Marvel Comics Character Models

Spider-Man and Venom

Back in 1994, the (1991 released) Venom model was the first vinyl kit that I ever built, and later that year, the (1993 released) Spider-Man model was the third one. I decided to use them in a diorama, where the two "classic" characters are confronting each other. I took a photo of it, and the photo was later published in the March 1995 issue of 'WIZARD' magazine (pg 93).

For the diorama, I had to be innovative in order to use the poses of the two Horizon kits. The Spider-Man pose is meant to show him crawling down a wall, so I had to have Tom Sosenko make me a spool to rest his right arm on, so he would be eye to eye with Venom. I hope you can see the webbing coming out of Spidey's left hand, and going over Venom's head.

Being the first Spidey model I did, and my third model overall, I wasn't very confident about painting all of the very thin web lines. So, I used 1/64" thick black graphics tape, which is self-stick on one side, to make all of the web lines ... it took me over 30 hours to do them all !! I used the same material to make the webbing that is used in the photo.

On Venom, though the instructions, and the comics, seems to indicate that he is BLACK, I thought that would look boring. In the comics, since they can't do a character in all black, they have to use some blue to show contrasts in muscle areas, etc. So I did this Venom in a darker (Apple Barrel's 'Midnight) blue. I also used a clear acrylic varnish to coat the entire model to give it a sheen. I then added some green drool, by using hot glue, and letting it run out and drip from his tongue. After the hot glue cooled, I then painted it a light green.

Kits: Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl

Spider-Man

The top photo is of the second one that I built, of Horizon's 1993 Spider-Man kit. I built this back in 1996, as a commission. It is the same kit as above in the Spidey-Venom diorama. I had decided that for the first one I did, where I used 1/64" thick black graphics tape to make all of the web lines, that doing that again was way too much trouble. So this time I painted the lines in, since I now understood the technique for thinning the black acrylic paint, and letting it "run into" the grooves molded into the model.

The bottom photo is of the first Horizon Spidey kit that they released in 1988. The pose is more upright, but this kit is not "as popular" as the 1993 one, probably because of the poor proportions with the head, body and legs ? The only two things of note about this kit are:

• the work to get the legs formed so that he can stand without a base, etc. After I got them positioned correctly, I then filled it with the lead shot and Plaster of Paris to weight and set the leg position;
• for the lines, this time I used a black Ultra-Fine Sharpie permanent marker to "drawn-in" the lines.

Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl

Venom (of Spider-Man comics)

Venom is one of the primary Spider-Man villains of the 1990's. He is a human named Eddie Brock, his body totally covered by an Alien Symbiote, which gives Eddie Brock the powers, and a certain degree of insanity, of Venom. Since Eddie Brock has a grudge against Spider-Man, this Alien Symbiote makes Venom absolutely HATE Spider-Man !!

The photos to the left are of the second Venom kit that I built in 2006. It is the same kit as above in the Spidey-Venom diorama. But I had decided that the first one I did, where I painted him in a darker blue, with a clear acrylic varnish to give it a sheen, looked "toy-like". So for this one, I used flat black paint, rather than the midnight blue. And rather than dry-brush with dark grey for the muscle and vein highlights, per the kit's painting instructions, I used navy blue to do so. This achieves the look of the comics, where they use blue to show contrast in muscles, etc. I think this looks "more exciting" than the grey,though probably not "as realistic". I think you can see the slight bluish tinge in the photos ? And from a few feet away, he still looks "all-black". I was planning on spraying him with a protective coat of (Testor's #1261) Dullcote, but I decided the flat black paint actually has a nice "texture" to it, and enough of a natural sheen, that the Dullcote was not needed. Though obviously if the model is to be handled a lot, the Dullcote would provide protection for the paint job.

Also, this time, I decided not to use the green drool, as I did for the first Venom I built. I did use clear varnish inside of the mouth and gums, but not on the tongue, which I dry-brushed with red over a dull purplish basecoat. And the teeth has off-white tips, over a yellowish base, rather than the "plain white" teeth I did for the first one (see the close-up photo).

Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl

Carnage (of Spider-Man comics)

Carnage like Venom is one of the primary Spider-Man villains of the 1990's. He is a human who is a serial killer in prison. His body gets totally covered with an offshoot of the same Alien Symbiote that spawned Venom. However since the wearer is already deranged, the Alien Symbiote for Carnage turns blood-red, as Carnage is a homicidal maniac !! It is up to Spidey to stop him.

