Post by hypnotator on Sept 9, 2012 11:51:19 GMT -5
Here is a kit that I completed recently and Have a few pix of. It’s great that companies like Moebius have been reissuing the old Aurora kits like Monster Scenes and Monarch are doing kits that Aurora might have made. The box art and logo show more than a nod to Aurora; even the box dimensions correspond to those of Aurora’s original “long box” Universal Studios monsters series.
There are plenty of great movie monsters that Aurora could have done but never got around to doing, and Nosferatu has always been a hot contender. I once saw a white metal garage kit of him, smaller than a Microman, at Memorabilia, and I went back to get it but it had gone. I have never seen another kit of Nosferatu; I don’t think even Billiken did one, so full marks to Monarch for being the first and producing a sculpt worthy of Aurora.
The 1922 silent movie Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (A Symphony of Terror) would hardly scare a child these days but it is regarded as a classic, both of the horror movie genre and German Expressionist film. It was also the first film version of Dracula, albeit unlicensed, and the appropriately named Max Shrek’s makeup and appearance is still a powerful image.
Monarch have done Nosferatu justice with a good likeness and they have played down his freakish appearance subtly in a way that makes him look more realistic and hence scarier. For some reason the instructions suggest you paint him a turquoise colour, which I think is a mistake. I’ve seen a built up one at Comet painted turquoise and he looks better in a pale flesh colour in my opinion.
The dark wash went a bit wrong around his mouth and the left side of his face but I kinda liked the effect. The fangs are nicely understated and just visible, and the bat ears and bald head are all he really needs to make him terrifying. They have captured something of Shrek’s barely concealed malice in his facial expression too. The fingernails are long but far shorter than Shrek’s, perhaps to look a bit less ridiculous or perhaps because they would be brittle moulded from plastic.
I wish I’d done a better job of his eyebrows and what little hair he has above his ears. It all came out too opaque. You were supposed to see the flesh colour through them.
The ring of keys is a beautiful touch. Each key is a separate tiny part and you have to be very careful not to lose ‘em when you’re building the kit. The base is in the Aurora style, with great details including crumbling plaster, a rat (you get a spare for some reason), a spider complete with web, a centipede (my shots don’t show it well) and in true Aurora style, an old skelly.
Moebius’ latest offering is The Ghost of Castel Mare, which appears to be a completely made up character, with a nod to Aurora’s Forgotten Prisoner of Castel Mare. From what I’ve seen, the diorama is nice but the ghost itself doesn’t appeal to me much so I think I’ll skip that one.
