"Tarzan and Opar's Residents in 28mm " Topic

IF you found out that a proven and highly talented sculptor and figure manufacturer was planning on making proper 28mm Oparians (according to Burroughs' Tarzan novels), what suggestions would you offer?

CC
Previous threads on Burroughs' Opar:
TMP link
TMP link
TMP link
TMP link
TMP link

Example:

Would you want the figures of the ape-like Oparian males to be open-handed, and have a weapon sprue to maximize options?

Would you want them in furs, or would you rather have them in tattered linen garments, reminescent of their former Atlantean glory (and contrasting their current savage half-ape state)?

Etc.

CC

These articles are just a refresher . . .

CC

-----------------------------------------
Opar in the Works of Burroughs:
Opar is located deep in the jungles of Africa. Portrayed as a lost colony of Atlantis in which incredible riches have been stockpiled down through the ages, the city's population exihibits sexual dimorphism caused by a combination of excessive inbreeding, cross-breeding with apes, and selective culling of offspring. Consequently, female Oparians are physically perfect, while male Oparians are beast-like brutes. The ruler and high priestess of the city is Queen La, who on her first encounter with Tarzan falls in love with him, and subsequently carries a torch for him. Tarzan, already committed to Jane Porter, spurns her advances, thus endangering his own life, as the religion of Opar condones human sacrifice. Yet he returns to the lost city time and again to replenish his personal wealth from its hoarded treasure.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opar

----------------------------------------

La is a character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's series of Tarzan novels. She first appeared in the second Tarzan novel, The Return of Tarzan (1913), and reappeared in the fifth, Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar (1916), the ninth, Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1923), and the fourteenth, Tarzan the Invincible (1930).

La is the queen and high priestess of Opar, a lost city located deep in the jungles of Africa. Opar is portrayed as a surviving colony of ancient Atlantis in which incredible riches have been stockpiled down through the ages. The city's population exihibits sexual dimorphism caused by a combination of excessive inbreeding, cross-breeding with apes, and selective culling of offspring. Consequently, female Oparians are physically perfect, while male Oparians are beast-like brutes. On her first encounter with Tarzan La falls in love with him, he being so much more physically perfect and attractive than the male Oparians. But Tarzan spurns her advances, as he is already committed to Jane Porter. This endangers his own life, as the religion of Opar condones human sacrifice, and La comes close to dedicating him to her city's "Flaming God" on a number of occasions. The two encounter each other time and again, as Tarzan keeps returning to Opar to replenish his personal wealth from its hoarded treasure.
link

Wouldn't need a weapon sprue, necessarily -- interchangeable arms would work nicely.

Furs, totally. Maximize my options. How many other games am I likely to play that involve neanderthals in Oparian robes?

Egyptian-like linen for me, as if they were a group that never made it to Egypt after Atlantis went under and so never contributed to the founding of Egyptian civilization but had the essence of it.

Any image suggestions of what the male oparians should look like?

CC

Who is the "talented sculptor"? Bob? It would be interesting to see a whole mini-range of Tarzan stuff. I'll reread the Opar book and get back on suggestions…

AX

My first suggestion to this talented sculptor would be to clear it with the Burroughs Foundation people before they start slapping expensive lawsuits on him.

Howard has it right. The ERB people are VERY protective of their property. But if you ARE approved, they're also very supportive.

CC, why not oparians in 10mm? It would be nice to have some cavemen for those marvellous Magister Militum dinosaurs…

what about the natives from Skull Island in the Toy Kong sets as an 'example' of Male Oparians???? They are a bit too large maybe…but might be good 'reference'???

Just a thought?

Sgt DWW

Linen, definitely. Arm them with clubs, spears and what have you. Open hand is not necessary.

Of course, its really the La that we are drooling in anticipation over, innit?

I made a suggestion to David Solderquist (sp) (Bronze Age Miniatures) the other day for some Sagoths and using leather tunics instead of fur loincloths. He seemed to think it was a good idea so we may see some in the future. I imagine they would also make High Priests of Opar.

Mugwump,

Any images of the 'Sagoths' you have in mind for David to make?

CC

Interesting illustration of Opar:

link

CC

>My first suggestion to this talented sculptor would be to clear it with the Burroughs Foundation people before they start slapping expensive lawsuits on him.<

Actually there would be nothing to clear. Tarzan is just one of *many* "Jungle Lords" that look pretty much the same. Ka-zar, Ki-Gor and a host of others, including a teenaged Mowgli look alike except possibly for hair color. Burroughs didn't draw a strip or illustrate a book that showed Tarzan looking like anything *specific*, he's just a guy running around in a furry loin cloth like a dozen other characters of the same type, so the situation wouldn't be the same as say "Flash Gordon" being sculpted in the exact image of the character in the Raymond strip. The same goes for the Oparian citizens. There is no specific image of them *or* La. The multitiude of artistic renditions of her looking completely different every time proves that. So as long as the sculptor and producer of a Tarzan-ish line doesn't specifically declare that the figure is Tarzan there should be no problem.

My vote would be for leather or cloth clothing, or some combination of the two for the Oparian men. They aren't "cave men", and they live in the middle of the steamy jungle, so fur doesn't really make sense to me. Remember, Tarzan didn't wear anything at all for much of the time. His loin cloth is more of a device for the Hollywood version of Tarzan and the covers of books and pulp magazines.

This is an interesting depiction:

picture

CC

Good news, from a recent thread on this topic!

Alxbates: "There'll be scantily-clad priestesses, ape-like priests, babboon-like degenerate soldiers/guards/cultists"
TMP link

CC

Looks like Matakishi might be starting up a Tarzan project too:

link

Can't wait to see how far he takes it.

CC

These are a couple of Opar book covers I had not seen before:

picture
picture

I know one of these Tarzan cartoons also had an episode or two about Opar:

link

CC

This is an interesting map, showing where Opar was in relation to other territories:

picture

CC

Joe Jusko's Opar images here:

link
link

CC

These could pass for Opar's males AND for Pellucidar Sagoths, couldn't they?

picture

CC