Some D&D 50th Anniversary Miniatures

For the 50th Anniversary of D&D, WizKids has released a set of Icons of the Realms figures representing creatures from 1st ed. AD&D and the current 5th ed. of the game.

I picked up a few of the miniatures that I felt I could use alongside 1/72 scale figures, the first being the Classic Red Dragon, which is probably the size of a typical young dragon in the current line of miniatures.

The miniature represents the red dragon from the cover of the original D&D Basic Set from 1977.

I think it's a great representation of the artwork, though I wish they would have made the wings a little more in proportion to its body (certainly they were able to alter the appearance of other miniatures, so I don't know why they couldn't have made changes to make this miniature look better).

I also bought a Gold Dragon which is based on the 5th ed. ampersand logo.

This miniature is a Young Gold Dragon (50th Anniversary #50), which is the equivalent size I use for adult dragons in 1/72 scale. This particular miniature seems to sell on eBay for ~US$50, which is way overpriced. You can find it for much cheaper by shopping around.

The next miniature is an efreet based on the cover of the 1st ed. AD&D DMG.

The Efreeti (50th Anniversary #47) has been modified to suit modern tastes, with the damsel in distress replaced by a ball of fire. The sword arm is a separate part, and the seam line where it is attached to the body is quite glaring. I do like how the sunburst eyes from the artwork are replicated in the miniature though.

I was also surprised to learn that Super7 makes a similarly sized 3.75" action figure of the efreet (along with various other figures). Note how the left hand is conveniently cropped from the blister card art.

There is also a US$250 12" resin figure produced by WizKids that represents the "advanced scene" on the DMG cover after the scantily clad damsel has convinced the efreet that the knight is a much better candidate for his attentions.

Next are a pair of goblins. The 1E version is based on Dave Trampier's art from the AD&D Monster Manual.

The 1E Goblin (50th Anniversary #6) is similar to the art, with the main difference being the helmet (because of the way it is painted). The 5E Goblin (50th Anniversary #5) is an archer that is firing his bow.

Next are a pair of Shadow Demons, with the 1E version based on the art from the Fiend Folio.

The 1E Shadow Demon (50th Anniversary #17) mimics the artwork too faithfully, with its brows painted white. I'm pretty sure in the artwork, it is just a stylistic technique used to suggest some semblance of shape to the head of the demon. The 5E Shadow Demon (50th Anniversary #18) is just completely black except for its eyes and teeth.

The last two miniatures are a Pit Fiend (50th Anniversary #31) and a Glabrezu (50th Anniversary #25).

I wish the Icons Pit Fiend was closer to the original Trampier artwork, with half-furled wings partially cloaking his body, instead of the 2nd ed. Monstrous Manual version, since the miniature is similar in appearance to the conversion I made using a Reaper Pit Fiend.

Unfortunately, my Icons Pit Fiend is missing his tail, so it looks like he has a huge tear in his pants.

Finally, I really would have liked to get the demon idol miniature, but it looked like it was more suitable in scale for 15mm figures.

Orcs; Take 2

The new Orc Warriors from Caesar arrived in the mail today, so I've prepared a quick review.

My set contained 35 figures in 13 poses, two of which come with separate arms. The material is less pliable than the plastic used in the older Caesar fantasy sets, but takes CA glue very well.

The orcs come in a dark forest green plastic which was very hard to photograph. I had to adjust the image levels to make the details show up better, so the pictures do not reflect the actual color of the plastic very well.

I like the sculpts because the jaw size of these orcs is more subtle compared to the previous set, making them less cartoony despite still being influenced by the Warhammer/Warcraft look.

Unfortunately the subtlety did not carry over to their feet, and the orcs seem to be wearing huge clown shoes.

The swords and macuahuitl-like weapons used by some of the orcs are over-sized, and joined to the hand by a very narrow section of plastic. It seems like they may be prone to breakage due to the thinness of the plastic, but I may be wrong.

In any event, they match up pretty well with the previous set of Caesar orcs, though they seem to be slightly taller on average.

Orc Warriors Set 1 (in gray) v. Set 2 (in green)

Another recent acquisition that I want to present in this post is a set of the revised Heritage Goblins (Dungeon Dwellers 1240).

I don't know how many years it's been that I've been looking for these miniatures, but they seem to be particularly difficult to find.

