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Greetings from the Humungus: An Interview with Jim “Tank” Dorsey and Faye Murman

Faye Murman gave up her comfortable New York photojournalist job to follow a nearly naked man around the world. If that sounds crazy to you, then you might not know Jim “Tank” Dorsey.

Luckily for you, Faye is working on a documentary about Tank, his friends, and the intense dedication they give to portraying their favorite Mad Max characters.

“In a nutshell, what this documentary is about is the world of Mad Max cosplay, which I didn’t know existed until I started this documentary,” she described to me in an interview we did for the Through the Aftermath podcast. “It’s about a global group of friends who are just so enthusiastic about this really specific thing, and it’s told through the point of view of Tank, who I would think most people would agree is the leader of this group.”

Faye rides along on the Humungus Machine while filming at Wasteland Weekend 2016. Photo courtesy of Faye Murman

The feature-length documentary — entitled “Humungus: A Documentary” –is Murman’s first, and something that she believes is worth the sacrifice. “This has changed my life in every facet imaginable,” she revealed. “I knew that Tank was just as dedicated to this project as me, and that gave me enough confidence to jump ship and — to say a corny cliche — to follow my dreams.”

The Humungus documentary started filming last June, making the last 10 months something of a whirlwind adventure for Faye and Tank. Although she admits that she had no idea who Tank’s Lord Humungus character was when she first met him during an interview for her previous job, working on this film has quickly turned her into a fan of the franchise. During that time, she has filmed him at Dragon Con, Wasteland Weekend, and various Comic Cons around the country where Tank makes his rounds not only as Lord Humungus, but almost a dozen other characters. And Faye even talked about joining Tank in a few of his costume groups for Dragon Con this year.

A month-long trip to the Australian outback is what really turned the tide for Murman, where she admits that she found the voice and true vision for her film. Not only that, but the people of Broken Hill and the Silverton area where Road Warrior was filmed all seemed to have their own Mad Max stories, whether it was someone’s relative on the set construction crew or a paramedic on scene during the filming. “It was like shooting fish in a barrel, finding people with Mad Max stories,” Faye said.

Faye and Tank at Winter Con 2016. Photo courtesy of Faye Murman

But it was a surprise lunch with Hugh Keays-Byrne that really made the trip that much more remarkable. “When he walked in, I looked at Tank and said, ‘Oh my God, it’s the Toecutter!'” In addition to Mr. Keays-Byrne, Faye and Tank were also able to interview Bruce Spence (the Gyrocopter Pilot), Emil Minty (the Feral Kid), Vernon Wells (Wez), Kjell Nilsson (Lord Humungus), Virginia Hey (Warrior Woman), and a few other stunt men and people who worked behind-the-scenes on the films.

“The moment that Tank approached Kjell, dressed as Lord Humungus, that was the first time that those two had ever laid eyes on each others,” Faye described. “It was a moment that I stressed about for a month, and don’t even ask me how I slept the night before. Because if I screwed this up, how could go on with myself?”

Turns out, Tank and the original Lord Humungus really hit it off in what Faye describes as “the most wonderful bromance.” Tank even picked up on mannerisms and personality traits that linked him to the Ayatollah of Rock n’ Rolla actor himself. “I’m listening to him tell stories in his very animated way,” Tank recalled, “and the fish is getting a little bit bigger and a little bit bigger, and I’m going, ‘Oh my God, that’s how I tell stories!'”

All of these brushes with fame started to establish a level of attention for themselves. “We got treated like a bit of a celebrity while we were in Silverton,” Tank said. “We made the newspaper twice, we got on the radio twice, we were on the evening news one night.”

Tank and Faye take a break from the Wasteland Weekend desert heat. Photo courtesy of Faye Murman

But none of this should come as a surprise to those who have had the pleasure of interacting with Tank. He has a certain element of charisma that combines well with his work ethic and attention to detail. “There’s something about Tank,” Faye mused. “People are just drawn to him and they come to him and they ask him these really sincere questions in earnest. They look up to him. It’s so honest, the look in their eyes. Tank has something that other people can acknowledge, whether it’s subconsciously or not, and whatever Tank has in him, it inspires. And I think that people see the work that Tank puts into this passion and I think they think, ‘Yeah, I have a costume but it could be ten times better if I changed X, Y, and Z. Let me step up my game here. Look at what this guy’s doing and look how […] successful he is.’ I think that bringing this movie to a wider audience, a global audience, hopefully sparks that same kind of enthusiasm and dedication to the audience that it does to people Tank comes across in real life.”

