# Spock, possibly the greatest mind, and model kit, in the universe



## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

KenNetzel's post about the reissue of the AMT Mr Spock is such great news, I'm already planning a colour scheme for the kit, probably something similar to the colours suggested in the old ads for the kit in Famous Monsters of Filmland and Eerie and Creepy magazines.

I'll never be as good a kit-photographer as Buzzconroy and others, but for anyone who's not seen or heard of the Spock kit, here are some snaps. 
It's one of the few Aurora kits, along with Tarzan, Wonder Woman and Spiderman, to have a second figure as well as the main character.


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

Excellent work CMM!!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: The details really come to life with a decent paint job! The snakes pattern looks great and the figure really looks like Spock. I've definitely gotta get me one of these...

Chris.


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

Yep. Definitely one of Aurora's best likenesses. With a good paint job it really does look like Nimoy. Nice job, Cro-man!


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Absolutely beautiful CMM! This is easily one of the most well known styrene figure kit among us older modelers, one of Aurora's/AMT's best, and certainly one of the most beloved.

I've told this story here before, but I was _so_ pleased with the outcome that I have to tell it again.  A couple of years ago I placed a bid on, and won, the revised Motion Picture version of this kit for about $20 (including shipping). What I received was the original version with the three-headed snake creature (AMT, not Aurora); it was complete, with the instructions, but the box was a little beat up. When I contacted the seller to advise them of their error, I let them know I would be interested in purchasing this kit as well if it wasn't already spoken for. They thanked me for my honesty and said I could have it for $30 (no shipping) since it was their mistake and it was already in my possession, so I ended up with both versions of the kit for $50. Maybe not the best deal in model building history, but good enough for me. :woohoo:

Since the original molds were altered when they re-issued the Motion Picture version of the kit, I'm wondering how close the upcoming re-issue will be to the original. I'm tempted to buy one just to compare the two.


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Thanks for the compliments Chris, Zorro and Zombie_61. 
I too was wondering if the original mold had been altered for ever for the Motion Picture kit, and this forthcoming new kit would have to be reverse-engineered from scratch.
But hopefully AMT always had more than one mold for such a high-selling kit, and they may have acquired the Aurora mold from the UK as well in the 1970's. So hopefully the new kit will be from an original mold.


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

Does anyone know if the molds had seperate cavities? If so, maybe they cut new ones for the TMP parts and still had the original ones in stock. To be honest though, being an Aurora mold, it was probably a one piece copper beryllium mold. Maybe they've done the P/L-Moebius trick of cutting a new mold from an old kit, though that's not cheap!
I'd imagine that for it to be an exact copy with the original Aurora style textures it would have to be done in copper beryllium from the original pattern. Cut steel molds tend to be too neat.
It's a puzzle....

Chris.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

Funnily enough.....I was going to ask the same question about the moulds myself. If there's only one mould and it has been altered I wonder how close the new one will resemble the old kit and will there be any differences? 

Nice work btw Cro Mag!


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Impressive! I really like the look of the snake heads.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Fantastic model!
Eye-crossing backdrop! :freak:


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Auroranut said:


> Does anyone know if the molds had seperate cavities?...Maybe they've done the P/L-Moebius trick of cutting a new mold from an old kit, though that's not cheap!


Ah...um..._all _molds have separate cavities, A-nut. But you're right on about the technological advances that have made it possible to base new molds on a surviving kit. And as AMT is now owned by Tom Lowe, the chances of our getting a TOS version of Spock seem to me to be pretty good. But I could be happy with the movie version Spock as well.


John P said:


> ...Eye-crossing backdrop!


C-MM, since that payne, John, brought it up, I'd like to offer a couple photography suggestions. I'm doing it here, not to pick on you, but to offer these ideas to others who'll be sure to visit your thread:

1 - As J.P. implied, if you keep your backdrop as as plain as possible, you will immediately make your subject look better. While that light blue photographic background paper is the material of choice, it is also the most expensive. But I have gotten away with grey, light blue, and black-coloured felt for years. Recently I turned to the brown craft paper that painters use to mask floors. It's about a metre wide and comes on a thick roll, maybe 30m long. In the States this paper roll runs around $10.00, so it's very cost effective.

I use spring clips to support my background vertically, to hold the paper to the tools that hang above my work bench. The paper lays on the bench in a gentle arc, and the bottom is fastened with thumb tacks. This provides a nice, smooth backdrop for the model, with no obvious "horizon" between the vertical and horizontal planes.

