Midlam Miniatures - Latest order

When I visited Midlam Miniatures' stand at Salute this year and had a really nice talk to the owners I was introduced to some of their different ranges of fantasy miniatures. Two in particular caught my interest: Goblinvylle and Halflings.
Goblinvylle has some of the most characterful goblins in the market, sculpted by none other than Goblinmaster, Kev Adams. I had already bought (and painted) their goblin lurker and since then had planned of getting some more of their green rascals.
Their halflings somehow got my attention too. I already have dozens of old Citadel halflings to paint, so at first it felt like a pointless exercise to buy some more. However, these Midlam Halflings, sculpted by Josef Ochmann (and which used to be sold by Mega Minis), have a charm of their own which I found irresistible. Plus, their current discount made them even more attractive.
Over the weekend I placed the order and two days later, the models arrived (fast and efficient service; nice!).
The miniatures are all metal and the sculpts are flawless. The goblins come with slotta-bases and the halflings stuck on metal bases. I personally would prefer them to come on slotta-bases or base-free, but it's not exactly the end of the world.

The goblins that came in this order are the servant, town cryer, Captain, torturer and the watch.

All full of character and with a strong old school feel. It's rare to find a range with proper goblin villagers/townsfolk figures, so I'm very happy that Midlam has a dedicate range for these types of models.

The halflings are also lovely miniatures and seem to paint up really nicely, from the picture I saw on Midlam's website. The sculpts and poses give each character a unique identity and the group can easily represent a hobbit village or clan.

I will look out for eventual new releases from both ranges and definitely will try to collect some more of their goblin villagers. Not that I need more models, given my obscene backlog; but these are miniatures that I cannot afford to not own. This hobby is already a waste of time and money; at least let's make it enjoyable.

João

Street Performers Come to Town

City life is usually dull and uneventful. The town of Grymmford is no exception. Every day tends to feel the same as its citizens go about their usual business.
Some days, however, the working routine is broken by loud and cheerful sounds of traditional music and jolly announcements of exciting shows: the street performers come to town with their mysterious plays, rich storytelling and hilarious puppetry.

The first people to greet the travelling players are the children, asking the entertainers to amuse them with their latest performance. Those who decide to ignore the request or refuse to oblige are usually rewarded with stones and other flying objects thrown by the urchins.
The parents are more tolerant and likely to stop working to listen to a bard's song or watch the puppeteer ridicule the local ruler.

In some parts of the town, the crowd is not easy to please and many a minstrel has seen their lute broken to pieces after a controversial song was played.

Street performers do not stay in the same place for long. There are other towns to visit and other peoples to see. Furthermore - and for their misfortune - there is always someone who dislikes them and spreads a bad rumour about their nature. Soon, the whole town turns into an angry mob and forcing the unappreciated troupe to leave for good. Until some other time.

João

Street Performers - More additions

One particular type of civilian I enjoy collecting is the street performer. Like with so many things in life, they come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours. Most of my models are still unpainted - either waiting in the lead pile or covered in black spray. Not good.
I have, however, painted a small sample of these notorious entertainers.
Two of them were already out and about for a few years. The minstrel, from Hasslefree Miniatures (which, by the way, sells a generous number of characterful civilians) and a witch hunter's zealot from the defunct Mordheim range.

The fact that the zealot came with a puppet prompted me to chop his axe and add a Bretonnian monk's head as the other puppet.

Recently, I managed to finish off two more street performers, both old Citadel models: a busker from 1985 C46 villagers range and a puppeteer, from 1987 C46 Travelling Players range.

I got a few painting grudges with the busker, as I couldn't find a way to give him proper highlights without making a mess out of it. After a few attempts, though, I got him painted to an acceptable standard. By the way, I absolutely love the monkey with the fez hat hiding behind him.
The puppeteer was more straight-forward and a joy to paint. He is full of character with the menacing goblin and the mother with a child.
More to come in due time - including some more Citadel classics.

João