The documentary should take another year or so in post-production, plus Faye says that she wants to grab a few more shots at Wasteland Weekend in late September of this year. After that, it will be handed over to a few editor friends who are graciously volunteering their expertise to get this film done.

But there’s one scene that Faye has already dogeared as the finale for the film’s newly discovered vision. “There Tank was in all his glory, dressed up as Humungus, just living this moment, just reveling in this moment. His back was to the camera, and I’m not gonna lie, my eyes filled up with tears because in that moment I knew I had the closing shot.”

You can listen to the complete audio interview with Tank and Faye in the player below or over at Episode 64 of the Through the Aftermath podcast, and you can learn more about the documentary at its official Facebook page.

 

 

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An Interview with Wasteland Car Builder Dave ‘Max’ Giovanni

Dave “Max” Giovanni is the first to tell you that he’s not a professional car builder or even mechanic, but he has built some of the most iconic post-apocalyptic replica vehicles in the Wasteland community. “I don’t have any special skills,” he told me. “My fabrication ability is almost completely self-taught. If I can do it, anyone can!”

Dave lives near the heart of classic American Muscle — Detroit, Michigan — where he works as a firefighter and once served his country overseas as a U.S. Marine. If you’ve ever seen the Lord Humungus machine at Wasteland Weekend or Dragon Con, you’ve seen Dave’s work. In addition to the replicas he’s built from The Road Warrior, he also built the Thunder Machine from the GI Joe cartoon and comics, as well as a couple original creations.

Photo by Jason Smith

“The first vehicle I built was a grey pickup for the Dragon Con parade in 2006,” Dave said. “We called it Marv the Impaler; Marv from Sin City because it was grey, ugly, and beat up, and Vlad the Impaler because of the giant speargun I mounted in the bed. The speargun could swivel and elevate. Marv also had twin prisoner frames on the front, a loudspeaker system, and various other post apocalyptic badassedness.”

Not long after, Dave started work on a 1992 Camaro that would eventually go through two post-apocalyptic treatments. The first iteration was known as the Hellcat, and the second was the Dreadnok Thunder Machine. “The Camaro had been in an accident beforehand, and with its numerous dents and scrapes it was perfect for a post apocalyptic vehicle,” he recalled. ” I built it for the 2007 Motor City Comic Con, and later the Dragon Con parade (again). The Hellcat had a heavily reinforced front bumper, a cool ‘hellcat’ painted on its side armor, and a flamethrower mounted where the hatchback was.” The Hellcat lived on through Dragon Con 2007, but then Dave removed all modifications and returned it to its owner.

But it was Dave’s third vehicle that garnered the most attention from fans of the genre. The Lord Humungus Machine is a six-wheeled monstrosity that was built from a 1985 Ford F150, stripped down to only the frame and engine, then rebuilt from scratch. It is based off of the vehicle driven by the Lord Humungus himself in the Road Warrior movie, and has been copied down to the smallest (working!) detail.

The Lord Humungus Machine with Jim “Tank” Dorsey at the wheel

“The Humungus Machine has a working PA system and flamethrower exhaust,” Dave described. “Among its modifications are the two extra axles, moving the steering wheel, shifter, and pedals back and centered, and semi truck exhaust stacks. I drove the Humungus Machine in numerous car cruises around Detroit, entered (and won) several car shows, and brought it to the Dragon Con parade five times! In 2014 I had it shipped out to California for Wasteland Weekend, where it has been ever since.”

During the annual Wasteland Weekend event, the vehicle is driven by Jim “Tank” Dorsey who has perfected the Lord Humungus character over the years. While Tank’s portrayal of Lord Humungus is the product of his charisma, determination, and hard work, Dave has undoubtedly played a small role in that success thanks to his Humungus Machine.

And Dave even considers that vehicle to be his favorite build so far. “It was my first true replica, easily the most extreme, and as it was road legal(ish), I got to actually drive it alongside other classic cars. It is also the meanest looking and most distinctive vehicle I’ve made. There’s nothing like driving it along in a car cruise and hearing someone yell ‘Mad Max!'”

