Mushroom People

The Mushroom Parent and Mushroom Child are from the Dark Souls video game. The children are clumsy and harmless, while the parents are famous for their right hook.

I think my first lineup shows the only licensed figures of the Mushroom People. The pair on the left are from the line of super-deformed Dark Souls garage kits produced by MouseUnit, and the pair on the right are from the Darkroot Expansion of the Dark Souls Board Game.

The MouseUnit SD Mushroom People are sold at WonFes, and don't look particularly different from their non-SD appearance. I think they may be very close to being 1/72 scale.

The game pieces on the other hand are made to be compatible with 28mm figures, but can represent larger/older members of the mushroom tribe.

I magnetized the MouseUnit figures so that I could mount them individually on metal washers, or display them together on their original base.

While on the topic of mushroom people, I wanted to cover more figures from other manufacturers.

On the left are three Otherworld Lesser Myconids (DM33a), while on the right are a pair of Myconid Adults from Nolzur`s Marvelous Miniatures (WZK73405).

The Otherworld myconids are multipart figures that require some drilling and pinning for durability. The lettering on the tabs indicate which arms go with which bodies.

Also, in somewhat of a surprise, I found a package from the Warren of Vile Fungi Kickstarter on my doorstep this afternoon, so I'll show a few of the miniatures in this post, but the rest will have to wait for another day.

The first group of miniatures are the Myconids of the Circle (MAFMMN12). From left to right they are Grumble Cap, Mushgut, Phun & Ji, Fungbob, and Wormy.

The set came with slotta bases, but the figures do not come with corresponding tabs for the bases. I added metal pins in the legs to secure them to the washers that I use as bases, but most of the figures have very thin legs, making drilling more difficult.

Mushgut looks like a slimmer version of the Mushroom People from Dark Souls.

Grumble Cap, Fungbob, and Wormy are somewhat similar to Mushroom Children in size and build.

The second group of miniatures I wanted to show (along with Phun & Ji), are the Rhyzonid Children (MAFMMN09B).

I think these guys are the perfect size for 1/72 myconids, and I wish that the other small miniatures from Mortal Arrow were all closer to this size.

In fact, I think that it would be cool if someone made even smaller myconid figures just because...

無題 (untitled) by Silence Girl

Die Glocke

Die Glocke is a purported Nazi anti-gravity device/time machine that has become part of modern UFO mythology thanks to the History Channel and the Discovery Channel, which link it with the Kecksburg UFO.

Much like the educational content from the aforementioned networks, the replica of the Kecksburg UFO reminds me of a certain emoji.

Kecksburg UFO Memorial
Kecksburg, PA

I have a 1/72 resin model by Tanhauser Gate that I picked up at WonFes last year. It is a single piece model cast in gray resin.

There were a lot of small casting bubbles that needed to be filled, and I had to use a chisel to get rid of several blobs of resin in the recessed areas of the model.

Most of the time, models of Die Glock are painted gray or gun metal, but I liked the gloss black appearance used in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

A hole was drilled in the bottom of the model so I could put it on a clear plastic rod to simulate flight.

Lunadiver Stingray

The Lunadiver Stingray is a ground attack craft from the SF3D universe. It was used by the Independent Mercenary Army against Shutoral forces on the Moon.

The 1/76 version was produced by Tenbowkissa a couple of years ago, and I've finally gotten around to putting my kit together.

The kit consists of 13 resin parts and a couple of lengths of guitar string for use as cable conduits.

The resin is the typical Tenbowkissa material that is nice and easy to clean up. There were no bubbles, but I need to do some work on the radar dish and tail boom where the casting gates were located.

It took about half an hour to drill, pin, and magnetize the parts, and another half an hour to put the kit together.  Most of the time was spent trying to fit and install the guitar strings.

I used some electrical wire in the center of the guitar string to try and help it retain the curves that I wanted, but the end results were not that great.

A soft metal wire with a bigger diameter would have probably worked a lot better.

Now I just need to fill in the gaps between the joins, and paint the model.

I was originally thinking about using the color scheme for the 7th Yeomanry Regiment (which I've transformed to the 332nd Fighter Group in my mind).

