"Old Thread Of Someone Using Plastic Jellyfish?" Topic

I seem to remember a wargame table photo or photos of someone who was using jellyfish for either plants or as alien invaders of some sort.

Does anyone know what thread that might have been?

Thanks.

CC
TMP link

I remember a post somewhere about an Aeronef game using plastic jellyfish for aerial creatures ala Conan Doyle.

Not that I have been able to find plastic jellyfish….

Search for plastic sharks or animals online, the places that sell those stock most of the museum critters including jellies.

"I remember a post somewhere about an Aeronef game using plastic jellyfish for aerial creatures ala Conan Doyle."

So that's what it was?

Interesting. I have easy access to jellies and was wondering what I could use them for if I got hold of them.

I would love to find that thread, though, to see what the table looked like.

Thanks.

CC

Whenever I find myself on the coast, I always hit a souvenir joint or three and pick up several handfuls of plastic sealife in various scales. Comes in handy for constructing Seafood Monsters and suchlike; tentacles, claws and pedipalps -- you can't go wrong!

I got a bunch of glow in the dark jellyfish from the plastic-toy-animals-by-the-pound bin at Michaels. Mount them on some clear plexi rods and you've got a flotilla of monsters guaranteed to liven up any Pulp or VSF table or RPG.

Uh, CC. I know that guy (cough) fairly well (cough, cough).

My name for them was Araneae muscipula, more commonly called the Klendathu Bug Trap. It is a natural enemy of the Warrior Bug, found commonly in patches of fast-growing plants and fungus that the Bugs used for their main food source. Of course it is a mistake to think that the Bugs eat humans for sustenance because of course there is the logic that what did they do before finding out about humanity? The "brain sucking thing" is just their way of interrogation and nothing more . It is we who trespassed upon them in the beginning, after all.

I designed them to be used as what I call Hazardous Terrain, as you'll no doubt make the connection to a common subject we both seem to be exploring of late . You no doubt had this tugging at your subconscious just like me suggesting a new pod design subject that I realised after suggesting it to you that you had already broached that subject just awhile back. Heh. BTW, Hazzardous Terrain is yet another title that I could call any grouping of nasty and somewhat immobile items that could garnish a tabletop.

If you want to look at my very first (of seventeen) articles that were published in Signs & Portents Wargamer, try issue #26. Another easy method is to "google" araneae muscipula. It should be the second item listed. Or perhaps I could stop being a lasy arse and give you a link to the PDF download-

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I didn't paint the figures that I kitbashed because they flex a lot and I didn't know how to properly paint them. I'd think the best answer there would be to find out what latex or other paint that holloween masks are finished with as that should be one method. They are kitbashed and not used as I bought them as I needed the arms to be as ground-hugging root-like feelers. What I did was to cut the model in two and reverse the pieces. This placed the main arms pointing upwards with the bell used as a base. I lit some of them up by using small LED jewelry. They are non-mobile but have to be approached by the Bugs as they graze. I took the concept of "recycling" from Soylent Green and said that the Bugs understand that the giant fly-traps are necessary in providing soil nutrients that allow the plants and fungus to thrive. Perfect recycling, lol. The traps eat a few Bugs, which provide nutrients so that the fungus and plant stock grows so that the Bugs can eat…

Here are a few stock shots, as well-

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Illumisar, Michaels is exactly where I sourced these. I don't think that they are glow-in-the-dark, but rather an eerily translucent pink.

Oh, right, the pelagic jellyfish. I kept one of those upside down on my register at the store for years, at least when it wasn't being used as xenoflora on the gaming tables. Amazing how few people recognized it as a jellyfish when inverted…

DCP,

YOU were the one????

Thanks for re-posting those photos!

CC

Yup, twas me. Someday when I find what those hollywood mask makers use for touching up their latex products, I'll maybe repaint my models. Pink shouldn't be a color choice for either Xeno-plants or submarine hulls, but then there was that movie "Operation Pettycoat" wasn't there?

Could they be stained, I wonder, to bring out the detail further?

CC

DCP,

Mine are the oogley translucent pink ones as well. Try sitting one of those guys under a desk lamp for a minute and then turn out the lights. I've got mine mounted on a shelf here in the office and they do in fact glow when I shut off the lights in here. Really adds a bit of, well, disturbing ambiance to the place.

And great pics! Thanks.

Hm. I didn't know Michaels sold plastic critters by the pound. Going to have to look into that…

They are made by "Wild Safari" and can be found cheaply online. Here's a source:

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I think I have seen them as low as $2.50.

Illumisar, I've never tried that. Sooo, they are glow-in-the-dark… interesting! Heck, and I went to all that work to build in lighting for them. Go figure. At least I can game them lit with the lights on, then have the dimmer turn down (sun setting) and get that bonus too. Cool.

Could they be stained, I wonder, to bring out the detail further?

CC, that might work but I've hit on trying something that has actually been around me for over 25 years. It's my primary choice for figures- Cel Vinyl. It's a vinyl acrylic paint and should flex a bit for my purpose. I'll add a watered down artist ink wash over that, as I do with my figures. It's funny that I've had these for like three years and now that I'm finding out that they glow in the dark I'm painting them over…

It's funny about memory loss, as you can forget that you have any. The more that I have been thinking about doing my jellyfish "mod" today, I now remember that when turning off the lights in my store (years ago) that the models had a slight glow. It was cool. I think that since they've aged a bit, they might not do that anymore. Anyway, I'm painting them over tonight for a test.

I think that since they've aged a bit, they might not do that anymore.

You might be surprised. Mine still glows, and it's nearly a decade old now.

Well as mine are mostly painted now, they'll be sure to glow less.

Wow, I've have a bunch of these that I use for Giant Moinster Rampage. I had no idea that they glowed in the dark. Cool! Thanks for the information.

Here are three of my Bug Traps, repainted. I didn't realise just how good these would take paint. Of course, they haven't abused on a games table yet.

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The one that is lighted makes good use of the new paint, making it appear that you can see into its guts. Just maybe those troopers can see what is inside…

When I made these, I think I did three of them lighted and a bunch of additional ones unlighted. You'll notice that these jellyfish models have been cut in half and re-glued in reverse order. Normally in a sea environment, the bell is on the top and the arms are pointing down. By dropping the bell to the surface, the tendrils act as ground roots/feelers. I'm using them as peripheral sensors and organic tasers. The tri-arm cluster reaches over and entangles the prey, positioning it for the beak to begin its work.