More 'Spirit Animals' & Diminutive Nasty Redcaps

    My last batch of minis in 2025 might be the smallest -- diminutive Redcaps, most converted Conquest

There is a good chance this may be my final batch of miniatures finished in 2025. Actually, it is two batches. I started the five 28mm scale animals way back when I was hurrying to get things together for a Halloween game of Devilry Afoot. I left these five with just their base coats completed, and there they say for weeks and weeks as other batches were started and finished. Last week, though, I sat down and planned out how to reach my goal of having my Painted Miniatures total exceed my Acquired for the year. I knew these five would not take long to finish and time was of the essence.

    Lurking on my painting desk for weeks, the final 5 'Spirit Animals' got finished up in one day

In the end, I finished the painting of all five in one session. Pulling up Google Images of Fox, Badger, and Raccoon on the laptop next to my painting desk, I began with the fox. I did a light dry brush of terra cotta over the red brown base coat. Next, I took a fine point brush and applied the white patches to where the photos said they belonged on a fox. Finally, I did the same with the black. Other than the flocking, the fox was done.

    'Which way did the fox go?' Well, he (or she) lurked on the corner of my desk with its base coat done

I followed up with the two badgers. Over the gray base coat, I did a black dry brush. Although I think the coat of a badger is more complex than that, and also contains lighter colored hairs, I couldn't figure out a way to do it effectively. Next, I took the white and did it on their faces. Next, it was the black patterns. Not all badgers have identical markings, but I took the ones that seemed to be most common.

    Thanks to a music video Andy S sent me, I will always say, 'Badger, badgers, badgers...!'

Finally, it was on to the raccoons. Same thing as with the badgers, a black dry brush, followed by the white patches and then the black ones. I also did the rings on the tail. I think the raccoons are my favorite as their coloring is so iconic they seemed the easiest to duplicate. Next, I did my standard flocking on all five bases. I went with just two tufts on their bases as I didn't want these low-to-the-ground figures to be overwhelmed by all the grass.

    The 2 raccoons were my favorite of this batch of 5 spirit animals with their distinctive markings

Part Two of the plan to finish in the green on Miniatures Painted involved Redcaps. What are redcaps? Well, they're malevolent little goblins of Celtic mythology. They wear hats that are dyed red by soaking them in the blood of the people they have murdered. Vicious little buggers! I would have to paint 10 of them to exceed my Miniatures Acquired by one, which was likely more than I will ever need for a game of Devilry Afoot or Sellswords & Spellslingers. 

    The redcaps with the sickle sword and halberd were the ones from Nolzur's Marvelous Minis

Two of the figures are actually sculpted as redcaps -- from the Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures line. The rest come from a very cool company, Conquest Games, and their Myths of Albion Line. These inspired looking figures include a batch of little guys called Svartalfars. I had bought several packs of them earlier this year, thinking they would make good goblins when I started painting my 28mm Dragon Rampant army. When the figures arrived, I was shocked at how tiny they are. Jenny looked at them and said they were 15mm scale. They're technically not, but they are pretty much that size. They were too tiny for goblins, I felt

    I took 8 of my Conquest Games tiny little 'Svartalfar' and gave them caps made of green stuff

However, they could be modified as redcaps! It would involve me going outside my comfort zone and sculpting their caps with green stuff. I am not very well practiced or skilled at it, and I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to do that. I considered just painting them "as is" with their little bald heads. However, in the end, I decided to give it a go. After reviewing some "How To's", I sat down one afternoon and pulled out my ribbon of green stuff. I snipped off a small piece with an X-acto knife and began kneading the blue and yellow sections together. I liberally watered it down, dunking it in water every few minutes. I don't know if I purchased a bad batch of it a few years ago, but I regularly get hard shards that don't mix. I've learned to cut those out and throw them away until all that I'm left with is soft, pliable, and thoroughly green.

