# Aurora Captain Kidd restoration



## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

When I was a five-year old kid - a life-time ago - I got hooked on models because of Aurora's Blackbeard.
I was very happy when Atlantis re-released the old Aurora kit and had high hopes when they announced they would also reproduce Captain Kidd, a kit I wanted as a young boy but never got.
I was disappointed all over again when Atlantis decided to drop the Kidd project, so I scoured e-bay for a fixer-upper Kidd.

Here are the before and after shots (e-bay photos of the "before" and iPhone photos of the "after"):


----------



## NTRPRZ (Feb 23, 1999)

Very nice. If you pardon the pun, it shows what treasures lie under old paint!

Jeff


----------



## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Needless to say, the "after" version is far better! Strong work! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## John Galt (Nov 23, 2001)

Arrrh! Fabulous job, matey!


----------



## aurora fan (Jan 18, 1999)

Another classic kit brought back to life! You vanished the seams as well as perfected the paint and it looks like a kit I'd be proud to display! Hope you got a good price on ebay! It always makes it extra special to find a classic for cheap and give it new life!


----------



## Rob P. (Jan 26, 2004)

Good work on rescuing a classic!

Rob


----------



## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

Well done!!!


----------



## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Outstanding restoration!


----------



## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

Cool. It's a miracle that the sword was in one piece after all this time.


----------



## Zathros (Dec 21, 2000)

*very nice. I bought a MIB one of these a few months ago, and plan to get to him before years end*


----------



## Jimmy B (Apr 19, 2000)

Great job on the restoration and congrats on the Ebay score. Aside from the horrendous color coordination of Kidd's clothes on the original paint job, it looks like the model was complete and intact.


----------



## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

Jimmy B said:


> it looks like the model was complete and intact.


I had to re-sculpt the scorpion's tail (now it actually looks like a scorpion tail) and I had to add a few leaves to the beach grass.
Aves was used for those jobs.
Seam filling was done with my new go-to filler for minor seams and defects - modeling paste. It dries much faster than Aves and for small jobs you can just brush it on.
Sorry for the over-exposed shots. Seen properly, the conch shell has a nice pink hue to it and the hermit crab has glossy, wet-looking claws.

Derek


----------



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

Great work on a very nice kit that has over 50 parts and a large base, surely one of the most under-rated Aurora figure kits.


----------



## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Okay which pics are the restoration? :devil:

No, really, 'restoration' is almost too inadequate a word when you compare the Captain Kidd you have now to the model you started with. Hopefully your model will inspire Atlantis to reissue the good(?) Cap'n!


----------



## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

Mark McGovern said:


> Hopefully your model will inspire Atlantis to reissue the good(?) Cap'n!


I had a brief chat with the guys from Atlantis at last year's Jerseyfest.
Unfortunately the Kidd project was shelved because sales of the re-issue of Blackbeard were below expectations.
If so few wanted Blackbeard the feeling was why throw good money after bad.
I think we'll have to be content with the few gems that can still be found for sale on-line.

Derek


----------



## dconlon (Oct 12, 2010)

BTW, I just spotted a Kidd kit - complete - on e-bay with a current bid of $29.99 so if someone's looking...


----------

