Behold the terrible Dragon Snapper (Dragon Turtle)

[The Tactical Tabletop]

This is only my third post here but I wanted to share some pictures of one of my favorite miniatures along with its stats for the Fights of Fantasy wargame and some lore for its use in The Embattled Realms, the setting I created for my own use with the game.

Many seemingly tranquil and picturesque lakes, meres, rivers, streams, and other bodies of water exist within The Embattled Realms. While inviting, these often beautiful wetlands frequently conceal biological engines of mayhem and death. Residing in these waters are a variety of creatures, some of great size, unpredictability, and destructive potential. One such beast is the Dragon Snapper, a monstrous and ill-tempered combination of Dragon and Snapping Turtle, embodying the most deadly traits of both species.

Here are the Fights of Fantasy statistics for these impressive and lethal creatures. This one is portrayed by a venerable Grenadier Dragon Turtle figure.

Dragon Snapper

Role: Unit member
Size: Very large (2”x2-1/2” base)
Type: Quadruped
Speed: Slow
Domain: Amphibious
Class: Melee & Missile
Status: Common
Nature: Neutral
Options: Breath attack (Steam, Range: 9, Area: Individual or 1-1/2” radius, Damage: 3 on individual or 1 within radius)
Movement: 14
Wounds: 3
Melee Attacks: 3 (1 bite, 2 claws)
Damage: 3
Melee Modifier: +3
Missile Modifier: +1
Morale Modifier: 0
Armor: Extra heavy natural (+5 to melee attack and defense and missile defense rolls, affects movement)

Base worth: 78 worth
Worth of domain change: 18 worth
Worth of options: 78 worth
Worth of additional melee attacks: 14 worth
Worth of armor: 5 worth
Final worth: 193 worth
Worth of unit (1 Dragon Snapper):  193 worth

[Little Odo]

Great looking beastie

[Basementboy]

Looks like Nessie’s more exotic cousin. I love the more grounded feel your colours give it, really good job

[Pattus Magnus]

It’s a great take on the dragon-turtle idea. I could imagine a variety of dragons making a living like snapping turtles do, drifting in close to where prey are likely to come down near the water, then ambushing them. A low-energy strategy, right up to the strike…

[Luigi]

What a lovely figure and you did a great job painting it. I  agree with BasementBoy, the grounded colours give it a really natural and animal-like feel.

the only thing I'd perhaps change is the colour of the basing, maybe something grey or tan/brown to make your great paintjob stand out a bit more.

[beefcake]

Cool. I always liked the curly tails grenadier did on the dragons. I never was wowed by this mini before but I like it a whole lot more now

[Tom Dulski]

 What a whimsical looking miniature

[The Tactical Tabletop]

Thank you, everyone for the comments and input. As far as the painting scheme goes on this miniature I wanted something earthy and simple (I think I only used five colors plus a black wash). I thought the creature would be best portrayed blending in with its environment as an ambushing predator. The basing is admittedly rather blah and perhaps a different shade of flocking would have worked better. I tend to keep things very uniform and simple when it comes to basing due to time constraints and personal hang ups about things needing to match. I’ll be sharing photos of other figures in the future and this idiosyncrasy will be much more evident.

[DalyDR]

That's a nice miniature.  I think a lot of the old Grenadier designs still hold up quite well.  Your paint scheme is great, too.  Well done and not too flashy, it fits the piece and your context for the critter.  It's even a bit nostalgic of some of the old miniatures advertisements from the 1980s, which I loved seeing in the gaming magazines back then.

[Luigi]

I just noticed this, but I think what really sells this paintjob is the eyes.

Very animal like and exactly what you'd expect in a large beast in the wild

[The Tactical Tabletop]

Thanks for the most recent comments. I’m glad someone noticed the “old school” look and feel of the figure because that’s very much my sought after result. Interestingly, I also thought the eyes turned out well on this one. I normally don’t paint them except on large models like this and I only used one color on these (Reaper Miniatures’ carbon grey).