Cyclopes

The cyclopes of Greek myth can be divided into two lineages – the first group were the three (or sometimes seven) Elder Cyclopes, who Hesiod listed as Brontes, Steropes, and Arges (who was replaced with Acmonides or Pyracmon by other authors). The names of the four alternates were Euryalos, Elatreus, Trachios, and Halimedes. These were immortal giants who were of the same generation as the Olympians, and worked with Hephaestus at his forge.

The other group of cyclopes were the Younger Cyclopes of Hypereia (identified with Sicily by the ancient Greeks). Among them was Polyphemos, who stood out from the rest of his tribe in size and strength, and was encountered by Odysseus and his shore party on a visit to the island of the cyclopes.

"Oh my God, He killed Kenny! You Bastard!"

Modern renditions of the cyclops are more influenced by films, and include Ray Harryhausen's iconic design for The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad (in literature, Sinbad's encounter with a man-eating giant actually occurs during his third voyage, and is a retelling of Odysseus' encounter with Polyphemos).

Given the oriental flavor of the Sinbad movies and the lack of horned and hoofed cyclopes in classical art, I originally thought that this particular type of cyclops could also represent the Turkish monster Tepegöz, as rendered in the following picture.

Then I realized what I thought was a horn on his head was actually a ladle that he was holding in his hand.

In any event, the following are the various cyclops miniatures that I have in my collection.

The first two miniatures represent the Harryhausen monster. The larger one is a resin X-Plus Cyclops that was part of the Ray Harryhausen Film Collection (Chess Set 1), while the smaller one is from Ral Partha (Children of the Night 13-020). The Ral Partha miniature is undersized, and would probably go better with 15mm figures.

There is also a two-horned version by X-Plus which represents the cyclops that fights the dragon at the end of The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad which I'm still trying to find at a reasonable price.

The next group of cyclopes bear some traces of the Harryhausen design, but also retain elements of classical cyclopes. The large cyclopes are from the D&D CMG, and include the Cyclops Crusher (Dangerous Delves #13), and the Skeletal Cyclops (Savage Encounters #33). These cyclopes have a bony armored head and scaly skin somewhat resembling the Harryhausen cyclops. The smaller cyclops is from the Age of Mythology game by Eagle Games, and it has the goat-like legs of the Harryhausen cyclops.

Next are some more classical cyclopes. The plastic figures to the left are the Pathfinder Cyclops (Skull & Shackles #34), and a cyclops from the Arcane Legions CMG. To the right are some metal figures – the Reaper Cyclops (Dark Heaven Legends 02953), and a Grenadier Cyclops from the Mythological Creatures box set (Action Art 8003).

More metal figures include the three Ral Partha Cyclops-Kin (AD&D Monsters 11-453), a Grenadier Psyclops (Monster Manuscript Vol.VIII 1508, MM68), and a Grenadier Klynops (Monster Manuscript Vol.V 1505, MM41).

I think of cyclopes as having beards and a full head of hair, but for some reason, many of these figures are bald, and any beards are rather short. I'd like to find a miniature of a cyclops with a big full beard, but will probably end up having to add them  using Kneadatite myself.

Last are the Grenadier Undead Giant Cyclops (Fantasy Lords 011), a Citadel Cyclops (Fiend Factory FF14), and a Heritage Masena (John Carter, Warlord of Mars 1523).

The Masena is described in ERB's Swords of Mars as a Cat-man from the Thurian Moon. I don't quite seen anything cat-like about it. It is described in the novel as having two mouths, one eye, and the ability to change colors to blend in with its surroundings. However, it does purr and meow which I guess counts for something.

Kami de Korokoro

Kami de Korokoro (紙でコロコロ) is a small manufacturer out of Osaka, Japan that mainly produces 1/144 scale models, but they also make a few figure sets in 1/72 scale.

It is probably no surprise that the majority of these figures are WWII Germans, but what really makes Kami de Korokoro unique is that they produce a set of 1/72 Japanese high school girls (although Hobby Link Japan markets them as "Panzer Girls").

From left to right the figures are one of two crewman from the German Tank Crew Set (Troops & Peoples 1-72-001), a German Infantryman in Camo Poncho (Troops & Peoples 1-72-002), a German Officer in Early Palm Tree Pattern Camo (Troops & Peoples 1-72-003), and two of the girls from the High School Girl 3-piece Set (Troops & Peoples 1-72-005).

The figures come with quite a bit of flash, but the resin is soft, so it cleans up very easily. The German in Poncho is one of the earlier figures I purchased, and seems to have been made with a different resin that probably did not flow as well. The figure is marred by many imperfections which will require some putty and sculpting to repair.

The newer casts in the pale resin have a few smaller bubbles, and there seems to be some issue with the resin reaching all the way to the tips of their shoes, but overall I think the problems are not as bad.

As far as the sculpts go, they are fair to decent, but I don't think that they really merit the price that they are sold at. They definitely would be helped out by being painted, since it's pretty hard to see any details on them otherwise.

Nurikabe

Nurikabe (ぬりかべ or 塗壁) is a yōkai whose origins are from the coastal region of Fukuoka. In folktales, it typically manifests itself as an invisible wall that impedes the movement of its victim. Like many yōkai, it is not particularly dangerous, and seems to be satisfied with causing fear and confusion until its victim gives up trying to move.

The most popular representation of Nurikabe, created by Shigeru Mizuki, takes on the appearance of an animate plaster wall.

I like the earlier one-eyed version, but the iconic Nurikabe from GeGeGe no Kitaro is what most people who are familiar with the creature will recognize.

I suspect that Mizuki was influenced by various pictures of haunted walls from Japanese paintings when creating Nurikabe.

However, in 2007, a painting that showed a different vision of Nurikabe surfaced from a private collection in Utah. I'm guessing that prior to this discovery, there were no actual paintings that definitively showed what Nurikabe looked like.

Author/illustrator Matthew Meyer created a version that blends the two types at Yokai.com. I also like the version of Nurikabe from the PS2 game Ōkami, which takes on the appearance of a much more elaborate wall.

Regardless, the only miniatures of Nurikabe represent the version from GeGeGe no Kitaro. The large Nurikabe is from the GeGeGe no Shigeru Yokai Emaki Series (ゲゲゲのしげる妖怪絵巻) produced by Kabaya, while the Nurikabe performing the leg drop is a glow-in-the-dark GeGeGe no Kitaro Attack Swing keychain mascot from Bandai.

There are a couple of other Nurikabe toys I'm trying to find, but overall, I'm not terribly fond of the typical Kitaro version of Nurikabe. It just looks too much like a giant piece of gray toast.

As far as size goes, I'd estimate Nurikabe is portrayed to be about 10' tall in the Kitaro manga. However, it can make itself as large or wide as necessary to impede its victims, so pretty much any size works.

I also decided to have a go at making my own Nurikabe out of clay. After all, it's just a rectangle with arms and legs... I think I'm going to use it as a master so I can create various versions of the creature.