Cyclopes

The cyclopes of Greek myth can be divided into two lineages – the first group were the three (or sometimes seven) Elder Cyclopes, who Hesiod listed as Brontes, Steropes, and Arges (who was replaced with Acmonides or Pyracmon by other authors). The names of the four alternates were Euryalos, Elatreus, Trachios, and Halimedes. These were immortal giants who were of the same generation as the Olympians, and worked with Hephaestus at his forge.

The other group of cyclopes were the Younger Cyclopes of Hypereia (identified with Sicily by the ancient Greeks). Among them was Polyphemos, who stood out from the rest of his tribe in size and strength, and was encountered by Odysseus and his shore party on a visit to the island of the cyclopes.

"Oh my God, He killed Kenny! You Bastard!"

Modern renditions of the cyclops are more influenced by films, and include Ray Harryhausen's iconic design for The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad (in literature, Sinbad's encounter with a man-eating giant actually occurs during his third voyage, and is a retelling of Odysseus' encounter with Polyphemos).

Given the oriental flavor of the Sinbad movies and the lack of horned and hoofed cyclopes in classical art, I originally thought that this particular type of cyclops could also represent the Turkish monster Tepegöz, as rendered in the following picture.

Then I realized what I thought was a horn on his head was actually a ladle that he was holding in his hand.

In any event, the following are the various cyclops miniatures that I have in my collection.

The first two miniatures represent the Harryhausen monster. The larger one is a resin X-Plus Cyclops that was part of the Ray Harryhausen Film Collection (Chess Set 1), while the smaller one is from Ral Partha (Children of the Night 13-020). The Ral Partha miniature is undersized, and would probably go better with 15mm figures.

There is also a two-horned version by X-Plus which represents the cyclops that fights the dragon at the end of The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad which I'm still trying to find at a reasonable price.

The next group of cyclopes bear some traces of the Harryhausen design, but also retain elements of classical cyclopes. The large cyclopes are from the D&D CMG, and include the Cyclops Crusher (Dangerous Delves #13), and the Skeletal Cyclops (Savage Encounters #33). These cyclopes have a bony armored head and scaly skin somewhat resembling the Harryhausen cyclops. The smaller cyclops is from the Age of Mythology game by Eagle Games, and it has the goat-like legs of the Harryhausen cyclops.

Next are some more classical cyclopes. The plastic figures to the left are the Pathfinder Cyclops (Skull & Shackles #34), and a cyclops from the Arcane Legions CMG. To the right are some metal figures – the Reaper Cyclops (Dark Heaven Legends 02953), and a Grenadier Cyclops from the Mythological Creatures box set (Action Art 8003).

More metal figures include the three Ral Partha Cyclops-Kin (AD&D Monsters 11-453), a Grenadier Psyclops (Monster Manuscript Vol.VIII 1508, MM68), and a Grenadier Klynops (Monster Manuscript Vol.V 1505, MM41).

I think of cyclopes as having beards and a full head of hair, but for some reason, many of these figures are bald, and any beards are rather short. I'd like to find a miniature of a cyclops with a big full beard, but will probably end up having to add them  using Kneadatite myself.

Last are the Grenadier Undead Giant Cyclops (Fantasy Lords 011), a Citadel Cyclops (Fiend Factory FF14), and a Heritage Masena (John Carter, Warlord of Mars 1523).

The Masena is described in ERB's Swords of Mars as a Cat-man from the Thurian Moon. I don't quite seen anything cat-like about it. It is described in the novel as having two mouths, one eye, and the ability to change colors to blend in with its surroundings. However, it does purr and meow which I guess counts for something.

Manō Kanaka

Sharks held a great deal of cultural significance in old Hawai'i. Tools and weapons were fashioned from the teeth of sharks, and drums were made with sharkskin. Man-eating sharks, like the tiger and great white were known as niuhi, and were hunted by nobles. Their flesh, and particularly their eyes, was believed to be imbued with supernatural power.

Some families however had sharks as 'aumakua (a family totem), and considered it bad form to hunt or eat sharks, since there was a possibility that the shark might contain the spirit of one of their ancestors.

The most powerful of such ancestral spirits were the shark gods such as Kua "the Red Shark", Ku-hai-moana who was said to be "thirty fathoms long", or Ka-moho-ali'i the brother of Pele the goddess of fire. These spirits could take on human form, and in some cases ended up producing children with normal humans. The offspring were known as manō kanaka (shark-men), or what we might call were-sharks.

Tales of humans that could change to sharks can be found throughout Polynesia, but probably the most famous one is the tale of Nanaue. Relatively modern stories of manō kanaka also exist, some of which I find particularly chilling.