    These were probably 3 of my favorite sculpted green stuff caps of the batch

Next, I shaped a tiny little cone with it and pressed it down on the head of one of the Svartalfar. I would say that, for the first one, I had to retry it about a dozen times. As I finished each one and set the figure down so it's cap would dry, I went on to the next. By the eighth and final miniature, I had to retry and start over on the cone only a few times. In my opinion, some turned out much better than others. It was hard to blend the brim of the cap onto the head, which is the reason I had to redo each little hat so many times. In the end, I'm fairly happy with how they turned out. Not ecstatic, but for such tiny little figures, I think they look okay. They're certainly not as good as the purchased redcap hats. They'll do for minis I likely won't use all that often.

    Close up of 5 of the redcaps -- I think they have very expressive (and nasty looking) faces

Still, I was worried that the greenstuff wouldn't adhere to the heads. So, the next morning, I mixed up a batch of two-part, 5-Minute Epoxy. I took a tiny paint brush I didn't really need anymore and painted it onto the join between the cap and the head. I hoped this would seal it onto the figure and prevent the caps from being knocked off if the figure were dropped. Next, I primed them with brush on, Liquitex White Gesso. The next day I began painting.

    More murderous little buggers - you can clearly see the better detail in the center Nolzur's redcap

For the skin, I did a base coat of Raw Sienna. The next day, I dry brushed their skin a bright tan color called Maple Sugar. In addition to being very small, the miniatures don't really have a lot of equipment. Each figure has a tunic or loin cloth, which I painted in a variety of colors, dry brushing them a lighter highlight color the next morning. Most have shields and clubs, a few stone axes, and the Nolzur's figures have a sickle-shaped sword and a halberd. I made sure to do all metals in bronze, as a common theme in Celtic myth is a Faerie vulnerability to cold iron. 

I chose three shades of red for their caps -- red-brown, Blood Red, and Cardinal Red. Each got a highlight in a lighter tone, as well. The shields were done a dark brown on the inside and I tried to give them a wicker look on the outside, with Autumn Brown base coat and Khaki dry brush. I painted leather for all the straps, belts, sheaths, and such. Their faces I did similarly to my Orcs. I used a pale yellow for the eye "whites" with a dark brown pupil. The mouths I painted Blood Red, picking out tiny teeth with the same pale yellow. With a final brown wash over the skin, leather, and tans or yellows, and a black wash over the grays and caps, I was done with all 10 of these guys. 

    Looking down at a band of redcaps lurking in a rocky area, hoping to waylay and murder a traveler

I added some tiny rocks to their bases before flocking, as the legends refer to them inhabiting rocky or craggy areas. I also toned down the green grass, using less of it than I normally do on a figure base. The tufts were all ones with brownish grass, as well. Redcaps are supposed to haunt desolate places -- not fertile fields, if I am remembering the legends correctly! 

And with that, my likely final batch of miniatures for the year was complete! It had been a near thing, but I ended up painting more miniatures than I bought this year. Of course, purchasing figures for two new projects this year (orc and goblin army and Devilry Rampant) had made it more difficult. I did it, though. I think before I make any figure purchases in 2026, I'm going to thoroughly review what's in my unpainted lead pile. Surely there is something in there that I want to paint, right?

SUCCESS!!! All three categories ended up with more painted than acquired!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 306
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 307

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 

Trying Out Sellswords on Sunday Night

    10 goblins charge towards Keith's two characters at the start of a game of Sellswords & Spellslingers

I'd been wanting to see if the Sunday night gang would enjoy playing Sellswords & Spellslingers. I knew we would be pushing the envelope on size for this cooperative miniatures game. We typically have six players with the GM making seven. Still, I was eager to try and they agreed to give it a go. I gave each player the option to create 50 points (instead of the standard 60) points worth of characters, or use one of the samples I'd created. This would mean 300 points of player characters against the enemies, which would be controlled by the game mechanics. The slightly reduced points I gave my six players actually equaled five player's worth of enemies. A small difference, I know. But I hoped it might make the numbers of figures on the table more manageable?

