dispatches from terra incognita

Month: February 2020

Streamlining Storage

Among many unattributed gems of gaming knowledge gleaned from the internet are two tidbits I utilize daily. The first is “don’t begin making a piece of terrain unless you already know where you are going to store it.” This, of course, was the impetus for my building my entire Hobby Shack.

The second suggestion was to store miniatures in these Plano tackle boxes. (Note that they are available here in the States from Walmart or online for a good bit less than advertised on the Plano site.) One can customize the size of the internal sections, and I get adhesive magnets intended to stick to business cards to magnetize each section. As I acquired more, the stack became increasingly unwieldy; I always seemed to be needing the box on the bottom.

Well, my monthly handyman magazine came to the rescue. There were plans for an organizer for boxes akin to my Planos. I adjusted the dimensions to fit my boxes and made them just tall enough to fit under my game table.

The next step in my scheme will be to print out labels for the front of the boxes so I can find the figures I need quickly.

Random Progress

Rather than working steadily towards an attainable goal, I seem to pick up miniatures to paint as they strike my fancy. Those in the “done” box this weekend include:

Four of the 6 chibi adventurers from one of my many Reaper Bones kickstarters. Two more to go, then the entirety of the Super Dungeon Explore game I bought years ago…

A Reaper Bones rat ogre, who, along with my Mordheim skaven, comprise my nascent Skaven army.

And, finally, a potpourri of 28mms. Left to right, a Foundry Darkest Africa explorer, a Reaper jock, a Funky Skull street warrior, and a Reaper Bones ghoul (I would imagine).

My Krylon matte sealer is definitely a bit shiny, which messes with all my photos.

Lots of Grots

I’ve sojourned so far down the goblin rabbit hole that I’m starting to look for non-Games Workshop sources for interesting, new miniatures. There are, as one would expect, a variety of interpretations of “goblin.”

For example, I have two different varietals from my Reaper Bones Kickstarters — one set look like I imagine D&D goblins to be, and who aren’t at all green, and another look like cinematic gremlins carrying torches. I am definitely partial to the slightly-silly, of course green, pointy-nosed, Old World aesthetic.

Alternative Armies has a 28mm High Fantasy range which includes a Goblin and Orc Horde. The Goblin Knights, of which there are a variety, don’t do it for me. There are Cros Goblins which are quite nice, but have a more small-nosed, D&D vibe. Of more interest to me are:

Black Tree Design , if I understand this correctly, sells “Harlequin Miniatures by Kev Adams” Goblins. These were initially Kickstarted here and here. Kev Adams sculpted Warhammer goblins back in the day, so these are delightfully old school. Note that BTD has “Nightlings,” too, which are clearly Night Goblins, but I have so many and they are easily sourced, so I’ll leave them for others.

Also, I must append a caveat emptor that I have run across reports by some customers who were less than satisfied with BTD’s service in 2019. I’ll make a small order (as the $6.38 process below are for items on sale) and report on my experience.

Impact! Miniatures has a resin Kev Adams 31 Goblin Army, 31 figures for $35. Impact also do many Blood Bowl teams, should one be in the market.

Old Glory Miniatures seem to have two separate lines of goblins, both under the West Wind section of their website:

  • Under the Dwarf Wars heading, we find the Gallowskrie Goblins. They appear sufficiently goofy.
  • Directly under the West Wind heading, we find the Terronus, Isle of Goblins collection. Alas, most of the pictures for these guys are broken — I’m especially intrigued by the Goblin Villagers.

Rebel Minis has a Dark Hold Fantasy Setting “to try and fill what we see is a void in RPGs and Tabletop Games, namely Goblin characters, personalities and classes.” They are 28mm metal, and I would lament, a tad pricey. Many come in packs of 4 unique sculpts for $14.95. You’ll find:

Shieldwolf Miniatures has recently Kickstarted a range of plastic Forest Goblins. They come from Greece, and I’ll list the prices in Euros as exchange rates vary:

Warmonger Miniatures, sister company to my old favorite Wargames Foundry, has a vast collection grotty goodness. I shall make no attempt to list them individually as they are all so good.

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