Fantasy Miniatures.

Not exactly an update, more of a "look what I found" whilst digging through the massive box of old fantasy miniatures I have. We have been leaning toward fantasy stuff of late as a good distraction to the Historical miniatures we have been concentrating on. Most of these are from old 1980's to early 1990's Citadel, Ral Partha and other manufacturers of the time. Some of my figures are long since sold off or gone to who knows where but I managed to keep hold of the vast majority, stuffed away in a box in the loft. The level of detail may not match todays standards but for pure character I choose these old school minis over the 'big n spikey' trend for current GW models.

A small selection below to reminisce on. I managed to find these chaps -

Lorabeth, Corabell,  John-Boy and Willy.

Above: I have a whole host of this Citadel range (the C46 Villagers) but these were of interest as I believe they were specifically from the "Terror of the Lichemaster" range. I am sure I had more from it but they seem to have long since disappeared.

The Orc Man-Mangler.

The old Citadel Orc Man-Mangler for Warhammer Fantasy Battle. Although I had a pretty big (unpainted) Orc army (more on them later) this never actually saw action!

A Marauder Dwarf guards 'The Special Rock'.

Dwarf from the Marauder Miniatures range, the company set up by Ally and Trish Morrison around 1988. Some of their Dwarves were quite nice sculpts but I never managed to get hold of many as I was drifting out of the hobby at this point. Although I have over 170+ Dwarves I still like the idea of getting hold of some more of them.

A C18 Liche and some C17 Skeletons.

Early eighties Citadel C17 Skeletons.  I used to have loads of these but most were sold off, which I kind of regret now. I still have the plastic boxed set in reasonable condition though! The hooded creature is one of the old C18 Undead 'Liches' (as they were referred to) I also have a variant of this chap who represented one of our old Warhammer campaigns big-bads. This was the Liche leader who went by the name of 'Martin', formerly known as the sorcerer Tamalar Fogg. He served, grudgingly under the Liche King 'Oliver' and his Army supported by 'John' the Lord of Darkness. Another of the Liche leaders was 'Nigel'. The reason for the names was our obsession at the time with the TV series 'V'!

C26 Man-at-Arms and an excellent slouching C16 Orc.

Above is a C26 Officer from the Medieval Men-at-Arms range by Citadel. They became the C26 Fantasy Men-at-Arms and subsequently were produced as a War of the Roses range by Wargames Foundry. I have a whole host of this range, mainly the bowmen and crossbowmen with a few halberdiers and spearmen thrown in. A few of these were released later as slotta-based but most of mine are pre-slotta. They fit in nicely with the Perry War of the Roses range which is not surprising as they were sculpted by the Perry twins! The unlikely servant that attends him is a wonderful 'slouching' unarmoured Citadel C16 Orc. This chap is probably my favourite Orc figure! I am not 100% sure but I gather a fair few of these early Citadel Orcs were also Perry sculpts. Please correct me if wrong! I have over 100 Orcs from several companies but mainly Citadel and some are even painted (shock) so I will post more of these brutes later.

Alternative Armies 'Cavern Fighter' Dwarves mine 'The Special Rock'...

More Dwarves. These are from the Alternative Armies 28mm Fantasy Dwarven Host range. I have a selected 15 from the 40+ available and they are excellent figures but to be honest the range is overall a little hit and miss. The two stout chaps above are a couple of my favourites from the Cavern Fighter pack, which I highly recommend. I can picture them now, mining deep into a cave swarming with goblinoids. More Dwarves to come later.

...unaware a Ral Partha 'Grendel' and a C18 Liche King lurk nearby.

Next up is another from the C18 Undead range. This is the aforementioned Liche King. He is the figure that represented 'Oliver', the 'leader' of the evil / chaos forces in our early Warhammer 1st to 3rd edition games. I actually recently purchased him from ebay as the original 'Oliver' belonged to a friend who long since sold him. In a moment of reminiscence I couldn't help buy him again...

With him is the Ral Partha 'Grendel' model from the Personalities and Things That Go Bump in the Night range. He / it is another recent purchase that I just could not resist. I was first aware of the figure last year when I was researching suitable figures to represent Grendel for a possible fantasy / myth angle to our Dark Ages and Viking campaign - see my posts on my Viking blog Gjallarhorn for more on this. He was a bit of a pleasing discovery on ebay as I thought I would never get hold of one! 

Mystic Spirals Barbarian.

The above fab barbarian in true 'Conan' type pose was a lucky find when I was trying to look up some more info on the miniature painter John Morris, aka Mystic Spirals. He decided at some point to sculpt and sell a few of his own miniatures and most of these were very limited in their release. I managed to get hold of a few, the 'Barbarian1' being one of them. Unfortunately, according to his blog all of his figures are now out of production due to illness in the family. I wish him all the best an hope to see more of his figures in the future.

Little John and Friar Tuck by Foundry.

