Wolf riders

Here’s the second batch of minis I painted for Ral Partha Legacy. They are a relatively more recent vintage — Thunderbolt Mountain minis from the mid 2000s.

Thunderbolt Mountain was an independent venture by Ral Partha’s best and arguably most famous sculptor, Tom Meier. Meier was a sort of ‘wunderkind’ for Ral Partha, starting as teenager and introducing techniques that allowed him to sculpt much more realistic proportions and details than the competitors in the mid 1970s. Only Superior Models really rivalled Ral Partha’s classic ranges from 1977 to 1979, in my opinion. When Meier left Ral Partha around 1988, he started the Thunderbolt Mountain line, which produced several historical and fantasy ranges. Towards the end of Thunderbolt Mountain’s run, he did elves and goblins in a slightly larger scale than his 25mm Ral Partha but in a similar and recognizable style. RPL is recasting these as well as the older Ral Partha lines. I was stoked to be able to get the wolf riders to paint for the RPL armies.

Like the Rakshasas, I painted these beginning with a black undercoat. This photographs pretty well and is very forgiving, although the colors can get a little muted. Truth be told, I spent more effort on the wolves than the riders, because I don’t think I’ve ever painted realistically colored wolves before. I tried to give them a distinctive brown stripe along the back, gray fading to black on the belly and limbs, and reasonably accurate facial markings. The black undercoat makes them look suitable filthy — I doubt these goblins spend much time worrying about their own hygiene, let alone grooming their mounts.

They came with a bonus goblin on foot, wearing a wolf skin. I’m not sure if he simply outlived his mount or ate it.

All the minis came with open hands and assorted scimitars for the riders and clubs for the footman. as well as separate shields. I gave two clubs to the footman because I couldn’t decide between the crude spiked club and the Iroqouis style war club.

The poses are very dynamic, even for Meier, and the details are great.

Jacob at RPL also sent a few extras minis which I’ll start on some time later this summer when I have time to paint again. Right now I’m focusing on getting my house ready to sell and looking for a bigger place, so the figures are getting packed away for a while.