"Frostgrave Gnolls: 28mm, multi-part, review" Topic

The cost of the set was $1.40 USD/figure (20 figures per box), when I ordered them from North Star, in the UK. This is the delivered price, to my home in the USA, using air mail! When I checked out, the price dropped 4 Pounds after I entered my shipping information, without me entering any discount code, whatsoever. I thought it a fluke, but when I went back, a week later, to order a second box of the figures, I received the same discount. By the way, the figures arrived six days after I ordered them. Great prices, and fast shipping. Hard to beat that!

Here is a link to my Google Photo Album. Note the individual figure photo's demonstrating the latitude possible with positiong their heads, and the body language which can be displayed with angling the heads.

The figures are 35mm tall, from soles of feet, to tops of their heads. With 5 feet = 25mm, this makes them seven feet tall, in the standard figure scale used since 1e AD&D (1-inch = 5 scale feet). Gary Gygax stated, in his 1977 1e AD&D Monster Manual, that Gnolls are 7+ feet tall. This means that these figures are a perfect match.

The box includes round, plastic bases. I prefer square, MDF bases, as required for 2e BattleSystem rules, which I play. The round bases are close to 1-inch diameter, but I have not measured them, to be certain of their size. These are all individually based both for use in my RPG sessions, but also to make change for the dead to be easily removed in BS games. The next box of figures will be based on 1x2 and 1x3 bases, to make movement of Units of figures easier.

Most bodies are solid pieces, except for two. You have the option of twisting their torso, slightly, if desired. There are two, two-piece, torsos, per sprue. All four sprues are identical, but each has numerous extra pieces you will not need for assemblying the 20 figures per box. Extra bits (heads, arms, accessories for gluing on their bodies, and weapons) can be used on other models, if desired. There is one crossbow, per sprue (four per set), and two versions of a bow, one larger than the other. Several weapons are two-handed; these all have a paired left arm, next to them, with an open hand to grip the weapon, making matching the arm sets, easier.

There is only one left arm with a secondary weapon, a hooked dagger. The other arms vary, some matching a two-handed weapon, as already mentioned, some closed fist, some open handed. There are two shields, per sprue: one round, one rough, square, both medium sized. They glue, flawlessly, onto the left clenched fists, with a simulated strap through the fist.

The models are made of hard plastc. They are best glued using plastic model solvent glue. I highly recommend some filing, of the join surfaces, prior to applying the solvent glue. If the surfaces are perfectly smooth, the weld will be as strong as the plastic.

These are an incredible set of Gnoll miniatures. The price is amazing, the quality is superb, as is the variety of variations achievable in their positions! For RPG games, as well as fantasy battle games, these are superb, and worthy of your attention. Cheers!

Thanks Sgt.
The discount is UK tax. If you're outside the European Union (and inside it come November! maybe) the UK tax of 20% is removed from the listed price.
So although we charge 25% postage to the US, you get 20% taken off the listed price.

Thanks for the explanation, Nick! Love the Gnolls, really looking forward to seeing more classic, 1e AD&D-type monsters from you.

I'm working on building armies of monsters based on Gary Gygax's 1977 1e AD&D Monster Manual sizes. These are virtually perfect! I want to see 1e monsters as Gary saw them, back in the beginning. I discovered that 54mm Cave Men figures match up to Hill Giants for size (true 25mm scale), and I found them at Wal-Mart, in a bucket, in the toy section. I also discovered plastic 60mm Viking figures, match up to Frost Giants for size, against true 25mm figures.

I built up the Steading of the Hill Giants, using 2.75D techniques, consisting of the upper level only. I took it to a small convention. It was a lot of fun to run. Seeing it's true, massive size, was amazing. I'm working on building a full-sized, scale model of the Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, as well, with plans to build a similar, 2.75D, Halls of the Fire Giant King setup. I have completed prototypes, as proof of concept. Just need to find the time to finish them. Massive undertakings. Luckily, I'm not dead yet!… Cheers!

Fun projects, Sgt Slag, and I appreciate the review.

Do you have any pictures of the 2.75D setup at the convention?

Here is a link to one of the practice games, but not the convention game, sorry: Album Link. I don't think I saved any photo's from the convention game, unfortunately.

I experimented when running the practice games: I first looked into using 2e BattleSystem Skirmish rules, but that was too much for non-BS Skirmish players to learn in five minutes; then I tried using 2e AD&D RPG rules, which my group is most familiar with, but the HD were jumped by four for Hill Giants in those rules, so I upped the PC's by four levels -- too easy, too many powerful magic spells at their fingertips, making it a cake-walk for them… In the end, I ran it using 1e AD&D RPG rules, as Gary had intended, as Gary had designed the module for. It worked superbly!

I will run G2 and G3 using 1e AD&D RPG rules, as well. Why mess with perfection?… Because converting the module for later rules editions is a kilo-metric ton of work, that's why!

Here is a link to photo's of my prototype terrain for G2, the Glacial Rift. I need to replace the mats, and finish painting and glittering the modular ice wall sections. Just a little bit of work to complete… I don not believe I have any photo's of the prototypes for the Fire Halls of the Fire Giant King, but I did build prototypes, for proof of concept. Cheers!

Sgt Slag, thanks for those great linked photos! I must have missed it when you first posted.

For the Hill Giant layout, what holds the walls up? Pins? I'm assuming the floor material is similar interlocking foam mat to the ice caves layout.

The foam mats have 1/4" deep cuts in them, in a grid pattern, as seen in the photo's. The wall sections are printed paper glued to 3mm thick cardboard pieces. The bottom edges of the wall sections are inserted into the cut slots, in the mat sections.

The mat sections were cut on a table saw, using a 180-tooth blade, meant for cutting vinyl tiles, I believe. The blade's kerf is wide enough to allow the tiles to be inserted relatively easily, without being loose. The foam tiles are from Harbor Freight. I use their back-side for painting, as it is smooth.

The snow tiles were an off-brand, and the latex paint I used on them, is peeling, badly. They need to be replaced with foam tiles from HF, the same tiles I used for the Steading. I may splurge and use acrylic craft paint, in place of the house latex paint I used on the cheaper foam tiles. The acrylic craft paints have never peeled, and they were applied 5+ years ago. Cheers!