Post an Image of a Favourite Monster or Sci-Fi Collectible!

[Hepcat]

Why don't they ever mold models in the color they are supposed to be, so that you only have to paint details?

I wonder what a black Seaview would look like?

I fully agree. I've never understood that either.



Moreover Aurora in particular far too often used black plastic, when black is a particularly difficult colour within which to see details and thus paint!

[Mike Scott]

when black is a particularly difficult colour within which to see details

Plus, you can't see it in the dark. 

[Hepcat]

Here are shots of a few more of my Aurora model kits molded in black plastic:













Aurora also molded Black Beauty and the Confederate Raider kits in black plastic. I also seem to recall that the Canadian issues of Frankenstein and Frankenstein's Flivver were molded in black plastic.

I'm wondering whether any of the expert painters we have here on UMA might want to weigh in on the subject of whether black styrene plastic is more difficult to paint than are lighter colours.

[Mike Scott]

I'm wondering whether any of the expert painters we have here on UMA might want to weigh in on the subject of whether black styrene plastic is more difficult to paint than are lighter colours.

Well, in general,  it's more difficult to paint light colors over dark, than dark colors over light. You might need 2 coats of primer over the former.

[StyreneDude]

I've never really cared one way or the other because I basecoat all of my kits with white, black, or gray primer, depending on what color I'm applying over it.

My Aurora Phantom for example, was molded in black, but the entire body was painted flat black anyway. The head and hands were primed with light gray to paint the flesh colors over it.

[Jim Bertges]

It's pretty much like Dwayne said, if you're an experienced builder the basic color of the plastic isn't an issue because you'll be doing other work on a kit as you go along; filling seams or other modifications and that all requires a coat of primer afterward. It is true that the color of the primer or for that matter the color of the plastic can affect the paint job. Darker under colors will darken the final paint and lighter ones will help brighten light colors. There was a mention of selective priming of certain parts of a kit with lighter or darker colored primers which makes a lot of sense because areas that will be lighter in color in the final rendering will benefit from a lighter undercoat.

Red plastic has been notorious through the years for bleeding through paint for some reason. Primers can help that as well.

As to the question of the manufacturer's choice of plastic colors for a particular kit, I think it was mainly an economic decision. They probably just used what ever color of plastic they had on hand at the time to mold any particular kit they were molding. Gray and black seem to be the most prevalent choices for Aurora kits, but there were instances where other choices were made, not necessarily to match the kit's subject matter, but for expediency's sake. Godzilla comes to mind.

[StyreneDude]

^Yep. 

It does get confusing with Aurora...you might assume they were trying to get the plastic as close to the color of the character as possible with the metallic green Creature, dark grey Wolfman, black Dracula, etc, but then they go and make a bright fuschia Godzilla, so who the hell knows.

[Hepcat]

Here are scans of some of my Dinosaur cards from a set that was issued with York Peanut Butter in 1962:

















Here are a few closeup scans:









Here's a picture of the album for the cards that I lifted off the net:

[Hepcat]

Here are a couple great pictures Street Worm took of his MPC Weird Monsters:



Vampire - Creature of Doom - Wolfman - Witch



Monster - Mummy - Skeleton - Executioner

[Hepcat]

Remco released a Helmet as part of its fabled Hamilton's Invaders toy line in 1964:





The Helmet was also offered packaged together with a Grenade Pistol:



And the mold was then repurposed and the Helmet was rereleased by Remco as a Star Trek Astro-Helmet in 1967:

[Hepcat]

Here are scans of my Outer Limits comics:

2



3



5



6

[Hepcat]

Here are some fabulous shots of Marx Universal Monster figures in which the detail of these figures really pops out!

[Mike Scott]

Great photography!

[creaturefan95]

[marsattacks666]

Here are some fabulous shots of Marx Universal Monster figures in which the detail of these figures really pops out!

Beautiful colors.