2 - To light my models I get by with fluorescent overhead shop lights. I clamped some tracing paper over the lights with clothespins, which dissfuses the light and prevents hot spots of light on the model. Occasionally, a 40-watt incandescent bulb in a cheap "scoop" fixture fills in shadows. But most of the time I use a piece of white poster board, or for smaller subjects a sheet of paper, as a bounce card that reflects some of the overhead light into the shadows.

3 - Among the many advantages of digital photography is the ability to edit your photos quickly and easily. You can crop the excess background from the sides of your subject, which places greater emphasis on your subject while making the file size size smaller - a bonus when it comes time to upload your photos.

Most photoediting programs I've used have an "Auto Correction" feature that is supposed to balance light, contrast, color, etc. automatically. Sometimes that works, sometimes the automatic settings make the picture look worse. But you can usually change these values manually with your photo editing software.

Now you know what I know, and I learned that just by noodling around with the various editing functions until I got what I wanted. I like to keep my photos simple, but you'll see the miracles (and also abominations) that folks who REALLY know what they're doing can accomplish with advanced programs like PhotoShop. The point is, you can dramatically improve the quality of your images, and thus our ability to appreciate your models, with very little effort.

Thanks for sharing the shots of your Spock - he looks great, and now I want one!

Mark McG.


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Love the Spock model! Nicely done! 

I wonder why Aurora never did models of the rest of the crew. It would be Kool to see a Kirk, Scott, Uhura, McCoy, Checkov, Sulu and Rand done with these simular bases, etc. (Hint, Hint!)


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

> While that light blue photographic background paper is the material of choice, it is also the most expensive.


Go to an art store and get a roll of colored craft paper. Cheap and easy. I have five different colors, although I tend to use the medium blue most.


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## BrianM (Dec 3, 1998)

Awesome job! It is indeed a great sculpt/kit. I can't wait for this reissue and will certainly buy a bunch of them. I still have my original "Spock '75" and the movie version (which I painted up in a "Wrath of Khan" era uniform).

I'm hoping some "enterprising" person will create and sell after market parts such as a Kirk head; detailed phaser, communicator, tricorder; different tunics from "Cage" era or "Mirror" universe; different creature...lot's of possibilities!

Now, is it logical for Spock to shoot the creature? How do you mind meld with a 3 headed serpent?


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## Marko (Jul 11, 2002)

Love that kit too! Those snakes are awesome, Cro-Man. Mark M. thanks for the photo tips, most welcome. I was never a Trek fan, but recently have been watching the old series on TV Land. Now, I am hooked. Looking forward to the new movie and kits.


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## Just Plain Al (Sep 7, 1999)

I still have my Spock, only missing the tricorder. I went with the animated look of bright primary colors back in the day. I've thought about re-doing it but I like it the way it is.


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## rangab (Oct 25, 2006)

The model of Spock and the three headed snake was it based on a actual scene from the Star Trek television show.


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

rangab said:


> The model of Spock and the three headed snake was it based on a actual scene from the Star Trek television show.


Assuming that's a question, the answer is "no."  But it's still kinda cool...


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

John P said:


> Eye-crossing backdrop! :freak:


Fully intentional, John, fully intentional! It's representation of Mr Spock's wallpaper and other decor when he's at home. 

Thanks for the compliments and encouragement guys, and yes, why did AMT/Aurora only do a Spock kit and none of the other figures?


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

> The model of Spock and the three headed snake was it based on a actual scene from the Star Trek television show.


Might have been from the Star Trek Animated series. I'll have to look for it and let you know as I own that DVD set.


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## DinoMike (Jan 1, 1970)

MadCap Romanian said:


> Might have been from the Star Trek Animated series. I'll have to look for it and let you know as I own that DVD set.


 Me too, and nope... the Spock kit predates the animated series by a few years.


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## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

I guess the Lone bandit didn't have the gump'shun to tangle w/ a phaser? Or a three-headed monster snake! LOL


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

first off thats the best buildup of that kit ive ever seen

as to why no other figures, im sure it was a situation of "if this one sells really well, we'll do more". and it didnt live up to their hopes for it.


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

razorwyre1 said:


> as to why no other figures, im sure it was a situation of "if this one sells really well, we'll do more". and it didnt live up to their hopes for it.


If it didn't live up to their hopes for it, it was surely because it was only sold in the UK, if I understand the history books correctly, a pretty small market.

