Cryptozoology World Update #1

 My Monster of the Week progress

Adding to the other creatures in my earlier post of "Cryptozoology World". I don't want to fight the same old Vampires and Werewolves kind of thing all the time. I also love looking up such creatures, legends, folklore and myths. A combination of books and that of the internet is my muse for my inspiration. As my book collection on such things is growing bigger, so is my imagination creating the World to which my Players/hunters will be living in and experiencing. With that said here is my latest creations

Coco: Derived from Spain and moved into many South and Central America countries. It is different version of the American Boogeyman. It is said that it comes for boys and girls that misbehave or those that refuse to go to bed at night and fall asleep. That the bad children are stuffed into a bag and taken away to never be seen again or to be devoured. To add to this fear there is a Female version as well, called "Coca". Both in the more traditional description are described as Scarecrows with pumpkins for heads. The other description is clumps of vines for their body and limbs but still again using a pumpkin for their heads. There are other descriptions that say they are shadowy figures or even cloaked figures wearing a hood. In any case it is said that the only real thing that anyone sees, is just their two glowing eyes and their large glowing mouth with very sharp teeth.

Kuntilanak: Is a similar verion of The America's "White Woman" who drowned her children. However, the Kuntilanak is from the Indonesia region of the world and is described as a pregnant woman in a white gown with long hair and long sharp fingernails. It is conceived that she was unable to give birth and died with the child within. She takes her revenge out on men for the most part. It is said that she only appears around the full moons and when a man sees her, he is her next victim. She disembowels her victims with her sharp nails and consumes their organs. Rumor is said that you can tell when she is around, when dogs begin to howl and when she is closer, they begin to whine. That is when one can hear a baby's cry and the smell of a corpse. She finds her victims from the smell of their clean laundry so one should be advised not to leave your fresh clean laundry outside on the clothesline overnight. Tales have it, that if one can drive a nail into the nape of her neck, she becomes a very beautiful woman and a good wife until the nail is removed. It is also said that driving a nail down through the top of her head will subdue her.

Nixies: Moving to the Scandinavian region (Where a good friend of mine lives with his family this is a plug for him) There is the Nixies. In this region they go by many other names depending on one's location. They are Water Spirits both in male and female form. They can be found in lakes, rivers, streams and ponds. Much like the Sirens of Greek Mythology. However, the Nixies are believed to be shapeshifters. Not only being able to take human form but other forms of animals as well. Female Nixies draw their victim to them by the beauty of their singing voice. Male Nixies draw their victim by the beautiful playing of his "Fiddle" with can cause it victims to dance their way to the water. Nixies would be willing to teach one to sing or to play instruments as beautiful as they do for a price. A sacrifice of sorts for payment. It is believed that many historically know musicians paid this price for their fame. A "Blues" player in the USA was claimed by other that this "Blues" play made a deal with "The Crossroads Demon" for his sudden alibies to play the Blues so well that became a Blues Legend. So did he make a deal with the "Crossroads Demon", or a "Nixie". Tales have that such musicians may become overwhelmed and mesmerized in their playing that it will drive them into madness. Those listening to such music are to believe to dance themselves to death unless the music is stopped, or the instrument is destroyed. Predictions of drowning are marked by a very load screaming much like the sound of a Loon, and swimmers can protect themselves by tossing a piece of steel into the water. This will drive them away. Nixies are also known to grab and drag their victims into the water to their death if their spell is not strong enough. Tales have it that by calling out the Nixie's true name it will kill them. The best way to detect a Nixie is that it seems that the hem on their clothing is always wet, however one has to touch their clothing to tell.

The Green Claw Beast; On August 14th, 1955. In Evansville, Indiana, is a report of a woman named Naomi Johnson who was wading in the waters of the Ohio River along with a female friend. When she grabbed and dragged under the water by her ankle. The creature momentary released her long enough for her to surface for a breath of air when if grabbed her yet again. Her friend along with an inner tube was able to intervene and rescue her from this creature. The creature left a Green Claw stain on her leg which could not be washed off and had to be left to fade on its own.  Shortly thereafter She reported that a couple days later a man claiming to an Air Force Colonel came to her door and told her not to ever speak of this event ever again. A week after her attack on August 21, 1955, a family in Hopkinsville Kentucky over 50 miles due south of Evansville. Had reported to have been attacked by a group of creatures which today is called "The Hopkinsville Goblins Case" or "The Kelly Green Men Case". 

