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IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE
(from: It! The Terror From
Beyond Space - 1958)
Manufacturer: Earthbound Studio
Sculptor: Mike Falcigno
Material: Resin
Scale: ¾
Before Alien, there was It!, the story of an
unfortunate crew of space travelers, trapped on a ship with a
stowaway space monster. Now “It!” has been immortalized in
Earthbound Studio’s superb line of Big Heads. Mark Brokaw teamed up
with sculptor Mike Falcigno to bring us this brilliant piece and
I’ve gotta say they knocked it outta the park on this one!
Falcigno’s work is incredible!
My hero of the “B” movie monster makers is Paul Blaisdell and “It!”
was always one of my favorites from his catalogue of work. The
mishaps in creating the mask spawned one of the iconic 50’s sci-fi
monsters. Mike has taken Paul’s design and refined it to a new level
that withstands the scrutiny of modelers while still staying true to
the original vision.
Here’s what you get: The kit comes in the usual parts. There’s the
head, the base and separate ears. You also get a selection of 3
mouth options. There are 2 versions that are accurate to the film in
which stuntman Ray “Crash” Corrigan’s chin protrudes through the
teeth, looking much like a swollen tongue. The 3rd option
is Mike’s interpretation of what the creature’s mouth might look
like.
Now if you’ve read any of my other project notes, you now I’m a
stickler for accuracy. I try to stay true to the film whenever
possible. But in this case, I just had to detour. I’m ashamed – I’m
weak. But it’s really Falcigno’s fault! His new chompers, along with
the detailing of the mouth interior, gives wonderful painting
opportunities that I just couldn’t pass up.
I was fortunate enough to obtain Mark’s first casting of this kit
that he created for display at WonderFest 2009. It came with a
transparent, red base that I do not believe will be standard issue.
This allowed me to light the base which gives the final kit a unique
feel.
Casting on this piece is up to the usual high standards of
Earthbound Studio. When it comes to casting, there is none better.
Assembly was easy as all parts fit perfectly. Clean up and prep was
almost non-existent. Scrape a few miniscule seams, wash, prime and
start painting.
As with all “B” sci-fi films of that era, we are limited to black
and white presentations. This gives us some liberty in paint
schemes. I’ve seen this guy in various shades of green or brown.
However, Bob Burn’s wonderful reference books give us rare color
photos of the original mask and clears up the color issue. This
critter was brown!
I painted the entire kit in my usual selection of acrylics using my
airbrush for the majority of the work. The exterior has about 7 or 8
different layers of opaque as well as transparent colors to give
depth to the skin. |
