The first two miniatures are the androsphinx, Kamaljiori (Monsters of Exandria Set 1 #2), and an Adranach (Monsters of Tal'Dorei Set 2 #1) from the Critical Role Miniatures line.
Sphinxes from the Critical Role universe have both lion and eagle tails, but I'm not a fan of the design choice. However, as it turns out, the unwanted tail feathers were a perfect fit for the Reaper peryton that I bought 8 years ago.
The next miniature I've been working on is the Reaper Graveyard Golem (Bones 77526).
The miniature consists of five pieces in the newer Bones plastic. One of the parts was short shot, but I didn't actually notice until I was already finishing up with painting.
One of the things I didn't like about this sculpt was that it didn't have a right hand, so I did a bit of modification to make it fit my vision of the figure.
I was thinking about adding some crows perched on the "wings" of the golem, but it didn't feel quite right with the new, more action oriented pose.
The final miniature is Azael the Unfaithful from Rackham Miniatures. I think that in the Confrontation lore she is supposed to be some sort of undead, but I thought she would make a good fallen angel, so I decided to add some wings to the figure.
I based her look somewhat off of Nanael from Queen's Blade, with one withered wing, and one normal wing.
The right wing is from the Radiant Idol (Eberron: Rising from the Last War #32) from the Icons of the Realms Miniatures line.
While the left wing comes from a Deva (Snowbound #15) from the Icons of the Realms Miniatures line.
Evil snowmen have been a staple of pop culture horror for a long time. Most people are probably familiar with them through the direct-to-video movie Jack Frost, or from Dr. Who, or even from ScoobyDoo cartoons.
The Snowmen (2012 Christmas Special)
Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays, 2012
A Scooby-Doo! Christmas, 2002
Jack Frost, 1997
One of the earliest depictions of the evil snowman however, is in the cartoon The Snowman from Ted Eshbaugh Studios.
Atlas Obscura hosts an interesting article on the history of snowmen (which may provide some insight to the source of the resentment motivating these snowmen).
I don't think there was ever an official snowman monster in D&D, but a snow golem first appeared in Ship of Horrors for 2nd ed. AD&D.
The 2nd ed. version of the snow golem is described as an 11' tall armored figure sculpted from snow, which seems like something requiring the skills of a trained sculptor to create.
Giorgio Vasari writes in Lives of the Artists (Le Vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori) that after an unusual snowstorm descended upon Florence in January 1494, Michelangelo was tasked by Piero de' Medici (his patron) to create a statue made of snow in the courtyard of his palace.
By 5th ed. however, artistry seems to have gone by the wayside, and snow golems became crude anthropoid figures.
It is this version of the snow golem, that appears from D&D Icons of the Realms (Snowbound #28), and Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures (WZK90417).
I don't really care for the use of blue and silver to represent snow on prepainted miniatures, so I will repaint the Icons Snow Golem at a later date.
Some other figures that fit the snowy theme include a couple of chwinga miniatures from D&D Icons of the Realms (Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden #3, #16).
One chwinga is throwing a snowball, while the other holds an icicle (or rather, an "icicle staff"). I included a space chwinga from a previous post for comparison purposes.
Last up are a couple of frost salamanders from an older post with a pair of extra arms added on.
For the snow on the bases, I originally wanted to try some of the various commercial products described at Meandering Shade, but for expediency, I went with white glue and baking soda.
Generic brand sodium bicarbonate
Baking soda has small reflective crystals in it, unlike Woodland Scenics Scene-A-Rama Snow which is perfectly matte white, and requires the addition of some embossing powder, or extra fine glitter to give it that sparkly snow look.
The Erechtheion is a temple in the Acropolis which is said to have housed an olive-wood statue of Athena Polias (Protector of the City) which fell from the heavens. It is also the site marking the location of the mythological contest for patronage of Athens between Athena and Poseidon.
Harmsworth History of the World, 1908
The structure is probably best known in modern times for the Porch of the Maidens on the south side of the temple.
The columns supporting the roof of the porch are known architecturally as caryatids, though there are those who seem to be pretty adamant that they be referred to as korai.
c. 1860
Regardless, D&D players probably know of caryatid columns as animated statues originally introduced in the Fiend Folio.
A couple of different miniatures of caryatid columns exist, as shown in the following image.
The first figure is a Pathfinder Caryatid Column that I wrote about before. Next are two Reaper Caryatid Columns (Bones 77378), and the Pillar of Good (Dark Heaven Legends 02815). Metal versions of the Caryatid Columns exist, as does a Bones version of the Pillar of Good.
While I really like the Pillar of Good, the Bones Caryatid Columns left me cold. Particularly the animated statue with angry facial expression, that seems to go against the very nature of stone-faced statues (to my mind).
Maybe they would look better painted up, or if I did some head swaps with more proportional noggins that also better reflect classical or medieval style sculpture.
An interesting related item I have is a second-hand souvenir of the Porch of Maidens that presumably came from Athens.
If the 7.5' height of the caryatids that I read somewhere is accurate, I believe this model is pretty close to 1/72 scale. I plan on removing the lettering from the piece sometime in the future.
I imagine that this souvenir can be found in Greece (where I hope to visit one day), but the only other identifying feature on the piece is the copyright mark on the back.
The miniature is from the UHA Collect Club Ancient Civilization series vol. II (UHA味覚糖 コレクト倶楽部II【古代文明編】 No.037). If the model represented the actual statue from the Parthenon, it would be 1/144 scale, but many smaller versions of the original sculpted by Pheidias existed (e.g., from temples in Priene, Pergamon, etc).
