[Kicking it old school] Irregular Miniature Goblins

[grubman]

It’s been quite a while since I painted miniatures for anything other than board games.  I’m trying to rekindle my love for the hobby, and am desperately trying to find or start a group of likeminded players in my area.  I’ve decided that the best fantasy games currently available and “active” to recruit players are Songs of Blades and Heroes (for quick skirmish battles with few miniatures) and Dragon Rampant (for a more “mass” battle feel, but at a more reasonable entry cost and commitment).

I’ve always been a fan of the look of “old school” miniatures.  I don’t much care for all the dramatic poses, ultra detail, and “dark” overtones of most modern miniatures. 

One of my favorite miniature companies has always been Irregular miniatures.  I really enjoy the functional simplicity of the models, and they are a joy to paint.  There must have been a hundred times I contemplated their fantasy line…especially the goblins, but with pictures on the website like this…



…that make the models look like shapeless blobs has kept me from taking the plunge (despite having similar misgivings with Irregular Miniature figures before and finding my worries unfounded).  Searching online found absolutely no images of people who purchased and painted these figures, so I’m guessing other potential customers are similarly leery about investing in Irregular Goblins (or the fantasy line in general).  In any case, since I decided I wanted to have a unique look when building my new goblin army (I should mention I do have over 10,000 points of Warhamer goblins, ha ha) so I ordered a few sample models.

Below are pictures of my painted results.  As usual, they painted up great, and look better than I expected.  I’m ordering many more to fill out units and do conversions (perhaps I’ll add to this thread when they arrive).

I know I’m not the greatest painter on the planet, but my goal is a little different than many peoples.  I like to make my paint jobs look as old school as the models, rather than try to give a “good paint job” to a “poor sculpt” and create some kind of work of art.  I think I succeeded, am very happy with the results, and can’t wait to get started on the next wave of goblins.  Of course, I have a huge pile of Dwarves, Elves, and undead to work on while I’m waiting.

[sukhe_bator]

These are not my cup of tea but my experience of Irregular 15mm minis echoes grubmans. On the whole they do paint up a whole lot better than they look on their website and take conversion well...

[rob_the_robgoblin]

There is a special place in my heart for Irregular...

Some of the first non-GW models I bought were 15mm Dwarves for HOTT. In reality, they were more like 20mm and they are not really good models, but I was a kid and thought they were ace!

28mm pushes it I think. There are so many things I would want to resculpt on these... Why is that goblin wearing his shield round his neck?!

[Elbows]

Ugh...those look...rough.     I don't the paint, I mean the miniatures. 

[grubman]

28mm pushes it I think. There are so many things I would want to resculpt on these... Why is that goblin wearing his shield round his neck?!

To keep his ears from getting sunburnt, of course!

I got some Dwarves and Elves and they look pretty good.  I'll be mixing those with a handful of old Metal Magic miniatures (via the now defunct Megaminiatures)  I like a lot of Irregulars standard medieval lines, so there is plenty of variety available for humans (I'm probably going to go late "dark" ages, since I've painted up their Vikings and found them just as enjoyable to paint.)

Ugh...those look...rough.    I don't the paint, I mean the miniatures.  

They do...for me that's part of the charm.  I guess I'm just goofy.  I look at most new (GW clone) miniatures these days with all that jewelry, pouches, excessively large and complex armor and weapons carved with runes, and grim facial expressions and I think they are ugly as sin (I know I'm in the minority).

I should also mention, those are close up shots, they look a lot better on the tabletop.  Once I get my next order painted up, I'll take some tabletop unit shots.

[grubman]

I was asked about scale comparison on another forum...so since I took the picture.

1/72 models, Irregular Goblin, GW 5th edition conversion.

[Hobgoblin]

I like them. I can see how they could be used to get something like the effect of Ralph Bakshi's orcs - all eyes and fangs gleaming in darkness.

That smaller scale photo you posted gives an inkling of how they'd look on the battlefied.

One thought: have you considered giving the armour and weapons a couple of washes of brown and black ink (and maybe even some chestnut or sepia bits here and there)? I think that might give a nicely grungy effect that would suit the figures.

[grubman]

One thought: have you considered giving the armour and weapons a couple of washes of brown and black ink (and maybe even some chestnut or sepia bits here and there)? I think that might give a nicely grungy effect that would suit the figures.

I did consider it before painting them.  When they were done the thought didn't occur to me again...I guess because I was sort of tickled by the way they came out (must have gone into the art room a dozen times that night just to take a look sat them).  Maybe I'll try it on the next batch for a bit of contrast.

[Samnite308]

Ive never bought any Irregular fantasy but they had a great range of random ancient and medieval civilians and animals to use for villagers, extras etc.  Fairly cheap too!

[grubman]

So, I got more Irregular goblins a few days ago and have been picking away at them when I get the chance.  So far I’ve added a troll to the mix (with some slight modifications) and 3 wolf riders (2 normal and 1 conversion).

I also painted a (mostly) Irregular Miniatures Dwarf Warband for Songs of Blades & Heroes…but those aren’t goblins.

I have a huge pile of “lead” to paint.

[Hobgoblin]

I love the colour scheme on the troll!

These are looking great. As you'll be repeating models a lot, have you thought about varying the skin colours at all? I'm thinking about the cover to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, where there's a black goblin in among the green ones. These Irregular goblins could look really good in black - a bit like this:

[sukhe_bator]

Ah the Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings

These Irregular goblins could look really good in black - a bit like this:

Ah.... the Ralph Bakshi 'Lord of the Rings' film orcs!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_(1978_film)

[grubman]

I love the colour scheme on the troll!

These are looking great. As you'll be repeating models a lot, have you thought about varying the skin colours at all? I'm thinking about the cover to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, where there's a black goblin in among the green ones. These Irregular goblins could look really good in black - a bit like this:

I have den reading WFB 1st edition and considering red and nighr goblins.  I figure if I have to find players and teach them a game anyway, the sky is the limit.  1st ed. has a lot of charm and is "generic".  Of course i've been looking at a few other old school rule sets.

[Mister Rab]

So that's where my "goofy troll" comes from - Irregular! I have him with an axe and shield. If you'd like him for the cost of postage (I'm in the UK), then he's yours. I won't ever love him, but I get the feeling you might 

PM me if interested.

[grubman]

So that's where my "goofy troll" comes from - Irregular! I have him with an axe and shield. If you'd like him for the cost of postage (I'm in the UK), then he's yours. I won't ever love him, but I get the feeling you might 

PM me if interested.

Thanks, but the price of shipping would probably be more than the $1.72 (USD) I paid for him from Irregular.  That's a big chunk of metal for less than 2 dollars