"SKINKS: Not Just For Fantasy Anymore?" Topic

I am very surprised that very few have mentioned trying these plastic skink figures for SF gaming.

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The simple movement of the crest makes them instant primitive reptilian troops for any 15mm, 25mm and even 28mm-30mm SF gaming (in the larger scales, they look great as pygmy lizardmen).

Ok. With lots of work, I think there is always potential to convert them to Chupacabra types:

TMP link

However, Dewbakuk has definitely shown that they could work as primitive troops in SF and VSF settings.

QUESTION: Has anyone else tried them for their Pulp, SF and VSF games?

Also, I wonder if those spears, and other weapons, could be made to look like advanced staff-type weapons (a la Stargate). Hmm.

CC

Hey, with very little work they might even work as Stone Age reptilians, hunting down primitive humans:

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CC

Aren't they already pretty much stone age reptilians?

I think they would make pretty cool sci-fi reptilians with their weapons cut away and laser guns or swords added. If you could add a light saber one would make a really cool jedi.

There are pictures out there of people doing some cool stuff with them like cutting them up and putting them on bases making them look like they were underwater and stuff.

I've always thought it would be neat to do one in the front rank looking down at the next base over where his tale is, or even a diorama of an empire guy or chaos knight grabbing it by the tale and it popping it's tale off and running away like some lizards do.

I have a lizard, a bearded dragon, and as much as he likes the heat they would probably make pretty cool flame thrower troops.

You mean like this guy?

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Or these?

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NVDoyle, I love those conversions!!! I must try them.

Now, here is a little something for the Pulp gamers . . .

"Now for the first time Tarzan was able to obtain a good view of the snake-men and their equally hideous mounts. The conformation of the Horibs was almost identical to man insofar as the torso and extremities were concerned. Their three-toed feet and five-toed hands were those of reptiles. The head and face resembled a snake, but pointed ears and two short horns gave a grotesque appearance that was at the same time hideous. The arms were better proportioned than the legs, which were quite shapeless. The entire body was covered with scales, although those upon the hands, feet and face were so minute as to give the impression of bare skin, a resemblance which was further emphasized by the fact that these portions of the body were a much lighter color, approximating the shiny dead whiteness of a snake's belly. They wore a single apron-like garment fashioned from a piece of very heavy hide, apparently that of some gigantic reptile. This garment was really a piece of armor, its sole purpose being, as Tarzan later learned, to cover the soft, white bellies of the Horibs. Upon the breast of each garment was a strange device—an eight-pronged cross with a circle in the center. Around his waist each Horib wore a leather belt, which supported a scabbard in which was inserted a bone knife. About each wrist and above each elbow was a band or bracelet. These completed their apparel and ornaments. In addition to his knife each Horib carried a long lance shod with bone."
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CC

Here is the comics version of the Horibs:

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This Horib toy figure looks a lot like the WH Skinks, even down to the shield style:

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CC

I like Komodons for my primitive amphibian-people better.

Or some really old-school Salamen, if you can find them.

Salamen…
Hmmm…
I have an old Grenadier (?) figure that is a salamander man… could he be one of them? Were there more?
I've always loved that figure (that whole era of Grenadier actually).

And who makes 'Komodon'?

Jeez.. them 'skinks' look just like
my Space 1889 Venusians..

DragonRune makes the Komodons:

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Lovely figures.

RAFM makes some nice Newtlings – at least I use them as RQ Newtlings. They are part of the Reptiliad line.

I have a couple sprue of 5th ed skinks and saurus. I am sure they will turn up in a GASLIGHT game pretty soon.
If I break down and get some RAFM reptiliads, it will be even more likely.

I just bought some of the Lizardmen sold by Old Glory, the fantasy line whose name I can't remember off the top of my head (especially pre-coffee). I'm painting them up right now – I'll try to remember to post some photos. Nice thing is that you get a load of them (they are in 15mm, but they are big for it – make good pygmy lizardmen for 25-28mm, probably). Another photo needed for that, I suppose.

I also have about 30-40 plastic 5th ed. skink archers, straight outta the box set, in various stages of painted (some done, some primed, some in between – you know how that goes). I have used them in VSF at both 25 and 15mm scales. They make small lizardmen for 25 and big ones for 15. Scale for non-humans is all a matter of taste as far as I am concerned.

NVDoyle, Those are really good conversions.

I have been using the GW skinks as German Venusian Askaris to fight against my buddies French Foriegn Legion in a series of VSF battles using the Soldier Companion rules.

On the same note something I would like to see produced is a set of conversion arms for the GW skinks holding either a breechloading rifle or boltaction rifle. I need 20 of them for a unit of rifle armed askaris but could use 60 for the 3 units I would like to field.

Other weapon options for Pulp use could be Skink arms holding MP40 smgs, Browing automatic rifles, Lewis guns, Ray guns, etc. any weapon an industrious evil minion might have handy.

CC I love how you are always pushing new ideas. Always on the lookout for proxies, conversions, new periods. It's great!

Cheers, Xin

Skinks plus Kroot arms make good armed lizards. The conversions nvdoyle linked too use a similar idea (but are more elegant than I could come up with). Because of the length of the Kroot rifles, I had to cut down the guns a bit, but as a whole, the Skink body + Kroot arms conversion works quite well.

