You Are Attacked By An...Umber Flayer? Mind Hulk?

Every now and then, a reader or fellow eBayer will ask me to identify some random hunk of lead. I'm always happy to oblige, and I like to think that most of the time I can help ID the mini in question. Sometimes, of course, I get stumped. This time, however, I was pleased to be able to determine the genetic makeup of this abomination, shared with us courtesy of Prestigen.

 "You are one UGLY motherf..."

As soon as I looked at the picture, I knew it was the Tomb of Spells Umber Hulk from Grenadier. At least the main body, that is. I had to sit and look at the head for a couple of minutes, and then the light bulb floating above my head fizzled to life and I realized it was not a head, but a creature! Specifically, the Octopoid Alien Trooper from Heritage's Galacta 25 line. Fortunately for any potential victims, the laser has been neatly cut away. Some extra tissue/muscle has been added to the torso and arms.

Shake that tail!

You can see that a tail has been added and some bulk added to the arms, along with the area where the head was grafted on. Overall, it makes for a pretty imposing and fearsome foe. To me, it has more of a slimy, loathsome Call of Cthulhu look to it, but perhaps the creator was thinking more like "I need a mind flayer that can tunnel through solid rock." Either way, it's neat to see the end result of someone's imagination.

Look ma, they followed me home. Can I keep them?

And for reference, the obligatory group shot. That's Grenadier's Umberbulk (Fantasy Lords 135) on the left and Ral Partha's AD&D Umber Hulk (11-404) on the right. Presitgen tells me he intends to keep this critter intact, which is what I would do as well. With any luck, Prestigen is a DM (sorry, any GM is a DM by default to me) and will be able to trot out this bad boy on his players. Nothing induces panic like a creature that is not readily identifiable by the players! Thanks again to Prestigen for sharing his pics.