Kobold Archers (2)

In the interests of keeping things moving along, here are two more diminutive representatives of my kobold warband (see the "kobold" label for more). Despite being some of my oldest pieces, they still hold up pretty well. In fact,  I am considering adding to them in the near future to round out the force and make sure I have enough to run "The Sinless Citadel" module.  

 

These archers tend to be just behind the magic-users in terms of the threat they pose within the warband. Small, crafty, and fast, with the ability to pump out damage at impressive range, they are far more dangerous than they might seem at first. The kobolds are a unique and fun gaming option  because of how differently they play from other warbands; they are individually weak, but coordinated attacks and sacrificial plays can draw the opponent into an overwhelming kill-box. More often than not, it is these archers who end up playing a key role in those tactics.

 

 

 

Kobold Soldier (2)

 

These diminutive hoplites represent the apex of kobold military might. So, not that impressive. still, we are finally getting to the rank-and-file of the kobold warband that I have.

 That these are based on square bases is a clear indicator that this is one of my older projects. I have so many models based this way that I feel obligated to carry it forward, despite my preferred choice being round bases.

These were painted with a simple and fast layering of washes. It falls flat in some parts of the miniatures, but the metals end up looking nice and become the focal point.

Kobold Adept (2)

 

This pair of kobold casters make nice minions for the sorcerer I posted previously. Despite appearances, even an apprentice kobold can be a serious threat! It seems I have committed to posting my kobold warband; looking forward to the group shot.

Kobold Sorcerer

 

 My kobolds were the first really large warband I did where I completed a large variety of character types, from goons all the way to apex threats like this fellow here. They had seen a ton of use because of that, to the point of overuse, so I have taken an extended break from them. That is, until I received a fresh batch from Reaper! I was pleasantly surprised to find that the new models meshed really well with the Ben Siens classics, so I'll give them some reinforcements over the next year. Between them, and my goblins, I am getting close to completing the models needed for one of my favorite 3.5 edition modules "The Sunless Citadel," so I'll need to make a push for that sooner than later.

Scion of Ehecatl / Kobold Coatl-Born (2)

 

These Colorful heroes are my entry for this months Printed Encounter paint club. The modular packs are a fun concept, and I was keen on requesting a new part for the kobold kit, so I charged it. 

For a concept I really wanted something that would leverage the unique modularity of these kits, something very different from my normal subjects or from the kobolds already in my collection. I'm not exactly sure how the inspiration struck, but somehow my brain connected the dots that this style of kobold head had an uncanny resemblance to the Aztec god Ehecatl:

 

Notably, the toothy snout  was a good fit. plus an neckbeard, and a brow that looked a bit like a horn! Perfect. Ehecatl is a god of the winds and an aspect of Quetzalcoatl - It doesn't get much cooler than that! In D&D lore the Kobold is often associated with dragons, and they manefest their characteristics from time to time. Following that logic, why not a Coatl? It seemed like an amazing convergence of concept, inspiration, art, and opportunity. I dug around on the web and found some good coatl art, as well as as many images of Ehecatl as I could. A full body image is below:

A few themes were clear: A dark body, either blue or green, a red face (and often hands and feet), here he is shown with a warclub and a round shield. Great reference material.

PE has a very nice set of modular wings that were perfect for the concept, so those were an easy choice. I had the idea early on that I would use the D&D coatl color palate for the wings to join the modern gaming interpretation with the mythology. The gear was tougher, as the current offerings were far more western in theme. Fortunately, I have a Mesoamerican frogfolk pack from PE and I am pretty handy in Meshmixer and Blender. A pair of quick weapon swaps onto the hand bits and I was in business with a macuahuitl and chimalli. The bases were also kitbashed from various free bits and bobs I had in my collection. Easter-egg: the statue on the base of the model on the right is none other than Ehecatl himself! It is a scan of an actual statue (in his human form, it would seem). All of the parts were assembled virtually, and they were printed, bases and all, in a single piece. (note to self: next time use at least two points of contact to the base!).

For the colors I wanted to keep it very colorful, and dang, those wings came out bright! They really pop. For the full buy in, I decided to freehand the chimalli (round shields) using known shield patterns (from codex Mendoza): 

  

I took some liberties with the designs, but I really enjoyed it. I almost never do freehand these days because of the time consuming nature of it, but it was really satisfying.

The bold palate was such a fun change from my normal subjects that I'm tempted to paint a coatl next time I need a palate cleanser.

In summary, a great project! I was able to flex my modeling printing and painting skill, all under a deadline, and I really had fun with it. Heck, I learned a bunch! the research was really interesting, and I'm eager to do more. I hope Ehecatl approves.

 

Animatronic Troll and Kobolds

 

These were among my first completed miniatures from Bones 5 because, well, they were easy. Not much too them, and a simple paint-job at that, but dang, they sure are fun! 

 My metallic paints seem to go bad more quickly than everything else, so I actually struggled to even get the paint on the model. I had to compromise a lot with the usable metallics I had available to me, But it was a "make it work" moment.  It ended up being a good opportunity to experiment with a tarnished and greasy brass look by blending layering and mixing non-metallics with metallics. The reaper bases were great here because the have an empty cavity on the backside and I was able to nest the figures built-in bases inside. this allowed me to match the texture with GS rather than go through the hassle of removing it. For quick paint sessions shortcuts like that are crucial or it bogs down the whole process. for some models it is critical if they already have a very large thick base that cant be safely removed without damaging the model. 

Kobold Hero

This is an interesting archived piece to showcase, my first complete humanoid sculpt! This green dates back to 2009 and was painted in 2011 with the rest of my kobold warband. It was sculpted to go along side the Ben Seins kobolds, though slightly larger and more dynamic, befitting a hero. I surprised myself with the result, and thus began my forays in to sculpting.