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Star Wars Rancor Monster

Discussion in 'Completed Figures' started by kansas kid, Nov 11, 2015.

  1. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    I purchased this Rancor Monster kit some years ago, and I am sorry to say I do not remember what scale it is, but the creature is very large, about 12 inches tall; or approximately 30. 4794 Centimeters. Regarding the fit of the parts, i.e. arms to body, legs to body, head to the shoulders, it was a real nightmare. Some of the gaps were 1/4th inch wide. With the Head attaching to the shoulders, the gap was almost one half inch wide. Thank goodness, I was able to add sheet styrene to the gaps from inside. ( Of course, that was before the kit parts were glued together.) That way there was a wall inside that I could apply Aves Studios Apoxy Sculpt two part putty. A lot of sanding was required. Since this figure was going to be entered in the IPMS/USA national contest, I made sure that all the seam and putty work was correct — that hopefully the figure showed no seams or uneven areas at the joints.
    The first two photos show the application of the base coat using acrylic paints. Then I slowly started to use oil paints with a brush in my hand to blend various tones of green, yellow and brown together. I usually work from dark to light, so the darker greens with the oils where applied over the base coat of acrylic green, then the browns and then the yellows. Sometimes I wait until the oils have dried. And since the oil paints are applied so thinly, usually the next day the previous days application of oils is dry. But sometimes I blend oils of various tones and shades while the paint is wet. As any figure painter knows, oils are the one medium that is the most forgiving; meaning the easiest painting medium to work with. Oh oh, . . . I ended a sentence with a preposition! But I do recall the wise words of Winston Churchill, when he was criticized for ending a sentence with a preposition. The Prime Minister said: “. . . this is the kind of ilk, up with which, I will not put” !! Nuff said.
    The photo with the two red crosses was the base piece of plywood that the creature would stand on. I first put several coats of Varnish on the plywood so the varnish would seal it. Next came the application of Aves Studios Clay Shay, a papier Maché brown powder that is such a fine product for terrain or ground cover. I mix it with water. Depending on the amount of water, you can make it quite thin or with less water the consistency of Clay! The red crosses represent the location where both feet will be placed. After the Clay Shay hardened overnight I used a hobby knife to carve a pattern of flat stones. Naturally I picked tones and shades for the rock floor that would be in colour harmony with the painting of the Monster.
    The final six photographs show the completed project, hopefully ready for the competition. Naturally, critical comments by you ladies and gentleman, you fellow Planeteers are welcomed.

    01 Face base coat.jpg 02 Full back base coat.jpg 03 front view add oils.jpg 04 Left side add oils.jpg 05 Back full view add oils.jpg 06 Clayshay on wood base.jpg 07 Painted base on Work Bench.jpg 08 Rancor back from above.jpg 09 Rancor Back Right side.jpg 10 Head close up left side.jpg 11 Close up of face.jpg 12 full view front.jpg 13 front full view w base.jpg
    Braemp, pgarri27, offo and 15 others like this.
  2. ellie A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Wow!!! that's a very nice indeed great looking kit, and you've done a great paint job well done.

    ian

    www.elliesminiatures.com
  3. kagemusha A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Mate that's a superb piece of painting (y).....glad your firing on all cylinders again :)

    Regards

    Ron
  4. DaddyO A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Looks fab. :)

    Wouldn't mind one of these big uns (Crappy joints and all) I think I still have a small one (about 80mm tall that was made as a wargame? figure) It weighs a huge amount and currently resides with some old Call of Cthulu bits and bobs from about 20 years ago . . . .
    Paul
  5. OldTaff PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    England
    Great paintwork, very effective(y) Well done,old son......does he bite?:nailbiting:

    Alan
  6. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hello Ian: Thanks so much for taking time to post your comments.
    I do appreciate it. Altho the fit was terrible, the big monster was
    a lot of fun to paint.

