A Second Summer of Citadel: Hobbits and Gnomes, Muleskinner Reunited and Townsfolk Galore

Summer came and went! Our holiday ended up being extended somewhat which was lovely but it took a toll on my plans for restoring my vast painted collection. But since our return I've been stoically repairing many figures as time allowed. I must confess to finding another 1980s fantasy addiction over July and August but more detail on that in future posts. 

This first batch contains a characterful bunch of classic models from Citadel and Marauder and all them suffered severe damage, particularly to their faces, hands and clothing. As with the barbarians a few weeks ago I carefully restored the damaged areas and attempt to retain my original paint job as much as I could. 

Lots of memories came flooding back during this process which is always a blessing. 

First from left is a C11 Halfling called Tobias sculpted in 1987 but released in 1988 with quite a few other halfling models. Tobias has a variant called Albi whose head and chest are completely different. Both names are indicative of the Shire and Tolkien's linguistic basis of the hobbits. Of course, Old Toby, the Pipeweed also springs to mind here. The blend of tobacco was named after an actual background character called Tobold Hornblower who was said to be the first to cultivate the sage leaf. If you are a fan of Christopher Tolkien's deep investigations into his father's work you'd find out that in earlier drafts he was known as Tobias Hornblower, Tobias Smygrave and Elias Tobiasson. Whether or not Tim Pollard or whoever else may have named this figure were aware of these references we will never now know. But the link is clearly there. This figure was sculpted by the Perry Twins.

Centre is Norris Sureshot from the C11 Gnome range. These came out a few years earlier than the halfling figures in 1985 and were sculpted I believe by Trish Morrison. Norris is a dead give away here as Chuck Norris was at the height of his Video Rental fame as an action hero around this time. Well known for being a crack shot in films such as Code of Silence and Invasion USA in 1985. Not sure how far these penetrated the UK cinema scene but his face was ubiquitous across the sticky carpeted Video Shops that were part of any '80s childhood. 

Finally, another Trish sculpt from the MM64 Marauder Halfling Militia Range. This particular model is known as HL4 or just with spear 1. No way as interesting as the pop culture rich figures from Citadel though. Released in 1989 this figure is one of six characterful little chaps. I memory serves correctly this little chap was one of my speed painting challenges once long ago. I was frankly a bit embarrassed by the paintjob but photographed with a modern camera and lighting he scrubs up well enough. 

Some months ago I was delighted to find the old C22 Adventurer's cart among some old scenery pieces. Well, I was able to track down the missing muleskinner figure and repair him too. Not that he had suffered much damage with just the rim of his hat needing work. He was incredibly dusty though and needed a good clean up before photography. I must admit to redoing the drybrushing around the wooden part of the cart as the original job was awful. The horse is often referred to as Trigger as it is written across the tab. Trigger is an obvious reference to the real life Palomino horse belonging to Roy Rodgers. 

Originally named Golden Cloud, this 1930s horse was renamed due to his quick mind and speedy movement. Looking at the Citadel version, the name could well be an ironic one as he doesn't look up to much, does he? Of course, any '80s affectionardo will be quick to consider the equally dull witted character from Only Fools and Horses, though the link is more tenuous. Calling someone a muleskinner is a historical term originating in the US. It was a job title and described someone with the grit and tenacity to deal with the famous stubborn nature of pack animals such as mules. I thought this must mean 'skinning' the backs of the animals with the whip the figure carries (as this too might be the idea behind the sculpt) but it is reference to the need to outwit or cajole the notoriously difficult beasts.

Now we have got on to some of my villagers. I am sure you are all aware of the famous C46 Villagers or Townsfolk range. They have been very collectable for a very long time and have strong links to the WHFRP careers system. I long coveted them and collected many a model on eBay in the glory days of collecting. They are fun in a way heavily armoured hulks in spike embossed helmets are not. They serve as fantastic scenery pieces and link very well with Warhammer Townscape. This example comes from 1985 and is know as the Old Hag for pretty clear reasons. She is the stereotypical fantasy old lady who could or could not be a witch. Not that witches are the worst thing '80s Warhammer mythos can throw at you. Her black clothing was very badly scratched so I spent some time building back up the deliberately dark nature of the highlights here. She just needs a cat. 

I was never a huge fan of the Marauder range. I found the models too different in style to the classic '80s Citadel look even back in the 1980s. Just like many of my contemporaries I drooled over their fantastic army deals in White Dwarf though and wished I could afford to fork out for those Orc and Goblins and Dark Elves deals. This figure is from the MM6 Citizens range and I think this range is superior to the Villagers and Townsfolk models put out by Citadel, largely due to the character, design and quality of sculpting. There are also a lot less of them out there so they are more interesting to work with. This example is CZ11 Burger with Staff 2. I painted this for my 'Defence of Far Corfe' scenario and was always very pleased with my work on his clothing and flesh. I was horrified to find that he was one of the more badly damaged figures in this batch and he required extensive work on his cloak, head and hands. I was worried about this photograph showing the scale of the damage but I am pleasantly surprised to say he looks none the worse for wear now. 

This model isn't part of the Townsfolk or villagers range but a C07 Ranger but he fits the pattern well enough to be included here. His tab reads Woodsman so it is not hard to wonder if this WHFRP career (as the striking similarity between this figure and the illustration in the first edition rulebook) was what was originally intended. Like my other figures, his face and brown jacket took the brunt of the damage and needed repair. 

This rather gormless looking young chap is definitely from the Townsfolk and Villagers range. He is often just known as the C46 Miller though he was also released as part o the Blood on the Streets deal in 1985 as Uncle Errol the Miller. Though he looks a little young to be an uncle, anything is possible in the deep woods of the Empire forests. He was suffering from a rather damaged sack. Not my best paintjob by far on this one though he holds a rather earthy charm. 

This example is one of three variant models. Starting with this one the C46 Noblewoman and ending with the slottabased Wanda figure for the Enemy Within Campaign. I had one of the other figures in my unpainted collection somewhere and I am pretty sure it was the middle one from Death on the Reik. Much of her dress and hair had received much damage and it took an age to fix the red in her dress. In the end I just repainted most of the area in an attempt to smooth out the damage. Out of all of the figures you can see today this one was the most damaged. Not sure if that is a royal wave she is sporting or just a under the breath 'bugger off'. 

Whoever she is displeased with is certainly in for a scolding. 

Finally we end with Jes the Poacher who appeared on a flyer alongside the Noblewoman above. If you check out the CO7 Ranger group you will see another variant of this figure called Longbow or Longarm. Jes could easily be a reference to Jes Goodwin the famous sculptor. Whether or not he was a committed and enthusiastic poacher in the 1980s is unlikely but it certainly could be suggested as a in-joke for the Citadel crew. He has suffered little damage and just needed his left hand repainting. In hindsight, I wondered if a bloodstain might have been apt on that bag but as my purpose is to restore and not repaint I left him as he was. 

With this little group of villagers complete it is time to move on to the Feudals and Fighters in my collection. I have a small unit and a cannon to restore next. They are slightly more damaged than these figures so will require some work on the shields and bases. With the weather cooling off it should be easier to work on more figures. I don't know about you but I always find the Autumn a time when painting and collecting begins to pick up a pace again after the busy days of summer. 

Until then,

Orlygg