More Foundry figures above with Little John and Friar Tuck from the Robin Hood collection. These are great fun sculpts full of character and 'Little' John is by no means little in any way. Friar Tuck is fairly 'large' but the huge figure of Little John towers above most in 28mm and is comparable to the immense Foundry Viking 'Rollo the Ganger' figure from the VIK011 pack. For some reason I have an obsession with buying 'monk' figures from various ranges and I also picked up the Trent Miniatures 'Friar Tuck & Maid Marian' off  North Star. I think I prefer the Trent Miniatures version.

Rotundo, my favourite Citadel C11 Halfling.

I have never been one for Halfling figures but at some point I decided my huge mass of Dwarves needed some camp followers / cooks and decided to add a few of the little fellows to the mix. Mine were from the Citadel C11 Halflings and include Hog, Smallfoot, Mattock the Plump, Hari the Hammer, Proudfoot ("ProudFEET"), Bill Benno, Lando the Large and Cecil Ogre Slayer. I also got hold of the Hornblower and my favourite of the lot, Rotundo. Love that belly Rotundo! All these little guys made there way onto the ebay pile not too long ago but I had a last minute change of heart and could not bring myself to separate from them. Whether they will ever be painted or added to is another thing but at least I know they are 'there'.

Duck with short sword from the Runequest boxed set 4 (Beastmen).

A Runequest Duck. Finally got hold of this chap after much searching. My previously mentioned obsession with Runequest Ducks has led me on a great quest to track (quack?) down as many of them as I can but this one has always eluded me until recently! I paid more for him than I would ever dream of paying for a single figure but I just had to have him! I now have a grand total of 12 Duck miniatures from Citadel and Ral Partha. I also picked up two from Rapier Miniatures along with a couple of their Scorpion-folk. All are on the rather large side and do not mix well with the Citadel and Ral Partha ranges. Having said that they are quite nice figures, just not very usable with what I have. All I need now are the Mongoose boxed set that I missed out on...

Rapier Miniatures Scorpion-folk.

The Scorpion-folk from the Beastmen selection are also monstrous in size but probably more usable. They are suitably horrible, measure about 50mm tall by 60mm long and genuinely scare the bejesus out of me! In the background of the picture is a Dragonman / Draconian of some description but I am not sure of the manufacturer, maybe Grenadier? He is not on the heroic side of 28mm but gives an idea on the vastness of the Scorpion-beasties!

Well, that's it for now but next up is Orcs, Dwarves and Beastmen!

Runequest - Scorpion Men.

Been digging out a few Runequest and generic fantasy type miniatures in the last few weeks (in between trying to finish a stack of Vikings and Saxons, see Gjallarhorn and various WW2 folk, see A Project Too Far) so I thought I would post an update on some of the figures I have been looking at.

Scorpion men are a chaos breed native to Glorantha and left over from the Great Darkness. They are often found in desert areas and sometimes small mountain villages. Their rigid society is based on servitude to Queens, who breed for the race. Scorpion men are known to make their living by trading or hiring out their services as mercenaries to employers willing to look past their chaotic nature.

Kudurru 'Boundary' Stone.

In mythology, Scorpion men are featured in several Akkadian language myths, including the Enûma Elish and the Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. They were also known as aqrabuamelu or girtablilu. They were first created by the Tiamat in order to wage war against the younger gods for the betrayal of her mate Apsu. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, they stand guard outside the gates of the sun god Shamash at the mountains of Mashu. These give entrance to Kurnugi, the land of darkness. The scorpion men open the doors for Shamash as he travels out each day, and close the doors after him when he returns to the underworld at night. They also warn travellers of the danger that lies beyond their post. Their heads touch the sky, their "terror is awesome" and their "glance is death". This meeting of Gilgameš, on his way to Ūta-napišti, with the Scorpion-folk guarding the entrance to the tunnel is described in Iškār Gilgāmeš, tablet IX, lines 47-81.

Citadel Runequest Scorpion Men.

These are two of my favourite figures, a couple of nasty looking scorpion men. These are from the old Citadel Runequest range and have an unsettling look to them. I have raised ones legs, as if scuttling along or rearing up to attack, whilst the other is close to the ground. Unfortunately both had broken tails but it was nothing a little green stuff and superglue couldn't sort out. I have shaded them in slightly different colours to individualise them a little and a friend has suggested I remove one of their clubs and replace it with a spear to further enhance their characters. Once I have become brave enough to modify one of them I will finish the paintwork. I have not decided on a base yet but will probably opt for the larger of the two in the picture. I have searched around for more to join these two but they are rare. Other miniatures companies that look to produce versions of scorpion men include slightly more humanoid ones from Fenryll Miniatures, a really striking one from Reaper Miniatures, more monstrous ones from Iron Wind Metals and Rapier Miniatures also do a small range with a nice Scorpion Queen. There also appeared to be a scopion man mini from Ral Partha but I am sure these are lost in the annals of time. ShadowForge also do a nice selection of fantasy 'Egyptian' style scorpion-women warriors in their 'Light Temple' range.

Fenryll.

Reaper Miniatures.

Iron Wind Metals.

Rapier Miniatures Scorpion Queen.

