Squigs

Of all the many creatures living in the hidden and dark places of Nordverden, these beasts are the strangest. Practically blind, they rely on sharp hearing and a keen sense of smell to detect their prey, then simply gobble them up in one bite. The goblins learned long ago that these creatures and their ravenous appetite are to be avoided at all cost. Incredibly, a few crazy goblins actively seek them out, having discovered that the beasts' sensitive hearing makes them afraid of loud noises, they use makeshift instruments that gives them some rudimentary control. Such herders and their bizarre flock are highly prized by goblin generals for the destruction they can wreak on a battlefield. The fact that a handful of goblins may be eaten along the way is a price well worth paying. 

These are, of course, night goblin squigs and herders - at least that's what they were called in the days of Warhammer. The new(ish) plastic kits are very much in the tradition of the older metal figures. When they were released a couple of years ago, it was like travelling back to the early 90s. So while my goblin warband is predominantly metal, I am happy to include these newer plastics, which seem more Middlehammer to me than the original metals they were based on, if that makes sense.

On the painting, I knew I did not want the traditional orange, instead I went for the exact opposite with a bright blue skin. I started them with a neutral buff colour for their under bellies, then stippled on green and then blue. Then I dotted on random stripes and lines in various inks (blue, red, purple) before finally glazing with a very diluted blue/purple mix. The end result is a very vibrant blue green effect, which contrasts really well with the lips and gums. The beady little eyes were really easy to do - over a grey base I added a spot of black mixed with a gloss varnish. I am really happy with the way they turned out.

The herders are both playing makeshift musical instruments. The kit includes two options, one musician and one prodder. I hacked the latter body so I could use both sets of music makers. They need to make lots of noise to keep those hungry beasts on the move, a proddy stick just isn't going to have the same effect!

In game terms, there are stats for Gobble Dogs in the goblin warband which are uncannily close to the original squig herds. Funny that. In Dragon Rampant I could probably nominate them as berserk troops. I am unsure how they would be played in Saga, not sure they would fit into that game. If anybody has any ideas, let me know in the comments please.