This kit was released by Horizon in 1993, and I built mine in 1994. This kit was one of the most tedious and difficult ones for me to both build and paint. In the vinyl molding process, small thin objects cannot be produced "on a tree" as with styrene kits. Thus objects, such as the thirteen "tentacles" oozing from Carnage's body, had to be produced as a larger piece of vinyl. About 90% of the vinyl must be cut-away leaving the long strand of the "tentacle". Also, there are no "keys" on Carnage's body as to where to place the tentacles; only general positioning from the instructions and the box photos is available. I actually placed one of the tentacles on his right wrist instead of the suggested left elbow.

As can be expected, trying to paint all of the black areas was also a pain, (though thin lines "scored" into the vinyl are a painting guide), esp. since the tentacles always seem to be in the way of the area to be painted. I started-off my airbrushing the entire model (except the eye areas) with Createx Transparent Red, which gave the model a shiny and very deep "bloody" red color. I then painted over the "oily" areas with flat black paint. A mistake I may have made was that I sprayed the model with a protective coat of (Testor's #1261) Dullcote. However, since there is some "yellowing agents" in the Dullcote, I lost the deep "bloody" red color

The most disappointing aspect of this kit though was that I could not get it to stand-up reliably on it's own. The kit as pictured on the box seems to stand more erect than my actual kit. Apparently, in the vinyl-molding process, each piece cools and contracts differently (since pieces are hollow and only about 1/16" thick. The upper torso on my kit cooled such that it was bent forward, and this "memory" was inherent in my kit. I could heat it up with a hair dryer, etc. and straighten it up, but a couple of hours later, it would return to the bent-over position. If I ever build another one, after gluing the upper and lower torsos together, I would probably cut the head off, or drill a hole in the back, that could be hidden by one of the tentacles, heat the waist area to "straighten the pose", and fill the body cavity with Plaster of Paris, or the self-expanding foam.

Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl

Green Goblin (of Spider-Man comics)

The Green Goblin is one of the earliest Spider-Man villains, and is considered a "classic", as evidenced by the fact that this was the villain for the first Spider-Man movie. Horizon released this kit in 1993.

This is one of my favorite kits because it truly represents how we remember the Goblin ... on his flyer, throwing pumpkin bombs at Spidey ! The photos are of the second one I built (in 1998). The first one I built (in 1996) I tried to "stand-up" using something to prop-up the rear end (see diorama on previous page). However, the pedals on the flyer are vinyl, and they would twist under the weight of the Goblin being glued to them, with nothing else to support his weight. Therefore on this second one, I hung him from the ceiling where he can fly down at unsuspecting visitors.

Because of the nature of vinyl molding, the bottom of the wings of the flyer are not "finished", and you can see the runs of the vinyl from the molding process. So, I cut out of thin stock styrene, 8 panels, to cover the bottom of the wings. I glued them in place, and putty and sanded them to form the proper aerofoil edges. The same had to be done for the bottom of the face-plate on the flyer. I decided not to paint the "paint chips" on the edges of the wings and body of the flyer, as shown on the box photos.

Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl

Punisher

This was among the first kits that Horizon released in 1988, and as with the Spidey kit they released that year, it was not the most detailed of kits. Also, since I am NOT a Punisher fan, I held-off building this until late 2018. I was manning a vendor's booth at the Hall of Heroes Comic Con in September of 2018. I figured when things got slow at the booth, I wanted something to keep me busy, so I put this model together before the Con, so I could "slap" the initial coats of white and black paint on it at the Con. Detailed painting was done when I got home. Three things of note about this kit are:

• the gun is metal, but in my kit, the tip of the gun was malformed. So my buddy Tom Sosenko milled me a new tip. This new tip was "so nice", that you can see in the photos, that I left it unpainted !!
• for the holsters, pouches and straps, I used a glossier black, as to give a contrast to the black cloth of his shirt and pants.
• for the highlighted areas on his black costume, like the collarbones, top of muscles, knee caps, etc., rather than dry-brush with dark grey paint as I would have in the past, I used white paint dust on a finger-tip, that I "smudged" over those surfaces. I created the white paint dust by painting a scrap piece of vinyl with the white acrylic paint, and when dry sanded it with 400 grit sandpaper to produce the dust !! I don't think the highlighting really shows-up in the photos ; the effect is "very subtle" which is why I like this method !!.