People may be more familiar with the original Heritage Goblins, which (to me) have the look of goblins from the Rankin/Bass Hobbit and Return of the King TV movies.

The original and revised versions of the goblins match up fairly well in size, but the heads of the original goblins are even bigger than those of the revised versions.

Despite their over-sized heads, I will still incorporate these figures in my orcish hordes.

Where there's a whip, there's a way!

Goblins in a Plenty

Whether you consider them to be small orcs or their own separate race, goblins are ubiquitous bad guys that have populated fairy tales and fantasy stories for centuries.

I've been trying to put this post together for quite a long time, and finally forced myself to sort out my pile of goblins, take all the necessary photos, and publish the thing to get it off my list for the New Year. So without further ado, I present the following sampling of goblins that can be used for 1/72 fantasy gaming.

I will start off with goblins in various types of plastic:

The first picture is of Caesar 1/72 plastic goblins (Caesar 105). They are a primitive looking bunch, lightly armed, and unarmored. Their proportions are fine, though I think the ears are a bit overdone.

The next set of images are of goblins from the D&D CMG. The first picture includes the Goblin Skirmisher (Dragoneye #31), Goblin Underboss (War Drums #31), Goblin Warrior (Dragoneye #32), Silent Wolf Goblin (Aberration #43), and Blue (Giants of Legend #29).

The next picture is of the Goblin Blackblade (War Drums #30), Goblin Picador (Dungeons of Dread #34), Lolthbound Goblin (Demonweb #13), Acheron Goblin (Blood War #28), Goblin Delver (Dangerous Delves #21), and Goblin Sharpshooter (Dangerous Delves #22). The Blackblade, Picador and Lolthbound Goblin have also been released for the Heroscape Warriors of Eberron expansion as part of the Ogre and the Goblins set.

The final picture here is of additional repurposed D&D miniatures, and includes the Goblin Cutter and Goblin Champion from the Legend of Drizzt boardgame, and their Dungeon Command equivalents. These were originally released as Goblin Cutter (Legendary Evils #23), and Irontooth (Legendary Evils #28) respectively.

I find the DDM figures suitable for use as either orcs, hobgoblins, or goblins depending upon size. The paint job on the Dungeon Command versions are are not particularly well done, but it's easy enough to repaint them, and they tend to be much cheaper than the original figures.

The Pathfinder goblins have often been described as not being your typical goblin, but they still fall into the stereotype of small, green humanoids. To me they seem to behave similarly to the gremlins from Joe Dante's Gremlins. From left to right are a Goblin Warrior (We Be Goblins! #1), and two Goblin Pyros (Legends of Golarion #1 and #2).

They have incredibly big heads that make them look totally out of proportion when placed next to a 1/72 scale figure. Luckily, the heads come off rather easily, and can be replaced with something smaller.

To round out the soft plastic goblins, we have goblins (and hobgoblins) from the BattleLore boardgame and two of their specialist packs - Goblin Skirmishers (Harceleurs Gobelins), and Goblin Marauders (Maraudeurs Gobelins) - produced by Days Of Wonder/Fantasy Flight Games. The figures include a Hobgoblin Swordsman, Hobgoblin Archer, Hobgoblin Spear Bearer, Goblin Band Leader, Goblin Drummers, Goblin Slinger, and a Goblin Skirmisher/Swordsman.

The plastic used to make the BattleLore goblins is a bit more bendy than other types of plastic, but their limbs are pretty chunky so there should be no problems with warping.

Finally, I include some hard plastic figures. The largest one on the left comes from Warhammer Quest, followed by two snotlings from the GW Night Goblin Fanatics set, and a whole bunch of Mantic imps. I bought the imps as bitz, so I'm not sure what sets they come from.

Now onto the metal miniatures:

The Terronus Isle of Goblins game is produced by West Wind Productions, and comes with a small line of goblin miniatures. The Terronus goblins are all slightly on the tall side, but they are slender, and thus more like goblins than orcs.

The first picture is of the Goblin Barbarian and Barb (TR-01), the Goblin Cleric and Chain Fighter (TR-02), and Goblin Fighters (TR-03).

The second picture is of the Goblin Paladin and Ranger(TR-04), the Goblin Monk and Rogue (TR-05), and the Goblin Wizard and Sorcerer (TR-06).

