# Capt. Kirk Replacement Head for AMT/Ertl Vinyl Kits



## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Old and Busted:










*New Hotness*













First in a series of new heads for the old (and reasonably affordable) AMT/Ertl Vinyl kits. In progress from Joe Simon.....Kirk is coming soon!


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## RossW (Jan 12, 2000)

Great news, chasd25! But it's not just the head that's a problem with these ERTL vinyl kits - the body is way out of proportion and the details are too soft.


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## noahasarcmi (Sep 20, 2011)

So it's not a good deal to pick this up from Amazon for 12.00 bucks with shipping? I have never built one so I am wondering if I should save my cash. 

-Nathan


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Kirk is the worst offender, mainly a puffed up chest (although somewhat fitting for kirk, don't you think )..mainly due to the manufacturer not being up to speed on the production of vinyl kits at the time.

Proportions on McCoy, Scotty, and Spock, while not perfect, are much better (although the likenesses still suck)

Details on the faces are definitely soft, the uniforms though, there wasn't much detail to begin with. The accessories (phasers, tricorders) are actually pretty well done.

Doing a whole new upper torso would make this cost prohibitive. I wanted to keep the cost down, and make it affordable. 

New head will improve these pieces quite a bit, and considering how cheaply these kits can be picked up, for $25 or less a trek fan would be able to get a kit of one these figures with a new head that has a decent likeness (not one that looks like it was sculpted from soap, that someone then washed their hands with). That was the intention of this project. 

Plus, I always wanted a McCoy, and Scotty kit, and doing a full resin kit of either of them, well.....let's just say, I'm not made of Gold! 

Charlie


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## noahasarcmi (Sep 20, 2011)

Thanks for the info Charlie! I am going to buy one and build it up as a 40th birthday gift for a friend of mine.


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

The Spock head looks nothing like Leonard Nimoy, looks more like Mark Lenard. Also, the hands on McCoy and Scotty are too big.


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

apls said:


> The Spock head looks nothing like Leonard Nimoy, looks more like Mark Lenard. Also, the hands on McCoy and Scotty are too big.


Exactly, which is why a new head will be done.


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Very cool, thanks for the heads-up Charlie! Also nice *Men In Black* reference in the post.


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

noahasarcmi said:


> So it's not a good deal to pick this up from Amazon for 12.00 bucks with shipping? I have never built one so I am wondering if I should save my cash.
> 
> -Nathan



Geez, thanks Ross! Kill my project before it's off the ground! :tongue:

$12.99 is a good price, especially with shipping. If you watch ebay long enough, you can occasionally snag one for about $10 shipped.

If your not sure, look at some pictures of the build ups online of some of the AMT/Ertl Vinyl kits. here's a few links:

http://theclubhouse1.net/submissions/spockspock.htm

http://pic13.picturetrail.com/VOL482/3191867/6511821/83797135.jpg

http://cs.finescale.com/FSMCS/forums/t/74500.aspx

http://www.der-lustige-modellbauer.com/t501-mr-spock-und-cptn-kirk-amt-ertl-1-6

You can see in the pics shown, the faces are off (although Spock is an improvement), regardless....all new heads are being done. Kirk is just being done first. 

The intention is to improve on the kits, not turn them into something on par with a $125 resin kit. 

I've owned all these kits for years, and never built them, as I didn't like the heads...now I'll be able to put them on the shelves with a decent likeness of the actors who portrayed them.

Charlie


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Night-Owl said:


> Very cool, thanks for the heads-up Charlie! Also nice *Men In Black* reference in the post.


Thanks! 

MIB, two of my favorite movies! Eagerly awaiting #3!

Charlie


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## RossW (Jan 12, 2000)

Wasn't trying to cause any problems - I was just hoping you might tackle the other problem areas.


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## flyingfrets (Oct 19, 2001)

They're definitely an improvement, but to my eye, the new Kirk head, while more defined, doesn't resemble Shatner much more than the original.


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## noahasarcmi (Sep 20, 2011)

How can I get one Charlie can I get on a list? I think anything that is better than original is a huge improvement. With paint and a steady hand should be no problem getting him to look like Kirk. 

Thanks for this 

-Nathan


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

RossW said:


> Wasn't trying to cause any problems - I was just hoping you might tackle the other problem areas.


No worries, just the post immediately after yours was backtracking after reading yours!

Not worth it to tackle the other problems. Might as well make a whole new kit, which would run in the $120 arena....and that wasn't the goal. Plus, theirs already a great Kirk kit put out by a good friend of mine. I wanted to make something to upgrade the vinyl kits, that wasn't going to cost an arm and a leg. 

