Sunday 24 April 2011

Horrorclix Scrubbers

Part four of my review of Biohazard Troopers looks at a blast from the past - Horrorclix 35mm scale Scrubbers. These three figures came from The Lab expansion set, sadly, no longer available. I can understand why they were called Scrubbers if you take the word literally but for us Brits the word conjures up a very different meaning as we use it as a derogatory term to describe females we don't like. Similar terms are Slappers, Slags and Tarts. It must a Brit thing as there are quite a few of our swear words and derogatory terms that Americans don't know the meaning of or aren't aware that they are swear words.
Most Horrorclix figures used to come in three flavours - Rookie, Experienced and Veteran. Unique figures and Limited Edition figures were of course, unique. As often as not, the three figures would look identical - only their stats changed. Sometimes, however, one or two of the three types would appear different. Such is the case here, as I start with the Veteran version at the far left of my two photos. At first glance he looks identical to the other two but look closer at his flamethrower. It is different to the others. He also differed to the others in that he wore a yellow suit. I repainted it turquoise to match the others.
In the centre of the group is the Experienced version. Of the two cylinders carried on their backs, one is a fuel container for their flamethrowers, whilst the other is an oxygen tank. On the oxygen tanks I have drawn on a biohazard symbol with a fine-nibbed Rotring technical drawing pen.
The third figure in line is the Rookie Scrubber. I slightly repostioned his arms so that he was pointing his flamethrower straight ahead instead of downwards. I also made him lean further back, just so that he looked different to the Experienced version. These were very minor conversions but I felt they were enough to make two identical figures look different.
With Horrorclix figures, the standard of sculpting can vary a great deal. These aren't bad sculpts but they certainly do not stand up to the quality of the Hasslefree Hazmat Team. Another factor that may put some of you off them is their size. I mentioned in my intro that these were 35mm scale and so they will tower over the other ranges I've reviewed in this series. You can see just how tall they are in a week's time, when I end this review with a size comparison photo, which I'm sure you'll find useful.
As many of you will know, Horrorclix figures are now out of production and I have no idea if they will ever be resurrected. You can still buy them on auction sites like eBay but they are getting scarcer, which inevitably pushes the price up. Good luck in finding them if you're really after them!

16 comments:

  1. Thanks, Fran. Now go back and enjoy your holiday!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gotta mirror Fran's comment. Unfortunately never got any of these Horroclix figures from the Lab set, the ones I did get that were/are usable for me were the Corporate Response (a SWAT styles trooper), hardhat Zombie and Zombie Trooper (a zombie version of the Corp. Response guy).

    Can't wait to see your review on the recreational Conflict Hazmat team. They will probably be my next purchase (along with either the S.P.R.U. Whole set or the Zombies).

    I do have a set of the Copplestone Casting Bio-Chem Troopers (and Zombie Troopers) coming from Mel Ebbles Cleaning out the Closet sale. Its a shame he has no use for them but at least I know I will be able to use them. Its also a shame he is closing up shop and having WWG handle all future model sales (he will be posting some models on his blog that will be free, the rest such as other schemes of them will eventually be available through WWG)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Really nice job, Bryan on all the sets. You're ready to clean up now :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very cool indeed. It is a shame about the scale thing and it seems that only a select few models really work alongside some of the more widely used manufacturers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Doug. The Horrorclix figures you mentioned as owning are all good figures, especially the zombie SWAT trooper.

    My next order to Recreational Conflict will definitely be for the 16 figure SPRU troopers. I can certainly find a use for them in ATZ.

    I commented on your own blog about Mel Ebbles closing down his site. It is a shame. Good to hear that you managed to get hold of some of his clear out figures. At least they're going to a good home.

    @Roger. Thanks, Roger. Awful pun about cleaning up, but I'll forgive you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Adam. You posted just as I was replying to Doug and Roger. Horrorclix figures are notoriously overscaled. Sometimes this isn't a bad thing (like with their werewolves, for example) but other times it can be off putting. For myself, I'm not too bothered about size differences between figure companies but I do appreciate that it can be a problem for some collectors.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very nice paintjobs and nice job on the conversion. Very subtle but noticeable.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks, Luckyjoe. Subtle is a good word to describe my conversion.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey at least I didnt describe what they are cleaning up!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Laugh out loud! Very true! It's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice job on the paint work, not sure though if I am keen on these...srry bro, they look like they belong in some 'B'Grade slasher flick, as opposed to a zombie flick (or maybe its just me), We (Australians) also use the word scrubbers to describe the ass end of the female species, got a good laugh off that when I read it, funny stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Again, amazing and fascinating level of detail into something I don't know much about. Will read more.

    ReplyDelete
  13. @The Extraordinarii. These aren't my favourite sculpts either but I could still find a use for them. I had to laugh at your description of a Scrubber. It seems the Brits and Poms have a similar sense of humour.

    @Fortune. Hi and welcome to my blog. If you find you've learnt something new here, that makes me a happy bunny.

    ReplyDelete