Iconic Scenes, Volume 2
1/8th scale, resin / sculpted by Jeff Yagher / Produced by Shadow Creations
Yikes! I had heard about this kit, but had never actually seen one for sale. Then one popped up on the Clubhouse!
I am SO glad I nabbed it - this is a beauty of a kit.
Definitely the best Mummy scene ever filmed, even though you don't actually see Karloff this clearly in the film.
The scene is instead taken from a publicity photo that was used as a lobby card.
My wife Tara, bless her soul, was excited about this kit because it came with so much "stuff".
She wants me to buy more like it. Wow, did I marry the right woman!
This is the only kit I'll ever see of Bramwell Fletcher, who plays the archaeologist Edward Norton in this sequence from the opening of the film.
It looks enough like him to satisfy me, but not quite. Still, it's good to have him represented in the Museum.
He was also in "Svengali" (1932) and "The Undying Monster" (1942).
The "casket" which contained the Scroll of Thoth was actually translucent in the film -
you can see Fletcher's arms through the sides when he reaches in to take out the scroll.
It also had little stars on the side, so I found some tiny gold star stickers for fingernail art on Etsy. They worked great!
The scroll itself was originally from XO-Facto's "Ardeth Bey" kit (see below).
When I bought that kit, I scanned the scroll and saved it on my computer.
I scaled it down for this kit and had it printed on 32 lb paper at the local office superstore.
Here's the 4X6 artwork. It includes tiny labels for the shelves - the text is only 3 point!
(I printed the scroll in three slightly different sizes in order to have some flexibility
when the time came to glue it to the blank resin scroll.)
I had to show you the base by itself. It's beautiful!
I am SO proud of how it came out.
The table legs didn't really fit in the supplied holes in the base (neither did the chair), so I filled them in and then positioned both so that the figures, when added, would line up correctly.
Top shelf. I dreaded painting these, but once I started, I couldn't stop.
The objects are all held in place with Museum Wax, which I highly recommend.
The jars won't fall off even if you shake the bookshelf violently,
but you can still easily twist them off and re-position them if needed.
The black marble ball was fun to paint. I tried painting a white line on it, but it only looked like a painted line.
I tried to wipe it off with my thumb, and viola! - it looked like marble!
The bottom shelf.
I love the way the chair came out - it looks real!
I had to add the flue to the top of the lamp. It didn't come with one for some reason.
1/4th scale / sculpted by Jeff Yagher / Produced by Kit Kong
Yeow!
I re-sculpted the eyeballs. They were directed up to the heavens, which seemed weird because he's reading the scroll in front of him.
It was really hard to get them to look right for some reason - then I realized you never really see Karloff's eyes wide open during the fleeting seconds he actually appears as a Mummy in the movie.
The oil lamp is painted bronze, then I filled it with acrylic gloss coat. It took about a day to dry clear.
"The Scroll of Thoth, with which Isis raised Osiris from the dead......"
I actually used the scroll from XO-Facto's "Ardeth Bey" model (see below).
When I bought "Ardeth Bey", I immediately scanned the scroll because I'm the type
who would ruin it trying to cut it up, and I'd like to be able to reprint it if needed.
So I printed out the picture and it worked perfectly for this kit!
Janus Deluxe Mummy
1/6 scale / sculpted by Jeff Yagher / Janus Co.
The base looks great, but unfortunately you can't see much of it when the model is assembled.
The back of the base looks beautiful!
This is what the sarcophagus looked like before I dirtied it up (it needs to look like it's been buried for 3700 years).
Painting this took forever.....
This model actually came from the sculptor's collection; he autographed it for me before shipping it.
Jeff Yagher has sculpted many of the models you see on my site. I picked this up from him (unknown) on eBay.
Imagine how I felt when I discovered the identity of the seller!
It's kind of like finding a mint mono LP of Sgt. Pepper's for a great price,
and then finding out it's Paul McCartney's personal copy, and he autographed it!
Here's a shot of the very similar Moebius Model next to the Janus version, just so you can appreciate the size difference.
Ardeth Bey
1/6 scale, resin / sculpted by Jeff Yagher / XOFacto
Love those eyes! This guy creeps me out, especially when he makes his entrance at the door of Sir Joseph Wimple
and those eyes just GLOW. I put two little dots of white on them to match the effect.
I love this base. It doesn't look like much when you open up the box, but once you start painting it, it pops out at you.
I wasn't even aware there was a scroll involved until I took out all of the styrofoam peanuts!
"The Scroll of Thoth, which Isis used to raise Orisis from the dead!"
I don't know where XOFacto got it, but this is an exact copy of the one used in the black and white film.
1/8th scale, vinyl, Geometric
Sculpted by William Paquet
with Geometric's resin base
Is there anything scarier than a Mummy in the moonlight?
I finally broke down and bought the Geometric base, and it's a beauty!
I don't know why I waited so long.
I love this guy! He looks like he'll fall apart if you touch him!
I used to have this great wall diorama I built.
Unfortunately, that's when the kids began running around the house,
and I hadn't yet realized I needed to secure my models or they'd get broken.
1/8th scale, styrene, Moebius
Nameplate by The Headless Hearseman
This thing is a monster, and a worthy substitute for the long out-of-print Janus 1/6 scale deluxe resin sculpt.
I spray-painted the sarcophagus with gold enamel. It was really beautiful.
Then I painted it meticulously with transparent blues, reds, and greens.
Trouble was, the whole model looked too "new", not ancient.
After re-watching "The Mummy" (1932), I realized that this should all be dirty and dark.
So I did a black wash over the entire model and rubbed it off. Perfect! (Big leap of faith, though.)
Even the back of this thing is gorgeous!
I did the snake in browns insteads of greens and glossed it to make it look slimy.
And what a beautiful nameplate!
Im-Ho-Tep (Ardeth Bey)
1/6 scale, resin, Resin From The Grave
I've always loved Karloff in this role. This model's casting was too rough, though, so I sold it.
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