# my take on Blackbeard



## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I started my kit the other day. For the most part, it is very well done. It seems the approach Atlantis took (which is reasonable) was to reproduce the kit as close as possible to its original form. Having said that, the fit is not that great compared to, say, the Moebius Dr. Jekyll or Wonder Woman remakes. Those kits had the gluing surfaces redesigned.

The main parts are fairly thin and the gluing surfaces are a bit uneven. Fit is typical for an original Aurora figure. Nothing some putty and sanding won't fix.

Look closely for hidden mold seams like the big one under the cuff. That needs to be carved away.










The legs needed some filling too. The seam where the coat flap folds back is very poor. There is also a big circular mold knock out pin mark on the inside that needs some filling. 










With some careful trimming along the back of the body, at the bottom where the coat tails come together, you can get the body halves to fit pretty well in the front. The amount of work to fill the front seam is minimal. Alignment is perfect.










The back seam is pretty rough and needs some putty. There is a reason to use a broad swipe of putty down the back...










By sanding the putty down across the seam (do not sand up and down with the seam) you blend the putty into the plastic, especially if one side of the seam is raised or sunken in compared to the other side. 










The left arm does not align quite right until you cut off the big raised alignment tab. This allows you to jiggle the arm slightly for better fit. 










The lower legs/feet fit very well. They seem to fit pretty well to the pants too. While all the sanding and filling seems like a lot of work, it did not take too much time... about 36 hours (waiting for two applications of putty to dry). 

As others have noted... the area where Blackbeard's chin braids that are molded to his shoulder, touch (or don't) the head is awful and will need some attention with epoxy putty.


I still need to do some clean up on the putty/joints but so far so good.


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## Frankie Boy (Feb 28, 2002)

Great sharp, close-up photos of what you've done. And the explanations are much appreciated as well.

On thing I've noticed on this model is that the overcoat pocket flaps are not all that well defined. In your second photo, on the bottom body half (the one where there's quite a seam gap), the pocket flap on the lower section looks reasonably sharp, but looks like it almost disappears into the the matching half of that piece.

Looking forward to seeing this to completion.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

djnick66 said:


> ...Fit is typical for an original Aurora figure...


Now _that's_ dedication--they've not only replicated an Aurora kit, they've also replicated the experience of building one!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Yes the pocket flaps are really pretty poor. There are three little buttons (?) on the bottom and the button molded on the turned back part of the coat is more or less invisible on the right side and missing on the left. The seams also overlap the edge of these flaps, making clean up a little harder.

Also, a couple of the locating pins on the figure's legs actually keep the parts from aligning properly and should be cut off.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

The seam down the back would probably actually be there on a real coat, so I left it on mine.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

It probably would be there but the fit was poor with a large gap at the bottom and one side being a bit higher than the other. I thought it looked crappy and puttied it in. Plus if you don't fill seams, people will just think you were lazy and didn't fill it.


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## Hunch (Apr 6, 2003)

The large seam going down the side of your model DOES fit snuggly. With a bit of pressure it all but disappears (at least on my copy).


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

djnick66 said:


> It probably would be there but the fit was poor with a large gap at the bottom and one side being a bit higher than the other. I thought it looked crappy and puttied it in. Plus if you don't fill seams, people will just think you were lazy and didn't fill it.


Ahh, the conundrum. Leave a seam where it would be in real life, and some people think you're lazy. Fill it in, and some people will say "You know, there should be a seam there..." In the end, my default position is always, "It's _your_ kit, build it the way _you_ want to and forget about everyone else."

And then there are those times...years ago I built Polar Lights' "Robby the Robot" kit for a friend. I did a lot of work to hide the horizontal seam that separates the upper and lower halves of the "torso" section, particularly on the back. Later, when I was watching the movie again (to verify some of the details) I noticed a visible seam on the full-size Robby costume/prop right where Polar Lights put it. :lol:


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Hunch said:


> The large seam going down the side of your model DOES fit snuggly. With a bit of pressure it all but disappears (at least on my copy).


One of the four main body parts in my kit was a bit warped or flattened so it didn't fit as well as it should. In the end I had the option of having a good seam on the front (more visible) or on the back (less visible). I opted for the front.

Also it may be best NOT to glue the top of the body together at the left shoulder. There isn't much to glue there anyway, and leaving it unglued makes it easier to get a snug fit up against the left arm.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Blackbeard's feet built up okay... They fit fairly well to the legs too. The shoes may be a bit more modern than what Blackbeard would have worn in 1718 with left and right shoes not becoming widespread until the late 19th Century.










