Return of a Legend

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Now this is one big Bat.

This is a huge and heavy resin model from Killer Kits, based on the famous image from Alex Ross' Batman: War on Crime graphic novel. It's a very realistic Batman standing on the corner of a building, looking out over Gotham City.

Did I say huge? The model is over 15" tall, and Bats' cape spreads out more than 12" in each direction. As to heavy... well, just imagine that massive base, cast in solid resin. You get the idea.

The model came in a few major parts. The hardest assembling was piecing the two huge pieces of cape onto the basic figure. Lots of putty work filling up the folds. Lots of putty.

The model itself was in okay shape. As sometimes happens with Batman models, the ears were broken off in transit, so there was some patching to do. Also, there were a fair amount of holes in the resin which had to be filled, even though the eBay seller I bought this from had done a fair amount of prep work. I'd rate this casting about average, certainly could have been better.

For a color scheme, I decided to be a true to Ross' painting as possible, which meant darker than normal paints. I started with a black primer, which darkened everything put on top of it. Then I used a very dark blue-grey, almost black, for the cape and cowl, and then drybrushed gloss black for highlights on top of that. For Bats' tights, I used a very dark grey (Delta's Storm Grey). The base was a muddy brown drybrushed on top of the black primer. Did I mention the size of this thing? I went through a lot of paint on the cape alone!

 The result is impressive, not so much for my skills but because of the sculpt itself. This Batman is majestic and imposing. My big problem is finding a place in my house that (1) is big enough to hold the model and (2) will do it justice.

Bottom line: This is now my favorite Bat model.

 

MODEL FACTS
Name: Batman Return of a Legend
Sculptor: Joe Bailey
Manufacturer: Killer Kits
Scale: 1/6
Year Manufactured: 2002
Year Built: 2003

PAINTS
Batman
Delta Ceramcoat: Storm Grey (tights), Payne's Grey (cape), Territorial Beige (belt)
Apple Barrel: Black, White, Liberty Blue (eyes), Gloss Black (cape highlights)
Ral Partha: Bronze Metallic (belt buckle)
Americana: Base Flesh, Shading Flesh
Base
Delta Ceramcoat: Mudstone

SUPPLIES
Primer: Model Master Black
Putty: Squadron Green
Glue: Zap-a-Gap

 

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Last modified: November 10, 2008