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Creature From the Black Lagoon

Discussion in 'vBench (Works in Progress)' started by kansas kid, Jul 11, 2015.

  1. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    First off, I will state that I haven’t posted any work on the PF website for a number of years. As I now crawl into my 78th year of age, I find I’m not getting to the hobby table as much as I use to. But I’m now trying to correct that. I feel we all need to find ways to express what we feel, what is burning inside of us. And for me, model building and figure painting is one of the ways to do that. Secondly, I’ll admit that this subject matter, “The Creature From the Black Lagoon” (a black & white film from way back in the 1950s) is quite different from the norm. Yet, I thought it might be fun, even though it’s something quite different from the usual figure painting subject matter posted on PF.

    As a retired newspaper artist, I always try to pick subject matter that has the possibilities for vibrant colours. And Fantasy and Science Fiction offer that possibility, as I see it. There are no rules regarding what colours you pick. I don’t have to worry about making sure Wehrmacht Grey/green is exactly the right shade. All those restrictions are removed.

    To me colour harmony and good striking colours definitely attract attention. This presentation is 8 and ½ inches tall from base to the top. (Using the online conversion I believe that would be 216mm or 21.5cm.) Also I think our site attracts a lot of novice or beginning figure modelers. They look at all the posts but do not comment. So that is my main reason for posting this “Lagoon Creature project”; as an attempt to explain some basic techniques regarding construction and ways of thinking about what colours to use. So there is not really anything here that our master figure modelers would be interested in. But hopefully, I can pass on some good ideas to beginners. Such as working with the wonderful product from Aves Studios, (a company in Wisconsin, USA) a great papiér maché terrain cover, Clay Shay and their excellent two part putty Apoxy Sculpt.
    02 Creatures close up.jpg

    02a Picking colors for bae.jpg

    Now above is a boring example of how I try to learn the lessons on something that doesn't count. This is my idea of using acrylic paints on the "bottom" of the base to get across the idea of a lake, or water, thus the marine colurs.

    02b Clayshay & Pebbles.jpg

    This photo above shows the base I bought from a hobby store, and the part that is to be the lake/river bottom. I used Aves Studio's Clay Shay for the terrain. It is the best ground cover I've ever used; a papier mache brown powder mixed with water. And the "pebbles" are formed pieces of Aves Apoxy Sculpt two part putty. To hide the "styrene pin" that fits into the bottom of the Creature's foot, I decided to make underwater foliage made from bond paper and painted with acrylics thinned as watercolours. In some I put a small diameter copper wire to keep the shape that I'd bended those pieces of foliage into.

    02c Base 1st Layer Paint.jpg

    02d Creature in peg in base.jpg

    Attached Files:

  2. Chris Mortimer Active Member

    Country:
    New_Zealand
    Mate, Love it. I'm a big fan of old sci-fi and horror flicks. You have done a great job here.
  3. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Well, hello Chris. Oh my, thank you for taking time to
    respond to my first post in quite some time. I posted a
    second thread with more pix of the Black Lagoon All-star.
    But alas, I must have done it wrong, as it disappeared.
    Thanks again for your kind and encouraging words. Kind regards,

    The Miami Jayhawk
  4. Jeff T A Fixture

    Country:
    Australia
    What a coincedence, I just watched this movie the other day on cable tv for the first time in my life!... Been watching a lot of old movies lately that I have never seen.

    Excellent work Kansas!... Great display!


    Cheer's,
    Jeff.
  5. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hello Jeff: Thanks kind Sir, for taking time to
    send such an encouraging note. I do so appreciate
    it. Yes, Actually, Richard Carlson, the male lead,
    was somewhat of a major star, back in the 1950s
    And Julie Adams (Oh, I hope I got her
    last name right) was really quite a "looker". Ha ha
    She looked great in a bathing suit. But of course,
    The Black Lagoon baddie didn't notice any of that
    kind of thing. What ever. :)

    Thanks again, Jeff for your kind words,

    The Miami Jayhawk/Kansas Kid
  6. ometz Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    What a great job...and at such a young age! Having just hit the sixth decade of existence, I guess I have a little bit of time to try to catch up with you.
  7. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Greetings, Ometz:

