Of course, "political correctness" came along, and like a bloated dead deer carcass going down a stream, it dragged away anything in its path. Not to sound old, but stuff now pretty much sucks. Come on, you know it's true.
Everyone's afraid of what things from the past might do to us. Meanwhile, all they have to do is see that our parents (and themselves) turned out okay, so maybe they shouldn't get their undies all bunch up over whether or not the Three Stooges are being shown on TV. Oh, and while I'm on that, just look at the trailer for the new Three Stooges movie-- yeah, stuff now pretty much sucks.
So fast forward to the early 2000s, when I got back into model building. I remember as a kid seeing these kits for sale, but I couldn't have them for whatever the reason. By the time I'd hit my mid-20s, I realized that I could go on a tear (via Ebay)and acquire and (gasp!) build these kits, and store them in my nifty hobby room! So yes, I did just that. These are the fruits of those desires.
The first one to get, for me, had to be Superman, my favorite superhero. How could you not dig this guy? He could do everything: fly, beat anybody up, x-ray vision, heat vision, incredible speed... he could even fly through outer space! And... according to Aurora... he can also punch through brick walls!
If I could rebuild this one, I'd probably change the color of the wall, and also do a better job of concealing the seam on his belt buckle. But, shoot.
This kit was a bit hard to find for a nice price, so when I got it, I really wanted to work with color to make it look classic, not cartoony. I also didn't want to do any customizing, just wanted to make him look like the Batman of the comics of that period. I ended up being most proud of the tree, with it's mossy exposed side.
Of course, if you're gonna have Batman, you've gotta have Robin! This kit was kind of boring, and was impossible to NOT make cartoony, thanks to Robin's bright hues. The only thing I did that was off the beaten path was the addition of footprints on the base, to indicate that a villain had just scampered away, after activating some kind of dastard machine as a distraction to keep Robin at bay! I remember being really proud of how I concealed the seams in his legs, which ran VERTICALLY down the center of his thigh!
I made an odd choice when I painted this kit, using glossy paint for the Cap. I suppose I could go back now with some dull cote, and I probably should. My daughter has taken a liking to this kit, and has already broken the Cap off of the base once! He now resides atop my printer, far from her prying tiny hands.
This kit, with all of its recessed web-lines on his costume, inspired me to give up this kit in mid-build. It sat on a window sill for almost a year before I finally got the wacky idea to finish it! Once completed, I topped it off with a piece of fiber optic to mimic webbing being shot out of his wrist. I have another Spidey kit, a reissue of an Aurora kit, but alas he's in the garage, because of the same reason: those horrible, tedious weblines on his costume!
The final kit is, of course, the mean green one, the Incredible Hulk. This kit had a real obstacle: when I began assembling it, I noticed that there was a mistake, that the entire triceps area of one arm was missing! I had to take putty and fill in the area, and it turned out okay. I had a lot of fun painting the base, trying to make the junk that was lying around look like actual metal. I painted him a dark green, and then went over the raised areas with the lighter tone. The facial expression isn't that good, but it is the Hulk, you know.
Coming soon, the massive spewage which is my Star Wars models!
