The She Creature

(from The She Creature - 1956)

 Manufacturer: Earthbound Studios

Sculptor:  Steve West

Material:  Resin

Scale: 3/4

 

The She Creature has always been one of my favorite monsters. I saw this film when I was young and she scared the crap outta me. I never forgot her. While the movie is not one of the best out there, the creature design is undoubtedly some of the best work from the mind of monstermaker Paul Blaisdel.

 

This is one of Earthbound Studios “Big Head” series. If you are not familiar with these then go find them and take a look. They are a must for any fan of the classic “B Movie” monsters of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

 

This was a great kit to build especially if you are in the mood to paint. There is no build-up time at all. It comes in 10 pieces and stands 20” tall when completed. A really cool feature of the “Big Head” kits is that the heads are connected to the base by a ball and socket joint. This allows the head to be positioned or tilted to give the model that little extra attitude.

 

Mark’s casting is perfect. I had to scrape a couple of faint seams lines that took about 5 minutes. This kit did need a little putty work. There were a few depressions or holes that look like they were part of the casting process. They had to be filled and some of the hair re-sculpted. All in all it was a very minor job that took about an hour. After that I gave her a bath, a quick coat of primer and I’m ready to paint.

 

Color reference for this figure is easy to find but contradictive. The film was in black and white. The one sheet and other press material for the film show the creature as red, like a big lobster. Colorized press material is not always accurate as it is done by the advertising departments. The best reference I found was CinemaFantastique’s issue dedicated to Paul Blaisdel. In it there are good, color, behind-the-scenes photos of Paul in the creature suit.

 

I used the color photos as a basic guide in painting.  However, once I got into it, I did quite a few layers of colors to give more depth and variation. I obviously went for the authentic color version but I have seen this built and painted in the red “lobster” version like in the one sheets. Even red it still looks good.

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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