My overall impression is not dissimilar to what PSR says with respect to the sculpting, but these figures are very undersized.
PSR claims they average 22mm in height, but they don't mention that the bases are 3-4mm thick.
Very disappointing.
Friday, March 13, 2026
Ten Little Indians
Just a short post showing the size of the Strelets Comanche Warriors set (M166).
My overall impression is not dissimilar to what PSR says with respect to the sculpting, but these figures are very undersized.
PSR claims they average 22mm in height, but they don't mention that the bases are 3-4mm thick.
Very disappointing.
My overall impression is not dissimilar to what PSR says with respect to the sculpting, but these figures are very undersized.
PSR claims they average 22mm in height, but they don't mention that the bases are 3-4mm thick.
Very disappointing.
Thursday, March 5, 2026
The Dragon and the George
The Cult of Saints emerged in Christiandom during the 3rd century. Saints were seen as examplars of behavior, and capable of interceding on the behalf of believers for divine favor.
In the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, military saints became popular objects of veneration due to being viewed as protectors. Among these, were four dragon-slaying saints that represented the triumph of Christianity over heresy/evil.
The earliest attribution of dragon-slayer is usually given to St. Theodore [Tyro]. A second [later] St. Theodore is also said to have slain a dragon (or serpent), with both events having occured near Euchaita.
St. Demetrius is yet another dragon-slaying saint, though I think his iconography is more associated with killing Tsar Kaloyan [whom I presume was considered a heretic for opposing Constantinople].
In Bulgarian folk tales, St. Demetrius and St. George were said to be twins. Their origin legend is similar to later fairy tales like The Knights of the Fish, with Demetrius saving George from a dragon.
The narrative of St. George as the sole dragon-slayer solidified in the 13th century through the Legenda aurea.
The iconography used to depict these saints is influenced by the Cult of the Thracian Horseman, and the Dioscuri, but depictions of the dragon from this legend are varied.
Personally, I always associated the St. George legend with the paintings of Saint George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello.
His earliest painting of this subject shows a dragon with four limbs, wings with ocellated markings, and long neck and tail. The dragon is reminescent of medieval depictions of demons, and it wraps its tail around the saint whose helmet is surrounded by golden rays.
When he revisited the subject decades later, the dragon is painted as a wyvern, though the ocellated wings remain. St. George is depicted as the classic horseman, but modernized to an armored knight.
His final attempt at the subject is a refinement of the second painting. The wyvern has the ocellated wings and corkscrew tail of the earlier work, but does not look as awkward. This painting defined how I thought wyverns should look.
Apparently Conan Scanlon, the sculptor for Saxon Manufacturing was of like mind, and used the painting as inspiration for his Wyvern (Saxon Fantasy 5010).
This particular miniature was used on the Lost Minis Wiki. After I got ahold of it, I used a green Sharpie to color in the eyes and wings. A bit of isopropanol created the ocellated spots. I'm still deciding whether to strip and repaint the miniature or not.
It's probably twice the size it should be to replicate the painting, so one of these days I'll probably use this miniature as a reference to sculpt a smaller version that matches better with 1/72 scale figures.
In the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, military saints became popular objects of veneration due to being viewed as protectors. Among these, were four dragon-slaying saints that represented the triumph of Christianity over heresy/evil.
The earliest attribution of dragon-slayer is usually given to St. Theodore [Tyro]. A second [later] St. Theodore is also said to have slain a dragon (or serpent), with both events having occured near Euchaita.
St. Demetrius is yet another dragon-slaying saint, though I think his iconography is more associated with killing Tsar Kaloyan [whom I presume was considered a heretic for opposing Constantinople].
 |
| Occasionally, the figure being slain is misrepresented (purposely?) as Lyaeus, who was actually killed by St. Nestor. |
In Bulgarian folk tales, St. Demetrius and St. George were said to be twins. Their origin legend is similar to later fairy tales like The Knights of the Fish, with Demetrius saving George from a dragon.
The narrative of St. George as the sole dragon-slayer solidified in the 13th century through the Legenda aurea.
