Da Red Gobbo – A-Bomb-Inable Snowman
Last year we got double-trouble with the Da Red Gobbo Surprise and Grotmas Gitz, and this year we get another christmas themed miniature by Games Workshop from the Commemorative Series, Da Red Gobbo's A-Bomb-Inable Snowman. As of now, he is not available from Games Workshop directly anymore, you have to go through the independent retailers network for that, but that shouldn't be an issue.
The latest of the Red Gobbos is priced at 34 EUR, unfortunately an increase towards last years 32,50 EUR. And of course, the miniature comes with a scenario for Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40k, which you can download for free from Warhammer Community.
We talked about who the Red Gobbo is, and where he came from in the last article. But just to keep bring everybody up to speed:
As part of GorkaMorka back in 1999, we saw the introduction of Da Red Gobbo. He is the leader of the Rebel Grots on the planet of Gorkamorka and the head of the Gretchin Revolutionary Committee / Da Kommittee. But there is no single Red Gobbo, it is a title and position that rotates between members of the Committee, along with the red cape and sceptre. And his role is to inspire the grots in their revolution against the oppression by the orks.
But over the time, the story of the Red Gobbo left Gorkamorka and became known to the wider Ork species, and while not every Grot believes in the Red Gobbo, some claim he is just a legend. Making the perfect base for a tongue-in-cheek humour to pick up again by Games Workshop.
That meant, in 2019, the Red Gobbo returned, very close to the original pose, but Christmas themed. Wearing the red cape, having his custom slugga and a mistletoe instead of the sceptre. The rules can be downloaded from the link, but the model itself is OOP. Yet, this is not the first Christmas miniature by Games Workshop, they released X-mas Space Marines in 1987 with White Dwarf #96. And since then, we got several christmas themed releases for the Red Gobbo, again in 2021 and last years double pack.
The small boxed set features a single sprue and the instruction leaflet, no war scrolls or unit profiles in this set.
The small sprue is densely packed and even includes a pre-sculpted 50mm round base. Sharp detail and high quality casting, we have minor to none mould lines.
The main character is the bomb-slinging Red Gobbo, who was divided into many pieces to properly create a very plastic and dynamic pose. The way they cut the cloak is very clever, as the seams line up with the seperate pieces, covering the connection.
We have the snow man bomb, with a removable head. Just make sure to not glue that one into place. Nice little texture on the snow man, slight coarse, will take on a wash or contrast easily.
And we have a Red Gobbo's little helper as well, a snotling in christmas attire.
All these pieces are brought together on the base, along with some smaller easter eggs, like some snow balls and a ticking clock, counting down the time until the bomb goes off.
I'd recommend not glueing everything together until it is painted, maybe just the snow man and the other pieces like the Red Gobbo and his helper as separate units. Everything fits well, no problems during the assembly at all.
A brief comparison in size with last years miniatures.
As well as some detailled close ups of the latest Red Gobbo christmas miniature.
Conclusion
My conclusion is pretty much the same as last year. We have cheeky miniature, that certainly transports the holiday theme better than a Stormcast Eternal or Space Marine, and the red and green of the miniature is a good project to bring in some variation to your painting table. The model itself is more dynamic and the face has more detail than last years, and the Easter Eggs are a nice addition to the model itself. The price is a bit high for this, I would feel more comfortable in the area of 25-ish EURs. But as mentioned above, you can get them at a few online traders with a bit of a discount and that brings him into that price level.
Games Workshop is not the only company with christmas miniatures. And as the X-mas Rogue Trader Space Marines from 1987 are out of production for quite a long time and therefore hard to come by, this is an interesting chance to tie in something silly into the hobby. If you want to take a look at other companies christmas themed miniatures, there are a few options on the market, for example Reaper Miniatures does them in a broad variety from Santas, to Carol Singers and even Krampus, Wargames Foundry has a few, but that is in terms of miniatures pretty much all you can get.
Anyhow, there are a few options for ornaments, Games Workshop offers some themself via their Merch Store, but others cover for STL files for various tabletop or fantasy themed ornaments.
Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar are brands by Games Workshop.
The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.
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