[found items] New Old Lead

On Wednesday night last, I ventured into my FLGS to salve my plastic miniature cravings. One of the managers of the FLGS is a long-time friend (notice I didn't say "old" friend...I started counting how many years I'd known her and her husband and it was a bit depressing).

A few weeks before, we had spent some time talking about our fathers; both of us lost our dad's this past year. From our discussion, she knew I'd been having a rough time, both because of my dad and because of some other reasons/factors in my life. She also knew that I was facing a daunting miniature-painting project and was doubting myself.

When I saw her on Wednesday, she said she had something for me and took me back to the FLGS office. She said she'd been cleaning out some stuff and wanted me to have something. She handed me the following:


Yep. These are the real thing. They date back to the 1980s. Real old. Real lead.

The body of the Imperial Dragon has been assembled and pinned; the whole thing has been primed, and the underbody has a coat of yellow on it. Other than that, they're just like the day they were made. My friend tells me that she got started and then just put them away. She was going to try and sell them, but thought that she'd rather them go to a home where they'd be truly appreciated.

And I truly do appreciate them. These were made at a time where I could not only not afford them, but my parents also disapproved of the game, so there was no asking them to buy dragons for me. I was speechless when she handed them over...and I still am, to some extent. The gift really moved me. How great it is to have good friends who can stand by you and pick you up when you're down. There's no way I can repay her for this gift, as their worth goes way beyond money.



The Dragons of the Emerald Idol (Grenadier's Fantasy Lords #6001) not only comes with the dragon on the front of the box, but it also comes with two other figures. It comes with a baby dragon, captured running mid-stride (complete with cloud of dust rising from its feet) and the Emerald Idol itself (although it looks strangely more like a tiki idol than emerald. I suppose if I painted it green...).

I don't know what I did to deserve this gift or such great friends. I know however, that this has lifted my spirits a bit and I can hardly wait until I get a chance to break out the brushes and pots to slap some paint on these wee beasties.