My project to take my long-languishing Goblins and get them to the gaming table is underway, thanks to our friends in Ukraine, Old Guard Painters.
![Goblin champions Goblin champions](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284a.jpg)
Last time, I based up the standardbearers. This time, it's the Goblin champions.
![Goblin champions Goblin champions](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284d.jpg)
The only thing I've done, after the figures were professionally painted, was to put them in slottabases with steel disks on the bottom. (The steel disks will stick to my magnet-lined storage boxes.)
Goblin Champion #1
![Goblin Champion #1 Goblin Champion #1](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284e.jpg)
These figures were originally released as a pack from Heartbreaker Miniatures. Two of the figures are still available, now from Ral Partha Europe.
![Goblin Champion #1 Goblin Champion #1](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284b.jpg)
This pot-bellied fellow is armed with a studded club, has belly armor protruding through his clothes, and is equipped with a small shield.
![Goblin Champion #1 Goblin Champion #1](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284c.jpg)
That's a cigar in his mouth.
![Goblin Champion #1 Goblin Champion #1](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284f.jpg)
He looks a bit fashionable for a Goblin, no?
Goblin Champion #2
![Goblin Champion #2 Goblin Champion #2](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284i.jpg)
This well-muscled champion carries an axe, plus a dagger in a scabbard.
![Goblin Champion #2 Goblin Champion #2](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284h.jpg)
For protection, he wears fur-trimmed leather armor and a steel helmet.
![Goblin Champion #2 Goblin Champion #2](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284j.jpg)
The axe blade has a black stain on its edge… could be monster ichor. Could be paint that dripped on it when it was on my workbench.
![Goblin Champion #2 Goblin Champion #2](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284k.jpg)
Steel bracer on the left arm.
![Goblin Champion #2 Goblin Champion #2](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284l.jpg)
And a nice bum-shield. (Presumably for use if he loses his axe?)
Goblin Champion #3
![Goblin Champion #3 Goblin Champion #3](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284p.jpg)
This champion is armed with a cleaver in each hand, and a long dagger (short sword?) on his belt.
![Goblin Champion #3 Goblin Champion #3](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284n.jpg)
His armor seems a mix of leather and chainmail, with a shield in back. And a steel cap.
![Goblin Champion #3 Goblin Champion #3](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284o.jpg)
If you're wondering what the significance of a 'champion' is: in some mass-combat rulesets, having a champion in a unit raises their abilities or morale. In skirmish gaming, a champion is just a more experienced warrior.
![Goblin Champion #3 Goblin Champion #3](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/839284q.jpg)
When I took the photos, I noticed a bit of 'crust' around the bottom of the figure. Fortunately, it easily rubbed off. I was a big fan of the new, 'fat' nozzles on the Rust-Oleum brand spraypaint, but lately I've had nothing but trouble with them: clogging, over-spraying, wheezing and dripping. (In this case, the matte sealcoat was too heavy and created the 'crust' around the bottom of the base.)
If you have some of the old, classic fantasy figures in your lead pile, I hope this article inspires you to get them painted and out on the gaming table. They may be old, but they can still fight!