# Aurora Tarzan restored



## Gillmen (Oct 16, 2004)

In continuation with the Aurora restoration project, I give you Tarzan of the apes. Always a challenge and always a joy! I'm debating whether to add whiskers to the lion!:freak:


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

Awesome! Very nice build!


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Fantastic! Beautiful paint job! Excellent details!


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## wolfman66 (Feb 18, 2006)

Fantastic Job on Restoring Tarzan Gillmen:thumbsup:


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

WOW!! Awesome Gillmen! I love your shading!! The fleshtones are fantastic!! The lion's very realistic too.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Chris.


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Freaking incredible:thumbsup: Yeah go for the whiskers! You could probably do them out of old paint brush bristles!
Mcdee


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Awesome! MUCH better paint job than my recent feeble attempt.


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## Cappy D (Jun 19, 2004)

This is probably the best paint of this kit I've seen. Very inspirational!

Cappy D


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

Bravo! 

The Aurora sculpt was obviously based on Tarzan actor Mike Henry. 










The kit was released at the same time as the TV series with Ron Ely, and the box art looks like Ely, so why does the sculpt look like Mike Henry?*










*From the IMDb:

Mike Henry, who had just filmed several big-screen adventures as Tarzan, was intended to have also played the lead in the TV series, but backed out. Ron Ely, who took his place, was originally to have played a Tarzan imposter in a proposed episode of the TV series." 


The resemblance to Henry had never really jumped out at me until seeing Gillmen's masterful paint job. Again, Bravo!


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## Geoff Boaz (Jan 1, 1970)

Just fantastic! As mentioned by Chris the flesh tones are a beauty. Lion too is sweet. Your whole restore has inspired me to do mine soon. Super, super spectacular!

Could you spend a few minutes and talk about how you did the flesh tones? Type of paint, brush, air-brush, etc.? I would love to hear about it.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Regards,

Geoff


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## Gillmen (Oct 16, 2004)

*Aurora tarzan restored:*

Thankyou all for the kind comments! Took a break from the monster series and took the plundge on the legend known as Tarzan. To answer your question Geoff, for the skin tones on this particular kit I started with Vallejo brown rose mixed with Deco art wild rose pink, a drop of FW antelope brown, a couple of drops of Liquitex transparent burnt sienna and Golden's white. For darker shades I would mix more Liquidtex burnt sienna or add white for lighter shades. For fine tuning I also used pastels. Only fine details like eyes, toe nails, finger nails, mouth and teeth etc. were hand brushed. Added those extra muscle striations on the legs and arms to accent his physique. Anatomy books are a must for this along with body building mags. The key is patience and practice,practice,practice!! Hope this helps! Some more pics!


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

That is a truly outstanding paint job! :thumbsup: Major Kudos!


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## Geoff Boaz (Jan 1, 1970)

Thanks, so you're airbrushing most of it then?

Geoff


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## Gillmen (Oct 16, 2004)

Ya! The majority was air brushed with an Iwata HP Bh


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## falcon49xxxx (Aug 4, 2008)

a cat is not a cat without wiskers..........


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

Beautiful! Just beautiful.


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## SoleSky (Feb 20, 2009)

Wow, that looks amazingly realistic. Great paint job!:thumbsup:


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Gillmen said:


> ...I give you Tarzan of the apes...


Well that's right neighborly of you, Gill'! Just to show I'm a good guy myself, I'll pay for the shipping. I'll email you my home address. 

Mark McG.


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

Great work, especially all the colour variations on each surface; a great example of how plain or 'empty' spaces on a kit's surface shouldn't be painted with just one tone but should be given variations in tone. It's much more lifelike.


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## Gillmen (Oct 16, 2004)

Mark McGovern said:


> Well that's right neighborly of you, Gill'! Just to show I'm a good guy myself, I'll pay for the shipping. I'll email you my home address.
> 
> Mark McG.


Good one Mark! There's no need for shipping fees cause he'll be swingin your way soon! LOL:wave:


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## Kitzillastein58 (Jan 27, 2009)

Gillmen, this is a pure work of art! Very realistic all the way around! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Thanks for posting your excellent pics and tips too! 

Kitz' :wave:


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## airdave (Feb 4, 2009)

I think hes a little more heavy set, like Weismuller.

Extremely nice paint!!! (we'll overlook the 8 pack! lol)


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## Dr. Pretorius (Nov 17, 2000)

A truly superior job.

The colors are so rich and vibrant!

A beautiful piece!

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Geoff Boaz (Jan 1, 1970)

airdave said:


> I think hes a little more heavy set, like Weismuller.
> 
> Extremely nice paint!!! (we'll overlook the 8 pack! lol)


Tarzan was a mutant, part ape, part man. He had the xtra 2-pack for that sonic yell he used.


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## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

The skin tones are superbly done! A marvelous, dynamic paint job overall. :thumbsup:

Sean


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## Gillmen (Oct 16, 2004)

Many thanks to all that responded! Your to many to mention, but you know who you are! The tarzan figure is well sculpted for it's scale but I opted to add more dimension to his build by air brushing in more visible muscles that aren't on the sculpt, bringing it more in par with some of the action figures that are available these days. Will post pics of the newly whiskered lion later today! Model on!:thumbsup:


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## Ravenauthor (Jan 24, 2004)

wow. that lion's incredible.


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## MonsterModelMan (Dec 20, 2000)

Great job Gillmen! Love the different shades of color that you used!

MMM


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## VADER66 (Nov 16, 2001)

NICE, very Nice! 
great shadows and attention to details around the base :thumbsup:


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