  7. housecarl Moderator

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    That is stunning Rick.
    Hope you're slowly on the mend.(y)
  8. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hello Carl, my friend: Thanks for the positive comments, Carl.
    I do so appreciate your encouragement. And yes, altho the PT
    progress goes slowly, I can tell that I am making progress.
    Getting back to the hobby bench has been a big lift for me
    emotionally. You can only watch so many movies that you've
    DVR'd, right? And hopefully, at some point I can get back
    to playing Pickleball once again,
    Kind regards to you, Carl, Rick
    housecarl likes this.
  9. DEL A Fixture

    Country:
    Scotland
    Hi Rick, glad to hear and see that you're on the mend (y)
    This is a marvellous piece of work, beautifully painted and based.
    The groundwork is perfectly complimentary to the figure with just enough interest but not overdone.
    Love it.
    Cheers
    Derek
  10. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Good morning, Derek: It was so good, this very early morning,
    to read your kind words. I do so appreciate you taking time
    to comment here. I had to smile as I read your remarks about
    the base for the Monster. I was thinking the same "idea" about
    a base that would be in colour harmony with that big bad boy,
    and yet not "steal the show" so to speak, from this yellow eyed
    movie star. ;)

    Kind regards, Rick
  11. arj A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Excellent bit of gap-filling .... I can't see the joints.
    Very good subtle painting and a well prepared and complementary base.
    Nice one.

    Cheers,
    Andrew
  12. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hi Andrew and thank you for the kind words. I started as a plastic
    kit aircraft modeler in 1965. The kit parts didn't fit too well back then.
    So to be an IPMS contest modeler with any success, you had to learn how
    to make the model look seamless. Have a great day, Rick
  13. Jazz A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Rick,
    I'm really sorry that I haven't tried until now. I don't know how I missed this little gem, but I did. You've done a great job here. What a little beauty he is, in an artistic term I must stress. There's some great shading going on and a lot of thought has gone into the base. Also a nice touch to see the workbench. Excellent stuff mate.
  14. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hey Ho Jazz. . . Kewl matey,. . . thank you for the kind words about
    this old Big Bad Boy from those early Star Wars films. Like me, I
    presume you are eager to see just what the new Christmas Star Wars
    film will be like, up to what standard, since the Disney Studios have
    purchased all the rights to Star Wars from George Lucas.

    Thanks again, for your kind comments, my friend. Wishing you
    and your family a great weekend, now that we almost have Friday
    the 13th Completely out of the way. Here in the American Prairie
    we are only at mid-day. . . but dude, I'm keeping my fingers crossed,
    dat nuttin' will happen. Take care, The Miami Jayhawk
  15. John Bowery A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Rick,
    Excellent bad boy and the colours are superbly done. Would not want to meet him on a rainy night out.
    Cheers
    John
  16. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hi John and thank you for the kind remarks. I hope everything
    is going well with you. Have a great weekend, Rick
  17. Metal Extremo Well-Known Member

    As Star Wars fan (First trilogy. The second one it's a stinky bad joke) love your miniature a lot. I'd like try to do it. ¿What brand or how can i purchase one?
    As painter, love your work. Enormous work of textures, very good transitions, a lot of tones to give life to the rancor. In my opinion a difficult piece very well done. Congratulations Kansas Kid.
    Curiously last weekend went to the mountain near of my town to spent the day with the children, and were the guys of the 501'st legion, the representats of the Star Wars in Spain for official events, filming something into the wood. Good people. A couple of beers and some talking with them.
  18. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Thank you, Metal Man for your kind words about my work on the Rancor Monster.
    I do so appreciate you taking time to post your comments. (I'm well into my late 70s,
    so my memory isn't what it used to be. I purchased the kit in the middle 1990s)
    I just now did a little searching on the internet and found out the following. The Monster
    is 1:15th scale. The kit was released by AMT/ERTL. One source says in 1995 and
    the other says it was released in 1998. The model is vinyl and the model number is 8171.

    I hope you have success finding it, Rick Brownlee in Heartland America
  19. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Ooooooops, I'm sorry. I forgot to include the box art I captured
    from the internet. It was supposed to be my reply above. Rick

    01e Rancor Monster.jpg
  20. Huw63 A Fixture

    Keeping up with everythign here is a bit difficult at times so I missed this one. You've built a superb piece and painted it to an incredible standard. Well done.

    Cheers

    Huw

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