Tasmanian Devil

"A strong, murderous beast, jaws as powerful as a steel trap – has ravenous appetite – eats tigers, lions, elephants, buffaloes, donkeys, giraffes, octopuses, rhinoceroses, mooses, ducks..."

– Devil May Hare (1954)

While I don't think there is a true Tasmanian Devil in miniature form, there are two versions of the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil.


On the left is the Umber Ripper from the Monster Manuscript Vol.X boxed set (Grenadier 1510, MM87). On the right is the Tasmanian Devil von Der Kriegspielers Fantastiques line (Heritage 1152, though the base is marked 1158).

While the Heritage Taz looks too big to be compatible with 1/72 figures (mainly because of the BFS), the Grenadier version doesn't look too bad. After all, who's to say how big the Tasmanian Devil is?

The D&D statistics for the Tasmanian Devil appear in issue 60 of Dragon Magazine.

The first five balrogs through the door...

The Balrog is another Tolkien creation that has become part and parcel of FRPGs. The Balrog appeared in D&D as the thinly disguised Type VI Demon (Balor), but everyone knew what it really was. I'm not sure how I personally came to that conclusion, since the Balrog from the 1978 Ralph Bakshi version of The Lord Of The Rings (love it or hate it) influenced how I thought a Balrog should look. For miniatures however, my top picks are the late version Ral Partha Balrogs.

This first image is of the most commonly encountered Ral Partha Balrog (01-003) it is classified as the 4th version in the Lost Minis Wiki.


The two earlier versions of this Balrog appear au naturale in the next image. The Balrog on the left is the the third version of the miniature, while the one on the right is a variant which I have not encountered too often. Somehow I get the impression that it is a Ral Partha Imports version, but I'm just guessing since it seems to be from sources in the U.K. that I see this particular type. It has a more bat-like face than the other two versions of this Balrog, the whip is different, and the sword is positioned differently.


The next image contains two Armored Balrogs (01-081). I'm not sure which version is earlier, but the one on the left is the one that appears in the Ral Partha catalog image. I think it is the less common of the two variants as well.


More information on Balrogs of Middle Earth can be found at The Truth About Balrogs

As a side note, anyone ever see this happen to a blister? The foam inside is completely disintigrated.

T-34 & S-35

2010 ended on a rather difficult note, so it is only now that I find myself making the first post of 2011. In any event, I'm still walking and talking, so I guess there's not much to complain about.

This year I've resolved to complete all the near-finished models that I have laying about in order to clear out some benchspace for starting my 1/72 Dora railway gun.

The first two kits that I'm almost done with are the Armorfast T-34 mentioned in a post from 2008, and a Heller SOMUA S-35. The models still need markings and to be weathered, but are otherwise mostly finished.

The only problem I have is to find some way to simulate lenses for the headlamps. I'll probably just shape some pieces of clear sprue and glue them into the appropriate areas already carved into the headlamps.

Armorfast and Forces of Valor T-34s

The Armorfast T-34 is slightly taller, and slightly longer than the FoV T-34, but the turret of the FoV T-34 is larger than the turret of the Armorfast T-34. I have no idea of which is more accurate.


I'm not sure if it is so obvious in this picture, but I used a heated splatter screen to make tread pattern imprints in the previously smooth tracks of the Armorfast kit. They're not the prettiest or most accurate tracks you'll see, but better than the smooth featureless treads of the typical quick build kit.

Altaya and Heller S-35s

I believe that these are the only S-35s in 1/72 scale. They're practically identical in size.


The Heller kit is actually rather nice, despite soft details and the horrible tracks. I actually would like to build a couple more of these sometime in the future.