Well, after finishing Goremaw the Rather Large Worm and maaging to get him posted up yesterday, I immediately got stuck onto today’s model – another Reaper Bones feature. This time, Mudgullet, the Froghemoth – also from the Reaper Bones III Kickstarter campaign. The
“Froghemoth” part seems to have become a deleteted reference now. I guess because “Frogehemoth” is apparently a real D&D thing. Something I only learned yesterday via accidently seeing one pop up on Amazon. When I saw it appear as a goal during the Kickstarter, I assumed (for some reason) that it was an original creation. More fool me to think that Reaper had any originality at all. They’re a decent company with generally nice-to-very good models and products (sticky Bones excepted), but let’s face it – pretty much everything they do is based on D&D or some other IP of someone else’s. I mean, we ran on GW for their lack of creativity and plethora of obvious pop culture references, but Reaper apparently just comb their way through the Players’ Handbooks and Monster Manuals and whatever other splat book they can get hold of…
So back to Mudgullet here – Yesterday when I discussed the fact that I’ve had three big, annoying Reaper Bones models taking up way too much space around the house, I suggested that I might be able to get another one of them finished. This is the second of those three that I was referring to and hoping I might be able to get completed – and also one of the oversize models that was destined for the next Tray anyway. Thanks once again to Ann’s Miniatures of Magnitude Challenge for May & June for giving me the impetus to actually get the damned thing finished, like, NOW. TODAY. (Actually yesterday by the time this goes up, but as I type this the PVA on the base tufts are drying alongsiode the final coat of gloss varnish.)
So when I actually saw this thing pop up in the stretch goals for the third Bones KS, my own D&D-limited mind went to different place. I thought of Warhammer’s Nurgle Plague Toads, by Forge World. Clearly, the Froghemoth model would fit in with my Daemonic Nurgle force as a gigantic daemon. A Greater Plague Toad, if you will. I’ll just find some appropriately epic Nurgle Daemon rules, and use it as a proxy in friendly games. It’s got a lot more chance of that happening than actually being used as a D&D Froghemoth! The base originally seemed to have a kind of aquatic theme, with a pile of roe behind Mudgullet. I added a few resin skulls and then painted them all in bone, so they kind of fill an ambiguous, dual purpose. Are they supposed to be skulls, or eggs? Yes.
One final point on the whole Nurgle thing. Yes, I was “lazy” by just painting it green and calling it Nurgle. If you see the real plague toad models, they’re covered in pustules, torn skin, tri-marks of Nurgle and so forth. Now, if I cared more about this model, I might have attempted to go to town with greenstuff and putty. Now, I wouldn’t have been able to do nearly as much as the amazing job Pandora’s Bitz Box did there, but even so – but – this big arse chunk of heavy, cheap, underdetailed, sticky bones PVC just doesn’t warrant that kind of time investment. Even enough to add triad-pustules. Nope, I had enough trouble fighting the tackiness of this damned thing. Even with liquid greenstuff used as a primer coat and AK Interactive’s paint-on Matte varnish on top, some of it still remains tacky. Nope. Proper care and work goes to proper models. This thing is painted, and it looks decent – I call that good enough!
So will I get the third of the giant Bones models completed in time for Ann’s Challenge? Maybe. There’s just under 5 and a half hours left of June here in Australia as I type, or I could go with another 23 or so hours for the US West Coast. I think Ann allows stuff to be finished and posted up by the 3rd of the moth for her challenges, so I just might. The painting is about 95% done, but there’s a lot of flock to add and have dry, so perhaps it’ll be done, perhaps not… Either way, it’ll also be something that qualifies for my own The Jewel of July challenge that begins in just under 5 and a half hours!
I do also have two more smaller-but-still-larger-than-an-ogre models that I may be able to finish by the 3rd that would also fit in Ann’s challenge. Wish me luck!
Azazel's Bitz Box. 
Another class name! Mudgullet! Love it! 🙂 Brilliant painting!
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Cheers, John. Fair call on that name they gave it as well. 🙂
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I am massively impressed that you finished off both Goremaw and mudgullet. I guess he really does have a problem with stickiness – mine had been stinking of Dettol for over a year now, after I had to clean the undercoat off.
I actually did use a froghemoth in a D&D game once. It’s got such a paltry movement speed, the players just backed slowly away and pelted it with spells and arrows until it went down. I believe we used a garden gnome for a miniature 😎
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I’m just happy to have the pair of them no longer taking up space on the desk in here! Of course, they’ll now have to take up space …somewhere else? I’ll have to see if I can fit them into a cabinet perhaps so they don’t take on as much dust as they would on a shelf.
The D&D encounter sounds like such an MMO-style snare-and-kite battle. Especially back in my EQ days I spent many an hour hunting over-levelled mobs with a similar tactic!
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Nicely done and he looks huge!
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Thank you TIM. It’s a pretty big froggy, that’s for sure!
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Great job on that- looks massive- an interesting design for sure too.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Thanks Pete – it’s a big bastard. I’m going to have to figure out how to actulally store these things shortly…
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Great sculpt. Nice paint work and the base is excellent.
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Thanks IRO! A good chance to use my long grass tufts!
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Wow, you’re on a roll mate – go on for the hat-trick!!
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I’ve been working on it today, and the painting is all done, bar a few details, but there’s SO much flocking to do. You could even say it’s a flocking hell of a job.
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Oh, that’s flocking awful mate 🤣
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Just did some more. It’s taking flocking forever.
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Excellent work, especially with the constant tackiness you’ve had to deal with. Hope you can finish your other large models in time, if not as you say you have your challenge running in July
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Thanks Dave. I’ve been working on the last of the three giant bones models today – just a ton of flock/PVA drying to call it finished, so it might not be finished for Ann’s challenge, but it’ll be done in the next couple of days regardless!
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I love this! ❤ I'm a sucker for big gnarly monsters, I guess. Haha 😛
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I just saw the purple goremaw and now this beautiful thing? Well done, and your productivity is through the roof.
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Awesome work, but wasn’t he in Monsters Incorporated?
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That is a great point about Reaper’s lack of creativity. I’ve never been able to identify why I don’t care for their aesthetic (and as you know, I love fantasy minis) and I think it is because they lack originality in addition to the metal bases which I hate. Setting that aside, you did a good job with what is a shockingly large and not very detailed sculpt. The Froghemeth does look comfortable alongside your other Nurgle models and I think adding the skulls to the base definitely makes him look at home in 40k so I’d say that was a savvy move but I would expect nothing less from you 🙂
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