King Kong by Jim Gorman, Webbhead Enterprises

Here is a nice resin model kit I picked up on eBay that was offered a number of years ago by Webbhead Enterprises. The box art is to the right.

This sculpt is by James Gorman and represents more of a movie poster version of Kong as opposed to an actual representation of the giant ape. The kit is pretty straightforward with only six parts and stands a little over 13 inches tall when completed. The castings were completely free of seam lines and/or bubbles and went together very easily.

I happened to see a 'bronzed' version of this kit built up in Amazing Figure Modeler (Issue #34) that really looked nice (and different) so I thought I would try my hand at it. The bronze effect is achieved by a product called 'Run n Buff' which when applied is, well, rubbed and buffed to give the object a metallic finish. Like the Amazing article, I decided that Kong would have a bronze like finish and the other objects (the bi-plane & tower pinnacle) in pewter. Unlike the article, I thought I would make the Ann Darrow figure in natural colors as a contrast along with a few decals I scrounged up for the bi-plane to balance the scene. I used the dry brush technique on my Kong which I previously painted flat black paint from a rattle can and let cure over night.

A word about Rub 'n Buff. This product comes in several colors, all of which can be buffed to look metallic. When I heard of it, I really hadn't any specific project in mind so I ended up purchasing a sample box on eBay which has 12 colors in tubes about the size of your little finger and runs for about $34 (shipping was free from my seller). Most of the colors are metallic in nature with several shades of gold, pewter and metallic black to name but a few, Clean up is easy with paint thinner and application is pretty simple. Bare in mind that this is a WAX based finish so if you want to apply an overcoat of some kind (like a decal), it may not adhere very well. I had to prewash the Rub 'n Buff surface with isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) to get my decals to lay down. If I didn't, they would just curl up on the surface

Anyway, I've very pleased with this finish and I'm thinking of giving other kits I've yet to build the 'bronze' treatment.  SOLD!