Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Topic started by: Ethelred the Almost Ready on June 20, 2018, 02:47:00 AM
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I have struggled to find certain figures that suit my purpose/budget. My budget is a difficult thing, as there are some figures I would gladly pay more for than others
Wolfriders. I have found plenty of decent wargs (Game Zone are possibly my favourite ones available now Thunderbolt Mountain is no more), but no orc wolfriders to go with the Oathmark goblins. I may need to kitbash and use the lower half of plastic cavalry and upper half Oathmark goblin. Any other thoughts. I have looked at Mirliton (a bit cartoony), Goblin Factory (great but far too small), GW, Viking Forge/Asgard (postage is a killer, but I may be desperate enough; they are 25mm, possibly too small???).
Giant eagles - I think these would be used very infrequently, so while there are some very nice but also very expensive figures out there I would rather go with a cheap option. I have considered Schleich and Papo miniatures, but none are in a flying pose from what I can see,
A truly gigantic wolf. I have a Reaper warg, but I need something 50% to 100% bigger (thinking Carcharoth here). Although this would be a seldom used figure, I could see my way to paying a bit more for this.
A giant hound - nothing in metal from what I can see. Here I am thinking of Huan from the Silmarillion. He needs to be big enough to take on Carcharoth (see above) but doesn't need to be quite as massive.
Wingless dragon. I was thinking of going for a Reaper Bones dragon and just not attaching the wings/fill in with green stuff.
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You might look at the D&D collectibles for Eagles and Rocs - they are reasonable (or were). Also check the Pathfinder models.
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As for the Wolf Riders and Oathmark... It would be my wild guess that at one point, they will make Oathmark Wolf/Warg Riders...
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Regarding wolves: Otherworld has* 6 Goblin Wolfriders (4 on 'normal' wolves and 2 on 'dire wolves'). Both type of wolves are also available sepperatly. Both types are quite big and maybe a dire wolf might fit as your large wolf.
*Otherworld is reshaping its catalogue. Dropping a few miniatures and reassigning stock numbers, so I don't know whether the wolves are currently available - but they should be still available through various vendors.
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C'mon brought out a game blood rage that had a very large fenrir.
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Yes, I second Fenrir. Only problem, he's a kickstarter only model so probably will set you back 20-25 US$ ( at the very least ).
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Red Box Games’ Fenris is lovely, but might not be large enough for you. If it is, Otherworld Miniatures’ wolfhound models, which are tall and hefty for this breed, could possibly tick your big dog box.
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The old Ral Partha imp wolfriders are probably far too small for your purposes, but they are lovely - and very cheap, at just over a pound each. There are two sets (http://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/shop/ral-partha-fantasy-c-37/fantasy-armies-c-37_39/goblins-c-37_39_48/02093-lesser-goblin-wolf-riders-wswords-6-p-1855.html) of them (http://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/shop/ral-partha-fantasy-c-37/fantasy-armies-c-37_39/goblins-c-37_39_48/02094-lesser-goblin-wolf-riders-wbows-6-p-1856.html).
If you're waiting for Oathmark ones to come out, they might make a reasonable stop-gap. But they are tiny.
The other thing to do would be to convert the Oathmark goblins with broad stances to cavalry. One of the sets of legs would be easy to adapt, and another would just need a little cutting of the tunic (once you've removed the base. If you find suitable wolves, that should be easy enough.
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I just remember the old Leviathan Hellhounds, now available trough Scotia Grendel.
http://www.scotiagrendel.com/Products/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=221_222_44&products_id=2770
Not the best models but quite big ( and as much Oldhammer as you can get ).
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For a massive wolf try Schleich, about 10cm long
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wolf-Schleich-Wild-Life-figure-model-14741/162991556801?epid=1637622844&hash=item25f30dc8c1:g:sF4AAOSwVWFazMW5
either Schleich or Papo did a huge howling black wolf which is excellent, but I can't seem to find that at the moment. I bought one for a goblin khan to ride on.
There are loads of cheap eagles on ebay with wings outstretched if not flying. Golden eagles can be repainted successfully. Have a look at Iron Mitten's blog. He seems an expert at using cheap toys for Tolkien armies and making them look ace.
The Mithril wolfrider Salute (2008ish) giveaway seems to pop up at convention bring and buys quite frequently for a quid or 2, but if you want a direct source try East Riding Miniatures. The wolves are a bit lumpy (remind me of Tony Ackland sculpts), but the riders are ok. There's also Warrior Miniatures, which are great but quite "Labyrinth".
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I don't even know if they fit together in an acceptable way, but how about GW Wolf Rider Goblin legs paired with Oathmark Goblin torsos?
Legs and feet are probably too cartoony large though... ::)
So I think converting Oathmark Goblin legs to riding ones as suggested would be your best bet right now.
Unless you would consider using GW LotR Wolfriders (as a base) of course...