The last picture is of the Goblin Druid (TR-07), Goblin Villagers (TR-13), and a Sepulchral Guard (TR-14).

Hasslefree makes a nice set of Multi Part Goblins (HFO012) that come with separate heads, arms, and shields. I've only attached the heads here, but there are two right arms with swords, two right arms with spears, and four different left arms with attached shield.

They have a bit of that Angus McBride look to them, and look pretty good alongside the 1/72 Dark Hold Orcs.

The next picture contains three goblins from Prince August (Fantasy Armies GB7), and a pair of goblins made by The Goblin Factory (GOBSP014 and GOBSW007). The Prince August goblins are tall, and could be used as either goblins or orcs. The Goblin Factory figures are perfectly sized, and I will have to order some more in the future.

Citadel produced a line of lesser goblins that are perfect for use with 1/72 figures. These include:

C12/C13 Lesser Night Goblins

C12/C13 Lesser Goblins

GW snotlings come in a huge number of variants so a good group of goblins can be assembled relatively easily. They are on the cartoony side, and while I am not a huge fan of stereotypic comedy relief races, the miniatures actually paint up rather nicely. Some of their heads are pretty over-sized for 1/72 miniatures, but not so much so that I feel compelled to make a head swap like for the Pathfinder goblins. For coloration, my preference is for the traditional AD&D colors, though I do have some green goblins.

C14 Snotlings

Bit, Bob, Bog, Bogy, Chug (x3)

Dig, Dit, Gaz, Gig, Greni, Gug, Lud

Rud, Snif (conversion), Snit, Snot, Tug, Xen

Zid, Zot, Balg, Beet, Glup, Hev

Jab, Perc, Pik, Puff, Ret, S.A.A.

Shaman, She-Snot, Sik, Slik, Snek

Spet, Stug, Troom, Hic-hic

Gim and four anonymous snotlings

Marauder MM36 Snotlings

Snotling Pump Wagon Crew

Bloodbowl Snotlings

Rogue Trader Runts

Alternative Armies makes some Lesser Goblins (KC1) that are suitable as goblins. To me they seem rather influenced by the appearance of GW goblins.

Reaper goblin from the Familiars IV set (Warlord 14297), and Familiar Pack VI (Dark Heaven Legends 02870). This pair are unarmed civilian-type goblins.

The Ral Partha Lesser Goblins/Goblin-Imps from the CS/Fantasy Collector Series are some of my favorite figures. The first figure is actually from the Monsters boxed set (The Adventurers 98-003), and is called a Demon Imp, or in other instances a ghoul, but it fits right in with the Goblin-Imps.

Tin Soldier Giant Goblin Command (DFA12) are in a crouched position similar to the Ral Partha Goblin-Imps, but are a lot chunkier.

Blood Dawn/Shadow Corps goblins are small and weedy, and fit well with other 15mm figures, unlike the Shadow Corps orcs and dwarves. The first picture contains two pairs of figures from the Goblin Command Set (SC3009) and Goblin Infantry with Mace set (SC3010), and one pose from the Goblin Infantry with Side Arms set (SC3011).

The next picture is of the Goblin Infantry with 2-Handed Arms (SC3012), and Goblin Archers (SC3013).

The next group are 15mm Alternative Armies goblins. Many of the figures are used interchangeably with their orc sets with the exception of some of the figures from their Goblin Command set (HOT3), and Goblin Archer set (HOT61). The command set was supposed to have three poses, but I ended up with four. The first two figures are unique to the goblins, while the second two are shared with other orc sets. The final figure is of a Goblin Hunter (MDA22E) from their Table Top Fantasy line.

Additional small 15mm goblins come from Splintered Light Miniatures. These include Goblin Warriors (ORC07).

Some somewhat larger Goblin Archers (ORC03)

Finally, some figures that I use as goblin proxies. The first figure below is of a Ral Partha Mite (AD&D Monsters 11-460), followed by two Grenadier Kobolds (Wizzards and Warriors W22). These kobolds are not the iconic Sutherland versions, and I vaguely recall them also being used as lesser orcs or goblins by Grenadier.

More Grenadier kobolds include some sculpted by John Dennett (Fantasy Lords 148; Monster Manuscript Vol.V 1505, MM43, MM44). These kobolds are horned, but do not have tails. I use them as a type of hobgoblin.