My build of the “Bopped Out Steel Pluckers Havin’ A Bash” plastic model kit from the Hawk Model Company “frappin’ family of fidgeting” Frantics model series.
This Frantics model kit took me over four years to complete. Not that I worked on it the whole time, mind you. Rather, I started it the last weekend of March, 2020, then got stuck and stalled out on it. It sat in a closet, at about 80% done, for a long while. Then … well, here we are: early June, 2024.
Despite the protracted build, I approached this kit with a clear vision and real optimism. I knew right off that I was going to make my Frantics bandmembers neo-punk.
During the early aughts, I lived in a small, hippie/tourist town in the Pacific Northwest. Downtown, near where I worked, there was this funky, little, non-profit, social-service oriented coffee shop and live venue that doubled as a high school misfit and teen-drifter hangout. Some of the most colorful characters passed through its doors. This place and its ever-changing flow of music and coffee loving denizens was a major inspiration for my version of the Frantics model kit.
Lofty Ideas, Tough Lessons, & Surprise Solutions
Planned kit mods included long hair for both figures, metal jewelry and accessories, stringed instruments, and wires for the stage electronics. Some of these plans fell through rather quickly. Most notably stringing the instruments. There are successful examples of this online but, for the life of me, I couldn’t get it right and worried I ‘d ruin the instruments in the process. It was very disappointing. What a nightmare. Fuggedaboutit.
I also dropped the idea of fabricating power cords and electrical outlets for the amplifier and drum machine. Sometimes simpler is betterer!
Next, I encountered seemingly endless difficulties with the hair.
While craft fur was difficult enough to work into spikes for the guitarist, it proved impossible for the what I envisioned for my banjoist: the greased curtain look of the Nirvana-period Dave Grohl. After trying and failing this look with craft-fur, I gave doll hair a shot. I watched a ton of videos on the process and even bought some Russian doll hair … which was utter shite for my purposes.
At this point, the air fully left my sails. I carefully put the unfinished model parts back in the box and stuck it in the closet.
Zoom forward around 18 months and here’s my ever-amazing wife handing me a hank of pre-cut embroidery floss: “do you think this make good hair for one of your models?”
Huzzah! Genius!
The floss was cheap cheap cheap, readily available IN TOWN, and easy to work with. I love the look and style-ability of it. I can’t wait to use it on another project someday – and better.
Modifications to the Frantics Model Kit
Though I did pre-plan lots of the kit modifications I made, as many also occurred to me along the way.
Modifications/additions include: lapel buttons, neck spikes, a big western belt buckle (that you’ll never see as it’s behind a banjo), “torn” and “worn” clothing, microphone cord, drum machine and speakers, guitar and banjo straps (real Naugahyde!), a hand-written set list, and even a punk/metal back patch.
Speaking of this latter:
“The Chittering Marmots” seemed a fun name, so I built up the logo in photoshop, combining the image of a ground rodent with a switchblade. Don’t get confused, however. “The Chittering Marmots” is not this band’s name. These are The Frantics. The guitarist for The Frantics just happens to be a fan of The Chittering Marmots, is all.
The same band has a show poster up on the lamp post of my Mars Attacks build …
The Music
drum machine fab
“Wrote A Song,” was actually written sometime in early 2016 or even further back. It is one of my silly ‘mock and roll’ pieces never really intended for production or public consumption.
Wanting a soundtrack for my model video, however, I realized I could probably twist it to fit easily enough but … acoustic? Banjo?!?
Luckily enough, I had a student model banjo in the house for awhile (thank you, Jack) and own an acoustic guitar. Further, I didn’t imagine either musician in the band to be virtuosic, so the performance pressure was really quite low. This is equally true of the vocals; a fact that will not at all be surprising once you’ve heard the song. (you can also hear a somewhat bizarre, instrumental version here.)
“Wrote A Song” and more of my music can be found on the CAE bandcamp page.
Wrote A Song (model version)
We wrote a song
it isn’t very good
We couldn’t find a rhyme
for ev’ry wood
We cannot play it
like we oughta should but
We wrote a song
we wrote a song man
we wrote a song
a really real song
We wrote a song
we wrote a song man
we wrote a song
a really real song
Our song has lyrics
and right around three chords
We didn’t try that hard
won’t win no awards
Verse chorus verse, man
We’re gettin’ bored but
(chorus)
Some other words
would prob’ly fit in here
but we’re just thinkin’
how we want a beer
Somethin’ somethin’
somethin’ somethin’ beer, yeah
(chorus, repeat twice)
Bopped Out Steel Pluckers Havin’ A Bash
Overall, and despite some of my own crafting limitations, I really enjoyed putting this Frantics model kit together.
I have some ideas for a fairly radical mod for the “Totally Fab” lead singer kit but have yet to buy it. I did pick up Hawk’s “Frantic Banana Punishing the Skins” kit at my local hobby shop. It’s not at all in scale with the “Bopped Out Steel Pluckers,” however, being nearly twice their scale. Still a fun looking to kit, however.
