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Howdi, so maybe two years ago my kids gave me a load of goblins (Kev Adams sculpts I believe) from CP Models...of course I may have given the odd hint or two. ;D
https://www.checkpointminiatures.co.uk/product-category/28mm-ranges/28mm-fantasy/goblin-hood/
Da Plan
To build a warband of around 30 minis for my Classic Wargame rules. I haven't written a force list yet as I'm not fixating on that too much, I just want to focus on what I want to chuck in the mix. I've already built and undercoated the first unit of 5 goblin swordsmen and will slapping some paint on them this week. My aim is to fully build and paint the force by the end of the year but that's unlikely to happen lol Before that though I'm going to aim for a smaller 150pt force...only 17 minis, so I should be able to get the finished by the end of the year...hopefully...
One reason the project has taken a while to get started is cos I wasn't sure on the paint scheme but after a mini brain wave I cam up with this little number...
(https://i.imgur.com/VYhCxfi.jpeg)
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Now the painting is under way I've come up with a few notes on my goblins.
I've decided to call them the Bramble Foot Gang. I will write up a little fluff piece but basically they make and trade bramble wine, which is particularly popular with the leaders of a nearby settlement of dwarven weaponsmiths. The goblins are based in the ruins of a dwarfen watchtower which they have rebuilt as best they can. I think the only reason the dwarfs haven't driven them out is due to the love of their wine and the fact that they can't make it as well themselves.
The goblins purpleish clothing comes from the brambles which they use as a dye. The goblins have come under the greedy gaze of some humans and orcs who have attacked in the past and so they are not averse to hiring some dwarfs to lend some much needed, if a little erratic, firepower. There will also be a troll...cos why not.
So heres the build plan...
0-2 Commanders
- Big Boss & 4 Bodyguards
- Witch & 3 Archers
0-4 Squads
- Boss & 4 Spearmen
- Boss & 4 Swordsmen
- Boss & 4 Archers
- Herder & 3 Runt Broods (Who doesn't like child soldiers...?)
0-2 Support
- Dwarf Bazooka & Crew
- Dwarf Swivel Gun & Crew
- Herder & Troll
Obviously I can only use 2 of my support choices but this gives me options.
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Love the back story - the colour conjures up the name very well.
Trolls are well known for wandering all over the table - could it be in influence of the wine I wonder???
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Good idea on the brambles - remember dyeing casually results in a variety of shades - sometimes on the same garment ;-)
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Thanks guys.
@AndrewBeasley - Could be...oddly I never actually considered that o_o Hmm...might have to steal that idea though.
@Moriarty - Luckily my painting covers that all the time lol
It's taken almost a month but I finally finished my first unit. Fortunately / Unfortunately my hours at work increased this month so my hobby time has really dried up...I hardly seem to have half an hour to meself now, doh. Anyway...
(https://i.imgur.com/W6qWDyd.jpeg)
I think these guys look pretty good in their fancy (for goblins) duds. I ended up having two attempts at the shields, I wasn't really sure what to do with them so kinda made it up as I went along the first time. I'm not fully happy with them now but they are better.
Now I've finally got some paint on them I love the character of these minis and I really like how they aren't dripping with detail. There are a couple of spots where either the casting is a bit dodgy or the original sculpts are. I believe the heads were sculpted by Kev while the bodies were sculpted by someone else.
I've also written a bit of fluff for the Bramble Foot Gang and am currently working on a map too.
Next up will be the spearmen unit...got to build them first...
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That colour scheme really works.
Are you going to leave them glossy (classic toy look) or go over them with a matte spray?
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Thanks. Believe it or not thats a matt of varnish. I'm not sure if Vallejo changed their recipe or if they do different types of matt varnish but I'm not overly happy with it. I used to use matt spray but found it sometimes left a chalky-cloudy look so switched to paint on varnishes.
I think I will have to try and sort it out as it is bugging me.
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I switched to AK interactive varnish and havn't looked back
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Did you give the varnish a really good shake/mix? Typically matte varnish is just gloss varnish with a flattening agent added. The flattening stuff tends to settle at the bottom of the pot.
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@Kikuchiyo - Thanks, have just ordered some so will give it a bash.
@Byrthnoth - I did indeed. I just checked and the small bottles I used to use were acrylic matt varnish I believe whereas the bigger bottles are polyurethane...I assume that's the problem. Have checked a few reviews and the AK Ultra Matte Varnish seems the way to go. I found this image very telling... https://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer/comments/zekqrx/the_difference_a_new_decent_matte_varnish_left/
I finished my map and a wee bit of fluff...
