# Diceman's The Shadow



## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

I picked this one up a couple of months ago and thought it would be a quick fixer-upper.
Not so much.
Once I stripped the kit I found it was plagued by pin holes and some missing sculptural details.
But after the fixes it was a simple kit to paint.
The kit didn't come with a base so I recreated one in balsa foam from images of the original that I found on-line.
At this point I thought the kit was finished...
... until it hit the floor as I was mounting it to the base.
The cape broke, a hand snapped off - mayhem ensued.
At that moment I knew what evil lurked in the heart of this man.
After a week or two of calming down I fixed the damage and now present to you the completed (and lovingly restored) Shadow.
*** Concept design by Mike Kaluta, sculpted by Joe Riley, produced by Diceman Creations ***











((Pinstriped trousers made possible by use of water color pencils))

Derek Conlon


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## NTRPRZ (Feb 23, 1999)

Most excellent!


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

dc,

The weed of crime may bear bitter fruit, but you did turn out one nice model! :thumbsup:


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Simply wonderful! I wish I'd nabbed one of these kits when they were still available.


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## Rob P. (Jan 26, 2004)

Very nice! I can here the radio broadcast just looking at him! (I have several of the programs on cassette tape, I am not so old for the original radio broadcasts, but perhaps cassette tapes date me any way!)

Rob


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## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

I remember buying the cassettes from PBS/NPR years ago.
Of course now most of the Orson Wells' Shadow broadcasts are available on-line - free.


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## starduster (Feb 12, 2006)

Great work on this great kit, the base is very well done something I wish I could do. The whole model brings one to break out those old radio shows and relive the thrilling days of yesteryear. I wish this model was re made I'd get one as I've been a fan of the Shadow for years I have all the radio shows and I even liked the Shadow movie hoping that there would have been a sequel of course which didn't happen, yea it was campy but it did have the atmosphere that some movies supposedly depicting the 30's doesn't have and Alec Baldwin did a fairly good job I'd like a sculpt of him in that role. Karl


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## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

starduster said:


> Great work on this great kit, the base is very well done something I wish I could do.... Karl


Karl,

You'd be surprised how easy it was.
I watched David Fisher's Modelmania DVD's and the technique is described fully so I had no qualms about jumping right in and carving something.
The base took no more than about 15 minutes to recreate.
As for the movie and the Shadow in general, I too liked the movie (despite it's flaws) and I'm currently reading one of the original stories.
Done right, the Shadow could have made a great film noir.

Derek


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## Anton Phibes (Jun 21, 2013)

Loving the blue pinstriping. Excellent detail!!!:hat:


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## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

Anton Phibes said:


> Loving the blue pinstriping. Excellent detail!!!:hat:


Thank you, sir!
They were pretty simple to do.
Unlike my Janus Man of a 1000 Faces kit where I masked the figure and airbrushed pin stripes, this time I just drew them on with a water color pencil.
I would never try this with a full figure but for the bit of exposed pant and jacket cuffs it was a pretty simple solution to the problem of a darkly clad character.

Derek


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

Ah, Diceman Creations. I remember them well; I miss them and the old Chiller Theatre Expo, when it was at the Meadowlands. I bought the George Reeves replacement head from them, the last kit I bought from them in 2004, I believe was James Cagney White Heat, this was a real “painter’s piece”. Once painted, it looks great, unbuilt, and just ok. I never got to purchase the Errol Flynn Robin Hood or the House of Frankenstein.


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## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

_*"The weed of crime bears bitter fruit, crime does not pay. The Shadow knows!"*_

Excellent paint job Derek of one of my favorite radio and pulp heros! Kudos on recreating the base. I had to contend with a bunch of pin holes on my kit as well. Aside from this kit I also picked up their other Shadow kit; the _Liar's Poker_ plaque. I've been a fan of the radio show for a good many years and have a nice collection of episodes.


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

Wonderful. I often enjoy the various incarnations of the Shadow in print and onscreen. I like all the shading and details. His face is just right.


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## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

Great job! :thumbsup:

I recall seeing this kit on the market way back when, and wish I had bought one, too. 

Sean


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## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

Night-Owl said:


> _*"The weed of crime bears bitter fruit, crime does not pay. The Shadow knows!"*_
> 
> Excellent paint job Derek of one of my favorite radio and pulp heros! Kudos on recreating the base. I had to contend with a bunch of pin holes on my kit as well. Aside from this kit I also picked up their other Shadow kit; the _Liar's Poker_ plaque. I've been a fan of the radio show for a good many years and have a nice collection of episodes.


I love the look of the Liar's Poker plaque too.
I'll keep scouring the internet until I find one.
Thanks for the comments on the kit.

Derek


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## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

Xenodyssey said:


> Wonderful. I often enjoy the various incarnations of the Shadow in print and onscreen. I like all the shading and details. His face is just right.


Thank you for the praise.
I confess I do like the way the skin tones came out. It's one area I've been working on as I try to improve.

Derek


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## MJB (Aug 3, 2001)

Great work on your kit. As you can see, I have one too and this is what I added to my base, the discarded shells from his blazing .45's!

There was an 8x10 copy of Kalutta's original sketch that came with the kit. Years ago at a San Diego Comic Con, Mr. Kalutta was there and besides autographing the sketch for me, he drew The Shadow's profile!

Michael


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

EmJay,

I'm missing the autograph, but nice job on the shoes...


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## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

MJB said:


> Great work on your kit. As you can see, I have one too and this is what I added to my base, the discarded shells from his blazing .45's!
> 
> There was an 8x10 copy of Kalutta's original sketch that came with the kit. Years ago at a San Diego Comic Con, Mr. Kalutta was there and besides autographing the sketch for me, he drew The Shadow's profile!
> 
> Michael


Very cool!
I wish I'd thought of adding the brass to the base - great idea.
And a tip of the hat for getting the signature and extra Kaluta art.

Derek


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## Dr. Syn (May 29, 2003)

Derek - where did you find this - on Ebay or did you get it straight from Diceman? I thought he was out of the business.


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## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

Dr. Syn said:


> Derek - where did you find this - on Ebay or did you get it straight from Diceman? I thought he was out of the business.


Diceman is, unfortunantely, long out of business.
I was fortunate enough to pick this up for a song from a member on another board in their "Swap and Sell" section.
It's a beautifully dynamic sculpt.

Derek


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## MJB (Aug 3, 2001)

I purchased mine from Diceman before he went out of business. I'm still looking for his Mighty Mouse kit.


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