Wednesday 13 June 2018

Showcase: The Beast in the Lagoon

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 🙂!

19 comments:

  1. That is such a terrific figure, Hugh! I agree that in this case, gloss varnishing it is a good decision.

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    1. Thanks, Bryan. I've had my eye on this model for *years* - can't believe I waited this long before buying it!

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  2. That is all kinds of brilliant! And I'm a big big fan of the "Heck, I don't need to rationalise this; I just want one!" lol! Say that quite a bit myself these days.

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    1. Indeed, Ivor - if we can't indulge ourselves in little ways then where is the value in life :-) ?

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  3. Fantastic figure & well painted! Would make an excellent Kraken in my pirate games

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    1. It would be a very obvious model to use in a fantasy pirate game, wouldn't it :-) ?

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    1. Well, you know where to find it then, don't you :-) ?

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  5. Terrific choice of colours that really make the beast "pop" - all round excellent job Hugh, and it WILL fit with loads of genres and porential scenarios :-)

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    1. I spent a lot of time looking at pictures of real-world octopus before I came up with this scheme. It worked better than I had hoped, though!

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  6. That's the sort of sculpt that even if you didn't want before you do now!
    Excellent colour combo!

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    1. Thanks, Joe. Once I got on with the job, this didn't take long to paint at all.

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  7. What an awesome model, no need to rationalise the purchase at all!

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    1. I do hope to use it in a game nevertheless. My immediate problem is how to store him/her, of course...

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  8. The photographs look superb. I'm sure it's at least as impressive close up.

    Wonderful piece of painting.

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    1. Thanks, Steve. This was a very simple paint job, as these things go. Sometimes it just works exactly as desired :-) .

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  9. Yes, I can see that. Perhaps getting out of the water (and anywhere within about 30 feet of it!) would be a good idea, then :-) ...

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