Wednesday 16 September 2015

Here Be Monsters...

Introduction

During my recent tidy up of my hobby area, I found a medium-sized cardboard box on the shelf above my desk.  I knew that this was something I'd used for storing models of unusual sizes and shapes, but I couldn't remember exactly what was in it.  So, let's open it up together and find out...

The Hydra


First out of the box is a Koralon Hydra, from the old Void 1.1 range of miniatures .  This is a huge creature with a long tail, 2 legs and a snake-like body that splits into 3 torsos, 3 heads and 6 arms.  It's an extremely improbably animal, but the fluff says that it is bio-engineered - so that's OK.  Constructed creatures can be any shape or size you like and can have any desired number of features!

The hydra is supposedly the Koralon answer to a tank: it's hard to kill but not especially bright.


I'm really not sure how the hydra moves itself.  Does it walk on 2 legs, dragging its tail behind it?  Or perhaps it slithers on its belly and the legs are just for show (or for attacking enemies)?  Perhaps the silliest idea I've had is that it hops like a giant kangaroo?  Hmm, maybe I'm over-thinking this; I should just let it be a big, scary monster.

Note that the way that the weapons stick out makes this a very awkward model to store.

The Void 1.1 Koralon range is still available from Scotia Grendel, if anyone is interested...

The Broodmaster


Here's another Void 1.1 Koralon gribbly: the Broodmaster.  It's a giant, 4-armed snakeman with a bony shell on its back.  Additionally, it has some seriously huge spines protruding from both sides.  As its name suggests, the broodmaster is designed as the leader of a battlegroup of Koralon snakes/slugs/bugs.

Like all the other Koralon models, this creature has no eyes.  Instead it has some recesses in its skull which are presumably a different form of sensor.  Perhaps it is able to detect heat traces, or has an exceptional sense of smell?  I don't know - and maybe it doesn't really matter anyway.  It's good news if you don't like painting eyes, though.


When I first built this model, I did consider filling the gaps between the spines with aluminium foil and then painting an elaborate threat display pattern on the resulting "wings".  However, as you can see, I didn't go as far as this.  He (she?) is still a very intimidating monster even without such an enhancement.

The broodmaster model is also still available from Scotia Grendel.

Tyranid Hive Tyrant


The last critter from the box is a Tyranid Hive Tyrant.  This is a much more common model, coming as it does from the mighty Games Workshop.

Occasionally I buy Tyranids or Necrons from eBay to add to my existing forces, but the pickings in recent years have been poor - the selling prices are too high for my liking.  This guy was a lucky find from many years ago; I think he probably came with a partly-constructed bulk lot and I needed to put a bit of effort into resuscitating the model.  However, it's so long ago that I cannot remember for sure.


I really prefer my bugs to be armed with claws and teeth alone, or at a pinch with crude melee weapons.  There must have been a good reason why I added a cannon to this model: perhaps it was already glued on when I got the item, or perhaps I didn't have any claw arms in my spares box?

Conclusion


I've mentioned several times that these are all large models, but it's worth a picture to show just how big they are.  Kid Sheleen, one of my 28mm Old West gunslingers, has volunteered to stand in front of the 3 alien menaces so you can make the comparison.  If he's very lucky then they'll all fight with each other over the tasty, bowler-hatted morsel and he'll be able to escape...

I'm not sure that I like the hydra very much, but both of the others appeal to me in different ways.  Do you have a favourite, or is there a giant monster from a different range that you prefer?  Please let me know.

18 comments:

  1. Wow, what a find and my they are big! I love that Tyranid Hive Tyrant.

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    1. Thanks, Michael. Yes, they're big - the broodmaster is quite a lump of metal, though both the others have resin or plastic bits.

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  2. I managed to grab an 8" Talos earlier this year that I'm pretty pleased with. Hopefully he'll star in a future 7th Voyage scenario...

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    1. Ooh, I'd like to hear about that! A giant bronze man would be quite the opponent :-) .

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  3. Awesome find. Unusual but excellent looking figures! Certainly a good size as well judging by that last pic as well.

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    1. Thanks, Simon. Technically these weren't "lost" as I knew they were there - somewhere. Still, it's nice for them to see daylight again, even if only for a brief photo session.

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  4. It wasn't not until I saw the last picture that I could appreciate just hpw big these models are (and just how big that box must be),
    Though I haven't done much gantasy gaming, like you I prefer my bugs to look like bugs having natural weapons - after all there are plenty of real creatures that have fantastical abilites.

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    1. The 2 smaller ones are on 7cm round bases so yes, they're big!

      I agree entirely about bugs - natural weapons it is! Of course, that doesn't preclude the occasional derivative of a Bombardier Beetle or similar with a ranged, area effect weapon :-) .

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  5. I love finding forgotten miniatures. It happens more often than not actually.
    The Koralon are huge miniatures and I love how they look. Sadly, I have no time to paint them.

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    1. They are big, aren't they? There's lots of scope for interesting paint jobs on monsters like this, though I think the schemes I used are fairly plain.

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  6. I have never seen the hydra before, and quite frankly I really like it. But have no use for it.

    discovering lost treasures is a joy.

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    1. To my mind, the hydra is an interesting concept that doesn't quite work. Like most of the old i-Kore models, the parts really only fit one way and it wouldn't be easy to swap the heads or weapons around. Still, with some imagination I think it has lots of possibilities.

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  7. That was obviously the big boys box. Nice gribblies C6.

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    1. It was indeed the "big boys box", Bob. These models are all very large and (in some cases) have awkward protrusions that make them hard to store in anything other than a big, deep container.

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  8. Its always nice when you find stuff that you have forgot about!

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    1. Thanks, HW! I'm still not sure when/if I'll ever use these models, but it's nice to know that they're there if I need them.

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  9. The Tyranid is by far the best model. GW does have great minis. Now all they have to do is bring the prices down. :)

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    1. Thanks, F.E.M. I do like some of the GW models a lot, though many of their more recent ones are just too goofy for me. As to prices coming down - it'll never happen!

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