Gremlins originate from the realm of aviation mythology, with the earliest references coming from the RAF in the 1920's. They became a part of popular culture during the WWII years through Roald Dahl's book The Gremlins.
Gremlins never appeared in 1st Edition AD&D, but a number of small nuisance creatures from the Fiend Folio were later grouped under the category of "gremlins" in later editions. Two of these creatures are the Snyad and the Mite. I'd put the Jermlaine in this category as well, though in recent editions they seem to have turned into some sort of little rat-men.
To represent these creatures in proper 1/72 scale, I looked at various 6mm and 10mm miniature lines to find figures suitable for conversion.
For Jermlaine, I went with 6mm ancients from Rapier Miniatures. The two strips to the left are Celt slingers (CEL004), and Libyan infantry (EGY007). For Snyads and Mites, I selected 10mm Orcs (TM1) from Copplestone Castings represented by the strip on the right.
I find it difficult to believe that it's possible to be knocked unconscious by sap wielding Jermlaine, regardless of the number attacking you (the equivalent of being knocked out by being hit with dozens of half-filled hacky sacks), but I went ahead and made one for the sake of appearances. I also made some Jermlaine holding a tripwire. Other conversions I'm planning will be missile weapon troops and some rat riders.
The Snyads (left) and Mite (right) were modified 10mm orcs. The shields had to be removed from all of the figures.
In the case of the Snyads, the weapons were cut off and replaced with loot made from Kneadatite. I also went ahead and added a long hooked nose. I couldn't quite achieve the look of Russ Nicholson's illustrations, but I think the figures look decent.
The Mite was pretty much a stock 10mm orc with the shield removed and the arm re-positioned. They should be a bit shorter than Snyads, so I shaved the base a little to give it the appearance of being shorter. I tried making a sharp jutting chin on this conversion, but it's not readily apparent even on close-up, so I think that I won't bother for future conversions.
3 comments:
nasty little buggers aren't they. must say its a novel idea using the smaller scales to represent little monsters. Something I think we all consider but never actually end up doing.
Hi Gowan,
6mm and 10mm makers are putting more pictures of their figures on-line, so I think it makes it easier to make a purchasing decision. Just wish they made more figures without shields.
Thanks to topic
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