Monster Month continues with a couple more beasties: the dreaded basilisk and the AD&D version of a classic monster: the troll!
The troll is from Nolzur’s Marvelous Miniatures, and I am hard-pressed to recall seeing a finer version of the classic AD&D troll. I absolutely love this sculpt. If I have one criticism, it’s that he’s a bit too big; most trolls are 9 feet tall or so; this guy looks like he’s twice the size of the fighter next to him. In addition, his built-on base is somewhat problematic if you plan on mounting him on the included 50mm circular base, as it overlaps the circle somewhat due to his wide stance. I chose to use a bigger (60mm) base, but that meant I had a lot of space to fill. I used some cut-up pieces of craft foam to simulate dungeon flagstones and here is the finished result.
Everyone knows what a troll is, but the AD&D version of a troll is particularly nasty, as they regenerate all damage—including severed limbs—given enough time. The only way to put a troll down for good is with fire or acid. Other than that, run. The AD&D troll has a somewhat unique look to them as well; the long arms ending in ragged claws, the rubbery body, socketed eyes and wiry hair. They’re pretty horrific. And they’re always hungry. Thankfully, they’re not that bright, so it’s somewhat easy to outthink them.
A basilisk is an eight-legged reptile that petrifies victims with its gaze, much like Medusa. A significant difference between the two, however, is that Medusa decorates her lair with the statues she creates, while the basilisk just eats them. Yes, a basilisk is fully capable of eating the stone bodies of its victims. Basilisks are about as smart as your average reptile. In other words, not very.
This basilisk is a Reaper Bones version. This was a miniature that I was unhappy with throughout the entire painting process. I felt like I chose the wrong colors and I everything I did just seemed to make the miniature look worse. Finally, I applied a wash of GW’s Fuegan Orange to his spine and the tips of his scales, and everything looked a million times better. Now I’m pretty happy with how he came out.
Insanity Pile Progress
Painted Miniatures Thus Far: 4
Purchased Miniatures: 0
Progress +4
Love that troll, the basing is spectacular, excellent work.
Cheers Roger.
Thanks, Roger. I probably should have distressed the foam a bit before painting it, but I forgot. In between painting up these models, I’m carefully pondering my Forgotten Heroes submission for this year. To be honest, it’s a real head-scratcher.
Apologies Keith – I meant to comment on the previous posts, but they came thick and fast. Lovely work on your ‘monster manual’ roster and made me take another look at that range of miniatures. It’s actually one of the few figure ranges that our independent games shop stocks, so I have been browsing the range, as ypu can’t argue with the price.
And I’ve amended/re-defined the rules for Forgotten Heroes on my blog, as they needed a bit of an overhaul. It should make selecting your subject a teeniest bit easier…unless you decide to make lots of work for yourself and decide to do “The Twelve” Lol
I have entered a rather productive period, Jeremy. Certainly no need to apologize. Your comments are always welcome whenever and however frequently they appear.
Thanks for the kind words. I am somewhat enamored of the Nolzur’s miniatures at the moment, even though I’m generally not into computer sculpted miniatures. The price is indeed right, though; and you can’t argue with how good some of the models look (the troll is a great example).
Regarding Forgotten Heroes: I think I have narrowed it down between two submissions this year, which of course means I’ll probably end up doing both.
Two miniatures, not a team this year.
So far.