FigBarf Friday - Clowns!

Everybody here likes clowns, right? 

A Cavalcade of Figbarfs

I’ve spent quite a bit of time researching this, and it seems that there’s no universally accepted collective noun for clowns.  Crows are a murder, kittens are a clowder, bison are a herd, and fish are a school.  But clowns?  Just clowns, I guess. 

This is why, several years ago, I declared a group of clowns to be a cavalcade.  (And if I were the famous novelist I’d planned to be by now, that might just be a household term.)  There also isn’t a collective noun governing a group of time travelers, so not long after contributing one for clowns, I declared multiple time travelers to be a prophesy. 

And yes, I just spent two paragraphs explaining the use of a word in a subheading of this blog post.  You’re oh so very welcome!

Today’s Figbarf Friday is a little special.  Normally I present a group shot, followed by shots of the individual members of that particular ‘barf.  But today we’re bringing you the Council of Clowns!  The group shot is six of the nine clown ambassadors (because I simply ran out of clown parts before I could finish them all.)  So instead of solo pictures, I thought we’d focus on not just each Clown Ambassador, but the group that person represents.  Crazy!  It’s like a Russian Nesting Figbarf (or something.) 

The Council of Clowns

The Council of Clowns (as pictured left to right):  Ringo, representing the Circus of Clowns.  Piccolo Prunepants, representing the Prunepants Gang.  Chaw, representing the Big Show Rodeo Clowns.  Goose the Golden Jester, representing the Jesters.  Lady, representing the Clowngirls.  And last, but definitely not least, Smiley, representing the Weirdos. 

[Not Pictured:  The Jolly Reaper representing the WFDA (White Faces, Dark Arts), Zeitgeist the Clown representing Zeitgeist & Friends, and Mister Wrong representing the Creepies.] 

The Circus of Clowns

 

Ringo is the leader of the ranking members of the Circus of Clowns.  His right hand man is Baggo the Clown (whose large gut and long bald hair mark a striking resemblance to your blogger.  Surely, this must simply be an unforeseen coincidence!)  Happy is the circus’ resident sad clown.  Pirate Timmy fulfills the circus’ clown pirate quota.  And then there’s Granddad Clown, whose once infectious grin is now hidden behind years of wisdom and facial hair. 

The Prunepants Gang

 

Organized by head miscreant Piccolo Prunepants, the Prunepants Gang is a band of street level ruffians committing misdemeanors (“--and things you can’t prove they did!”) in the name of buffoonery.  Inspired by the Joker stories from the Batman comics, these clowns are far less deadly, but easily offer five times the nuisance value.  Piccolo’s second-in-command is Snakehead.  The gang’s mascot is Piccolo’s brother Frankie, who packs a rubber wiener loaded with lead shot.  Parodying the most famous clown spokesman, Prunald McDunald wants to know if you’d like fries with that?  And finally, Piccolo’s cousin Shorty Prunepants brings up the rear. 

Big Show Rodeo Clowns

 

The big man of the Big Show Rodeo is world famous rodeo clown Chaw.  Chaw’s ‘deputy’ is Tex, who has copied his fearless leader’s white face and greasepaint beard motif using white face and actual facial hair.  Then we have the pint-sized Big Tex, who’s actually too short to be able to jump into the barrel.  The last full clown on the roster is ‘the Brave’ Andy Bold, the sole Indian among this group of cowboys.  The final member of the group is the crew’s pet, Barrelmonkey. 

So who’s next?  The Jester?  (You guessed ‘er!)

The Jesters

 

This group of jesters, fools, and royal buffoons are led by a man named Goose, aka the Golden Jester.  Standing next to him in this photo are three members of the Bester sextuplets (jesters all):  Esther, Chestor, and Nestor [not pictured: Sylvester, Lester, and Hestor].  The children of Bester the Jester have done their father proud by carrying on the family tradition.  On the other end of the Besters is Deuteranopia, who serves as Goose’s second in the Jester hierarchy. 

Not a whole lot of females in the lineup so far.  Let’s fix that, shall we? 

The Clowngirls

 

The Clowngirls:  Led by the lovely redheaded Lady, these distaff clowns are a force to be reckoned with.  Modern day tramp (from the hobo tradition, not the more modern meaning) Pinkie wears a tattered and patched outfit with a rope belt, and usually carries her stuff in a bindle.  Pirouette is another classic clown archetype, the female counterpart to the Pierrot from the Commedia dell’Arte.  Angry Nancy is exactly what it says on the label.  And providing that extra, extra shot of sex appeal with her grass skirt and seashell bra is Tina. 

And last but not least… the Weirdos!

The Weirdos

 

Led by the Hawaiian shirt wearing ‘Smiley’, the Weirdos aren’t your average clowns.  Nope, they’re the strangest of the strange, the oddest of the odd, and the something-elsest of the something-else.  Smiley’s chief advisor in riding herd on these bizarre clowns is Billy the Hat.  Next in line is Late-for-Work, in his usual no-time-to-dress pajamas, and his unfinished clown face.  Funhouse is the Weirdo’s mascot, with the head of an actual cartoon clown mascot firmly attached to his short body.  And perhaps the weirdest of these weirdos is Rag-a-Doll, who’s greasepaint allergy led to the adoption of a fabric mask.  One thing led to another and he went from being just a masked clown to wearing a full body ragdoll suit. 

More on the “Not Pictured”

As indicated earlier, there were originally going to be even more clowns than pictured here.  But I’ve got clown parts that are in various stages of getting sent to me via Bricklink.  Several minifigure heads I need to get custom printed.  Along with the usual parts-I-KNOW-I-have,-but-just-can’t-find. 

The Jolly Reaper is a clownish reimagining of the Grim Reaper, and a necromancer to boot.  Most of the clowns in the WFDA are undead. 

Zeitgeist the Clown is the titular figure of the clown show Zeitgeist & Friends. 

Mister Wrong is…well…just plain wrong.  As are the rest of the Creepies (sometimes alternatively known as the ‘Evil Clowns’). 

So maybe there will be another clown-themed figbarf in the future.