Some miniatures for Song of Blades and Heroes (Rust Monster face reveal)

[Old Hob]

Thanks Hobgoblin. Much appreciated. That's a lovely paint job and, yeah, he does stand up pretty well considering his late '70s vintage (me and him both  ). I'm very tempted by the Hinchcliffe goblins for a future project, but in the meantime I'm sure he will make wonderful XP-fodder for your PCs. Your D&D stuff always looks great.

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks!

Here are some Essex lizardmen who have previously featured on this thread (I think), but have now been rebased and touched up. They're sort of Doctor Who villains by way of Tom of Finland. I might buy some more and paint them with human skin tones on their torsos and limbs - a proper old-school look for lizardmen.

[MysteryMachine]

LOL @ the Tom of Finland reference!

They are certainly very butch, beefy and well-hung lizardy lads!

[beefcake]

I think they'd look great painted half human. Nice idea and nice work.

[DivisMal]

The beauty of the early days. I really like those. Even more because nobody makes such miniatures any more.

[JollyBob]

They look great, even with their lads out.

Given the way their scales are shaped across the shoulder, they have a kind of "man in rubber suit" or papier-mache head vibe to them, I can imagine them as a kind of Aztec jaguar Knight type of affair.

Or even a heavily masked Lizard Legion of Gran Bretan, if we want to be properly old school...

[Gibby]

I was thinking the same thing! These look like some kind of ceremonial bestial armour or suit. Not a bad thing. Excellent painting.

[Old Hob]

You can certainly see where the 'lizard' parts end and the 'man' parts begins! 

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks, guys!

And yes - the papier-mache thing (I should have said early Doctor Who villains ) is a huge part of their charm.

They're clearly based on the classic Dave Trampier illustration from the Monster Manual:



I reckon the frill around the miniatures' shoulders might be a misinterpretation of the creature's pecs in Trampier's drawing. The illustration itself kind of suggests that the creature might have human parts and lizard parts: more a bizarre hybrid like a Minotaur rather than an anthropomorphic reptile. And why not? Animal-human hybrids might be even more appropriate for a fantasy game than intelligent reptiles precisely because they're more in line with centaurs, minotaurs and satyrs.

These Essex guys are just some of the miniatures based on Trampier's illustration. The Grenadier AD&D lizardmen (painted magisterially here by Spooktalker) are another lot, and then there's this old guy from Citadel (on the left):



If I get hold of another copy of him, I'll definitely try out the human skin tones!

[tikitang]

Their feet don't quite look human, so I'm not convinced they're just buff humans wearing lizard masks; there's definitely a strange biological hybrid thing going on.

They're clearly based on the classic Dave Trampier illustration from the Monster Manual:

Oh look, a lizardman with a sword! I suspect that's the inspiration behind that Otherworld model too.

[Hobgoblin]

Their feet don't quite look human, so I'm not convinced they're just buff humans wearing lizard masks; there's definitely a strange biological hybrid thing going on.

No, they're definitely meant to be hybrids - they have scales on their backs at various places. But I think that would make a mammal/reptile paint-job all the more disturbing!

[tikitang]

No, they're definitely meant to be hybrids - they have scales on their backs at various places.

Not to mention the TAIL at the back, which had somehow escaped my notice!

[DivisMal]

All this talk of lizard/man-hybrids is pretty cool!
It actually brings back a fantasy that is currently totally neglected. Those old stories were fantastic elements were sprinkled into narratives set in some quasi-ancient/medieval society.

In Conan, Kane & Co. a group of Lizard hybrids would make formidable foes!
I’m gonna see if something similar in 15mm exists…;)

[tikitang]

All this talk of lizard/man-hybrids is pretty cool! It actually brings back a fantasy that is currently totally neglected.

Not totally. I'm currently reading a very recently published children's fantasy series to my kids called The Wingfeather Saga. The footsoldiers of the enemy are known as Fangs and they are hybrids between lizards and men!

For 15mm lizardmen, you should take a look at this:

https://www.magistermilitum.com/manufacturer/chariot-miniatures-15mm.html?cat%5B0%5D=59679&cat%5B1%5D=59855&p=3

and this:

https://www.alternative-armies.com/collections/15mm-hot-fantasy-range

[DivisMal]

Thanks for the links! The Wingfeather saga is set on the list. My daughter is still a little too young, but I am really anxious to read her bedtime stories!

And, certainly, there will be other examples, but what I meant was that most available current fantasy has made the fantastic too common. I’m sometimes missing the wonder and strangeness. But it might also be a problem of just getting older and looking for *different* stuff, than that which I am familiar with.