    Look at the table with its rain-drenched, slippery, rocky areas infested by hordes of orcs & goblins

I chose the "Orcs and Slippery Stones" scenario from the base rules. I increased the table size to 4'x3', though. However, I think I will shrink it back down to 3'x3' for our next game. I was worried about the table being too crowded, but I don't think that was the case. Populating the board with the Foes to equal 300 points of player characters meant I placed five Orc Brutes, five Goblin Warriors, and five Hordes of 3 Goblin warriors each. A dozen player characters against 25 Foes -- at least initially. More Foes would come on table as a result of the event cards. I decided to let the players, who were sitting spaced out around the table, deploy where they chose and not all on the same edge. They ended up deploying on all four edges. This meant they were not really in support range of each other, except for Keith and Tom, who quickly moved closer together as they were facing the bulk of the orc and goblin horde.

    An orc brute followed by four goblins barrel towards Mike W's two characters on the board edge

After a quick rules explanation (some had played it once or twice before), we began. The players started off awfully with their activation rolls. They failed to roll an 8+ on a 1d20 on the first five rolls. It didn't get better as turns went around the table. The typical roll was one success and two failures. Several of us were shaking our heads in disbelief. Each activation rolls has essentially a 65% chance of success. As an event card is flipped for each failure, new Foes swelled the orcs and goblins ranks on the tabletop. One player said they weren't being paid enough to face this many orcs and goblins! I tried to keep their morale up, pointing out each success they had shooting down or slaying an orc or goblin in melee. See, I would say --it's easy!

    Five of the six players as they contemplate how to drive off the horde of orcs & goblins

A massive horde of orcs and goblins charged towards Keith and Tom, who formed up, shoulder to shoulder. They were a wall of steel and began cutting down hordes of goblins. Tom's archer stood behind the other three characters and picked off ones at range. The orcs and goblins were funneled against the three other fighters, who stood together to keep any from being overwhelmed. Slowly, they began to whittle down the number of attackers. Meanwhile, the Sams brothers, Allen and Joel in opposite corners, cut down the first group of orcs and goblins that charged them. They were left with few enemies to fight, so had to begin moving across the expanse of the table to aid their companions. Mike S, who'd created a mage and a fighter, was swarmed by a pincer movement of orcs and goblins. His mage was contacted in hand to hand and was soon down to one wound left. By a heroic effort, he killed the goblin in contact with him and then fled the off-table to safety. The fighter was nearly surrounded, but kept swinging and orcs and goblins kept falling.

    Mike S's two characters stand their ground against an incoming mass of orcs & goblins 

Mike W had deployed near a horde of goblins and was beset almost immediately. Although he killed many, one of his fighters was also down to one wound. The goal of the game is for the players to kill enough foes so that they outnumber the enemy. It was a steep order, with the event cards constantly replacing the slain. Eventually, the worm turned, though, on their activation die rolls. The players went from failing repeatedly to succeeding most of the time. As the activation die rolls evened out, more and more foes were cut down. I know that technically the game wasn't supposed to end until all enemies leave the table. However, it was such a heroic effort to whittle down the vast numbers of orcs and goblins, that I called the game when they finally outnumbered them. I said the orc's and goblin's morale broke and they ran from the field. 

    Fearghall prepares to strike down the last of a goblin trio who had charged him (& wounded him)

It was our first game and I didn't want it to degenerate into tediously chasing off every last figure. In the two-plus hours, they got a good taste of how Sellswords worked. I wasn't sure how they liked it, but when I asked if they were interested in playing it again, all were positive and said yes. So, I will give them a chance to create their own characters. Then, I think I will likely run the Last Stand at Mistham campaign for them. I was happy they enjoyed a game of cooperative fantasy miniatures skirmish. I really like the Sellswords system, and think the ebb and flow of dice rolls really add to the game. Things looked bleak as the players failed their rolls more than average, and then momentum changed, and they struck back and began to win. 

    Litko blood spot markers show where goblins have fallen to Keith & Tom's trio of heroes

So, hopefully we'll play again soon. If you haven't tried out the Sellswords system, I highly recommend it. It's a great cooperative (and solo) game. 

