1979 remake of Nosferatu by Werner Hertzog, starring the amazing Klaus Kinski and Isabelle Adjani.
The film has that European flavour and style, a slow, atmospheric, dark, gothic and haunting production.
Kinski’s makeup is very effective, following in the footsteps of the original 1922 Nosferatu with the
timeless image set by Max Shreck was a tough act to follow, but he imparts his own interpretation
with his panache and flair! The bold head, pointy ears, sunken eyes, clawed hands and rat-like teeth are
taken to the next level of Uber-goth horror!
His vampire is portrayed as slow, depressed and tired of not being able ot die, but still very dangerous
and unpredictable! Once he arrives in Lucy’s town, a sea of rats follow him in his wake, a symbol of the
plague and evil he spreads.
The kit was originally produced around 20 years ago now by Staffan for his company, Swede Creations.
I first became aware of it through the vampire issue of AFM. This issue has a brilliant build article of the
kit article by David Fisher, along with Staffan’s sculpting diary of how he went about creating it.
Recommended reading if you can get a copy!
In my usual style I managed to miss the first and 2nd releases - I had to do some determined chasing
to get this one, finally obtaining the Nocturna re - release with the new base.The original was a simple, flat base with
floor boards, but for the re release Staffan created enhanced this with a churning pillar of rats to support it!
I think this enhances the presentation nicely, as well as giving it some extra hight Peter (RCreations) helped me out here,
many thanks again.
When I finally unpacked the parts, I was amazed at how small the piece was. The images in the magazine give the
impression of a larger size, but at a petite 1/8th scale, it still packs a punch with fine and delicate details.
The kit captures a pivotal scene in the film, where Nosferatu slips into Lucy’s bedroom, invisible in her mirror
as he casts no reflection. All she can see is the door open and his creeping shadows on the wall. Appearing by her side,
she remains cool and gives him a piece of her mind, telling him that Johnathan ‘is ruined’ since being in his company.
A flash of the crucifix round her neck and he retreats.
Staffan not only captured superb likenesses of both characters, their body language and composition is also stylish,
balanced and compelling. A 3D still from an iconic film, produced by someone passionate about the subject,
this really underlines for me the unique quality of what makes a garage kit what it is!
So, onto the build so far. Once all parts were prepped and primed, I got some basic skin tones down
on both characters with the airbrush. Here are the parts...
First colours going down. They both have very pale complexions in the film, so I followed suit with the tones here.
I decided to focus on Adjani first, developing the skin tones further with oils.
The slow drying time allows for subtle blends in the smaller scale.
I also gave her nightdress a wash of grey purple to define all the folds and details.
This looks a bit overkill initially, but gets softened with the other colours that are dry brushed
over the top later. I always find this stage a bit of a mess, it's a bit of trial and error but I know what I'm after!
Hair was blocked in with a very dark brown, followed with washes of black and subtle dry brushing with lighter tones.
When the oils were dry I added the details to her face. This was delicate work, it took me 3 goes to get that
shocked stare in her eyes I wanted!
Her gothic make-up was finished up with oils and pastels. Her legs and arms are still drying, I think there will be a
bit of fine tuning to the painting overall when I finish assembly, but happy so far. I still need to gloss her eyes and lips,
but won't do this until everything fixed with dullcote.
Klaus is now underway, this is the first undercoat with the oils. I will let this dry a few days, then go back in to develop
the shadows and highlights. It’s challenging work as the faces are so small, even with my magnifier x 4 and glasses,
my eyes ain’t what they used to be!
Really enjoying the build so far. Plenty to be getting on with while the oils dry out, that pillar of rats is next I think.
Hopefully back soon, work and family permitting
