More frugal gaming!

The early days of Warhammer 40,000 were characterised by a more "anything goes" attitude in which fantasy, sci-fi and wargaming tropes were gleefully blended to produce a setting equal parts brutal and goofy. Examples of this mixture that haven't survived into the present version include these Imperial Guard minotaurs (images swiped from the Collecting Citadel Miniatures wiki).

I love that the top one is carrying the stock heavy bolter of the era -- it also turns up in the Space Ork set -- and that the bottom one has las-horns. 

(There were also both minotaur and trolls in Epic, which seems bizarre because there was no corresponding fantasy version for them to be repurposed from.)

Today,  rarities like the Rogue Trader minotaur go for high prices on the secondary market. There are also modern third-party versions like this very cool sci-fi minotaur sculpted by Diego "Obscure Creator" Serrate.

(Image swiped from Roebeast's Magical House of Sunshine.

Click the link for ordering info.)

As for me, however, I have gone the el cheapo route. Browsing my local pound shop,  as I do, I saw a pack of "Huntik" figures including this Megataur.

Most of the models were not in a useful scale,  though some may still end up being repurposed. But the megataur had potential.

I cleaned him up a bit with the old x-acto, stuck a surplus Ork gun on him, sprayed on a coat of black primer and painted him in a style that hearkens back to my older method: heavy black lining and soft, fuzzy highlights. I think of it as my Fleischer Brothers look. I was actually very happy with the way the horns fade slowly from a darker brown at the roots to almost pure white at the points, but it isn't really visible in the photo. 

Anyway, here he is, with an RT marine and Gretchin for scale. He could have used a little more detailing and maybe something to make the horns pop, he isn't the equal of some of those lovely models -- he looks like a toy, which is what he is -- and he's a little bit on the huge side, but for a quid he'll make a fine Chaos Ogryn henchman for a baddie in a future game.