modified version
Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl

Incredible Hulk

Originally, I was not interested in building this kit because I thought the pose of the kit was not very good ... both hands are down by his side as though he is puffing out his chest, (top photo). However, I built a second one, by making the pose "more interesting" by rotating his right arm about 90 degrees so it looks like he is pointing his clenched right fist at you ... what I consider a more "Hulk-like" pose. This pose change required a bit of cutting away of some vinyl around the top of his shoulder, and adding a bit of putty to blend the muscles together.

In February 2010, I built my third Hulk kit (bottom photos). Again, I did the right arm modification as above, but this time I also added ripped holes in his knees. For some "detailed" info on how I made these modifications, click on the link below:
Hulk Modifications

Sensational She-Hulk

This is a very basic kit, very nicely sculpted, and they didn't give her huge breasts, which I thought was "more realistic" than going for the gratuitous big-breasted women as you see with a lot of the "fantasy" garage kits. I would have preferred they made her arms a little "bulkier" though. I painted her just a little lighter shade of green than I did with her cousin, the Incredible Hulk. I also used a little less red on her clothes, than I did on his pants, just to show a contrast in outfits. Her hair alone has four shades of green.

 

modified version
Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl

Captain America

This is one of Horizon's earlier models (1988), and apparently the vinyl pieces did not shrink as much as they anticipated ... I would say this model is closer to 1/5 scale. I never cared too much for this model because I think he has a "stupid grin" on his face ... very unbecoming of a rough and tumble super-hero

When I built the first one (in 1994), I was very proud of the colors that I achieved, esp. the use of Createx Airbrush Opaque Process Blue for the uniform ... though I don't think the blue shows up quite right in the (top) photo. Also, I got nice clean circular lines on the shield.

In February 2010, I built my second Captain America kit (bottom photos). This time, I changed his face. For some "detailed" info on how I made this modification, click on the link below:
Captain America Modification

Iron Man (Bob Layton late-1980's version)

The photo shows Horizon's 1989 release of an Iron Man Kit. This photo shows the second one that I built and painted, in 2005. The first one I built was on commission in 1997, and I never had a chance to take a photo of it. On that first one, I had air-brushed (as seen in his comics) the yellow parts of his armor with yellow paint. But somehow that still made him look "toy-like". So when I got around to building this second one, I decided that 'The Golden Avenger' should look "more golden". But I did not want to use gold paint, or even Rub-n-Buff Gold, since either was still rather dark in tone. I wanted those armor pieces to have some shine to it. So over the WHITE primer, I used Rustoleum's Metallic Brass spray paint, that I had used around the house for other projects. This produced a very shiny gold/brass effect. I and guys at the local comic shop thought the result was excellent !!

For the red parts, unlike for my first Iron man kit, I decided I did not want to take the time to mask off the gold parts, so that I could use airbrush red. So I hand-painted flat red over those areas. However that was still too dull for shiny armor, and wasn't deep enough of a red. So I mixed a small amount of Createx Transparent Airbrush Red (which is a very deep red, that I used for the Carnage model) with a lot of water, to make a very thin "red glaze". I applied this over the flat red, and the color is now a brilliant red with a glossy finish to it. I am quite happy how this Iron Man turned-out .

Unfortunately the photo still seems to show the red with too much yellow in it, rather than the "deep" red that it is.

With this kit came a brick base but I didn't use this since I don't like to use a base for my models, unless absolutely necessary.

Iron Man (converted to Silver-Age version)

The photo shows Horizon's 1989 release of the Iron Man Kit, after I made 14 modifications, to convert it to the Silver-Age (1960's) version of Iron Man. For some "step-by-step" info on how I made this conversion, click on the link below:
Silver-Age Conversion

For this kit, for the parts that are supposed to be gold, over the WHITE primer, I used Krylon's Metallic Gold spray paint. This produced a very shiny and SMOOTH gold effect. I thought the result was excellent !!

For the red parts, I decided to air-brush them with a coat of Createx Opaque Airbrush Red. This opaque coat hides all the irregularities in the primer coat, but is a very flat and pastel-colored red. So I then applied a coat of Createx Transparent Airbrush Red over the opaque coat. This produced a smooth, brilliant red, with a glossy finish to it. I am quite happy how this Iron Man turned-out .