The iconography used to depict these saints is influenced by the Cult of the Thracian Horseman, and the Dioscuri, but depictions of the dragon from this legend are varied.
Personally, I always associated the St. George legend with the paintings of Saint George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello.
His earliest painting of this subject shows a dragon with four limbs, wings with ocellated markings, and long neck and tail. The dragon is reminescent of medieval depictions of demons, and it wraps its tail around the saint whose helmet is surrounded by golden rays.
 |
| Paolo Uccello, ca. 1430 NVG 2124-4 |
When he revisited the subject decades later, the dragon is painted as a wyvern, though the ocellated wings remain. St. George is depicted as the classic horseman, but modernized to an armored knight.
_01.jpg) |
| Paolo Uccello, ca. 1465 MJAP-P 2248 |
His final attempt at the subject is a refinement of the second painting. The wyvern has the ocellated wings and corkscrew tail of the earlier work, but does not look as awkward. This painting defined how I thought wyverns should look.
 |
| Paolo Uccello, ca. 1470 NG6294 |
Apparently Conan Scanlon, the sculptor for Saxon Manufacturing was of like mind, and used the painting as inspiration for his Wyvern (Saxon Fantasy 5010).
This particular miniature was used on the Lost Minis Wiki. After I got ahold of it, I used a green Sharpie to color in the eyes and wings. A bit of isopropanol created the ocellated spots. I'm still deciding whether to strip and repaint the miniature or not.
It's probably twice the size it should be to replicate the painting, so one of these days I'll probably use this miniature as a reference to sculpt a smaller version that matches better with 1/72 scale figures.
Sunday, February 15, 2026
What's good for the goose
During the Middle Ages, there was a belief that certain types of geese emerged fully grown from driftwood through spontaneous generation (with goose barnacles being some sort of embryonic form).
This legend was propagated without any sort of critical evaluation in natural history texts by scholars like Gerald of Wales in a manner similar to the Google AI.
While this myth was challenged by Frederick II in his treatise On the Art of Hunting With Birds, it wasn't really until the 18th century when it became fully discredited.
In 1/72 scale plastic, I think the only live goose may be from the Linear-B Roman Market set, but I was hoping to find some options from HO scale manufacturers.
Busch makes two sets of geese (wild and domestic) that are repaints of the same models, but they look more like ducks to me. Faller has a set of Hens, Ducks and Geese, and Woodland Scenics has a set of Geese & Chickens. I don't have any of these sets because they are rather pricey.
The geese that I do have are from Preiser, Noch, and Merten.
The Preiser set is of Ducks, Geese & Swans (14167). Even for HO scale, the swans look tiny, giving me reservations about the size of the geese.
Based on the size of the birds, I identified a total of four geese in two poses (one hissing, one swimming), however it is very possible that I miscategorized some of the geese as ducks.
The Merten sets include Geese and Ducks on Land (724), and Geese and Ducks Swimming (736). I think that both sets are now available from Preiser.
The figures come attached to sprues (at least for the original Merten releases), so there is the risk of damage or loss during removal unless you have a deft hand at working with such tiny parts.
Based on body size and neck length, I identified six geese in each set. I think that there is one duplicated pose in each set, but I'm not 100% sure. Again, there is the possibility that a couple of the birds I thought were white ducks are actually geese.
The Noch set is of Chickens & Geese (15772).
There are eight geese in the Noch set; four standing (three poses), two flying (two poses), and two swimming (one duplicated pose).
Looking at all the geese together, the Preiser bird look small. The Merten goose is larger, its body close in size to the Noch goose, but its neck is shorter, while the Noch goose is the largest.
Meanwhile, for the swimming poses, the Prsiser goose is very small, while the Merten goose appears larger than the Noch goose.
I wish there were S scale options to compare with, but out of all the models, I think the Noch geese are probably the closest to being compatible for use with 1/72 scale figures.
It's been a while since I've seen a goose in real life, but when I think of how big they should be, images like these come to mind.
In any event, most adventurers probably don't give geese a second thought when it comes to danger, but players of Where Winds Meet consider them creatures that should not be triffled with.