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Hobgoblin, trying out your idea. A very quick photo of a very quick hack and slash job.
An undercoated Oathmark goblin has been liberated from it's base had his legs trimmed and parts of his nether-regions chopped out then Blu-Tacked to a wolf. Looks promising
(https://image.ibb.co/mUgxs8/20180623_141602_resized.jpg)
(https://image.ibb.co/kPs3X8/20180623_141710_resized.jpg)
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The old Ral Partha imp wolfriders are probably far too small for your purposes, but they are lovely - and very cheap, at just over a pound each. There are two sets (http://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/shop/ral-partha-fantasy-c-37/fantasy-armies-c-37_39/goblins-c-37_39_48/02093-lesser-goblin-wolf-riders-wswords-6-p-1855.html) of them (http://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/shop/ral-partha-fantasy-c-37/fantasy-armies-c-37_39/goblins-c-37_39_48/02094-lesser-goblin-wolf-riders-wbows-6-p-1856.html).
If you're waiting for Oathmark ones to come out, they might make a reasonable stop-gap. But they are tiny.
I have some of those Wolf riders and was surprised to find that they was mounted on C series wolves (C 90 of I remember correctly) as mentioned they are small as they represent lesser goblins, I would mix them in a pack with some larger orcs on wargs for variety.
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I have one of those wolves as a companion for my ranger in ss and ss
I'll be adding them to my wish list from rp
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Hobgoblin, trying out your idea. A very quick photo of a very quick hack and slash job.
An undercoated Oathmark goblin has been liberated from it's base had his legs trimmed and parts of his nether-regions chopped out then Blu-Tacked to a wolf. Looks promising
Yes, looks good! I'd stick with that.
As an aside, a convention seems to have grown up in Middle Earth gaming that wargs are ridden by smaller orcs. I don't think Tolkien's writings support that: Beorn pulls Bolg down, which implies strongly that he was mounted; and the Isengarders use wargs (a straight reading of The Lord of the Rings suggests that the Isengarders are all, or mainly, Uruks). So, given that the Oathmark goblins are a good size for Uruks (or the equivalent large orcs from earlier Ages), I'd stick with them for your wolfriders.
The little Ral Partha ones are lovely, though - look what John Blanche did (http://thecitadelcollector.co.uk/zen/index.php?album=john-blanche/ral-partha&image=image-030.jpg) with them (http://thecitadelcollector.co.uk/zen/index.php?album=john-blanche/ral-partha&image=Image-055.jpg)!
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Yes, looks good! I'd stick with that.
As an aside, a convention seems to have grown up in Middle Earth gaming that wargs are ridden by smaller orcs. I don't think Tolkien's writings support that: Beorn pulls Bolg down, which implies strongly that he was mounted; and the Isengarders use wargs (a straight reading of The Lord of the Rings suggests that the Isengarders are all, or mainly, Uruks). So, given that the Oathmark goblins are a good size for Uruks (or the equivalent large orcs from earlier Ages), I'd stick with them for your wolfriders.
The little Ral Partha ones are lovely, though - look what John Blanche did (http://thecitadelcollector.co.uk/zen/index.php?album=john-blanche/ral-partha&image=image-030.jpg) with them (http://thecitadelcollector.co.uk/zen/index.php?album=john-blanche/ral-partha&image=Image-055.jpg)!
Yes, I think this seems the best option for mounted orcs/goblins. If I wait for Oathmark to come out with wolf riders I will be waiting some time.
I agree with the wargs/small orcs comment. As n orc leader I would mount the biggest orcs a wolf could carry and use them as shock cavalry. It would be a wast of savage fury to use a warg as a mount for horse wolf archers.
I did like the look of the gargantua orcs from Ral Partha, but these are a bit too GW looking and too big. Ral Partha were happy to supply just the riders (which are normally mounted on lizards).
Ensign Madcap, I forgot about that particular Schleich wolf. The pictures of it always make it look a poorly sculpted figure, but it might just be in need of a (semi-) decent paint job.
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The GW plastic LotR Goblins of Moria can be pretty easily converted to wolf riders, as they mostly have a pretty wide, bowlegged stance. Just clip off the tab under their feetsies and pop them on the wolves (and shave off any protruding dangly bits). Not a perfect solution, as they can be expensive unless you find them second hand, and they are smaller than the Oathmark figures (but that might not be as noticeable once they are mounted on wolves).
Here's an example (from many, many years ago):
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hhIE2k9sHAg/Wy7jlicmOkI/AAAAAAAACWY/tyqNspbbG5MlZ_mDYFYUZAjL0XpTu958gCLcBGAs/s320/DSC02107.JPG)
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Have a look at children's toy animals. They are deliberately large to avoid the chocking risk
if child swallows the toy. I have used eagles from the Early Learning Centre shop as the Eagles from Lord of the Rings, and the Mammoths as Mumakil. Much much cheaper than alternatives.