This originally appeared in The Modeler's Resource, Jan/Feb issue #14 as a two-page article, with black and white photos.
by Fred DeRuvo
When Heroes
From Another Planet (or HAP as they refer to themselves) came out with their
1:8 scale, 5 inch high Lava Ape, I had to have it. As soon as
I saw it, I could see an infinite number of scenes that it could be placed into.
I'd heard about it prior to going to the MMP3 through speaking with Chad at
HAP. It wasn't quite ready to sell to the public yet at the Party, but fortunately
for me, I didn't have to wait long to get my modeling mitts on it.
The Kit:
The kit itself, comes in three pieces: two arms and the body (consisting of the
torso, head and legs). It's produced in solid resin, making it quite heavy. I
was full impressed with the amount of detail that sculptor Nui got into the kit.
Because of its weight, I decided that it would be best to pin the arms to the
torso. After taking care of this, the big problem was the seam that became extremely
apparent. Knowing how much I hate to fill seams, I thought, "Oh, goodie, how will
I ever blend that area in so that it doesn't show?" I got out the Milliput(TM)
and rolled out two very thin pieces and applied them to the areas where the arms
meet the shoulders. I then took another piece of putty, flattened it out and pressed
it onto the body to create the image of fur that already existed. Then, I began
pressing it into the area around the shoulders with the seam, expecting it to
recreate the fur there as well. It didn't. Okay, step two. I looked at the seam
and thought, "Okay, then I'll simply have to sculpt in the detail again." So,
I took the dull end of my X-Acto(TM) knife and began drawing in the lines on the
pliable putty. Voila! Perfect. That was actually fun.
Basecoating the Kit:
I gave my ape a base coat of Patra Flat Black. Originally, I had intended to
do a black gorilla, but then decided as I went through the process that it would
be too dark and the detail would be lost. So, I used Bon Artiste Fruitwood stain
over the entire ape and when that had dried, I began drybrushing various shades
of brown, most notably, Tamiya Flat Red-Brown. I really liked the look that
was created. As a final result, I took Golden Transparent Red Oxide and lightly
misted over a number of areas of the ape.
Teeth & Eye Detail:
The teeth were done by first airbrushing Polytranspar Blending Brown for the
entire mouth, then I brushed them with Horizon's Ivory paint. By the way, in
case you haven't found out, Horizon's paints are excellent for jobs like this
(or eyes) because they are much thicker than most paints and stay where you
put them. After this had dried, I used Bon Artiste Fruitwood stainon the teeth
to finish the process of dirtying them up a bit. The last step was to apply
Horizon's Clear Gloss to the teeth, lips and inside of the nose. The eyes had
already been done with Polytranspar Blending Brown and then Golden Yellow Oxide
added with a brush for highlights.
The Base:
Now for the base. This was going to be fun because I wanted to create a jungle-like
look for this ape. I had already scratchbuilt a base for my Horizon Wolfman
kit. Complete with a broken fence post and barbed wire. That was my first attempt
at scratchbuilding a base. This one was going to have some of the same elements,
however it would highlight more jungle growth and because of that, have more
of a moist look to it overall.
Step One: Choosing the base
The first step in creating the base was to choose the bottom, which turned out
to be a piece of round, finished pine. Then, I mixed up a batch of Sculptamold(TM)
and set it aside for a few minutes. I didn't want my base to be simply flat,
but to have levels to it, so I broke up some Styrofoam(TM) pieces and arranged
them around the ape kit. When I was satisfied that it looked good, I poured
the Sculptamold over the entire base and smoothed it around with a plastic spoon.
Step Two: Railroad Ballast
What's ground unless it has a rough, uneven surface? I took some railroad ballast
and sprinkled it over the entire surface. This works really nicely when you're
trying to replicate a lifelike ground surface. Then, I simply set the base aside
to dry. Before it would completely dry though, I would need to place my ape
on the ground so that his footprints and left handprint would be somewhat embedded
in the 'ground.'
Step Three: Making Dirt
Having done all of this and waited until the base was now completely dry, it
needed to have the 'dirt' made to look like dirt. This was accomplished by mixing
Tamiya Flat Earth and Flat Dark Yellow and airbrushing over the entire surface
of the base. What you have is a realistically painted base ready for customizing.
Step Four: Rendering Rocks
To make the rocks look realistic, I simply drybrushed Tamiya Flat German Gray,
then a lighter Pactra Flat Light Gray over that. Because the 'dirt' color was
airbrushed on prior to drybrushing, it stayed in all the crevasses, just like
rocks in real life.
Step Five: The Foliage
The next step included deciding what foliage to use and where to place it. My
wife had some large, bright green leaves from her silk flower supply, which
she generously donated to the project and these were placed around the ape so
that it would look like he (she?) was coming right out of the overgrown jungle.
To affix these to the base, I simply drilled small holes where I wanted them
placed, then glued them in using CA glue and kicker.
Since the stems are made with wires in them, they stayed up automatically
and could be bent to go in different directions if I chose. I also placed
a branch, which looked much like a fallen tree trunk across the path of the
ape, making it look like it was getting ready to step over it.
Step Six: Painting a Jungle
Because this was jungle, I then utilized a number of taxidermy paints, both
Polytranspar and Life Tone Hydromist paints (the latter available through Research
Mannikins, 1-800-826-0654 or 541-451-1538). These Hydromist are better,
in my opinion because they're already airbrush ready, they have a mixing ball
built into the container and they flow much better than Polytranspar do (again,
in my opinion). I sprayed a number of different greens on the leaves and also
across (not directly on) the rocks. I then took Polytranspar Mallard Yellow-Green
and sprayed it over the ground, heavier near the base of the rocks and also
on the top of the branch. What is created is a nice, mossy-looking effect.
To Sum Up:
This kit is excellent. The detail and realism on the face as well as the body
is outstanding. The base was a ton of fun to create and, as you can see from
the final product, it's a perfectly natural setting for the Lava Ape. I'm
glad to se that HAP has produced it. If you're into kits like this, then I
wouldn't think twice about purchasing one for yourself. You'll like the detail,
the inherent 'action' and the ease with which the kit goes together.
It's been awhile, since we've had any contact with the folks at HAP and
it may be that they are no longer in business. We have been unsuccessful in
contacting them, but if you'd like to try, here is the information we have
on them:
HAP, 861 Sutter Street, #300, San Francisco, CA 94109, Tel: 415.673.1838,
e-mail: hap@sirius.com
Copyright 1997. All Rights Reserved, The Modeler's Resource.
