This is another project that I wanted to do for my own collection. For me personaly, I prefer my monster kits to be a
character from one of my favorite films, and whats better than a Hammer film ??
I mean if "Curse Of The Werewolf" was just another generic monster, and not an iconic image of Oliver Reed from a classic
horror film, how popular would it be ? These images hit home with us because we are so partial to the films. So such it is
with the kits I prefer to collect. Often these characters or monsters are not available in the form of a retail resin
kit, or at least not in the pose we would like it to be. So at times it's necessary to create our own.One way of doing this
is by converting an existing kit into the one you'd like to have. Such is the case with my "Chris Lee" mummy conversion,
my Horizon mummy conversion and now my "Evil Of Frankenstein" conversion. At times it can be quite tedious, but the end result
can be quite rewarding and allow you to have a one of a kind piece for your collection. Converting model kits is as old as
model kits them selves. Remember changing engines and tires on your Revelle hot rod kit..Replacing a small-block 327 with
a 454 Rat...Shortning up the rearend to accomidate those huge slicks tucked under the fenders...Well this is the same idea, it
goes back to the very roots of model building and it's a lot of fun..It's not always easy however to just sit down and chop-up
a kit that probably cost better than a hundred bucks! So before you start make sure that you have a good plan layed out and
go through it several times in your mind.However, don't let the money be your deciding factor.It's truly rewarding to doctor
a piece and turn it into something else that you want.I'm not saying to cut apart that rare grail werewolf from Mike Hill,
heaven forbid.But don't be afraid to give this a shot,I bet you'll be glad you did.....So are you ready, then let's get
to it...
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The Evil Of Frankenstein is a far cry from being the best Hammer Frankenstein film. It was however one that I wanted
to add to my collection, and a conversion was the fastest way to achieve one.
The original kit that I started with was produced by Arne Jerde.It was the perfect kit for this conversion due to the
stocky build of franky.The head also was perfect for the conversion, and thats where I started. Photos 1-6 show the head conversion.
I started by grinding off his hair.I then re-sculpted the head using Aves putty. I can't tell you how many times I scanned
the DVD forward and back to get a good look at his head. The photos show the build-up of putty to achieve the square head.
Photos 7&8 show how I ground down the jacket and re-sculpted the pull-over laced up version shown in the movie. Photo
#9 are the boots. They were ground to a square front with straps and buckles and a square metal toe cover added as in the
film.The real work here was with the girl. Photos 13-18 show the head and arm being removed from the girl. I then cut her
head in half and re-attached it using armature wire. This allowed me to re-posistion her head up into an alive and well posistion.I
then drilled holes into the back of the head to insert the wires to hold the new sculpted hair. The wires were then trimmed
and bent in place to hold the new hair.I then re-worked her eyes by adding an upper eyelid so her eyes would appear to be
open. It all turned out pretty well.I also removed her left arm and placed it in an upward and out posistion to further
enhance her being alive and well.The next step was to re-sculpt the lower portion of her dress. In the original kit her dress
stops well above the knee.I extended the dress and also added some rips & holes to simulate the worn look from the
film, (see pic #19).. I also added sleeves to the dress.
I think by viewing the rest of the photos you can easily see how this project was finished out. It was another very cool
project and great piece for my Hammer collection. Let me say that the original kit was a very cool kit. But the more I looked
at it, the more I realized that it was perfect for this project.....
Thanks again for taking a peek...
Happy Modeling.......