The Thunder Machine during the Dragon Con parade

At this point, Dave had an opportunity to get his beloved Hellcat back, which he decided to use for the basis of the Thunder Machine replica. “The front end was replaced with the nose of a 1981 Trans Am. The cab was removed and replaced with a pipe framework that held the replica armor plates. The Thunder Machine had twin miniguns mounted on the front that really spin, working Halogen headlights, working police light bar, and a ‘jet engine’ that blew ‘flames’ out the back – actually silk blown by a fan. A friend helped me take the actual decals that came with the toy, scale them up, and apply them to the vehicle. The Thunder Machine made an appearance at Dragon Con 2014 and 2015, and GIJoeCon 2015.”

And from there, it was back to the Road Warrior replicas. “My latest vehicle was the Lone Wolf, another vehicle from The Road Warrior,” he said. The Lone Wolf from the movie was used as Papagallo’s car after it was captured from the marauders earlier in the film. The vehicle itself was actually reused in the third Mad Max Movie, Beyond Thunderdome, but wasn’t given the screen time it enjoyed in Road Warrior.

Dave and his Lone Wolf at Wasteland Weekend 2016

“The Lone Wolf is a silver, two-engined vehicle with a single driver’s seat,” Dave continued. ” I stripped down another old Ford truck, very similar to how I started my Humungus Machine build. The seat, shifter, steering wheel, and pedals were relocated to the center, two huge gas tanks were fabricated and welded to the sides, and an extra engine with a (nonfunctional) supercharger was mounted in the back. All the Lone Wolf’s body panels were cut and shaped from expanded metal. Custom adapters had to be fabricated to give the Lone Wolf dual rear wheels. I made the Lone Wolf specifically for Wasteland Weekend. Lord Humungus’ gang, the Dogs of War, have over a dozen distinctive vehicles. Some of these vehicles were already there, built by other fans. I wanted to add to the Dog’s fleet.”

And as you might imagine, Dave is not done building these replica vehicles from his favorite movie. His current build is the black Ford F100 from The Road Warrior, as well as the second version of the Humungus Machine. “Well, a friend of mine found a buyer for my (original) Humungus Machine. I did NOT want to part ways with my beloved vehicle, but the money was far too good to pass up.” Dave’s already planning several improvements to Humungus Machine 2.0 and promises that both it and the black F100 will be at Wasteland Weekend in September of this year.

And if that wasn’t enough, Dave also teased an additional replica build for the 2018 Wasteland Weekend, as well as the hopes of something special after that. “Maybe in 2018 I’ll make an original vehicle of my own. I have plenty of ideas for it!”

But despite his own builds, Dave says that his favorite replica car is Bill Brown’s Interceptor that has the bragging rights of being the “world’s first Fury Road Interceptor replica,” complete with modifications, dirt, and damage as shown in the latest movie. Bill’s Intercepter, as well as several other replica Interceptors, appears at Wasteland Weekend every year.

Dave’s Lone Wolf with Bill Brown’s Fury Road Interceptor

Building your own replica from the Mad Max films can be difficult these days, especially considering the fact that the movies are 30-40 years old and filmed with classic Australian muscle cars that would be rare in and of themselves. Throw in the rarity of the add-on pieces and the fabrication skill involved, and you’re looking at a serious project. Thankfully, general post-apocalyptic cars are not as difficult as they can be built using scrap metal and random car parts, but Dave offers some helpful advice on the topic.

“If you want to strip it down and put on your own body panels, get an older vehicle with a real frame. Most new cars have ‘unibody’ construction, which means the whole body of the car is part of its structural integrity. So if you were to, say, remove the roof, the car might very well fold in half. Not good. You can work off of a frame easily. Also, older cars have technology that isn’t as complex, and so they are much easier to work on, modify, and repair.

And on a lighter scale, many post-apocalyptic fans just want to make their daily drivers look a bit more “Mad Max.” Luckily, Dave has some words to say about that, too. “If you just want to make your vehicle look mean without extreme modifications, take off the hubcaps. Paint the wheels black. Wrap a chain around the bumper. Take off the doors and/or the hood. Strap some old tires to the roof. Get some temporary car paint (like kids use to show they graduated from high school) and paint your beige Volvo black.”

Staring down the barrels of the Thunder Machine’s twin machine guns at Dragon Con 2016. Photo by James Barker Photography

So there you have it! Dave Giovanni is a testament to the fact that you don’t need to be a professional to get your hands dirty on a post-apocalyptic car build of your own. Start small with some scrap metal add-ons or go all-out with a stripped-down Wasteland buggy. But if it’s something you want to do, just go for it.

I’d like to thank Dave Giovanni for talking with me about his passion, and if you know a Wasteland-style car builder who you’d like to see interviewed here, send ’em my way!