Making some Stirges!

My two most recent projects are a result of me finding a box of Romex in my garage.  I used it for a home improvement project years ago and have been toting it around.  When I saw it, I thought, "What can I make with that?" and I decided on Tarrahook Bats!

That project is going well.  I have two more under construction.  When I get all three made, I'll commence to painting!  :)

On Saturday I decided to take a nap and when I did, I had an idea for how I could make some stirges.

The ones you can buy from WoTC are expensive!  Seriously?  Almost $10 for a single 1 HD creature that is going to show up in hordes!!!  No thanks!

So here's the plan.  I'll make a base with a small group of wires on it --

I bent the wires at a right angle.  The wires will be the proboscis of the stirge.  I thought that small groups of stirges (in this case 3 per base) would be better than singles because these things are small and attack in packs!

Next I needed to create wings!

I could make them out of putty, but they probably wouldn't be regular in size and shape.  I thought that "leaves" would be a good substitute.  I found some aquarium foliage that I thought would fit the bill.

Now, admittedly, my stirges are going to have a different aesthetic than the "new stirge."

I do like the "four wings" thing, but my stirges will always be bloated, round things -- kinda like flying ticks --

So, here are my DIY stirges (unpainted.)  I'm planning to make a set of 5.  Then I'll get down to the painting...

I may try to make them a little smaller, but heck, they look OK as is.