Thursday, August 11, 2022

The War Monster

 

War Monster for Saga Age of Magic painted miniature

I've always wanted to model a War Monster and last January I finally did it.

The incitement for this project was reading Saga: Age of Magic (2019) by Alex Buchel and Fred Machu. Saga has been one of my favourite rule-sets since the first edition sprung on our hobby in 2011. Age of Magic adapts the second edition for fantasy skirmish games. One of the strengths of the book is that the authors give their imagination free reign when it comes to units: besides great dragons and giants, there are rules for fielding the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse or Hern's Wild Hunt. But most intriguing for me were the rules for one gigantic beast who swarms with drivers, archers, and crew. I was hooked by the requisite dimensions for the model: a base between 8 and 12 inches long. Since Saga games usually occur on a 3x4 foot board, this single miniature would occupy a huge part of the available real-estate. A real monster!

Rules from Saga: The Age of Magic (2019)


Of course, it wasn't Saga that first gave me the idea for the great beast. One of my favourite books when I was a small child was Steven Kellogg's The Wicked Kings of Bloon (1970). This priceless gem of a book features two obnoxious brothers who go to war with each other by arming and armoring great dinosaur-like monsters. The brothers' struggle for domination is brought to an abrupt end when their dinosaurs decide that they'd rather cuddle than fight:

Illustration by Steven Kellogg from The Wicked Kings of Bloon (1970)


And then, of course, there's White Dwarf #100 (April 1988). This special anniversary edition featured the work of the German modeler Michael Immig, whose incredible dioramas captured the attention of John Blanche when they met in Hamburg. Michael's "Fighting Dinosaur" is more than a model - more than even a work of art. It is a shamanistic fetish constructed out of chestnut shells, mouse bones, old buttons and fir cones (not to mention an Airfix Brontosaurus and innumerable Citadel miniatures).

White Dwarf #100
I could never emulate the complexity and beauty of the "Fighting Dinosaur". But I did take from it the idea that a great beast's howdah should be a ship-like construction, complete with look-out tower and different decks.

Ultimately, I decided to do something simple. I wanted a model that could be used for different settings: an orcish beast for Saga, a piece of moving scenery in Warhammer 40K, an exotic adversary for Star Wars skirmish games.

To ensure a variety of different miniatures could stand (or even fight) on the howdah, I tried to make it broad and easily accessible, without many railings, walls and other accessories that might get in the way. I didn't want a diorama so much as a functional model.

The beast itself in a plastic dinosaur from Amazon. I added a few choice details with greenstuff and brass chain, and then primed him black. The painting was dead simple: I brought out the colour with successive layers of drybrushing over his rough scales. 




The howdah is an amalgamation of balsa wood and popsicle sticks welded together with industrial quantities of superglue and greenstuff. I think I could sit on it and it wouldn't snap.

Overall, I'm pleased with the results, especially when it's loaded down with Krapfang's Orcs.

Painted miniature War Monster for Saga Age of Magic






Now I just need to see how it plays in a game of Saga...




28 comments:

  1. Wonderful creation Matthew, completed in the ethos that is based on, and reall captures the name of war monster, the construction looks perfect and elevated by your painting.

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    1. Thanks Dave - I am really happy with the paint job, although I confess if was a very quick and dirty job. But sometimes quick and dirty turns out really well, especially when you've got a heavily textured model like the dinosaur.

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  2. That's amazing! Superb painting on the beast and a great overall effect!

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    1. Thanks JC. I just checked out your latest post with the sculpts your son made. INCREDIBLE.

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  3. Holy crap, that is absolutely amazing work. Well constructed and beautifully painted. Nicely done!

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    1. Thanks Matt. By the way, I'm enjoying all the work you're doing on scenery these days.

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  4. Awesome! I definitely remember seeing a number of beasts like this in the long ago days of white dwarf.

    I imagine the chains *actually* hold the frame on the dinosaur? Do you have clasps or hooks to let you remove it, or is it permanently attached?

    I believe it's traditional for a newly painted unit to get trashed on it's first outing. You'll have to update us on what mighty pipsqueeks manage to down it like Legolas on a mumakil.

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    1. Thanks Dave!
      The chains are just for show. The howdah is affixed to the dinosaur with lots of pins, greenstuff and glue. I thought about being cunning and rigging up a magnetic system so the howdah could be easily removed for storage. But it was beyond my powers to do this in a way which guaranteed the howdah would always sit in a perfectly level way (since I don't want my minis to slide off of the decks).

      Yes, I have a suspicion that this mini will get eaten on his maiden voyage - especially because my Saga opponents are usually pretty cunning.

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  5. That's a wow moment. Very impressive!

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  6. Fantastic work!

    I do love mighty warbeasts bristling with crew and you've really produced a fantastic centrepiece to any army!

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    1. Yes, now I just need to hit the painting table with it.

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  7. And one more, great job on the monster

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    1. Thanks Rob - that's high praise given the quality of your own work.

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  8. Oh, wow, that's fantastic. Impressive creation, what a masterpiece! :O

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    1. Suber, I hope to see more of your illustrations - I love the one you just posted to your blog.

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  9. Well played! And well painted. There's nothing quite like a dinosaur to spice up a fantasy game. :)

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    1. Yes, I almost wish I had gone with a more "classic" dinosaur like a Brontosaurus. Sometimes it's good to lean into the absurdity!

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  10. Stunning work and absolutely Oldhammer to the core. Love the horns added which turn a normal dinosaur into a creature of fantasy. Interesting that Michael Immig was inspired by a tiny picture in White Dwarf 35 showing one of Joe Dever's battles with dinosaurs back in 1982.

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    1. I am going to have to dig up a copy of WD#35, or at least a pdf, because I'd love to see that. Dever's stuff is always amazing.

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    2. Cool. Here's my reconstruction of the picture with the original.
      http://broadswordsandbeasts.blogspot.com/2017/12/hurrah-project-finished.html?m=0

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    3. What a truly incredible project - thanks for sharing that. I LOVE IT.

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  11. Wonderful job! Love the colors and the execution. This is old school work at it's best!

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    1. I'm glad you liked the colour scheme, Hobbs - I thought it might be too unexiting. Orange seemed bold at first, but with some washes, it toned itself down.

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