Some D&D 50th Anniversary Miniatures

For the 50th Anniversary of D&D, WizKids has released a set of Icons of the Realms figures representing creatures from 1st ed. AD&D and the current 5th ed. of the game.

I picked up a few of the miniatures that I felt I could use alongside 1/72 scale figures, the first being the Classic Red Dragon, which is probably the size of a typical young dragon in the current line of miniatures.

The miniature represents the red dragon from the cover of the original D&D Basic Set from 1977.

I think it's a great representation of the artwork, though I wish they would have made the wings a little more in proportion to its body (certainly they were able to alter the appearance of other miniatures, so I don't know why they couldn't have made changes to make this miniature look better).

I also bought a Gold Dragon which is based on the 5th ed. ampersand logo.

This miniature is a Young Gold Dragon (50th Anniversary #50), which is the equivalent size I use for adult dragons in 1/72 scale. This particular miniature seems to sell on eBay for ~US$50, which is way overpriced. You can find it for much cheaper by shopping around.

The next miniature is an efreet based on the cover of the 1st ed. AD&D DMG.

The Efreeti (50th Anniversary #47) has been modified to suit modern tastes, with the damsel in distress replaced by a ball of fire. The sword arm is a separate part, and the seam line where it is attached to the body is quite glaring. I do like how the sunburst eyes from the artwork are replicated in the miniature though.

I was also surprised to learn that Super7 makes a similarly sized 3.75" action figure of the efreet (along with various other figures). Note how the left hand is conveniently cropped from the blister card art.

There is also a US$250 12" resin figure produced by WizKids that represents the "advanced scene" on the DMG cover after the scantily clad damsel has convinced the efreet that the knight is a much better candidate for his attentions.

Next are a pair of goblins. The 1E version is based on Dave Trampier's art from the AD&D Monster Manual.

The 1E Goblin (50th Anniversary #6) is similar to the art, with the main difference being the helmet (because of the way it is painted). The 5E Goblin (50th Anniversary #5) is an archer that is firing his bow.

Next are a pair of Shadow Demons, with the 1E version based on the art from the Fiend Folio.

The 1E Shadow Demon (50th Anniversary #17) mimics the artwork too faithfully, with its brows painted white. I'm pretty sure in the artwork, it is just a stylistic technique used to suggest some semblance of shape to the head of the demon. The 5E Shadow Demon (50th Anniversary #18) is just completely black except for its eyes and teeth.

The last two miniatures are a Pit Fiend (50th Anniversary #31) and a Glabrezu (50th Anniversary #25).

I wish the Icons Pit Fiend was closer to the original Trampier artwork, with half-furled wings partially cloaking his body, since the miniature is similar in appearance to the conversion I made using a Reaper Pit Fiend.

Unfortunately, my Icons Pit Fiend is missing his tail, so it looks like he has a huge tear in his pants.

Finally, I really would have liked to get the demon idol miniature, but it looked like it was more suitable in scale for 15mm figures.

仕事猫

今日も一日。ご安全に!

Shigoto Neko (仕事猫; Working Cat) is a Japanese meme that originated in 2016 from an illustration posted on twitter by the artist known as Kumamine (くまみね). In the picture, Denwa Neko (電話猫; Telephone Cat) asks "How come you're still up in the middle of the night?"

「夜中科学電話相談」

Various remarks subsequently replaced the original text, and different forms of the cat emerged.

At some point, someone gave the cat a hard hat and had it pose as if performing yubisashi kakunin (指差確認). This design became known as Genba Neko (現場猫; Worksite Cat).

ヨシ!

As the meme gained popularity in 2018, Kumamine reclaimed the character, and called it Shigoto Neko. The design was slightly changed to avoid copyright issues due to the many memetic alterations that happened with the character.

The meme has since become mainstream, with industrial associations and government offices using the character to promote workplace safety.

2022 Agricultural Work Safety
Confirmation Campaign

Various goods, figures, and toys have been made of Shigoto Neko, but the only one of relevance to me has been the Construction Site + Shigoto Neko (工事現場+仕事猫) gashapon from Toys Cabin.

A limited black cat version was also announced last year, but such items are typically difficult to get ahold of if you happen to be overseas.

I apologize in advance for the resolution of the images. They are about ¼ the size of my typical pictures because I did some repairs on my camera, which reset all my capture settings.

I didn't realize there was an issue until after I started editing the photos, and now I'm too lazy to retake the pictures, so they are what they are.

Set A includes various barricades, a small A-frame sign, a detour sign, a cushion drum, a portapotty, and various stickers.

Set B is largely the same as Set A, except with a large A-frame sign, and a signal light.

Set C consists of various barricades, a traffic wand, plate compactor, wheelbarrow, metal plate, some rubble, and stickers.

Set D is similar to Set C, except it includes a sign and various hand tools.

All the sets are stated to be 1/64 scale, but I think except for the portapotty and shovel, everything else would probably work for 1/72.

The cat themed metal tube (単管) barricades need to be glued together for them to keep from falling apart.

