Chintoys Marathon

Chintoys is a Russian manufacturer of toy soldiers. They are known mostly for their eclectic range of 1/32 scale figures, but their most recent release are two sets of figures in 1/72 scale representing the two sides from the Battle of Marathon.

Datis vs Callimachus (detail)
Reconstruction of painting
from the Stoa Poikile.

An interview with Igor Basevich of Engineer Basevich by Warhorse Miniatures includes some tangential details about Chintoys for anyone who is interested.

The art design on the boxes is similar to the ones used for their larger figures, and repeats the same image on both sides.

The first set of miniatures represent the Persians.

The set contains one sprue of command figures and five sprues of infantry, all in gray plastic.

Persian command

Persian infantry

Persian infantry

The figures have a bit of flash to clean up, and are not particularly stable on their bases, requiring some bending to keep from falling over (particularly the fighting poses which are rather flat).

Otherwise, the figures are are nicely sculpted, and detailed down to the patterns on their clothing.

The second set is of the Greek forces.

The box contains eight sprues in green plastic, each with six figures.

Greek hoplites

Greek hoplites

Greek psiloi

The hoplites are really tall at ~28mm in height. I suppose they are meant to be heroic representations, but having so many 6' 8" hoplites seems a bit much. The psiloi, being mere commoners are a bit more reasonable in height.

The sculpts, like those of the Persians are a bit on the flat side, but are nicely detailed. There was quite a bit of flash to clean up.

Overall, I think these sets were a decent first effort from Chintoys. I hope they will consider producing some of their Mesoamerican and other more obscure figures in 1/72 scale.

Some D&D 50th Anniversary Miniatures

For the 50th Anniversary of D&D, WizKids has released a set of Icons of the Realms figures representing creatures from 1st ed. AD&D and the current 5th ed. of the game.

I picked up a few of the miniatures that I felt I could use alongside 1/72 scale figures, the first being the Classic Red Dragon, which is probably the size of a typical young dragon in the current line of miniatures.

The miniature represents the red dragon from the cover of the original D&D Basic Set from 1977.

I think it's a great representation of the artwork, though I wish they would have made the wings a little more in proportion to its body (certainly they were able to alter the appearance of other miniatures, so I don't know why they couldn't have made changes to make this miniature look better).

I also bought a Gold Dragon which is based on the 5th ed. ampersand logo.

This miniature is a Young Gold Dragon (50th Anniversary #50), which is the equivalent size I use for adult dragons in 1/72 scale. This particular miniature seems to sell on eBay for ~US$50, which is way overpriced. You can find it for much cheaper by shopping around.

The next miniature is an efreet based on the cover of the 1st ed. AD&D DMG.

The Efreeti (50th Anniversary #47) has been modified to suit modern tastes, with the damsel in distress replaced by a ball of fire. The sword arm is a separate part, and the seam line where it is attached to the body is quite glaring. I do like how the sunburst eyes from the artwork are replicated in the miniature though.

I was also surprised to learn that Super7 makes a similarly sized 3.75" action figure of the efreet (along with various other figures). Note how the left hand is conveniently cropped from the blister card art.

There is also a US$250 12" resin figure produced by WizKids that represents the "advanced scene" on the DMG cover after the scantily clad damsel has convinced the efreet that the knight is a much better candidate for his attentions.

Next are a pair of goblins. The 1E version is based on Dave Trampier's art from the AD&D Monster Manual.

The 1E Goblin (50th Anniversary #6) is similar to the art, with the main difference being the helmet (because of the way it is painted). The 5E Goblin (50th Anniversary #5) is an archer that is firing his bow.

Next are a pair of Shadow Demons, with the 1E version based on the art from the Fiend Folio.

The 1E Shadow Demon (50th Anniversary #17) mimics the artwork too faithfully, with its brows painted white. I'm pretty sure in the artwork, it is just a stylistic technique used to suggest some semblance of shape to the head of the demon. The 5E Shadow Demon (50th Anniversary #18) is just completely black except for its eyes and teeth.

The last two miniatures are a Pit Fiend (50th Anniversary #31) and a Glabrezu (50th Anniversary #25).

I wish the Icons Pit Fiend was closer to the original Trampier artwork, with half-furled wings partially cloaking his body, instead of the 2nd ed. Monstrous Manual version, since the miniature is similar in appearance to the conversion I made using a Reaper Pit Fiend.

Unfortunately, my Icons Pit Fiend is missing his tail, so it looks like he has a huge tear in his pants.

Finally, I really would have liked to get the demon idol miniature, but it looked like it was more suitable in scale for 15mm figures.

仕事猫

今日も一日。ご安全に!

Shigoto Neko (仕事猫; Working Cat) is a Japanese meme that originated in 2016 from an illustration posted on twitter by the artist known as Kumamine (くまみね). In the picture, Denwa Neko (電話猫; Telephone Cat) asks "How come you're still up in the middle of the night?"

「夜中科学電話相談」

Various remarks subsequently replaced the original text, and different forms of the cat emerged.

At some point, someone gave the cat a hard hat and had it pose as if performing yubisashi kakunin (指差確認). This design became known as Genba Neko (現場猫; Worksite Cat).

ヨシ!

As the meme gained popularity in 2018, Kumamine reclaimed the character, and called it Shigoto Neko. The design was slightly changed to avoid copyright issues due to the many memetic alterations that happened with the character.

The meme has since become mainstream, with industrial associations and government offices using the character to promote workplace safety.

2022 Agricultural Work Safety
Confirmation Campaign

Various goods, figures, and toys have been made of Shigoto Neko, but the only one of relevance to me has been the Construction Site + Shigoto Neko (工事現場+仕事猫) gashapon from Toys Cabin.

A limited black cat version was also announced last year, but such items are typically difficult to get ahold of if you happen to be overseas.

I apologize in advance for the resolution of the images. They are about ¼ the size of my typical pictures because I did some repairs on my camera, which reset all my capture settings.

I didn't realize there was an issue until after I started editing the photos, and now I'm too lazy to retake the pictures, so they are what they are.

Set A includes various barricades, a small A-frame sign, a detour sign, a cushion drum, a portapotty, and various stickers.

Set B is largely the same as Set A, except with a large A-frame sign, and a signal light.

Set C consists of various barricades, a traffic wand, plate compactor, wheelbarrow, metal plate, some rubble, and stickers.

Set D is similar to Set C, except it includes a sign and various hand tools.

All the sets are stated to be 1/64 scale, but I think except for the portapotty and shovel, everything else would probably work for 1/72.

The cat themed metal tube (単管) barricades need to be glued together for them to keep from falling apart.

A related set of gashapon that I picked up was the Toys Cabin Sidewalks & Signs Collection (歩道＆標識コレクション).

Set A consists of sidewalk and curb parts, as well as a sign with stickers for slow/stop.

Set B also has sidewalk and curb parts, but includes a mirror instead of a sign.

Set C consists of sidewalk and curb parts, as well as a sign with stickers for no parking/no u-turn/speed limits.

Set D consists of sidewalk and curb parts, as well as a sign with stickers for no passing/no entry.

Set E consists of sidewalk and curb parts, as well as two signs with stickers for school zone/bicycle and pedestrian crossing/one way street/left turn ok.

The signs and figures (except the cat) might be a little too big for 1/72 scale, but I'd give the sidewalks a pass.

Overall, these are fairly usable items from Toys Cabin depending on your level of tolerance for scale discrepacy. I look forward to more of their future releases.