The Fujimi 1/24 Blade Runner Spinner Project
I got my Fujimi 1/24 Blade Runner Spinner seven years too late after its 2011 release, thanks to HLJ.com. Being this late meant I missed out on the ‘Special Edition” which comes with a non-scaled PKD Blaster. But that was not my concern because as long as I have this model, I am set. At the same time, I got these nice 1/24 figures from ODG Studios, which happened to be the last ones that he will ever produce. And with the photo-etch sets from Paragrafix, I am so ready to do this model.
Then I saw the transparent siren covers and undercarriage lens.
Then I thought, you know, I think I can light it up…
…
Long story short, next year would be the 10th Anniversary of the Project and I still have not made much progress apart from creating the lighting effects. The Board is there but now, I need to rearrange the wiring so that it does not look like spaghetti junction in there, meaning I would still have to re-design it. The front mandible lights are there too, plus the upper siren. More work is, how to vac-form those siren lights, and more importantly, where are the rest of the model parts since most of them are missing after the move.
Moonbus Deckard and Gaff
And just this month, I got myself the pair of Moonbus Deckard and Gaff, thanks to Mandarake. It was one of those figures which I so wanted for the Spinner. At that time, it was quite difficult to get them. I do not understand the circumstances but when it comes to niche Garage Kits from Japan, they are usually produced in limited quantities and very likely through the during Japanese Wonderfest Copyright (not the US version) banner at that time.
One of them is too Big, or too small
I started to panic because the Moonbus figures are too big. How can this be? Maybe there is another larger Spinner model which I am not aware and these are the figures for it? If that is the case, then this is a nightmare, not because I spend money on it but because I idolised the figures from both Moonbus and ODG Studios. Looking at this Blade Runner Database, Moonbus only made figures of one scale.
Actually, something is wrong because although Tamiya was 1/20th, it looked more like 1/24th. But in reality, the Moonbus Figures looked too big and could be the actual 1/20th. I have compared them to the figure taken from a 1/20 Ma.K Hummer and they’re just right!
The reality of Scale
Looking back at some of the reference material which is from the Movie and also the Internet, it seemed that the Moonbus figure are actually correct. It is safer to go with the reference photos of the Studio Models. The space inside the Spinner is not exactly luxurious. My mistake was because I used the ODG Studios figures as reference because they were the first figures I bought for the Blade Runner Universe.
But now I have to remember what I have forgotten. Long ago, I have realised that a 1/20th scale figure from someone in the West is different to the one from the East. This is because when a Sculptor makes a figure, they will definitely use the subjects or model of their own country. And so, if you compared a scale figure of different country, you will see the height difference.
In conclusion
The Moonbus figures are the correct size. And the only way for me to get Deckard to hold a bowl of noodles is to sculpt them. Or, maybe….. learn 3D.