However, perceptions may have changed with the introduction of the Goose Hydra in 5th edition D&D. The monster is derived from the MTG card The Goose Mother, where it is classified as a Bird Hydra.
Google AI claims that the Goose Hydra originates from 3D printed models created by various people in recent years, but monsters such as the Deep Goose existed ten years ago. There are likely even older incarnations.
My own model was created from splicing together the heads of a gaggle of geese from a bag of plastic farm animals that I believe are bootleg versions of Britains figures.
I gave the monster five heads, since it provided the most streamlined look while preserving the integrity of the individual necks for each head.
This legend was propagated without any sort of critical evaluation in natural history texts by scholars like Gerald of Wales in a manner similar to the Google AI.
 |
| British Library Royal MS 13 B VIII |
While this myth was challenged by Frederick II in his treatise On the Art of Hunting With Birds, it wasn't really until the 18th century when it became fully discredited.
 |
| Biblioteca Vaticana Pal. lat. 1071 f. 14v |
In 1/72 scale plastic, I think the only live goose may be from the Linear-B Roman Market set, but I was hoping to find some options from HO scale manufacturers.
Busch makes two sets of geese (wild and domestic) that are repaints of the same models, but they look more like ducks to me. Faller has a set of Hens, Ducks and Geese, and Woodland Scenics has a set of Geese & Chickens. I don't have any of these sets because they are rather pricey.
The geese that I do have are from Preiser, Noch, and Merten.
The Preiser set is of Ducks, Geese & Swans (14167). Even for HO scale, the swans look tiny, giving me reservations about the size of the geese.
Based on the size of the birds, I identified a total of four geese in two poses (one hissing, one swimming), however it is very possible that I miscategorized some of the geese as ducks.
The Merten sets include Geese and Ducks on Land (724), and Geese and Ducks Swimming (736). I think that both sets are now available from Preiser.
The figures come attached to sprues (at least for the original Merten releases), so there is the risk of damage or loss during removal unless you have a deft hand at working with such tiny parts.
Based on body size and neck length, I identified six geese in each set. I think that there is one duplicated pose in each set, but I'm not 100% sure. Again, there is the possibility that a couple of the birds I thought were white ducks are actually geese.
The Noch set is of Chickens & Geese (15772).
There are eight geese in the Noch set; four standing (three poses), two flying (two poses), and two swimming (one duplicated pose).
Looking at all the geese together, the Preiser bird look small. The Merten goose is larger, its body close in size to the Noch goose, but its neck is shorter, while the Noch goose is the largest.
 |
| Preiser, Merten, Noch standing |
Meanwhile, for the swimming poses, the Prsiser goose is very small, while the Merten goose appears larger than the Noch goose.
 |
| Preiser, Merten, Noch swimming |
I wish there were S scale options to compare with, but out of all the models, I think the Noch geese are probably the closest to being compatible for use with 1/72 scale figures.
It's been a while since I've seen a goose in real life, but when I think of how big they should be, images like these come to mind.
 |
| To Pastures New, James Guthrie, 1883 |
 |
| The Goose Girl, Stanley Royle, 1921 |
 |
| Die Gänsemagd, Paul Hey, 1939 |
In any event, most adventurers probably don't give geese a second thought when it comes to danger, but players of Where Winds Meet consider them creatures that should not be triffled with.
 |
| Victory and defeat are unpredictable in the Jianghu. |
However, perceptions may have changed with the introduction of the Goose Hydra in 5th edition D&D. The monster is derived from the MTG card The Goose Mother, where it is classified as a Bird Hydra.
Google AI claims that the Goose Hydra originates from 3D printed models created by various people in recent years, but monsters such as the Deep Goose existed ten years ago. There are likely even older incarnations.
My own model was created from splicing together the heads of a gaggle of geese from a bag of plastic farm animals that I believe are bootleg versions of Britains figures.
I gave the monster five heads, since it provided the most streamlined look while preserving the integrity of the individual necks for each head.
 |
| To Heal or Not to Heal |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