Rapier Miniatures Warrior.

Ral Partha.

ShadowForge.

For some interesting notes on the Gloranthan cult of Bagog and the scorpion-folk have a look at the Lhankor Mhy Research Library.

Scorpion men also feature as powerful myth units for the Egyptians in the game Age of Mythology. Dungeons & Dragons features centauric scorpion-men called Stingers, normally found in desert locales and devoted to gods of the waste, often those reflecting the Pharaonic or Babylonian pantheons. In Warlords Battlecry III, scorpion-people are the primary servants of Melkor, the Lord of Famine. In The Mummy Returns, the Scorpion King is shown as a scorpion-man, perhaps the less said about that the better though...

Runequest - Ducks.

My first encounter with the most unusual fantasy race in Runequest, if not any fantasy game, was with the Duck. These strange chaos tainted creatures that inhabited the world of Glorantha were always guaranteed to split a group of players.

A Duck Guardsman.

Our long standing main GM, Rob, would never put up with such nonsense these days but it is probably thanks to him that my odd obsession with anthropomorphic ducks (and intelligent Baboons) first began.

It was at one of our early RPG sessions at the school games club back in the 80's - Robs brother Andrew (the Zombie Master) was one of the first people I know that was into RPG's and had obviously influenced Rob into getting into the hobby. For this reason, he tended to be the main GM for any of the earliest games we played, and though we all run the occasional game now its something that effectively continues to this day. Anyway, we were a few sessions into one of the first RPG's I had ever played that went by the name Runequest. This is still one of my favourite fantasy settings - Glorantha was a strange world with a unusual but convincing pantheon of Gods and a refreshing set of creatures that inhabited it, such as the man herding Morokanth, the belligerent Scorpion Men and the faintly magical Dragonewts. I still think the Broo are one of the finest monsters in any game. More on them another time.

I remember my first character, who had become a Storm Bull initiate (after I read 'Cults of Prax') joining a party of adventurers. In one of the scenarios we had entered a small town called Apple Lane (the legendary boxed set scenario book) and had become involved in assisting one of the local store keepers, Gringle the pawnbroker. Gringle was having issues with a local group of intelligent Baboons who wished to take back an item of some value they insisted belonged to them. I remember thinking, I like this, that's interesting, intelligent Baboons...

The Apple Lane Map.

It was during negotiations with Gringle that we first met his devoted 'manservant' Quackjohn. At this point Rob explained that Quackjohn was a Duck. He was apparently likeable and chatty. He sung when drunk, was a superb cook, and never questioned his master's ways. He had worked with Gringle since they settled in Apple Lane some 37 years before. I can vaguely remember being really amused by this - a duck? In a fantasy game?? I went with it and Quackjohn proved himself in the ensuing action.

Apple Lane Scenario Booklet.

I don't remember the exact details anymore but suffice to say we had a desperate combat against some very angry Baboons led by a fierce armoured one named Kochaz, tearing their way through the shops roof and windows followed by a suprise attack by a Dragonewt, Xarban, and his motley band of followers. This outlaw band had apparently signed up to assist Kochaz on the promise of some spoils from the shop. Among them were a big centaur, a couple of smaller Dragonewts and another Duck! We ultimately managed to fight off the attackers and reap the benefits. The short campaign eventually faded but I was left with a lasting interest in these odd little characters.

Duck Tower.

Several Duck characters appeared in later games (mainly with another GM) usually as sidekicks to the main adventurer group. There were such legendary folk as Delbourne, a Duck trader who thought of himself as something of a noble and then a favourite of mine, Svendrake, the Humakt worshipping, slightly overly aggressive bodyguard and assistant to Rex Troya, a Human Praxian Runepriest. Ducks and Baboons also made an appearance in our Warhammer campaign. Two notables include Quackbill Featherwing, a Duck adventurer and his faithful friend, Ragill the Baboon, who obtained kinship with the Dwarfs of Aruk Khabar and later a place in the court of King Dumin Ironbeard after helping to save Stonebrow Palace. Others were Blazemane and Darktail.

I have made a few Runequest 'Duck' related purchases over the years and one of my first was the Duck Tower book above. I never had the chance to use it but enjoyed the read. My favourite purchase of all is below - being a fan of Runequest figures I picked up a few of the old Citadel boxed sets of miniatures. One of my favourite figures was always the Duck Adventurer, who went on to represent most of the characters mentioned above. Over time I somehow managed to get hold of more of this figure and now have four! My proudest purchase was the Runequest Hero Duck that was originally a promotional item. I must get around to painting them all...

Svendrake the Duck and his bodyguard.

Ducks still seem to make the occassional appearance in Gloranthan stories. The last Mongoose Publishing version has them refering to themselves as Durulz and they certainly seem to have a less 'Howard the Duck' look to them. Will they ever make another appearance in one of my games? Who knows. It would depend on the players to start with but I like the idea of revisiting an old Runequest haunt to see what happened to old Quackjohn...

"Runequest Ducks look like the most perfect form of sentient life ever created by the gods."