Collecting Replicants Miniatures

Replicants is a manufacture of limited run polythene 1/32 (54mm) figures and produces figures in many unique poses. They produce a varied line of figures that include medieval, American Civil War, American Wild West, Napoleonic soldiers, and other period pieces.

The figures come in a verity of colors; colors used I presume, are what they have on hand on the day the production. Polythene is a hard plastic and produces figures with sharp details. There are a few pieces on the site that are out of production. There might be a few of these figures lying about. Just contact the manufacturer and ask for availability.

I have painted five figures from my collection so far. This is my first experience with this sized figure, and I must say that working with a larger figure definitely makes painting and detailing them easier on the eyes.

Marx Spacemen Gallery

I have been collecting since I was a child. I collected coins, stamps, and knifes. Now, I am collecting miniatures. It seems I also enjoy viewing the collections of others. Marxchivist has a small collection of Marx spacemen (and creatures).The Louis Marx Company produced many types of toys and toy trains between the years of 1919 and 1978, including these spacemen displayed on this Flickr page. Click the Slide Show button on the upper right-hand side to view the images in slide show mode.

My Miniatures by Size (an update)

I recently came across two Phoenix Miniatures in an unpacked box of model railroad stuff I had in storage and have added them to my miniature inventory.

QTY	Size	Manufacturer(s)
10	54mm (1/32)	Replicants
1	40mm	HistoriFigs
4	30mm	HistoriFigs
7	28mm	HistoriFigs Foundry Artizan Designs
16	25mm	Reaper Miniatures HistoriFigs
2	1/43	Phoenix Miniatures

Five Extraordinary Mugs I Must Have

Hinterland Miniatures offers a fine line of miniatures and there are many of their miniatures that have caught my eye. However, their set of five bulky pulp characters is one of those “gota-have”. The fact that they are bit bulky, the one illustrated next to a ruler, measures nearly three inches tall, is one selling point, but it was the quality of the sculpts that has sold me. Just look at the mugs on these guys. You wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of these guys. Although it won’t stop me from purchasing them, perhaps it might be a good idea to keep my distance, all together.

How a Charm Bracelet Inspired the Monopoly Games Tokens

The article “How a Charm Bracelet Inspired the Monopoly Tokens” tells how Charles Darrow, the creator of the Monopoly game, nieces were fond of using pieces from there charm bracelets as game tokens when they played Monopoly. It seems Parker Brothers liked the idea and decided to include charm like tokens in their first release of Monopoly.

The article goes on to tell of other tokens that have been used throughout the years. The last photograph on the page displays some vintage 1950’s tokens, some of these I vaguely remember playing with a child.

To Complete a Scene-A 15 and 28mm Miniature Mash-up-It's all about Perspective

The author has combined Copplestone’s Castings and Eldritch 15mm Statues (FMT5), and a couple of 28mm Pulp figures. In this case, and as you can see in the image, the two sizes of miniatures work well together. It is all about perspective; some pieces are relative in size and would work well with dissimilar sized pieces. Just watch the pieces you are trying to match up. Two dissimilar sized pieces may work if they are similar or close in size. Like a 25mm and 28mm figure might work. You wouldn't want to match a 1/87 scale and a 1/48 scale figures together, however you could force perspective by using the small scale piece in the background.

My First Thoughts on Replicants Figures-Cleaning then Up-Painting

Replicants offers many uniquely posed 1/32 (54mm) figures. My first order included ten figures and consisted of several period pieces and a set of Apache Scouts or are they Renegades. The figures care cast in polythene. This is a relatively hard plastic and this is where I believe the problem with the clean-up of these castings lies.

Most of the castings are pretty clean of flash, but some of the figures do require clean-up of flash and parting lines. I have tried using a file to rid the casting of their flash, but this leaves more flash and stubble behind.

I found that using a blade of sharp and sturdy pocket knife to scrape the flash works well, but this is a tedious job, and only works to a point. I find it very hard to scrape away every bit of the flash. After a good scrape you are still be stuck with some stubble.