This is the nastiest seam on the whole model










But with some TLC it comes out okay. I used several layers of Tamiya Liquid Surface Primer to fill the gap and smooth it out










I dealt with the chest seam the same way... some regular Tamiya Basic Putty, and a bit of Liquid Surface Primer










The body seam comes out fine. I can live with any slight traces... I just didn't want big gaps and cracks.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Looking good:thumbsup:


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## Frankie Boy (Feb 28, 2002)

djnick66 said:


> The shoes may be a bit more modern than what Blackbeard would have worn in 1718 with left and right shoes not becoming widespread until the late 19th Century.


Really? I did not know that. What a fascinating tidbit of information.

Looking good, my man.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Left and right shoes, made from handed lasts (the forms shoes are made on) did not appear until about 1818 (the time Frankenstein was written). But the idea really didn't get going until around 1850 and was not in widespread use until after the American Civil War.

Since Blackbeard lived from about 1680 to 1718 he would not have had handed shoes since they were not invented until 100 years later.

The internet is pretty useful... you can find a web site dedicated to 16th Century pirate footwear... go figure.

http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/footwear.htm


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## Frankie Boy (Feb 28, 2002)

Oh, yes. The internet is a wonderful thing ... but a double-edged sword (no pirate pun intended).


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

John P said:


> The seam down the back would probably actually be there on a real coat, so I left it on mine.


The seam in the join of the trousers from the belt buckle and down under the groin would probably be there too.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

The fit of the head to the body is, in a word, awful. There is a large gap pretty much the entire way around the neck. Also, the braids molded onto his chest and shoulder simply do not match up to the head. Fortunately it was pretty easy to fix this with some Apoxie Sculpt


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## Frankie Boy (Feb 28, 2002)

Holy doodle! Nice job on the beardtails.

Can I safely assume that the missing middle parts of the beardtails were also missing on the original Aurora sculpt? (I never had this kit in my _yoot_.)


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I assume so...to be fair to Aurora this is a kinda tricky area to get right, given tooling and molding limitations of the mid 1960s. Fortunately, today, we have epoxy putty


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## MEGA1 (Jul 18, 2000)

Great Work, I'm really enjoying this.

Pete


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Thanks ! I got the beard/head primed today and it looks real nice. I was thinking of working on the beard some more but I may just leave it be. Aside from some base parts and his belt, I have the kit all assembled now.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I got some more work done... aside from the sword scabbard and pistols, Blackbeard is assembled and primed. I will paint those details individually anyway. The pistol belt takes a little trimming and adjusting for a better fit. I also had to break the right leg/foot free and adjust the angle a bit so Blackbeard's feet actually sit flush.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Moving right along DJ. That model is going to take a lot of hand detailing work but when it is done it will be worth it.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I usually paint all of my figures by hand anyway so its no big deal. It's a nice kit for the most part. I enjoy the detail painting as much or more than the overall stuff. 

The base parts fit VERY poorly. I had to do some filling and sanding on the side posts/back piece. The base itself is not the most realistic in a technical way. I seriously doubt an 18th Century ship had modern, cast, metal cleats on the deck and they certainly would not have had one next to the ship's wheel. It would actually be very easy to make a new, more realistic, deck base using the kit's actual wheel, and some bass wood. I bet a product like "weather it" would be great to give a good finish. Alternatively you could get some pre cut Evergreen plastic strips, sand them lightly with some coarse sand paper to impart a wood grain, and then build up a deck in styrene.


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## armymedic80 (Aug 11, 2010)

Always excellent skills applied to your work. Can't wait to see the finished product.


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

He's coming along great DJ!!
Mine was a little finicky too. Fun to build though...

Chris.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Well, I got all of the parts primed... just need to actually paint some on him. 

I didn't know there was an old Blackbeard movie...


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

djnick66 said:


> Well, I got all of the parts primed... just need to actually paint some on him.
> 
> I didn't know there was an old Blackbeard movie...
> 
> Blackbeard the Pirate (Trailer) - YouTube


There have been several Blackbeard movies, all of them pretty bad - and that one is the most ridiculous by far. 

If you're interested in what is by far the most well-researched source about the _true_ historical Blackbeard - I highly recommend this book.











A fascinating study which posits that Blackbeard was actually American by birth (not British, as has been claimed for the past three centuries). My family vacations every summer at Ocracoke N.C., where Blackbeard spent his last days and met his bloody demise. A truly fascinating place - and a truly fascinating character..

I built an original Aurora Blackbeard once upon a time. It was my absolute grail kit! Very much looking forward to your finished build.:thumbsup:


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