Kickstarter Watch: Hobgoblin Raiding Party by Midlam Games

 

Just a quick post to point to the latest Kickstarter from Midlam Games.  

This one is Hobgoblin Raiding Party, Vol II (I must have missed Vol I).  I'm intending to back it because a friend likes to pay half-orcs, I I think these will do.  I backed a few of Midlam's Kickstarters before and have always been pleased both with the KS fulfilment and the miniatures.  I'd have no qualms in recomending them.

As I write (the day before I'll publish), there are 13 days to go and they already have pledges of £3725 against a £600 goal.

New Stuff

This week has been another poor one as far as the hobby mojo goes.  I have done absolutely no painting, so it looks as if I will miss this weekend's (and final) bonus round in the AHPC.  This is particularly annoying, as I had wanted to submit for each bonus round, I'd bought something specially with this one in mind, and that both my Curtgeld and my normal run of Dr Who figures would have fitted in with the theme (character of scene from a book, movie or tv).

I have some excuse though - I've pulled a muscle in my back (moving books, naturally) and thus spent a day in bed, and the rest of my time feeling extremely sorry for myself.

However, nice Mr Postman did bring some consolation.

Some of you may remember that back in November 2016 I backed the Midlam Miniatures' Cult of the Kraken Lord Kickstarter.  Well, like the previous Midlam Kickstarter I back, these were delivered spot on time.

The Shrine awaits

The Cult arrives..

Jolly nice artwork

I'm been given some thought to my lack of hobby mojo and have come to the conclusion that, much as I enjoy painting figures, it is quite disheartening that I so rarely get to play with them.  I'm going to therefore make a concerted effort to get some solo playing in ("I used to play with myself all the time!").

So I was looking for something simple, fairly self-contained that wasn't too expensive and which was suited to solo play.  Warlord Games let you download the rules of Project Z for free and they seem to meet the above criteria.  And at the moment if you buy the core box, you get an expansion pack for free (£45.00's worth of game for £30.00).  So I watched a couple of YouTube videost and decided it was a good deal.

When I came home this afternoon I found the Red Card of Frustration.  Fortunately, in our case it means that the parcel in in the woodpile, so here we are-

As you see, you get a fair bit in the core box, but for Solo play I reckon you need extra Zombies, so for my free box I chose them rather than more survivors.

Sadly, the core set that was sent to me contained the rules and cards in German.  I see that this has happened to other people and been resolved quickly, so have every confidence that Warlord will sort it out.  I've sent an e-mail and will update you on the results.

But don't worry, I've not sworn off Pulp and Classic Sci-Fi, so stay tuned!

A Few KickStarters

A few Kickstarters to share with you...

First up is Bad Squiddo Games' Ghosts of Gaia.

The likelihood is that you don't need to be told of this, given that it's 733% funded.  In fact, when I first visited 15mins after the launch it was 115% funded.  Post-Apoc isn't really my cup of tea, but as I'm a supporter of Annie's efforts and know the great service she provides, I present it for your consideration.

Secondly, is a Kickstarter that started earlier today.  It's from Midlam Miniatures and is the Cultists of the Kraken Lord.  Some of you will remember that I subscribed for their apprentice wizards (which are now available for pre-order on their website) and which arrived dot on time in fine order.

Now tentacly cultists!  That is down my street!  So I've signed up.

And having done that, Kickstarter directed me to Mushimen Attack! by Toad King Castings.  This looks intriguing, but I think I'll leave it for now.

Midlam Apprentices

I must have been among the lucky ones who were in the first trance for their Midlam Apprentice Kickstarter rewards to be posted out, as I received them on Friday, some hours before the notification of mailing was sent out.

For those who like humorous, characterful sculpts, you couldn't really do better than these lads (and lasses?).  They really do seem to be having difficulty getting the hang of their spells.

Who knows, I may paint them as some time...

Midlam Apprentice Kickstarter

Some of you may remember that I have some of Midlam Miniatures' spellcasters for Frostgrave purposes.  Well, they've just launched their first Kickstarter - a class of wizards' apprentices sculpted by Martin Baker.

