Metaluna Mutant

I know I saw the film This Island Earth in a theater, probably the Bay Theater in National City, but since it came out in 1955, it must have been re-released sometime prior to 1963. It's a very good film, one of my favorites, despite the rather simplistic plot that, in the end, goes the only place it could go--nowhere but where fate dictated. Unlike other films of the period, it's not as dated as it might be, possibly because it's set almost entirely within a secluded conclave of scientists and on the planet Metaluna. Neither setting provides interaction with the then-current US society, the main reasons films lose relevance as audiences change. For example, Godzilla (1954) is still a relevant film (I don't think the modern Godzillas from Legendary will fare as well) because the focus is on the monster not the people, whereas The Giant Gila Monster (1959) is a dated rock-and-roll curiosity piece with a big lizard thrown in, though I still find it enjoyable, the b&w version more than the colorized bastardization.

The film is taken from the novel This Island Earth by Raymond F. Jones. Though the book was published in 1952 by early SF publisher Shasta, it actually appeared in SF pulp magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories as three separate novelettes: "The Alien Machine" (June 1949), "The Shroud of Secrecy" (December 1949) and "The Greater Conflict" (February 1950). Though the film and the book follow the same plotline from the beginning, with physicist Cal Meacham receiving a strange machine to build, followed by an invitation  to a secret scientific society and a ride in a robot-plane, they diverge widely at that point. The book continues almost as a mystery novel as the purpose of the society is explored and we find a great interstellar war is raging around the Earth, that the Llannans (as the aliens are called in the book) as using Earth just as US and Japanese forces used small Pacific islands during WW2...the inhabitants could not understand the nature of the conflict, but they could be used to build things, airfields in the case of the island natives, "interociter" machines in the case of the shanghaied scientists. It explains the title of the book, an allusion omitted from the film.

The Dec 1949 issue of TWS
"The Shroud of Secrecy,"
2nd in Jones' trilogy

Shasta's first edition of the novel, a very
minimalist design; the re-issue used the movie
poster as a basis for the art. 

The film, which was released as a double-feature with ("sigh") Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy did fairly well at the box office, earning $1,700,000, and good reviews from critics who praised the literate script and special effects. While the film still holds a favorable rating with fans and film historians, it took an undeserved hit when it was lampooned in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie. Well, I never cared that much for the series anyway The book was mostly well-received, though some reviewers (notably Kirkus) thought there were too many loose ends left hanging and too much "labor baiting" by the author. The film is available on DVD/Blue Ray, though you can catch is on broadcast TV sometimes or watch it on YouTube. The book has been out of print for a long time, but is now available, like a lot of older writings, as an e-book. A print version of the story was included in the 1994 anthology Reel Futures published by Barnes & Noble Books, a very interesting collection I should highlight in the near future.

Metaluna Mutant Model from Atlantis

So, you ask, why bring up a 70-year-old film (and book) that most people have not seen or read, other than because I have odd tastes. Well, one of my favorite aspects of the film (other than seeing an airplane in flight snatched by a flying saucer...true facts!) is the Mutant engineered by the Metalunans (as the aliens are called in the film) as slave labor. It was designed by makeup artist Bud Westmore (uncle of Michael Westmore of Star Trek fame). Even today, it remains an effective design, though the final project did not quite match Westmore's original concept...the limitations of the human body are so annoying. Originally, the Mutant's legs were supposed to match the arms.

Back of the box showing finished model

Atlantis Toy & Model Company, one of the few US model companies remaining, issued a 1/12 scale model of the Mutant from the film. Yes, I had to get it. If there are any model builders, or former ones, this might strike a familiar note. That's because the Aurora Model Company was going to issue Mr Mutant as part of their "Famous Monsters of Film" series, joining Frankenstein, the Mummy and the Wolfman. The dies were cut, but, unfortunately, it didn't happen, and the company went under shortly afterward. From this point on, it's just going to be pictures from my model build, in which I took some liberties with color (because I could) and added a lobby card to replace the b&w graphic provided for the clapboard, so if you're not interested in models, thanks for reading this far. I really appreciate your interest and support. Do find time to watch the film or read the book.

The base: ivory top, dark blue background, with gold
atomic sigil; lobby card (remember those?) added by me.

Close up of lobby card.

"It's alive! It's alive!"

For the trousers, I used Vallejo Acrylic's Wood & Leather
Paint Set to create "light leather," a mix of Dark Sand/Japanese
Uniform with washes of Flat Earth and Smoke, then Dark Sand 
again for highlight. All painted areas were first covered with
Vallejo USN Ghost Grey Surface Primer.

The feet and "hands" are a slightly different color than the
body. I used a 60/40 mix of Metallic Turquoise and Metallic
Arctic Blue from Folkart. Claws are Vallejo Bonewhite.

A face only Mutant Mom could love.

I don't know why he has a "space bra."

Yes, the brain was bluish, but it 
shouted "Green!" at me. The Mutant
made me do it. That's my story.

To be honest, I don't understand the purpose of
the "hump" or how it goes over the "space bra."
Is it armor or organic? It looks both.

Another view of the trousers. It was the first
time I've used such a complex layering on a model.

The Mutant measures 7" (7.5" with the base). At
1:12 scale, one inch equals one foot.

The Metaluna Mutant has been a favorite of fans for years. I think it may be because he fulfills so many genre tropes of the times: bug-eyed monster (BEM), exposed big brain, popping veins, claws, etc. All he needs is a scantily clad space lass on his arm and he could have graced the cover of Thrilling Wonder Stories. As it is, he'll have to be satisfied with the cover of Famous Monsters of Filmland, that venerable chronicle of weird and wonderful movies founded by James Warren (Creepy, Vampirella, etc) and Forrest J. Akerman (AKA "The Akermonster" and "Mr Science Fiction."