The new Mondo RGB releases have opened my eyes up to the huge world of 1/12 scale miniatures and it’s charging the hell out of my brain’s creative grey matter. So I’m going to post everything scale related here, some of it might seem unrelated to Ghostbusters but it all comes back around I promise.
Project #1: I’m building a dollhouse Yall!
This is going in a 4-foot by 3-foot farmhouse diorama, with a yard & street setup out front. It’s a simple “The Ghostbusters on an everyday job” type scene. Ecto-1 will be out front, the GB’s are walking up a stairway in the terrain to the porch. And all the Ghosts will be inside if you go around back.
The house is meant to be multipurpose. It can also be Ray’s house that his parents left him, or April’s farmhouse from TMNT, etc.
I stumbled across these kits at Hobby Lobby and hit the ground running. I knew nothing at all really of the dollhouse hobby, turns out it’s not a house for dolls… the house IS the doll. While I started this to build a diorama there’s a good chance I’ll build another kit just for the fun of it because it is.
I just got the Mezco set from ebay. I never payed attention to them before because I didn’t think cloth looked great at this scale, but now I’m a 1/12 cloth convert and they might be my favorite set of movie figs.
Many years ago I stumbled across a creative paradigm that’s like fertilizer for my imagination. I’ve never been great at writing fanfiction, so when I would build props like a proton pack instead of imaging the stories that the fictional prop went though, I would imagine a TV show or Film Production that I was working on. Imagining the limitations and demands of the production gives me the direction and authenticity I crave.
I eventually created an alternate history where all of my ‘productions’ live. Where Paramount launched UPN in the 70’s with Star Trek Phase II, and then Sony launches their “Columbia Network” in the 90’s and they make a live action GB show based on the success of The X-files. It lasts 3 season and they try again in 2000 with a MIB show that lasts 2 seasons. (all of these things are based on real events that could have happened if life went differently)
**Ghostbusters '95 **
This is a live action TV show about the Ghostbuster’s first franchise. To the audience it’s called “95” because it takes place in 1995. In universe they’re called “the 95” because their headquarters are located in an old gas station off interstate 95 where it goes by northern Manhattan.
Project #2: The Ecto-95
I spent a long time doing the same ‘traditional’ ecto-1 knockoffs, looking at other similar classic cars. Eventually I thought it would be better to have a unit of 2-person Vehicles. Each Ecto-95 would have a unique roof-rack ability as well.
I found out about Japanese Kei Trucks, and fell in love with them. They have exploded in popularity here in the US in recent years. They have very strict import limitations so all of the ones for sale are like 20 years old.
Then, when researching 1/12 minis I found out about these 1/10 RC Kei Trucks that are super popular in Japan. They make tons of accessories for them so I just ordered a bunch and started mocking up my old Ecto-95 ideas.
That turned out great. If you haven’t already got something in mind for the cables, I’d suggest beading nylon. Not only is it flexible, it takes oil-based paint markers really well.
I actually stumbled across beading nylon a few weeks ago when I was looking for tiny little pearls. I got some in clear that I thought would make for good GBII leg hose. I need like a little kit of various sizes though.
I’m starting to add some details to the mezco line, I painted Winston’s ALICE straps, added a tiny brass rod to the ion arm, painted the silver on the walkie talkie. I’ve made some new ‘real’ key rings for his belt but I haven’t figured out what to do about the molded in ones yet. I’d like to make a whole new belt from some kind of fabric but I’m not sure where to start there.
The Haslab Library Ghost is fanstastic. I don’t usually like transparent ghost figs, but having her head and hands be normal and the way the light comes though more towards the bottom really sell the effect;
I got some 3mm ID x 5mm OD silicon tubing off Amazon for the '89 leg hoses, which allows me to feed through small-gauge yarn if I want to use it for the '91 pack’s Plasm Distribution System. I am always a fan of multi-use ingredients.
As for fabric, I’ve just started using old t-shirts and Walmart swatches and brushing Mod Podge on before cutting it. It stops fraying and stiffens the fabric without making it inflexible, so you should still be able to form it into web belts. (This is the technique I used to create my '89 slickers in my custom figure thread if you want to see an example.)
I’ve 3D printed another prototype for the Ghost Sniffer, printing in a different resin. This material is still a little stiff but it is flexible enough to replicate Mondo’s proton pack straps, and it’s looking much sharper and cleaner than what I was using before. I’m encouraged to try and push the design and have the tube ‘stems’ be removable like the concept art.
Originally I intended to make the diorama into 2 halves, the floor and the wall. But the layered engineering worked against it so I just glassed it all into one solid chunk. Two stacked 1x3’s turned out to be the exact height of the rooftop.
