Until recently, you could not find any new kits of characters from the 1960s TV series Batman. I was a huge fan, so I was thrilled when Moebius started a line of 1/8 scale heroes and villains from the show. The realistic sculptures are striking likenesses of the actors, as is the case with Burgess Meredith as the Penguin.
The kit contains 47 well-molded parts, but you won’t use them all. Moebius thoughtfully provides extras for some of parts that might be lost or broken during construction. There are no ejection-pin marks in exterior surfaces and mold seams are minimal.
Along with notes and suggestions for construction and painting, the fun instructions have campy sayings from Penguin.
Building the two-part head was straightforward with an easy-to-eliminate seam at the neck. I test-fitted the monocle to be sure it would fit after painting, and was glad Moebius provided two of them; as I was trying to clean up the edge on one side of the part, it flew out of my hands, never to be seen again! I left the monocle and cigarette off for painting.
I followed the instructions to assemble the body, arms, hands, and legs, except I left the hands separate from the arms, and the legs and lower torso separate from the upper torso, for ease of painting. This gave me access to the insides and underside of the coat, but I had to cut the tabs from the hands to slide them into place later.
The seams on the coat arms and pant legs seemed too deep, so I filled them with Squadron green putty. A painted seam replaced them.
I was concerned that the small plastic tab that anchors the figure to the base via his rear foot would be too weak to properly support the villain. I ended up replacing it with a metal screw so I could secure the figure with a nut.
The kit offers open and closed umbrellas. I used the latter but assembled the open version. Moebius supplies extra ribs, and the instructions are clear, but I found it helpful to use the metal rod in the kit as an extra hand to align the parts.
A penguin sidekick and nameplate finished the build.
I hand-painted the figure with Vallejo acrylics over airbrushed primer.
The kit has good detail, but there are a couple of areas that can be improved. The cuffs of the coat end flat; a small indentation would give the impression of depth. Second, the bow tie lacks a strap. I carefully painted one with shadows and highlights.
I spent 15 fun hours building and painting the Penguin. It is the third Moebius Batman figure I’ve built, and I eagerly await the rest. They’re simple to build and a blast to paint. I recommend them to anyone who loves Batman.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the January 2017 issue.