Moebius CFTBL

[Modelmaker]

Great kit nice start so far, Question : how difficult would it be to raise the creatures arms more like the photo from the movie ? would using boiling hot water help bend the arms at the elbows ? thanks. Karl

In a word, no. You would have to cut the arms at the elbows, reposition them, fill the gaps with putty, and re-sculpt the missing surface detail. Styrene can be manipulated a little by applying heat, but not that much.

Thank you zombie_61 I wasn't sure how to do that. Karl

[captainmarvel1957]

Well, I think that's a bit much. Don't you? And this was the Moebius reply from their Facebook page ---

"I really don't have an answer for them, but I wouldn't think that's the place most people admire a kit from. I hadn't looked, but there's always tooling limitations in certain areas that it just doesn't pay to spend extra tooling money on. If it was the head, I would worry, but his rear?"

I guess my question would be why the tooling on the back would be any different than the tooling on the front of the kit? Seriously, you're dealing with similar issues on the front of the kit, aren't you? The same kinds of undercuts and backdraft? And what does Moebius mean when they say that they had't looked? Does that mean that they didn't inspect the prototype before the run was produced? It's a great looking kit from the front, it's just perplexing why there wasn't the same type of attention paid to the detail on the back.

[Dave Metzner]

I have a really simple answer regarding the creatures butt. I have a number of photos of the original sculpt from which the kit was made as well as a set of resin castings made from that sculpt. The model is a faithful copy of the original sculpt. The zippers on the calves are there because, according to the sculptor's research that's where the zippers were on the original Creature suit. I believe that the sculptor intended to portray the Creature as it really was - a rubber suit, with a man in it - not as some sort of mythological being..
there are no tooling issues involved with the smooth deriere - simply a case of the factory reproducing the original sculpt, as sent to them, faithfully.
I've got quite a few photos of the creature and not one shows the offending part of the suit... So if it's wrong I guess you can call it an oversite -

Dave

[GEOFF MARTIN]

..Still a beautiful kit though..!!

[Dave Metzner]

I kinda like it myself, maybe I'll actually get around to building and painting one myself some day...All I have right now is a plain gray test shot build-up..

Dave

[KreatureKid]

Hey guys, thought I would chime in here. No this is not a tooling flaw but how the original suit is. I have access one of the largest collections of never before seen photos from the movie, and I would not forget to sculpt an area. Its hard to tell in this photo but here is a shot of the back side. Besides those 4 oval shapes, the back is smooth. Im glad most of you like the model. I put a lot of time and love into this piece.



also here are some shots of the original sculpt with the multiple arms. Hence why his arms look slightly off holding her. Had to make it work for both arms.

[Zombie_61]

Well, there you have it, straight from the artist who sculpted the master for this kit; can't get any better than that. BTW Adam, thanks for taking the time to respond!

[captainmarvel1957]

This is what I posted over on Hobby Talk ---

Thanks for the explanation, Adam. It is a great looking kit and I've already said that I would be adding it to my next Megahobby order. But there does seem to be some detail missing between the Y section of the fin where it splits off and runs down the top of the leg. So some --- gulp --- sculpting work will be required if only to differentiate where he black undersuit stops and the green scales begin. Do you have any other photos that you can share with us so we can see these details?

Thanks again!

[GEOFF MARTIN]

..Oh yeah...how cool is that...LOVE the way the skeletal hand is fixed to the rock base... I'm afraid I'll be nicking that idea!!!!

[Modelmaker]

The Bilkin creature has all the detail on the back side could that be copied ? Kar

[Dave Metzner]

Yes it does, so does the old Aurora kit and, apparently, they're both wrong!
Go back and read Adam's explanation. He's had access to good photos of the actual suit and his sculpt reflects those photos. You can add whatever detail you'd like to your version of the kit. Just, understand why the kit has been produced as it is now and that in the opinion of the sculptor it correctly represents the original rubber suit used to make the movie.

Dave

[Stewart Jackson]

Adam, I'm in the love the kit category. Couldn't wait for it to come out as I knew you'd send the ball out of the park! Just a beauty brother!

Stewart

[Modelmaker]

As far as I'm concerned the sculpt is just great as it is, is this a great time to be a modeler or what, better times are ahead. Karl

[dj53]

Cool kit ...Cool Sculpt
Cool Job Adam
Denis

[Lonnie James]

As far as I'm concerned Moebius and Adam have given all of us one of the coolest Creature kits ever!
Even just for the fact Adam was the first sculptor ever to sculpt in visible zippers on the suit. There's been a whole lot of very cool Creature kits released all the way back to the Bill Lemon sculpted Aurora Creature. But none of them ever had the this level of suit accuracy.And for Moebius to release this in styrene is amazing. With the price of resin kits creeping higher( 180.00-200.00 is the norm now), A 40.00 styrene kit this cool is a no brainer.
Moebius is on one helluva roll right now and it doesen't seem to be stopping.

Lonnie James

[monsterjones]

Thanks Adam for posting the photo...at first look...I wondered why
no back leg fin, and then upon closer inspection...and 2x reading glasses,
I could see the zipper! Thanks for the explanation and SUPER cool detailed photo,
which shows some uber detail that I have never seen...glad you have access
to the photos...and hope someday we will all have access to those photos!

Looking at your original sculpt...wish they chose the alternate arms too....love those!
.I love the pebble detail you did, but looks
that detail did not full translate to the styrene version kit.....is it just the nature
of styrene production (and vinyl for that matter) ? Could be me..... ?

Adam...I am proud to say I own most or all your Creature sculpts...and
I can say this one is FINominal! *[splash]*(sound of Creature diving back into
lagoon). Keep dem Creatures coming...... .maybe something like Creature vs Kong Island Eel
or something very toothy and mean!....(Creature vs Nazis would be cool...maybe I'll diorama that one)

[Zombie_61]

...Looking at your original sculpt...wish they chose the alternate arms too....love those!

After looking at the photos Adam posted and thinking it over, I've decided I like the alternate "raised arms" version better. Hopefully Moebius will reconsider their decision and produce a second kit with the alternate arms (and the Creature figure alone) if this one sells well enough.

[GEOFF MARTIN]

..Hey Gang,
Bit behind the gun with this one...started with a 1st pass of the primer...waiting for it to dry then in with the wet sanding....looks like a resin kit!!!!

[GEOFF MARTIN]

..wet sanded...

[Zombie_61]

...looks like a resin kit!!!!

Looks like he's flippin' us the bird.