Alternative Tomb Lord Miniatures
Far to the south of the known world, there lies an ocean of sand, where the bonechilling nights give way to the blistering heat of an unforgiving sun. It is the land of a warlike nomad people, where water is more precious than gold. And yet, is the thirst for gold that drives men to enter this harsh desert. For many, their sunbleached bones are all that remains of their brief passage. Most of the time, if the nomad warriors don't get them, than the desert will, but it is not there that lies the greatest danger.
Long ago this land whitnessed the birth of an ancient civilisation of men, that thrived for thousands of years. Under the reign of the Pharoahs, their kingdom was a rich one, their art and culture reached heights that were unheard of before. It should have been enough to satisfy any man's desires. It should have been, but it was not...
The pharoahs grew more and more obsessed with their death. They brought thousands of slaves from neighbouring nations to build huge tombs. In these tombs, many traps were built to discourage graverobbers, for not only were the kings of this land joined in death by hundreds of slaves, they were also burried with great treasures to fulfill all their needs in the next life. But the manmade traps are not the only danger that lurks in these ancient pyramids. The sorcerers of this land were very skilled with all kinds of magic, including the necromantic arts and they made sure that their masters would not be disturbed in their final resting place.
Now, that ancient civilisation is long gone and the pyamids are all that is left to testify of their grandeur. Bold adventurers sometimes go in search of those legendary tombs. But they should always beware, for while their builders may have returned to dust centuries ago, the magic that surrounds these places is still strong. May the gods have mercy on the poor soul that awakens the curse of the pharoahs...
1. Crocodile Games
This is the manufacturer of the game "Wargods of Ægyptus". Each
player collects and paints his own army, The Children of the Gods --
mortals made in the image of the proud gods of Ægyptus... Anubis, Bast,
Horus, Set, Ptah, Khanum, Sebek, Thoth, Isis and Osiris. Aside from
miniatures representing warriors from different ancient Egyptian Gods,
there is also an undead army.
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They're mostly mummies so far. While most of them were clearly human when they were alive, there are also some representing other races of Æguptus. There's even a - somewhat odd - undead sphinx. But don't limit your frothing to the undead models, take a look around, there are many miniatures in the range that could find a place in your army, including some excellent chariots (you can replace the crews if you want).
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They also make a wide variety of metal shields (17 different ones!) that are available separately. Furthermore, they produce some nice scenery to decorate your battelfield.
2. Reaper Miniatures
Reaper's "Dark Heaven" line is famous for undead characters. While
some are sitting on the fence between the gothic and the egyptian theme,
others are just the thing you've come here looking for. They also make a
giant scorpion and a scarab swarm. And don't forget their newer "Warlord"
range either.
As you can see from the pictures, the models in the "Dark Heaven" line come with solid bases, so some extra attention will have to be paid to rebasing. The "Warlord" models have slotted bases.
3. Fenryll Miniatures
This French manufacturer of resin miniatures offers a (small)
handfull of suitable models. Take note that the resin is somewhat fragile.
There may be lots of flash, but that is easily removed. The models come
with solid square bases. Due to the softness of the material, rebasing
will be easy, if you should desire to do so.
4. Rackham
You all know the manufacturer of Confrontation miniatures, so I
won't bother introducing them.
The most appropriate model for our purpose is the amazing "Sophet Drahas", on his throne. The throne in itself, although impressive, is not very much in theme, but Sophet himself is clearly a Mummy Lord.
5. Eureka Miniatures
This is the Australian manufacturer of a wide variety of minis, including
some mummies, egyptian skeletons, Bast and Anubis warriors. Interesting
option is that you can suggest a mini you'd like them to make and if enough
people are interested they'll make it. I haven't seen any of their models
in the flesh yet, so comments will be limited. The models come with slotted
bases.
