Being stuck overseas and in austere environments means I am not able to accomplish much hobby work.  Thankfully though, the internet enables me to stay connected to all the nice new minis in the works and the generous tax break of being in a combat zone means I’ve got plenty of greenbacks piling up.  What better outlet to unclutter my wallet than a stroll through the Fantasy Football market on Kickstarter.  Two projects have jumped out and waylaid my savings, promising me piles of models to rummage through when I finally come home.

Up first is the latest offering from the Spanish chaps over at Iron Golems.  Fresh off the delivery of their Wood Elf/Pro Elf team they have fired up the molds again and are offering a unique Halfling team, the Buzzed Bumblebees.  According to their page this team is a collaboration between Iron Golems and a pod cast group called Two Drunk ‘flings.  I’m not familiar with the pod cast but I have had ample experience with Iron Golems.  Starting with their excellent Dwarf team and then through the Pro Box and their latest Wood Elf team I have only ever been impressed with their work.  This latest project offers 14 unique and humorously sculpted Halflings with two colossal sized Treemen.  Continuing the trend of their latest teams they have included the option to purchase the team complete with a themed pitch and custom foam carrying box.

With the campaign plowing through the initial goal it is currently getting close to adding an additional Halfling model who can be mounted in the hand of one of the Treemen or even used on the field as a fill in for the GW Halfling who gets kicked downfield by an Ogre (Crumble Berry).  The obligatory chef and coach models have already been added to their team package.  Their custom pitch offers a normal dugout but also a Lord of the Rings inspired Hobbit dugout.

Overall I have always been pleased with Iron Golems work and I give them credit for the amount of time and effort they put into the their crowdfunding.  As someone who has backed a few (way to many) teams over the years I have always been impressed with their quality and the dedication they put in.  If I could offer any criticism I would say that their resin is not my favorite as it has a bit of play in it.  Its good quality but I am used to the harder resins of Vortice or Forgeworld.  Overall if you have the patience to swim in the crowdfunding market I recommend checking them out.

The second team out that caught my eye is being offered through the other Spanish chaps at Goblin Guild Miniatures.  I’m not sure how these guys did it but they seem to have kidnapped Pedro Ramos and put him to work on all their teams.  If you aren’t familiar with Pedro Ramos then you probably haven’t been on this blog much.  In my opinion he is a talented artist who’s style and design always throws me back to the old 2nd Edition days of Blood Bowl.  Enough with my fanboy-ism and on to the team at hand.

The Grim Butchers are exactly what they sound like, a grim and gritty take on everybody’s favorite twisted dwarves.  Off the bat most people are going to notice the lack of hats.  I too thought the same thing and didn’t keep up with the teams development for the same reason.  Seeing the project coming to full development though I have forgotten about the lack of hats and have grown to appreciate the design of these models.

Offering the one complete package at the low price of 70 Euros, you are currently getting 6 Dwarves, six Hobgoblins, two Bull Centaurs, and a Lammasu/Minotaur.  Currently there are only 4 available designs on the Hobgoblins but the campaign is close to unlocking a 5th design and another 1,000 Euro after that from a 6th.  While the campaign’s overall design is not as polished as the Iron Golem team nor as far along in the production process, the actual sculpting work on the team is moving along well.  No Lammasu sightings yet but I am looking forward to seeing what the final design will be.  The Hobgoblins are closer to that mythical 3rd edition design that I am always on the look out for so I am looking to see how they all turn out.

I backed GGM’s underworld team and their customer service was great and they openly took suggestions from backers on design choices and Kickstarter exclusive items.  I did have a slight delay in shipping but in all fairness I don’t recall ever having a crowdfunding campaign deliver on time.  They don’t offer all the bells and whistles of Iron Golems with team boxes and what not, but at the end of the day its about the team on the field not the box that you carry them in.  So how do I feel about a team with no hats?  I am hat purist but I think the design of this team has me thinking its no longer a requirement.

Well that my friends wraps it up.  I’m sure that there are other teams out there but I worry searching for more teams will cause my wallet to go into shock.  Feel free to send a link though if you see any good ones.  One can never have too much Blood Bowl.  In case you missed them I’ll put links to the campaigns below.

Take Care!

Iron Golems:  The Buzzed Bumblebees

Goblin Guild Miniatures:  The Grim Butchers