 Horror Or Bust! CollectionI think it was at the 1996 IPMS Nationals in Columbus, Ohio that I started acquiring Geometric Designs' outstanding 1/4 scale resin busts. Eventually I had enough to compete with them as a collection. To make a proper presentation, I made a display base out of Styrofoam covered with Celluclay and Durham's Rock Hard Water putty. The 8 identical bases I found at a local bowling trophy shop set the limit for the number of busts I would have in the collection. |  Horror Or Bust! CollectionHere's another angle of the collection. During lunch on my way to WonderFest 2014, I realized that I'd forgotten to bring the base. As I was too far away to run back home to pick it up, I needed a substitute. This I found at a nearby Target store, a cheap black drape. I used it to cover the box in which I was transporting the models. The drape worked okay, but I'm still kicking myself for having forgotten my custom display base. |  Bride of Frankenstein_FrontI arranged the busts in alphabetical order on the base. The first was the Bride of Frankenstein. Joe Simon did a superb job of capturing Elsa Lanchester's likeness in the role. |
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 The Creature Walks Among Us_LeftBecause his scaly hide is being replaced by human skin, the Creature requires clothes. A suit is tailored for him by sailors on the ship on which the Creature is being taken to the US. Made from sailcloth, the movie costume had heavy stitches elsewhere but none at the seams where the front and back halves of the tunic met. I added those stitches with Aves Apoxie Sculpt. |  The Creature Walks Among Us_CUThe film also mentions that the Creature's eyes were becoming human along with his skin. As far as I can tell, Don Megowan (who portrayed the land-lubbing Creature) had blue eyes. They make for a stark contrast, glaring out of the Creature's fishy face. |  The Creature Walks Among Us_BackThis piece is a fine example of how various clear finishes can add realism to a model. I gave the cloth suit a matte finish with Testors Dullcote. In the movie, the Creature's face had a shiny, wet look. A single application of Pledge with Future Floor Shine (or whatever they're calling it these days) achieved the wet look. |
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 Ghost of FrankensteinHere is Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Monster in GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942). While Mike Hill's sculpture is outstanding, I did sand down the overstated "bulb" on the end of the Monster's nose. I also replaced the inaccurate white metal electrodes with new ones made from 1/16 inch diameter styrene rod. |  Ghost of Frankenstein_Close UpI used the "dot filter" method to add character to the Monster's flesh tones. Over the finished deathly skin colors, I applied little dots of artists oils: green, red, ochre, and burnt umber. The dots were faded with a brush moistened with mineral spirits until they were mere tints within the surrounding flash colors. |  The Ghost of Frankenstein_RightIt's hard to see in the photos, but I detailed the eyes under the heavy lids. Lon Chaney, Jr. had blue eyes, so that's the color I painted them. |
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 The Mummy_RightArtists oils gave me the tightest control over the tiny wrinkles molded into The Mummy's face, but even those paints weren't subtle enough. I got just the effects I wanted with an eight paint set of good old Prang watercolors. |  The Mummy_BackIt can be difficult to find a color palette that distinguishes the Mummy's hair, flesh, and wrappings. You don't want a monochrome effect, but too many colors can look unrealistic. A trick I've used is to dust the painted model with ground up artist's pastels that have been mixed to a neutral brownish color to tie the various hues together. |  Nosferatu_FullThis bust was sculpted by T. Holter Bruckner (he prefers to be called "Tim", but that doesn't have the same panache, does it?). The color scheme I chose was based on the box illustration for the Monarch Models 1/8 scale plastic figure model of the monster. |
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