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CB2012 WIP: James Bond Polar Lights Repop

7K views 29 replies 12 participants last post by  Roy Kirchoff 
#1 ·
OK, did a test fitting and everything fits nice and snug. Next, I puttied the seams with Aves. I never look forward to seam work, but Aves makes it so much easier. I love the stuff! Next up, a little sanding and then hit it with some primer..and some more sanding..ugh!

This is a cool little kit. Aurora really had a knack for creating interesting poses and bases for their figures.

 
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#2 ·
Thunderbird, I've had the Polar Lights re-pops of Bond and Odd Job on the shelf since they were re-released years ago. It's going to be fun to watch your build on the kit.

And just in time for the next Bond film, Skyfall! How do you think Daniel Craig stacks up against Sean Connery? I didn't think I'd like him in the role and he's turned out to be one of my favorite, if not favorite, Bonds.
 
#3 ·
I finally finished the priming and sanding. I use Duplicolor Filler primer. It works well on styrene and resin. They also make a sandable primer. You can buy them at the auto parts store. I use Tamiya white primer for the flesh areas (face & hands.)

Here's the only bit of "customizing" I've done so far. I used a tiny bit of Aves to make a couple of strands of hair falling across his forehead. I thought it would make the hairline look a bit more natural. (It must have been hard to keep his toupee glued down in those action scenes!!)


After priming, I basecoated the entire face using a mixture of Tamiya Flesh, Flat Earth, Hull Red and Flat White. I add more white to the basecoat to create a highlight color which I airbrushed onto the forehead, cheeks, nose and chin. Next, I use Alphacolor soft pastels (a dark brown and a medium brown) to add shading along the hairline, the temples, around the eye sockets, the ears, the folds along the mouth, the dimples and along the lower jaw line. I seal my pastel work with Testors Dullcote. Be careful to spray very light coats so you don't obliterate your pastel work.


I airbrushed the pants and shoes with Tamiya Flat Black. I've always found it difficult to paint highlights on black because I could never find the right shade of gray. Luckily, I've found a craft paint Ceramcoat Charcoal gray which really works well for me. On the following photo, you can see the drybrushed highlights on the clothing folds near his crotch.

The shoes were sprayed with Testors Semi Gloss clear coat.


I really didn't have any color scheme in mind for the wall. I started by painting it Tamiya Light Sea Gray. I then randomly painted the individual stones with light brown, deck tan, buff and other light colors. I'm not completely sold on the way it's turning out, but that might be because I'm not finished yet. I'm hoping that once I finish painting all the stones it will all come together...I hope!
 
#7 ·
When I paint figures, I like to start working on the face first. I figure if I can get the face going in the right direction, it keeps me motivated to finish the kit.

After sealing my flesh basecoat and pastel work with Dullcoat, I apply a wash over the entire face using raw sienna artist oils. I usually allow 2 to 3 days for the oil wash to dry. After the wash has dried, I go back in with my highlight flesh color and lightly drybrush the highlights again. The hair has been basecoated with Vallejo Burnt Umber. The eyebrows are painted in with a Burnt Umber wash. I start on the eyes by painting the lower half of the eyes with Vallejo Salmon Rose.

I fill in the upper part of the eyeballs with a light gray.

Using a "0" size paintbrush, I block in the iris with black.

I went with a medium brown for Sean Connery's eyes. I color in the iris with Leather Brown and try to leave a black rim around the edge of the iris. I then paint the bottom half of the iris with Vallejo Light Brown to create the highlight in the eyes.

I use my "0" paintbrush to add a tiny black dot for the pupil.

I thin down some Burnt Umber to line the upper and lower lashes. The last step is to brush the eyes with a couple of coats of Future. The hair is finished up by drybrushing some light brown highlights and applying a burnt umber wash. To add a little depth to the hair, I rub some black pastel along the hairline.

 
#8 ·
That is looking excellent and I appreciate your tutorial on painting the face. While I consider what I do with faces now fairly good you are a whole semesters classes beyond me. I am looking forward to seeing you do the whole kit.
 
#12 ·
Thunderbird, yep, I like the new Adele Bond theme. It reminds me a lot of the Shirley Bassey songs from Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever.

I've been listening to the Bride of Frankenstein soundtrack quite a bit as I've been working on my build. And even when I don't play the cd I find myself humming or whistleing the music box type motif from the beginning of the film.
 
#13 ·
After making good progress on the figure, I decided to turn my attention to the base.

I basecoated the tree trunk with Vallejo Deck Tan. The interior wood "pulp" was painted with a mixture of Vallejo Yellow Ochre and Light Brown. A burnt umber wash was applied.

I masked off the wood pulp areas with Silly Putty and then airbrushed a transparent brown mix made of Tamiya Transparent Red, Orange and Green.

Next, I drybrushed the trunk with Vallejo White Grey. I used a makeup sponge to stipple Tamiya Yellow Green along the bottom of the trunk to make it look like moss was growing.

The base was basecoated with Tamiya Desert Yellow and Flat Earth was used to add depth to areas. Vallejo Iraqui Sand was drybrushed over the grassy areas.

The wall was basecoated in gray and individual stones were randomly drybrushed with deck tan, light brown, buff, etc. The mortar between the stones was darkened with brown pastel and the whole wall was given many burnt umber washes to dull it down.

I added a few tufts of grass with Woodland Scenics field grass. This was my first time using this stuff and I found that white glue was too thin to hold the grass upright. I went to the crafts store and found a craft glue called Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue. It worked perfectly and dried clear and matte.

Here's the finished base. I didn't like the font on the kit's nameplate, so I dremeled off the letters and printed out new lettering on photo paper.

I just have a few things left to do on the figure, so barring any mishaps, I should be finished in a few more days!
 
#16 · (Edited)
Finally finished!

I finally finished the last bits of painting and glued ol' JB to the base. It would probably be more screen accurate to paint his sweater black, but I thought an all black figure would be too monochromatic. The sweater was basecoated with Vallejo chocolate brown and the highlights were airbrushed with light brown. I use dark brown pastel chalk to shade the folds in the clothing.

The gun was first painted black and then Ceramcoat charcoal grey was drybrushed to bring out the details. The last step was to take ground up pencil lead and rub it on with a cotton swab. This gives the gun a nice metallic sheen.











A big shout out to MMM for the great idea of a community build. It's the most building activity I've seen on this forum in awhile. It's great to pick up new tricks and ideas from my fellow modelers!
 
#23 ·
Thanks for all the positive comments. Glad you like it.



I was debating about getting the replacement head, but it seemed a little "off" to me. I couldn't pinpoint why exactly.
The kit head isn't a perfect likeness, but you can still see a bit of Connery peeking out (if you stand back and squint!) It's close enough that I can live with it.

It's a great looking Bond! Will Odd Job be joining him?
I actually finished Oddjob last year. That was another great oldie but goodie kit. I used a replacement head on it. Pics are posted in my photo album.
 
#26 · (Edited)
This is for Capt. Marvel. Your wish is my command :)



Mark,
I agree with you about the interlocking bases idea. Right now, it is a bit awkward to try and display them together. Your wooden base is an elegant solution. To answer your question, yes, the nameplate came with the Oddjob replacement head.
 
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