They have TWO Cave Trolls...!

    Need to paint miniatures fast? Pick ones that are nearly naked! More 28mm goblins and trolls

I am in all-out mode to attain my mark of painted miniatures for the year. With the completion of this batch, I am 14 figures away from having my number of painted miniatures equal my "Acquired Minis" (purchased or given to me). In fact, I specifically chose these six figures to paint because I knew they'd go quickly. I believe all of my remaining unpainted orcs, goblins, and trolls I have are armored. More armor and equipment means more things to paint, and more time spent. As you can see, these six figures are almost naked. And not surprisingly, they did paint up VERY quickly, especially following on the heels of the more involved and detailed orc commander and his bodyguard batch I just finished.

    I love the expressions and faces -- I think the skin tone still looks great on a nearly naked goblin

I'm calling these four figures "goblins," but on the Gripping Beast site they are labeled as Uruk Trackers. In the Ragnarok line, as far as I can tell, "Uruk" is their name for orc and "Snaga" is for goblin. Not that it really matters. Lots of Tolkien fans have debated whether these are two different breeds or just two different names for the same thing. In my mind, I'm working on the assumption that goblins are the smaller, less well-equipped ones, while orcs are a bit larger and usually having better equipment or armor. So, four nearly naked dudes are goblins in my book!

    Although it was a small batch of figures, it went very quickly and took only a few sessions to finish

I gave two of the goblins swords and an axe for another and spear for the fourth one. That's been my normal proportion, trying to give a variety of armament. I also used my normal color scheme for the skin and the paler or darker tones for their loin cloth. The shields in the pack looked to me like they were leather, so I painted them up that way. I picked out some "tribal" type patterns for their shields, which I did with my dark brown micron pen. I think the faces and expressions look great on these guys and am really happy with how they turned out.

    These 28mm cave trolls from the 28mm Gripping Beast line look like ugly brutes they should be

If I was really concerned about making my numbers of figures match Dragon Rampant unit sizes, I should have painted three trolls in this batch instead of two. However, these were the last two unarmored ones that I had. Well, I take that back. There are a couple very weird looking trolls included in the figures I bought. They look nothing like these cave trolls I've painted up, so far. They have long, sweeping ears and appear more hairy and animal-like. I'm saving those for something else, though, and won't paint them up to mix in with these bald, bloated cave troll types. The three reaming armored ones I will paint up as a separate batch. So, that's why two trolls instead of three to make a unit of six!

    I think my favorite part of these trolls is the flab on their bodies -- that and their snarling faces!

Otherwise, I painted these two cave trolls up exactly like the previous three that I did. To me, these are a spitting image of the troll that the Fellowship of the Ring encounters in the mines of Moria. The gray skin with a slight green tint works well for them, I think. These are big, honking heavy metal miniatures, too. So, I based them on pill shaped bases to hopefully give them more stability on the table. I love the faces and the obese bellies and wrinkles. They are great sculpts all around and fun to paint. And quick, right?

What's left on my painting desk for 2025? I made good progress on the five remaining "spirit animals" that I'd done the base coat on earlier. And the 10 redcaps have their base coat of skin completed. So, seeing how I have 13 days left in the year, I don't anticipate any problems getting all of these done. Once I do, I will have painted ONE more miniature this year than I acquired. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I squeeze in yet another batch of miniatures before January 1st. Nothing wrong with having some cushion. I mean, what happens if I open my presents on Christmas Day and there's miniatures in there?? NOOOOO!!!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 306
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 292

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 62
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 80

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 144
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 213