Paul Hicks' Midnight Riders aka the Devil's Rejects

Paul Hicks is a freelance sculptor, who last year sculpted five 28mm scale figures of the main characters of the film The Devil's Rejects. For those of you who know the film, you'll know it is a gory and sadistic sequel to House of 1,000 Corpses, both of which were directed by Rob Zombie. I'm a big fan of both films, but especially of The Devil's Rejects, which plumbs the depths of depravity with some shocking scenes of torture and violence. Both films feature the psychotic Firefly family, three of whom are pictured to the left. From left to right they are "Baby" Firefly (played by Sheri Moon Zombie), Captain Spaulding (played by Sid Haig) and Otis B. Driftwood (played by Bill Moseley). I show this picture for those of you who have never heard of the film and also for those who have, to show what a great likeness Paul has created with his fine sculpts.

At the far left of the two photos above is Otis B. Driftwood, named after the Groucho Marx character from the film A Night at the Opera. Otis is not a natural member of the Firefly family. He was adopted by Gloria "Mama" Firefly. He is by far, the most sadistic member and he often battles Captain Spaulding for control of the family. In The Devil's Rejects, he skins the flesh from the face of one his victims and wears it as a mask, emulating a nasty habit of "Leatherface" from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films. Paul has sculpted him striding purposefully with a revolver in his right hand and a knife in his left hand. Note the sheath for his knife strapped to his lower left leg.
Next in line is Vera-Ellen "Baby" Firefly, the youngest member of the family. She is a foul-mouthed, sadistic bitch. In House of 1,000 Corpses, she scalped a male victim for failing to correctly answer who her favourite actor was! Note the remarkable similarity between the movie still and the figure.  She is armed with a revolver. Note that both films were set in the 1970's, which explains why revolvers are more common than pistols.
In the centre of the group is Tiny Firefly, who is far taller than his name would suggest. He was horribly disfigured after being badly burnt as a child. He rarely speaks and he is not very bright but he is immensely strong and fiercely loyal to his family. Paul has depicted him carrying a length of metal piping. He is not as psychotic as the others and has a soft spot for women. However, if ordered to take part in a ritual killing he shows no mercy to any victim.
Figures four and five in line are two versions of the same character, Captain Spaulding. He, too, is named after a Groucho Marx character, this time from the film Animal Crackers. His real name is actually Johnny Lee Jones and he is the father of "Baby" Firefly. Captain Spaulding is a homicidal maniac who owns a gas station/tourist attraction with a freakshow horror theme. He becomes extremely violent if a person disrespects clowns. The figure of Spaulding holding the pump-action shotgun is based on his character in The Devil's Rejects. Check out that photo at the top of this post to see how close Paul has captured his likeness. The second figure of Captain Spaulding, dressed in the clown's garb and armed with a revolver, is based on his appearance in the film House of 1,000 Corpses. If you're wondering what I've painted on his T-shirt, it's a hot dog, based on what he actually wore in the film.
I'm not sure why Paul has sculpted two versions of this character. Gloria "Mama" Firefly, the matriarch of the family and Tiny's older brother, Rufus T. Firefly were more worthy candidates in my opinion. Even so, this is just a minor quibble. All of the figures are superbly sculpted and I was only too glad to add them to my collection of psycho killers. You don't have to use these as the Devil's Rejects - you could just use them as ordinary Gangers in an ATZ setting. Actually, it would be kind of difficult to use them as the Devil's Rejects in anything but a 1970's setting unless your game involves time travel!
It has to be said that these figures are not easy to get hold of. I ordered my set of five figures from Raven Painting run by Carl Robson, who lives in Shotley Bridge, County Durham, not far from where I live. He sold them on e-Bay for £10.00 , where they were called the Midnight Riders, presumably to avoid copyright problems. You can visit Raven Painting at http://www.ravenpainting.co.uk/ and drop him an e-mail if you're interested in purchasing them. I ordered mine late last year, but I have no idea if they are still available for sale. It would be a shame if they weren't. By the way, if you'd like a second opinion on these fine figures check out The Angry Lurker's review at http://theangrylurker.blogspot.com/2010/10/28mm-painted-not-devils-rejects-figures.html (Fran, you have no idea how long it took me to find that post!)