As far as appearance goes, most modern depictions of were-sharks show them as sharks with human arms and legs. I'm not sure where this concept originated from, but it has been used in both D&D and videogames.

I have mixed feelings about this depiction because the were-shark stories I heard as a child, lead me to imagine them as men with gaping shark maws on their back (hidden under a feather cloak) who could transform into sharks. I suppose the current view of shark-with-legs can be considered as a transitional form between man and shark, and certain Hawaiian chants do have the phrase "..fish with long legs from head to tail...", though it is not clear to me that the reference is to manō kanaka.

Anyway, Reaper makes a whole slew of transitional form were-sharks, but almost all of them are enormous even compared to 28mm figures. The only exception is the dwarf were-shark which is just about right as far as height goes, but the figure is a bit to campy for me.

Other than Rumscratch, the only other suitable figure that I could find for use as a 1/72 were-shark was the Pathfinder Wereshark Pirate (Skull and Shackles #12). I would have preferred if it were less clothed, but it is better than nothing.

Addendum: Center Stage Miniatures also has some Lesser Weresharks (Spawn of Dajobas), but they also look pretty big as well.

Lovecraftian Horrors

In honor of Halloween, I've decided to write about some of the miniatures that I own which represent monsters from the Cthulhu Mythos.

Spiders of Leng

These gigantic spiders are denizens of the Plateau of Leng, mentioned briefly in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, and later fleshed out in the Call of Cthulhu RPG.

There have been various miniatures of Spiders of Leng, but they always struck me as being too pedestrian. However, when I saw the Knobby White Spider (The Force Unleashed #52) from the Star Wars Miniatures Game, the first thing that popped into my mind was that it was a Spider of Leng. The only thing the miniature needs is to be painted purple.

The miniature is quite disturbing. I really have the urge to hit it with a mallet when I look at it, and reaching into a box to take the miniature out... Ugghh!

Cats from Uranus

The Cats from Uranus are creatures from the Call of Cthulhu RPG. They are described as being similar to the Cats from Saturn, except uglier.

There have not been miniatures of either type of cat, but the Bad Kitty (Baxar's War #31) from the Dreamblade CMG would seem to fit the bill for a Cat from Uranus. It is not multi-hued and psychedelic like a Cat from Saturn, but it is definitely hideous.

Moon-beasts

The Moon-beasts were the antagonists in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, and described as vaguely amorphous grayish-white toad-like beings with a vibrating mass of short pink tentacles on the end of their snouts.

On the left is the recent Pathfinder Moon-Beast (Legends of Golarion #29). In the center is the RAFM Moon Beast (RAFM 2941), and at the right is the Grenadier Moonbeast (Call of Cthulhu 222).

The Grenadier and RAFM miniatures are very similar, and the Pathfinder miniature is not far off either, though it does not have any eyes. I'll have to repaint the Pathfinder Moon-beast because the pink hands and feet make it look more ape-like than toad-like. The Grenadier Moon-beast is fairly hard to find nowadays, since it is one of the CoC miniatures that has yet to be re-released by Mirliton.

Dholes (or Bholes)

Dholes are mentioned in Through the Gates of the Silver Key, and have been described as gigantic worms in later works even though I do not believe they were stated to be worm-like in the story. Bholes on the other hand, were explicitly described as being gigantic worms in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. It is unclear if they are the same, but both were gigantic creatures dwelling in the Vale of Pnath, so it may very well be that one or the other name came about because of a typographical error. In any event, Dhole was the term used by later Mythos writers, and so we have the Dhole (instead of Bhole) miniature from the Byatis and Dhole box set (RAFM 2030).

I really like this miniature, but it essentially is a newly hatched Dhole, since the creature is supposed to be hundreds of feet long (with fleas the size of rats). I'd say that an in-scale miniature would probably have to be at least a meter in length.

Serpent Men

Originally created by Robert E. Howard for his Kull stories, the Serpent Men of Valusia were introduced to the Cthulhu Mythos by Lin Carter and Clark Ashton Smith. They are mentioned by name in Lovecraft's The Haunter of the Dark.

The two miniatures to the left are Ral Partha Serpent Men Heroes (Children of the Night 13-041). These miniatures are currently available from Ironwind Metals. The trio on the right are Grenadier Serpent Men (Call of Cthulhu 6502; Nightmares 619).

The Ral Partha Serpent Men do not have tails, which may be more accurate as far as descriptions of Serpent Men go. The Grenadier Serpent Men on the other hand do have tails. The one in red comes from the boxed set, and has been described as holding and orb. To me it just looks like he has his hands clasped together, and I cannot make out any sign of an orb in his hands, so I'm not sure if there is another version of this miniature.

