# Janus Dracula WIP



## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

*Janus Dracula WIP - The base*

I bought the vinyl version of the Dracula kit some months back.
Let me just say at the outset that vinyl is not my favorite medium.
And I only found out about all the problems people has assembling the cape after I started working on the kit. More about that later.

When I bought the kit some work had already been started.
The legs had been filled with plaster...










... and the parts had been trimmed, although not always correctly. But nothing had been assembled.
I first had to repair some air bubbles on the head and base (on the door handle) and had to complete the trimming.



















Once the prep work was done I primed the kit...










... and got down to work.

My first job was painting the head and hands. I used Garage Kits' Pale Flesh and then pastels to shade.



















I wanted to keep Dracula's complexion pale and so the shading was deliberatly subtle. I wanted the hands and face to have the same look.
Next came the hair, eyebrows and eyes.










I then turned my attention to the tuxedo. The legs were painted flat black as was the tux jacket. I wanted the vest and shirt to be white but not uniform. So the vest was done as a creamy white while the shirt was done as more of a blue/grey white.










I then glued the torso into one half of the cape. Because of some issues with the trimming (too much material was removed by the previous owner) there were gaps to fil. In retrospect I should have assembled the cape and tux torso before painting - live and learn.
The cape is make of two different vinyls, one more rigid than the other. Having read some of the horror stories from others about the assembly I got a hair dryer ready along with a bottle of CA glue and going inch by inch I heated and glued and heated and glued.
The cape went together better than anticipated.

I've done some preliminary putty work but I still have a bit more to do.

Next step is to paint the cape and lining.

Derek


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## hal9001 (May 28, 2008)

dconlon, where can you get Garage Kits paint? I did a Google search but found nothing.

I really like the effects of the flesh tones you've created. The hands especially look very life like. I'm not a figure painter so I don't know a lot of the techniques used and would have never guessed the veins in the hands would have been done with pastels!

Any chance of a short tutorial? 

Looking great! A+:thumbsup:

HAL9001-


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## Dave P (Jan 5, 2005)

http://www.garagekitsuscolors.com/


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## hal9001 (May 28, 2008)

Thanks for your help Dave! I couldn't find anything on Google I suppose because I was looking under Garagekits paint.

HAL9001-


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## walsing (Aug 22, 2010)

You have amazing paint skills!


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## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

hal9001 said:


> Any chance of a short tutorial?
> 
> Looking great! A+:thumbsup:
> 
> HAL9001-


I see you've already been pointed in the direction of Garage Kits paints.
I love them.
They're airbrush ready and the selection of colors is great.
For a figure modeler like myself they have a range of flesh tones that makes painting much easier.
As for a tutorial no one can do that better than David Fisher of Amazing Figure Modeler magazine.
The full technique is shown in one of his Modelmania DVD's and regardless of your area of interest the videos are must for modelers.
But in a nutshell I grind my chalk pastel pigments on a piece of sandpaper and then use a brush to apply them to the figure.
You use the pastel like paint and you can even mix colors on your sandpaper "palette."

Derek


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## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

It's been a while since I updated my progress.
The kit's almost done (Dracula has only to be assembled and the base painted).
Since I last posted anything I completed the cape to my satisfaction.
In the first photo you see the completed lining for the cape.
I decided to go with grey tones which more accuratley reflect the cape used in the film.










After getting the desired color for the lining I finished off the tux and the black of the cape.










And then used Garage Kits Satin Top Coat to highlight the "silk" lining of the cape. While the photo doesn't show much of a difference there is a sheen to the lining when you see it in person. The satin finish is a bit more visible on the back of the cape where the lining is visible from behind.



















The Tux trousers got the same treatment on the stripe down the side as did the toes and heels of the dress shoes.




























Since the kit is a light-weight vinyl I used wooden dowels to "pin" everything together.

Next up will be the completed figure and the base.


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

Beautiful work on a beautiful sculpt.


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## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

Looking really good!

I would like to find this kit.

- Denis


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## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

*Janus Dracula WIP - The base*

As I write this the kit is complete but I haven't had a chance to take the final photos - those will come in a day or two.
I thought I'd post my process for the modest base the vinyl kit stands on which is well suited to the figure, but a far cry from the delux version.

I started with a primed base (white and grey - but only because I ran out of white!)










I then used grey washes over most of the stones on the base.
BTW, all paints used on the base were Tamiya colors.
Working from light to dark I used a Light Grey wash...










And then moved to a Medium Grey..










and then a flat Brown wash over the remaining stones.










I also used the flat brown as a base coat for the rat and the door fragment at the rear of the base.
To tie things together I gave the entire base - including the rat and the door fragment - a flat black wash...










...and then used a wash of flat Earth to soften things a bit and dry-brushed a light gray over most of the stone surfaces.
I also used Mig Pigments (rubble dust) mixed with water to create a "mud" on the debris featured on the base.
The 'mud" was also given a wash of dark green and black so it wouldn't look so dry.










To finish the base I used Mig Pigments rust on the door handle and bolt, a black wash on the rat to pull out some of the fur details, painted the rat's tail, eyes and claws and gave the bones a white wash - which ended up giving the bones the greyish-white look I wanted. (sorry, the photo's out of focus)










And that wraps up another project.
Completed photos of the kit will appear in a day or two.
The cape was a bit of a challenge and I could have done a few things differently, but overall I like the finished product.

Derek


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

The wrinkles in that cape and slacks are incredible. What a nice sculpt. It really is too bad that Janus went out the way it did...
Thanks for the update!


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## MartinHatfield (Apr 11, 2004)

Do the GK colors have an LC part number? I want to try and get the pale flesh color through my distributor.


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## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

MartinHatfield said:


> Do the GK colors have an LC part number? I want to try and get the pale flesh color through my distributor.


The only number I see on the Pale Flesh bottle is GK-0-350.
Hope that helps.
The GK line is great.

Derek


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## MartinHatfield (Apr 11, 2004)

They are produced by lifecolor, which is available through my distributor. Thanks for the info.


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