Moebius Models

"Iron Man"

Kit Number: 905

Reviewed by  Keith Pruitt, IPMS# 44770

MSRP: $34.99 Website: www.moebiusmodels.com HISTORY I won’t go into the full history of Marvel Comics’ Iron Man, other than to say that I have read the comic book since the mid-1960s. Tony Stark originally designed and created the armor as an extension of a life-saving chestplate device, which prevented shrapnel lodged near his heart from killing him. The armor has evolved and been changed dozens (if not hundreds) of times through the years, and now we have a very well done live-action movie based on the comic book. This kit utilizes molds that were engineered and cut directly from digital animation data used to make the Iron Man movie. If you haven’t seen the movie, then you NEED to see it!!! INSIDE THE BOX Inside the box are 34 injection molded plastic parts on sprues, and one loose piece that is the base for the figure. The parts appear to be well-engraved and very nicely detailed, with no flash. There are front and back body sections, four parts that make up the head, and the arms & legs have seven parts each. The plastic is hard and very glossy. The multi-page instructions have actual photographs of the parts, and their appropriate assembly sequence…a very nice touch! There are no decals, but there are full color photographs that make up the painting instructions. Paint colors are indicated in a chart that includes Model Master Enamels and Acrylics. CONSTRUCTION This is not a complicated kit to assemble. However, building the kit by the instructions would require that the assembly sequence be followed exactly step-by-step. As a review, I wanted to do that, so that I would get a clear picture of any difficulties that the average modeler might encounter. The head, arms, and legs use a large plastic "girder" to attach to the body section. This creates a very strong joint. The head, according to the instructions, must be assembled to the front half of the body, then the back half is attached to the front…trapping the arms and legs, which would be assembled first. I did assemble the arms and legs first, and then worked the seams with putty and sandpaper. After assembling the head and body front, I then trapped the arms and legs by attaching the back of the body. Once the body seams had set, I placed the figure onto the base, and then glued the leg-body and arm-body joints. This is suggested in the instructions, and it does help to be sure that the feet fit flatly on the base. Once all of the glue joints had cured, I worked the body seams with putty and sandpaper. PAINTING I started by priming the entire figure with a neutral gray primer, to check the seams. I did a little follow up work with more putty and sandpaper as needed, and then re-primed the affected areas. First, I preshaded the outside edges of the chest light and eyes with Model Master French Blue, as they had a slightly bluish glow in the movie, then painted them Model Master Gloss White. After these had cured, I masked them in preparation for the rest of the painting process. As I intended to use Alclad metallic paints, I airbrushed two light coats of Model Master Gloss Black. When this had cured for a couple of days, I sprayed the figure with Alclad Pale Gold lacquer. Once this had cured for about 24 hours, I masked the areas that would remain gold, and sprayed Alclad Transparent Red according to their instructions (this was the first time I had tried any of Alclad’s transparent colors). I was concerned that the red came out too dark, but other photos of the completed model that I have found have also been a darker red color. I removed the masking, and handbrushed the detail in indicated areas with Model Master Flat Black and Chrome Silver. The base was also done in metallic paints. I painted it with Model Master Gloss Black, then masked the black area around the name plate, and sprayed the letters with Alclad Pale Gold. Later, I masked the name and sprayed the rest of the base with Alclad Stainless Steel, followed by Alclad Aluminum on selected sections. Finally, I masked and sprayed the "rusted metal" sections with Model Master Rust, and drybrushed them with Testors Steel. Finally, I handbrushed the interior sections of the letters with Model Master Stoplight Metallic Red. A thin wash of Model Master Acrylic Flat Black was applied to deepen the shadows. Final assembly was really nothing more than gluing the figure to the base. OVERALL IMPRESSION I am a HUGE fan of comic books, and their characters. This was a nice way to bring back some of the joy of my childhood, and good reason to watch the movie over and over again. This kit could be built by modelers of all skill levels, from beginner to the masters. For those modelers who are comic book fans like me, it is great fun. For the serious figure painter, it could easily be a masterpiece for any display. I can easily say this kit is "Highly Recommended". I would like to express my gratitude to Moebius Models and IPMS for this review sample.