From KeithS: Hobgoblins and Guardsmen (135 points)

Continuing with my trip down memory lane, I followed up my old Heritage Orcs with an even dozen of their Hobgoblins, in 25mm.  I still have a set of these painted by my dad around 1981, and thought I'd try my hand at making a small force of them.  They really have a lot of personality, with their huge mouths and teeth and bow-legged stances.  There are four different poses and a good level of detail on them.

The group shot:

The line-up.  The shields are made to look like snatches of hide sewn over wood.  I tried making them a bit haphazard in construction with differing shades of brown.  Over that, I painted a fairly simple red spiky morningstar to make them look properly menacing.

From the back. Like all the Heritage Dungeon Dweller series I've seen, these figures have a lot of little details to make them interesting - bags, secondary weapons, etc.

Next we turn to a group of 15 human soldiers.  I am not sure of the manufacturer or line on these guys.  They are pretty big for 25mm and closer to 28mm, to my mind.  I have no idea when or where I got them!  There are ten armed with polearms of varying types, and five archers.  Somehow I got it in my head that they would make a good city guard, so I was sure to paint them to match, though they really vary quite a bit in details.

A closer-up.  Most have padded or studded leather armor over mail.  But what I really liked about them was the beautiful polearms!  So many styles and variants - Gary Gygax would swoon.  The sole unhelmeted guy I decided was their captain.  Why?  I guess because he stands out a bit.

The level of detail on these guys is fantastic.  They are very well made and painted up great.  If anyone knows who made them, let me know!  I may have to track down some more!

A couple more of the lads.

They were pretty rich in smaller details - studs on armor, little targe shields, sacks, daggers, etc.

Well,  it is inauguration day here in the DC area. What does that mean for me?  I am staying in my house and not leaving - its a crazy mess outside.  More time for painting!

I agree Keith, those hobgoblins still have some charm still for such venerable sculpts, and nice that you've tied them together with the red theme. The city guard sculpts are excellent, nice details but not over-fussy. They've come out rally well, and look like they were a joy to paint. They might not be uniformly dressed, but they still make a fine City Guard. Perhaps a citizen's militia rather than a professional force? Hopefully one of the Challengers can identify the manufacturer. 

Twenty seven 28mm miniatures makes 135 more points and a good boost to your your dungeon-crawling adventures.

Phil