Burrows and Badgers - The Big Guys

As I put the finishing touches on my Oathsworn Female Adventurers in Sensible Shoes, here are my final efforts from their Burrows and Badgers line. These are, for the most part, the larger figures in the line. The titular badger is one heavy piece of pewter. 

A female fox (vixen) archer.

The fox thief was one of my favorite figures in the set. It has a great dynamic pose and a clean casting - a near perfect mini. 

As I said, these are some big figures. Here is the badger beside a 30/32mm Reaper orc. The size puts it easily in ogre/small giant size range. 

Below, a couple of black rat thugs or assassins.

Oathsworn continues to be one of my favorite manufacturers. Its Kickstarters are always on time and well communicated. They have the perfect blend of innovation in concept and tradition in design. 

My next post should be their female adventurers in time for the next project from Oathsworn set to launch in a couple of days. 

Burrows and Badgers - close to completion

I have returned to blogging after a several month absence. All I can say is that it happens. Kids, job, exercise all come before the internet. I haven't been so busy that I gave up on gaming and painting, but when the time crunch hit, taking pictures and posting was the first thing cut.

I do have a nice backlog that should fuel some posts for the next couple of months.

First up, more from Oathsworn Miniatures' Burrows and Badgers. This is from their first Kickstarter and I am closing in on finishing the set.

These five shown below were most recently completed.

 Nate the Wanderer, Mouse Hedge Knight. 

Darmok Foecrusher, Marmot Mercenary

Bassk uz'Drasst, Green Lizard

Glormug Wyrde, Toad Animist

These figures are really begging for a D&D 5E conversion. And I could put it on the DMS Guild...and that's how I take on too many projects with too little time. Maybe one day. 

Oathsworn is one of my favorite manufacturers. Their kickstarters are almost always early and their figures show such a unique personality. They are not as detailed or elaborate as figures from larger manufacturers, but they more than make up for it in dynamics and characters. The castings are also top notch, quality metal and I am surprised to find the slightest bit of flash. 

All my ducks in a row

I got these Duckmen from Rebel Minis holiday sale, and they went to the front of the line in my paint queue. They are the old Mongoose duckmen for Runequest, currently released through Rebel minis as part of their Darkhold line.

I imagine these as the strangest Frostgrave band possible, or maybe as a weird wilderness encounter for PCs in my next campaign.

The sculpts are excellent, and each figure is unique. They are short, averaging about 20mm, but well detailed.

Due to aging eyes, painting at this size is not my strong suit, one reason I avoid 15mm despite its growing popularity. However, between my anthro characters and other short races, I seem to spend a lot of time in this size.

A blog reader recently asked for some comparison shots from various manufacturers, so here are a few combinations

L to R: Iron Wind Quickling, Rebel Ducman (2) and a Reaper halfling

L to R: Oathsworn dormouse, Rebel duckman (2) and a full size Reaper Elf. 

The duckmen compare relatively well to most halflings, though they lack the bulk that some manufacturers add to their halflings and gnomes. I suspect they don't want them to look like normally scaled 15mm or 20mm figs.  

And now, just some mice: 

L to R: Reaper mousling, Oathsworn dormouse, Splintered Light Rat and Oathsworn mouse.
Note that the Splintered Light fig is on a thinner base. 

More Burrows and Badgers from Oathsworn

I completed six more of Oathsworn's Burrows and Badgers miniatures last week. These figures were my favorite acquisition of 2015 to this point.

Anthropomorphic has suffered a bit because of the whole "furry" thing, but nonetheless, I am a fan Oathsworn's product. Their aesthetic is favors the animal rather than human form, matching the look of Disney's Robin Hood or the Redwall series.

The sculpts and castings are very clean; like great animation, Oathsworn's designs are built from bold lines and dynamic composition, rather than over-elaborate details and ridiculous poses.

Shrew Warrior, Mole Friar, Ferret Rogue 

Mole Warrioress, Hedgehog Warrioress, Black Rat Warrior

Burrows and Badger Oathsworn Work in Progress

Here are my first three works in progress from the Oathsworn Burrows and Badger Kickstarter.

From the right, Snowbelle Venomdart, Grimnir One-eye, and Daggit Neverseen.

The Hare may be my favorite sculpt; it seems to best capture the aesthetic Oathsworn was aiming for. 

After some highlighting and base details, these will be finished. More pics to follow.

Burrows and Badgers Oathsworn Kickstarter - First Impressions

Woo hoo...

My Burrows & Badgers Kickstarter from Oathsworn Miniatures arrived yesterday. While it certainly wasn't the most expensive Kickstarter I've backed on a per figure basis, I admit to some buyer's regrets for going in for all 20, along with international shipping.

All of those regrets are gone. While it may be the euphoria of opening up new shiny, the quality of the miniatures and the professionalism of Oathsworn set a standard for all Kickstarters to come.

I've sorted the twenty miniatures from the full set by size. Oathsworn does divide them into two factions, with the more noble animals called the Goodbeasts and the evil characters Vermin.

These are the smallest five, a mix of mice and shrews. The shortest figures, in the center and far right, are about 20mm to the eyes.

Most of the taller figures stand about 28mm to the eye.  However, the toad, squirrel and lizard are hunched or bending, but there actual size is quite tall.  My favorite in this bunch is the hare. If Sandor Clegane came back as a rabitt...

The Badger, the tallest figure, stands about 46mm to the eye and 50mm overall. He's pretty massive.

These are great looking  miniatures and well cast. If you like collecting and painting quality products, go right ahead. However, are they too niche for the average fantasy gamer or RPG player?

Possibly. Unless you are gaming in a anthro-type world, I suppose they are pretty far down your list after buying player characters, goblin-type swarms and big boss bad guys.

However, who says you can't mix anthro-animals with fantasy humans?  Not C.S. Lewis. From the left, a Reaper mouseling, an Oathsworn mouse archer and a Reaper halfling.

Below, the Oathsworn wildcat warrior next to Reaper's Lionman.  While they come from different artistic sensibilities, they are certainly compatible with each other. 

Oathsworn does mention they are working on a rule set, but I like the idea of buying non-game specific miniatures. I can only hold so many rules sets in my head at once (fewer as the years pass). I'll probably stat them into Open Combat as soon as they are painted.

Jungle Rats from Splintered Light

A recent trip to Nashcon introduced me to Splintered Light Miniatures. The bulk of their range is 15mm fantasy, which, unfortunately, is not something I collect. Great stuff, though.

However, their range of Woodland Warriors includes a number of rats, mice, and other small creatures in 20mm.  They are a great looking range, and useful for anyone wanting to game Narnia, Redwall or Mice and Mystics custom scenarios.

I picked up the Jungle Rat warband for no particular reason, other than it might make sense as foes for another warband I am putting together,

The entire warband:

Two rats with blowguns: 

The chief and a shaman: 

For reference to 28mm heroic figures, here are two rats with a Reaper Elf archer: 

Splintered Light Miniatures