You know the score pal. You're not cop, you're little people.

After Alien Bear told me about the Gaslands miniatures produced by North Star Military Figures last month, I had to buy a set to check the figures out in real life.

The set I picked up was the Highway Patrol (NSPIoC12), though I would have gotten the Wasteland Warriors (i.e., War Boys) if they were available.

In any event, four of the figures in the set are the eponymous Highway Patrol.

They are in the mould of the old Citadel Dark Future Cops, and I don't really have plans for them, but maybe they can be used for something pulpish like members of the Blackhawk Squadron.

The pièce de résistance of this set however, was the Blade Runner figure.

All the figures are 1/72 scale, so I didn't need to bring them up to height.

I had a little trouble trying to figure out what color to paint Deckard's trenchcoat, since it looks different depending upon the lighting during the scene.

I went for a lighter brown color, but it looks much darker in the picture.

Since we're on the subject of Blade Runner, we need to talk about Spinners. Someone really needs to produce a Police Spinner in 1/72 scale.

The closest models available are from an obscure set of 1/64 diecast models made by ERTL almost 40 years ago.

I didn't even know these were around until a few years ago, but from what I understand, they went to the bargain bin because the movie was a box office flop.

If you look for the models on eBay nowadays, they run anywhere from US$50 to US$100 individually, and a boxed set of four runs over US$500!

I bought two mishandled ERTL Spinners because condition was not as important to me as price.

The first model is Deckard's Chase Spinner (#1872).

A bar was added between the two wheel pods to accommodate the axle, but obviously this does not exist on the actual Spinner.

The second model is Rachael's Spinner (#1874), more properly known as the Alfa Romeo Spinner.

This vehicle is briefly seen passing Gaff and Deckard as they approach the Tyrell Building.

Tomy re-released the model as the Galactic Cruiser at one point, after they picked up the assets of RC2 (which included ERTL and Johnny Lightning).

Syd Mead is said to have based the design on the Alfa Romeo Navajo, and the dimensions of the diecast model match up pretty well with those of the actual Navajo in 1/64 scale.

I was really hoping the models could pass for 1/72 scale, and they actually don't look that bad next to 1/72 figures.

However, if you place them next to actual 1/72 scale cars, they start to look overscale.

The two other models in the set (which I don't own) are Deckard's Ground Car (#1871), and Bryant's Police Spinner (#1873). The Police Spinner uses the same body as the Chase Spinner, but it has a light bar and different tampos.

Maybe I can do something with these models one day, but I think (for me) it will be more difficult than the restoration of an actual Spinner. In all probability, someone will come up with a 3D model in 1/72 before I'm even able to start.

NECA also makes a Spinner from Blade Runner 2049 in their Cinemachines line, which is still readily available.

From what I can tell, it doesn't look like they put much effort into the design, so if I do buy one, it will only be if there is a significant drop in the price of the model.

On a side note, if anyone is interested, you can read about my visit to some of the Blade Runner film locations in November of last year at my other blog.

Wood golems and fungi

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to reduce the amount of unpainted lead that I owned by challenging myself to finish one miniature a day. I was able to keep my streak going for about a week and a half, before the demands of real life took priority again.

The first group of miniatures in this post are my wood golems. The ones that I painted (left) are the Large Construct (FGV305) and Medium Construct (FGV303) produced by North Star Military Figures for the Frostgrave game from Osprey.

The two other wood golems (right) are the Mage Knight Wood Golem (Rebellion #063) and the Pathfinder Wood Golem (Maze of Death #13).

The next group of miniatures that I painted are produced by Alternative Armies for the Fightin' Fungi game from Ganesha Games.

The miniatures (from left to right) are the Master of Mushrooms (FIFU028), Zombie Fungus (FIFU011), Goblin Fungus Zombie (FIFU024), Sporeling (FIFU015), and Puffball Spore Bomb (FIFU032).

The majority of the miniatures from this line are big, but pretty much any of them can be used for 1/72 fantasy gaming, depending on your tolerances.

In the future, I might get some more of the small miniatures, and maybe some of the larger fungi without weapons.

Scarecrows

From Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

The scarecrow has been used since ancient times to prevent the depredation of fields by birds during planting season and harvest season. It's use during harvest in particular has led to the scarecrow becoming closely associated with Fall.

The animated scarecrow is of more recent origin, with the earliest example that I can find being Feathertop from the eponymous short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Some may argue that Kuebiko (久延毘古) qualifies as an animated scarecrow, but since he is described as being immobile (though capable of speech), the point is moot.

In any event, both Feathertop and Kuebiko were entirely benign, and it wasn't until recent times that more sinister scarecrows became prevalent. The TV movie Dark Night of the Scarecrow (which I vaguely recall seeing, back in the day) is credited with popularizing the "killer scarecrow".

The D&D scarecrow appeared in the Fiend Folio in the same year as Dark Night of the Scarecrow, but the two scarecrows were quite different in appearance.

Scarecrows seem to fall into two main categories as far as looks go. One type has a turnip or gourd for a head, while the other has a sack filled with rags or straw for a head.

Do not confuse the two.
One is a Bram Stoker Award winner,
the other has an audience score of
26% on Rotten Tomatoes.

There are several companies that make scarecrow miniatures, but finding figures that are close to 1/72 scale is more problematic.

The first miniatures I found were the lesser scarecrows from Monolith Designs. Their website hasn't been updated in over 10 years, but the last time I sent an e-mail, they were still in business, and I was able to order a couple of packs of their scarecrows.

From Beyond Crow021

From Beyond Crow022

The scarecrows have old world jack-o'-lantern heads with straw bodies, and are armed with various farm implements.

I modified some of the models to look like the 28mm scarecrows from their Crow011 and Crow012 sets, and replaced the head on one figure with a new world jack-o'-lantern head.

I really like the Monolith lesser scarecrows, although I have one nitpick with the way they painted their samples figures.

If the stem is at the top of the head, the purple color should probably be painted on the upper portion of the head, not the bottom.

Another figure that can be used as a scarecrow is available from North Star Military Figures. They produce a Small Construct (center), which can pass for a sack-headed scarecrow.

The Northstar figure is not as good a value as the Monolith Designs figures, but it is part of a set (Frostgrave Bestiary FGV303), and comes with a Medium Construct that can be used as a wood golem.

A gallery of scarecrows created by "Rot" that you can use to fuel your imagination can be found at Pumpkinrot Works.