Apparently only AMT had the rights to sell Spock in the US, and judging by the large number of AMT Spock kits on ebay all year, every year, AMT sold a lot more Spock's than Aurora. But it was Aurora who scupted the kit, and with their lower, UK-only, sales they probably didn't feel the need to create another Star Trek character kit.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Outside of the monsters, figure kits were always iffy sellers. They required more patience to build, and a TON of painting. At least with say, a battleship, they could mold it in grey, and a kid could build it and paint only a few details, and it still looked like a battleship. I imagine one ST figure was enough.


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## KINGZILLA (Aug 27, 2005)

I've bult a ton of kits in the last 30 years.One thing I like about figures as opposed to space ships or smooth surfance models is that there is more room for screw ups as far as painting goes.. What I mean is that dust particles and such can appear on newly painted smooth surfaces,and they stand out. I've had three Jupiter twos in my life and from the Lunar models one from the late 80s to the second PL one I just did,they've had to have been repainted several times because it all had to look perfect or it would stand out,the final results on all three were great though. LOL the recend one looked great but I accidently scraped one of the sides with a fingernail. It really stands out,and you can't touch it up because it does'nt match the rest,has to all be done at once(sanded and painted)anyone run into these situations?. The figures outside of seams and eyes are reletively simple,and I think for fun..Say a cast of Dr Jeckle ,a spot on paint would accidently go on his jacked,can pass as a chemicle stain.


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## Mitchellmania (Feb 14, 2002)

Great work on this awesome kit! I can't wait to get one again!


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

KINGZILLA said:


> ...One thing I like about figures as opposed to space ships or smooth surfance models is that there is more room for screw ups as far as painting goes...


Amen to that, KINGZ! I'll take a Mummy over a Corvette any time if only for that reason (not to mention that it's hard to apply the mold and dust of centuries over 'Vettes and have them look good...).

Mark McG.


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## VADER66 (Nov 16, 2001)

One of my all time favorites! Love this kit, you made it fantastic!


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

If only they would re release it in 1/8th scale.They might as well,since I guess,reverse engineering must probably be used anyway because the original Spock was transformed in the movie version of Spock.


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Mark McGeeeeeeeee said:


> I'll take a Mummy over a Corvette any time if only for that reason (not to mention that it's hard to apply the mold and dust of centuries over 'Vettes and have them look good...).


But what about dust on "The Mummy's Chariot"?


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

MadCap Romanian said:


> But what about dust on "The Mummy's Chariot"?


Granted, MCR - but the Mummy's Chariot wouldn't have to have that perfect, glass smooth, mirror finish.

Mark McGee, how I hate all that polishing!


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

xsavoie said:


> If only they would re release it in 1/8th scale.They might as well,since I guess,reverse engineering must probably be used anyway because the original Spock was transformed in the movie version of Spock.


It's quite a large kit already, xsavoie, so 1/12 looks about right, surprisingly. It's not a small kit like Neanderthal Man or the Monsters of the Movies kits. It's a bit taller and longer than the Land of the Giants Rattlesnake, for example, certainly longer than the 1/8 Dracula, and bigger all round than Forgotten Prisoner, Hunchback, The Witch, and others. 
It's the base that does it, longer than it looks in pictures and elevating the figures very nicely


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Thanks for the compliments, Mitchellmania and Vader66, I'm glad you like it. 

I had waited about 13 years to obtain a suitable Spock kit, and then it was a catalogue of disasters to build: none of the paint schemes looked right first time round, looking simply not bright enough and more like planet Earth rather than an alien planet; even Spock's shirt turned out to be difficult to simulate as it looks different in every still photo I consulted; sub-assemblies such as the eleven pieces in the snake fell apart when paint thinner got into the seams, which split the paint work on the surfaces; the shoulder strap on the tricorder snapped in two places; and also we moved house during all this.


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Ooooh! Sounds like the build from Hell! 

I never knew that Spock's shirt could be so difficult to colour match. Too bad you didn't have the actual Technicolor colour chart to compair it with.

Excellent build, by the way!

Actually, the pose by Aurora is illogical as Spock wouldn't shoot a phaser unless he had no other alternative. However, I think a model of him mind-melding with the snake would be silly!


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## buzzconroy (Jun 28, 2002)

Teriffic painting and building skills, btw Bill Lemon did the sculpt.

Randy


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

Very nice! The best one I have ever seen!


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## Hooty (Mar 4, 2000)

Love it!! I want one!:thumbsup:


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Thank you very much for looking and your comments, buzzconroy, Steven Coffey and Hooty. Live long and prosper, and may you 'matt varnish' never turn gloss.


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