Entry #3 to the 9th Lead Painter's League - 'Goblins of 1979'

For my third entry to the Painters' League I decided to paint up a set of very old castings that I found in a dark corner of my Lead Shed.

These figures are 25mm Ral Partha Goblins and Great Goblins sculpted by the talented Tom Meier, circa 1979. Though perhaps fairly average sculpts by today's standards, one has to keep in mind that these models were produced over 35 years ago. 

I remember getting these as a youngster for our D&D campaign and being completely blown away by how dynamic and very characterful they were - there was really nothing like them on the market at the time and I think they still hold up rather well.

I was in a bit of a flap to get these done for the LPL deadline and frankly it shows. Nonetheless, I'm content with how they turned out.

I originally picked up quite a few of these in order to play Gary Gygax's 'Chainmail', a set of miniature rules which I remember to being impenetrable at the time, but that recollection may speak more to me being an inexperienced and impatient youth rather than to the rules themselves.

Thanks for joining me on my trip down memory lane - back when I had far less pocket money but much more hair!

Next up: Italian Wars!

From RossM: Old School Orcs, Pulp Villains & Mycenaeans (83 points)

Things have been a little quiet from Ross these past few weeks but he comes back to us with a great selection of entries for us to enjoy.

From Ross:

First up are the last of the current batch of retro Orcs from Citadel and Ral Partha. These seven Orcs like the previous entry are 28mm in scale. 

They have been painted in a style which is dissimilar to many Orc armies that I see currently; that is I have avoided as much as possible bright colours and gone for a more uniform approach using colours from Foundry's range of WW2 colours. This has given the Orcs a much darker appearance than some you may see elsewhere but I think it really works. So much so that I am looking at creating an Oldhammer army in this style.

Next up are three figures from Artizan Design's Pulp Hero range which are again 28mm in scale. These figures have been painted with a certain film in mind. 

The central figure should spark a few memories of Major Arnold Toht from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Well that was the inspiration.

The Braunen Brüder (Brown Brothers) are his hired helpers and will be a part of his group in several games coming up in North Africa as well as some of the DAK. As with all of the figures from Artizan these have been a pleasure to paint.

Finally my most recent Mycenaeans. These six figures are from Redoubt Miniatures 28mm range depicting the Trojan War. Not much else to say about these except the shields are taking a long time to paint and there will be more from this range over the final weeks of the challenge.

It's great to have you back with us Ross! A great variety of figures and all of them wonderful to behold. The orcs really take me back to those heady days of 1st Edition D&D and Warhammer. (It makes me a bit misty actually.) I quite like the dark tone you've gone with for these. 

The pulp villains are always crowd pleasers. I particularly like the 'Brothers Brown' - I see them having great futures as nefarious henchmen. 

Finally it's very nice to see your continuing progress with your Mycenaean project. Always lovely to see. I continue to be impressed with your clean style and your lovelyh work with the hide shields on these fellows. 

This fine group of figures will give Ross 83 points, with a bit added for those excellent Mycenaeans. Great work!