| Mysterioso | 25 May 2007 3:48 a.m. PST |
link
picture I know that HLBSCo makes H. erectus figures but does anyone else wish
that someone would produce earlier hominids? Is wishing for 28mm
figures of Australopithecus boisei or Australopithecus robustus too
Anthro-geek? Personally, I think these guys would be a great addition
to VSF or Pulp Lost Worlds games. I also think they would work really well for
Tarzan games. (ERB's hominids were not gorillas and robust
Australopithecines really seem to fit what he was describing.) |
| Cacique Caribe | 25 May 2007 6:01 a.m. PST |
Those would be absolutely PERFECT for Tarzan and other scenarios! Just thought of something . . . Maybe someone did Gorillas, in years past, that missed the mark because they were just too slim, long-limbed or upright to pass for real Gorillas. In other words, what may have been rejected as bad-looking apes in the past, may actually be perfect as proto-humans. So, does anyone know of figures like that, that could pass as Australopithecines? CC
link |
| CooperSteveatWork | 25 May 2007 6:15 a.m. PST |
I've got the HLBSC Homo erecti, so I'm geek enough for more hominids… |
| Coelacanth1938 | 25 May 2007 6:24 a.m. PST |
I want to see a line of "Homo Combustus", i.e., early pyromaniacs… |
| jpattern2 | 25 May 2007 6:31 a.m. PST |
Nope, no "skinnt gorillas" that I'm aware of.
Ral Partha did some Hillmen 30 years ago (!) that looked like slim, true-25mm neanderthals in fur loincloths, armed with wooden clubs. They turn up surprisingly often on Ebay; they must have made a ton of them. But they're too modern looking to pass for Boisei or Robustus, IMO.
Here they are in an auction (already ended); they're the three guys at the bottom of the photo: auction |
| jpattern2 | 25 May 2007 6:34 a.m. PST |
Hah! That should be "skinny gorillas", not "skinnt gorillas"! |
| jpattern2 | 25 May 2007 6:42 a.m. PST |
For you collectors, Clawmark Toys offers this cool Boisei: link
And these two Afarensis: link and link (same mini, different paint schemes)
Boisei is about 3 inches tall, and Afarensis is about 2-1/2 inches tall.
They're Japanese "candy toys", and you can also find them on Ebay. |
| Cacique Caribe | 25 May 2007 6:42 a.m. PST |
And here I thought you meant "skinned" Gorillas. :) CC |
| Smokey Roan | 25 May 2007 6:43 a.m. PST |
"Australopithecus boisei or Australopithecus robustus" What good would they do on the table, (besides looking cool)?
They are herbivores and none too violent if my anthropology 101 is on the up and up. I guess you could have a carnivore offshoot. |
| jpattern2 | 25 May 2007 7:07 a.m. PST |
"Thag, by nature I'm a non-violent, peaceful kind of guy. But, I'm telling you, if you don't step away from that blackberry bush by the time I count to 'rock', there'll be hell to pay!"
I thought the latest scientific consensus was that both A. boisei and A. afarensis ate mostly fruit, vegetables, and nuts, but that they could also eat some meat if it was available – "opportunistic meat eaters".
As an aside, here's a cool Australian site that shows the relative sizes and builds of 7 hominids, including us, A. robustus, and H. floresiensis: link |
| jpattern2 | 25 May 2007 7:19 a.m. PST |
As for their usefulness on the tabletop, Mysterioso mentions their use in VSF or Pulp games, or RPGs, rather than full-tilt battles.
I could see them as:
o A lost tribe encountered by Victorian explorers or Pulp heroes and villains
o "Zoo fodder" for unscrupulous villains or robber barons
o Guides in Lost World settings (depending on how intelligent you want to make them)
o Semi-intelligent mascots or "pets" tagging along with the heroes, sometimes coming to the rescue, sometimes getting the group into trouble (sort of like Jonny Quest's dog Bandit)
o Willing or unwilling donors of DNA for some noble or nefarious purpose
o Targets for time-travelling aliens who need to be stopped by the heroes.
Think of the ways the "semi-intelligent" humans were used in the Planet of the Apes movies: as hunting trophies, as museum specimens, as zoo specimens, for scientific research, as political pawns …
Just a few ideas. |
| Smokey Roan | 25 May 2007 8:13 a.m. PST |
I stand corected, thats plenty of good ideas! |
| Mysterioso | 25 May 2007 9:55 a.m. PST |
There is no question to my knowledge that robust a-pith were anything but herbivores who sometime sampled a grub. So they are not a threat. To me they fit the pattern of innocent savage that the hero/es can save from evil of some kind that has entered the Lost World, Prussians, for instance, or is already there, Sleestaks, for instance. jpattern2 the ideas that came to my mind when I posted, and then some. For Tarzan games I think they could be a robust a-pith group that due to environmental pressures shifted to an omnivorous diet and became the Mangani. Gorilla were Bolgani and were considered different by the Mangani and their king, Tarzan. |
| Cacique Caribe | 25 May 2007 9:59 a.m. PST |
I like the idea of a Time Travel expedition to prevent a rival team (maybe Terminators?) from killing off a key DNA contributor in our distant past . . . the genetic Eve Connor(?). But first, the team sent to protect her have to catch her. :) CC |
| jpattern2 | 25 May 2007 5:31 p.m. PST |
There was an old Swamp Thing written by Alan Moore in which Swampy travels back in time and encounters Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. The Neanderthals are much more peaceful and more in touch with nature than the Cros, so of course the Cros wipe them out. Ouch!
Going with that mythology, the A. boisei and A. afarensis are even more primitive than Neanderthals, and should therefore be even *more* in touch with nature. Maybe they can manipulate plant life or have animals protect them. Maybe they have nature-based magical or psychic powers. If so, then one of them would make a great addition to a team of Pulp heroes.
Just one more thought. |
| Mulopwepaul | 26 May 2007 7:54 a.m. PST |
Perhaps they would fight over the last roast duck with the mango salsa. |
| Coelacanth1938 | 27 May 2007 1:23 a.m. PST |
Remember that beer killed off the Neanderthals… |
| Cacique Caribe | 27 May 2007 3:15 a.m. PST |
Then, how do you explain Homer? :) CC |
| Smokey Roan | 27 May 2007 1:58 p.m. PST |
Sleestaks?!? Damn that brings me back to a much younger age :) Any "Sleestaky" figures around? |
| Mysterioso | 27 May 2007 7:59 p.m. PST |
Sadly, no. Sleestak figures would be great! |
| Mysterioso | 27 May 2007 8:06 p.m. PST |
|
gets started with WWI British in 15mm.
