More Middle Earth; More Goblins, Dwarven Fire Support and Dwarven B-Echelon

While I wait for the plastic Quar to be released I decided to bash on with some Middle Earth figures purchased earlier this year and fill in gaps in both the goblin and dwarven orders of battle.

The goblins arrived mid-February along with The Unexpected Army. A pack each of Vendel fantasy goblins with spears and goblins archers.

Light flesh, grey tunics, red hoods. Then everything got a brown wash.

Love the little details like the earrings

This, combined with previous Goblins, will now give me two 12x figure units of Goblin archers and two 12x figure units of goblins with spears. So lots of cheap arrow fodder. I've decided that the combined spear and bow profile that I use with the orcs makes these cheap low-caste troops more expensive and just doesn't feel very gobliny. 

I also decided to do a unit of Conqueror Model Dwarves with bows that I'd purchased in January with my Christmas bonus. After last fall's battles I decided that the dwarves really need some more firepower. So 16 archers in mail and 8 unarmoured just to give variety. I know a lot of folks like crossbows or even handguns for dwarves, but crossbows just don't feel very Middle Earth to me, so regular bows thanks. They then got stuck for a month by a Russian cyber attack on the Royal Mail. By the time I got them, I was distracted by other things; hobbits, Xenos Rampant and getting Hot Lead organized.

Oh yeah, and Quar....

Interesting to do them alongside the goblins. Same sculptor, but the goblins were nice one piece castings. The dwarves had separate, fiddly bows to glue into hands. Many of the shields were separate too, but some cast on. Frustrating to glue, but they look alright now.

I also revamped my 30+ year old second hand Medieval pack ponies to make a dedicated dwarf supply element. I quite liked the result I got from my Warlord Napoleonic pack mule train, so I thought I'd do the same for the dwarves.

Warlord mule train

Despite careful math to maximize figure purchases, I somehow, fortuitously had a spare Spearman to use as the baggage wrangler. 

An evening with the pin vise, some thin wire, and different glues got me this:

Because of the wire leads, I needed to have everything assembled before painting. For the pony wrangler, I just reversed the spear so that it looks like he is carrying it over his shoulder, and then glued the shield to his back so I could drill a hole through the shield hand to run the leads through.

The Lion Rampant scenario "Attack on a Convoy" needs three supply elements. I could always add the second stand of Napoleonic pack mules to make a string of three bases. Pack animals seem more suitable to dwarves marching through rugged terrain then wagons would.

I've continued the basing I used with my Samurai baggage and my Bavarian supply wagons. Sand in the middle and flocking and tufts along the edges to suggest a track.

I should figure out a suitable supply element for my Orcs. Perhaps big, dirty, clumsy wagons being whipped along by orcs?