"Skull Island Natives" Topic

I just finished new and improved sculpts of the torso, head, and hands of Sculpey Kong and will be baking them tonight, with hopes of having a complete Kong scaled for 28-mm figures by the weekend. What figures have people been using for Skull Island natives? I know that Brigade Games has figures for the Peter Jackson King Kong remake, but I'm looking for figures that will match a little closer with the politically incorrect and anthropologically problematic natives of the 1933 original. Or at least figures that I can easily convert. (Foundry and Copplestones, perhaps?)

Mulligan

Foundry Darkest Africa or Old Glory Africa or Old Glory Pirates range headhunters. However these are may not be incorrect enough for you!

It's not so much a matter of wanting incorrectness as much as wanting to match the look of the original film as much as possible. The racism (casually cruel and intentionally cruel) of a lot of the old classics, B movies, serials, and pulps is truly cringe inducing at times. I thought one of the best and most thought-provoking moments of the Peter Jackson remake was the scene in the theater when Denham's stage show reimages the Skull Island Bone people natives by garbing them the way the "savage" native dancers in the original movie were costumed (set to that wonderful, propulsive Max Steiner score too). It was a moment that both honored the original movie and criticized the racial tunnel vision of the time. Basically, the original King Kong has a certain look that I want to reproduce in the interest of esthetic accuracy (within the limits of reason, of course). One reason I'm making my own Kong figure, instead of using some preexisting realistic gorilla toy is that I want one that will look like the Kong of the film, which was a sort of anthropomorphized pseudogorilla. I suppose the people the Skull Island natives were supposed to resemble were New Guinea tribesmen. Does anybody make Papuan(ish) figures?

Mulligan

I second the Old Glory cannibals from the pirate range. They have grass skirts and bones through their noses.

Reaper makes two packs -- one of a group of natives (carrying Masai-style shields for some reason) and their chief, perched on a tiki-style throne. I'm using them right now for a Skull Island style scenario.

Thanks, gents.

Mulligan

Here at Scheltrum Miniatures we do Dyaks if they are appropriate.

Reviresco has "Hollywood Natives" that seem like they'd be exactly what you need.

I liked that scene in Jackson's remake, too, Mulligan. Nice homage/critique.

I have those OG cannibals and think they are one of OGs worst sculpts but thier africa range has some good figures in it, very hollywoodish.

Brigade have some cool looking ones in their Ends of the Earth range.

Okay, these are probably the ones you mentioned in the opening paragraph. It's been a long day. Sorry.

I have finished sculpts for the first 4 packs of Melanesian islanders intended for my Savage Seas series Mulligan. More packs are underway and the release should take place in a few months. Pictures will be posted shortly. Some of the figs were on display recently at the Trumpetor show in Vancouver.

These islanders are fairly historical in approach since I would like them to be useful in other games scenarios besides Kong (WW2, Colonial etc) but they should have plenty of savage character. The war clubs and spears tend to be quite bizarre and the hair styles varied and interesting.
Stay tuned….
Bob Murch
pulpfigures.com

Bob Murch! Excellent news, Old Bean! I look forward to their release. By the way, congratulations on your How to Build a Baobob Tree article in the latest issue of Wargames Illustrated. I just picked up my copy last Saturday. You should take a bow,Bob!

Mulligan