Collector Model

Here’s another sneak peek at our upcoming Forbidden Planet C-57D model kit re-release. We unveiled the Id Monster a few days ago – heightening the drama is the crew of the C-57D, laser rifles in hand; Commander Adams barking orders into his communications device and the lovely Altaira suitably distressed by the whole situation.

The figures, along with the ID Monster, really bring the kit alive by presenting a bit of the drama that is at the heart of the plot of Forbidden Planet, rightfully hailed as a masterpiece of mid-century sci-fi cinema. In addition, the small size of the in-scale figures really serves to highlight the massiveness of the C-57D. A true sense of scale is something we felt was somewhat lacking in the last release of the kit, in spite of the inclusion of Robby and the detailed interior. Adding the human element somehow really puts everything into context, and helps bring the story of Forbidden Planet back to the forefront.

As with the Id Creature, Jamie directed the creation of the sculpts, starting with a series of turnaround drawings for the sculptors to use as a guide, and then providing comments and further direction as the sculpts progressed. As with the Id, we received approval on the sculpts just last week, and gray resin castings were photographed, retouched and incorporated into the packaging graphics on the box bottom.

At long last, the ID Monster makes his styrene model kit debut! Here’s a sneak peek at part of our upcoming re-release of the Forbidden Planet C-57D Space Cruiser, which includes a few upgrades since the model kit was last seen on the market. The Id Monster is cast in clear plastic – which is the closest we can get to “invisible.” Included here are images of Jamie’s original turnaround drawings, the approved sculpt (a resin casting painted primer gray) plus a Photoshop simulation of the assembled monster, rendered as if tinted with a transparent red glaze (as if he is being made visible by the force field fence). At 1/72 scale, he measures a whopping 2” tall, which makes him 12 feet tall in “real life.”

Why a Photoshop simulation of the completed monster instead of an actual buildup? Well, it’s one of those weird cases where the packaging is due before we’ve even seen an actual test shot of the figure, as we just received approval from the licensor on the new sculpts last week. Our new packaging shows off a nice image of the buildup on the box bottom, so I felt it was important to have a semi-realistic representation on the package back. Tooling is commencing immediately, as the kit is due out in November – and that’ll be here before we know it!