"Who Is Making 30s Style Merchant Sailors In 15mm?" Topic

I can't think of anyone selling them at the moment, so I thought you guys might know.

Or, is that something someone is sculpting already?*

Something suitable for this environment:

And, while I'm asking, a camera crew and a movie star or two wouldn't hurt:

Thanks so much,

Dan
* I wish someone like Bob Murch would start sculpting 15mm.

I meant to add these other pics before being timed out.

Lots more on the 2005 King Kong costumes here:

link

For the original, in 1933:

link

Not much costume study done for the 1976 version:

link

Also . . .

Here are a few pictures of what the sailors (pirates, some might say) of the "Bantu Wind" looked like in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Remember that scene? It was quite a mixed crew:

link

The ideal thing would be to have a really good mix of styles, in clothing and equipment. Not as if they were all wearing a uniform of any kind.

I can dream, can't I? :)

Dan
PS. I have the terrible feeling that I asked some of these questions on another thread a while back. But, for the life of me, I can't remember which one.

I dont think anyone is…

I asked the questions about sailors a while back…I think I was looking for 28mm at the time…

Oh, man. This is gonna drive me crazy. I guess I'll keep looking. I know someone was using figures from a different line and using them as sailors, or something like that.

As you can imagine, I plan to use these to adorn the bottom of the pits and canyons that dot the island:

TMP link

If anyone falls in, they'll suffer the same fate as these guys:

vimeo.com/4223824

YouTube link

YouTube link

Thanks,

Dan

Peter Pig do several scruffy types in their SCW range- look at the Assault Guards for guys in peaked caps. They also do a U-boat crew shore party in the WW2 range as well as many sets of separate heads that can be swapped with figures from their ranges. Also Sailors ( although military ones ) pop up in their WW1 and WW2 ranges too. All these ay be a little too heavily armed for merchant marine though.

Sudan link naval crew…

may be a little too early in their dress but a bit og putty and a change of head maybe.

Actually looking across all the Piggie ranges and especially the separate heads I recon you won't have much trouble. There is a camera crew in the vietnam range but the gear is obviously far too modern.

BattleFronts FFI rifle platoon figs would probably work. Looks like civilian clothes, soft hats and mostly bolt action rifles.

Look at Spanish Civil War ranges:

What is called a "Mono" is a boiler suit or overalls (depending on where you are from). These can make reasonable sailors.

Interesting. I hadn't notice before those specific Peter Pig packs. I like that you can buy the PP figures in small packs, for greater variation.

My only concern is the size of the figures in that range set, when compared to the adventurers in Rebel Minis and Khurasan's Pulp lines. Is it too noticeable?

Thanks,

Dan

try Peter Pig RCW figures the Tatty Partisans #78

general figures with flat cap & a sm
all amount of kit.
or their Russian Navy gun crew

peterpig.co.uk/range16.htm

or from the WWII range of French Restistance

fit pretty well with rebel Minis

Those look kind of like grabboids

Splintered Light Thugs for characters?link

It just occurred to me that I should only focus on the packs of figures without boots, right?

If I place an order with PP, this is what it would look like:

French Resistance, 4 sets:
39.French resistance SMGs
567. French resistance rifles firing
570. French resistance pistols
571. French resistance explosives (gotta have explosives!!!)
peterpig.co.uk/french.htm

Spanish Civil War, 3 sets:
15. Assault Guards standing
16. Assault Guards advancing
17. Assault guard command
peterpig.co.uk/range13.htm

If each PP set has 8 figures, then we are talking about a total of 56 figures (28 different poses x 2). I think the PP order would come out to be something like $35 USD plus shipping.

If I sprinkle in some of the unarmed Splintered Light Thugs (looks like 12 in 5 different poses), that raises the total to 68 figures in 33 different poses. That would be an additional $8 USD plus shipping.

link

Total cost for all 68 figures comes to $43 USD plus two separate shipping charges.

As for painting, I think I would be better off starting with just one of each pose and see how it goes with those 33 unique poses before jumping onto the rest. Or, after I keep the 33 figures, I may sell off the remaining 35 to someone that is thinking of starting their own crew.

How does that sound?

