The Flying Hellfish (also referred to as just "the Hellfish") was the military unit Abraham Simpson, Charles Montgomery Burns, and several other Springfieldians served in during World War II, as seen in the flashback in the Simpsons episode "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"".
The episode features a great flashback showing a young Abe Simpson fighting the Germans in the closing days of WWII.
I bought a used “Raging Willie” as he is one of the few Simpsons characters in shape and had a cool action pose. I made a rough mold of Homer’s brother Herb’s head and cast a new head. I also referenced the Ranier Wolfcastle as McBain for the Simpsons-style of sculpting the military uniform and equipment.
I soaked the Willie figure in boiling water for a few minutes and then popped off his head. I used white tape to mask off the seams and used Aves epoxy putty to start building the new uniform pieces.
I added epoxy putty to the casting of Herb to build Grandpa’s features and haircut.
The painted head.
Later in the episode Abe is wearing a backpack. I cut a piece of MDF to shape for the main section and side pockets. The straps were cut from .02 styrene (after MUCH prototyping).
The grenade was formed from Aves with a nail stuck in it. When it was dry, I stuck the nail in a drill and lathed in the horizontal grooves. I attached small styrene blocks for the upper part of the grenade.
The grenade ring was made from round styrene bar stock. I heated the plastic and wound it around a brass tube. I snipped off one link and then glued it closed. The “handle” of the grenade was made from a sliver of aluminum.
The belt pouches were made from thick styrene with thin plastic folded over for the flaps, I put a dot of CA glue on the flap for a subtle button.
I made another cast of the head for making a helmet that would fit.
I covered the form with Saran Wrap and used Aves putty to sculpt the helmet.
Afterward I used the dremel to thin up the interior lip.
The sniper rifle from the episode was nearly identical to one that came with the figure of one of Fat Tony’s mobsters. I merely repainted it.
Abe also used a Thompson Submachine gun and I couldn’t resist building it. I used laminated styrene for the parts and a brass tube for the barrel. The muzzle was formed by putting Aves on the end of the tube and then putting the tube in the drill and shaping it with files.
The Thompson painted.
Here is Abe Simpson all assembled and painted. I also added his sergeant’s stripes on his helmet and the Hellfish tattoo on his right bicep using laser decals. I did my best to replicate the details of the episode, fighting my urge to make the details accurate to real life.