(https://i.imgur.com/TIMcPyZ.jpeg)
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Interesting fluff :)
Reads like it's the humans and elves being the bad guys with dwarves and goblins being the heroic folk.
Would love to see a purple troll...
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Cheers.
A purple troll you say...I think I can mange that...
(https://i.imgur.com/7RlKzon.jpg)
Though this fellow is for my HeroQuest games. For the bramble Foot Gang I was thinking of going with a different colour to make him stand out from the rest but I'm not sure what yet...
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Oh, I like this idea. Many years ago, when the grandchildren were younger, I created the goblin warband of Oryd Enreh and his purple hand gang based on a popular cartoon and book character.
I remember collecting brambles as a youngster and coming home with purple/crimson fingers.
The bramble berries were our food,
The water was our wine,
And the linnet in the self same bush,
Came after us to dine.
And grow it in the woods sae green,
Or grow it on the brae,
We like to meet the bramble bush,
Where’er our footsteps gae.
Alexander Mackenzie, Historical Tales and Legends of the Highlands (1878)
See https://weewhitehoose.co.uk/garden/folklore-of-the-bramble/ (https://weewhitehoose.co.uk/garden/folklore-of-the-bramble/) for even more uses and possible trade opportunities.
For the Troll, maybe paint the beast in a pale stoney grey/brown with Bramble stained tattoos. Then stain his/her hands with bramble juice and dribbles from (too much) bramble wine on face and clothing.
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Thats cool man. Nice idea for the troll colours I may well pinch it.
It's taken a while but the next unit is done but first the big boss...
(https://i.imgur.com/qFluZNa.jpeg)
Here's that second unit, this time spearmen...
(https://i.imgur.com/UZG4OuB.jpeg)
And finally a group shot of the warband so far...
(https://i.imgur.com/ObcdnX1.jpeg)
My lighting is naff so the colours are a bit bleached but you get the idea. I can definitely say the new varnish is sooo much better than before.
Only a unit of 5 bows and some dwarf allies to go for a small warband to game with. I'm going to take a brief break for December as I have one of those Mantic advent calendars to work through. But, I will be back 8)
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They look really cool, how tall are they I'm tempted to get some hooded fellowship for my current retro project and its a toss up between these and the ones warbases offer
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Those look fantastic, so much character. Really remind me of 80s fantasy cartoons in the good way!
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@ Kikuchiyo - Thanks. I've just measured them and they are 18mm to eye and 20mm to the top of the head (excluding the base).
@ Neldoreth - Cheers. Yeah their character is what drew them to me.
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I spent several years collecting/painting humanoid figures per Gary Gygax's descriptions listed in his 1977 1e AD&D Monster Manual. I bought some 1/72 scale Caesar Goblins as they sized up to the right figure size, against a 25mm Human figure. Long story short, here are some of them (https://photos.app.goo.gl/zRfUrQxwVxAgjhsg9), painted brick red, riding Prince August Fantasy Mold Wolves (the PA Goblin Wolf Riders failed to cast properly, so this was a happy compromise). These are a part of my Goblin Army of around 230 figures: multiple Infantry poses; Wolf Riders; Red Box 1/72 scale Goblins on Wargs (technically, they are Orcs, but I painted them as Goblins; the Wargs are a bit small, but I don't care); and some Molotov Cocktail chuckers riding Giant Bats (https://photos.app.goo.gl/HbpjhzTHQpxsYiyCA) (Caesar Goblins, Safari Ltc. Fruit Bat toys).
I considered painting some of my Goblins yellow, or orange, the other two colors Gary described them as having, but I wanted to keep the Red Goblins as a mass of troops, so they all got the same color scheme. They are used in my 2e BattleSystem mass battles games. Cheers!
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Really lovely work you did here! Looking forward to see how it evolves :)
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Thanks Mikai.
***Just realised I posted this in the wrong plog so moving it across now (should have been posted here on 10th Jan...doh!
Archers...nock!
(https://i.imgur.com/UcWLRON.jpeg)
A small group of goblin bowmen ready to defend their brambles. And here's a peak at whats coming next, some worthy allies...
(https://i.imgur.com/irBcVQj.jpeg)
Next up is the finished Bazooka!
(https://i.imgur.com/UPOiSJL.jpeg)
These minis were great fun to paint, characterful and detailed but not overly so. When I was painting them I kinda assumed the loader is actually the boss of the team as he has the fancy face plate...maybe he built the bazooka and gets his apprentice to fire the thing; after all he wants to be well back if it misfires! I look forward to see them in action.
