Billy’s back again with another Miniature Highlight and this time I thought I’d do something a little different. Instead of taking one army and finding a manufacturer that would be a good match for the units, I decided to do a deep dive into a company that I have come to love over the past year or so: Northumbrian Tin Solider.
Northumbrian Tin Soldier is one of those small, boutique miniature manufacturers out of the UK that we all know and love. I originally fell upon them while searching the web for unique female dwarfs. I was tired of the standard “conventionally attractive humanoids but shorter” motif and wanted something that really embraced the dwarfiness. Enter the Beardfolk.
I just ordered this fellow recently. He was too cool not to have.
What I love about these dwarf ladies is their little beards and their unapologetic dwarfiness. The models are chunky white metal and oozing with character. I had to have them as soon as I saw them.
Unfortunately for my wallet, I began exploring the rest of their site. Northumbrian Tin Soldier makes a line of miniatures called Nightfolk that run the gambit of styles. They’ve got Jim Henson’s Labyrinth-esque goblins or orcs, mustachioed knights, and everything in between. I ended up using a good number of these for an orc warband for Kings of War: Vanguard.
Here’s my orc warband so far. I just couldn’t help but be inspired by these sculpts. All of these are from Northumbrian Tin except for the dopey troll from Battlemasters.
Isn’t this guy just so perfectly bizarre!? He’d make a great Funny Bones for an Orc or Goblin army.
Now you might be thinking that these aren’t great for making units and yes, you’re probably right. The Nightfolk and Beardfolk lines might make excellent heroes or additions to units but are far too unique and costly to form whole units. Case in point, I used Lilir Valkenfist as a handler for some of my Mastiff Hunting Packs (see below).
However, Northumbrian Tin makes an awesome line of goblins that would be perfect for a warband or as units. The Foggy Peak Goblingtons are absolutely gorgeous and overflowing with old-school charm. At 40 GBP for a set of 28 minis, they come to around $1.80 US per dude. Probably not your most cost effective way to build a goblin army but man, do they look great!
Finally, Northumbrian Tin sells a line of “Time Robbers” which is a not-so-subtle reference to the classic 1981 film, Time Bandits. Again, these minis have all of the characteristic style of the company’s other miniatures.
Northumbrian Tin Soldier is a company to watch. I follow them on Twitter @NorthumbrianTin just to stay abreast of the new releases. Do yourself a favor and look through their webstore and see for yourself.
Thanks for tuning in! I’ll see you next time with another Miniature Highlight.
