Reaper Miniature Goblins Painted

A while back I finished painting 33 Reaper miniatures Goblins I got as part of the Bones 4 kickstarter. I never got round to posting them up here but now I guess I have found time!
I did not paint them to my typical standard of painting for a few reasons.

1. They are small, really small. It made getting details like eyes done not something I wanted to do 66 times.

2. The quality of their sculpts isn't the best. They are made of the older Reaper Bones plastic which means they are flexible. This makes removing mould lines really difficult on such small models. Also meant that a lot of their weapons have bends in them.
3. They will only be throw away grunt enemies in RPG's anyway. I'm not planning on using them as big boss battles or important encounters so it felt like a waste of my time to spend extra time on them.

With that said lets take a look at them and share some thoughts!

Here is my customary scale shot with Professor Pendrake. I also included a few Gobbers from the Warmachine and Hordes miniature line (which is what these Goblins will be representing)
They are noticeably smaller. I'm not too worried about this though tbh I see them more representing what is in the encounter than exactly its size. Some large monsters have miniatures which have scaled them down as well after all.

They are also on bases which are smaller than is typical for the IKRPG but again I'm not too worried. As a GM I'm not a stickler for exact rules if it gets in the way of fun or practicality.

Double handed swords, these guys had no particular issues to be honest - nice and easy.

Mace and shield. These have decent little wooden shields that look home made.

The spears on these ones are nearly all bent downwards a bit. Not enough to make me bother heating them up straightening then cooling though...

These ones have metal shields. I considered having them painted in different colours but decided to go with rusty metal instead.

All of these Goblins I painted at the same time as a huge batch paint. I would pick a colour and go down the line painting it on a random piece of armour or cloth on each goblin. I wanted them to not be all exactly the same and this seemed the easiest way to achieve that.

A bit of ranged support for the Goblins... I'm not expecting them to be much of a threat to the party though...

The armoured goblins are all unique sculpts. They look like they got their armour from the bodies of people they defeated. I made sure to paint it to look rusty and dirty.

Here are the unique non armoured goblins, the shaman on the left I'm not 100% how I will use and Gobbers in the IKRPG can't use magic... I'm sure I will figure something out.

And the big boss Goblin! I did put this guy on a base which is "correct" for the IKRPG mainly as he is a bit bigger than the rest of them it sets him apart as the leader. He has claimed all the best armour from the defeated, though it is still mismatched which I really like.

What do you think of these Goblins?

Like I said, I plan on using them as Gobbers or maybe Bogrin in the IKRPG. I've a few thoughts on fun and interesting encounters for using them.
If enough people would like, I could write some of them down as vignettes which you could use in your own campaigns if you want?

Product Review: Thunderhead Fortress Fabric Playmat

Today we take a look at the Thunderhead Fortress Fabric Playmat.

I was sent this mat to review and try out by Privateer Press so big thanks to them!

Made of a neoprene fabric the mat is well printed with clear details and bright colours. 

The spawn gate spaces which will soon be hidden by painted Spawn gates from the Weird Wendell and Spawn gate expansion! They are really clear and easy to spot across the table though, I like how the associated numbers on these and the treasure spots are printed to be easily readable from multiple angles. I've got pretty poor eyesight so this was something I feel grateful of.

The printed cloth is very securely attached to the rubber underlay. I have seen game mats friends have owned where the fabric ended up peeling off from the rubber. I gave this one a few digs with a finger nail and it didn't budge so I'm pleased with that.

The rubber underlay has a chain mail looking pattern which really helps the mat to grip in place on what ever surface I have tried it on. 

This map is not a "must have" as it is the same map that comes in the starter box but,,,

What I would say is that its a quality of life upgrade, no more bent corners or worn folds from the paper map. If you ever plan on taking pictures or videos of your games the paper map gives off a lot of glare due to the glossy paper its made of so this map removes all that. It will last a lot longer especially if stored well rolled or gently folded. (I would not advise storing anything on top of a folded up mat) 

Being the map that also comes in the starter set it is a straight forward open arena with areas of rough terrain and the spawn gates and treasure are spread evenly through the arena.

If you like Riot Quest I fully recommend getting this map its a big upgrade on the paper one from the starter box!

If you want one for yourselves you can get the here from The Outpost (UK webstore I'm affiliated with) though I should add that these have been really popular and sell out completely often meaning there is sometimes a wait for more to be made!

