Some miniatures for Song of Blades and Heroes (Rust Monster face reveal)

[Vladimir Raukov]

Lovely orcses! Sure wouldn't want to meet them on a dark night! 

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks!

Here are some more orcs - this time kitbashed for Kings of War (and possibly Impetus, if that game, as I suspect, is relatively forgiving about minor variations in frontages). These are mainly EM4 plastics with bits and bobs from all over the place. Work has allowed little time for painting recently, but there's always time for a coffee-break kitbash!

[Daeothar]

I sold off a bag of 50 of each sculpt of these shortly after COVID in a cleaning spree. I rationalized this by telling myself that 50 of exactly the same poses would just not look good on the tabletop, let alone 150 of 'em.

And then you come along and make me regret the above...

That's some outstanding kitbashing and looks like it was fun to do too!

Can't wait to see them painted

[Pattus Magnus]

Great job on kitbashing them, they look excellent! The old ex-Grenadier plastics are a lot more versatile than they seem.

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks, both!

Yes, they offer a good foundation given their classic, bow-legged orcish pose and the ease with which their arms and heads can be detached. I've now got enough for the first unit: a 'troop' in Kings of War. After trying out the Ambush variant at the weekend, I think troops as the building blocks of units is the way to go with cavalry and infantry - easier to paint on the base too!

[Doug ex-em4]

Having been involved with the production of those figures since their initial introduction by Grenadier and their subsequent career at em4, I’ve seen hundreds of conversions and these are some of the best. Great work;

I’m pleased to see them still providing pleasure even though I’m no longer involved.

Doug

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks, Doug! They really are a joy to convert. I'm planning to create at least a troop each of spearmen, swordsmen and archers - using all three basic models for each. A recent discovery has been that the Mantic ratkin arms are about the right size and musculature for these - which makes removing the arms a much less risky option and allows swordsmen to become spearmen and vice versa. I'm particularly pleased with the archer on the left below:



A tip I've found for weapon swaps on the swordsman is to remove the hand while leaving the sword hilt attached to the leg. That means another hand can be dropped in with its weapon connecting to the hilt stump - giving a more secure two points of contact.

Meanwhile, here are some kitbashes to serve as goblin "luggits" (berserkers) in Kings of War. They're based on a 60 x 40 and a 40 x 40:



The 40 x 40 will work as a beast or behemoth HOTT element in 15mm. I'm thinking "ogre hunters" or "Fomorian hunters":



And the 60 x 40 is a HOTT horde or warband (with a slightly deeper base - still legit). I'll probably field it as a horde in 28mm and a warband in 1/72:



This kind of 60/40 basing is really versatile: it allows two 60 x 40s or three 40 x 40s to be fielded as Impetus units, and means that some of the miniatures can be used in any game with frontages from 40mm to 200mm or more. I'll be basing a great many more goblins in this way. I also have plans for fielding my 15mm orc warbands in two ranks to act as KoW orclings.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Brilliant kitbashes. You continue to inspire mate.

[Pattus Magnus]

Agreed, those are great work! I am very much looking forward to seeing them painted!

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks, gents - lots more to come! I'm determined to use up the whole pile of EM4 orcs in the next couple of weeks. I'm permitting myself a maximum of one unconverted original per unit.

Here are three more: two archers/scouts and a swordsman. The middle figure has Frostgrave gnoll arms and a hat from some historical (ECW?) sprue. The swordsman has Mantic ratkin arms, and the other archer has Mantic goblin bits, I think (I converted him some time ago).

[Hobgoblin]

And here are a few more. My favourites of this batch are the kettle-hatted axeman (first of a 'greatax' unit) and the fur-hatted archer. There's something peculiarly satisfying about converting an archer into ... an archer. The light crossbowman is destined for the same 'skulks' unit.

The aim is to start with a 'troop' of each of the main KoW orc troop types (excluding 'youngax' - for which my goblin 'luggits' would be perfect were it not for the annoying Warhammer-legacy basing discrepancy!). When they're fielded as regiments, the back-up element needn't match the front.

[Pattus Magnus]

Those look great! I love the variety you’re getting by adding parts from all over the place. It certainly helps achieve the motley look orcs need. The spear orc on the left is interesting- he’s mostly original, but cutting and slightly repositioning the spear arm goes a long way towards adding a bit of movement.

[Hobgoblin]

Those look great! I love the variety you’re getting by adding parts from all over the place. It certainly helps achieve the motley look orcs need. The spear orc on the left is interesting- he’s mostly original, but cutting and slightly repositioning the spear arm goes a long way towards adding a bit of movement.

Cheers! Ah - but he's actually a sword orc: the spear arm (from the crossbowman, I think) just fitted on serendipitously without any need to trim. The fit was so perfect I hardly needed glue!

Here's the latest kitbash - a goblin king for Kings of War (Oathmark orc head and arms, Oathmark dwarf body and Oathmark wolfrider plume):

[Daeothar]

Yep, definitely royalty... 

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks! He's getting a golden helmet and belly-plate to signify his status.

In the meantime, I made up for a day of fresh air, glorious sunshine and exercise with some early-evening geekery. These are going to form a 'mincer mob' for Kings of War - I hope to make a start on the painting tonight and maybe even get them onto the gaming table tomorrow: