Introduction
For a while, I've had a feeling that a giant sea monster would be a useful addition to my collection of models. Obviously it wouldn't fit with many of the games I play, but it should work well in the Pulp/Lost World genre, or fighting against Jason and the Argonauts. Alternatively (and I admit that this is a bit of a stretch), it could serve as an alien opponent for a starship's away team on an uncharted, watery planet. Or perhaps it's the "pet" for some megalomaniac evil overlord in a spy story?
Heck, I don't need to rationalise this; I just want one!
The Swamp Creature
I even knew which model I wanted for my nightmare maritime encounter: Scotia Grendel's F0070 - Swamp Creature. Well, I finally ordered one at Carronade 2018, although I did have to wait a few days for it to be delivered. It's now finished and I present it here for your entertainment.
The swamp monster comes in 4 parts: a thick, resin base with the head and smaller tentacles, plus 3 separate, larger tentacles that fit into recesses on the base. These weren't a perfect fit, but a little carving and filing soon fixed that; no filler was needed.
The model was very simple to paint:
- One colour ("pigskin") for the body and tentacles.
- One colour (pale violet) for the suckers/undersides of the tentacles.
- Wash the monster all over (including the suckers) with a very dark brown.
- The eyes were painted black, then wet-brushed with silver to make them slightly sparkly/shiny. A small, white spot was added to each eye.
- The water was base-coated with Paynes' Grey (a dark blue-grey, almost black), then highlighted with viridian green (a blue-green) and re-highlighted with a paler version of the same.
- For once, I've actually used a gloss varnish for a model! This helps both the sea and the creature to look wet; not something I would usually do for land-based models.
So, this guy is big. I've added a regular 28mm figure ("Crazy Joe", the lighthouse keeper) to the picture above in order to give a sense of size. The beast isn't maybe capable of dragging ocean liners to the bottom of the ocean, but should be able to manage a steam launch, log raft, dugout canoe or sampan without too much difficulty. And of course, those tentacles can probably reach quite a long way, even onto dry land or into a larger ship!
Sleep well, don't have nightmares 🙂!
