Design Diary: Hobgoblins (Patreon)

Devious. Emaciated. Vile. Vicious. Violent.

Loathed. Cowardly. Expendable. Battle fodder.

Sneering mouths full of pointed teeth, stretched into enormous grins.

These were the words and descriptions I had in mind when designing the Hobgoblins. I wanted them to look genuinely vicious and evil, but still feel like they belonged alongside the Evil Dwarf Legions.

Here's a little look behind the scenes as the Hobgoblins complete Octobers release along with the Corrupted Siege Giant and Blacksmoke Rotor!

Who Are They?

Within the Evil Dwarf Legions, Hobgoblins rank barely above slaves. They're universally despised, and serving the Evil Dwarfs offers protection from everyone else who'd happily tear them apart.

In exchange, they're given all the dangerous and unpleasant jobs their masters would rather avoid.

On the battlefield, they're sent forward in their hundreds as missile troops, living shields and general cannon fodder. Their greed and violent nature make them surprisingly easy to motivate with one simple promise:

"What you find, you keep."

Whether they survive to enjoy the spoils is another matter.

Faces of Evil

Beady eyes, pointy ears, big grins full of teeth.

That's what I'd written in my notes and mentioned in September's Forge Ahead.

I started with one core head, pulling and reshaping it into ten variations. The idea was to maintain a consistent look while giving each Hobgoblin its own unpleasant personality.

I also incorporated the classic cowl-style helmets, reimagined in battered metal and worn leather. Unlike the perfectly crafted Evil Dwarf armor, nothing here is quite straight or symmetrical.

Ze Body

Emaciated. Hunched. Evil.

My first sculpt was fine, but far too healthy and muscular for creatures whose masters probably consider feeding them an unnecessary expense.

So I made them considerably leaner and more hunched. Interestingly, despite keeping the same height and limb lengths, the new proportions meant scaling the heads down to 80%.

The silver lining? I've kept the original body as a good start for any orc or goblin I may make in future ;)

I also experimented with more modular bodies, but their spindly limbs and organic poses made assembly unnecessarily fiddly. There's still plenty of customization through heads, weapons and armor.

Bowmen

There are two dedicated bowman bodies, but the quiver fits onto the belt of any body. Combined with the arrow-holding hands, this gives you more freedom when building your archers.

Command?

This was probably my favorite part of the kit.

Hobgoblin command is a bit of a joke.

In my head, they're mimicking their Evil Dwarf masters, inventing titles and reasons why they're more important than everyone else.

The Leader: A Hobgoblin with a bigger sword, some impressive helmet horns or perhaps a stolen Evil Dwarf axe. Naturally, he'll claim he slew its former owner in an epic duel. More likely, he found it in a ditch!

The Musician: He's attached a rock to a handle and spends his time banging on scrap metal. It makes a dreadful noise, but apparently that's enough to earn a leadership position.

The Standard Bearer: My favorite. The Evil Dwarfs have bestowed upon him the great honor of carrying a banner into battle.

Unfortunately, it's completely white.

The Evil Dwarfs use it to gauge artillery distances and attract enemy fire.

A tremendous honor indeed!

Arming Trash with Trash

Hobgoblins aren't worth properly equipping in the eyes of their masters. Their weapons are bent, shields battered and armor scavenged.

The shoulder armor deliberately connects them to the Evil Dwarf Legions, but these are defective pieces destined for the smelter or recovered from battlefields.

Missing rivets, broken spikes and plenty of damage. And only basic trooper armor, of course. Nothing from the elite ranks!

The Hobgoblins can also use shoulder armor from the wider Evil Dwarf range, giving you even more opportunities to customize them.

A Little Printing Improvement

I've included grouped supported files alongside the individual components. These made much better use of my build plate and considerably sped up cleaning, support removal and assembly.

Hopefully they'll make printing your own Hobgoblin units easier too!

Where to from here?

These Hobgoblins are just the beginning.

Wolf Riders? Yes. Giant Bolt Throwers? Absolutely.

I'm also keen to explore Hobgoblin Tribes and Mercenary Companies, much like the Furnace Cults, with their own equipment, character and interchangeable components.

More Evil Dwarf Lego!

What Hobgoblin units, tribes or ridiculous contraptions would you like to see next?

I'll be looking at ideas as we build the next three months of The Forge Ahead roadmap.

As always, thank you for your continued support. I hope you've enjoyed this look behind the curtain!

Now... back to the forge.

MM