A big thank you to everyone who has taken a viewed my blog and taken an interest.
I have received a lot of interes, positive comments and feedback regarding the updates concerning the Great Goblins/Gnolls. This is great (like the Goblins really! LOL) as they are a wonderful range and it has been my intention to focus my efforts on this range for the for some time. I will also be painting more FTD Dwarves and random early 1980's Citadel solid based odds an ends which fit with the 'Goblins Wars' era project of which they are all a part. I'm planning to do an update on the Goblin Wars as well. For now, here's a hill of Goblins before I start the part of the blog on concentrating on the basing/scenery materials from 'Gaugemaster' and 'Forged in Blood'.
Enjoy :)
A whole hill full of Great Goblins/Gnolls.
I had a clear couple of days and so managed to get 12 Great Goblins/Gnolls painted.
More on these later in the Blog.
What I wanted to achieve when I decided to re-base the Great Goblins/Gnolls and other Fantasy Tribes miniatures on 30mm bases, was to spend more time on painting each of the miniatures as individuals. Part of that was to make the bases look better and more interesting than my previous bases I had done for the 3rd Edition Warhammer armies. One of the ways I feel I have done that was adding little model flowers and ferns, and other plants. Most of these are made by a model railway company called Gaugemaster, who also owns the company 'Noch'.
Now Gaugemaster is based in Ford, which is only 30 mins along the coast from Brighton and Hove by train, so on monday I popped along the coast to take a look. They not only stock their own range, but a lot of imported item of scenery, model flowers, trees, flock, mats, and of course model trains. I found them very useful and friendly and their website can be found here: http://www.gaugemaster.com/index.html
'The Engine Shed', home of Gaugemaster.
They are next to Ford train station. I was still in the station's entrance when I took this photograph.
There is nothing much else in Ford (well there's an open Prison!), but it is only 2 miles from Arundel which is still a largely medieval/old style town, with a massive Castle and Cathedral, and well worth a visit in itself.
Inside.
Flowers.
A wall of flock, flowers, tress and other scenic stuff for basing.
Below are some of the things I bought...
Apple Trees.
These will make a nice change for scenery and backdrop for photographing.
Ready made stone wall, and water effect resin. I am looking forward to using with this :)
Tiny, cute, little plants in pots. The pots themselve are 5mm high, not including the plants.
I want to use a couple of these on the base for a Troll, to suggest he has wondered into someone's garden and is doing all the mayhem that Troll's are wont do!
More flowers in boxes, made by 'Noch'.
These are the people who make the little ferns on some of my Goblins bases. I bought two boxes of Ferns as they are great.
Sunflowers.
I have used a couple of these on a Great Goblin further down this blog update.
Flat pack buildings.
These are railway '00' scale, which look similar to old 25mm/20mm size, and so work well with Goblins and Dwarves. I have here are a Village Forge, Hut, and Barn.
Now part from Gaugemaster I also had a second set of basing materials to work with...
A few weeks ago I bought some FTD Dwarves on e-bay from the e-bay seller 'magicusermodels', real name Michael. We got chatting, and I sent him a link to my blog and explained my project concerning the old Fantasy Tribes range, which he liked and informed me that he runs a company making his own basing materials. Very kindly he sent me a free sample kit, and so in return I am blantantly plugging his company and will be pointing out where I have used his basing materials on the Goblins I have just painted and based.
Here is his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Forged-in-Blood-Ink/279298008820236?fref=ts
Free basing kit.
The individual types of basing material have quite cool names, such as 'Griffon's Eyrie', 'Forest Floor', and 'Emeral Elf Havens', relating to their type and look, and are good quality.
I have previewed a few of them below and mentioned which of the particular ones I have used on the Goblins. I will be using some of the others later, and will mention those as and when.
'Forest Floor'.
'Mithril Diamond Mine' and 'Gorgon Stone'.
I like the Mithril one as it has little bits of silver glitter in it, and would work well with my Dwarf and Moria Goblin Lord of the Rings armies, so I might re-base them up in the near future.
The 'Gorgon Stone' reminds me of Brighton and Hove beach, and so will be used in conjuction with the water effect resin for a waterline base.
Leaves!
These came in the same pack as the 'Ancient Forest' pack, and are great to add to bases as general leaf litter.
'Spiky Grass, Wood of Winter', and 'Goblin Grasslands'.
'Ancient Forest', with big bits of logs and lots of leaves.
...and now onto the Great Goblins/Gnolls.
On the left FTG 1Great Goblin/Gnoll with Polearm. On his base is a little bit of the 'Ancient Forest'.
On the right is C12 Goblin with a mix of 'Spiky Grass' and Gaugemaster flock with bits of cork in it.
