Painting Mantic Games' Kings of War Goblin Cavalry part 3

Ooo, Shiny Goblins

The goblin cavalry have had their 'dip' (Army Painter Strongtone Dip).  I think they look a lot better; not award winning by any means, but quite good enough for the table top.

A word of warning.  I rushed these and didn't take the time to wick of any excess dip.  I brush the dip on rather than actually dipping it as this gives me more control.  Nevertheless, as it pools and dries it can obscure some detail and over shadow some areas.  in the case of the fleabags, some of the lower mouths are a little dark, and there was a pool on the banner, but fortunately I spotted that one in time.

The gloss varnish will provide welcome protection from greasy grubby fingers, but the gloss is far too 'toy soldier', so the next stage will be a coat of Army Painter anti shine.

Painting Mantic Games' Kings of War Goblin Cavalry part 2

Yes, I know, its been a while.

Anyway, here's the latest progress on the Goblin Fleabag Riders that I started back in May.

Standard bearer, the flag is meant to fit in with the 'destroying the forest' theme.

The standard is simply the foil from a wine bottle (the sacrifices I make for this hobby), deliberately cut ragged and misaligned to emphasize the makeshift nature of the goblin army.  I like the flag design and it might well reappear in other units.

Ordinary trooper.  I hope the clothing isn't too bright

The Goblin Captain

The minis have all had their base coats done.  As these are a quick army (yeah, right) the next stage is to use 'dip'.   I use Army Painter's Quickshade, usually the Strongtone.  If you don't know this stuff it's great for quickly finishing minis where its the overall look rather than individual detail.  It acts as a combined wash and gloss varnish, so requires a coat of matt varnish afterwards. I have used the stuff successfully on my KoW Orc army and on the goblins in the earlier posts among other projects. it's not great for character figures where quality of fine detail might be important, but it is a real time saver when doing units like this.

  

Absolute Madness

Just a quick pointer to this thread on the Reaper Miniatures Forum
Buglips is painting up the Dragons Don't Share 2 set in seven days!!!!
That's one talented goblin.

Customer Service

Just a quick note to comment on customer service.
In the past I have had excellent service from Mantic Games, and even GW used to be rather generous in correcting mistakes.
Regular readers may remember that a couple of my Reaper Bones 2 minis were missing, replaced by duplicates of other minis (the skeleton archer was shown in an earlier post)
Well today a box arrived all the way from Reaper in the U.S. with the missing Egyptian style statue and a pack of three of the skeleton archers!  Whats more I get to keep the duplicated minis I originally got.
Well done Reaper.

Mantic Games release new vehicle for Warpath

Colour Me Impressed!

I just had to share this image of one of the new vehicles planned for Mantic Games' Warpath, currently undergoing testing (the game, not the vehicle, though you never know)

Very nice 'hard Sci Fi' look with clean lines, it looks like it means business.  I'm looking forward to what else they show for the game.

Painting Mantic Games' Kings of War Goblin Cavalry part 1

Goblins on ??

I mentioned showing how I paint goblins when I showed the based regiment of Spitters.

I started work on these Goblin Fleabag riders some time ago, but the dangers of cats, and getting side-tracked into building the terrain for the Lost Library has delayed that.

As with the Spitters (archers) I am going for a scenic base with less than the listed number of minis.  Five of the eight are built up as normal, one, with a fancier helmet, has a sword stolen from the Skeleton sprue and is the leader, the musician, has raided an elven music shop, and the standard is simply a spear with some foil from the top of a wine bottle.

The minis went together quite well, a few gaps were easily filled with liquid green stuff.  It also helps to heat the pieces in very hot water (CAREFULLY) and push them together, as this allows them to bend into shape a bit, but I was impatient.  If you try this be very careful, hot water is, as the name suggests, hot.  When you are happy with the result plunge the bits into cold water to 'set' the new shape.

All have been undercoated with Army Painter Leather Brown spray; this provides a good base for painting and will also give colour for straps, leather armour, belts etc.

I mentioned that cats can be hazardous, well I had the goblins undercoated and drying on the windowsill outside when the local large tom pushed past and knocked them off.  Restic isn't particularly brittle, so the only damage was the end of the horn, the tip f one shield and the shafts for one spear and the standard.
Fortunately, Restic is easy to drill, so a bit of pinning later and all is fine.

I think the horn (borrowed from the Elf command sprue) looks better shorter, and the chipped shield just adds a bit more character.

Next up will be base colours.

Mantic Open Day and Sheffield Triples 2015

Two Shows in one Weekend!

Well Saturday was a busy day.  First the Mantic Open Day, then the Sheffield Triples.

Mantic Open Day
The highlight of the Open Day (for me at least) was the seminar with Ronnie Renton (Mantic's big boss man) and Jake Thornton (games Designer of, among others, Dreadball, Deadzone and Dungeon Saga).
Much was said concerning Deadzone Infestation and the ongoing work to streamline the game.
At one point we saw one of the production sculpts of the dragon from Dungeon Saga.  Wow.

The Tyrant of Halpi, Dungeon Saga Dragon.

Although Ronnie billed this as a 'board game piece' the detail is great.  All the DS minis I saw were of this quality, and I am really looking forward to getting my set.

Now if the Conan board game pieces are this good.....

The shop had the usual open day deals and I was able to get some mounted archers for my goblin army.  I traded in Mantic points for 'Coach Orcy' for my Dreadball team, and picked up some loose sprues for Deadzone.  

There was a great atmosphere and I met up with many old acquaintances.  My only complain was that I couldn't hear my phone, so didn't find out for hours that the water had been cut off at home.

Sheffield Triples

Then on to the Sheffield Triples.  This is a show I always try and get to.  The newish venue, the English Institute of Sport, is ideal with loads of space and good lighting in most of the rooms (unlike Fiasco, where it is always a surprise to see what you have bought when you get it out into daylight).

I bought some Reaper Bones and Reaper paints and a few odds and ends.  Not much i know, but time and money are a bit short, so I was happy.

Only regret was not picking up a pack of the new Crooked Dice  companion minis.  These look amazingly like companions to a well known time traveler who has recently celebrated his 50th birthday...

Also a mention for these minis;

I liked the old school 'Squat' vibe and I am told there is a set of rules in production for them.  Other ranges are available, but it was these that caught my eye.  If you like them I believe you can get them from Macrocosm