North Star Serpent Men and Hybrids

[Chief Lackey Rich]

Not sure if this should get stuck on the Frostgrave child board or not, but since they're pretty handy for other (warmer) fantasy settings as well as McCullough's rule sets I'll stick this here for now.  I expect they show up as AoS/WFB lizardman alternates or in Oathmark pretty often, and I've certainly used them in Dragon Rampant.

New post on the blog showcasing the serpent-man plastics from North Star, along with some more human-ish hybrids I've kitbashed out of parts from the FG Cultist and Stargrave Mercenary frames.  Lots and lots and lots of photos at the link:

https://sanctumreconditesage.blogspot.com/2021/07/ghost-archipelago-frostgrave-serpent-men.html

[nicknorthstar]

Great project.

Do you mind if I send some links to your Blog page?

Nick

[fred]

Cool.

The cultist bodies work well with the Serpent parts.

Did you try adding guns to some for Stargrave?

[Chief Lackey Rich]

Great project.

Do you mind if I send some links to your Blog page?

Nick

Nope, feel free.

[Chief Lackey Rich]

Cool.

The cultist bodies work well with the Serpent parts.

Did you try adding guns to some for Stargrave?

I'd done all the serpent-men before Stargrave came out.  I did a batch of Stargrave ruffians using the cultist bodies over here:

https://sanctumreconditesage.blogspot.com/2021/07/stargrave-ruffians.html

Worked almost perfectly IMO.  If you wanted I suppose filing down the Stargrave elbow pads (which are universal to every kit) would make an even better match for the cultist clothing, but it didn't seem like it was worth the effort to me.  I do like the dynamic posing on the cultist bodies, although it might make some of the Stargrave arm combos look a little off, eg sticking a carbine in an "aiming" grip on a running body.

[nicknorthstar]

I did the same conversions for my ruffians, but I went for cutting off at the wrists.

[fred]

Yes, the cultist bodies work well with Stargrave arms, or even just weapons

[Grumpy Gnome]

Looking good mate!

[Chief Lackey Rich]

I did the same conversions for my ruffians, but I went for cutting off at the wrists.

That can work fine too, but I was trying to save those nice gloved Cultist arms for future projects as much as possible - like the serpent-man hybrids, for ex.  Those are wrist-cut jobs, and the bracelets on the snakemen arms give you a nice cutting guide and a bigger contact area to boot.  Very (ahem) handy, that.

Do you mind if I send some links to your Blog page?

I'm guessing you posted them on Facebook, since my hit count is about twenty times higher than normal and most of the extra traffic came from FB.  Am I really going to have to start using that social media cesspit again just to reach people?  Sigh...

[nicknorthstar]

Yep, shared through Faceache.

It's what you make of it. Nick Eyre shares no personal information, never puts up anything personal or non-Hobby stuff and so it's an 'almost' pleasant experience. And instantly blocking and deleting any idiot.

[Elbows]

Nice work.  The lizardmen were one of the "misses" for me in the line-up of plastic sets, but you've made them look pretty passable!  I just ordered a set of alternate Lizardmen stuff and I hope I can get them lookin' decent.

[Chief Lackey Rich]

Nice work.  The lizardmen were one of the "misses" for me in the line-up of plastic sets, but you've made them look pretty passable!  I just ordered a set of alternate Lizardmen stuff and I hope I can get them lookin' decent.

The Wargames Atlantic ones, by any chance?  I've been looking at those myself.  I wonder if that kit might be a source for tails for the snakemen - that seemed to be a sticking point for a lot of folks, although I like 'em as they are.

Nick, if you read this - if you can ever justify doing a second serpent-man sprue (either for Ghost Archipelago or more generic) I suspect a frame with (say) five new "coiled snake" lower bodies and five humanoid torsos that are all compatible with the existing sprue would be a decent seller.  That way people could mix and match between them to hugely increase assembly possibilities and have the option to do "snakes with legs" and "Clan Wars Naga style" snakefolk, all with a similar sculpting style.

[Elbows]

I'm actually trying a box from "Epic Encounters" which make mini collection for D&D adventures.  I bought a box of their Orcs for my friends (to see the quality) and I think they'll be decent.  We shall see! 

[Chief Lackey Rich]

I'm actually trying a box from "Epic Encounters" which make mini collection for D&D adventures.  I bought a box of their Orcs for my friends (to see the quality) and I think they'll be decent.  We shall see!

Oh, that figure line.  That's the same release with the giant snake box, right?  I've seen the earlier kobold and dragon sets in person and they paint up nicely enough.

[Elbows]

Yeah, the big mega-snake is sold separately and I have no need of it, thankfully.  But a coven of snake warriors (many with actual snake bodies, hurray!) and some sneaky snake wizards seems like a good try.  We shall see.  The Orc box was pretty solid - and extremely good value, snagged for some $35 shipped - with 20 or so minis of seven different types.  I don't normally bother with the non-HIPS figures, so we'll see how these play out.