Best Kept Secrets: Dark Fable Miniatures' "Ammut the Devourer"

Ammut the Devourer

Here is one Dark Fable's mythical beasts from Ancient Egypt: Ammut the Devourer. Sculpted by Andy Pieper, it is a combination of crocodile, lion and hippo. It is a fearsome beast! The sculpting is superb, and really captures the ferocity of the beast.
If you are like me, you might not have heard of this monster before. It was completely new to me, but I recently spotted a Savage Sword of Conan cover by Earl Norem that shows that some artists at least, are well versed on their mythical beasts!

Earl Norem cover

Proxy Figures: "Court of the Sultana" by Effincool Miniatures

Gong Beater w. Gong

Fan Bearers

Levitating Air Priestess

Bather

Cloth Dancer

Crystal Ball Juggler

Ornate Drum

Drummer

Drummer

Guard 

Guard

Guard

Sitar Player

Snake Dancer

Vizier

Water Bearer

Lounging Hetaria

Ornate Screen

Effincool Miniatures ran this Kickstarter in the Spring and are now just finishing up the last few sculpts. I thought I'd post some pics here as I think there are many figures useful as proxy figures for Tekumel Games. The gong beater and drummers, for example. I think I can find uses for all, in fact!

Late backers can still get in on the action via Backerkit.

I think there are 5-8 figures and accessories left to be done, and the Backerkit will be locked after that. Delivery in the Spring sometime, assuming no hiccups.

There is already talk of a "Part 2"...

The Zombie Quadrille

A selection of Cthulhu statuettes 

from the Zombie Quadrille.

Here is the first selection - purchased a few months ago now - of resin statuettes sculpted by Joe Broers of the Zombie Quadrille. As you might have guessed from the figure posed at the base of the R'yleh Tower, I do not intend to use these works of art for their original purpose. Instead they will populate a ruined cityscape, specifically the ruins of Ngála. I've already placed another order for more. A rather lot more...

Muhahaha!!!

The Battalions of the Seal of the Worm

From the collection of Mike Lung

The Battalions of the Seal of the Worm on the march across country. The figures are DAD 3d prints, some of which Mike has converted. The Hma are converted Llamas from Wargames Foundry's excellent Aztec range. 

Another source of Llamas are the old Mega Miniatures Llamas, which are currently found at Forlorn Hope Games, IIRC. The Foundry versions are larger. I use them as Hma, and the Mega Miniatures versions as Hmelu. 

The Ebon Kingdom Day Sale!

As this Friday is Ebon Kingdom Day, the great King Griggatsétsa has decreed that the Tekumel Project offer an additional 10% off in-stock items to Tekumel Club members. The sale runs until Midnight Monday, Nov 27th.

Salarvyáni Proxy Figures: The Legion of the Mace of Steel

From the collection of Mike Lung.

One of the challenges of wargaming on Tekumel is finding suitable figures. Inevitably one has to use proxy figures but these can be hard to source as well. It's often hard to get the right look. Black Tree Design's fantasy Saracens are pretty good as Salarvyáni proxy figures though, as can be seen in the pictures above, representing the Legion of the Mace of Steel. The Salarvyáni group their forces into composite units much like the Yan Koryani, so they might have heavy infantry, archers, light infantry in the same legion. Note that they don't actually call the force a legion, but that is a good english equivalent. 

The Salarvyáni national colour is black - Salarvyá is known as the Ebon Kingdom.  Salarvyáni males favour beards as well so the tendency is to make bearded proxy figures Salarvyáni; that doesn't mean bearded figures cannot be from other nations, just that many of the other empires tend to be more clean shaven. It should be noted that Baron Ald, a native of Saá Alláqi, wears a beard and some of the Tekumel Project Yán Koryáni have beards and/or mustaches. Our Tsolyáni are generally clean shaven, however.

Íto Clan House Guards

FA0608 - Vardulak Knights III

The Íto Clan have been called the "Liche Lords of the Chákas" because of their long service to Sárku, Lord of Worms. I have slowly been building up forces for various factions throughout the land, and the recent sale at Black Tree Design encouraged me to try these figures. In the past I have looked at these figures but turned up my nose at the outrageous armour. But lately l've had a change of heart:

1) Whereas Tekumel has a hot climate, some units are stated to wear heavy armour, even articulated plate armour in rare instances. (Keep in mind also that most armour is typically chlen-hide rather than metal).

2) The armour on these figures is grotesque and outlandish - "baroque", might be a good word also. But this is fine; as House Guards, they should be set apart from other troops. My thinking is that these are archaic armour styles, kept in service for centuries, if not millenia. Traditions die hard in the Chákas! 

3) Given that these are Íto Clan the chances are pretty good that the wearers are as old as their armour! Do the undead notice the heat? (I think not). :-)

My plan is to use a paint scheme of copper, warm grays, browns and black.

DAD (David Allan Design) - Coming Soon!

Coming Soon!

Some of you may have seen the 3D Printed Tekumel designs that David has been posting on the Tekumel Yahoogroup for a few years now. They are something he has been doing for his own amusement and in a scale that suits his gaming preferences. Now he has agreed to make them available in 28mm scale so that they are compatible with the Tekumel Project metal miniatures. 

His range is comprehensive and in many ways complements the Tekumel Project range. He has, for example, Hlutrgu drummers that fit quite well with our existing Hlutrgu. 

As with all processes, there are limitations. His Pachi Lei are superb IMO but I find his Ssu less good as the prints do not capture the texture of the skin. His Hokun are also quite good but he does not print in clear plastic. I am exploring getting these printed elsewhere. His range is quite extensive and is being added to continuously. And it is not limited to creatures! Boats - variations of my Khmer galleys and war canoes (see my Lohwand blog for details) - and a fast growing range architectural details. 

Dark Fable's "Legend of Cleopatra" Indiegogo Campaign

Cleopatra and maid servants

Prince of Egypt, Priestess of Isis, Nomarch

Caracals

Queen of the Black Coast

Mehen (The Snake Game): Eunuch guard playing learned baboon

Dark Fable's latest Indiegogo Campaign, "The Legend of Cleopatra", is in full swing with less than a month to go. This is the 5th expansion (IIRC) to this excellent range. All the figures are useful as proxies for Tekumel. I especially like the Caracals, the Mehen game set, and who can resist the Queen of the Black Coast?

Needless to say I am backing this one, just as I have backed all the others. :-)

Inspiration for Tékumel - 1000+ Followers!

Just topped 1000 Followers on my "Inspiration for Tékumel" boards on Pinterest. Yay! See the appropriate sideboard in the righthand margin of this page. Now, if only 100% of them were interested in Tékumel, think of that!

I should also note that I recently watched a program that suggested that "followers", "likes", etc are how the Social Media companies get us hooked on their virtual acid. Something to be aware of! :-0

My latest Pinterest board is for colour palettes that I think will be useful in coming up with painting schemes for my Tékumel miniatures.