Modifying Khurasan's Crocodilian knights

[Khurasan Miniatures]

My current Crocodilian knights are mounted on Wooly rhinos -- the most impressively-charging prehistoric animal that came to mind as a practical mount.



However, people often tell me that they don't like the idea of croc-knights riding a wooly rhino, so I'm thinking about investigating what might be a suitable replacement mount for these big guys.  They are larger than humans but not enormously so -- think small ogre.  :-)

Ideas folks?  It would have to be an animal no larger than the rhinos, basically.  A lizard doesn't really make sense as it would not have the sustained speed that would be necessary, unless it's something like, say, Postosuchus (which is not a lizard at all, of course):



Perhaps something like Einiosaurus or another medium-sized ceratopian?

[Daeothar]

I'd say a large version of Komodo dragons actually.

I mean; the whole realism of a lizard's sustained speed argument is sort of moot when you consider they're being ridden by anthromorphic crocodiles, right?

[Khurasan Miniatures]

Can't agree actually -- yes it may be fantasy but we still know lizards are not built for cursorial movement.  They can move very fast in short bursts of course, but are not really chargers.

[Daeothar]

Right. What Mr. Stallone is trying to say here, is that if you accept the fact that these crocodiles have their brain capacity increased and evolved their forelimbs to posess opposeable thumbs so they are dextrous enough to be able to craft and handle tools to the point where they are capable of creating spears and have not only reached a social and cultural level where they have domesticated riding animals, but on top of that established a feudal system, because of which these examples can call themselves knights, [gasp for breath] then it only stands to reason that said riding animals have evolved in such a way that their metabolism allows them to not only carry a bipedal grown crocodile into battle, but to also do it in such a way that they will not fall short in their charge... [pant pant pant]

But if Komodo Dragons are not your thing, how about Phorusrhacinus Titanis; the Patagonian Terror Bird?

[Mo!]

In jurassic parc there was this dino that headbutted a jeep at full speed... no clue what its called but it had an extra thick skull and extra strong neck or something...

[workerBee]

I say stick with the Wooly Rhino.

Gracias,

Glenn

[Khurasan Miniatures]

The problem with the analogy between the riders and the mounts, Daeothar, is that these are not crocodile riders.  They walk on their hind legs and so on, so can actually do things like ride animals and use lances. That's why they aren't just actual crocodiles flopped on the back of a rhino.  That happened to make their use as hard charging knights visually plausible.

A unit of knights mounted on a creature that is not capable of cursorial movement doesn't make sense internally, which is why I'm looking for a cursorial animal as a mount.

[zorg]

In jurassic parc there was this dino that headbutted a jeep at full speed... no clue what its called but it had an extra thick skull and extra strong neck or something...

I don't remember remember the movie, but do you mean Pachycephalosaurus? That would be a good mount!

[Mr.J]

Think Episode 3 Obi Wan Kenobi. He was on a lizard and I thought that was cool. Not saying that this is what you should go for just that a lizard would, in my eyes, be believable.

[OSHIROmodels]

Lizards don't work for me because of the side to side body movement when they are running. I would imagine trying to stay on one would be a nightmare.

How about some giant insect like a giant stag beetle or praying mantis type thing 

Are these 28 or 15 by the way?

cheers

James

[sundayhero]

what about some prehistoric ostrich ?  Make sense since birds are (from last theories) from the same family than dinos, and an ostrich is fast. And even these days, people can mount them.

[Vermis]

I love rauisuchians.  Problem is I love ceratopsians too.  In a gut-feeling snap-judgement, I can more easily see the croc knights on some more-or-less fictionalised version of the former; although the latter has merits too.

[Tacgnol]

I love the idea of lizardmen riding woolly rhinos. It just seems to work so well. I'd stick with the mammalian mounts!

[Khurasan Miniatures]

Ok, here's what I decided to make for them: the Stampedosaur!



The rhinos will not be orphaned however as I'm going to make a line of one million bc cavemen and they can ride the rhinos instead!  :-)

[von Lucky]

Nice bulk and they look suitably angry.