Kroq-Gar riding a Carnosaur

Kroq-Gar, the Last Defender of Xhotl is an ancient Saurus Oldblood, last of the Saurus warriors from the ruined temple-city of Xhotl.

This model was on display at Warhammer World.

Kroq-Gar riding a Carnosaur

First spawned in the city of Xhotl with only a handful of other Saurus, all of which were marked by the god and had a inherent ability to dominate the beasts and monsters of the jungle. Kroq-Gar himself claimed the most aggressive Carnosaur of a brood reared when he was spawned.

Invading the land of the Lizardmen

The land of the Lizardmen is invaded by the Empire of Men. Tilean or Estalian Conquistadors attack a Slann temple, trying to free a captive.

Invading the land of the Lizardmen
Invading the land of the Lizardmen

This beautiful diorama was part of the displays at Warhammer World and is quite old, from the 1990s I think.

More photographs of the diorama from an earlier trip to Warhammer World.

 

Space Lizards

One of my biggest disappointments with Warhammer 40000 is the lack of space lizardmen. Back when the game was launched, we had space orcs (as in orks) space elves (eldar) and even dwarves (squats). However despite the fact that there were fantasy lizards in Warhammer, there were no space lizards in the same way as the other fantasy races. 

Everytime I see a model like the Saurus Scar-Veteran on Carnosaur at Warhammer World I think how would that look in the WH40K universe. 

We know that the Slann came from space, so where are the Space Saurus? 

Across other games and literature we have seen space lizards.

The Harry Turtledove Worldwar in the Balance series of books had small lizards, the Race, arrive in starships in December 1941 and invade the earth in May 1942. However their equipment is more akin to 1990s Earth technology rather than anything more futuristic, despite the face they travel between the stars.

In the world of Space 1889, though there were no lizards on Mars in 1889, there were some on Venus.

I did once consider converting some Skinks and Saurus warriors that came in the fifth edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle that came out in 1996. However I realised I didn’t have many spare 40K style guns and that idea was left on the workbench. Writing this I now realise that there are quite a few third party stockists of 40K style weaponry that I could use, so if I can find the plastic sprues in the garage maybe I can have a go at that idea.

In the February issue of Wargames Illustrated however there was an advert from Wargames Atlantic about a forthcoming release of Fantasy Lizardmen. However there are options to arm them with muskets or auto-rifles (AK47 style weapons).

This hard plastic box set allows you to field up to 24 Lizardmen with options to arm them with sword and spear, fantasy and British muskets, or auto-rifles. There are four unique head types for all bodies in the set so that you have options to use these figures for fantasy, Victorian Science Fiction, or straight science fiction Lizardmen.

So you could use the musket armed lizardmen in the world of Space 1889 for games on Venus.

The auto gun armed lizardmen could be used as alien invaders, as in the  Worldwar in the Balance series, but they may be a little too big, as the Race is described as smaller than humans, but it’s science fiction, so why not. As for rules, well what about Bolt Action?

I think I might get a box and see what I can do with them. In the meantime I think I will dig out my old plastic Saurus warriors.

Old School Lizardmen

With the recent release of the new Lizardmen Army Book I mentioned in a previous post that I had a Lizardmen Warhammer Army in the 1980s. These were (skinny) metal miniatures that were released in a boxed set. Really nice models if I remember rightly, no idea where they are now.

For rules I used the ones from Forces of Fantasy.

Lizardmen 1983

Forces of Fantasy was the first published supplement to the Warhammer rules system, it was published in 1983.

My main army intiially with Warhammer were Dwarves and then Orcs.

How to Paint Citadel Miniatures: Lizardmen

How to Paint Citadel Miniatures: Lizardmen
Games Workshop have released one of their digital guides to painting their miniatures, this time on painting the newly released Lizardmen.

Brightly coloured scales, tarnished golden weapons and yellowed claws are all distinctive visuals of the Lizardmen army. From the markings denoting specific spawnings to the icons of the ancient Slann cities, each Lizardmen force has a unique appearance.

How to Paint Citadel Miniatures: Lizardmen

This product contains eleven painting guides for a wide variety of Lizardmen Citadel Miniatures, including, Slann, Kroxigor, Skinks, Saurus Warriors and Temple Guard, allowing you to create an impressive looking army.

How to Paint Citadel Miniatures: Lizardmen

The Lizardmen Army Book

Lizardmen Army Book
Games Workshop have released, as is becoming the norm now, a digital version of their Warhammer Army Book for the Lizardmen.

The Lizardmen army book has all the content of the hardback edition, plus all the features you’ve come to expect from our iPad Editions. Quick-links embedded throughout the book make it a convenient aid to gaming. There’s an interactive miniatures gallery showing off the Lizardmen range, including 360 rotating images of its monsters and character models. Warhammer: Lizardmen will also be automatically updated with any new additions or amendments to the rules including new FAQ’s.

I’ve always liked the lizardmen concept, and I actually had a small lizardman army when I played the first edition of Warhammer back in the 1980s.

Saurus and Slann

A wonderful unit of Saurus Warriors with a Slann leading them.

Saurus Warriors

Part of the ‘Eavy Metal Lizardmen Army on display at Warhammer World.