Moebius Models' Spider-Man and Green Goblin plastic model kits
By Tim Kidwell
By Jay Smith
Published:
April 14, 2010
 Spider-Man features a dynamic pose and a lot of fine detail.  An airbrush allows for subtle control of colors when shading.  Moebius Models' Spider-Man and Green Goblin kits look great displayed together.  Suggest that your customers use a two-minute epoxy for mounting Green Goblin on the clear stand.  Cool touches like the free standing satchel and jet flames really add to the overall kit.
Both kit boxes feature stunning comic art, and if stocked side by side, create one complete image. Spider-Man is molded in blue plastic; the Green Goblin in bright green. Both kits include similar bases molded in light tan plastic.
Each kit includes a full-color instruction sheet that details assembly and painting, and suggests colors from various manufacturers.
Assembly: Both Spider-Man and Green Goblin require planning during assembly. Their poses are dynamic, and that makes for some fit and finishing challenges.
As long as you follow the directions, the bases for both kits go together without any trouble at all.
One of Spider-Man’s coolest design features is that most of the seams fall along the webbing in his disguise, effectively hiding the join. The seams on Green Goblins legs and arms are a bit problematic, due to the scale texture of his suit. Inevitably, while cleaning up and filling these seams, some of the texture wore away. Our solution was to use Mr. Surfacer 500 (No. GNZSF285) and recreate the scales with a small brush, which worked very well.
Since some of the areas on both models are hard to get at once they are fully assembled, it is best to build subassemblies and paint as you go along. For Spider-Man, this meant building his legs and arms, and attaching the legs to the torso. Then an airbrush was used to apply the red and blue base coats and shading on the torso. A 0000 brush was used to paint the fine web design on Spidey’s outfit.
Once the initial paint was applied, final assembly commenced. Here, there were some fit issues. Testors clear parts cement (No. 3515 C) filled the gaps in the head, shoulder and torso. What’s nice about the clear parts cement is that it won’t eat away paint like other fillers can. Also, is flows well, dries smooth, and can be easily worked.
Green Goblin went together much the same as Spider-Man, applying the green and purple colors to the head and arms separately from the torso and legs. Again, recommend using clear parts cement to fill gaps after painting.
Goblin’s glider is easy to assemble, but the pegs in the figure’s feet didn’t fit into the sled’s corresponding holes. We clipped them off and used a healthy amount of Testors cement to attach Goblin to the sled. Once that was accomplished, all that was left was to put the stirrups on and mount the whole thing on the base.
Marketing: Don’t let the subject matter fool you or your customers: these kits are for advanced modelers. Kids will surely be interested, but unless you know them to be experienced builders, or have the help of one, steer them toward another, less complicated kit — maybe Iron Man. Frustration with a young modeler could very well turn him off to the hobby. What’s more, an unfinished kit might keep a parent from buying another.
Essentially, all of the painting and shading was done with a double-action airbrush. If you have an experienced figure modeler who wants to take his game to the next level, an airbrush and one of these kits would be a great way to start.
Many stores are now offering classes to help hobbyists become better modelers. Spider-Man or Green Goblin would make a great subject for finishing techniques and learning how to use an airbrush.
Whether your customers are using an airbrush or finishing the kits with traditional brushes, make sure to have the colors they need on hand. We used a variety of acrylic paints from Testors, Tamiya, Golden and Spectralite.
VITAL STATS
Products: Spider-Man (No. 907); Green Goblin (No. 906)
Maker: Moebius Models
MSRP: $29.99 each
Availability: Contact Moebius Models at [email protected] or visit www.moebiusmodels.com/distributors.php
BOTTOM LINE
- Challenging kits to build
- Dynamic poses and lots of detail
- For experienced modelers only
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