The backdrop behind the Goblins is the backing card which came with the apple trees. The wall is the ready made wall, and I bought a little static grass mat to replace the rather tired old boards I have been using for a while.
Left a FTG16 Goblin with short sword and shield.
Right another FTG1 Great Goblin/Gnoll, with a 'Stone Age' stone on his base.
A bit of one of the apple trees is just sneaking in the top left hand of the photograph.
Close up of the FTG16 Goblins base. On the left of the base is the dark looking flock named 'The Black Forest'. On the right of the base is some of the 'Goblin Grasslands'.
Two more FTG1 Great Goblin/Gnolls with Pole Arms.
On the left are a few of the leaves from the 'Ancient Forest' pack.
On the right is some of the 'Conspiracy of Rats' pack, and a 'Noch' Fern.
One FTG2 Great Goblin/Gnoll attacking with Hand Weapon, and a FTG3 Great Goblin/Gnoll standing with Hand Weapon. He is standing with his Hand Weapon in front of a couple of the Sunflowers I bought from Gaugemaster.
Close up of the bases.
On the left, more leaves. On the right some 'Spiky Grass', and a little 'Emerald Elf Havens'.
Two more FTG3 Great Goblin/Gnoll standing with Hand Weapon.
The Goblin on the left has a pair of 'Stone Age' stones. There's a little bit of supeglue staining it dark, making it look damp.
Close up of base with some 'Goblin Grasslands' and a little 'Noch' Nosta.
I am quite pleased with how his Sallet came out, all battered and old.
FTG15 Great Goblin/Gnoll Priest with Mace. He is also listed as a C12 Goblin.
Next to him is a Fantasy Specials FS70 Sacrifical Goat. I have had the Goat for ages and thought he would look good on the base of the Great Goblin/Gnoll Priest.
The basing is just normal Gaugemaster flock with bits of cork in it.
In the background are the Apple Trees, and part of a plastic fence I bought from e-bay and painted.
I love the way the background card, wall, and fence, give a sense of depth to the photograph.
Rear view.
Next weeks blog update will be more Great Goblins/Gnolls, as well as a couple of other old solid bases miniatures I have been painting.
Ah, Goblin Lee they look so great! Especially with the background. Although the only problem is the setting and the basing is just so pleasant and peaceful (if not right pastoral) I can't imagine them even fighting!
ReplyDeleteThank you private w., I am really enjoying painting them.
DeleteI am pleased with the background, especially as it's just the backing card from the apple trees. I am going to see if I can find some other backgrounds as well. I agree, it is a lovely pleasant background scene, but given the 'history' of Goblins and Dwarves, I'm sure the situation would deteriorate despite the view. :)
Maybe this is a side of Goblins we don't see too often. Perhaps it is only under extreme Dwarf provocation that they resort to violence? Maybe Goblins have just been the victims of Dwarf propaganda all these years and in truth are really just bucolic versions of the noble savage, living in harmony with the natural rhythms of the world.
ReplyDeleteWho am I kidding - I love the evil little buggers! They're obviously creeping into some poor rustic's farm with ambitions of thievery and pillage!
Either way, they're looking great - might have to check out those basing materials too as you've seriously inspired me. Might have to wait until I've finished my Hobgoblins and their Eastern Steppe basing.
I've always thought that the Goblins of the 1st/2nd Edition Warhammer seemed to get a bad press, and were less savage than in later editions, being more like disreputable neighbours at the start of the Goblin Wars. The Great Goblins definitely seemed to me on a par with the Dwarves, with the Night Goblins as backward cousins.
DeleteBut you're are probably right, they are almost certainly up to no good, scrumping, rustling, and downright pillaging. :)
Glad you like how they are turning out, and that they have given you inspiration. I am pleased with the overall look, and really having fun painting them.
It's a nice neck of the woods around there. You've achieved some lovely results with the basing, Lee. Congratulations on an ever impressive hit count; much deserved.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I can't believe I have got up to 75,000+ views already. The Goblins have proved popular over the last few weeks, which is fortunate as I plan to keep painting them for a while.
DeleteGlad you like the basing. I wanted to take more time and effort on the bases, and add details, and I am having great fun doing it.
That Noch stuff is quite good, I always thought from their name, incorrectly, that they were a European outfit.
ReplyDeleteI think Noch and Gaugemaster are joint companies. Noch in German and makes a lot of the flowers etc, anf Gaugemater is thier UK arm and importer, as well as an importer of other companies products.
DeleteI like their flowers, you get 9 or 10 in a pack for the lager ones (such as the Ferns), and up to 16 for the little ones (such as the Hosta). They are £5.50 a pack. The flowers in pots were a lot more expensive, about £9 for 9, but I thuoght they would be great fun to have.