"In addition to the anubis warriors, eureka has some egyptian themed cat (bast?) warriors too somewhere" - fatgoblin
6. Fortress
Miniatures
This manufacturer of resine miniatures seems to have
switched to pewter. The miniatures are not of the highest standard, but
offer some affordable alternatives for some of the more pricy stuff. Only
Mummies.
http://www.fortressfigures.com
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7. Black Tree
This company, which used to be called Icon miniatures (and before that
harlequin miniatures), has a couple of mummies in the "Harlequin Fantasy"
and "Fantasy armies" ranges. You may also want to take a look at some
of their skeletons and catapult at All
Things Bony .There
are 8 different mummy models, spread over 4 packs, surprisingly sold without
doubles. They use plastic slotted bases in the standard sizes. It may
also be worth to take a look at their historical Ancient
Egyptian Chariots
for conversions.
http://www.black-tree-design.com
8. Jeff Valent
Studios
This company brings us some nice Egyptian Dwarves,
including dwarf mummies. Something for our vertically challenged frother
friends.
9. Amazon Miniatures
Now, normally, I'm not too keen on the Amazon models, but for Egyptian
themed undead they offer a decent enough Anubis conversion kit for plastic
and metal skeletons. The kit contains an Anubis head, wrap around loin
cloth, khopesh sword, and coffin shield, they have a variant that comes
with an Egyptian standard. Other available models include a sarcophagus
with removable lid and some (not so great) Anubis warriors.
http://www.amazonminiatures.com
10. Grim Reaper
Castings
This is an older manufacturer and it shows. They still
offer a few suitable models: a decent enough looking mummy, one that looks
rather dated and a giant snake that you may find some use for.
You
will have to (re)base these models, but that shouldn't be so difficult.
http://www.grimreapercasting.com
11. West Wind
Productions
In their "Gothic Horror" line, you'll find a rnage
called "The Mummy". Aside from some archaeologists, graverobbers and other
minions, this range naturally has some mummies.
http://www.westwindproductions.co.uk
12. RAFM
This
is one of the older manufacturers of fantasy and historical miniatures and
as such it has expanded into many regions of the fantasy realms. A small
word of advice though, while many of the RAFM miniatures are of a good to
very high quality (crisp details, little flash or moldlines), some of the
older ones are a bit below standard. Rebasing will be required as they
come with solid bases, real solid.
13. The Foundry
The famous manufacturer of fantasy and historical miniatures. They
did one mummy a while back as a limited edition free giveaway, which
unfortunately is no longer available, but it does appear on eBay now and
then.
http://www.wargamesfoundry.com
You may also want to check out their Ancient Egyptian Chariots for conversion purposes, but be warned that they will be smaller than your fantasy miniatures.
14. Ral Partha
Ral Partha used to do some nice mummies. The old Ral Partha lines are
now being distributed by Ral Partha Europe and Ironwind Metals (in the
US).
http://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk
http://ironwindmetals.com
15. Merrimack
Offers a pack of 6 mummies in their science fiction range. Basing
required.
http://www.jandtminiatures.com
"Not necessarily the best sculpts you've ever seen, but certainly an animated bunch" - Rob
16. Copplestone
Castings
Until recently this sculptor offered a pack of "bad
things" horror miniatures, including a mummy, but unfortunately it would
seem that this was discontinued. Maybe he will sculpt some new ones later
in one of his other ranges.
http://www.gisby.org/copplestone.htm
Naturally, lots of old fashioned rank & file skeletons can easily be integrated in your Egyptian themed undead armies, especially if you arm them with appropriate shields. For the skeleton showcase, go to All Things Bony.
Don't forget to look at the Tombs of the Pharoahs Scenery Showcase for some cool stuff to embellish your gaming table.
More undead allies can be found in the All Things Bloody (vampires) and All Things Rotten (zombies) showcases.
If you feel that I left out a company that should be listed or if you represent a company that was left out or whose products didn't get the credit and appreciation they deserve, feel free to contact me on the FU-UK! Froth Forums or directly by clicking here.
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