Some miniatures for Song of Blades and Heroes (undead warband for Mordheim)

[Hobgoblin]

Great work on these - the colours work very well.

Thanks!

50 or 60 great goblins? Wow. That's a horde to be reckoned with. I liked them a lot back in the day but only ever owned a few, and those disappeared decades ago. I think I may have traded them for dwarves, or something. Still have a few of the Citadel RQ trolls knocking about, though, and they share a good bit of DNA with the great goblins... Interested to see what you make of them.

I got most of them second-hand in the 1980s - they were just disappearing by the time I made my infant steps into gaming, though I recall buying one labelled "night goblin" when I was about eight (and being told to "feed him on moss" by the shopkeeper). I was also given a big batch later on, as part payment for doing some sketches for Acropolis Miniatures, if I remember correctly.

The ones I'm planning to keep for skirmish gaming are these ones:

And I'll also add the chieftain (I have two of him, so one will be based as HOTT wizard), the standard bearer (I have a broken duplicate, who'll be repaired to go on a spears element) and Gnorman the Gnoll. Plus maybe a few others.

I have the chariot too, or at least most of its components, but it needs extensive repairs (and possibly replacement wheels and sides).

The thing is, because HOTT armies are so small, I reckon I can get eventually the bulk of an army or so out of a fairly small amount:

4 x spear
1 x knight general (chariot)
1 x magician
1 x hero (the boar-riding general - although I need to repair or replace the boar's feet from the ankles down ...)
3 x warband (with the kilt-wearing, long-eared types to the fore!)

Throw in the skirmish-based ones (with their wizards), and I'd be on my way to having a decent-sized Dragon Rampant force too.

I'm currently making some sabot bases for HOTT, as it happens. It's possible but does require a bit of tweaking; I've had to make blades 60x30 rather than 60x20, and even then can only comfortably fit a couple of penny sabots per base. Warband will have to be 60x40, because they're going to be my Essex orcs based on tuppences, and again only two will fit. Still, the rules do say "the base depths specified are recommended minima" and these will be playing only against each other, so I'm not too concerned. But in an ideal world, dedicated element bases with multiple figures would be better (and much less work, although I do quite enjoy the process).

Yes, depth doesn't really matter much at all - and if you're concerned about recoils, you can always just measure or mark the "correct" distance back.

I'm also basing my Essex orcs two to a base, but I'm going to use them as blades, given the heavy armament (and short legs!). Happily, the figures are relatively "flat", so they'll rank up and engage fine on 20mm-deep bases. The Great Scaly Orcs will also be blades, for the most part, but they go three to a base.

What are you using for blades?

[Severian]

Blades will be my ragged mob of mostly vintage dwarves, since they're to hand. Enough of them are armed with 2-handed axes, mauls and the like to make the spacing mostly plausible. They'd certainly go three to a base if they weren't already on pennies, but I plan on keeping them for use in Dragon Rampant (and maybe Otherworld skirmish) as well, so they'll just have to manage. I think I've got a few citadel & ral partha orcs coming from ebay in a job lot; they might end up as blades as well if they're not too badly bashed.

I'll see how I get on with HOTT and then might make up some dedicated element bases at some point... but this is by way of experiment.

Yes, those C12s are proper goblins, aren't they. Bags of character and subdued menace and not too much slapstick comedy...

[Hobgoblin]

Blades will be my ragged mob of mostly vintage dwarves, since they're to hand. Enough of them are armed with 2-handed axes, mauls and the like to make the spacing mostly plausible. They'd certainly go three to a base if they weren't already on pennies, but I plan on keeping them for use in Dragon Rampant (and maybe Otherworld skirmish) as well, so they'll just have to manage.

There's certainly a lot to be said for having a "universal" set of miniatures. I was intent on doing the same until I discovered Mayhem (prompting a dive into 15mm) and rediscovered HOTT.

Yes, those C12s are proper goblins, aren't they. Bags of character and subdued menace and not too much slapstick comedy...

