# OOB Review - The BLOB - Earthbound Studios



## gomontoya (Apr 3, 2004)

1958 At the Movies - What a great year!

IT! The Terror from Beyond Space
I Married a Monster from Outer Space
The Fly
and
The BLOB or as they called it in Italy "Fluido Mortale". What a cool name.

If you think life is too short for 1950's films, head on down to the pics, but if you're thinking that the 50s were a great time,
why not soak up a bit of the atmosphere now and save the excitement for another couple of minutes.


The Blob (1958) - Theatrical Trailer


The Blob 1958 opening tune


This is the meteorite in the movie that Joe Simon used as a template for his base.









Boys will be boys! A woman would just walk off and leave it, but men just have to poke it with a stick.










What were the best bits from the movie and what can you learn if ever confronted by a Blob?
1. I loved the trailer where the voice over announced "Starring Steve McQueen and a cast of exciting young people." They were VERY exciting :
2. Steve McQueen was credited as Steven McQueen
3. Here in Australia we have planes with the seats facing backwards (apparently) so that in the event of a collision........ etc REALLY? Must be great seats to survive a mid-air.
4 Trichloroacetic acid doesn't kill Blobs, so don't bother trying!
5 The stapler at the police station didn't have any staples in it. Now at least that was realistic. They never have staples in them.
I could go on.....


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## gomontoya (Apr 3, 2004)

*THE BLOB Big Head Specs*
*Sculptor:* Joe (I eat Super Sculpey for lunch) Simon
*Maker:* Earthbound Studios
*Casting:* Earthbound Studios
*Material:* Resin - Base is solid clear yellow, (but large opening for lighting if desired - lights NOT supplied), nameplate and clear Blob are solid clear yellow, 3 red Blob parts are solid clear red and the girl's head is hollow-cast in off-white.
*Scale:* Earthbound doesn't quote a scale. The girl's head appears to be around 9/10 human size.
*Size:* Overall 17"tall, 7" wide and 10" deep. The girl's head is about 8 1/2" from the top of her head to her chin
*Parts:* 7 resin parts plus instruction sheet
*Inclusions:* Comes with a parts list and instruction sheet on plain paper
*What else do I need:* The instructions advise you must be careful when removing any seam line from the clear parts. They are very clear on the method (X-acto blade, different grade sandpapers etc. They suggest that if you wish to polish the plastic parts, they recommend Novus Plastic Polishes #1,2 and 3.
*Price:* US$175 +15 S/H within the USA. Outside USA, contact Mark for a quote.
*Website:* No website, but Black Heart does contain a gallery of previous BigHeads, etc. http://www.blackheartmodels.com
*Contact: [email protected] and talk to Mark*

So what do I think? Well naturally I am biased because I love BigHeads! This kit is VERY special though. I LOVE the whole design concept. I wouldn't have come up with that idea in a hundred years, let alone think it might be feasible. How all the clear red parts can be sculpted and cast to fit the head is a miracle. I think Joe and Mark have come up with the perfect tribute to The Blob.

I'll be buying BigHeads as long as Mark keeps producing them! Excellent Service, Excellent Casting, Amazing Value and he is as nice a person as you'd ever meet (and there are lots of VERY nice people around).


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## gomontoya (Apr 3, 2004)

Finally, the pictures.............
The Earthbound Studios patented packing system. If you've never received a kit from Earthbound, do yourself
a favour and buy one, just to see the perfect packaging!









Seasoned Curly Fries....... MMMMMmmmmmm........
Four packages containing 7 parts and a parts list/instructions (not shown)









Here are all 7 parts. Base, girl's head, 3 red Blob parts, 1 clear Blob part (hard to see, but it is above her
head and in front of the nameplate), nameplate.









Base, clear Blob part and nameplate. This photo is fairly accurate for colour. The other photos show the resin
a bit darker. The nameplate goes at the front and you can see the square indent in the base and a circular
shape at the back which corresponds with the keyed nameplate.









This BigHead is slightly different with the mount compared to others. Often you can just build the parts up
without glue and they stay there. This one has a short mounting post and Mark says it will require pinning
to keep the head attached.









Rear of the base. Note the added ground detail and that meteorite really ROCKS!









The base is solid cast but has a large void in the centre. In addition to saving weight, the void could be
used to add lighting effects if you wanted. The base varies in thickness from around 1/2" to 1" I guess.
It is still quite heavy to ensure the whole Big Head doesn't topple over. It feels very secure.









I like the raised lettering on the chunky nameplate. It looks like the outer casing of the meteorite. The small
clear BLOB part is a great reminder of the opening scene above when he pokes it with the stick.


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## gomontoya (Apr 3, 2004)

Base assembled using the 3 parts. The clear Blob part is also keyed into the base and rests on the
meteorite and the nameplate.









The poor victim. As you can see, Joe is no slouch when it comes to sculpting 1950's womens' faces either. She
looks suitably retro and petrified! I wonder why. She is already showing signs of being devoured by the creature
in the vicinity of her collar-bones.









The casting is super clean as always. If you really look, you might find the seam line.









Joe did a terrific job sculpting the hair. When completed it will hardly be seen!! But, WE all know it was done
properly.
The bottom of the mounting hole is flat but if you check the base mounting post, it has an irregular shape.
I think a little sanding/dremelling to make the head conform to the post will help for a better fit. And don't
forget to pin it!









She definitely isn't relaxed.









Once again I performed a balancing act and got away with it. No pins there.









The "magic parts" in beautiful clear red resin. Mine all came beautifully finished and I don't imagine needing
to polish the plastic at all.









Here, I have just balanced the right and left halves together so you can see the face shape. The third part
fits around the back. The clear red parts are not keyed to the sculpture as such. (The 2 larger parts do "fit"
the sculpture extremely well though. The third part attaches around the back of the head and has nothing
to "grab on to" there). All 3 red parts are keyed to each other but they don't "lock" together. They need to
be pinned/glued to each other and/or the sculpture.
If you saw Steve Parke's magnificent paint job, he attached the parts that fit over the right side of her face
and the rear part. That allows him to attach and remove the part that fits the left side of her face, as required.
Mark says that he planned for people to pin all 3 parts to save any accidents. I guess you could have
permanent or removable pins.


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## gomontoya (Apr 3, 2004)

Right and left parts viewed from the front.









Left part fitted to left side of face.









View from the other side.









Added the right part to the right side of her face.


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## gomontoya (Apr 3, 2004)

If you've put up with me this long you deserve a reward, so here are
Steve Parke's photos of the kit he built and painted.
http://www.steveparke.com/














































Great work Steve.

Only one thing left to do - Contact Mark at [email protected] You know you want to


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## mrmurph (Nov 21, 2007)

Awesome! What a terrific thread.


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## IanWilkinson (Apr 23, 2010)

AWESOME KIT!.. if i thought i could do this any justice i would order one!.. but i think an airbrush is needed to complete this beauty!...


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