The Gadajdu: Dropping down to the Mediterranean region to the islands of Malta (Where another good friend lives with his family, this is a plug for him.) There lives the legend and tales of The Gadajdu, A humanoid predator that hunts though out the caves and tunnels. living in the darkness and on the edge of areas with minimal light. Waiting to leap out onto its unexpecting prey whether it is and animal or human like a trap door spider. This was told to keep children away from the many caves in Malta or was it. Did this Myth start before or after the story with the only evidence to be found that was published in "The National Geographic" magazine back in 1940 or there about. A story about a of a group of 30 students with their teacher had gone missing. With stories shortly thereafter of the sounds of those children heard wailing and screaming under different areas of Malta long after they had been declared dead. Could it be that the government covered up that the fact that these kids could have been taken by a group of Gadajdu. Could it be the wailing and screaming were of those kids waiting their faith? Until otherwise the Gadajdu still lurk in those caves and tunnels and extreme caution should be taken whenever one gets too close to the caves.

I bring these Cryptids, Legends and Folklore all in from around the world, reason being is, living here in The United States will live with many diverse cultures across the country. So, is it possible for many of these Cryptids to have moved here with the people from their home country as they moved here as well? They could have been stowaways hiding in or among the cargo of ships coming to the new world. Or may have been manifested here in the Americas with beliefs so strong that it drew them here, out of one world and into another.

Making 15mm Armatures

Okay I am getting better at this and each time I learn a new trick. I have tried different ways to make armatures for my 15mm stuff. I found a new way to make them that is easy and quick. I learned about it on another Blog. However I'll be darn if I can remember Who it was or where it was to give them the credit. The creeping hazards of getting older.

I'm using 24 gage wire.

My first step is to make a loop  this will be the arms of the Armature and then twist it upon it self. I have to guess as to how much I will be needed to make the arms.

Next I cut a short piece of wire and  and it will be placed into the loop of  wire. As you see here on the Left.

Using a pear of flat nose pliers I hold on to the neck of the loop and the little short wire together 

I than twist all three together using my other hand. giving it three twists. As you can see here on the Right.

You can now adjust the short wire to give your armature as to about where you want the top of the head to be. and snip off the extra wire at the bottom. I know guys that part  of this even makes me cringe almost every time.

The figure for comparison is from GZG

I then give the twisted section a bit of Super Glue so that the short wire now cannot fall out or move. here you can see I have the armature ready to go mounted on a rubber stopper with a film of Scotch Tape as to prevent putties from sticking to the stopper.

It took me only a few minute to make these and to take pictures as well. 

I took me much longer the write up this article then to make those armatures. Once you get the hang of it you can make an army of these in no time. Well these guys are ready go and ready for sculpts.

Surviving in the Cryptozoology World

 I have been bitten by the history of Cryptozoology. I have been reading about all of the strange sightings from around the world of varies unknown creatures. However I have been digging deeper into the History of Cryptozoology of the United States and of North America in general. Which gives a large range of ideas as far as gaming can go.

I have been looking for a set of rules that can work for such a gaming idea. And as luck would have it I did. I found a couple of rule systems that can work. One is "Cryptoworld". Another rule system is "Monster of the Week".

 Cryptoworld. Seems to be a nice set of simple rules. There are two books the first is the core rules. The second book has a few additional rules, with a section to allow one to make and play out being one of the Cryptids. Again they are nice and simple to play with out to much problem understanding the rules. So they are easy to get younger people to understand play.  

Monster of the Week. Also has two books of rules out as well. The first book has different character types to play. However the rules only allows one of each type of character in anyone game. There are enough characters in the first book to allow for a good size party to play. There are rules for magic and spells in the game. The second book add additional characters to the game and expanse on the rules. These rules allow you to play out such shows as Supernatural, Sanctuary, Grimm and possibly  Wearhouse 13. 

In addition there are a lot of supplements and scenarios for "Monster of the Week"  at Drivethru RPG https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?keywords=monster+of+the+week&x=0&y=0&author=&artist=&pfrom=&pto= 

The next step is finding figures for Cryptos. Finding things like Vampires, Werewolves, Mummies and few other creatures in 15mm is easy, there are a lot of options out there from many manufactures of 15mm. However things like Wendigo, Bigfoot, Skunk Ape, Woods Demon to include many others there are none to found, so one has to make their your own.

I broke out the Green Stuff and away I went. Here are some of my results with some background add to each Cryptid. (The figure comparing size to sculptures is from GZG) 

Bigfoot. A large Creature seen in many areas across North America. Many think it is an escaped ape however it has been reported to be over seven feet tall and with claims of being ten feet tall! all reports state that it was walking upright on two legs. There is a report of Miners and Loggers being trapped in their cabin by groups of these creatures. Throwing large rocks and small logs at the cabins. These events lasted a couple of days.