Full details here.

Fantasy Thursday #2

Admin first.  I've changed the name of this series of posts from 'Frostgrave Fursday' to 'Fantasy Thursday'  as I think it will cause less confusion.*

* Not that that's a given though - did anyone else see the title of the post on Wargames News and Terrain last week 'X Stocking Fantasy Figures' and momentarily think the figures were 'Stocking Fantasies'?

Earlier in the month I mentioned a couple of figures I'd bought in a sale, thinking that they were from the same manufacturer as the various other wizards I'd painted up for Frostgrave.  I was mistaken - the first figures were from Midlam Miniatures and the new ones from Otherworld Miniatures.   Well I've now painted them up.  In truth, I much prefer them to the Midlams - they have more character and are more dynamic.  Of course you makes your choice and pays your money: Midlam's figures are £2.00 each, whereas Otherworld's are £5.00.  I have to think long and hard before spending a fiver on a figure.

 

I'm quite taken with the dwarf and how he turned out.  He's made me think that I might dig out the fabulous Oathsworn dwarves and haflings from last year's Kickstarter.  Why shouldn't they get some of the Frostgrave booty?

Frostgrave Fursday #1

It had been my intention to use the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge to concentrate on building up a couple of Frostgrave warbands and a compliment of baddies and beasties for them to tackle.  But we've got within sight of the end and not a Frostgrave figure to be seen from me!

Well, better late than never!

First up are the spell fodder...

Who would hire this rabble?

As some of you will instantly recognise these are from Northstar's sprue of Frostgrave soldiers (though I can't swear there's not some cultist thrown in there).  As many have already said, this is a very nice pack, with some wonderful detail and character.

I've decided that this jovial chap was a mass murderer before
deciding to chance his luck in Felstad

The spellcasters on the other hand are from Midlam Miniatures.  They're sold as suitable for 28mm games, but some might find them a little small.*

*At 25mm they're the weedy academic wizards, compared to the beefy mercenaries.

The rest of the group call the apprentice 'Smiler' when the
spellcasters aren't around.

The bases are my usual 2p pieces with Vallejo Sandy Paste.  With the soldiers I added some sprue off-cuts to represent fallen masonry.  Then various grass and heather tufts (a mix of Tajima and some Gamers' Grass I got with my last order from Bad Squiddo - I think the former are much better value for money and will go with them again).

I haven't attempted to make the wizards school-specific, preferring to have a pool of figures I can choose from when I play.  Equally, I've not been too particular about what arms and equipment the soldiers have - today's Thug might be tomorrow's Thief. 

Sadly, other than Smiler and The Butcher of Harvey's Grove, these haven't inspired me to do any detailed back-story.  Perhaps that'll come when I start creating the stat sheets and playing with them.  And perhaps best not to get too attached to the Dispensables anyway...

What Wizardry Is This?

A couple of parcels today, with some new goodies for Frostgrave.

First, I needed some spellcasters.  For what will be obvious reasons to some of you I've decided that I want my major wizard and apprentice to be Sigalists.  Accordingly, we have these two:-

As is only fitting, the Apprentice is carrying all the scrolls

And I thought that Sigalists would appreciate a mystic text as a treasure marker...

The grimoire and lectern are separate, but I'll put
them together

And then there were a couple more generic Wizards

Despite these pieces (from Midlam Miniatures) being very reasonably priced, I thought I would save myself some money by making my own treasure markers from bits and pieces.  

You'd have to be daft to buy some, wouldn't you?  Oh foolish me!

Within hours, Annie, The Dice Bag Lady posted to FaceBook that she was now stocking pieces from Ristul's Extraordinary Market.  I've seen their terrain in various on-line places, but I don't think I'd seen them for sale from a UK source before.

This is their Cursed Treasure pack:-

Photo doesn't do them justice

Which includes this piece, very reminiscent of a scene from the 1982 'Conan the Barbarian' film.

This was the first time I'd bought from either Midlam or Annie and I'd recommend them both.  Both had a very fast turn-around (I had Annie's parcel within 24 hours of ordering), despite not overcharging on postage.