As for the likeness being no better than the vinyl, really? Well...to each his own. Sculpt is still an in-progress. More pics, and side by side shots once it's finished. 

Charlie


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

noahasarcmi said:


> How can I get one Charlie can I get on a list? I think anything that is better than original is a huge improvement. With paint and a steady hand should be no problem getting him to look like Kirk.
> 
> Thanks for this
> 
> -Nathan


Thanks Nathan!

Details will be forthcoming, sculpt is almost finished. I'll post details once its ready.

Cost for the head will be in the $10-$15 range. I'll also have a limited number of kirk vinyl kits at a very reasonable price.

Charlie


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## Jafo (Apr 22, 2005)

that is the 1st kirk head/sculput ive ever seen that actually looks like kirk!


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## noahasarcmi (Sep 20, 2011)

"Excellent" *doing best Mr Burns impression*


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

I for one will but all four, Shatner was always difficult to get his likness, this is very close, a painters piece for sure. I believe the original heads were done by Thomas Kuntz, the great sculpter out in California. He did not get a lot of support from AMT, this is why the bodies are flawed, because he did not sculpt them. Along with the quality of the vinyl, this was AMT's early attempt, made the details "soft".


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## Tanis-uk (Jan 8, 2011)

Kirk's head and Spock's painted up nicely, I remember reviewing them in Model Mart at the time, this new head looks great though, I have quite a few of these put by for a rainy day, seems that day might be coming sooner than I thought


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

apls said:


> I for one will but all four, Shatner was always difficult to get his likness, this is very close, a painters piece for sure. I believe the original heads were done by Thomas Kuntz, the great sculpter out in California. He did not get a lot of support from AMT, this is why the bodies are flawed, because he did not sculpt them. Along with the quality of the vinyl, this was AMT's early attempt, made the details "soft".


The original Kuntz sculpts were fantastic. If you ever saw pics, and looked at the kits, you wouldn't believe the kits came from those sculptures, that's how much the factory ruined them in production.

I'll give AMT/Ertl credit, they did improve as they progressed. Spock was much improved, as were Odo, and Quark. The likeness on the later two are pretty good.

The Star Wars Rancor was a fantastic kit. I wish they had released the Luke on Taun Taun kit that was in progress when they gave up on the vinyl kits. 

I do agree though, Shatner has one of the hardest likenesses to capture.


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

I think Geometrics would have done a better job.Strange they never issued them.After all,the did STTNG series.


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

xsavoie said:


> I think Geometrics would have done a better job.Strange they never issued them.After all,the did STTNG series.



They were outbid on the license by AMT/Ertl


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## flyingfrets (Oct 19, 2001)

chasd25 said:


> No worries, just the post immediately after yours was backtracking after reading yours!
> 
> As for the likeness being no better than the vinyl, really? Well...to each his own. Sculpt is still an in-progress. More pics, and side by side shots once it's finished.
> 
> Charlie


I didn't mean to slight the skill of the sculptor. Actually, appears very talented.

As I said, it looks off to *my* eye (either slightly elongated, or a bit too thin). But that could be anything from the angle of the photo to details that come out with painting.

No offense intended. Just an observation.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Awesome. I have a set unbuilt, 'cause, well, they don't look like the people! Thanks for solving that problem!


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

I don't have the Kirk kit, but I'm definitely interested when you get around to the Spock replacement head Chas! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Thanks guys! 

The good Dr. McCoy will likely be the next one.

Charlie


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## Mitchellmania (Feb 14, 2002)

I am Kirok! Looks awesome!!!


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## Facto2 (Nov 16, 2010)

Fantastic idea, Charlie. And I think the new Kirk head looks great. :thumbsup:


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## wolfman66 (Feb 18, 2006)

chasd25 said:


> Old and Busted:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Charlie glad someone made replacement heads for these kits as have a few of them and Kirk is one of them.Let me know when the time comes to order here or at the CH:dude:


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## KUROK (Feb 2, 2004)

I've been waiting for these too. I want! Want!
:thumbsup:


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## MightyMax (Jan 21, 2000)

Wow!
I was gonna sell my ERTL vinyls, but may hang on to them a bit longer.

Max Bryant


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## Styrofoam_Guy (May 4, 2004)

Great idea and understandable in not wanting to make it a $125 kit. Yes Kirk's body sure looks odd


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

MightyMax said:


> Wow!
> I was gonna sell my ERTL vinyls, but may hang on to them a bit longer.
> 
> Max Bryant


At least until the rest of the heads come out! 

