For the Polar Lights reissue of the Aurora classic Forgotten Prisoner. I aimed to recreate the fun aspect of the kit I enjoyed as a kid, with enough detailing and texture to satisfy the grown up me. I decided to assemble in stages as there are parts that would be visible but difficult to paint once fully assembled. The body parts needed to kept apart, as did the trousers, however I attached the right arm and both legs and feet to these parts before priming. Care is needed to ensure the Prisoner stands properly; to help with this I held my (uncemented) kit together with rubber bands, and wire while the leg assembly dried and stood it on the base so the feet and knees were aligned accurately. I used a grey primer, followed by Humbrol enamel in an off white colour for all bones and matt black for jacket and trousers. The bones were then glazed with dilute acrylic burnt umber to add texture and colour. The jacket, etc. was dry brushed in a pale grey enamel. The shirt I painted white enamel and washed in darker greys to add detail. Then I dry brushed over the top with mixing white acrylic to give highlights. For added effect I painted the teeth in an off white and used burnt umber to paint in deeper shadow areas on the skulls. The base wall was painted in dark blue/purple acrylic then dry brushed with very pale blue enamel. The floor was painted brown enamel then washed with darker brown acrylic, finally a lighter tone was dry brushed on.The rats were painted black, then dry brushed off white and finally glazed with dilute acrylic brown. Details were painted in enamel. This is an easy way to gain contrast and good colour. The chains and cell door were painted matt black enamel then washed with orange acrylic, with thicker paint adding texture, which gave a convincing rusty look. Some dry brushing with mixing white added a dusty look and some highlight. I used a wash of rust coloured acrylic to add water staining to the wall. I did not try to cement the neck chain to the body but drilled a small hole in the chain and used fine wire to attach to the manacle through the existing hole. The other chains are only held in place by the pins (un-cemented). The neck chain is a weak part on the kit and easily breaks apart. It is tricky to cement and annoying to repair. I left out the snake and filled the holes with putty right at the start; I felt that a snake is out of place in a dungeon and the rats were enough! The whole kit was finished with Dull cote.

The Creature is probably my overall favourite Aurora monster to build and paint. It is a wonderful sculpt, with lots of detail and texture. The base is a bit of a puzzle though; I cannot tell what it is supposed to be; water? slime? sand? So on this occasion I just went all out weird and painted it orange  because I thought it would look cool!  The body was painted with enamels, each scale panel separately, which took a while. I mixed a camo green with black on each section to build in shadow. Then I dry-brushed mixing white over the whole to help blend it in. The belly scales were blended together one at a time as well; I used Games Workshop acrylics which are so smooth and blend so well.
It was my second attempt and I am still thrilled with it. The orange works for me!
 
Dracula is another kit I built as a kid, I especially liked the spooky tree and bats. However, Dracula himself can appear more like a grumpy old man rather than a scary monster, so I tried a post 'Salem's Lot' approach to this build. In Bram Stoker's original story there is a description of a pale white face and red eyes, so maybe it's a true to original look? I think it turned out too blue, but I had got so far I left it alone so I could live with it for a while. Still think its too blue, but, hey its finished now!  Building it presents a challenge as there is very little or no texture to speak of on the cloak and clothes. I used a spray gun. One challenge is keeping the black and white neatly apart , as brush marks show up so easily, and the other is that the body must be assembled before the cloak. This means attending to the joint with putty, etc. after the rest is painted. My kit fitted really poorly and I had to shave pieces of plasticard to build up a surface to hold cement. A lot of work for (hopefully) a 'seamless' finish. Apart from the face and hands I found there seemed only one way to go with painting this kit: black, red and white for clothes and natural colours for the base. This one is a 1990's Monogram reissue. I left off the ridiculous spider and the ring (too clunky) but nearly added some rats...

This Mummy is a Monogram reissue. It is one of the better Aurora sculpts in my opinion, having a truly creepy menacing feel when assembled. His eye seems to seek you out, and he ain't feeling friendly! The kit builds very easily (little putty work) and with careful dry brushing everything comes together nicely. I went for an 'authentic' mummy look and while it worked it did end up a bit monochrome. Maybe something else could have been tried with the base? I did not have a spray gun back then...

Michael Atkins