Monster Manual project

[James Holloway]

That is just the coolest little Basilisk!  Where'd you find that miniature?

He is a Reaper Bones model.

[Hobgoblin]

This series is terrific! Lots of great, though-provoking stuff that's really handy for running games. Can't wait until you hit the humanoids.

[PhilB]

Ironically a good number of the original MM creatures were inspired by weird plastic critters found in bags of cheap import toys.
Many of the creatures not based on mythology, the bullette and otyugh for example, owe their creation to some sculptor in HongKong or Japan with more imagination than talent.

Don't forget the rust monster and the owlbear, which were also in that grab-bag of plastic toys.



Kudos to James for this project. I adore the ankheg and the basilisk, and applaud the (mis)use of the plastic animal toys. I do the same thing on occasion, though the effect on the battlefield is generally much improved when you take the time to tart them up a bit.

[James Holloway]

Don't forget the rust monster and the owlbear, which were also in that grab-bag of plastic toys.



Kudos to James for this project. I adore the ankheg and the basilisk, and applaud the (mis)use of the plastic animal toys. I do the same thing on occasion, though the effect on the battlefield is generally much improved when you take the time to tart them up a bit.

Yeah, and I do when I have time, but a big drawer full of animal toys is still just a handy thing to have around.

One of these days I'm going to have a contest: people will send in monster writeups based on random toys, or share them on blogs or twitter or whatever and link them to me, and then we'll pick a winner (or let people vote), announce it on the show, and send them, I dunno, a big grab bag of weird creature figures or something. I haven't worked out the details yet, but I think it will be fun.

[James Holloway]

Another week, another couple of episodes: http://monsterman.libsyn.com/

In honour of episode 6, here's a Bugbear and a Bulette:



That Bugbear photo's not great; sorry.

[Hummster]

I'll have to have a listen to this. I remember the old MM with a lot of affection.

[James Holloway]

This episode's critter is this Carrion Crawler, which I believe is a model from the old 3rd ed. era D&D board game.

[James Holloway]

New episode, new monster! This time, we're looking at everything from Centipede, Giant to Couatl, including this Chimera!



This bad boy is a Reaper Bones model I painted in a hurry as part of a painting challenge to create an army, so it's a little bit of a rushed job, but overall I'm quite happy with it. Its deathly colour and purple goat head are all about fitting in with the army's colour scheme.

[James Holloway]

Speaking of making monsters out of cheap plastic toys, Episode 9 features the Crab, Giant!

The zoo gift shop really is the gift that keeps on giving.

http://monsterman.libsyn.com/website/episode-9-crab-giant-to-crocodile

[James Holloway]

It's time for the most metal section of the Monster Manual. That's right, I'm talking about ...

\m/ DEMONS \m/

http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-10-demons



This Gargoyle came from a HeroQuest set my wife found in a charity shop in Langley Moor, near Durham. It was £1.50 and came with some extra Marauder Undead. I also got a set of Man O' War with extra Empire ships, also for £1.50. It was a pretty good find! This was 2002 prices, but still.

[Psychoflexible]

This topic is a nice candy eyes, not the best paint job but inspiration pusher.

[Arundel]

Of your latest posts I especially like the Chimaera and the demon - both look splendid. Such a fun project!

[James Holloway]

This topic is a nice candy eyes, not the best paint job but inspiration pusher.

Well, the last model in particular was painted 15 years ago. I like to think I've come some way since then. But it's true -- I often don't put as much effort into monster paint jobs. If you listen to the podcast, I actually talk about it: chances are it's a model you're not going to be using more than a few times, so it's important to get something you can do quickly that looks pretty good on the tabletop.

[Anselm van Helsing]

Morning coffee with classic stuff. Hilarious and inspiring! Made my day. 

Although I've never really played the classic DnD, I have many of these models, sadly lying half painted or unpainted in some boxes. Gotta give them some love!

Thanks!

[robh]

Demons already?  are you sure you haven't sneaked a couple of extra episodes in there somewhere  

Great fun series, thanks for taking the time to do this.