And here is the warband so far...
(https://i.imgur.com/YW0A2gB.jpeg)
I've still got more minis to add but there'll be another break as I take part in the BSC 2025 building a shuttle for my Protectorate Troopers (from my Classic Wargame thread).
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Man those Chaos Dwarfs are really nice miniatures and your goblins are looking great.
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Thanks Luigi, I have another Chaos Dwarf team to add plus some other classic GW minis.
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Now my BSC2025 build is done and my pic has been submitted it's time to go back to Classic Wargame and my goblins. But changes are afoot.
So, while doing my build various ideas have been bouncing around my head for CW and I've decided to refocus on models acting independently in the game, which has the knock on effect of changing the force selection process and so my plans for the Bramble Foot Gang.
This means my plan for the warband has changed and now things look like this...or will do once the rest is painted...
- Big Boss (Hero) Sword, spear, shield and he's Blessed (Light Field)
- Boss (Veteran) Sword & shield
- Boss (Veteran) Bow
- Shaman (Seer) Staff (2 handed weapon) and 2 powers (not sure which ones yet)
- 8 Warriors 4 with Spears & shield, 4 with swords & shields
- 4 Archers
- 6 Runts (Snotlings based individually)
- Troll
- Cart This is for scenario & terrain
- Dwarf Bazooka Team
- Dwarf Weapon Team
Part of this is that I've decided to change the mini I'm using for the big boss as I was never really happy with him; the dude wielding the sword and spear is gunna be the leader now...maybe they had a 'civil war' and he won. Anyway, I've decided he's going to have a light protective field as the gang consider him to be lucky; he survived being hit by a stray rocket from the bazooka...of course the Dwarf crew say it was just a dud, but what do they know?
I think the first thing I need to do is rewrite a couple of small force lists to try out the changes then I can decide what I want to paint up next...possibly the shaman or the runts as I want to save the troll and the second dwarf weapon team till last...though I'm not sure if they'll be before the cart or the Bramble Foot Gang's 'castle'.
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My slightly blinged up goblin veteran has now been elevated to Boglit the Blessed, Lord of the Bramble Foot Gang!
(https://i.imgur.com/2G9F510.jpeg)
And here is their small 150pt warband of followers, just part of the awesome power at Boglit's disposal...
(https://i.imgur.com/0FQKz9o.jpeg)
I've already started basing up the Runts (Snotlings) so will hopefully be painting them up soon as Boglit's ranks swell.
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"So, where did the old big boss go?", asked the dwarven merchant.
"He is now at a better place.", said Boglit the Blessed, rubbing his belly.
Looking forward for what you will come up next :)
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Looking good!
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Thanks chaps.
It's been a while as I've been busy at work and with the BSC2025 but I finally made some progress on my gobbos...
(https://i.imgur.com/eRnigoR.jpeg)
Sorry for the crap photo but it was a bugger to get the camera to focus on them all and my hobby time is limited at the moment.
Some goblin runts, as no settlement would be complete without them running about. I had originally intended to have 3 of these to a base like I did for my HeroQuest games but in the end I thought these sculpts were just too fun not to base individually. I managed to find some small 20mm bases and they work a treat.
Now I am hoping to get some games in at some point with my gobbos as I've been tweaking the Classic Wargame rules but I realised I don't have enough terrain so I am soon(ish) hoping to get some rocky hills built...
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Nicely painted. Love the humor in these sculpts. Great figures.
For hills, are you planning to use insulation foam? Loads of videos on YouTube for how to make hills using foam. Looking forward to seeing your posts on your terrain-making efforts. Cheers!
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Nice work! I have some of those metal snotlings/runts/mini-goblins that I got in a lot off of ebay years ago- never figured out if they were old GW sculpts or wargames foundry or something else. You make them look good!
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Thanks chaps, very kind especially with my naff photography.
@SgtSlag - Yes indeed, I'll be going with foam as I have in the past. Unfortunately, I'm rarely happy for long with what I make. As I'm sticking with the 60x60cm (2'x2') board and I want my rocky hills to pull double duty for sci-fi & fantasy that means I need to make sure at least one or two are big enough to take a building...though I don't have any sci-fi buildings I'm happy with so am playing with ideas for them too at the same time o_o
@Frugalmax - Thankies. They are indeed old GW, I managed to track them down on the Stuff of Legends catalogues.