Skunk Ape; A Creature much like a Bigfoot only slightly smaller. Has been seen in many state in the very southeastern areas of the US. Many reports are in the state of Florida, but again there are sightings in many other areas. Some of these sighting coincide with the missing of small animals like pets and small livestock such as goats, sheep, and calves.

Ape Man; A Creature seen in a many areas across North America. many reports describe the apeman to be much small version than a Bigfoot. Standing at about six feet tall. Some of these sighting as well have coincide with the missing of small animals like pets and small livestock such as goats and sheep.

Wendigo; A Creature seen across North America. Folklore say it an evil spirit that has takes over a human that has committed to cannibalism transforming them into a hideously thin creature so ravage and thin with hunger that it has chewed it's own lips off. and because of the this hunger it will never meet it's fill. It has been reported to be the blamed for many missing deep forest and back county backpackers and campers.

Goatman; There are reports of a Goatman to be half human and half goat. Unlike the mythical character Pan. The Goatman has a goat's head and face. A better description would be the head of a goat the upper body of a man and the waist and below of a goat and rather big and tall. The Goatman has been reported in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and even in Maryland. The reports of the Goatman in Maryland state that he chases vehicles with an Axe! Around Beltville Maryland area.

Pukwudgie; Native Americans legends have talked about these tiny people has to playing tricks, stealing children and starting fires with a snap of the finger. They are reported to use magic. They are known to become invisible or change themselves into half porcupine half troll creatures. For the most part they look like tiny people with large noses, big ears with grey skin. As to how dangerous they can be is legends have it, that the Pukwudgie will try to lure one to their deaths, by tricking one to come into the wood in order to push them off of cliffs or by using poison arrows. All in order to capture and control ones soul!

This is a start to my idea thus far. Now do I want to play this out as in the shows like "Supernatural" or "Sanctuary"? Or maybe something on the lines of "Wearhouse 13" where all the cursed items have turned people into all of those creatures? Or just maybe a little combination of all three. Where there can be a little of all things, Witches with some magic, and cursed items that have other curses to them rather than turning folks into creatures. Saving some creatures while having to dispatch others. As that of "Grimm", good and bad creatures/people. 

Some New Terrain Painted

 I made some Polymer Clay terrain pieces some time back and finally got around to painting some. These are just some random terrain items. However I do want to make some as points of interest later on. These are going to look really good on the Gaming Table and can be use in other genres of gaming. 

I have some other items I wish to make copies of I am waiting for some reusable molding to come in the mail in the meantime.

Here is the first one.

Using purple and white side by side to make streaks then a black wash followed by white highlights.

 

This was it before.

Next up is..

Here I did blue and purple to form streaks.

Here's the before

I have to have some pointy crystals too.

and before..

I also have to have some vegetation too..

the before...

These were all with Scuply Clay on fender washers then baked as directed, and then painted. I placed a drop of each color mentioned side by side and just let the brush make the streaks. I then painted everything else around the base, the base and rocks. Ones dry I gave everything a black wash and let dry then finished with a white highlight on the crystals and other lighter tones on everything else. I sealed everything with a brush on acrylic sealer and then coated all the crystals with Mod Podge to give them a shine to them.

All in all they came out great. They will make for some duck and cover terrain on the table or even points of interest.

  

Scooby-Doo Team

Scooby-Doo and the Gang is coming together very well. I had some conversion work to do to make them all look right for their part.

Fred, I did a head swap and added a scarf and big collar around the neck and a little extra hair.

Daphne, I had to file a bit of a groove in her hair and added a little extra more. I add some Green Stuff to make her thigh high boots to look more like pants and then gave some regulars looking boots as well.

Velma, I added glasses, shoulder bag, and skirt, I then gave her high top socks and boots

Shaggy I did a head swap added some extra hair and a goatee, I had to shave the sleeves of the arms to give shaggy his short sleeves then added some Green Stuff to finish off the sleeves  

Scooby-Doo I just had to add Green Stuff for his eyewear and added a vest with pouches 

I plan to use them with "Five Klicks from the Zone Chapter 1" rules and have them working to survive in what area they are in and to move about across the wasteland.

Meet The New Crew

 A big section of My Crew is sculpted now and has been painted.

They are waiting for their orders and to go out on high adventures.

So I tried to keep it close to uniforms of Battlestar Galactica with a couple of minor changes of that of adding epaulettes with different colors.

I had a thought of doing different colors for different ship and crew operations.

Black for Command, Red for Operations, Blue for Security, White for Medical, Purple for Science,  Orange for Communications, Brown for Technical Technicians, Green for Ship Engineering, Yellow Mechanical Services, Grey for Laboratory Technicians.

Here is My Crew

I have a few more I have already started to sculpt and a few more that I wish to do as well.