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“General Ursus”

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  • Member since
    December 2007
  • From: Louisville, KY.
“General Ursus”
Posted by Cosmic J on Monday, June 9, 2008 2:26 PM

This is Aurora /Polar Lights' "General Ursus" from their Planet of the Apes series of kits. I built it straight out of the box.

At Wonderfest a few years ago, my friend Bryan was selling this kit for just $5, but no one would buy it. When I asked why no one wanted it, he offered to give it to me for free, on the condition that I actually build it.

Well, after a few years, nearly a whole pack of Miliput and a lot of cursing, here it is.

I tried to airbrush it completely freehand, but wound up having to use a mask on the bandoleer/cartridge belt and the boots. After that, I painted the details like eyes and buttons w/ a # 3 brush. Sounds a lot easier than it really was...

Bryan and I are still friends, and I've completely forgiven him. Totally.

 

BTW, if anyone knows of a really awful figure kit I could give as a gift, I'd be grateful for the heads up.

 

  • Member since
    January 2008
  • From: Bournemouth UK
Posted by Bodge on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 4:18 PM
A great looking kit and youve done it proud.
  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Newport News VA
Posted by Buddho on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 5:13 PM

Excellent job on a tough kit...I love it

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State
Posted by rjkplasticmod on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 6:30 PM

Very nicely painted.  Thanks for sharing.

Regards,  Rick

RICK At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...
  • Member since
    July 2003
  • From: Perth, Western Australia
Posted by madmike on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 7:57 PM

Superbly built and painted!

Bad kit? Try the Monogram (Aurora) Creature from the Black Lagooon. My wife is still working on seam and gap removal, then rebuilding texture and detail after sanding is done.

Cheers

Mike 

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." - Galileo Galilei
  • Member since
    July 2007
  • From: Up a creek, minus one paddle
Posted by ski4jeepin on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 4:05 PM

Dang, man. I'd say it was well worth the Milliput and the cursing. B-E-A-UTIFUL! Never thought I'd be saying that about a monkey, but what are you gonna do?

Model building isn't about patience, it's about passion.

  • Member since
    December 2007
  • From: Louisville, KY.
Posted by Cosmic J on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 9:35 PM

Thank you gentlemen. Your comments were all very kind. Over the years, I had grown to hate this kit a little, y'all brought some joy back to it for me.

Bad kit? Try the Monogram (Aurora) Creature from the Black Lagooon. My wife is still working onseam and gap removal, then rebuilding texture and detail after sanding is done.

Cheers

Mike

Oh yeah, that sounds like exactly what I was looking for. Thank you (and good luck to the missus).

 

  • Member since
    February 2008
  • From: Schaumburg, IL
Posted by SkullGundam on Friday, June 13, 2008 11:35 PM
Nice one CJ.  I love the colors in the display.  And I dont know where you learned to make Gorilla skin tone but it looks perfect. 

If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment.

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  • Member since
    April 2006
  • From: Essex, UK
Posted by FingersEddie on Saturday, June 14, 2008 5:55 AM

Great piece of work. Overall, the paintin' of it and the shadin' of it is beautifully done. I would jus' like to see a few subtle highlights on his face and padded waistcoat, but thats jus' me.

Its great, nonetheless.

"Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what your country is doin' to you!" "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." "Say 'NO' to censorship, it leads to a dictatorship!" http://public.fotki.com/paulyrichard/
  • Member since
    December 2007
  • From: Louisville, KY.
Posted by Cosmic J on Saturday, June 14, 2008 9:38 PM

Nice one CJ.  I love the colors in the display.  And I dont know where you learned to make Gorilla skin tone but it looks perfect.

Thank you SG. I painted it w/ Burnt Umber, followed by spot washes of black for the creases, then a heavy drybrushing w/ Raw Umber, followed by a lighter drybrush of Raw Umber mixed 50% w/ Dark Tan. His hair is Black, drybrushed w/ Panzer Dark Grey.

The whites of the eyes are Raw Sienna mixed 50% w/ White. Straight White would have been too strong.

FingersEddie:

Great piece of work. Overall, the paintin' of it and the shadin' of it is beautifully done. I would jus' like to see a few subtle highlights on his face and padded waistcoat, but thats jus' me.

Its great, nonetheless.

Thank you sir. I've seen and enjoyed your work hereabouts. I'm flattered.

The highlighting is there, it's just perhaps a bit too subtle. It may appear as if there was an overhead light when I took the pictures. There wasn't. You may notice that there are no shadows under the figure, only behind it. What you're actually seeing is paint. The effect is most noticeable in the embossing on the front of the helmet, and in the front of the doublet down the right side, especially in the last picture.

I think I maybe overdid it on the bottom part of the doublet on the lower left, near the short sword, and on the edging of left side of the gorget. Oh well.

I also thought the highlighting on the sleeves was a bit too much. What do you think?

 

  • Member since
    April 2006
  • From: Essex, UK
Posted by FingersEddie on Sunday, June 15, 2008 4:15 AM
Cosmic, I think your highlights on the tunic look great, no worries. The highlights are correct and represent the figure lit from above naturally. Thats the right approach.
"Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what your country is doin' to you!" "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." "Say 'NO' to censorship, it leads to a dictatorship!" http://public.fotki.com/paulyrichard/
  • Member since
    December 2007
  • From: Louisville, KY.
Posted by Cosmic J on Thursday, June 19, 2008 7:51 AM

Cool. I'm glad you liked it.

Thanks for the feedback. It was genuinely helpful.

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