Friday, June 5, 2009

Goatkin

When I saw these Irregular Goatman Warriors (GOAT1), the first thing that came to mind were Gloranthan Broo. They are crudely sculpted, but it does not detract from the figures. As with all 15mm Irregular miniatures, there are about a bajillion different variants. For the Goatmen, they are armed with a variety of different weapons ranging from dagger to giant club. There is at least one variant with a cape and armor, but I do not have an example of that particular figure.


I did some experimentation in limb lengthening with a couple of the goatmen (the two directly to the right of George), and a SLM bugbear. I clipped off the legs, and drilled holes in the upper and lower halves for one goatman and the bugbear. The bugbear received standard straight pins in the legs, while bent pins were glued in place for a goatman. I found it more difficult to regulate the height of the miniature with bent pins, but the results turned out quite nice. Kneadatite was used to reinforce the bond between the pins and the lower legs before the upper body was glued in place.


For the second goatman (holding pan pipes), I tried a different technique to increase height. Using a pair of pliers, I compressed the metal in the legs until the goatman was as tall as the figure modified using pins. I then bent the legs so they would be articulated in a goat-like fashion. The process is simple, but leads to metal stress in the legs. I'm still debating whether to use Kneadatite or Bondo to reinforce the legs of the second goatman, as the articulation points in the leg are quite fragile.


For the other miniatures, Kneadatite was used to reinforce the join between the legs and upper body. It was also used to flesh out the legs. The bugbear will get a second treatment of Kneadatite, since his legs are too spindly at the moment.


And since I am covering the subject of creatures part goat and part human, I added a group shot of a SLM faun and satyr, an Irregular goatman, and a SLM goatman skeleton. While I like the SLM faun and satyr, I think the size of their heads make them a little too dwarf-like for my tastes. I'll have to keep an eye out for replacement heads, too see if that will make their appearance more palatable.




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