Oathmark Goblin Infantry

Another non-human boxed set for the Oathmark range is the Goblin Infantry. I've already covered the Elves and the Dwarves in the past, so if you want to take a look at them, click the links above.

The Oathmark - Battles of the Lost Age range is a project by Osprey Games and North Star Military Figures, with Renedra covering the casting. I didn't buy this kit nor did North Star gave it to me for review purposes, I traded it from the travelling box HANS!. That is the reason why the box is a bit beat up and the sprue of square bases is missing.

If you buy this boxed set in retail, it costs 25 GBP for 30 Goblin infantry and includes a sprue of square bases as well.

Casting is very well done. Low amount of mould lines, nice details, no flash and a properly filled sprue with lots of options. Each sprue covers 5 different bodies, enough arms to equip the infantry with either hand weapons and shields , spears or bows and quivers, 11 different heads, and a banner pole incl. banner top.

Let's begin the build with the five different bodies. I will mix the weaponry, to show a bit of each and build a small warband rather than a regiment of goblins. As for the weapons, I gave them a bow and arrow, a sabre like sword, a large axe for the champion, a banner pole for the banner bearer and spear for the fifth goblin.

The hunched bodies and different weapons work quite well together. You can give them some lurking poses, with drawn weapons, waiting for a sneaky attack. For the bodies we have a choice of 10 regular heads and a more present helmet for the champion. I gave the warriors sturdier helmets and the archer and banner bearer only caps / no helmets at all. I could see some of the heads being used for undead as well, maybe for ghouls or zombies.

The goblins are quickly assembled, as we are only missing the shields, quivers and banner top. The shields are quite compact, so glueing them to the bodies now doesn't hinder painting later on.

To give you an idea of the size, here's a comparison with the Elves and Dwarves, along with a Frostgrave soldier due to the lack of an Oathmark human. The goblins are not tiny, they are slim as you can see in comparison with a Age of Sigmar goblin (yellow), a Warlord Games / Wargames Factory (middle) and a Mantic Games ork on the right.

A neat overview of the assembled five goblins, incl. the champion and banner.

You could of course build from this box a few random encounters / raiding warband for Frostgrave or any other fantasy skirmisher, as you can see by the addition of a few more goblins.

Conclusion
North Star offers two additional blisters for additional heroes for this boxed set, one with a great goblin, a shaman and a drummer, another one with three goblin champions. The plastic set with 30 infantry for 25 GBP is a pretty solid deal, as you pay less then a quid per goblin.

You can give them dynamic poses, that fill 25mm round bases or rank them up to a proper regiment on 20mm squares. Both options work quite well, and due to the vast options of weaponry (and the beat-up hand weapons are a proper choice for goblins) you can build multiple types of regiments from this set, so it's a proper core choice beyond Oathmark for similar games like Kings of War or Saga Age of Fantasy if you like. Due to their slender build, the goblins could even be used along with the true scaled miniatures of the Lord of the Rings, maybe not as goblins, but as Mordor orcs or such not a bad choice.

The goblin infantry won't stay alone within their dark green skinned ranks, as North Star has previewed wolf riders in summer, and these will come in plastic, along with a few metal command models. And their release is set for January 2020! Add in a few engines of war (catapult or ballista) and you got yourself a proper range for fantasy mass combat - at a reasonable rate. I am just missing a bit of gubbins, some looted goods, a horn or drum for the musician, a severed dwarf or elf head for the banner, simply bits. Because if you go for the army project, your banner men and such will look pretty similar, unless you add a few parts from other kits (yes, with the overall plastic range that North Star offers, there are quite a bit choices, still next to the spears was a bit of room for such things...).

If you split this box and keep 2-3 sprues, you can build a few encounters for Frostgrave or use them as a warband of themself (using the shaman as a leader), maybe by using the rules of the Gnolls or so. Maybe add a bit of fur to their shoulders to make them more winter ready.

Oathmark - Battles of the Lost Age is a brand by North Star Miniatures and Osprey Games. Oathmark has a Facebook page as well.

I traded this box from the travelling box HANS!.