Off to answer the doorbell now!

Pathfinder Miniatures

I'm not too familiar with the Pathfinder system from Paizo Publishing, and I haven't purchased any of their books so I don't have an opinion regarding their products, but recently I've taken quite an interest in their line of miniatures.

Paizo has started filling the void created a couple of years back following the demise of the D&D CMG line with their Pathfinder miniatures. From what I can tell, the miniatures are faithfully modeled after the images used in their artwork.

The vast majority are probably too big for 1/72 scale gaming, but as usual, there are always candidates that can be adopted for use.

Many of the giant class monsters from the Pathfinder line are similar in size and build to the D&D CMG giants that I use for gaming. Below, from left to right, are the Troll Champion (Shattered Star 036), Fire Giant (Shattered Star 032), and Hill Giant (Shattered Star 031).

I don't mind my fantasy miniatures being flamboyant, but the spikes on the Fire Giant were too much for me. I chopped them off, and added some pinheads as more subtle decoration. The tusks and tongue of the Troll Champion are a bit OTT as well, but I think I can live with those.

Some of the giant class creatures are less massive than the others. These miniatures have less stylized proportions, so they have a very different look (at least in my eyes) from the other giants.

The Stone Giant (Rise of the Runelords 39), and Cyclops (Skulls & Shackles 034) are a lot less imposing than their bulkier compatriots. The pose of the Stone Giant doesn't help, since it make it seem shorter than it actually is, and I'm not too crazy about the moai-like head either.

At the other end of the spectrum are the small sized miniatures. Some of them are absolutely tiny compared to 28mm figures, but they look pretty good next to 1/72 figures.

From left to right, we have two Derro – Caedimus (Shattered Star 01) and Portioque (Shattered Star 02), a Redcap (Rise of the Runelords 12), and a typical Pathfinder Goblin Warrior (We Be Goblins 01). The Derro are weedy fellows compared to the typical dwarf, but I like them. For some reason, they are how I imagine the Nibelungs from Wagner's Das Rheingold would look. The Pathfinder goblin looks really big because of its over-sized head, but I think that a headswap would make it quite suitable for use as a 1/72 orc.

Next, we have miniatures that would be roughly human sized in 1/72 scale. Consistent with the D&D miniatures in the past, Pathfinder gnomes and halflings can easily pass as humans.

From left to right are a Gnome Fighter (Heroes & Monsters 22), Rosie Cuswell (Skulls & Shackles 038), and a Harpy (Rise of the Runelords 08). The gnome is on the short side, but he still looks in scale. I had to fix the halfling up a bit, because the paint was layered on really thick, leaving various lumpy areas all over her arms. I think that she's holding a violin bow in her right hand, but it's the size (and shape) of a cleaver. Again, the harpy is a Pathfinder miniature that would look small next to a 28mm figure, but fits in almost perfectly with 1/72 scale figures.

One of the more iconic monsters from the Fiend Folio that finally makes its appearance in miniature form is the Caryatid Column (Shattered Star 020). This is the figure that really got me to look into the line of Pathfinder miniatures. They are modeled after actual caryatid columns (although armed with swords), and can be used as architectural details or monsters.

Last up are some monsters unique to the Pathfinder RPG. I picked these figures up without knowing anything about them just because they looked cool. The tall model on the left is a Clockwork Reliquary (Shattered Star 049), while the rotund model on the right is a Forgefiend (Rise of the Runelords 57)

Maybe it's just me, but I found the two round things on top of the Clockwork Reliquary to be a rather unfortunate design choice. The skeleton in the Reliquary is also obviously too large even for 28mm figures (though I guess it could be the skeleton of a giant). To remedy the situation, I decided to take the miniature apart.

I found some plastic Mega Bloks flames, which I will place on top of the model (I'm undecided as to whether to use the large flame or the small one). I wanted to open up the crystal and replace the skeleton inside, but I think it would be very difficult to do so without damaging the clear plastic. I'll probably use the Dark Art to replicate the crystal, and cast a replacement with a skeleton embedded inside.

The Forgefiend is another model that is crying out for enhancement. I am going to install an LED as described at SeanKReynolds.com, though I'll probably run the wires through its legs and out the bottom of its feet. I've already used acetone to remove the paint from the Forgefiend's mouth and eyes, so that they will glow when it is lit up.

Anyway, my overall impression is that the Pathfinder miniatures are a worthy successor to the D&D CMG line. There have been some people complaining that the figures are not as durable as the D&D miniatures, but I have not found that particular problem. The larger models do seem to have some parts made of a harder plastic, so they may be more fragile, but I haven't really had anything come apart unless I was trying to do it on purpose.