CC is a mad genius. He's always giving away great ideas that I would love to have the time/talent/money to shamelessly steal.

Thanks guys! Now I'm blushing.

If you want Human-Reptile hybrids, here is an option:

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CC

Wow, Randall.

Thanks for the photos. You've got to show those Skink-Kroot conversions to the other members. Have you posted those photos anywhere for others to see?

CC

Didn't Karel Kapek the author of RUR write a novel about intellectuial amphibians called "War Against the Newts"?

There's a fair few amphibian races in SF that would suit these figures to a T.

Harry Harrison's West of Eden postulates a world without a mass-extinction. Man only exists in the new world, where they evolved from Lemurs. The Intlligent Saurians don't look like skinks at all, but there ya go.

Not a bad little series.

Pat

Good series of books – I liked them a lot.

Since CC has urged me to share my recently started Skink conversions I went ahead and created an account on Displaced Miniatures. There's not much to see yet (just three pictures of a Skink with Kroot arms), but I think the conversion has real potential. The pictures aren't great either (they're dark, but you can still get the general idea of how they look). Here's a link directly to the gallery:

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Randall,

The Kroot arm-weapon combo looks absolutely amazing. It really solves the problem of figuring out how to add a firing weapon.

I've gotta try it.

Thanks.

CC

Though I have a few old edition skinks at home, from a very generous source, another generous buddy just sent me (at my hotel room, no less) a box-full of the newer skink models.

I've got plenty of skinks to tinker with in the evenings now!

CC

Wow, that does look really nice.

Randall,

Did you have to trim the Kroot arms at all?

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It almost looks like it was a perfect fit!

CC

I didn't have to trim the Kroot arms at all (though some of the arms fit better than others--it was mostly trial and error).

They look fine from the top, but there's a slight gap on the underside (which I'll either leave b/c no one will look there anyway or will fill with putty).

Randall,

It really looks like a perfect fit! I've got to attempt the same. Thanks for the inspiration.

CC

"They look fine from the top, but there's a slight gap on the underside (which I'll either leave b/c no one will look there anyway or will fill with putty)."

Just fill it. If no one else notices, at least you'll know that you completed the transformation. :)

CC

I plan on using them for Martian Auxillary Troops…

The ones Randall does look great. For a neophyte to GW stuff, does one have to buy two boxes of stuff (Skinks and Kroot)to make these? If so, it does seem expensive.

Never pay retail. Go get them on ebay. You might be able to get your hands on one of each box for the price of a single box.

CC

Plus (soon, I hope), Neal at the Warstore will be selling GW bits (like Battlewagon Bits used to):

TMP link
TMP link

You might still need to get a box of the skinks on ebay. However, for the Kroot arms, I would contact Neal and see if they have them.

Hope this helps.

CC

CC:

Thanks. I am going to keep this in the back of my mind for future projects.

Mysterioso

Other fantasy figures turned into SF:

TMP link

CC

On another noe, I just got some Kroot in for Venusian Parrotmen. An Idea I shamelessly stole from other TMP members.

Another Venusian Parrotman force! Splendid!

(Really, really, really must get mine finished……..)

At this rate we'll be able to hold a Venusian Parrotman convention

I made about eight(out of 24 possible)near future skink cosmo-bank robbers with knives and IG rifles with the eagle filed off. Four of them had vests and bandoliers stuck on them with my hideous greenstuffing chicanery and one had a helmet I was going to turn a beloved of Sobek into their huge autocannon toting alligator-dude compadre and build them a WWI-ish APC with some crazy space guns on it.

But I got lazy.

Yeah, Skinks are pretty awesome. Sadly I got mine due to a mispack. I bought a box of Saurus and when I opened it up…SKINKS! Lots of em!

Shamelessly absconding with Randall's idea I produced the two conversions shown in the link. I have plans for a full unit or two but other things always seem to take precedence.

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I'm ordering a bunch of these to finish up my SF Skink conversions:

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CC

Guys, look at some of the artwork on this Harry Turtledove series:

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I see Skinks. But what do you think?

CC

I've got those books. The lizards in the books are similar to Iguanas in style, which the art isn't a bad representation of.

I can't check the link, but I assume its the World War II with the Lizards from Outer Space thrown in?

JWomack94,

That's the one!

Here is the summary from that link:

"The Worldwar sequence deals with an invasion by "The Race," a small reptilian people, of the Earth. The Race first sent a probe to the earth during the medieval period. Because the Race evolves much more slowly than humans, they assumed humans would progress at the same rate and showed up expecting to face medieval warriors. What the Race found when they arrived, was an Earth embroiled in World War II.

These four books detail the Race's conquest of Earth and mankind's attempts to form a coalition in the face of the danger. Turtledove tells his story through the eyes of nearly a score of characters, including Russians, Americans, Germans, Jews, British, Chinese and alien."

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The artwork on that link shows them a bit shorter than humans, but with futuristic weaponry.

CC

Or, if you can open this other link, I just saved a few of those images here . . .

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CC

Turtledove's stuff is pretty darned good.

I have alwasy appreciated the fact that he has a variety of characters and that you get a story from multiple viewpoints. I especially enjoyed the How Few Remain/Great War/American Empire/Return Engagement super series.