GG 2026 Wood Elf Hero - GG2026 Journey

This thread is part of the Golden Goblin painting competition 2026. Please see the entry thread for full details.
Raedwald

Raedwald

Baron
Hi folks,

For anyone not aware, this year the Golden Gobbo competition requires a thread about your entry as well as the painted mini.

News of this came a little late to me, as I'd already had a few painting sessions, and made quite a bit of progress. Nevertheless, I'll try to log some of the background to my choice, the decisions I'm facing and inspirations I've drawn on.

I've entered the competition the last two years and although I only picked up a few votes, it is very rewarding to receive them, but also it really gives a sense of being part of this community. In fact it's often very tempting to give a vote to one of our more amateur comrades if they've achieved something interesting or inspiring. Not that I'm fishing :lol:, it's just what I've been compelled to do myself before now.

Without too much further waffle therefore, I can reveal that for the third year running, I will be colouring in one of the beautiful Jes Goodwin Wood Elves from my lead pile. This one (shown unpainted [image from the web] and in it's current WIP state):

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This is a mini that has languished on the pile for over 30 years, and even back in the day, when I played many a game of 4th ed. with my trusty (largely unpainted) Wood Elves, he sat in a box while his preferred helmeted, hawk and axe armed colleague took all the glory at the head of the Kinband.

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This is basically how they looked on the field 30+ years ago, only the mage was also unpainted at that time:
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I did have vague ideas for the Hero with Sword leading a second block of elves, sword and shield armed (and in fact these guys have bows sculpted down the back of their legs too). Sadly, I only ever purchased these four figures to accompany him though:
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Incidentally, if anyone has more Wood Elves in this Sword and Shield pose and is open to a trade or sale, I would be very much interested.

Anyway, more to follow when I find more time... including why one hand is still unpainted, what I might do with decorating the breechcloth, and what my inspirations have been... plus eventually: more actual painting progress.

Cheers,
Raedwald
 
I used to have a blister of these sword wielding wood elves. Alas my brother must have swapped them out for orcs or some such some time ago…
Look forward to your updates!
 
@Brother Meredith - Shame. There are definitely advantages to being an only child. :lol:

Fimm McCool said:
THAT, right there, is the spirit of the thing. :)
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Couldn't agree more. I'm sure the master painters, of whom there are several on the forum, will not be discouraged. We'll all still be drooling over their masterpieces.
I love seeing the range of skills in each year's entries though, and like many, I'd be far too inhibited to get involved if it was pro stuff only.

Geroak II said:
Saved the best for last. Might be less common to have patience to paint troops before heroes?
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Similar story here too really. I think the pressure to achieve a high standard held me back on the characters when I was a youngster. It's still there a bit, but I've gradually realised over the years that it's far better to do something creative imperfectly than not to do it at all. :)
 
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@The True Sour Worm - Thanks! I think it must have picked up some highlights when I drybrushed the armour. Both the planned hand and the tabard* decoration will be make-or-break elements - probably 80% break... but I like to take the risks these days.

*(the term 'breechcloth' just sounds wrong to me, although the internet says that's what they're called :lol:).
 
Regarding my inspirations, first and foremost I should note that the Wood Elves as a race appealed to me massively right from the off, and I'm sure Mike McVey's army, showcased in WD141 (Sep'1991) and featured in a battle report in WD148 played a big role in influencing my early collecting.
1791979006663.png

While the high fantasy look never really worked for me, the more realistic, historical based, gritty aesthetics ('grimdark' as it might be put these days) did - and sparked my imagination in a big way. I always preferred the idea of an iron age style woodland community with authentic vulnerabilities over a super-magical race of eldritch beings.

I didn't really attempt painting in a darker style until after I'd discovered the original Gardens of Hecate blog, by Ana Polanšćak.
https://gardensofhecate.blogspot.com/?_sm_au_=iVV3Pn0RF7rjM03FtTKVfKtkVHN2c
This I devoured from start to finish. It includes some fantastic creativity in a very dark, scary style, and opened my mind to the related possibilities in miniature painting. The 'Monstrous Births' and 'Legen' projects stand out in particular as truly impressive works.

Similar inspiration was drawn from 28 Magazine, but it wasn't until I saw Kari Hernesniemi's oldhammer wood elves, shared on Iron Sleet in 2020 that the penny dropped, and having focused on sci fi projects for several years, I realised I could actually revive my beloved Wood Elves in the style I most admired.
1791980905612.png
https://ironsleet.com/2020/04/28/wood-elf-fighters/

I still needed an extra push to motivate me to actually prioritise them as a project, and dig them off the lead pile. This came to me at last in 2024 when I first discovered Oakbound Studio's 'The Woods', which provided a fantasy forklore skirmish game that has recently been re-released in third ed. as 'Shivershield'.

