Old Hob's hobgobs

[Old Hob]

'Ere we go, then. Work in progress on my first tilt at a fantasy army in nearly 30 years, and my first ever attempt at painting hobgoblins! It’s a steep learning curve. I’m hoping to improve my technique as I go along, so any advice or constructive criticism is genuinely welcome. So, without further ado…

The first 12 of a unit of 20 Mourngul Renegades; the Clan Kamaka Immortals, led by the inscrutable shaman Chötgör.

Hobgobla-Khan holds sway over the vast Steppe and the use of meat shields, sorry, I mean troops, from vassal tribes is not uncommon, such as these goblins from the Cracked Rock tribe.

These ‘orrible gits will get added to over time with whatever gobbos happen to catch my eye. The Chaz Elliott sculpt with the zweihander doesn’t really fit thematically, but he has such a great hat that I couldn’t resist.

 

[EricF]

They are lovely. I'm just going to sit here quietly for a bit and admire them. I very much like the goblin skin tones.

 

[Old Hob]

They are lovely. I'm just going to sit here quietly for a bit and admire them. I very much like the goblin skin tones.

Eric, that is really very kind of you. Thank you.

 

[twisted moon]

they look excellent. the fella to the left of antler helm looks familiar; where's he from?

 

[Old Hob]

they look excellent. the fella to the left of antler helm looks familiar; where's he from?

Thank you. The front row are all mid-'90s Heartbreaker sculpts by Kev Adams and Chaz Elliott (now sold by Ral Partha Europe). The back row are two more Kev Adams sculpts from the mid-'90s for Harlequin and a Citadel ME 41 Goblin Warg Rider (1985?). No idea who sculpted the LotR range, but they're lovely miniatures (I also have a couple of the Uruk Hai destined to join my Hobyars).

 

[Caradepato]

I really like your painting style, ghat desaturated red is brilliant.

 

[Old Hob]

I really like your painting style, ghat desaturated red is brilliant.

Thanks Caradepato. I think the low res photos are probably doing me a favour!
The red is a base of Citadel Tuskgor Fur highlighted by mixing Tuskgor with a bright yellow and applying in several opaque layers.
BTW I love the orc boyz you've recently posted, especially impressed with the verdigris effect on their bronze gear and your use of blue. Lovely stuff. If I'd have known what a pain blue is to paint with I'd have never started using it on the hobgobs.

 

[Old Hob]

First of the Hobyar unit painted - Khargis, the Young Khan of the Darga tribe.

I've wanted the BC2 hobgoblin since I was a kid, so this was a treat to finally paint. This was also my first go at using tufts and static grass, which I think worked out OK.
Next up (hopefully) will be a couple of Khargis' retainers.

 

[Pygmy Witch Doctor]

Really enjoying this following this thread. Your Hobgoblins look really good all together and individually. The tufts and static grass work really well on the last one. Looking forward to seeing more. Thanks for sharing progress.

 

[Citizen Sade]

Love that last hobgoblin. The BC monsters set is one of my all time favourites. Do you have more figures from it to add to your force? The ogre & the goblin seem like a particularly good fit.

 

[l'amour]

Fatastic set of models, wonderfully painted. The antler hat is magnificent.

 

[sologamer]

Love those Hobgoblins.

I only have 2 og the original ones but there are a load of the new Satanic Panic ones in the paint queue.

Tom

 

[Old Hob]

Thank you for the kind words of encouragement. The hope is that posting semi-regularly motivates me to knuckle down and get a full army painted (it would be a first).

The BC2 goblin and ogre are a good shout. They both have that Conan the Barbarian aesthetic and I think they'd fit right in with the general Steppe-Gobbo vibe.

I've also got a couple of packs of Satanic Panic archers on order to bulk out the skirmish line. I know they've been designed to work with the Fantasy Tribes range, so I'm interested to see how they'll look alongside the later C36s. Whether they fit or not, I'll almost certainly be buying the hobgob with a rocket strapped to his back!

 

[dazza36]

Really nice paint job and nice to see the Hobgoblins painted as there a rather rare sight. Keep up the great work and look forward to seeing more.

 

[Old Hob]

Meet Büba – as strong as an ox and as thick as two short planks. His propensity for violence and his complete lack of imagination are both traits highly prized by the Young Khan.

I’ve been ploughing on with painting more hobyars over the last week or two and I have been making a right pig’s ear of it! It's been pretty frustrating.
So, it was with great relief that the N12 hobgob scrubbed up reasonably well after just a couple of evenings’ daubing. I’ve never painted any Chronicle stuff before, but now I can definitely see the attraction. Hopefully more soon.

 

[symphonicpoet]

^Aren't hobgoblins supposed to be pig eared? Sounds (and looks) like you're doing it just as it should be done. Perfectly strong and appropriately violent. Lovely looking stuff!

 

[Old Hob]

Thanks SP.

 

[The Fat Git]

The painting on these are bloody great! Love them.

 

[inchmurrin]

The Chronicle maniac looks great. I often feel Nick Lund's work looks quite coarse when unpainted but look much more detailed when painted. Thinks must start painting my N14 Ogres.

 

[Old Hob]

Thanks for the kind comments, all. It really is appreciated. Next up is a classic Jes Goodwin sculpt I'm planning to use as the army standard bearer.

Old Scrote has been a loyal clan retainer since the days when Khargis’ grandfather, Khulgaich the Despoiler, was khan of the Darga. To this venerable murderer falls the honour of carrying the tribal totem into battle; the flayed face, and imprisoned soul, of the ogre chieftain G’nom-g’nom.

Tales tell of how the Despoiler wished to lead his warband through G’nom-g’nom’s mountain fastness to the steppe-lands beyond, and raid deep into a rival khan’s territory. G’nom-g’nom demanded a steep price in slaves and silks for a safe passage, which the Despoiler begrudgingly agreed to pay. But the night before the Despoiler crossed into the ogre lands, the inscrutable shaman Chötgör came unbidden to his ger.
Without so much as a glance at the crooked figure, the Despoiler asked, “Why do you seek me, Shaman?”
“Great Khan,” replied sly Chötgör, “I come bearing a warning from the spirits. G’nom-g’nom schemes against the Darga. He plans to ambush you in the heart of the mountains, slaughter your warriors, devour your wolves and relieve you of your treasure.”
The Despoiler grunted non-committedly and spat into the fire to ward off ill-luck.
Chötgör continued, “But victory can be yours, Great Khan. The spirits have revealed to me a way to turn this ogre’s trap against him. A way to massacre his warriors, add his treasure to your own and damn his treacherous soul to an eternity of unfathomable torment.”
The Despoiler looked up and fixed the shaman with his one remaining eye. “And what, Shaman, do you want in exchange for sharing this… spiritual wisdom?”

How the Darga managed to ambush an ambush in the heart of enemy territory is subject to much speculation amongst the hobgoblins of the steppe. Occasionally some foolish young warrior will ask a battle-scarred Darga veteran how it was achieved. The Darga will suck their teeth and say, “Well, if I were to tell you then I’d have to kill you, wouldn’t I?”
If the young hobgoblin is really unlucky, they’ll then get a blow-by-blow account of the battle, swiftly followed by a knife between the fourth and fifth rib.

Obligatory snap of the command group so far, who will hopefully be joined by a musician over the weekend. March may not have been especially productive, with life seriously getting in the way of painting toy soldiers, but I'm pretty chuffed with these boys none-the-less.