BROADSWORD MINIATURES

Sunday, 14 April 2019

BONEYMALONEANS

To Prehammer and Oldhammer aficionado's, it's well known the GW Elf look stems from early pre GW figures, which were in turn based on the art of Rodney Matthews. I think the first Matthewsesque style elves released were Minifigs Aureola Rococo High Elves and Tunnel Elves, but Dragontooth also released some similar elves with tall helmets.

To me Rodney Matthews is everything that defines my early fantasy wargaming years.My bedroom walls were plastered with his posters and cut up calendars (as well as pictures of Kate Bush) , and I owned many LP'S featuring his cover art. Nowadays I only have a couple of of RM'S posters signed and framed in the attic, but a number of figures based on his work.

Here we have a force of  Boneymaloneans, a law unto themselves, fighting for whoever can serves their ends the most, and then betraying them more often than not.




The heater shields work a lot better on the figure "upside down".

I rather like the large dragonspears in the front rank. The archers carry bone bows.

The Three Witch Brothers

The cavalry mounts are clearly based on The People of the Pines by Matthews. The riders in the painting are more like the Minifigs Tunnel Elves, of which I have a goodly number which need repainting.


There are 2 horse variants. The one on the left is quite fragile and I suspect Minifigs changed the horse barding to make the casting sturdier.

Here we have Eric of Boneymaloney on his trusty dragon. Almost a direct copy of The Dragon Lord





Below is a different Dragon Lord on a smaller dragon.




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15 comments:

  1. Maudlin Jack Tar14 April 2019 at 12:51

    Fabulous looking army! Nice to see old Paleface Elric. Like you I was a big fan of Rodney Matthews, and Kate Bush!

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    1. Springinsfeld14 April 2019 at 17:27

      Yes, the latter was better looking, but the RM posters filled a lot of wall space.

      Delete
  2. Phil Curran14 April 2019 at 14:17

    I'd forgotten all about Rodney Matthews.

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    1. Springinsfeld14 April 2019 at 17:28

      Hi Phil... he is still selling posters, but they cost a bit more nowadays.

      Delete
  3. tradgardmastare14 April 2019 at 17:43

    Fantastic to see these chaps en masse. Still have the Elric poster somewhere under the eaves in a cupboard.

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    Replies
    1. Springinsfeld14 April 2019 at 17:46

      Oooh, get it framed and pop on a Hawkwind album.

      Delete
  4. Mouse14 April 2019 at 22:30

    Shazam! Congratulations on a beautiful collection! I don't think I've ever seen the Elric figure before. He made me think of the Matthews painting right away. Great stuff!

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    1. Springinsfeld15 April 2019 at 06:51

      Thanks Mouse.Those heady days of blatant plagiarism. There are 3 different dragon lords by Minifigs and 2 dragons.

      Delete
  5. majormike6 May 2019 at 23:36

    Jings great stuff! A real treat to see such lovely old school figures en masse. The colours are exceptionally other wordly.

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    1. Springinsfeld7 May 2019 at 06:16

      I tried to use a Mattewsesque pallet, and also when I had these figures back in the early 80's I painted them all blue and silver, so I guess this scheme was a nod to the original paint job.

      Delete
  6. Goblin Lee18 May 2019 at 19:22

    Wow, these are fantastic!
    I adore Rodney Matthews art, and the Minifigs Aureola Rococo are a lovely range so linked to the art. You have done an excellent job on these and they are a real pleasure to look at, thank you.

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    1. Springinsfeld18 May 2019 at 21:08

      Thanks Lee, glad you like them. I hope to revamp my tunnel elves soon, and then do some more RM type goblins.

      Delete
  7. majormike17 June 2020 at 20:11

    I was going to buy a couple of units of these wee crackers but I couldn't justify the price just now. I think I have moaned about this before but I do think new cast old school figs are quite expensive.

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    1. Springinsfeld18 June 2020 at 06:53

      Yes, I'm afraid Caliver Books make you pay through the nose for everything and the current day castings can be a bit duff. I ordered some pig face orcs a while back and they arrived with more flash than figure. Other seemingly overpriced figures are Essex and Irregular, although in other aspects they provide an excellent service so I'm not grumbling about them.

      Delete
  8. majormike18 June 2020 at 20:33

    I noticed that about the Essex figures pricey even though they are constantly reduced.

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