Model Review: Master Gurglepox

Today we take a look at Master Gurglepox who is a Specialist class hero in Riot Quest and a Cryx Solo in Warmachine.
I was sent this mini by Privateer Press to review, paint and try out so big thanks to them!
The model is made up of a resin main body and five metal parts.

The main body is really nicely detailed though it is hard to see in these pictures. This resin is slightly translucent which is just a variation in the amount of dye used it has no effect on the quality of the sculpt.

Master Gurglepox is a corpulent necrotech riding a Cryx bone jack. I think it will be really interesting to paint that undead skin...

Various tools hang from its belt of pouches, I don't want to know what it keeps in those pouches...

On the underside there are two resin injection ports, one is round and the other a longer rectangle shape. Easy enough to clean up and hard to see being on the underneath of the model. PP have been doing a great job picking where to put these lately.

There are some minor mould lines here, as its resin just a quick scrape with the side of a hobby knife sorted this really quickly.

Both legs are metal and have a half moon shaped attachment point. You could find that you have to pin these, I didn't personally and haven't had any problems.

The upper and lower parts of the skull are separate. There is slight mould lines on the tusks. 

The buzz saw is really well cast, I really like how each arm is different, one is a large glove the other a mechanical prosthetic. 

And here it is fully assembled! I think its a pretty wacky model with a lot of charm, more than I expected it to have to be honest. I think it will be a lot of fun to paint, the main challenge I will have is resisting the urge to paint the Cryx thralls I have collected for the IKRPG at the same time...

And here Professor Pendrake shows just how tall this model is! Including the saw its the tallest model in Riot Quest to date.

If you want to pick them up for yourself you can find them here at The Outpost (a UK webstore I'm affiliated with)

For a long time my "go to" specialist was Widget and during one of PP's live streams I asked them which specialist I should try out instead of her, Will Hungerford (who makes the rules for Riot Quest) suggested I use Gurglepox.
I did just that and it ended up being my MVP for that game! 

Model Review: Weird Wendell & Spawn Gate Expansion

Today we take a look at Weird Wendell and the Spawn gate expansion, I was so pleased when these were announced as I had been trying to figure out how to make my own as I love having 3D decorative elements in my games.
Privateer Press sent me these to review, paint and try out so big thanks to them!

This expansion to Riot Quest comes with six spawn gate a new deck of bounties and Weird Wendell and his stat card and Riot Gear.

Wendell comes in two metal parts.

The spawn gates are made of a blue plastic which is flexible. It is the same sort of plastic that the miniatures from the Iron Kingdoms board games are made from.

They look to be made up from 5 parts based on gaps I can see in the models, but they come assembled. 

Every one of them had the same mould lines as you can see here, as they are a softer type of plastic they are a little trickier to remove than on a resin miniature. I used a small hobby file for the most part and a hobby knife to gently cut them off when the file wasn't enough (which only happened a couple of times across all 6)

I lined them all up here to show the slight variance in the angles of the different gates. As they are assembled for you I think it is possible that slight amounts of the plastic sprue was left in some of the connection points leading to the slight differences in the angle of attachment.
This isn't a huge deal to me as you can only really tell if you are lining them all up like this, I just figured I would mention it.

Wendell's body is highly detailed with a backpack full of Gremlins and equipment used to catch them.

Here you can see the "butterfly net" he uses to catch the little trouble makers!

You can also see the attachment point for his right arm, which is a generous round peg and hole attachment. I didn't feel the need to pin this, especially as it also has a second connection point of the grip of his catapult in his left hand. 

Here you can see two gremlins fighting each other to get out of his backpack, they have really characterful sculpts. In Warmachine when he dies they escape and he is replaced with a Gremlin swarm! 

He has rather unfortunate mould lines down both legs, but I managed to remove them quite well using a rounded hobby file.

There is a slight miscast on his face going from his nose to his collar, as this wasn't cast detail it came off quite easily with the tip of a craft knife - a little gentle filling and you can't even tell it was ever there.

The gremlin in the catapult looks like a willing volunteer! I guess these little nutters love the chance to create mayhem in new and interesting ways! 

And here he is fully assembled! I really like this mini he has a lot of character I think he will be a lot of fun to paint. 

And here he is next to Professor Pendrake, Wendell is a tall fellow indeed!

I love the spawn gates they really add a lot to the way the game looks I think. I have glued mine onto bases and have started painting them. I'm pleased to report that they take paint really well!

If you want to pick up this expansion for Riot Quest for yourself you can find it here at The Outpost (UK webstore I'm affiliated with)