Unfortunately the photo still seems to show the red with too much yellow in it, rather than the "deep" red that it is. Also, the red is so bright, that I couldn't take a proper photo ... you can barely see the stripes/lines in Iron Man's shorts, gloves and boots .

Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl
(modified)

Thor (modified to Silver-Age version)

The photos show Horizon's 1990 release of the Thor Kit, after I made 4 modifications to it. The modifications were to convert the kit to the Silver-Age (1960's) version of Thor, as well as what I consider some major improvements, such as changing his face and making a cloth cape !! For some "step-by-step" info on how I made these modifications, click on the link below:
Thor Modifications

The Thing (of Fantastic Four comics)

Generally, it was a matter of coming-up with the right orange color ... not too bright, but dull. The paint job was enhanced by mixing up a very thin (as in watery) reddish-brown and washing it over the entire model. This filled in and darkened the cracks, and esp. those dimples I mentioned earlier.

Oh, this is one of the first photos of a model that I took with my digital camera so I tried it outside using my white siding as a backdrop.

Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl

Dr. Doom (of Fantastic Four comics)

The assembly of this kit, so as NOT to need a base was tricky. The "suspended" cape added a lot of weight backwards. After positioning and filling the legs with Plaster of Paris, I test-fitted the upper torso pieces and cape, and I had to add lead shot to the right fist to counter-balance the cape, etc.

Instead of silver paint for the armor, I used Rub-n-Buff Silver. This had the advantages of having a brushed-metal look, plus since it is applied with a wad of cloth, the grey primer is allowed to show-through in the creases. Also I used Rub-n-Buff Gold for the two discs holding his cape on, rather than the recommended yellow (as per instructions and comics).

Silver Surfer

The one interesting aspect of this kit is how Horizon implemented the Surfboard. They actually added a wedge shape under the surfboard to allow the surfboard to act as a base. Since I decided to use this feature, I filled the wedge with Plaster of Paris for weight. Therefore, I did not need to fill the Surfer's lower torso with Plaster of Paris, as I have most "standing" models. What I did was to paint the 3 sides of the wedge a very dark blue and painted some silver "splotchy" stars over the blue "sky". I guess the wedge could have been cut away and the space filled and smoothed so as to represent a standalone surfboard. The model could then be hung from the ceiling as I did with the green Goblin model ?

Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl

Wolverine (of X-Men comics)

This kit has a very dynamic pose, very fitting for Wolverine. However, it was difficult to make him stand without gluing the round plexiglass disks (that Tom Sosenko made for me), to his feet. I was actually thinking of replacing the vinyl claws, with custom-made metal ones, but aside from finding someone to make them for me, that may have made the kit sort of "dangerous" to handle.
The claws are painted with Wal-Mart's 'Just like Chrome" spray paint, so they really shine, like sharpened metal.

Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl

Cyclops (of X-Men comics)

This kit was released by Horizon in 1994, and I finally built it in 2008.

This is a fairly straight-forward kit to build and paint. The two highlights are that I used layers of Createx Transparent Airbrush paint for the glowing eyes, which gives them a gloss and very deep color. Also, I used Rub-n-buff Gold over the yellow strap buckles and rivets, so as to give them a brass look.

Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl

Dark Phoenix (of X-Men comics)

This is one of Horizon's 1991 releases, that I built in 2003.

Dark Phoenix is a reincarnation of Jean Grey after she died (in one of the X-Men storylines).

The assembly of this kit is fairly straight-forward, since no positioning of the feet to have her stand is necessary, and no need to weight her down with Plaster of Paris. The one aspect of the comics I did not implement with my version is that I put in pupils for her eyes. In the comics, when she is about to unleash her wrath, her green eyes "go blank". I thought if I did that, those unfamiliar with the comics would think I was too lazy to paint in the eyes, or she would look "unfinished".

I first painted her gloves and boots yellow, and then put on a very very thin wash of flat red over it, to give those parts a yellowish-orangish look to them.

Finally, the ribbon that came with the kit was around 1" wide, which I could not make look right, until I folded it twice so it was about 1/4" wide. I then wrapped this around her waist, and tacked it in place with a couple of dabs of silicone caulk. Probably it would have looked even better if I could find the right piece of "stretchy(?)" yellow-gold fabric.

Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl

Phoenix (of X-Men comics)

Since I was never "quite happy" with the Dark Phoenix that I first built in 2003, in late 2008, I converted it to Phoenix.

Phoenix is a reincarnation of Jean Grey after she died (in one of the X-Men storylines), but before she went "mad" and turned into Dark Phoenix (see above model). I didn't like the flat red body color, and the reddish yellow boot and gloves, that I painted the Dark Phoenix with. So I essentially repainted all of those areas by air-brushing them with Createx Opaque Yellow. Then I painted the body a nice green, mixing in a few drops of Createx Transparent Light Green to give the acrylic paint a bit of "sheen".

I also repainted the hair to give it a more "reddish" look.

Rather than reuse the sash, I made a new one from a thin strip of yellow sheet, that I soaked in the Createx Opaque Yellow paint. After wrapping it around the waist, I "pinned" it in place by creating the Phoenix symbol from white cardboard, colored with Gold Rub-n-Buff.

Iceman (of X-Men comics)

This kit was made using an Horizon Silver Surfer kit (see above). I made this in 2009.

I wanted to add an Iceman to go along with the other three X-Men models I had at the time. Horizon never made one, so when I realized that Iceman is very similar to the Silver Surfer (SS). Both are essentially naked guys, so I decided to modify the SS into an Iceman. The modifications were:

• SS has no ears, so I had to use clay and Squadron putty to mold a pair of ears from the Batman Forever Robin model kit
• SS's forehead is very rounded, so I used Squadron putty to build up "hair" all around his head, and blending into the front of the ears. This also alleviated the fact that the SS's head looks proportionally smaller than the body ?
• I made a raised belt and raised buckle for the belt by using two very small but thick rubber bands, placed 1/4" apart at his waistline. I filled this space with Squadron putty and when dry, sanded down to the rubber bands. I used another layer of rubber bands to form the raised buckle.
• Obviously rather than silver paint, Iceman was almost entirely air-brushed; first with bluish-gray, esp. in the creases; and then many light coats of opaque white for the high areas, carefully blending them together so the bluish-gray just shows through.

Horizon 1/6 scale Vinyl

Cable (of X-Men comics)

Of all of the kits I built, I think this one has the most dynamic pose. In fact, the pose is so dynamic, that he would not stand on his own, and I had to concede and glue him to a base. The base is painted with Wal-Mart's 'Just like Chrome" spray paint.

A nice feature of this kit is that the computer console around his head does not have to be glued to the body. I made it so the microphone portion of the console can be swiveled up, and the console can then be removed, and the model displayed without it. This is for those who prefer to see Cable without the console.

Unknown 1/6 scale Resin

Rogue(of X-Men comics)

I wanted to add Rogue to go along with the other four X-Men models I had at the time. Horizon never made one, so in 2011, I decided to make my own. I used a 1/6 scale resin "nude stripper" kit that I found on eBay. For detailed info on how I made this model of Rogue, and more photos of it, click on the link below:
Rogue Conversion

In the 19 or so years since I have been building these types of models, this is the one I may be the proudest of since I pretty much made everything myself !!

Horizon 1/6 scale Resin;
3D Creations 1/6(?) scale cardboard

Ghost Rider (on Motorcycle)

I have had this kit for years, but I was never really that interested in building it because:
1) the pose seemed kind of "hokey" to me, and
2) what makes GR interesting is him riding his motorcycle !!

Back in the 90's, Tamiya made a series of 1/6 scale motorcycle kits, but at the time I didn't want to invest "that kind of money" in their Harley kit, and then find out it wouldn't fit the model. When I decided to build this kit in 2014, I looked on eBay for the Tamiya motorcycle kits, and they were now 2-3 times as expensive as back in the 90's !! I think it's because they were now considered vintage kits. What I found was a kit for a Harley, made by 3D Creations, that was made of heavy-stock paper that was relatively inexpensive, so I got it to put the GR on.

Per the photo of the box for the GR kit, you can see that his assembled-as-is pose did not lend itself to sitting on a bike, so I had to modify both the GR kit, and the motorcycle kit to make this work. For detailed info on how I made the conversions and more photos, click on the link below:
Ghost Rider Modifications