Dollar store dinosaurs for Kroot and Jackals!

Hold up...

...before we take even one step below, just a clarification that here 'Dollar store' means '100-yen shop' in Japan. There are hundreds of these shops around Japan, including huge operations like Daiso and other chains like Can Do and Seria. I'm not sure about other countries, so just a disclaimer I'm talking about Japan (but I'm sure much can apply more widely). 

Oh, and this is long post...

Dirt cheap Dinos

Almost every 100-yen shop that I have been into has a small toy section, and that is where today's kitbash adventure starts. In Japan, these sections are full of extremely cheap toys. Rubbery superhero figures, water pistols, balls, simple puzzles, equipment for bug hunting, dolls etc. 

For our purposes, the most important rack is the dinosaur rack! There the intrepid kitbash enthusiast will often find monopose Tyrannosaurs, Raptors, and various herbivorous dinos.

Three Daiso dinosaurs, on cutting mat.

These might be painted in whole or in part of lurid colours, BUT, but, BUT...

...the potential is there! The scale is often OK (to be ridden by a 28mm heroic figure), the rigid plastic is durable (but not too heavy), the textured skin suits drybrushing, the huge jaws and teeth are on display, and the price is RIGHT! 

Why dinosaurs?

Short answer: because they are cool.

Longer answer: because they make some cool sci-fi miniatures armies even more awesome.

Let's take two examples:

1. Kroot (Warhammer 40K) - an auxiliary faction of allies for the Tau Empire, but whom are popular as a faction themselves.

2. Jackals (OnePageRules) - a faction that Kroot models work really well for.s

Setting aside the naming conventions and rules systems, both of these factions have units perfect for using dinos as proxies (Kroot) or straight up dinosaur units (Jackals and their 'Great Beasts'). 

In fact, Kroot armies have had Knarlocs/ Great Knarlocs as part of their fiction (and as units from Forgeworld) over the years. They weren't mainstream plastic kits, so remained financially a tough choice for most players. Recently, newer plastic kits feature Kroot riding giant lizards (Kroot Lonespear) or other beasts that could be dinosaurs (Krootox). The Jackals faction in OnePageRules features 'Beast Riders', 'Beast Gunners', 'Great Beast', 'Long neck' and 'Mastodon'.

Dinosaurs really add presence to the gaming table and an army, plus they are a great conversation starter. They also pop up all over the place in media and are instantly familiar. You know what they do (eat!, roar! run!) and what they represent (primal power!)

You might think that putting these into your armies would be expensive, but kit-bashing dirt-cheap dinosaur toys is a great way to add some Jurassic - style 'swagger and roar' to your army.

The results

So here they are. Two 'Great Beasts' (as known in onepagerules) made from 100-yen shop dinosaurs, Kroot models and bits, and left-over Tau tech. Not the best painted in the world, but for a tabletop game more than good enough (IMHO).

Two Great Ones in convoy, with Kroot Hound escort.

'Veteran' Great Beast (L) and Great One (R)

Let's start with what I call the 'Veteran' Great Beast, known to his hunting pack as 'Old yellow eye'.

Photos below, but here are some things I did (which might be difficult to spot otherwise).

• Use Tau vehicle parts (antenna) on the head.
• Used Crisis suit bits to cover one eye as a scanner set.
• Replaced both arms with old metal Broadside missile pods.
• Armoured the shoulders and cybernetically - enhanced the upper legs and arms with unused Tau Hammerhead tank Ion cannon parts.
• Protected the tail with scavenged Tau should armour parts.
• Kitbashed a gun-rig with looted lascannons and magnetised burst cannon/ rail cannon options (including a second Kroot rider.)
• Three white 'Invasion stripes' drybrushed onto the tail to signify he has survived two major campaigns.

With gun rig (lascannons) behind rider.

'Old yellow eye)

Cybernetic targeting unit (replacing left eye). 
Note missile arms and upper-shoulder armour.

With lookout/ sniper (standing behind) gun rig.

White 'invasion stripes' and tail protection.

