Author Topic: Denizens of Azor: Man-Apes and more Man-Apes! (Read 114221 times)

Sir Barnaby Hammond-Rye · « **Reply #300 on:** March 03, 2017, 07:00:48 PM »

Looks great! I don't see any "problem" with the scales.

von Lucky · « **Reply #301 on:** March 03, 2017, 09:01:00 PM »

What a lovely sculpt. So full of understanded character. The slightly different colour of the resin of the head/neck to the body I think has made the scale appear different size/style. I think a little Greenstuff and painting will make it absolutely clear you should never turn your back on these creatures.

beefcake · « **Reply #302 on:** March 03, 2017, 10:21:40 PM »

Quote from: Alxbates on March 03, 2017, 06:30:33 PM

I guess I can see that. The larger scales on the neck are intentional. If you don't mind me rambling on a bit, I'll explain my thought process.

Here's the original image of a Sirrush that I started with:

It's relatively realistic-looking compared to a lot of the representations of mythological creatures you see from the time... but "relatively" means that it's still pretty weird. As I said in my earlier post, the animal that seemed most plausible as an inspiration for it might have been an unknown, large and long-necked species of Goana or Monitor Lizard - something way bigger than a Komodo dragon. Horns are unknown in the Varanus genus (as far as I know!), but lots of other lizards have horns, so I figured it wasn't too much of a stretch to add them to my Sirrush.

If you clean the art up you can more clearly see that it has a mane. A lot of dragons and some real world lizards have a 'mane', or a crest of spikes or scales that stick up along the neck, but... it always looked a little bland or 'on the nose', so I started thinking about how to try something a little different.

I imagine the Sirrush as being lazy and opportunistic predators, comfortable in the water, and tending to lay in wait by waterways for unwary fish to swim by. There aren't a lot of long-necked predators in the real world, and most of the ones that I could find tended to eat fish, so, that it seemed plausible for fish to be a big part of their diet. Having prominent scales on the neck helps to break up the shadow of the creature when it's hanging its head over a body of water. It can flex them a little bit for threat displays, too - although that only happens with other Sirrushes, of course. They're large enough that they don't really see many other creatures as a danger.

Anyways, that's why the neck has big scales and the body is relatively smooth.

Great explanation. The sculpting is great and the change between scaly to non scaly works well.

Hobby Services · « **Reply #303 on:** March 04, 2017, 08:31:06 PM »

Took me longer than it should have, but I finally got some of the Azor serpent priestesses painted up, seen here alongside some Reaper models and a random rattlesnake from some toy range. Think they make quite a nice set despite the varied sources, and the Forge of Ice castings are top notch. For scale reference, the girls have been stuck on 30mm bases, the medusa is on a 45mm, and the big rattler is on a 60mm.

Alxbates · « **Reply #304 on:** March 04, 2017, 10:25:17 PM »

Those look great, man! Thanks for sharing the pics! Mind if I post them to the FOI Facebook page?

Hobby Services · « **Reply #305 on:** March 04, 2017, 10:58:03 PM »

Quote from: Alxbates on March 04, 2017, 10:25:17 PM

Those look great, man! Thanks for sharing the pics! Mind if I post them to the FOI Facebook page?

Thanks, pretty happy with the lot. Sent you a PM.

Hobby Services · « **Reply #306 on:** March 04, 2017, 11:08:48 PM »

Quote from: Alxbates on March 03, 2017, 07:58:53 AM

Later I found that PJ Farmer's 'Tarzan Alive' book mentions that Tarzan once encountered the last of the Sirrush, so that made me feel even better about including a Sirrush in Azor.

Tarzan the Terrible, IIRC. The one set in Pal-Ul-Don, which is chock full of Azor-style weirdness. Good read. Justifies having a gryf/triceratops model made as well.

Alxbates · « **Reply #307 on:** March 05, 2017, 05:33:12 PM »

Edgar Rice Burroughs' Lost Worlds/Lost Cities are a major inspiration for me. Pal-Ul-Don, Opar, Pellucidar, Cathne & Athne, Xuja... they're great!

Alxbates · « **Reply #308 on:** March 26, 2017, 09:33:20 AM »

Jeez... I have discovered the hard way that I was not set up for the volume of shipping that I've been slogging through!

Lessons learned!

But, while I'm wading through a pile of invoices & packages, some sculptors are still making progress on my future projects.

Kev White has finished the first of two noblewomen who share the throne of Zor-Al, Azor's sister city and ancient rival:

Also, since I'm nearly ready to start on the painted sets for the Kickstarter, I've started painting a few terrain pieces as a warm-up. I finished that Doom Serpent Idol recently, next up I'm working on a couple of my Pterro-Sphinxes.

I need to build a whole big terrain board for them, but, that's a little further away...