Blog The Jade Host: Mayan Lizardmen

It has been sometime since I have last been in this blog... but that being said I painted some lizardmen-adjacent models this week in the form of some warbeasts for my Gatormen army! (Privateer Press- Hordes)



Paintjob was suuuuper easy, just basecoats and a wash. Might do a matte-varnish on the turtle as he is a bit too shiny.

The Bull-Snapper gatorbeast:



The Ironback Spitter (snapping turtle with attitude):





Going through this blog again makes me want to do more terrain... so many projects!

 

These are great paint jobs @Warden

 

Seeing this picture reminds me so much of playing Tekumel: Empire of the Petal Throne. Happy memories!

 

Do you know who the artist is who sculpted the Ironback Spitter? I feel like I recognize the style.

 

Never heard of this game before; looks like it had a lot of inspiration taken from Mayan and other ancient cultural history?

I am not sure who the specific sculptor is sadly, but the company is Privateer Press, from their Hordes line.

 

The time has come!



This mini has been sitting in my pile of unpainted minis for too long, and I am going to use the Feathered Serpent friendly competition posted by @Killer Angel as inspiration to finally get this dude complete.

He was primed black and painted some sloppy ugly green prior to this, with no base and an even worse painted rider. I am starting over, so far with some blue primer and two more layers of drybrush-esque paint he is edging closer to the green I am looking for.

Only got 10 more days, and with only 3 days set aside for paint nights, time is limited!

 

The work continues... the dino's skin is nearly complete. More details are needed... but I love the color!

 

Warden, where did you get that Dilophosaurus!? (Looking great btw!)

 

I bought the 3D print from a seller on Etsy. Not sure what the seller's name was anymore, but according to my notes the model is called "Ezocamtl on Dilophosaurus." It is from Lost Kingdom Miniatures (link to their STLs) and their array of epic Lizardmen designs, a lot of it is very Mayan/Mesoamerican in style. I like their chameleon skinks too, and I have one with a bow I haven't finished painting yet either. I will probably get a few more things from their line in the future, a lot of their stuff is really tempting.

And thanks!

 

The dilophasaurus and his rider are complete!



I need to take some better pictures in the morning after I add some foilage to his base, but he is done. Need to decide on a good Mayan name for him too.

 

My entry for the April/May Feathered Serpent Competition is complete!



I have decided to name him Chan K'awiil, scar-veteran of the city state of Mutal.

I wanted to add shrubbery to his base... however all of my jungle stuff is in storage, to include my terrain collection. So no fancy backdrops today



I am happy how he turned out, way brighter than I intended.

The 3D print I received had a lot of defections, to include the dilo's teeth, the entire rider's face, and both of their neck braces and a few other spots there should be Mesoamerican-esque details present on the model. The entire spear was a terrible print too, so I added a metal rod and a leftover bit from the temple guard.

Spoiler: Dilophosar

I have decided to name his steel Hunraqan



Neck frill!

Spoiler: Rider

It was interesting taking a different approach to my past Lizardmen. The sculpt did me no favors, and neither did my lumbering painting style, but I like how he turned out.

Magnetized for easier storage!



I hope to revisit him at a future date to add better jungle plants to his base, but now he will have to be satisfied trudging through the mud.

 

It has been a few years since I have graced the dusty halls of this thread!

Been going through the 35+ pages of projects and it warms my heart to find so much good stuff here. Nowadays I spend most of my time in my other hobby blog, most recently having finished some ice dwarfs for Necromunda.

The lizards are my first home though... and its time to work on another project over the next month prior to my 10-year anniversary of joining this forum...

 

I like the sound of that!

 

Well today/yesterday depending on your time zone is 10 years for me as a member of Lustria Online!



Turns out the last month was really busy at work (in the end it went well), so instead of any new projects that I have started/completed in the Lizardmen front, instead I decided to go through my blog again and remind myself of some of my favorite projects over the last 10 years in the forum.

This is not an exact list of course, the numbers are not hard and fast, I generally placed some projects I would rank higher closer to the top but they are all big favorites of mine and could easily switch pending on how nostalgic I am on a given day, or however my hobby mood suites me.

Anyway, here are my top ten Lizardmen projects.

#10. Swimming Troglodon



One of my first really good conversions that I did using extra parts from my Carnosaur kit, and my entry for a forum contest that won 3rd place (securing me some privateer press paints that I still use to this day!).

#9. Voodoo Crocodiles



My favorite of the three-ish units of Warmachine/Hordes gatormen I put together, also my first real attempt using magnets on minis (they are magnetized with either round or square bases). Love how they turned out, and were a great inspiration for my lizardmen blitz bowl team too!

#8. Shogun of the Dragon Isles Project



Skipping over to the Art Thread and its dedicated lore thread, the Shogun of the Dragon Isles were a fantastic project that had me both making cool artwork, maps, and lore for a non-Mesoamerican setting for the Lizardmen of the Old World. Really loved this project, one that I look back upon fondly.

#7. Lizardmen Saurus Regiments





My answer for what is my favorite Warhammer miniature regiment! Also the first Warhammer units I ever put together and painted, though I didn't actually base them until years after joining the forum. While the latest generation of AOS saurus are undoubtedly superior in almost every way, there is something about this unit that still holds its place for me as the definitive saurus minis. Yay nostalgia!

#6. Lost City of Mutal- 3D map





One more step into the realm of art and lore, this 3D map was made on sketch-up and is one of my favorite projects that helped me really visualize what a Lizardmen-temple city could look like! Lots of fun putting this one together, took a lot of inspiration from both the book illustrations as well as real-world Maya pyramids!

#5. Mordheim Platforms Project







Inspired by the defunct Long Island Wargaming youtube channel, this project was forefront in my mind when I travelled down the route of building terraint in a Lizardmen-inspired style, and they are the (literal) building blocks of all my future terrain boards!


~~~continued on part 2~~~

 

~~~continued from part 1~~~

#4. Standard Bearer



Probably my favorite conversion, for both its simplicity, and its inspiration from both warhammer minis and Maya art (thought the calendar symbols used on the standard are woefully out of order!!!)

#3. Saurus Hero on Foot



Similar choice to my saurus warriors here, this Saurus Scar-veteran was the first Warhammer mini I ever purchased, right next to a single box of saurus warriors. Back when I started the faction it was a choice between this guy and the dwarfs... you can see which one I chose! One of my favorite character minis.

#2. Chicanna Temple Burial Mound Project









Huge project, spiraled out of control shortly after I started building it, and still my favorite terrain piece despite how difficult it is to store. Loved every aspect of designing, building, and painting this thing!

#1. Jungleheim Games- Mordheim in Lustria







As far as the Lizardmen go, these games and terrain setups represent the culmination of several years of world into the hobby, and represent for me what I was envisioning when I first started putting together Lizardmen minis 20+ years ago. Would never have gone this far if it wasn't for the rest of the projects on this list, nor the inspiration from folks on this forum!

Can't believe its been 10 years, here is to another 10 and many more beyond that!

 

Excellent journey. Great stuff.

 

10 years of great stuff, my friend. Very nice top 10!
Congratulations on this milestone


Grrr, !mrahil