Either way I'm really glad for all this information. Though it may be a month before I'm able to place the orders, it feels good to already have some sort of plan in place. Now I can start working on what the crew will encounter on the island.

Thanks so much guys!

Dan

I dare say they would encounter Nazis. If it's in the South Seas or off the coast of Africa, then there would be a U-Boat.How about a flying Boat? Such as
link

or if they are in the Phillipines then there would be Empire of the Sun Subs,secret bases & flying boats in the Marshall Islands. Chinese/Malay pirates, uncharted south Sea islands with Megafauna & cannibals. Characters on the run from the Brits out of HK or Singapore, the US Navy, the French or the Dutch in Java?

these guys any use?
link

link

link

link

link

link

What rules would you use?

Daftermouse,

That third link looks very familiar to me. I think it may have been one of the links I had been looking all along. A sprinkling of those Eureka Navy sailors couldn't hurt.

As for the fifth link, the one with the Eureka Filipinos, I had never seen them before. I think they can be used for so many things! Fantastic set.

Because of you guys, I've gone from thinking there were few to no choices to having quite a few. Maybe, when it's all said and done, the group I paint up may end up looking a little like the merchant sailors in the King Kong and Raiders of the Lost Ark films.

Thanks so much!

Dan
EDIT: Guess what? This may be the thread I had been looking for:
TMP link

About cool info on Eureka's and other sailors:

TMP link
TMP link

Dan

A few more movie pics of sailors, for your enjoyment:

Dan

Are you still after Skull Island natives?

Most of the ones I plan to use are the Koori from QRF. They really are nice sculpts and look very primitive (like the ones in the 2005 Kong film). I just wish that QRF had better pictures of them, so that everyone could see how nice the figures really are, and there are so many cool poses in that set:

link

TMP link

I just wish I could find close-ups of what this fella did with his QRF Koori:

TMP link

But I MUST get hold of that litter! Wow. Very, very nice. I guess I never really looked at Eureka's Mound Builder range in detail before:

link

I had also been looking at their Polynesian range and almost ordered a bunch of them, but I didn't want to have figures with the typically Hawaiian crests:

link

It just makes sense to me that the people from nearby islands would eventually find and try to populate Skull Island, even though the previous inhabitans may or may not have been their kin:

Thanks!

Dan
PS. I was hoping Eureka would come up with a set or two of 15mm Aborigines:
TMP link

Uh-oh, Chongo!
YouTube link

LOL

What was that?

Dan

oops sorry wrong link.
That was a tv show in Australia I watched in the '70's. A father, son & duaghter and Fijian 1st mate sailing around having encounters every week.

I meant to link a clip of the Skeleton men from Danger Island
YouTube link

Guys,

I've just received a small parcel from Eureka USA. I ordered the US Sailors and the Filipino soldiers:

link

link

link

link

I've gotta tell you guys, the photos don't do them justice. Fantastic figures.

All I need is change the hats and caps a little and them paint them up.

Dan
PS. On the Eureka USA site:
link Sailor&cid=293&pageIndex=0
link infantry 1941&cid=312&pageIndex=0

OK. While I sit here with my swollen foot elevated and wrapped in ice, I figure I have a little free time to do some research.

But first, aside from King Kong (1933), King Kong (2005) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), are there any other big epic-like films that show what a merchant crew looked like in the 1930s?

I don't think that either The Mummy (1999) or The Mummy Returns (2001) had any merchant sailors, though I may be wrong.

So, what other movies come to mind, perhaps with the sailors trudging through jungles and such?

Thanks,

Dan

Guys,

I just started with the transformations. Let me know what you think of them so far.

As you can see, there's still A LOT to do before they're ready for paint:

link

Thanks,

Dan
NOTE: I have yet to finish cleaning up these figures. And the photos were taken with a phone camera, so apologies for the quality.

I wonder if these hulls could work to build up a 30s style steamer for 15mm:

TMP link

link

Dan

big epic-like films that show what a merchant crew looked like in the 1930s
The Phantom 1996
4.54mins in

YouTube link

Deflatermouse,

Wow. Aside from the exaggerated hero and villain character types, that film sure does seem to have lots of cool period-authentic costumes!

Thanks,

Dan