Thommy H:
Remember that the minimum unit size for Hobgoblins is twenty. Would you spend £60 on a unit that’s only going to be redirecting Frenzied Chaos Knights before getting butchered in turn 3?
khedyarl:
Yep.
I would indeed.
Thommy H:
Well that’s one sale they’d get. Not sure whether that would justify the production costs of a whole range.
CopperPot:
Whats wrong with using normal goblins as hobbo’s each to their own I guess.
Baggronor:
I don't buy the argument that FW doesn't think it would be dollar-point cost effective for peopleWell, they said that to me at Salute. I specifically asked them if they were making any or had had any plans to and the dude said "No, no, *shakes head* they wouldn't sell enough".
I mean, they might change their minds but I don't see why. One of FW's rules is that they don't make things that overlap with GW iirc; while Hobbos aren't made by GW per se, the presence of plastic gobbos and Gnoblars means that, as far as most people are concerned, they may as well be.
Agree it's a shame they didn't do Wolf Raiders, they could have been viable with the new plastic wolves; you'd only need small units after all.
Discoking:
What’s wrong with Skaven/ungor/goblin conversions?
I think mine look awesome, haha.
Theyre cheap and look like what they’re meant to… Tall goblins.
Thorne:
Hell go buy some gw lotr orcs and put hoods hats what ever on them. Cost effective puny looking comparatively and reasonably good looking too ?
Zuh-Khinie:
What would be easy to do for FW is supplying us with a goblin conversionset to make them into hobbos, as they did with their first IG & SM miniatures
Aman:
This is a really interesting idea. My off-the-cuff thoughts?
- they should look as similar to the GW hobgoblins as possible without a lawsuit.
- they should fill all the categories of the GW hobgoblins as possible (bows, axe/sh, etc)
- they could be sculpted with open hands and weapon sprues so that they can be armed with either bows or axe/shields or heck, Axe/Sh/Bows and any comboe thereof!
- Some sculptors will take figures as part of the payment. In the end, they are being paid to sculpt something they want an army of - everyone wins! Richard Ansell did this with the Minden Mini range (historical, but he’s an outstanding sculptor).
- A reputable store with a solid history could hold the molds and sell the figs, etc. After being paid per fig what they want to do that, the profits could run this site and otherwise underwrite promotion of Chaos DWarfs, publishing books, etc. The figs and molds themselves would be owned by this site.
Personally? If we can be reimbursed the setup cost in figs, I’m in for $100-200. Seriously.
While I like the GW and other goblins as figures, they just aren’t very “hobgoblin-y” to me, the closest ones are Heretic and they are a bit too busy for my taste - just not primitive enough.
Actually, here’s a radical thought - ask the Perry Brothers. 
They could also sell them from their site. They would also know how to make them “close but not identical” or even have a few ideas to improve them.
Crazy, but I’ve gottten individual replies from the brothers just by posting questions at their site. Takes about a week, however.
Or go all out - PLASTIC HOBGOBLINS BY THE PERRY BROTHERS!!! WHOO-HOO!
Thorne:
I really doubt the perry bros wouldn’t be interested in sculpting heroic scale models simply because they prefer to make more anotomical and realistic scale miniatures specialy on the historical level. Not to mention they are keen reinactors. I don’t think that they would be interested at all. Let alone think of the cost of doing models with open hands and then providing shield/bow/quiver/axe or sword it would be crazy the amount of waste materials. Why not just find a alternative to hobgoblins out of the 100’s of companies ranges out on the market.
Check out these
http://combatzonechronicles.net/cozoxb/orcsy.htm
Grimbold Blackhammer:
Hobbo sculpts could be the next Golden Hat contest. There’s no shortage of talent in these forums!
Grimbold Blackhammer
Shef:
as i’m sure some people know i can not turn up hobos let alone large amounts of hobos. i would buy lots and lots of them, but only if they fit into two styles. either 4th-5th ed, or mongol. now if FW ever does come out with some hobos that are neither. i’d still buy them, just to support the range, and lets face it they do great work.
Naagruz:
Given the redesign toward a 20mm base “levy”, I don’t think it’s worth the effort. The Skaven-based conversions seem to work if you can’t get enough Perry models/recasts together. In this case, the redundancy between the newer Hobs & Gobs makes it pointless to venture outside of existing lines. Red Box all the way.
If we were talking about a move to the old-skool T4 25mm base Hobs, I could see a purpose behind new independent or FW models. The Lund sculpts (Mirilton/Grenadier Fantasy Warriors) or Otherworld models would be a solid proxy due to their size.
khedyarl:
I realised that I may have sounded accusatory when I saw your post, Bagg. I didn't mean I thought people were making it up, I meant that I think it's a poor excuse on FW's part, and that given by past releases on their part, it's more than a little misleading. Sorry if I give the impression otherwise. : /I don't buy the argument that FW doesn't think it would be dollar-point cost effective for peopleWell, they said that to me at Salute. I specifically asked them if they were making any or had had any plans to and the dude said "No, no, *shakes head* they wouldn't sell enough".