    Down 2 of his 3 wounds, Mike S's mage at left tries to fight off an armored goblin in contact

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 

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 

Big Boss & Bodyguards of the Bonefish Band

    Warlord & standard bearer for my 28mm orc horde surrounded by his heavily armored bodyguards

My regular gaming group appears to be getting excited and geared up for playing games of Dragon Rampant, 2nd Edition. Four of us have purchased the rules and have several forces we can field, which will be more than enough to lend troops to the others who don't. To me, that means our first game will likely be soon. So, I figured it was time to paint my horde commander and his bodyguard unit. I decided to go with a 6-man "unit", but decided to paint a standard bearer as well as the 7th man. I know that doesn't jive with the rules, but I figure I can farm out one of the bodyguard figures as a leader in another unit of orcs.

    Closeup of two members of the orc bodyguard -- 28mm Gripping Beast from the Ragnorak range

From the unpainted lead I bought earlier this year, I picked out six of the most heavily-armored figures that I have remaining. One of them kind of looked like he could be the general himself, but honestly, none of the six really stood out that much more than the others. So, I looked through my other unpainted 28mm figures (humans) to see if there was one that looked imposing and orcish enough at the same time. I found a figure that I hadn't painted up from my Saga Mongol army. It was a foot figure of Genghis Khan and is freaking huge! I would estimate it towers at least head and shoulders above normal 28mm figures. What's more, he looked really cool. I liked him. Plus, many Tolkien fans have remarked that his descriptions of orcs jives with the way Mongols or Huns were often described by Europeans. Perfect!

    Orc bodyguards of the 'Bonefish Band' form a shieldwall to protect their boss, the horde commander

Next, I had to decide on a color scheme. The rest of the army had been painted up irregularly, with no figures identical to each other. However, I wanted the commander's bodyguard to be somewhat uniform. I decided to mimic, to a degree, the color scheme of late Republican Roman legionaries. Tunics would be painted a dark blood red. Their chainmail would be silver, but their leg greaves, arm guards, helmets, and any other plate armor would be bronze. I have always felt that color scheme is a really effective . 

    Originally a huge Genghis Khan figure, I think the mini makes a mean-looking orc warlord

However, the Genghis Khan commander figure had completely different equipment and armor from the rest of the orcs. He holds a bow in one hand and a long curved sword in the other. His armor looks almost like samurai armor, with intricate designs that evoke lamellar. I wanted it to really stand out, so decided to go with several metallic colors for the armor. I wanted the tones to complement the blood red of his tunic. First, I painted the armor an Iron Wind Metals Steel base coat. Next, I did the horizontal banding on the armor a reddish gold color. Between each horizontal band, the armor looks like it is composed of tiny vertical plates. I decided to do these in alternating colors. My first thought was three separate colors in a pattern, but in the end decided to go with two. I chose an Iron Wind Metals Cooper (to stay with the reddish theme) and a more yellow golden color. 

    Closeup of the other three members of the warlord's bodyguard - I'm happy with their color scheme

Once I finished all of this detailing, which took almost an entire one hour painting session it itself, I was very happy with how the orc boss came out. I like to blurt out Orc quotes from the Lord of the Rings movies sometimes when I'm painting my horde. It gets me in the mood, makes me giggle a little, and breaks up the routine. If I remember correctly, when orcs in the tower in Mordor discover Frodo's mithril silver shirt, one barks at the other, "Hands off my shiny shirt!", sparking a fight. Of course, I had to say that and repeat it several more times during the painting process. This orc commander does indeed have a very shiny shirt!

    Couple angles of the orc boss and his standard bearer on their large, hexagonal 'Saga style' base

I also brightened up the bronze armor of his bodyguard a bit with highlights of gold here and there. I figure these guys might have some weaker servants who they force to burnish up their equipment a bit more than the average orc or goblin. I also decided to go with a "unit" shield design. My thread on the Lead Adventure Forum where I publish photos of each batch of figures uses an orc quote, too, "Gut you like a bonefish!" So, I have been putting fish skeletons here and there on the shields of the orcs and goblins that I've been painting up. I decided the bodyguard would have two bonefish skeletons around their central iron boss. I wanted the shield color to be lighter so that I could use my black micron pens for the design. I decided to go with a faded reddish, salmon color. Of course, I know someone will quip, "Your orc bodyguards have pink shields? Haha!" I've used this color in the warband from time to time, and I like its faded look for cloth. So, I went with it!