What seems to work exceptionally well, after the initial scraping, is to take a lit match or two and melt the flash stubble from the figure. I simply make a quick pass over the affected area and then rub my finger over the area to smooth the plastic down. Be careful here, you don’t want to melt the figure and you don’t want to inhale the smoke from this operation.

Once I was happy with the overall process, I scrubbed the pieces with soap and an old tooth brush. Once the pieces were dry I gave them a primer coat of grey spray paint. The grey paint will cover even the darkest of colors used on some of the castings. White did the job on lighter colored pieces, but it does take a couple coats of white on the darker castings. I was a bit worried here, that the second coat of paint might obscure some of the details on the casting.

Some say that you should start with the light colors than move to the darker. This makes good sense in that you can usually can give the brush a quick wipe and go for a darker color without having to wash the brush.

1/43 Figures and Products

I have been researching sites that offer miniatures and have come upon several suppliers that offer 1/43 figures and other details. 1/43 is slightly larger than 1/48, but 1/43 scaled figures and details are sometimes used on some O-gauge (1/48) scaled model railroad layouts. 1/43 sized figures are sold as O gauge in Europe. It should not be a problem If you are careful in placing these 1/43 details on your 1/48-O-gauge layout.
S and D Models
S and D Models offers a full line of line of Phoenix Figures, detail accessories, building fittings, road vehicles kits, standard and narrow gauge locos, motor racing figures, street and station lamps, and other details for mail order.
Andrew C. Stadden
Andrew C. Stadden offers many distinguished gentlemen and other figures that that sitting, dancing, or otherwise occupied. He also offers a few figure sets, such as a Victorian/Edwardian family, “Oh Mr. Porter” set, and Cheerleaders, to name just a few.
Border Miniatures
Border Miniatures offers, what look like some highly detailed figures. The figures are modeled as fishermen, train passengers, and track and railroad workers.
Forty-Third Limited
Forty-third limited has a nice collection of not only Phoenix 1/43 figures, but also vehicles and other details that are cast in 1/43.

Monopoly in the News

Here are some recent news articles on the game of Monopoly

Monopoly Tokens have Changed over the Years

The article recounts on the tokens that have been included in Monopoly over the years, starting back in 1935. It was interesting to read on the many different tokens that have come and went over the years.

Monopoly among new Adventure Time Games in the Works

Cartoons Network’s is releasing an Adventure Time special collector’s edition of Monopoly. Now they have us colleting Monopoly games. And of course you realize, that games in their original wrapping will be worth more than those that have been played. This edition features 22 locations from the Land of Ooo and six collectable tokens. I thought the edition was a collectable? You mean you would purchase the game just for its "collectable" tokens?

The Onion Takes a Swipe at Hasbros Game Token Change

If you don’t know about the Onion, it is a site that provides satires of current news articles.

Monopoly Tokens

I should have included this material in with my post on Monopoly editions, but alas, here it is on its own. Wikia provides a page that describes Monopoly tokens that have been found in different editions of Monopoly throughout the years. The Wiki also provides information and images of the tokens that are found in special editions of Monopoly, in which on my last post on this topic, I did not know existed.

My Miniatures by Size

QYY	Size	Manufacturer(s)
10	54mm (1/32)	Replicants
1	40mm	HistoriFigs
4	30mm	HistoriFigs
7	28mm	HistoriFigs Foundry Artizan Designs
16	25mm	Reaper Miniatures HistoriFigs

Monopoly Token Alternatives

Recently the people at Hasbro had the public vote on a new token for their board game, Monopoly. It is official; the iron will be replaced with a cat. I wonder whether Hasbro will allow users to send in for the updated piece and will they allow users to send back the iron so that it can be scraped?

I wonder how many people will take the time to send in for the updated token? Perhaps the iron should be kept as a memento to days gone by...How many know what an iron is and what it was used used for? Who irons any more anyway?

I have seen other tokens being provided in special editions and have found a few sources for alternative token pieces, but none of them are like the six alternative tokens being written about on the 6 New Monopoly Tokens We Really Need on Smosh Pit.

