Last of the Mohicans was released in theaters about 10 years ago, and I remember rather liking the film. The 1992 film was a remake of the 1936 movie, which is of course based on the 1826 novel by James Fenimore Cooper. The story is set in the North American theater of the Seven Years War, which we in the US know as the French-Indian War.
I doubt that there was much merchandising surrounding this film, and I don't think that any figures representing the characters have been created in metal, so I was rather surprised recently to find that BUM has produced a set of 1/72 figures titled "Film Characters Last Mohican" (BUM 2010) depicting the characters in this film.
The first image is of the various characters in the film, made in a soft rubbery resin. From left to right they are: Chingachgook, Uncas, Alice, Duncan (?), Cora, Hawkeye, and Magua choking the life from Colonel Munro.
Hawkeye is a bit wide, but I have to say that the sculpting for BUM figures has come a long way since the days of their knockoffs of old figures from other companies.
And a vacuform terrain piece.
The set also comes with a set of Huron warriors that are also made in the same type of resin.
These same poses also come in plastic, which was what I was hoping for in this set, but from what I see at PSR, maybe these resin figures hold detail better than their plastic counterparts.
I keep wanting to give BUM a chance since they produce subjects neglected by most other companies, but I am always left with mixed feelings about their figures. High price tag aside, why do they keep using the crappy rubbery resin that they do? These figures do not have the brittleness of some of the earlier releases, but after trimming the sprues from the bases, the remains reminded me of nothing so much as rubber pencil erasers.
I just don't understand why BUM cannot find a better resin than what they are using given the cost of their figures. I'm sure there are plenty of resins that hold detail just as well as the current stuff, and much more suitable for making figures. The rubbery material they are using makes me uneasy, and I get the feeling I should seal the figures as soon as possible or they may dry up and crack like old windshield wiper blades.
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絶望した！ BUM に絶望した！ |
P.S.
If people are interested in this film, the current US DVD release is not the theatrical version, but a recut director's version. From what I understand, the region 2 UK version is the only theatrical version available.
7 comments:
So strange...at the time this post popped up I was actual watching the movie which I had purchased earlier in the day.
Good film but although BUM have, as you say, come a long way recently, thier plastic is crap. Nice looking figs and a tempting period but not if they are made of eraser plastic. Interesting that thier site is called BUMSLOT..was the site creator having fun or the translation mixed up a bit ?
Cheers
paul
A 1992 film would have been released 20 years ago...
Neat looking figures. They do look like they need painting if you want them 20 years from now.
These actually look like pretty decent sculpts. The figures seem to scale well with (George?) but seem a tad short at around 22mm. Am I reading that wrong? I bought a bunch of BUM western sets and was very disappointed in the terrible detail and size. Next to the Imex and Revell western stuff they looked like Hobbits.
@John
Did you get the new Blu-ray version? I haven't heard how it differs from the director's or theatrical versions yet.
@Paul
I think that BUM may need to get a new translator, but first they need to ask the Valdemar guys where to buy some decent resin to produce their figures.
@JD
You are right. The film was 20 years ago. My brain is compensating so I don't have to acknowledge how old I really am.
@Sean
The old BUM western stuff was 1/76 reduced in size from their copying process, so they were definitely tiny compared to normal 1/72 figures.
The film characters (except Duncan and the women) are mostly crouching, so they appear a bit short, but the fully upright figures are about 22mm to the eyes and stand about 24mm to the crown, so they're not 6-footers. I place George at about 5'8" so these figures are at least that tall, except the women who would scale to about 5'2".
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Strange BUM sets....
not so bad but...
and they are very expensive!
(when you can find them!)
Thanks for the review!
Actually, there was a Barzso Last of the Mohicans playset in 1/32 scale made in the early 90s. If you look at the link, you will see these BUM character figures are almost direct copies of the ones from the Barzso playset.
http://www.mohicanpress.com/mo10014.html
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