    Ha ha, just 60 yrs. huh? Wow, you've got a lot of time
    left, so much to look forward to. I was about 68 when
    I finally realized that oh my goodness, Life has so MUCH
    to offer. No reason to get bored, right? :)

    Thanks for taking time to respond

    Jayhawker
    Jazz likes this.
  8. ACCOUNT_DELETED A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Rick I thought the film was B&W. I prefer your colourized version. You can't beat those old Universal horror pictures. Too bad Abbott and Costello never met the Creature though.
    Jazz likes this.
  9. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hello "crf":
    Well, thanks for your comments, Sir. I've seen this
    figure done a number of times in contests around
    the American Heartland, and each time the Big
    Bad Boy was done in kind of a lizzard green.
    As you know, in the film those kind of Sci Fi movies
    were usually black and white. So no colour was
    indicated. I usually try to pick a subject that has
    a lot of colour, so I thought of the Swim Fin Kid
    as like being a tropical fish kind of creature.
    Also, I got a big kick out of your comment
    about Abbot and Costello, . . . "Slowly I turned"!
    :) Kind regards, K.Kid Jayhawker
    Jazz and crf like this.
  10. FigureLover A Fixture

    Country:
    Australia
    Great use of colours, looks awesome, and the choice of colours are harmonious. Great work
    Ben
    Jazz likes this.
  11. Jazz A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    You've made a lovely job of this figure. I started painting figures in the early 70s starting with the Aurora horror kits. The Creature from the Black Lagoon was one of the kits I painted then. It was a bit larger than yours and was set on the sea shore rather than swimming but was well detailed. I also had your kit which I think was from Morbious if I remember right. They also did a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde kit. Ah, memories. Thanks for taking me back.
    Stash likes this.
  12. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hello Ben: And thank you for your kind remarks about
    my swim fin Bad Boy. It was really a lot of fun to work
    with and did rather well at IPMS local contests around
    the American Heartland. Kind regards,

    Kansas kid
  13. tonydawe A Fixture

    Country:
    Australia
    Vibrant colours in harmony.
    Jazz likes this.
  14. Helm A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Looks great if I can still be painting at 78 it's a win! I dont know about anybody else but I think we can all learn from each other regardless of skill level. Love your concept of a tropical lizard.
    Steve
    Jazz likes this.
  15. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Ah Jazz, thank you for reminding me of those old kits from
    the 60's and 70's. I started model building in the mid 1960s
    just a little while before you did. All those many years ago
    I had no idea I would still be having so much fun, still at
    the hobby bench, expressing myself in this creative way.
    Kind regards, Jazz,

    Rick Brownlee
    Jazz likes this.
  16. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hello again, Planeteers: I thought I had added this photo below
    earlier, . . . yesterday. However, I must have done something wrong
    as it never showed up. This photos shows the final piece with
    the name plate added on the front. I did the type/graphic in
    Adobe Illustrator.

    02h Creature completed.jpg
    Jazz, DEL, Stash and 2 others like this.
  17. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hello Tony and Steve:
    Thank you gentlemen for taking time to respond.
    Most sincerely, I do so appreciate your encouraging words.
    Yes, at my age, I feel so fortunate that I can still hold
    a brush in my hand fairly steady. I paint on canvas as well.
    My avatar to the left is my 16" X 24" oil painting of the famous
    Crow Scout: White Man Runs Him. Kind regards,

    The Miami Jayhawk
    Jazz likes this.
  18. Stash Member

    Very nice work!
  19. Stash Member


    Me, too! I started building models in general in the 70's, I was very young, and remember the neighborhood drug store, of all places, had the awesome Aurora kits "Monster Scenes" (extremely collectible now), and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, where I grew up, had all the Aurora Dinosaur kits! I had every one and loved them dearly. Man, takes me waaaay back!
    Jazz likes this.
  20. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hi Stash: Boy your "handle" really is appropriate for this
    hobby! Right? :) And I appreciate you writing in your note
    about those days way back when. You could by a model for less than
    One US dollar and a half. But of course, we didn't have the quality
    of the models available today. BTW, I've always wanted to try
    a Dinosaur kit. For one thing, (and I hope the following is correct)
    I don't believe the Scientists in that field really know what skin colour or
    colours those creature had? So again, no rules re what colours you
    choose! Thanks again, Stash. The Miami Jayhawk
    Jazz likes this.

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