[Els]

I was reading through the other builds people are working on and it got me motivated to start on my kit. People have picked great kits to work on.
Here is the kit that I will be working on:

I don't care for the ears and eyebrows on this kit so I am going to modify it to something els. I have narrowed it down to two choices. A clown or voodoo vampire. After I grind off the eyebrows/hair I will see which it lends itself to better.

Here is my big start to the kit:

On a side note I would like to start a campaign to get all kits molded in glow in the dark plastic. I dropped one of the fingers and after about 10 minutes of looking, thought it was lost to the carpet monster. As I turned out the light to leave my modelling room, there it was glowing in an area where I would have never looked.
Els

 

[MonsterModelMan]

Els,

Glad you joined the fun. Can't wait to see all the mods you have planned!

Agree on the glow parts idea!:thumbsup:

I can't tell you how many times that has happened to me with non-glow parts!

MMM

 

[captainmarvel1957]

Els, do you find that you can only work on this kit after sundown?

 

[Els]

Now that you mention it....

 

[Spockr]

The beauty of the MPC Glow-head kits is that their size and details really lend themselves to experimentation and modifications. I thought about doing this one as Bela in White Zombie. I'd vote for the Voodoo Vampire but I'm looking forward to seeing whatever one you decide to do. Looks like fun.

Regards,
MattL

 

[Mark McGovern]

The beauty of the MPC Glow-head kits is that their size and details really lend themselves to experimentation and modifications.

"Spocko, now yer talkin'" (Captain Kirk, in James Blish's adaptation of the TOS episode, "A Piece of the Action"). You can see what others have done with the Haunted Glo-Heads at last year's Monster Model Review online contest.

 

[Els]

Oh man, I was just catching up on the other builds. This is cool and there is some excellent building being done. I like seeing all the step by step posts. I also feel bad for the small amount of work I have done on my own kit compared to what others have already achieved. I gotta get a move on.
SpockR and Mark, you guys are right about these kits being great for customization. I wish I would have bought a few more at the show when they were being sold for $5 each.
When I did my Apeman kit I ground through the plastic leaving huge holes that were a pain to putty up. Mark McGovern passed on a tip to me about reinforcing the inside with putty prior to grinding it. That is all that I got done today besides smoothing out the hand.

I will not have to grind to much away in this area so I just put some regular epoxy on the inside in the areas where I will grind. I think it will be enough.
Tomorrow I will break out the dremel and get to work on the eyebrows and hair.
I am really leaning towards the Voodoo version but I am also having dark thoughts about buying another kit and doing the clown at the same time.

 

[Els]

I painted up the tongue. It has to be glued in before the head is glued.

I also ground off all the eyebrows on the temples and smoothed it out. I also filled in the slits in the eyes. Then I started blocking in the colors.

I have decided to go the Voodoo route because the sculpt lends itself better to that than the clown.
I also went the to the local arts and crafts store to buy some beads. I found this little coffin shaped box with an evil laughing effect for .99 cents. I think I will make this into the base.

I am going to work on a hat for him tonight. After I see how that fits I will be ready to do some painting.
Els

 

[hedorah59]

Ewwww.. That tongue is looking nice and Monstrous. Nice start on the flesh tones as well

 

[Els]

I used some rattle can make it stone on the coffin. It looks a little plain now.
I ground off a ridge around the head so that I can start making a hat.

After hitting up the local arts and crafts store scrapbooking section I found some little metal doodads to dress up the base. I stopped in a Walgreens and I saw these resin skull keychains at the check out. Not bad for $3.00.
I also added some sheet styrene from a for sale sign as a base for the hat. This is my idea for the base. I will see what it looks like after I add some washes.

Next I will add the brim of the hat and hopefully start painting the vampire.
Thanks for looking, let me know what you think.
Els

 

[captainmarvel1957]

He's looking pretty cool! And with that new hat he will be stylin'!

 

[Zombie_61]

I stopped in a Walgreens and I saw these resin skull keychains at the check out. Not bad for $3.00.

That's the great thing about working on a kit like this around this time of year--all of the Halloween stuff is out, and you can find some nice little items like the ones you used for a very reasonable price.

Nice work! I'm looking forward to seeing your continued progress on this!

 

[rkoenn]

Great job Els and he is turning into Mr. Halloween the way you are setting him up. I really like your base and those skulls and coffin. I think I am going to have to bop through Walgreens too. Do you still occasionally attend the local IPMS meetings in Cocoa?

 

[Els]

Thanks everybody.
Zombie 61 you are right this is a good time of year to stock up on monster related stuff. Here were I live they started putting out Halloween stuff in August.
Bob, I haven't been to an IPMS meeting for a couple of months. I am going to school at night and lately my classes have been on Tuesdays. Hopefully next semester my classes will be on a different day and I will be able to get back to the meetings. I enjoy going to the Cocoa meetings, there are usually a few figures and Sci Fi there.

 

[Roy Kirchoff]

That's really looking great Els.

~RK~

 

[Els]

Thanks Roy.
I got the brim of the hat on today. That was a bit of a pain. I think he looks kind of like a vampire gunslinger now. I need to do some sculpting work on the hair where it meets the brim and it will be time to start painting.

I also put some washes on the base to darken it up a bit.
Thanks for looking, let me know what you think.
Els

 

[captainmarvel1957]

Ay! Carumba! El Gaucho es un vampiro!

Lookin' SWEET!

I'm having so much fun looking at everybody's builds! This is now the first site that I check every day when I go on line!

 

[Zombie_61]

I also put some washes on the base to darken it up a bit.

Much better! The color variations really make it look like something that was unearthed after centuries under ground.

 

[mrmurph]

Th hat is a great addition, and so simple.

 

[Els]

Thanks everybody. CaptainMarvel, I am the same as you. Everytime I turn the computer on this is the first place I go. I love seeing all these step by step build ups in one place.
I worked on the two skulls for a while today.
I unravelled some twine and and used some different colored washes to tint it. I then used some magic markers to put some decorations on the skulls. I don't know if it is voodooey but I like it.

Next time I will touch up the decarations a bit and put a couple washes on it and call those done.
I also worked a little more on smoothing out the hat and the join between the hat and the face. I really want to get to the painting stage on this.
Els