Painting – A score of Goblins

A score plus five goblins actually. Most were finished last weekend but I didn’t get to photograph them until today. (Lots of pics!)

Yes, these are all Citadel/Warhammer goblins and they are NOT greenskins! While these figures have been used over the years for Hero Quest, Warhammer Quest, (possibly Warhammer FRP), MERP and various editions of Dungeons and Dragons – it’s D&D that I mostly play.

The various editions of D&D (1st-3.5) have been fairly consistent with their descriptions of goblins: Eyes varying in colour from red to yellow. Skin colour ranging from yellow through any shade of orange to a deep red. I’ve usually gone with a dull yellow. These have a Army Painter Soft Tone (brown ink) over “Oriental Flesh”, and I really like the mottled effect that has resulted on many.

 

The full set here are:  eight bowmen, six spearmen, four with sword and shield, six with swords and axes, and one shaman. One goblin had his sword break long ago. I trimmed the hilt away, so he’s just got his fists – maybe he’s the tribe’s brawler. (He can always stand back and insult PC’s. )

I’ve gone with a variety of colours, brighter than what goblins probably should wear, but I wanted them to stand out as individuals. I also didn’t go for as much detail or fine paint work as I do for unique figures. These are basic units that could see a lot of use, and generally goblins die quickly – so they aren’t likely to be on the table for long. I wanted to paint the lot of them without spending weeks doing it.

The Shaman got more time because he’s a more detailed figure and deserved extra effort. He’s the only metal figure in this group and has stuff everywhere – pouches, skulls, bandages, jewellery, trinkets, etc. He was fun to paint. He hasn’t been varnished yet, so I might do a little more detailing on some of the jewellery/trinkets, etc. (Just thinking some of those odd shapes are mushrooms!)

 

 

Next up: I’ve got sixteen Orcs. They’ve all been undercoated, fleshed out and I’ve started on weapons and mail. Their champion is halfway done, so I’m hoping not to take more than 2 weeks to finish them all.

I keep leaving Star Wars figures at the back of the desk as I think of older figures I have that I’d like to paint to use in my mega-dungeon. This probably means that a group of Reaper Bones Kobolds will follow the Orcs.

Goblins and Orcs

My megadungeon writing has reached the extent now that I’ve got plenty to keep the players busy exploring. We’ve talked about starting play in the “near” future, and with that in mind I thought it would be good to have some painted goblins.

I’ve got a bunch of goblin and orc figures – they are all Citadel from Warhammer, Warhammer Quest and Hero Quest. They have seen a lot of use over the years, but none (except one I did in 2016) have been painted. I’m going to need a few goblins in our first PF/D&D FalsKrag session, and likely more at other times as well as some orcs later on. This seems as good a reason as any to get me painting again.

It’s also the second half of the year, the weather in southern Australia is generally getting warmer, and if I want to paint at least as many figures this year as last I’ve got to get moving. I’m certainly not aiming for an average of 1 figure per day (I still can’t believe Azazel is managing that on top of work, gaming, etc) but I like the idea of 100 figures that I was aiming for last year.

Not the best photo. (Click for larger) I’ll take better quality shots once they’re done!

Last weekend gave me two relatively warm and sunny days, so I got out and sprayed 41 figures. Then got to clean up mold lines, etc and gave them another undercoat spray. This weekend I’ve been painting flesh. Since most of these figures are groups (or units) of four to eight identical (or almost identical) minis, I’m hoping that I can paint them faster than all the single unique figures that I usually find myself working on.

I’m planning a fairly uniform colour scheme for the orcs (pun intended) – they all wear chain mail with jackets and pants, except for the orc (? – where’s my rulebooks and WHQ notes?) leader. With the goblins I want more variety. I don’t see goblins as an organised military force, so I think I’ll stick with a limited range of colours, but there should be more individuality between the same type of figure.

 

Just got sidetracked trying to work out what the orc champion actually is. He’s an early plastic slotta-base figure. I’m positive he’s a ‘black orc champion’ from the horns, but I can’t find the same figure on the net. Enough procrastination… time to paint more faces before dinner and “The Terror” (TV series).