Polar Lights reissue of the classic, Aurora Models’ King Kong’s Thronester model.
I received this kit, along with two others, as a gift. Of the three kits I received, two were of a type I’d never have chosen for myself. This is one of those kits and, of the two, the one I was least excited about. Consequently, I decided to do this kit before the other.
Then I started working on it and, to my shock and surprise, it became one of my favorite kits, ever.
Modifications to the Kit
One of the first things I decided to do was enclose the steering column housing. I dunno why they left it open but I wasn’t about to. I used some tabs of polystyrene left over from the model sprues to make the back. Some Fun-Tak held everything together as it dried. I pulled this out and puttied the seams when it had cured.
The backside of the Thronester’s high seat was similarly hollow and scalloped out. I also filled this in with modeling putty and flattened it out. I should have used a better putty but this worked.
I really wanted the model to roll when completed, so I added graphite in rear axle hub and washers on the axles between the wheels and chassis.
I grew up with skull gear shift knobs and felt Kong should have one as well. Luckily I have plethora of skulls in the house to choose from … A plastic bead filled in and painted worked well.
For “flame and smoke” exhaust I took some polyester fiberfill, shaped it into cones, then experimented with spraying mists of paint outside and jamming blobs of paint inside. Eventually I got a look that I wanted – and some extra made great “tear-out” plumes.
A final touch was a “temporary” (it’s still in place) stand made of a medium gauge wire sprayed with tool-dip for stay-puttedness.
King Kong’s Thronester
This was a great model to work. Killer sculpt, fun to finish, and a real challenge with minimal pins to guide assembly.
Wait – I liked that last part? Maybe not …
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[…] Of course, the price made more sense when it arrived. That’s when I discovered how small the model is in comparison to, say, King Kong’s Thronester. […]