    Warlord and his bodyguard form up after looting and burning a human settlement

I also decided to base the orc commander and his bodyguard on the same stand, one of my larger hexagonal ones. This is much like I did with my Saga armies. It makes the big man (or orc) stand out from the crowd of individually based figures. I almost put a wolf on the base, too. I didn't have one the right size, though. All of them were either too small or too big. The flag that the standard bearer carries was designed in Photoshop, as usual, and printed out on a laser printer at the local Office Max store. I'm really happy with how the bodyguards came out, and look forward to the Bonefish Band making it to the tabletop soon.

    Close up of the standard bearer - or the figure I converted into one!

What's on my painting desk now? Well, everything I need to exceed the number of figures I purchased or acquired this year! There is a batch of four goblins and two trolls that are in the flocking stages. Look for a post on them very soon. There are also the five 28mm animals I never got around to finishing when I was getting my Devilry Afoot spirit animals ready. And finally, there is a batch of Redcaps -- those bloody malevolent goblins of Scottish myth. Two of the figures are 3-D printed 28mm Redcaps from Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures. The other eight are an impulse purchase earlier this year from Conquest Games. I picked up a few packs of their Svartalfar -- goblinoid figures that had no idea were as tiny as they were! Honestly, they look to be almost 15mm scale, but are very cool, as is all of their Myths of Albion range. They have no caps on their head, though, so I am sculpting those out of green stuff. I've never really been that proficient with it, so this will definitely be a learning experience. Stay tuned to see how they come out!

    With the way I 'ripple' my banners with white glue, I can't take a good shot of it - so here it is!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 306
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 286

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 

    A final look at this batch of 28mm Gripping Beast orcs -- 20 figures away from my goal...!

Uruks in Iron -- Another Batch of Armord Orcs

    Another batch of 8 Gripping Beast 28mm armored orcs finished to add to my horde! 

"Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!" That quote is for my friend Jason, -- it is his favorite orc line from the Lord of the Rings movies. I need to keep up steady progress on my orc and goblin army for Dragon Rampant, so it was natural that I slip these eight armored orcs into the queue. I'm actually starting to see the bottom of the pile of my unpainted orc lead!

    I really like the faces and expressions on these orcs -- they look like they'd knife you just for fun!

After cleaning these figures up, step one is always attaching the weapons and shields. Slowly, I'm getting better at using super glue to do this. For many years, I said the only thing I've successfully glued together with super glue is my fingers. Now, I'm learning how to do better at it. For one, I need to position the figure somehow, usually with gray poster tack, so that it stays in place while the weapon/shield lays flat in the correct spot. Typically, I start with the shields and then proceed with the weapons. For the swords, I've found the super glue bonds quick enough (and the lead sword weighs little enough) that I can hold it for about 30 seconds. At that point, the bond is usually strong enough to keep it from slipping. For the axes and spears, though, it requires more awkward positioning so that the weapon doesn't move while I wait for the superglue to cure. How long? Forget that "instantly" or "30 seconds" crap. BS! I let it stay in place for at least an hour, usually more. Overnight, if possible. Then it holds well enough for me to prime the figure with Liquitex White Gesso.

I try to mix up their weapons as much as possible, so if I have 2 of a pose they get different weapons    

Once I've primed the figures, the painting proceeds methodically, step by step. Usually, each one or two steps is followed by an overnight drying time. The skin alone is three different colors, the clothes two, as are the leather and most equipment. I honestly feel that letting a base coat of acrylic paint dry overnight allows it to "shrink wrap" itself around the figure tighter. That brings out the ridges and folds better to make dry brushing the highlight color look better. Perhaps I really don't need to wait overnight (or till the evening for something I painted that morning). I do, though -- or try my best to! That's why I typically have multiple things underway on the tabletop while I'm working on a batch of 28mm figures -- especially these orcs and goblins. What else was on the table while doing these? Well, two Asian water buffaloes and the Critical Hit two-wheeled cart were being worked on. In addition, I pulled out the 10 wattle fence sections I bought from Diabolical Terrain at Advance the Colors to work into the flow. Also, I know this will surprise you, but there were a base of bamboo, too! I know...unbelievable, right??