Yes, they're pretty much the best that Citadel ever made, I think. They're a little less wholesome than the earlier Fantasy Tribe gnolls/great goblins; the latter look quite cheerful and almost hobbit-like, whereas these guys are a bit fiercer and more malevolent. The night goblins of the same era are terrific too - I love the first Grom.

[Hobgoblin]

Here are a couple more HOTT elements - this time, lizardmen, or perhaps dragonewts. It's an immutable rule of my son's participation in wargames that he must and shall field a force of reptiles. We were a bit underpowered on the reptile front previously, confined as we were to a few dragonmen flyers and the odd scaly behemoth. These chaps (Mantic salamanders) are the first elements in an all-reptile force. They're based as warbands, but could also be fielded as blades.

These are super-quick paintjobs, and I still have to touch up the buckles and whatnot. But they're just about there. I took filial directions for the colours; I think both of us were influenced by the dragonewts in King of Dragon Pass.

I'm surprised the salamander kit hasn't had more attention. The salamanders are much more fun than the GW saurus, which I find rather painful to paint.

[fred]

I like those - I assume the paint job is a wash over white? I think these possibly look better than the standard Mantic paint jobs.

Your post has reminded me I have a box of these, somewhere...

[beefcake]

Very nice. What material are the salamanders?

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks!

Beefcake - they're proper hard plastic - none of that "restic" nonsense!

Fred - yes, white undercoat, brown wash, white drybrush, thin wash of colour and a thin wash of ink.

[beefcake]

That's nice to know. Can't stand that restic Mantic stuff. Bleh.

[Hobgoblin]

Yes, it's awful. I've only ever experienced it with some sci-fi miniatures I bought heavily discounted. Not one has been painted ...

On the salamanders: the bodies and some arms come separately from the main sprue, but it's basically one kit for five minis, with six head options and loads and loads of different arm combinations. The two-handed weapons work really well - there must be at least four others that I didn't use, and they work with weapons raised above the head too. The command-group stuff is also part of the standard sprue; I didn't use any of those parts on these.

For my next trick ... I found this Black Mountain Boy lurking in the lead pile, with a new head made by my teenage self. It's no masterpiece, but I've since undercoated it, and it'll look OK when painted up, I think - decades on from its creation. He'll find a place in a HOTT horde; I've got several more underway.

[Severian]

He's great! Looking forward to seeing him painted.

Nice work on the lizardmen, too. Very effective colours.

[Hobgoblin]

He's great! Looking forward to seeing him painted.

Nice work on the lizardmen, too. Very effective colours.

Cheers!

His bug eyes might be a bit of a challenge, but I'm keen to paint him "warts and all". I also discovered a Golgfag's ogre to which I had added horns, a new face and hooves. Possibly a tail too - I can't remember. He's for the painting table too.

[Dr. Kevin Moon III esq.]

Those Salamanders look great, I'd never really had a good look at them. You've done a smashing job.

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks! Yes, the salamanders do seem to be a somewhat "undersung" release. They're fun models. My son has just bluetacked his assembly requirement for the next batch, so I'll be getting more underway soon.

Here's that decades-old conversion painted up, along with a Grenadier orc. These are super-quick paintjobs for another HOTT horde; I hope to have the best part of two more elements done by the end of the night. I don't think you can really do HOTT hordes justice unless you have at least four of them (and preferably many more ...).

[Hobgoblin]

And another ...

This dubious kitbash, complete with crude Milliput cloak, has been lurking in a crate since 1990 or possibly earlier. Not quite sure yet how these chaps will fit together - but I want at least five on the base for a proper HOTT horde.

[Severian]

They've come out splendidly, I'd say - the bug eyes are very telling. And great work on the shields, as usual.

I wholeheartedly approve of retrieving figures begun decades ago and finally finishing them.

My current plans include half a dozen HOTT hordes, to start with at least, made up of a variegated goblin rabble of diverse provenance, maybe filled out with some newly patched-up orcs...but probably no more than four to a 60x60 base, though, because of sabotting constraints (five would fit, but look too neat).