Reaper Bones 77523 C'thulhu Shrine

"It represented a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind. This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence, and squatted evilly on a rectangular block or pedestal covered with undecipherable characters. The tips of the wings touched the back edge of the block, the seat occupied the centre, whilst the long, curved claws of the doubled-up, crouching hind legs gripped the front edge and extended a quarter of the way down toward the bottom of the pedestal. The cephalopod head was bent forward, so that the ends of the facial feelers brushed the backs of huge fore paws which clasped the croucher’s elevated knees."

- "The Call of Cthulhu" - H.P. Lovecraft

Barbarian mercenaries back on guard duty. (28mm scale Reaper Miniatures figures provided for comparison.)

I purchased this figure at the same time as the Reaper Bones 77525 Great Obelisk of C'thulhu.

Compared to the Great Obelisk, this figure is closer to the description of the "grotesque, repulsive, and apparently very ancient stone statuette" of Cthulhu in most aspects except for its size. The figure in the story was "between seven and eight inches in height" and light enough to be "passed slowly from man to man for close and careful study" even though it was made of stone. At 28mm scale, this figure would stand taller than a human and weigh in at over a thousand pounds.

Rear three quarters view.

Like the Great Obelisk of C'thulhu, this figure uses the newer grey plastic rather than the white Bones material. I painted this figure at the same time as the Great Obelisk, mostly using the same techniques. The differences are noted below.

Assembly
The figure comes in two parts - the main body and the wings. The wing section has a tab that fits neatly into a slot between the shoulders of the main body. It is possible to put the wings on upside down! I checked the Reaper Miniatures website and other sources to make sure that I was assembling the figure correctly.

Basing
I used a 40mm round plastic base rather than a 50mm base.

Miskatonic University's interstellar expeditions department is at it again. Just don't read any inscriptions aloud, folks.

The Shrine is more detailed and more faithful to the descriptions in Lovecraft's original stories than the Great Obelisk. On the other hand, the Great Obelisk is still clearly inspired by Lovecraft and is more massive and imposing on the table than the Shrine. Getting both is a viable option - neither is particularly expensive, with the Shrine at $3.99 USD and the Great Obelisk at $4.99 USD.

Somebody read an inscription aloud.

I'm planning on using the two figures in different contexts. The Great Obelisk is big enough to make an impression on its own. It could be the centerpiece of a big fight with a group of cultists. Alternately, it could turn up in the ruins the player characters are exploring, indicating a connection with Cthulhu worship. The Shrine might work better as part of a bigger whole. Maybe as the centerpiece of a temple dedicated to Cthulhu, sharing the table with other cosmic horror inspired terrain.