Thar Be Dragons!

Rummaging through my various boxes of stored rp gear I uncovered a long forgotten treasure, still in its box, the sellotape keeping it sealed browned and brittle.  It was a Great Spined Dragon.  Now a rare beast indeed, and still unassembled.

Carefully opening the box, I was greeted with a mass of yellow polystyrene disks, and nestled amongst them were all the component parts of the great beastie itself.
For purposes of the photograph I've placed the parts together in a balancing act, lying the dragon on its side, minus the right hindquarters and leg.  The coin you see in the bottom left corner is a 20p piece to give an idea of scale.

 Citadel also provided a template for the dragon's wing membranes.  So upon assembling you can have the wings looking as elegant, ancient or tattered as you liked.

But for me, the best detail belonged to that of the dragon's head; a beautiful piece of modelling. 

I think what had put me off putting this beast together and giving it 'life' was the sheer terror of cocking it up and ruining a fantastic dragon model.  Something on this scale cannot go unmounted - to do this model justice I have always thought it had to take pride of place upon a fantasy diorama.  Hence this poor dragon lying in slumber for the past twenty one years (I think?).  Even now I feel I could not do it justice.

When I think back to day I was given this as a present from my then girlfriend, I can fully appreciate the thought that went into its selection, not to mention the cost of it back in 1985/86, which was £15.00 - a hefty amount to splash out on a model of a dragon.  I do recall being totally embarrassed by the price of it (I think the most I had ever paid for a boxed figure had been £5, and that decision wasn't an easy one to make either - money has never found its way to me easily in life, and still doesn't, more's the pity), and overwhelmed by my girlfriend's kind generosity.

So, maybe one day, when I feel it is time to breathe life into this ancient slumbering friend of mine, I shall do the grand beast justice and ensure it stands majestically on a setting worthy of its heritage.

... and 'thank you', Jane for the dragon gift, where ever you are.