It seems likely that some of these reproductions may have been used in temples dedicated to Athena Polias. But unlike the more martial appearance of Athena Parthenos, the statue of Athena Polias in the Erechtheion is said to have been adorned in riches, and held a gold phialê in her right hand.
This concludes my final post for 2022. It has been an unusual year, and I don't think I picked up a paint brush or did any model building at all (though I did manage some figure conversions).
I barely made my goal of 12 articles this year, but amazingly enough, I actually exceeded my goal of getting at least 10 subscribers to 1/72 Channel. Hopefully I will be less distracted in 2023 and be able to publish more on both platforms.
Best wishes to all my readers, and have a happy New Year!
The nation of all the Gauls is extremely devoted to superstitious rites; and on that account they who are troubled with unusually severe diseases and they who are engaged in battles and dangers, either sacrifice men as victims, or vow that they will sacrifice them, and employ the Druids as the performers of those sacrifices; because they think that unless the life of a man be offered for the life of a man, the mind of the immortal gods cannot be rendered propitious, and they have sacrifices of that kind ordained for national purposes. Others have figures of vast size, the limbs of which formed of osiers they fill with living men, which being set on fire, the men perish enveloped in the flames. They consider that the oblation of such as have been taken in theft, or in robbery, or any other offence, is more acceptable to the immortal gods; but when a supply of that class is wanting, they have recourse to the oblation of even the innocent.
Many scholars say that Caesar (and presumably Strabo) was an unreliable source who merely repeated earlier accounts made by Posidonius. Many writers also caution that the Wicker Man was likely a fabrication used to impugn the reputation of the Celts, but I get the feeling that this assertion similarly comes from a single source, since every article making this declaration also repeats the phrase "bizarre and negative information" in regard to Caesar's remarks.
Wicker giants are also associated with later traditions related to Gog Magog, while the bearded mask depicted in some engravings of the effigy is sometimes seen as being the face of a Green Man.
Unknown origin, 1832
Neo-pagans are less skeptical about the Wicker Man, and many groups burn wicker effigies (minus the live humans) during some of their fire festivals. The most important festivals are held at the Spring Equinox, Midsummer, the Autumn Equinox, and the Winter Solstice. Sir James Frazer states that the fire festivals are rites of purification and renewal, while neo-pagans view the purpose of the ritual as a way to create a spirit messenger to commune with supernatural powers (though they do not discount Frazer's definition either).
The Wicker Man entered popular culture due to the 1973 cult film The Wicker Man directed by Robin Hardy. A companion film called The Wicker Tree was released decades later in 2011.
People have drawn parallels between The Wicker Man and the Burning Man event, but Larry Harvey stated that he was was unaware of the film prior to the founding of Burning Man.
There is also a roller coaster at Alton Towers Resort in Staffordshire, England which is said to have been drawn from local legend by the design team, but I have been unable to find any legends related to the Wicker Man originating from the region.
Wicker Men have appeared in a number of fantasy media franchises as sacrificial effigies.
In the Assassin's Creed video game, the human sacrifices are portrayed as [somewhat] voluntary.
A Wicker (or rather, Straw) Man appears during a Halloween event in the World of Warcraft game.
Crashing the Wickerman Festival
They also make appearances in the Sláine comic book.
A number of Wicker Men are also portrayed as magically animated constructs as in the Berserk manga.
In the Fate/Grand Order mobile game, the Wicker Man appears as the Noble Phantasm invoked by Cú Chulainn in his Caster incarnation.
The Grand Order Wicker Man is also known as the Cage of Scorching, Consuming Flames, and it scoops up its own human sacrifices to imprison and immolate within its torso.
As far as miniatures of the Wicker Man go, there are a couple of 3D printed versions available which I won't go into, but the field is relatively sparse.
Alan the Wicker Man is made by Ainsty Castings as part of their Trader Town line.
The 10" tall figure comes with two head variants (plain and Iron Maiden versions), and a Green Man mask which fits on the resin head. It also has a compartment in the torso with a separate door that can be used to imprison a 28mm figure.
Artwork for The Wicker Man 12" picture disk
Another 10" Wicker Man that I particularly like is made by Wailing Dip, but it is actually a candle made of pure beeswax (No, not the bees!).
I think the candle really captures the look of the effigy from the film, and I like the idea that you can set it on fire, though I guess that would be the end of your miniature at that point.
The downside of these large figures however, is that they are too big for 1/72 scale.
For various reasons, there is confusion regarding the actual height of the Wicker Man effigies from the movie, with estimates ranging from 22 to 60 feet tall.
I get the impression that the height is under 30 feet tall, which would call for a figure that might be anywhere from 4" to 5" tall.
Wailing Dip makes a Wee Wicker Man candle that falls exactly into this size range, and I am extremely tempted to get it. However, it's not as detailed as the large candle, so I'm really on the fence about it.
Wailing Dip Wee Wicker Man
The figure I did end up getting is Nicolas The Strawman, from Crooked Dice Game Design Studio. It is part of the Children of the Fields faction for the 2nd edition of their 7TV game.
The figure comes in three pieces made of a hard resin, and stands 80mm tall. It is not a proper Wicker Man, but I thought it was a well executed sculpt.
Nuada, mighty god of the sun, accept our sacrifice and be appeased. Avellenau, bountiful goddess of our orchards, accept our sacrifice and make our blossoms fruit.
I am keeping this blog in an effort to track my building progress, document my work, and hopefully to maintain motivation to finish the projects I have started.
My scale of choice is 1/72, and the projects I paint, build, and collect cover a multitude of subjects from historical to fantasy and science fiction.
There's not much to say about myself. I work in a cubicle and stare at a monitor all day long. For recreation I paint miniatures, build models, and practice kendo.
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