A related set of gashapon that I picked up was the Toys Cabin Sidewalks & Signs Collection (歩道＆標識コレクション).

Set A consists of sidewalk and curb parts, as well as a sign with stickers for slow/stop.

Set B also has sidewalk and curb parts, but includes a mirror instead of a sign.

Set C consists of sidewalk and curb parts, as well as a sign with stickers for no parking/no u-turn/speed limits.

Set D consists of sidewalk and curb parts, as well as a sign with stickers for no passing/no entry.

Set E consists of sidewalk and curb parts, as well as two signs with stickers for school zone/bicycle and pedestrian crossing/one way street/left turn ok.

The signs and figures (except the cat) might be a little too big for 1/72 scale, but I'd give the sidewalks a pass.

Overall, these are fairly usable items from Toys Cabin depending on your level of tolerance for scale discrepacy. I look forward to more of their future releases.

Leshiye

???

Some sources use the word Leshy as a proper noun to describe a tutelary deity from Slavic mythology, but I use the term to refer to a class of nature spirits.

The main reference for lore regarding leshy in English seems to come from Songs of the Russian People by W.R.S Ralston. Leshy (spelled "Lyeshy" in the book) are said to belong to two classes—one associated with forests, and the other associated with fields. The later classification being similar to agricultural spirits like the polevik.

Ralston writes that leshy resemble medieval devils in their natural form, but the description of shaggy haired creatures with horns and goat feet bring satyrs to mind for me.

Léchies, Dictionnaire infernal, 1863

In early illustrations, they are often depicted as wizened old men or woodwoses.

Girl and Leshy, M.V. Yakunchikova, 1899

Leshiy, E.I. Kovrigin, 1853

Lěshiy (Fairy Tale Series),
E.G. Sokolov

However, more modern illustrations depict them as having a tree-like appearance, which I attribute to costumes used in performances of The Snow Maiden.

F. F. Fedorovsky, 1910 & V.M. Vasnetsov, 1885

The current pop culture appearance of the leshy is taken from the antlered, skull-faced monsters from The Witcher 3, known as leshen.

Unlike in the video game, their depiction in The Witcher TV series is a throwback to a tree-like appearance that is somewhat reminescent of Warhammer dryads.

My personal exposure to the leshy was from the manga Kutsuzure Sensen, which introduced a diminished WWII era leshy.

The appearance as a small plant-like creature might have been influenced by Final Fantasy XI, where the Sapling class of monsters includes the leshonki, which is the name used for leshy children.

Leshonki (レショーンチ)

Leshy were also featured in the game, starting with Final Fantasy IV, but they appear as female spirits like nymphs or dryads.

Leshy (レーシー)

Pathfinder leshy also have the look of small anthropomorphized plant creatures, and are essentially druidic familiars. I ordered the boxed set of miniatures that was released back in April because I like the concept of plant and vegetable monsters which harken back to similar creatures from Dragon Quest and Maplestory, or even the flowers from Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There.

The miniatures in the first row are a Flytrap Leshy, Fungus Leshy, Gourd Leshy, and Lotus Leshy.

The second row include a Seaweed Leshy, Sunflower Leshy, Fruit Leshy, and Cactus Leshy.

Some previous releases include the Pathfinder Battles Fungus Leshy (Darklands Rising #3) and Leaf Leshy (City of Lost Omens #4). The last miniature from the D&D Icons of the Realms line is Amidor [the Dandelion] (Wild Beyond the Witchlight #27). I don't think it's stated anywhere that Amidor is a leshy, but he looks the part to me.

The 3rd party supplement The Botanical Bestiary, published by Inky Cap Press is full of similar plant creatures, wonderfully illustrated by Sita Duncan.

3D print files were also created for the leshy in the supplement, but I feel they are rather sterile compared to the actual artwork, and I am unsure how well they can be scaled down in size.

In any event, my leshy miniatures will be repurposed as vegepygmies, since for pedantic reasons, it irks me that vegepygmies are fungi.

By attributing the sapience of these plants to symbiosis with russet mold, everything falls into place, and allows the vegepygmy name to be reclaimed by actual plants (though on the other hand, several of the leshy are relatively tall, so probably can't be properly called pygmies anymore).

I will end with some actual vegepygmy miniatures that were not covered in my older post on the subject.

The miniatures include an Icons of the Realms Vegepygmy Chief (Tomb of Annihilation #14), a Vegepygmy from the Tomb of Annihilation boardgame, and a Pathfinder Miniatures Mold Runt (Jungle of Despair #2). I also included the DDM Thorn (Angelfire #25), and Baby Groot (Marvel Next Phase #014) who also fit the part of vegepygmies.

The Tomb of Annihilation miniatures, are small and weedy, perhaps being better suited for vegepygmy sprouts. The Icons Vegepygmy is a lot harder to find than the Chief, but other options are now available from Nolzur’s Marvelous Miniatures to fill out a warband of similar miniatures. Meanwhile, the Pathfinder vegepygmy is inexplicably adorned with dreadlocks, making me think they are often encountered with cannabis leshy.