Monopoly turns us into capitalist vultures

I never really looked at Monopoly in this way, but as the article explains, that it is just what Monopoly is all about. There really isn't anything friendly about this game, even though the cutesie game tokens might suggest otherwise. The game starts off friendly, but after awhile it becomes a dog eat dog, capitalist vultures, pick your opponent clean affair.

Monopoly Editions

My wife and I have been married for twenty-plus years and have never purchased a board game for ourselves. To give ourselves something to do on those snowy weekend days, we recently purchased a copy of Monopoly.

I remember the common game tokens that were provided and was wondering whether alternative tokens could be found. In my searches I came across alternative tokens and a couple special editions of Monopoly that I had no idea existed.

One such edition you can read about on the Fire Wire Blog’s June 15, 2012 post. The author introduces a licensed Godfather edition of Monopoly. The Godfather edition was released to celebrate the 40th anniversary release of the Paramount movie.

The game board is set to depict different businesses that were acquired in the movie. You know, they made an offer that could not be refused. Places like International Pictures. Moe Green’s Casino and Joe’s Diner can be bought, sold, and traded. There’s even a set of special game tokens that depict different scenes in the movie like a dead fish, a horse’s head, Tommy gun, and Town car.

Another edition of Monopoly that I came across was the Futurama edition. I take it, that the game is a takeoff of Comedy Central’s Futurama animated series. Like the Godfather edition, the game board has places that relate to Futurama. What drew me to site were images of its unique game tokens. The tokens depict some of Futurama’s characters like Bender, Hypnotoad, Brain Slug, Seymour, Planet Express Ship, and what if Machine and are rendered in Pewter in all its glory.

Miniature Categories for 2013

These are my current categories of interest for miniatures that I have or that I would like to obtain during the year, 2013.

Pulp

• Thrilling Tales Characters
• Rocket Corps and Men

Steampunk

Fantasy

• Elves
• Father Christmas/Santa
• Dwarfs

SCIFI

• Terrestrial Creatures
• SCIFI Characters

Prehistoric

• Cavemen
• Creatures

Historic

• French and Indian War
• Wild West
• Correspondents
• Colonial
• Period Pieces (Victorian, Edwardian)

40mm Miniatures

With the addition of a HistoriFigs, F-3, Hero, chain mail and with a long sword, 40mm figure to my collection I thought that I would look into this sized figure. The larger the sized figure, typically the better the detail of the figure. You also have more to hold onto when painting. You can also count on paying more for larger figures, if they are in metal, that is. It does seem that plastic figures are more economical than their metal counterparts. However, although plastic figures have and continue to get better in detail, metal figures usually have better detail than their plastic counterparts.

There are a few suppliers of 40mm miniatures. The A Beginner's Guide to Gaming in 40mm mentions several suppliers of 40mm miniatures. 40mm miniatures will cost you anywhere from $5.00 to $15 U.S.

HistroFigs offers several American Civil War miniatures in 40mm. These will cost you $2.25 per piece, while bags of 6 or 12 figures can be had at discounted prices.

Another source of 40mm miniatures is Knuckleduster, which offers some unique Wild West figures, among others. These look like highly detailed figures. These sell for $12 for a set of three.

By the way, Knuckleduster, maintains a blog that will keep you up to date on their line of products.

My Miniatures Collection

My current collection includes pieces in the following sizes and scales: 25mm, 28mm, 30mm, 40mm, 1/32 (54mm).
Category	Pieces
Period pieces	5
Wild West	5
French and Indian War	4
Fantasy	5
Pulp	3
SCI FI	4
Whimsical Nautical Creatures	11
Scenery pieces	1
	== 38

These pieces were purchased in the later part of last year. Some of my favorite pieces are from the flowing categories: Wild West and Whimsical Nautical Creatures. The five Wild West figures are sized at 1/32 and are from Replicants, and the 25mm Whimsical Nautical Creatures are from Reaper Miniatures.