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Irresistible fellows, these. Shaggy, bulky bodies like a ROBOT MONSTER or a moa; long, bendy necks; beaks somewhere in the hornbill-flamingo-shoebill-Skeksis-vulture range. From CP miniatures. They came in 3 packs: Soldiers (4 riflebirds plus a squad leader), Diplomats (3), and Auxiliaries (3 riflebirds with hats). The skin color scheme was based on blue, red, and yellow boobies; the beaks were inspired by a number of large birds. I added some headgear for fun and in homage to the dandelion-headed Looney Tunes "Instant Martians." I get the idea they are of a highly organized bureaucratic culture with expansionist tendencies, unlike the tribal Venerian Amazons (Hydra Valkeeri). The Hydra Imperials, below, are also from an expansionist imperial culture, but the Terror Birds are less centralized and more impersonal in their cruelty. They get around. Seen here with Hydra's Slishans, who have little culture and almost no technology but DO know from mineral resources. And seen here engaged in diplomatic negotiations with the highly-cultured Andromedans/Neirans. Both species have a great appreciation for the arts and for manipulation. You wouldn't call either culture "decadent," because of the railguns, but 'Baroque' might be appropriate. Notice that the Bombshell Neirans are towering statuesque specimens. Vavoom to a point that makes the Venerians look puny. Trade talks with a chieftain of the Mole People from Sirius B. and theological disputation with an Exalted Proselyte of the Yoggs. The Brain Squids are an esoteric lot and require a delicate touch.] A disputed claim of precious nuclear resources on the border of the Robot Hegemony. The Robots are prohibited by First Law to harm humans, but your beaky bois here do NOT qualify. A Martian delegation, bearing the wisdom of aeons of progress and aeons of rust. A culture this antique requires more than one specialist. The Krodox are one of the few spacefaring species to outmass a Terror Bird, They are willing to trade ceramic goods for new and exotic meats, and respect bigness in a fellow-sentient. Humans are not known for their bigness, but are slippery customers. Tricksters and clever dodgers. Lastly, a diplomatic summit with representatives from most sentient, spacefaring species. As always, C&C welcome! What do you think their alien avian civilization is like?

A recent haul of great space aliens. I am very stoked about the avians from CP Miniatures. They combine retro menace with retro goofiness; the sort of monster that could be played by a puppeteer in a modified ape suit. On the other hand, very large birds are scary! Emus won a war with Australians, and Australians toy with crocodiles and spiders! Cassowaries are lethal, flamingos can survive in hellish conditions, and we all know hornbills are some kind of Skeksis biding their time. Diversity is important, so their skin colors will be patterned after the noble booby: some red, some blue, some yellow. The shaggy feathers, I'm thinking dark with shiny metallic highlights; not quite gorilla-suit black but subdued in comparison to the necks and hands. I'm also going to give them some funny headgear, doubtless inspired by both Marvin the Martian and the tufts of the Instant Martian minions. What's giving me grief is the beaks. Should I do more flamingo Toucan Vulture Hornbill or other? Oh, also looking forward to these fellas:

Female Owlfolk Fighter by Stonehaven Miniatures Finished this commission the other day. Part commission part engagement gift for one of the ladies that I play D&D with. She was so stink'n excited to get it. :) This is the tabletop quality {Tt}, quick paint job done in a couple of hours. Hope you enjoy! I used reaper brush on sealer before taking the photo's. I will not do that again. I don't like the shine it gave off. Made it look odd.

So just finished this one this evening, getting the grass glued on to the base. I think this one looks better in person than it does in the photo just because of how the photo actually came out, but I've been whining a lot about my photography lately, so it's probably just me. Anyway, tried to keep kind of a cool but basic color palette, ended up imitating the Estonian flag quite a lot. This one is from the same series as the other elf I just finished, sculpted by Tom Meier, in the eighties at some point, need to look at the base to check. Anyhow, enjoy!