    For clothes, I'm trying for variety yet a similar palette: I use duller pale and dark versions of colors

Since everyone on Lead Adventure Forum and in the comments section below each of my blog posts seems to enjoy my orc and goblin shields, I am feeling the pressure to continue performing on them. So, I am taking more time studying the images of tribal shields I downloaded and planning which I will do. Most of the shields in this batch were done with my black micron pens. I augmented some of them with paint, whether in open areas between the black lines or as accent. I spent a decent amount of time on these eight shields, so hopefully they live up to the standards of the previous ones in this army. If you are planning on using micron pens and doing a wash over them, I caution you to be careful. Specifically because there was so much pen ink on the shields, I added a new step with this batch and did a quick spray of clear matte over the shield faces. I didn't want the ink of the pen running, like has happened to me once or twice before. You can also wait for a 2-3 days for it to thoroughly dry, but who wants to do that?? I mean, heck! I've got blog posts to do...ha, ha! There are other things in the queue waiting for space on the painting desk! Wait 2-3 days? Sheesh!

    I think these figs are a perfect mix of having some equipment but not too much to slow painting

I'm really happy with how this batch of eight turned out, though. It took a little longer to do eight figures at once in a batch, as opposed to six or seven. Not too much, though. I will likely continue doing the ordinary rank and file types in eights unless I run out of similar figures for a batch size. So, what else is on my desk? Well, those wattle fences are in the flocking stage. The next batch of orcs, which will include the horde commander and his bodyguard, has passed the skin dry brushing stages and has had the base coat done on their armor. And I've got some terrain on the desk, as usual, too. And this piece is really, really big! Wait till you see it...!!

    This batch's shield photo - I like the color accents I added to the black ink designs on some shields

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 306
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 277 <-- 29 away!!! Will I make it??

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 62
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 72

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 144
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 212 

    One final look at my second batch of GB armored orcs (as opposed to armored goblins!)

"They Have a Cave Troll...!' Goblin Archers and 3 Trolls

    Latest additions to my orc and goblin horde -- 8 Gripping Beast goblin archers & 3 trolls

I have my Dragon Rampant 2nd Edition rulebook -- woo-hoo! James from Firelands Games dropped it off to me at World at War gaming convention this past weekend. I can't wait to start looking through it and receive more inspiration to work on my orc and goblin army. Speaking of which, I finished a batch of eight 28mm goblin archers from Gripping Beast's Ragnarok line. I also completed my first set of three Ragnarok trolls. I had ordered two of the trolls from Firelands previously, before knowing I would get a bumper crop more of them from Jeff G when I bought my orcs and goblins off of him earlier this year. So, my orcs and goblins don't have "A cave troll...", they have about a dozen of them for me to paint up!

    Ragnarok 'Hill' goblin on left & 'Mountain' on right -- you gotta love those faces & expressions!

The goblins are from three different "packs" of Ragnarok goblins. I'm not sure I buy into their division of them into various tribes or localities, but the figures are nice. Three of the archers have only a loin cloth and are mostly flesh. Ragnarok labels them Mountain goblins. These are the most Tolkien-looking of this batch, in my opinion. One of the figures is from their Hill Goblin line and wears a long robe from neck to feet. The other four are from the Forest Goblin line, and have an large, animal-skin cloak thrown over their shoulders and a loin cloth at their waist. Weirdly (in my opinion), they wear cultist-like hoods with only tiny eye slits. I don't think I have ever envisioned goblins or orcs that way, but it makes them pretty interesting looking!

    'Forest' goblins -- I get the fur cloaks and loin cloths...but cultist-like hoods?? Not sure about them!

I used my normal orc and goblin process for these figures: Liquitex white Gesso primer, then for the skin, a Walnut brown base coat, Raw Sienna dry brush, and Khaki highlight. Their clothes I painted in a variety of darker or paler tones, each with an appropriately colored lighter highlight. For the Forest Goblin fur cloaks, I did two in a gray and the other two in a brown fur. One gray and one brown was lighter toned, while the other was darker. Each received a lighter dry brush to make the detailing on the fur stand out. The inside of the cloak was painted in a leather color. 