McCoy will be up next. Kirk should hopefully be ready before the end of the month

Charlie


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

Charlie,

Great looking replacement head.

Can't wait to see what the McCoy, Spock and Scotty look like.

As was said about some of the kits hands, might you also fix those as well?

Very nice work.

I wish someone would do a really nice Uhura.


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

Keep us in the loop about this.


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Hopefully an update soon!


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## hellsbell8 (Feb 2, 2009)

I would certainly buy a few of these!


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## slingshot392 (Nov 27, 2008)

Cool project! I would be interested in one of these when you are finished.


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

I should have the master in about a week! I'll place ordering details as soon as it is in silicone!


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

*Capt Kirk Replacement Head - taking orders!*










Sculpted by Joe Simon, a resin replacement head for the AMT/Ertl Vinyl Kirk kit! Being Molded this week.

Pre-order Price is $15 Shipped/Postpaid in the USA for the Head only. 

I have a limited number of Kirk Vinyl kits, if you want a Combo of a kit, and the kirk head, cost is $30 Shipped/Postpaid in the USA.

Pm if interested, heads will start shipping out next week.

Charlie


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Heads will roll (out the door next week)!


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

No heads for Canada.Can we see one kit painted with new Kirk head.


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

xsavoie said:


> No heads for Canada.Can we see one kit painted with new Kirk head.


Not True, I'll ship anywhere, prices were for shipped in the USA. International qouted on a case by case basis. 

You can see one painted when someone paints one up!


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Put me down for a head/kit combo! I tried to PM and got a notice saying your message box was full.


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Night-Owl said:


> Put me down for a head/kit combo! I tried to PM and got a notice saying your message box was full.


I just noticed that, you can try again, I fixed it. sorry about that!


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## RogueJ (Oct 29, 2000)

Message sent.


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Only 5 combos left


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## HabuHunter32 (Aug 22, 2009)

Message sent.


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## HabuHunter32 (Aug 22, 2009)

Paid. Thanks Charlie.


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Thanks guys! All pm messages have neen replied to. First orders will go out next week.


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

First couple of castings look good! Will ship out first couple of castings on Tuesday, bulk will go out by Friday. Anyone else interested?


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

*Shipping tomorrow!*

3-6 going out tomorrow!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Shipping notice received!


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## noahasarcmi (Sep 20, 2011)

Already started fitting him together last weekend. I was able to get him sanded down to the point of not having any gaps. The only thing I don't like is the seam on the shirt and pants don't line up straight down. It's hardly noticeable though and maybe I just need to sand that little bit more. Looking forward to the head arriving! 

-Nathan


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## HabuHunter32 (Aug 22, 2009)

No notice for me yet.


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

HabuHunter32 said:


> No notice for me yet.


Mike, you're further down the list, going out in order of payment received 

Tomorrow, or Monday for yours.

4 combos, and 4 heads shipped out today.

Charlie


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## HabuHunter32 (Aug 22, 2009)

Thanks Charlie! :thumbsup:


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Another 6 went out today! Nothing tomorrow, any remaining orders will all go out on Monday.


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## HabuHunter32 (Aug 22, 2009)

Got my shipping notice! :thumbsup:


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## HabuHunter32 (Aug 22, 2009)

Got my combo today! Thanks Charlie! :thumbsup:


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Mark M posted a review over at the clubhouse with some nice side by side shots:

http://theclubhouse1.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=87273


Here's one of the pics


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

All Domestic orders will have gone out tomorrow. Still a couple of international orders, will go out Thursday.

Charlie


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## noahasarcmi (Sep 20, 2011)

Charlie, Mine came in the mail yesterday! Thanks for this and look forward to your other head re-sculpts. I am pondering on doing a display base for all of my Away Team. A transporter room from original TOS will be scratchbuilt for it to. 

-Nathan


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## portland182 (Jul 19, 2003)

Mine came, and it is awesome!
Much better than the 'professional' one supplied in the kit!
Thanks!


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Thanks guys! Glad you like them


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

I've got a few more combos if anyone is interested!


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Just a quickie update, I've got 5 combos left, this will be the last of the combo kits. A few boxed, and a few bagged vinyls to go with the head. 

PM if interested. 

Charlie


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## nautilusnut (Jul 9, 2008)

Don't need a combo- can I just get the head? Please PM me.


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

PM Sent.


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## chasd25 (Feb 14, 2002)

Only 2 combos left!


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