Saturday 27 June 2015

Asgard Fantasy Monsters FM24v2 Silent Shambler

And next from the Lead Mountain... something. To be honest I don't know exactly what this is supposed to be - the Asgard catalogue simply lists it as a Silent Shambler, but there is no information anywhere on what a Silent Shambler actually is or does. I suppose it shambles around... silently. Asgard figures tend to fall into two categories - good or bad - and I think this is one of the good ones. It's still coarse, especially compared to modern sculpts, but what I really like about this figure is the pose - it gives the impression of something long and lanky ambling around. Whilst the face isn't finely detailed, I think the teeth do help to give it an expression of malevolence. And it has real presence - just look at it next to that unwary Elf!

My best guess is that a Silent Shambler is some kind of stealth predator, perhaps a form of ape or lemur that dwells in forests and marshes, moving silently before leaping upon unwary adventurers - certainly the long limbs would suggest it is some kind of tree dweller. The name suggests that it is blends well with its surroundings, hence the choice of colours for the paint job - light brown for the fur (that incidentally is sculpted almost like tree bark... hmmm) and then a dark wash, followed by dry brushing. The face is simply picked out with an undead skin tone, with a suitable wash and then dry brushing, whilst the eyes were kept as a solid red block for contrast. The base is just standard flock.

I was really pleased with this figure, considering how old it is - I can see this getting a decent amount of table top time!

4 comments:

  1. Has a definite Dr. Seuss vibe! :)

    Allan.

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    1. You know, I hadn't noticed that before, but now that you mention it...!

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  2. he certainly has a characterful appeal to him, I have an original copy of the AD&D Monster Manual and he doesn't appear to be in it, so it's intriguing where the sculptor got the insperation for him......

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    1. I know, it's a very odd figure. Originally I thought it was Asgard's take on a Shambling Mound but the sculpt suggests something far more humanoid - which how it is going to be used, as a silent forest predator.

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