No Water Spout Is Safe

My painting table has been jostling with quite a few projects lately. I can't tell if it's made me more productive, or less, but it seems like everything's been at 90% completion for a while.

"Let's go get us some tuffet!"

Anyway, they're finally starting to roll off the assembly time - starting with the Spider Riders!

These models have been knocking around for eight years or so, which puts them mid-tier in the leadpile. I like the look of them (much more so than the chubby metal versions they replaced), but could never whack up enough enthusiasm to set about them.

Lean and green.

Fortunately, a good battle can be a great motivator, and thee chaps were needed for an Age of Sigmar all-cavalry clash, and then an 8th Ed all-goblin dust-up against the Dwarves (where their sole contribution was to get animus and kill some of their own).

Forest Goblins and Hobgoblins apparently don't mix as well as Ebony and Ivory.

I like the end product, but I can appreciate my reticence to get started. These models are fiddly with detail. The goblins themselves are barely larger than a good snotling, but they're lousy with bones, feathers, straps and detailing on their shields. The spider mounts too have a lot going on with patterned abdomens and lots of details on their bases: skulls, webs, tree stumps.

Does whinging about details make me a Bad Hobbyist? It's just that three feathers per tiny goblin is a bit damn much..

I suppose it's a bit rich to complain about such nicely-realised detail on the models, but these aren't Chaos Chosen - they're meant to be cheap, expendable troops that you can bash out in large numbers. Still, now they're done, I quite like the effect, so there you go.

"Yo momma's so fat, she could be She-Lob!"
"My mother is She-Lob, Larry, and it's a glandular condition."

No banner for this lot (it's a impressive spider-head totem that I have set aside for another project), but I did give them two musicians, so I could split them into two groups of fast cavalry. At least, I thought I did, when it came time to attach the skeletal drum kit for the model below, I could not find it anywhere.

Pictured: not a drum

For a meticulous organiser like myself, whose bitz box is beyond reproach, this was very distressing. And after a considerable amount of time turning everything upside-down, I remembered where I'd seen the skeletal drum. Ooops.

Pictured: sort of a drum.

Onto the painting notes: I decided to try a grey undercoat with this lot (I'm very enamoured of my grey primer at the moment) and it turned out well. For the flesh, I just put a wash of Biel-Tan Green directly on the undercoat, then highlighted with Warboss Green.

Very quick and easy, and gave me a mid-point of green between Night Goblins and Common Goblins (I believe I am now juggling seven different flesh tones in my Waaagh!)

The same was done for the feathers: Drakenhof Nighsthade wash over the undercoat, then highlight with white and add a drop of Scab Red (thinned with Carroburg Crimson); and the weapons: white highlights and Nuln Oil washes to give a flinty look.

I'm liking his Battle of the Planets helmet.

I thought long about the spider colours (and nature didn't help much - the bloody things are all sorts of colours), but in the end decided to go with XV-88 base, washed with Agrax Earthshade, highlighted with Zandri Dust, with an extra highlight of Flayed One Flesh on the legs. They certainly unsettled Mrs Stylus (a genuine arachnophobe), so that was convincing enough for me.

For my own benefit (in case I ever try an expand the unit, or - Gork save me - do an Arachnarok), the full recipe is:

Goblins

• Flesh: Grey undercoat, Biel-Tan Green wash, Warboss Green highlights
• Feathers: Grey undercoat, Drakenhof Nighsthade wash, White Scar highlights, Scab Red details
• Weapons: Grey Undercoat, White Scar highlights, Nuln Oil wash, White Scar highlights
• Weapon straps: Spearstaff brown base, Agrax Earthshade wash
• Tunics: Balor Brown base, Agrax Earthshade wash
• Bones: Bleached Bone, Seraphim Sepia wash
• Shields: Incubi Darkness backing, Dryad Bark rim, Flayed One Flesh with Seraphim Sepia details

Spiders

• Body: XV-88 base,  Agrax Earthshade wash, Zandri Dust highlights, Flayed One Flesh highlights
• Fangs: Flayed One Flesh base, Seraphim Sepia wash
• Eyes: Averland Sunset base, Cassandora Yellow wash
• Abdomen details: picked out with Brown Ink
• Base spiderweb: Drakenhof Nighsthade wash, White Scar highlights, Stormhost Silver highlights

I don't know why I have these in groups of 2x6, other than I thought it would be a tactical advantage two editions ago. I'm not even sure about their origin - most or all of them came from Leofa, although they seem to be a mix of the Battle For Skull Pass set and the regular box set.

Shame really - if I'd been thinking about it before I set paintbrush to model, I could have held a couple back and had a funky Spider Chariot in the works.

Still, it's the first core unit for my much-neglected Goblin army, so away they scuttle!