it is a uniform color and density.  Then I apply it to the sealed kit.  The effect is to blend the color transitions and darken the recesses. 

I also created a dark pink oil wash with 1 part Raw Sienna, 1 part Indian Red, 3 parts Flesh Tint oils and 5 parts mineral spirits.  This goes in the mouth to bring out the details.  The photo below to the left shows the kit before the wash and the photo to the right shows after the wash.  The wash is not quite dry in the right photo, but you can see the difference it makes.

And, as you can see, I have started the eyes.  This can be an intimidating process, especially since the eyes are only a few millimeters top to bottom, but with a couple fresh 000 size liner brushes and a toothpick, it can be done easily.

You want to create a series of concentric circles, starting with a circle of black that will form the outer edge of the iris.  I checked some pictures of Kong before painting this part and it became obvious that there is a lot of white in his eyes.  I carefully put in a dot of black in the dead center and a little to the bottom to replicate this effect.

You'll also notice that I have put the front teeth in as well.  This is not complicated, but I want to make a quick note on how to get the teeth off the thick resin they are molded to.  The temptation is to snip them off with a cutting tool or saw them off, but that will very likely damage them and they are really nice.  Instead, drill or bore holes beneath the teeth plates and then use a cutting tool to remove and trim them.

Next I put in another dot of Bleached Bone in the center to lay in a light backdrop for the real eye color--Wooden Stake Brown.  Then, in the center of that, I used a toothpick to put a black pupil in.  When it dried, I used a favorite gloss coat, Future floor wax, to give the eyes a lifelike sheen.  A couple of coats is necessary.

For the mouth, I took more Future floor wax and tinted it with Rotten Tooth Tan (what else?)  I used that to yellow the teeth a little and then used a little of the Burnt Sienna oil wash on the teeth and gums.

At this point the kit is essentially done.  A few applications of Future to the mouth in general and it is really ready to go. 

I really love this kit and I hope you'll pick up one too because if this sells well, they may just release a dead Tyrannosaurus and Fay Wray on the ground with a toppled tree.  Wouldn't that raised leg look cool on the T-rex's shoulders?

© CreatureScape 2006

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