In Darkman, Liam Neeson plays a
scientist on the verge of discovering synthetic skin and he is
burned beyond recognition when his lab is torched by a mobster. He
then proceeds to exact his revenge by using his technology to create
alternate identities and pick them off one by one. The film is
directed by Sam Rami and he really develops his comic book feel of
directing on this one. It’s great fun. So when a kit of this offbeat
hero was released, I knew I wanted it in my collection.
Darkman is one of the 3 kits produced
by early GK producer Classic Plastic. It comes in 15 parts and
stands a little over 14” when assembled. John Nemec did an excellent
job on the sculpture. The figure is in a good action pose and I
think Nemec caught the feeling of movement very well. I love the
base on the kit. It could be either the destroyed lab or the old
factory where Darkman sets up his new base of operations. It screams
to be customized by adding more debris, etc.
The build on this kit was somewhat
difficult at times for a couple of different reasons. As with many
earl kit producers, the casting itself was rough. There were seam
issues as well and pinholes and bad joints. The figure has a cloak
that requires the modeler to paint areas underneath the cloak and
then attach the outer layer. This requires pinning, puttying,
priming and painting over an area you have already finished.
However, when finally complete, I think it turns out a nice kit. And
besides, a challenge is good every now and then – keeps you on your
toes.
Classic Plastic offered two different
heads on this kit. One is wrapped in bandages to hide the
disfigurement of the character and the other is, of course, the
completely exposed, burned features of the hero. I completed both
and made them interchangeable so I could display the figure either
way.
I customized the base a bit as I
mentioned earlier. I added additional debris, cables, broken glass,
stone, etc. Otherwise the kit is a straight build out of the box.
I painted the entire piece in acrylics using my airbrush, hand
painting details, dry brushing, washes, etc.
While this kit has never drawn much
attention at shows, I’ve always liked it a great deal. That may be
because of my fondness for the movie itself or because it’s just a
great, overall kit. Classic Plastic has long since closed its doors
but if you can find one of these, I think it’s worth having in your
collection.