Sunday 21 September 2014

Studio Miniatures Firemen 01

The one group of figures that are very poorly represented by figure companies in a contemporary setting are firemen. Yes, I know that Mega Minis made a set of 8 firemen, but quite frankly, they were very poorly sculpted. I didn't buy them. The best fireman figure I've ever seen came from Griffin Miniatures (see picture to the left), but alas, he is no longer available.
After chatting with my good friends Joe and Mathyoo, it was decided that the best option to fill this gap would be to convert an existing set of figures. And so Mathyoo bravely offered to step up to the plate. He converted three Studio Minis 28mm scale plastic zombies into human firemen. The heads came from plastic WW2 German infantrymen. Sorry, but I forget who made them. It could be Wargames Factory. When Mathyoo visited England a couple of months ago to stay with Joe and me he presented me with the three figures he'd converted. Here they are.

On the whole I was delighted with them but a few things about them bothered me. And so I made a few changes. First up was the helmets which looked too much like German WW2 helmets. No surprise there, really, given their origins. However, by adding a large badge to the front of the helmets I totally altered their appearance. I could have added a big rim around the helmets but ultimately decided against it.
I was not happy with the length of their coats. Mathyoo's ended at the top of the lower yellow hoop. I extended the coats by a couple of millimetres, which made a huge difference.
The two firemen with the gas-masks and oxygen tanks originally had scarves wrapped around their faces. This was something else that I wasn't happy about. So I added the gas-masks and oxygen tanks. This was my biggest change to Mathyoo's work but one that I think vastly improves them.
One final change I made was to give them all gloves. After looking at many photos of firemen in action I discovered that most wore gloves when out in the field. It makes sense really. Incidentally they armed with, from left to right, a tyre iron, an axe and a large hammer - all useful weapons to use against zombies.
It is always nice to have unique figures and these guys certainly fill a niche that needed filling. It just goes to show what can be done with a bit of imagination. By the way, Mathyoo thoroughly approved of my changes and I kept him well informed of my plans and work. I should point out that Mathyoo's conversions were unpainted. Given the changes I made to them this was probably a good thing.

27 comments:

  1. Smart models really useful. well done, yet again.

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  2. These have changed quite a lot sice I last saw them and whilst I wasn't at first convinced of their initial appearance, your changes have, though I think the gas-masks (respirators?) should be a 'mask' rather than 'goggles' - notthat it matters really.

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    1. I did consider giving them face mask visors, Joe, but decided to go with the gas-mask version. It is very much a case of six of one and half a dozen of the other.

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  3. Great job Dude! From zombies to firemen, amazing. I thought a head swap was a conversion, you guys just put me to shame.

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    1. Thanks, Bob. A conversion can be as simple or as complex as you want. As long as you change the original figure in some way, that's a conversion. By the way, keep a look out for my conversions of the Zombicide season 1 zombies - coming soon!

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  4. This looks great. Good idea and well done.

    Axe like that could take a zombie or 2 ;-)

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    1. Cheers, Johnny. Firemen are so useful. I agree with you about the axe.

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  5. Very nice! Well done, both of you.

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    1. Yes, I must stress that this was very much a joint effort.

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  6. Nicely done between yourselves. Mathyoo gave you a good base to add to they've turned out lovely. Hasslefree have a firemen survivor coming out soon sadly he doesn't have a helmet but has a fire axe and pistol.

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    1. Thanks, Simon. I've seen the HF fireman/survivor and I think he's superb. I'm just waiting for him to be released in metal as he's currently only available in resin.

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    2. Same here there so many of the new ones I'd really like.

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    1. Thanks, Clint. It was definitely a joint effort.

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  8. That Griffin fireman is not just one of my favorite firemen figures, it's one of the my favorites that Griffin put out. Ans you right, I hadn't thought about it much, but there really aren't enough options. I'm glad to see yours came out so nice.

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    1. I love that griffin fireman figure, Carl. He works just as well as a fireman or a survivor.

      By the way, what is happening with your forum? Myself and others are missing it.

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    2. Sorry, I haven't heard back from the host. I am currently researching for a new more reliable one. Hopefully I will get us us and running in about a week.

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    3. Phew, I'm glad to hear it hadn't closed down permanently. I wish you all the best in your search, Carl. A few other forum guys had contacted me to see what has been going on so hopefully this news will reassure them.

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    4. Have a new place, still being built but it's move-in ready for the those who don't mind construction noise.

      http://stoelzelsstructures.proboards.com/

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    5. Thanks, Carl. I'll post your new site address on my blog tomorrow.

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  9. http://www.griffinminiatures.com/survivor.html#

    I want all :(

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  10. Have you seen this fireman from Hasslefree?

    http://www.hfminis.co.uk/shop?product=resin-master-%252d-levon~hfmaster-a142&category=miniatures~*new-toys*

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    1. I sure have, Jim. He's the one Simon mentioned earlier. No way am I going to pay £12.50 for a resin version of him. I'll wait until he's released in metal for a lot cheaper. He is a very good figure, by the way.

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  11. Superb idea and you've done a great job wiht them too Bryan!

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    1. Many thanks, Adam. I'm very happy with them.

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