I'd opted for a sage-like leader for my 2nd ed. warband, but 3rd ed. requires a more typical warrior chieftan. This provided a great excuse to paint up the Hero mini I've chosen for GG2026, killing two birds with one proverbial stone.

Cheers,
Raedwald
 
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The Oakbound Studios' games day, I've been itching to attend this year and last. Unfortunately, with work and care responsibilities there are a lot of uncontrollable variables that would have to align, which haven't quite so far when the times have come.
Fingers crossed for 2027!

The sad irony is I lived and worked just down the road from the venue for many years. Now it's a fair distance to travel from where I am.
 
Raedwald said:
Regarding my inspirations, first and foremost I should note that the Wood Elves as a race appealed to me massively right from the off, and I'm sure Mike McVey's army, showcased in WD141 (Sep'1991) and featured in a battle report in WD148 played a big role in influencing my early collecting.
View attachment 22395

While the high fantasy look never really worked for me, the more realistic, historical based, gritty aesthetics ('grimdark' as it might be put these days) did - and sparked my imagination in a big way. I always preferred the idea of an iron age style woodland community with authentic vulnerabilities over a super-magical race of eldritch beings.

I didn't really attempt painting in a darker style until after I'd discovered the original Gardens of Hecate blog, by Ana Polanšćak.
https://gardensofhecate.blogspot.com/?_sm_au_=iVV3Pn0RF7rjM03FtTKVfKtkVHN2c
This I devoured from start to finish. It includes some fantastic creativity in a very dark, scary style, and opened my mind to the related possibilities in miniature painting. The 'Monstrous Births' and 'Legen' projects stand out in particular as truly impressive works.

Similar inspiration was drawn from 28 Magazine, but it wasn't until I saw Kari Hernesniemi's oldhammer wood elves, shared on Iron Sleet in 2020 that the penny dropped, and having focused on sci fi projects for several years, I realised I could actually revive my beloved Wood Elves in the style I most admired.
View attachment 22398
https://ironsleet.com/2020/04/28/wood-elf-fighters/

I still needed an extra push to motivate me to actually prioritise them as a project, and dig them off the lead pile. This came to me at last in 2024 when I first discovered Oakbound Studio's 'The Woods', which provided a fantasy forklore skirmish game that has recently been re-released in third ed. as 'Shivershield'.

I'd opted for a sage-like leader for my 2nd ed. warband, but 3rd ed. requires a more typical warrior chieftan. This provided a great excuse to paint up the Hero mini I've chosen for GG2026, killing two birds with one proverbial stone.

Cheers,
Raedwald
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Amazing pointy ears!
 
I can be a little indecisive at times. Or can't I ?...

Anyway, one point I've um'd and ah'd about is the decoration on the tabard that hangs to the Hero's feet. Some decoration is definitely needed, and a device or insignia along the lines of the Pictish shield designs I've been using on my Wardancers will tie things together nicely.

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My first thoughts were a tall tree / Yggdrasil in the Celtic / Pictish style - what better for a Wood Elf Hero, right? A round version of this is on my Skarloc archers' shields too.

1792340987562.png IMG_20250430_210338293~2.jpeg

However, painting the Hero has brought to attention the recurring Heart motif on his sword blade and the little amulet at his waist. So as it stands I'm more inclined to go for a heart design - with Celtic embellishments to tie it to the rest of the warband.

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I'm hoping, with a Celtic touch on the heart he'll still look Wood Elven enough, I'm thinking something with spirals (triskelion style) - but the concern is: Perhaps he won't, he's already looking a bit dark elf! Any feedback most welcome.

Cheers,
Raedwald
 
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Firstly - the name. I see online that this mini was originally released as 'Captain Caelga Sorrowblade'. I rather like the Caelga part, so dropping the other bits, I hereby name my Wood Elf Hero (and leader of my Shivershield Hearthfolk warband) Lord Caelga.

On the painting front, a little more plodding progress last night. Some extra highlights here and there, and the gems on the circlet and amulet done.

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Now, I must confess that I had some close-up macro shots of the gems, but was so ashamed of how they looked that I've deleted them. :|
It really looked like an infant had splodged paint in the general area with flagrant disregard for staying in the lines.

I was wondering how much the macro photo was to blame, vs. the aging W&N Series 7 brushes I'm using (despite the TLC I give them)... or if it's just the far more likely explanation of the aging process on me myself; reducing visual acuity and hand-eye coordination. Perhaps I could just blame it on tiredness. ;)

Thanks for the encouragement @Geroak II and all, as the shields show, my freehand is not great, so I'll have to keep the tabard design simple. That will be the next step I think.

Cheers,
Raedwald
 
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