Grumman USPS LLV

The Grumman LLV has been the standard mail delivery vehicle in the U.S. Postal Service since the 80s. It was preceded by the Jeep DJ, and is currently undergoing a glacial process of being phased out for the Oshkosh NGDV.

For some reason, I can't seem to recall the jeeps even though I'm sure that I must have seen mail being delivered during the time they were in service. All my memories seem to be of the LLV, but maybe it's just recency bias.

Even in 1997, over a decade after postal jeeps had been retired, they were still fresh enough in the mind of most people (other than myself) that the movie The Postman retained the Jeep DJ from the book, instead of updating it to a LLV.

KiNSMART makes an officially licensed keychain model of the USPS LLV with pull-back motor in 1/72 scale. I ended up buying a box of 12 because at the time, the price was practically the same as buying two single models.

As far as dimensions go, the length and height are pretty much spot on for 1/72 scale. The width measures about 29mm but should be about 26.4mm, so it is too wide. The wheelbase is also too long at 37mm instead of 35.4mm.

The models do not have the front and rear crossview mirrors that are installed on the USPS LLVs. Also, from what I understand, there are no USPS LLVs with an identification number that starts with "5".

It would have been nice if they made opening doors like on their larger scale versions instead of having the pull-back feature, but all in all, it is still a decent representation of a USPS LLV.

Wolf Man vs. Dracula

The specious enmity between vampires and werewolves has been explained in various places (e.g., Maverick-Werewolf), so I won't go into it other than to say that it seems like another instance of stan culture spreading into mainstream belief.

Many people say that the rivalry was popularized by the film Underworld, but it has been present in film since the days of the classic Universal Pictures monster movies. A Wolf Man vs. Dracula film was even proposed, but never came to fruition (though elements seem to have been incorporated in the House of Dracula).

Creepy #7 Feb 1966
Cover by Frank Frazetta

To go along with this theme, there are two new sets from Dark Alliance that bring us figures of vampires and werewolves.

The Vampires set consists of 48 figures in 12 poses.

The figures include Vlad Tepes, three classic Dracula-style vampires, and a very elusive Orlok-style nosferatu.

I am particularly fond of the nosferatu, but I felt some of the other face sculpts were a bit lacking. It would have been nice if they could have made more variation by perhaps replacing one of the caped Dracula vampires with the version from the Francis Ford Coppola Dracula film.

Bram Stoker's Dracula, 1992

The next group of figures are of three vampire brides, and a prospective vampire bride (I think).

The third vampire bride figure from the left looks like she may have been modeled after Marishka from the Van Helsing movie.

Marishka

The final group of figures are what I assume are lesser vampires, though the first figure from the left may be a human servant of some sort, while the third may be another nosferatu.

The figures can also double as zombies, given their poses and the torn clothing(?) on the two figures to the right.

The WereWolfes [sic] set consists of 40 figures in 10 poses.

The first two figures are Gabriel Van Helsing and Anna Valerious from the 2004 film Van Helsing. The third figure looks like a classic Lon Chaney-style Wolf Man.

The sculpts are good representations of the characters, though I don't think Kate Beckinsale really has legs that long.

Kate Beckinsale in Hollywood with Dolls Kill
Extreme Appetite for Destruction Platform Boots

The next group of figures are human sized werewolves.

The bases on these figures (and many of the others) were all warped for some reason. For expediency, I just shaved the bases to allow the figures to stand, but I'll have to fix them to be more level later on.

The final set of figures include a couple of giant werewolves, and two crouching werewolves.

Overall, both sets are quite nice, though I have to admit that I now have more vampires and werewolves than I know what to do with. However, if you still are looking for other vampire and werewolf figures, see my post from 2009.

Flying elephants

The film Dumbo is the story of arguably the most famous flying elephant in popular fiction.

I've read somewhere that Dumbo was used as inspiration for the art design of the 5th edition Hollyphant (also used for the Baldur's Gate 3 video game).

The original Hollyphant from the AD&D Monster Manual 2 (1982) is described as a miniature mammoth with wings.

The design for the Baldur's Gate Hollyphant moves the wings forward and above the ears (which have also become wings).

Various other instances of flying elephants are described at ShukerNature, the oldest of which comes from the Indian subcontinent.

The Matanga Lila (purportedly dating from at least the time of the Mughal Empire), tells a story related by the hermit Pālakāpya of how elephants lost the ability to fly.

      Formerly elephants could go anywhere they pleased, and assume any shape; they roamed as they liked in the sky and on the earth. In the northern quarter of the Himālaya Mountain there is a banyan tree which has a length and breadth of two hundred leagues. On it the excellent elephants alighted (after flying through the air).

      They broke off a branch (which fell) upon a hermitage place, where dwelt a hermit named Dīrghatapas. He was angered by this and straightway cursed the elephants. Hence, you see, the elephants were deprived of the power of moving at will, and came to be vehicles for even mortal men.

As far as I can tell however, the flying elephants of South Asian mythology are not described as having wings, although I did read one instance of a Pālakāpya story, which related that elephants had four wings prior to being cursed by Dīrghatapas (but no primary source was given).

The D&D Icons of the Realms Hollyphant (Adventures in Baldur's Gate #20) is the only miniature of this creature that I know of.

Another creature that is described as a white elephant with wings is the Hua-hu Tiao (花狐貂) from a chapter in the Investiture of the Gods. The beast is imprisoned in a panther-skin sack kept by Mó Lǐshòu (魔礼寿/魔禮壽), one of the Four Generals of the Mó Family (魔家四将).

The romanization Hua-hu Tiao is transcribed by the Dunning-Kruger Google Search AI as 桦胡雕 (birchwood carving), though the related mythological information it provided was largely correct. The actual hanzi characters however, are 花狐貂 (sometimes translated as flower marten, or purple fox marten).

I've only looked at the lianhuanhua versions of the story, and the text typically states that the creature turns to the size of a white elephant (while also sprouting wings).

The Huahudiao eats Ma Chenglong (or is it Yang Jian?)

I have not found a single picture from a Chinese source showing the Huahudiao looking like a winged elephant. They are typically depicted as mustelids, or even feline.

My plan is to make a representation of the beast using the Reaper Giant Weasel (Dark Heaven Legends 03897) as a starting point.

The miniature seems to be sized closer to a baby elephant than an adult elephant, but that's fine. I just need to find some wings that look good with the sculpt.