    More Mountain goblins -- these are the most "Tolkien" looking of the three types, in my opinion

Once again, I scribed Orc-like writing on the quivers, with my micron pens. The quivers themselves I painted in pale or leather colors. These goblins progressed very quickly as they had little to no equipment -- no pouches, knives, or anything besides their clothes and bow and quiver. To be honest, I did set them aside for a few days last week when I was hyper-focused on getting Vietnam terrain done. Even doing that, I feel like I am making good progress on my orc and goblin army. Once I read through the rules, I'll have a better idea if there are any other troops I need to paint up besides the orcs, goblins, and trolls which I bought back in June.

    I guess you could paint these guys up as generic fantasy evil cultists and the hoods would work great

Speaking of the trolls, these were easier still than the goblin archers. I read up some discussion online on troll skin color. Tolkien describes them as covered in green scales, but these miniatures are obviously inspired more by the Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies. So, I decided to go with a gray skin tone for them instead of green. I used a base coat of Charcoal gray and a Rain gray drybrush. I wanted to do a highlight of pale green, just to give a hint of Tolkien to their appearance. First, I used a sage green and it looked okay. Then I went with a light olive drab called Timberline Green, and I liked its look much better. What I didn't count on was the final dark black wash muting that green so it is almost invisible!

    Despite my devotion to Tolkien, I went with the Peter Jackson look for my trolls because of the figs

The troll's loin cloths and weapons were the next thing I had to paint. I used leathery colors for the loin cloths, except for one I painted tan. These received their usual dry brush, of course. The weapons were done in a medium brown for the wood parts, with lighter highlight. The metal portions in Steel, bronze, and pewter, while the stone club and axe I painted dark gray with a lighter highlight. I went back and forth about how to do the shields. I'd chosen three different types from the selection that came with the miniatures. I decided to make one a beaten bronze shield, another leather, and the third a black-painted, iron-bound one. Variety is always good, and with these three figures being almost identical, painting their shields differently will add to the look.

    'Gorka' (as Ragnarok calls him) is my favorite pose of this amazing line of 28mm metal trolls

The next decision was whether to do shield designs or not. Since all the orcs were going to have their individual patterns, it didn't make sense to leave their shields plain. So, I went back to the tribal images I'd downloaded off of Google, and used the designs for inspiration here. Somehow, I did the one on the leather shield off center, and no matter how much more I added to its face, I still think it looks a little off, unfortunately. The iron-bound one with its black face and red design is probably my favorite of the three. The triangle image on the bronze one is hard to see, but it does look pretty cool when you pick it out.

    I love 'Bor' (as he is called), but the pose leans forward too much & I'm afraid he'll tip often...

Since I based these big, clonking heavy metal figures sideways on pill-shaped bases, I added some various sized rocks to the flocking. Otherwise, it is similar to the other figures in this army and my new "standard" miniature base flocking. I was encouraged by one of the readers on Lead Adventure Forum to do a group photo of the horde so far. I've painted 45 orcs and goblins and 3 trolls since starting in mid-August. If I remember correctly, I have about that many more to go, too! I have the next eight primed and ready to go on my painting desk, so hopefully progress will continue to move along.

    My weapons may not match what GB's site shows, but I like Urug's pose a lot, too

What else is on the desk? I continue to work on bamboo stands. However, that's it, besides the eight primed orcs and the five woodland animals I hit "PAUSE" painting a few weeks ago. I'm sure I'll slip them in the queue sooner or later. The next blog post will likely be about my two games of Surviving 'Nam that I'm running this weekend at Hold the Line. I'm gratified to see the Friday event is booked full already, though there are spots available in the Saturday game. Hopefully, they'll go as well as the ones did at World at War!

    My three shields for my trolls -- I'm not as crazy about them as I hoped that I would be...

Scroll down for BONUS PICTURES of my entire orc & goblin horde so far...!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 290
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 269

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 67

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 136
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 212

 

    Bonus pics! My horde so far -- 45 orcs & goblins and 3 trolls...it continues to grow!!

    Someone on Lead Adventure Forum thought I should do a "horde so far" pic, so here it is...!