I don't know about you, but for my armies and games I always enjoy a bit of story... (skip if you like!)

...Old Yellow Eye was a rambunctious juvenile, dominating the rest of the litter as soon as she entered the world. Fiercely dominant, the others in her litter quickly learned to let her eat first. Even her handlers learned to be cautious around her, and often were the times the warriors at the campfire would laugh as they heard howls of pain coming from the pen -  a sure sign she had made a handler pay for a moment of inattention! The usual sign of a handler are the scratches and scars that festoon their limbs. Yellow Eye's handlers could be spotted by their limbs entirely missing!

Yellow Eye has proved as ferocious in battle as she is aggressive at rest. Over many years the clan has learned to trust her keen senses. A veteran of many battles and three planetary invasions, she wears three white stripes (her handlers swear she does so with pride). Her tail now has multiple armoured pads attached directly to her skin, also signifying her value to the clan (who do nothing to dispel the rumour among their Tau/D'ao allies that these come from their own troops who have 'disappeared' when straying too close...) 

Yellow Eye is now aging. As is customary, she has earned various cybernetic limb and targeting enhancements (these are rare and so only invested in the most trusted great ones). She has the strength to carry a large weapon rig if necessary - the rail cannon, lascannons, burst cannons and missiles are heavy, but do not seem to slow her down. 

Importantly (unlike juveniles) she can be still on command, providing a stable firing platform at the rear of the assault, even if the urge to bound into the enemy is strong. The clan still know where she is, as her great roar can be heard clearly over the cacophony of combat, announcing her presence, stiffening the clan's resolve, and weakening the morale of their enemies.

Double Dinosaurs

You (hopefully!) noticed another dinosaur in the photos above. This juvenile is still in training, and has not yet earned a name. 

Things to look for on this model?

Unlike Old Yellow Eye, she has 'just' two invasion stripes, no cybernetic augmentations, and only one piece of tail armour. This befits her status as being relatively young, harder to control, and occupying a different role to her elders.

Being younger, she is also mainly used as a beast of burden, carrying supplies in the convoy. Her place will usually be further back, although she can quickly make her to way to support the head of the column. In the event of the rear coming under attack she is powerful enough to support the warriors by counterattacking or can be directed to quickly lope away from the firefight while the pack reforms to hold the line.

However, every pack member is a warrior or a warrior-in-training, and a juvenile Great Beast is no different. With youth on her side she makes an energetic front-line combatant and line-breaker, using her weight to crash into (and through) the enemy front line at a weak spot. She can create a gap for her faster moving pack members to exploit or face off against large enemy units to keep them busy.

Although not as steady, experienced, or as strong as Old Yellow Eye, she is still able to carry a weapon rig. In this case the clan has created a dual burst cannon setup. As with the heavy-weapon rig for her senior, this can be controlled by another rider, or remotely controlled using the spotter lenses on top. It also has rails for supplies, backpacks and more (dried meat snacks!). See below (can you find the 'ready to eat' ribs, fresh meat etc?)

Dual cannon rig.

Spotter lenses (at top of rig) for remote control.

Dinosaurs on display

These cheap dollar-store dinos don't come with bases, so I kitbashed them in order to get these units to the table. Again heading to Daiso, I picked up some brown polymer clay from the craft section. Known as 'Nyendo' in Japan, you just need this into any shape you want and let in dry. It is perfect for basing because it is designed to be painted with acrylic paints, can be any shape you want, and is incredibly cheap to spread over a large area.

I cut a large oval base out of plasticard, shaped the clay to it (pressing in some depressions and claw shaped indents), then (after it had dried) hot-glued both pieces together (yes, believe it or not, the glue gun came from the dollar store too). 

Finally, I painted the base a different brown, added a dark wash, and then a lighter drybrush. For visual interest I buried some cork rocks (made from wine corks) that I painted up, and cheap model flowers (from Amazon) superglued around the rocks.

As you can see, it is rough and ready and not perfectly oval, but I think it does the trick.

Hope you enjoyed these 'Dollar store dinosaurs'!

Happy gaming.