How to Build and Convert the 1:8 Scale Moebius Grim Reaper Kit

Welcome back to the Hobbyco blog! Today, we will cover the process of building and converting the 1:8 scale Moebius Grim Reaper kit. We’ll be discussing the basic build process and my personal upgrade, which added a little bit of extra detail. 

In addition, I will be taking the time to explain some of the kit issues that a beginner would appreciate to ensure you can have the tools and techniques ready to get started on the exciting journey.

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get right into it!

The Moebius Kit “The Harbinger of Death”

The Grim Reaper is 1:8 scale and stands 23cm (9 inches) once assembled.  Features include a clear plastic hourglass and a magnificent Scythe with a mean-looking pointy bit and a somewhat detailed base. 

Also included in the pack are two headstones with cheesy comical sayings, a gnarled old tree, and styrene grass tufts. I have to congratulate the Moebius sculptors — they have really excelled in giving the model mood and character.

Here’s What You Will Need

This is a styrene kit, so basic styrene cement is needed. For this particular model, I used Revell Contacta Pro. 

You will also require either nippers or a craft scalpel, depending on which tool you prefer working with. Personally, my choice is nippers to cut the parts from the sprue. Both Vallejo and Tamiya make great nippers. 

Next up: you will need paints and brushes. For a beginner, I’d recommend Vallejo paints and brushes and having an assortment of three sizes is a great place to start. For my build, I used Tamiya lacquers through an airbrush.  

When it comes to the conversion, I used Vallejo snow, NOCH grass, Tamiya putty, Miliput, and sandpaper, preferably rough and fine. Finally, be sure that you have clothes pegs or clamps on standby to help put everything together.

Building the Kit

Right off the bat, the subject matter appealed to me. Nothing gets my attention more than a beautifully detailed model, and if you’re like me, you’ll certainly appreciate this particular model kit.

Inside the body halves are huge locator tabs. I found just about every part had oversized locator tabs, even the hourglass, which in my opinion, was slightly unnecessary. 

The kit was also designed to be a snap-together, but I preferred to glue it. The plastic was quite thick, meaning that the glue had a good surface to adhere to. I like this because I can make a seam disappear with sanding on thick plastic rather than thin.

Putting together the tree was no problem either, but as I added the branches, the gap fit became obvious, and I needed to get out my Tamiya basic grey putty. I like working with this putty because, after twenty-four hours, I can sand away the excess and scribe on extra detail. 

However, I’ve looked at build samples online and noticed some builders didn’t fill the tree gaps, so as is the case with all model kits, feel free to build as you like.

The scythe had a few fit issues. I guess because the two parts are long and slender, they got slightly warped after popping out of the warm mould and cooling. This was the point in time where I found it very necessary to have clamps or clothes pegs ready. 

Even though I assembled the headstones, I started to have doubts about using them. The quotes did nothing to enhance the mood of the kit, and really, I have never seen a grave maker with these details on it.

At this point, too, I realised that I wanted to add more detail to the base, but my early planning was for rocks and vegetation, which was very boring. As a stroke of luck, I unearthed in my bits and pieces box a rather scratched-up miniature statue of an angel.  I found it twenty years ago on a footpath. She had been through the wars and may have even been run over a few times, but just the ticket for the extra detail on the base.  

My enthusiasm for more add-ons meant the base needed to be bigger for my growing vision.

The Base Conversion

After I made up my mind about what I wanted on the base, I calculated how much bigger it should be to ensure I had plenty of room, but the main part of the kit was not overwhelmed. 

I traced around the original base on some plywood and cut it out approximately two centimetres bigger in circumference. I cut out the grave marker at the Reaper's feet and moved it three centimetres forward. All the gaps and extra ground were built up using Milliputt's two-part epoxy putty. Any colour will do, but I have heaps of terracotta.

I just couldn’t use those headstones in the kit. The sayings on them did nothing to keep the mood gloomy. I whipped up some alternate headstones, using the originals as a guide, and then cut the shape out of scrap Perspex. I could’ve used balsa wood, but I have lots of Perspex off-cuts and heaps of “elbow grease”. I have an engraver, so I could create my own names and dates. The plinth for my angel was cut out of balsa wood. 

Painting the Reaper

I’d glued everything together days before and set them aside to dry, meaning I could now get started on sanding the seams. A rough sanding pad to start with, then I finished off with a finer grit. No problem! Everything blended in perfectly. 

At this point, I noticed that the shoulder cape sat too high, and I felt this needed work to make it sit better. I used a #5 knife and chipped away at the plastic until I was happy with the fit.

Did I mention I love lacquers? I’ve been using an airbrush for over forty years, so I never hand-paint large areas if I can help it. I used Tamiya lacquer on everything for my base colours, as it dries smoothly and quickly. When airbrushing, a good rule to follow is to apply all the highlights first. The paint is thinned further as the highlight becomes softer.

I started on the robe using a dark grey. No particular paint number; I just mixed my own and black with white until I was happy. More white was added to the black as I built up my highlights. The reverse was applied as I shaded down, more black mixed with the white until only black was airbrushed into the deepest detail.

Once the figurine was airbrushed as much as it needed, it was now time to hand paint the finer detail. For this, I used whatever paint did the job. I used Humbrol here and Vallejo there and artist oil paint to add the final touches of grime. I even used a sharpie pen to bring out the tatty and torn detail on his sleeves.

The Reaper's skull face was airbrushed an off-white colour and finished with a light application of an artist's oil paint called brown-pink.

The tree was decorated in a similar way. I sprayed it with brown lacquer, applied burnt umber artist oil using a stiff brush, and then wiped off the excess. Oh, I made some of the branches longer with twisted wire — I just really felt the tree needed to be more gnarled.

Adding a Few Personal Touches

I was in two minds to create an autumn or winter scene. In the end, the winter scene won. I’d read up about various snow products, and Vallejo snow ticked all the boxes.

This is the first time I’ve used any snow product.  I applied it with a large brush; Vallejo also recommends a spatula. Straight off, it did exactly what I wanted. The water-based paste dried quickly and I began spreading it about just to get appropriate ground cover. I had to slow down and be quite accurate on how the snow lay on the ground and around objects — studying images on Google helped with this!

I’d left his moulded cavity free of snow, so the reaper appeared to settle in deep and not sit on top of the snow. For some reason, I thought the Grim Reaper would be heavy in real life. To make it appear as though the Reaper had been walking through the snow, I airbrushed the base of his robe white. I purposely did not add too much thinner to the paint, so it went on quite powdery, and the effect was perfect!

I started to experiment with paint to create aged headstones. I base-painted everything in lacquer, then streaked artist's oil paint over the surface. While I wasn’t 100% happy with the finished result, using these tools and techniques was certainly a learning experience. 

As a final bit of base detail, I sprinkled autumn leaves here and there. Years ago, I purchased a leaf-shaped paper punch from a craft store. For this project, I painted a piece of paper with kids' craft paint, red, yellow, orange, and brown, then let it dry. I punched out about fifty leaves and glued them to the tree and base. I had to set aside the plastic grass tufts that were supplied; they just didn’t look right with what I’d created. Instead, I used Noch scenery, “dead grass” — what a great product!

She’s all finished, and I’m very pleased with the result. Perhaps now the Grim Reaper might actually be called the “not so Grim Reaper.”

HG

Check out our interview with Helen here!