However, the Tenbowkissa kit does not have the canister parts that I associate with this unit (due to their presence on the Hasegawa kit).

For this build I think I will go with the 241st Squadron Ghoul Skeleton markings, or maybe just plain aircraft gray like the Tenbowkissa showcase model.

Ghoul Skeleton

CG animated short of Operation Dynamo
(no sound)

Wonder Festival 2019[夏]

I'm only writing about it now, but back in July I attended the Summer Wonder Festival at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. The show is largely focused on anime figures, but there were many 1/72 scale kits and figures with possible gaming applications that I'm sure many hobbyists would be interested in learning about.

The first item I bought was a 3D printed Japanese-style tombstone. I later found out these were novelty items for students to commemorate their lost college credits.

Circle: なんか作ろうよ

I went back-and-forth in my mind about this 1/72 Glocke by Tanhauser Gate before deciding to buy it. A figure was in the display for scale purposes and is not part of the kit, so I'm not sure where it comes from.

Circle: タンホイザーゲート

Some amazing figures from Demons Kingdom. Looks like stuff right out of the Dictionnaire Infernal.

Circle: デモンズキングダム

I was intending to go back at some point to buy the Forneus (フォルネウス) and Decarabia (デカラピア) figures, but there was so much going on at the show that I ended up forgetting.

Seventh Moon was one of the circles that I really wanted to visit. They had their new 1/72 kits from Macross on display, but I was looking for the 1/72 Daihatsu landing craft and Carro Armato P 26/40 that they announced before Winter Wonder Festival in February.

Unfortunately they did not have either in stock, and they don't ship overseas. I composed a senryū as an expression of my disappointment.

長い旅 でも舟いない 悲しいだ

A long journey But the boat was not there I am sad

Despite the setback, I continued on through the exhibit hall. I was drawn to the Trico figure sculpted by Yamaguchi Narumi because of the various figures of The Boy. The figures are smaller than 1/72 scale, but can be used as younger children. The models were completely sold out though.

Circle: sobae

The Boy

A lot of military and science fiction kits were concentrated in one section of the hall.

The Kami de Korokoro booth was in this section, and I picked up the new 1/72 High School Girl figure set they were selling.

Tenbowkissa was in this area as well. I was looking forward to their Falke model, but they were sold out. Luckily Tenbowkissa products are available through their website. I did buy one of the Camel kits though.

MEF & Team STRIKE! gr. is a circle that I never heard of before. They were selling 1/72 power armor, and I bought a couple of the models that I thought had more of the Maschinen Krieger aesthetic.

Circle: MEF & チーム・ストライク!・ゲルプ

Takasehatuenki had a booth selling 1/72 Hasegawa walking panzer conversion kits. I didn't buy any of these kits because I'm not a huge fan of walking tank designs that just take regular tanks and swap the tracks for legs (I'm looking at you too Rocket Models!).

Circle: 高瀬発煙機

I passed by a booth selling a 1/72ish Dunkleosteus and 1/2 scale Xidazoon. I should have bought the Dunkleosteus but I didn't.

Another circle I was looking for was gonBro. I actually bought their science fiction figures at Yellow Submarine in Akihabara a few days earlier, not realizing they would be sold at the show at a much lower price.

I bought his carrier deck crew figures which I didn't see at Yellow Submarine.

Circle: 1234gonBro

I included this picture of some Zoids because they are ostensibly 1/72 scale, but that said, I don't really have much of an interest in the majority of them.

The final highlight for me was the 1/72 scale Maschinen Krieger Digital Garage Kit display from Kaiyodo.

For years I've been trying to think of ways to convert my 1/76 SAFS to 1/72 scale, but now it is no longer as much of an issue.

I really hope that Kaiyodo will consider selling the stl files so that people can print up their own models. I don't know why, but there is something compelling about painting up as many SAFS as possible in all their different color schemes. It's not something that is really feasible in 1/20 scale, but it can be achievable in 1/72 scale.

I'll do more typical scale comparison type articles showing my purchases in future posts, and if anyone is interested in more about my experience at the show, I've written about it in my other blog.