Review

Fans of Robert E. Howard rejoice!

Moebius Models has released an assembly resin kit of the author's most famous character!

Moebius takes its inspiration from the cover of the first issue of Conan the Barbarian, released in 1970 by Marvel Comics. It depicts Conan, standing protectively over a damsel in distress, ready to fend off a horde of attackers. Included are 15 resin pieces (counting the display base), as well as a wooden dowel for the spear shaft, toothpicks for the spear spikes and a thin wire to accompany the spear. A full-color instruction sheet is also provided.

Building this model wasn't hard - painting it was the real challenge. Still, there are a couple of things. One is that resin models can have very crisp, rich detail, but they are much more brittle than plastic models and can shatter if dropped. I snapped off Conan's left arm when I knocked him over on the workbench. I used 7-minute epoxy for all the major joins, and wouldn't recommend using superglue, since it's simply too brittle to keep a model of this size and weight together.

Modelers should take the time to inspect the pieces, cleaning up imperfections around the faces, hands and feet. This will make a world of difference during painting and finishing. This means filling some minor holes caused by bubbles in the resin in both faces, and scraping, filing and filling rough areas.

Conan is a striking model when finished, but it isn't for the beginner - nor is it for a modeler afraid of painting a lot of flesh. The pose is very dynamic, and the box art is certainly hard to ignore, especially because the box is absolutely huge! The subject hits at a good time, since interest in Conan has intensified with a new movie in the works.

Start with a spray can of white primer. For the most part, I used Master Series Paints from Reaper Miniatures. Reaper has a huge variety of acrylic paints geared specifically for fantasy models, each in a 1/2-oz. squeezable bottle, which makes dispensing precise amounts easier. What's more, Reaper paints lay down very nicely, leaving few or no brush strokes.

I used Tanned Skin, Tanned Shadow and Tanned Highlight (in various mixes) to finish Conan's skin; and Fair Skin, Fair Shadow and Fair Highlight on his female counterpart. Using Reaper's "triads" can be helpful to less experienced figure painters, and is also a useful tool in a figure modeler's arsenal. I used a combination of Ceramcoat Rain Grey, Quaker Grey and Black on the base. Ceramcoat is great for covering large areas, since the bottles are large and the paint is pretty thick.

You might pick up some acrylic paint retarder - Reaper has a retarder, but other brands will work - to slow drying times and allow for better shading. Also an acrylic thinner or Windsor & Newton Artgel to keep brushes clean.

For modelers who may be looking for some guidance with painting, there are a number of books available dedicated to finishing large-scale figures. Osprey Publishing's Modelling Scale Figures (ISBN: 978-1-84603-238-7, $19.95) has fine advice regarding use of acrylics, oils and enamels, as well as techniques to get more realistic finishes.

Lastly, there are a number of products you can add to this model that will really enhance its overall appeal and make it pop. For instance, I used summer grass (No. 1303) and late summer grass (No. 1304) from model-scenery manufacturer Busch for weeds in crevices in the display base. This added color, texture and realism. Small translucent beads, such as those used in O-scale model-railroad marker lights, could be added as jewels to the hilt of Conan's dagger.