by Brian Rempel

Hydra Miniatures was kind enough to send along some of the figures from its Prehistoric-themed miniature series of 30mm Primal Dawn miniatures for review, one Ugg (Saurian) spearman, and two Vardu (Plantmen) sprouts. Both sets of miniatures came in individually packed and clearly labeled plastic baggies.

Ugg Spearman

The Ugg spearman is, along with the Vardu Sprouts, one of the first offerings from the Hydra Miniatures Primal Dawn range of Prehistoric Pulp/Fantasy miniatures. It retails in a pack of five miniatures for $14.50 US. It comes as a one piece white metal cast with a thin integral base. The figure is humanoid and somewhat resembles a bipedal triceratops (although my dinosaur identification skills are admittedly quite weak). The figure is holding a spear in both hands and it has its knees bent as if about to lunge forward to attack with its spear, or braced to receive an attack. This makes the figure slightly static in its pose; there is not a great deal of movement implied.

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The figure I received for review was almost completely devoid of flash. There were only the faintest of mould lines on the figure, which were generally hidden well in places such as the inside of the legs. The only mould line that was more visible went down the middle of the forehead plate, although this was removed with only slight filing. Being a one-piece cast, there was no assembly necessary, so it took almost no time to prepare the miniature for painting.

This is a relatively simple figure. It is a naked dino-man carrying a spear, and nothing extraneous has been added to that concept. One thing that did strike me as slightly odd is this spearman is wearing no clothing, but does not appear to have any genitals whatsoever between its legs. The scales and plates are well sculpted, and serve to break up the large open spaces without being an overwhelming amount of extraneous detail to paint. The musculature on the figure is also well sculpted, and the combination of musculature and bony plates provide an excellent surface for a painter to go into as much or as little effort highlighting as they wish. This is a figure that will look good on the tabletop with only a basic paintjob, but would also allow an advanced painter to really make the figure pop.

This looks like the beginning of an interesting range of dinomen. The sculpting is well suited to any level of painting ability, and the one piece cast means that no assembly is required. This figure would fit well in any prehistoric or fantasy/science fiction prehistoric setting. I think it would be interesting to mix a tribe of the dinomen, as more arrive, with the other Hydra miniatures range, the Retro Raygun Galacteers, as opponents on a jungle planet. At $14.50 US for a pack of five miniatures, this seems to be a well priced pack of miniatures that would let one build up a prehistoric tribe of dinomen relatively quickly and cheaply. I am excited by the prospect of further Ugg miniatures to round out the range and introduce some variety to the tribe.

Pros

• Casting is crisp and clean
• Well sculpted and proportioned
• Easy to paint
• Reasonable price

Cons

• Static pose
• Integral base a potential detriment for some gamers

Vardu Sprouts

The Vardu Sprouts are the other two miniatures I received for review. They are also from the 30mm line of Primal Dawn prehistoric miniatures. A pack of eight Vardu Sprouts retails for $13.50 US from Hydra miniatures. The Vardu are a different line from the Ugg, and appear to be a Plantmen inspired fantastic race.

Click to enlarge

The miniatures I received for review are single piece castings that were also virtually devoid of flash. The one or two pieces of flash were easily removed simply with my fingers, it was not even necessary to snip or file the flash away. The casting was exceptionally crisp, and the mould lines were extremely faint. The mould lines that were present were found in places such as the inside of the leg, which were not particularly visible. This placement does make it harder to access the lines with a file, but conversely, makes them nearly invisible since they are in such a hidden area. Overall, the figures are very well cast, and the sculptor and mould maker have done an excellent job of making these figures easy to work with and paint, and nicely detailed.

The two figures have a three lidded “head” or “mouth” that is reminiscent of a Venus fly trap. One of the two figures has the mouth closed, and the other has the mouth wide open as if about to strike or bite. Both of them have a body that appears to be made of wood, with wrapped vines coming together to form limbs. Both figures have arms that are raised above their heads and their legs planted approximately shoulder width apart on an integral base.

This is a figure that seems like it would look good with either a very basic paintjob or a more complex paintjob with many layers of shading and highlighting. There are many well defined crevices that would take very well to ink washes or to drybrushing on the body and the limbs. The head itself seems like it would look quite good with a strong, bright colour to act as a contrast to the green that would likely be used to colour the vine-like limbs.

The pose on both figures is interesting, and I am not sure what to make of it. I think that the fact that both arms are raised on both figures is something that will either work for a particular person, or will be a large turn-off for others. Personally, I see this as visually linking this race of plant men more closely with trees, and I also like to envision the raised arms as a sign that the Sprout is preparing to strike at something right in front of it. The Sprout with the open mouth in particular has an aggressive and menacing feeling to it.

This seems like a figure that would have uses in any prehistoric or fantasy game. They would also work well for any sort of Sci-Fi game that takes place on a jungle planet. The Sprouts certainly seem like they would fit seamlessly into any sort of setting in which carnivorous plants represent a danger for the player’s intrepid adventurers. The Sprouts are short (19 mm from the bottom of the integral base to the tip of the head), but I can’t imagine scale being a large problem with fantastic figures such as these. As plants, they can be slightly bigger or smaller than other humanoid figures without having this detract from the overall look of the table. One thing that I note is that the small size of the miniatures combined with the word “Sprout” in the name implies that these may be the young or immature version of a larger plantman to come. I am intrigued by this possibility, as I am very impressed with the Sprout figures.

Finally, at $13.50 US for a pack of eight Sprouts, these miniatures offer a very good value.

Pros

• Casting is crisp and clean
• Well sculpted and proportioned
• Easy to paint
• Very good price

Cons

• Integral base a potential detriment for some gamers