The idea was partly inspired by the regimental mascot unit from GW; but I've always wanted a bear in one of my armies, so when I found one that I liked, I decided to create a vignette.
The bear is (was) an unpainted plastic figure from the D&D Wrath of Ashardalon boardgame. The two figures are Perry plastics, and the chain a link of chain from a cheap necklace. The vignette is on a 60mm x 40mm base, which is the area covered by six 20mm square bases, so it can function as a unit filler too. The flag is something I made and printed myself - it isn't really "legit" since there is no reason why this unit should have a different flag from the rest of the army, or why it needs one to begin with... But I've got a colour laser printer, and one needs to run it once in a while to keep the moving parts moving...
I love bears. My Chinese name is homophonic with the Chinese word for "bear", and I consider it my totem beast (my totem bird is the white-throated kingfisher, in case you are wondering...). In my home there is an articulated wooden bear toy, a leather bear toy, coasters in the shape of bearskin rugs, and I have a few teddy bears on my bedside tables. My first soft toy was a teddy bear called Ben which I had in my bed until I was twenty-something. In my travels and soldiering I have eaten many unusual foods, but I refused to eat a bear's paw once offered to me. You get the idea.
Bear-baiting distresses me (and unfortunately that practice still exists in some countries today), so when I had the idea of this vignette I wanted to make it look like the bear was a member of the unit rather than a victim - I'm not sure I achieved that. In any case, using animals for war is a form of cruelty. While a war-bear unit is fantasy, bear-baiting was popular in medieval England, so it is also somewhat historical.
Enough moralising - here are a few more pics of the unit from different angles.
9 comments:
Great stand! Nothing bad to say about it. I'll assume your Chinese name is 雄 (hopefully the character will show up) which coincidentally is my Chinese name. Mine was given to me by my first Mandarin instructor.
Absolutely right, Sean. :)
That is a very nice bear figure I can see why you chose it. Its painted lovely and would be centre piece as a filler in my army if I gamed this type
Great addition to your army. There has always been a long traditiona of having animals associated with fighting units, mascots etc.
I think it's nice to have a personal connection with your models, adds that extra dimension.
regards,
Matt
Nice work !
Very very cool!! Makes any army stand out! You rock Arjun. Hey post it on "Coolminiornot" website ��
Heh. I'll say that it's a nice combo, but I never thought my painting is good enough for CMON. :p
the bear really looks great! esp the face, really nice expression, good job with the painting!
The chain worked out well in the end!
fg
I white-glued it so it doesn't swing. :)
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