I mean, they might change their minds but I don't see why. One of FW's rules is that they don't make things that overlap with GW iirc; while Hobbos aren't made by GW per se, the presence of plastic gobbos and Gnoblars means that, as far as most people are concerned, they may as well be.
Agree it's a shame they didn't do Wolf Raiders, they could have been viable with the new plastic wolves; you'd only need small units after all.
Baggronor
The Renegades of Vraks are a 12.50 pound conversion kit, the arms (a seperate conversion kit) cost 12:50, and to make them work, you require Cadian legs, which is a box set whose cost depends on wherever you currently live. That is a box of Cadians, and 25 pounds of conversion money, in order to built ten 5 point models.
The Renegades are a direct comparison to what Hobgoblins would be. Expensive, numerous (about the same number of Hobgoblins to Renegades, and the exact same points cost). They've done it before, and I don't imagine they look back on the Vraks line and think, "Oh man, we shouldn't have made those guys, they're far too expensive". They sold well, and all signs point to Hobgoblins doing very well.
Forgeworld isn't a standard mini producer. You're paying a prime for a level of sculpt-quality that doesn't exist in most companies, including its parent. And that prime, given current finecast pricing schemes, isn't even that far off anymore (again, pending on where you live).
EDIT: As for the overlap, Forgeworld builds overlapping miniatures all the time. Khorne Berserkers, Plague Marines, two seperate Imperial Guard miniature lines, cult terminators, The flood of pre-heresy marines. Forgeworld has never really seemed to mind the overlap, since their stuff is a bit more specialised, and above all else, more expensive. This isn't a bad thing at all, but it does kind of undermine their design mentality, if they have said in the past that they try to avoid designing miniatures that are easily found in a GW line (Berserkers and plague marines already exist, Cadians/Vostroyans/Catachans/the other guard lines still exist, Marines of a billion flavours still exist, etc).
beefcake:
Westwind orcs (maybe goblins too but they’re a bit more feral) could be good as hobgoblins.
http://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_8
Fairly cheap too 11 pounds for 10 minis. They also have wolf riders 3 for 11 pounds as well. Spears archers axes swords. and they also have some evil dwarfs too in the dwarf range about half way down called drowgrim. Same pricing for them too.
beefcake:
Westwind orcs (maybe goblins too but they’re a bit more feral) could be good as hobgoblins.
http://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_8
Fairly cheap too 11 pounds for 10 minis. They also have wolf riders 3 for 11 pounds as well. Spears archers axes swords. and they also have some evil dwarfs too in the dwarf range about half way down called drowgrim. Same pricing for them too.
Baggronor:
I realised that I may have sounded accusatory when I saw your post, Bagg. I didn't mean I thought people were making it up, I meant that I think it's a poor excuse on FW's part, and that given by past releases on their part, it's more than a little misleading. Sorry if I give the impression otherwise. : /Nono, I didn't mean to sound defensive :) I was quite disappointed by the flat answer I got from FW too. I'm sure they have other reasons as well.
It may even just be the 'no more CD stuff' thing that was decided when Rick Priestley left; there were rumours that the BCs and K'Daai were only getting done because FW managed to shoehorn them into Arcanum. That may have something to do with why Hobgobs never made the final cut too.
Baggronor:
I realised that I may have sounded accusatory when I saw your post, Bagg. I didn't mean I thought people were making it up, I meant that I think it's a poor excuse on FW's part, and that given by past releases on their part, it's more than a little misleading. Sorry if I give the impression otherwise. : /Nono, I didn't mean to sound defensive :) I was quite disappointed by the flat answer I got from FW too. I'm sure they have other reasons as well.
It may even just be the 'no more CD stuff' thing that was decided when Rick Priestley left; there were rumours that the BCs and K'Daai were only getting done because FW managed to shoehorn them into Arcanum. That may have something to do with why Hobgobs never made the final cut too.
Obsidian:
one khan on wolf, one khan on foot, hobgoblin command and maybe 5 different hobgoblins. i have no idea, but what can it be, $1000?Not to burst your bubble but $1000 won't get you that far I'm affraid. I've been in the progress of starting up a small miniatures company for a while now and quotes for commissions range from 150 to 700 Euro! Of course the pricier ones are the top dogs in the business but also the lower priced ones aren't always able to deliver what you want the sculpts to look like. There are many cheaper ones I'm sure but again quality may differ enormously... Also good concept art is greatly advised as this will take away many misconceptions between you and the sculptor.
thrawn
I am sure the sculptors you've mentioned are in the pricier range! ;)
Baggronor:
Also good concept art is greatly advisedVery much so, and this won't be cheap either.