The Batboat! 1967 Aurora Model Re-Issue! Batman! DC Comics!

Wow! Here is my bulit-up version of the 2003 re-release of the fabulous original 1967 Aurora BATBOAT model kit! Click below to enlarge each image!

The gloss effect on the body of the craft was created using 
a spray gloss over the basic black/blue body! It was a real effort 
to precisely paint the red and chrome piping and the white side oval shapes!

Where's Batman? I used his figure in another Bat-vehicle, saving Robin to pilot 
this right-hand-side steered craft solo! I created new custom stickers 
for the rear fins and base! I also added plastic "flames" swiped from a Lego set!

The TV Batboat made its debut in the 1966 BATMAN theatrical film, but
wouldn't appear as an Aurora model kit until the following year!

A very fun (but challenging) model to build, one I was too young for (but always
wanted) when it debuted in the 60s!  I was very grateful for the recent re-release!

More Vintage Albert Bigley Paintings Revealed! 1979 MESSterpieces! Hulk! Dr. Strange!

It has been awhile since I threw a lingering light on my past forays into brush-and-canvas painting, but, thanks to a recent feverish rampage in my attic, here are three unearthed painted pictures from my 9th-grade past! First up: A 1980 acrylic rendering of ol' Captain America himself, based on a then-current cover of Cap's own mag! Click each image to enlarge!

My 1980 painting (above, left) and John Byrne's cover (right) for
CAPTAIN AMERICA #238! Which do you prefer? Don't answer that.

Next up is another acrylic paining, whipped up by me in late 1979! Here is Dr. Strange, looking a bit elongated and gaunt, as he casts a spell over an entranced audience! I recall creating tons of glazes for applying over the hands and circular "spell" areas! This painting was even part of a student art display event at my high school! Yow.

Are those Doc's hands, or inflated sausages on display?! The idea of
getting reference, or having somebody pose their
hands similarly for me? At that time, I thought
that would be copying and cheating!

And, finally (and mercifully,) here is a 1979 Hulk image, painted in acrylic on flat canvas board! The Hulk breaks free from a dark prison, with an image of the "Banner-to-Hulk" transformation posted overhead! You can tell I used Bill Bixby (then the star of the INCREDIBLE HULK TV series) as my inspiration for that lead face! I was also influenced by my newly-acquired FANTASTIC FOUR index, with Jim Steranko's amazing cover painting! Note Jim's almost monochromatic orange area (with the facial close-ups) on his cover below...These paintings aren't bad for a 15-year-old comic artist wannabee, but...

My 1979 painting (above, left) and Steranko's influential FF INDEX cover painting (right)!