Crocodog Wranglers are one of the odder units in the ogre army - essentially a goblin herding a crocodog (or perhaps a bunch of crocodogs?) at the enemy.
I think they were introduced in one of the third edition Clash of Kings updates, sadly I think they have vanished again in fourth edition.
I believe that Mantic used to sell a set of crocodogs with the goblin handler from the Gobbledog pack, but it's not longer available. But I'm sure I can improvise.
Being a true Yorkshire man I used just one of my pack of three Crocodogs. The wrangler himself is just a standard goblin given a prodding stick type spear and a whip.
The Wrangler
The prodder is built from one of the bow arms with the bow removed. A spear is pinned in place, with the rather nice multi bladed sword instead of the spearhead. The right arm is a normal weapon arm, a club, I think, with most of the weapon removed.
I took a piece of the rather nice thread that I used on the Old School Miniatures Orc Chariot, slightly unravelled one end and then glued a short piece of wire inside the thread. This was then glued into a hole drilled into the handle.
The thread was shaped and then fixed with liquid superglue. The metal spike is simply taken from the end of another spear.
The painting was straightforward, though I was rushing a bit to try and get it done for Ogtober.
You'll also notice a complete absence of vegetation. I'm waiting for some more bits to improve the look.
I really enjoyed making this. It's a proper kitbash, and finding the right bits is a fun challenge.
I've no idea how well it will perform in battle, but I could certainly make more. Otherwise the spare crocodogs can be painted up to show which units have them*.
What's Next?
I've got plenty more ogres to build and paint. More than enough plastic ogres, at least for the time being.
I recently got some of the resin heroes but there are still about eight units in the list that I can't build. This was supposed to be a small army though, so I'm fine with what I've currently got.
I just need to get more painting done.
*Note, this is not required in 4th edition as Crocodogs are covered by the new 'Orders' system.