Excellent stuff. I have bought bits and pieces from Hobbycraft that were intended for model railways but may have to visit a more specialist store. I like the wee twigs from the other chap too, with the lichen. It would save my back from picking up odds and ends when out for walks!
ReplyDeleteThey all wear such different armour and weapons it looks like they have just nicked it out of the local laird's armoury and the nearest farm (with the pitchforks).
I first found your site when searching for gnoll photos and yours remain the clearest for some of the variants you have and I don't; so I return to it for reference quite often. Any you have going spare or that you grow tired of, give me a shout and I would be happy to trade or buy :).
Thank you. I haven't been to Hobbycraft for some time, but via e-bay and now Guagemaster I have found that a lot of model railway stuff comes in useful.
DeleteYou're right, the Goblins do look like they have bee looting the surronding area, equipping themselves for further mayhem. I like the look of them as they almost look like a militia rather than a professional army.
I am glad you're finding the blog and the photographs useful. I do have a fair few of the variants, but by no means all, but I am still collecting Great Goblins/Gnolls.
I'm up to about 190 infantry, with 30 odd boar riders too, so still lots to paint, as well as the Trolls, Dwarves, and ordinary Goblins and Red Goblins to do.
You're right, more militia than an army :). Is that 190 different variants?! I'm miles away if so! I thought there was maybe ten I knew about that I didn't have, but will have to think again. I am missing four boar riders and am pretty sure that's almost as many variants as there are; of course half a dozen more will turn up on ebay as soon as I have said that :).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I enjoy your blog and your ideas. Keep up the good work :)
No, thats 190 in total. I'm not sure how many variants, that's a great question which I might have to figure out. :)
DeleteA good place for variants is the Collecting Citadel Miniatures Wiki. They have most of the variants, but it's not 100% on all of the ranges, but it's a good resource and it's always having things added to it.
Here's a link to the Great Goblins:
http://www.collecting-citadel-miniatures.com/wiki/index.php/Gnolls_/_Goblins_-_FTG_Fantasy_Tribe_%28solid_base%29
Glad you're enjoying the blog, I've been painting more Goblins this evening :)
Phew! Not doing so badly then :). I am nearly there with variants on the wiki. The slightly ropey pictures of boar riders tagged on at the end and the female gnolls too are of mine. When I get some time I'm going to add more pictures of the ones I have that aren't documented too. There's a chap in Australia (joe ?) who has some pictures of gnolls which I'm not sure if they are conversions or not, but they are good ones if so. Never seen gnolls like them anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteYou may or may not be interested when it's ready, but I'm having a new goblin boar rider and boar sculpted based on drawings I commissioned from Russ Nicholson. It's a slow process for the sculptor with other demands but she should be finished eventually!
I'd be interested certainly in seeing how many different gnolls you have Lee. You have shown us a tiny proportion of your mob so far and there's at least 4 you have that I don't.
That's pretty impressive if you are nearly there with the Great Goblins/Gnolls on the Ccm Wiki. I only have the one female Gnoll, and she needs repairing. It would be interesting to see this chap in Australia's Gnolls.
DeleteI did do a blog update last year on the Gnoll variants I have, although I have bought a few more variants since then:
http://goblinlee.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/gnolls-great-goblins.html
I like the sound of the Goblin Boar rider you have commissioned, especially as it is based on Russ Nicholson's artwork, and would be interested to see it when it's ready.
I got a bit obsessive and overly focused on one area perhaps; hence the massive leap from having a handful I bought decades ago towards a fairly full collection. I shall have a good look at your posts from last year then. Always something interesting. On your blog Lee. The chap I was talking about has a lot of different minis, but his FTGs are at: http://www.collecting-miniatures.com/trade/index.php/Gnolls/Goblins_-_Fantasy_Tribes
ReplyDeleteChap called Joe Thomlinson, a Kiwi not an Aussie (apologies to him). There's a gnoll with a long sword I've never seen anywhere else and a couple of others I've not seen elsewhere either.
Happy to let you see the work in progress re. The boar rider and the drawings from Russ should you care to at some point. My usual email is: waitomo@btopenworld.com.
James
Yes that can happen James, I have collected a huge Slann army by being too focused on a particular army, but it's fun to have and paint.
DeleteI was lucky in that I had a part time job from the age of 13 (1987) and so a enough money to buy lots of miniatures at the time. Since then I was able to collect all sorts of things from during the 1990's and from e-bay since the 21st century.
Glad you are enjoying the blog updates. I have done a fair few now since I started in 2013. I viewed Joe Thomlinson's link you sent me and he has some interesting Gnolls, some of which are new to me. The interesting this about the Great Goblin/Gnoll range is that there are so many variants as Citadel just 'mixed and matched' the heads/weapons/bodies and cast up new miniatures.
I would be very interested to progress of the boar rider and the drawing from Russ, thank you.