W&G Heroes

[ffutures]

Since I got a Wallace and Gromit rocket I really wanted some Wallace and Gromit figures to go with it, but nobody actually makes any in role playing sizes. There are some larger cake decorations and 3D printed models around, but reducing the latter to 28mm scale would be very tricky, and need a high-resolution resin printer - and there are some practical problems, not least Wallace has a VERY narrow neck which would be weak as part of a model that small. It might be possible to get around this by designing the model to use a metal rod for the neck, but you would be working with tiny parts and I suspect a lot of frustration would ensue.

Eventually I decided to make myself some foldable paper figures instead, using fan-made clip art from a variety of sources that's free for non-commercial projects. I made them double sided with one side a mirror image of the other, so that if they're printed on OHP film they have a slightly 3D look. Unfortunately this doesn't photograph well due to reflections from the acetate, but I hope this gives an idea:



Characters depicted are:

Wallace
Wallace in Techno-Trousers (The Wrong Trousers)
Gromit
Piella Bakewell (A Matter of Loaf and Death)
Fluffles (A Matter of Loaf and Death)
Feathers McGraw (The Wrong Trousers)
Moon Robot (A Grand Day Out)
Shaun (A Close Shave)
Preston (A Close Shave)
Preston without skin (A Close Shave)
Wendolene Ramsbotham (A Close Shave)
Lady Tottingham (Curse of the Were-Rabbit)
Victor Quartermaine (Curse of the Were-Rabbit)

My first attempt turned out to be roughly 35mm scale printed out, and it was easy to print that out at approximately 28mm scale by simply scaling it down to 80%. For convenience I've made PDFs in both sizes, and they are on line at the URLs below

https://forgottenfutures.co.uk/album/WG-Heroes-35mm.pdf

https://forgottenfutures.co.uk/album/WG-Heroes-28mm.pdf

To make it as clear as possible, I do not own these characters, the art, or anything else here, and these are NOT for commercial distribution - they are simply a transformative fan work in a slightly unusual format.

I may still try to make figures from modelling putty etc, but they would be for my own use only since they would be a pain to make and VERY fragile. For now, the PDFs are probably a good deal more practical.

Comments

[i_kender]

They look pretty good! But yes, I too would be overwhelmingly tempted to make my own models in Plasticine style putty. That would be very cute.

[ffutures]

Actually, I meant the self-setting putty such as Miliput that people use for customised figures and prototypes - they wouldn't be squishy as such.

[original_aj]

Having been using Milliput since the 80s, I recently tried Green Stuff and I think it would be much better for this purpose. I'm using Milliput for when I need to be able to spread it, or push it into gaps, and green stuff for when I need to shape it. I'd suggest getting a small packet and giving it a go.

[ffutures]

I've actually got some milliput somewhere, being a mean git I'd prefer to give that a shot first. Bearing in mind that these figures are supposed to be caricatures I think it will work reasonably well.

[original_aj]

Those work really well! I'd be very happy with them.

It might be possible to use a suitably posed figure as the skeleton for a Wallace model, it you were keen. Maybe a cheap plastic soldier or similar?

[ffutures]

I don't think I have anything quite suitable but it's certainly a possibility.

[bugshaw]

Could you do Wallace scratching his head, to get a second support through the arm instead of relying on the fragile neck?

[original_aj]

Or drinking a cup of tea?

[ffutures]

Nice one - or maybe eating cheese!

[ffutures]

Not a bad idea - thanks!