Hi to everyone ,

RP models are a company from Portugal that we have all seen develop a great relationship with the modelling community by listening to comments , growing in reputation for their products , with every new release showing their dedication to quality and customer service

They do of course use the latest in 3D sculpting and have again used this method on the release I shall be sharing with you.

Before we do however its my pleasure to announce the fact that they now have a You Tube presence ( ) where you can find all the latest in the inspirational videos of the products including this release.

What are we looking at in this review :





Having never met a goblin ( although perhaps my ex wife might qualify LOL !!! ) , the modeller can go to town on this piece without the restrictions of a uniform , allowing total freedom of expression.


The internet describes a goblin as a legendary evil or mischievous grotesque dwarf-like demon or monster that appeared in European stories and accounts during the Middle Ages. They have various (sometimes conflicting) abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin.

I think the best way I can describe the character is evil and sometimes very full mischief !!!

The subject has appeared in many films including Harry Potter and the 2010 film called Goblin so there's a good excuse to watch a film ...for reference !!!

Details of the release:

Title: Goblin

Series: Fantasy

Reference: RPM-B-14-0001

Scale: 100mm

No of pieces: 12

Material: Resin ( gray and clear)

Sculpting: 3D

Casting: YS


As with the releases from RP we have seen the goblin came in a strong box with very distinctive artwork ( done by computer ) , on opening the box , due to the scale size there seems to be a lot of space but only that this size box is what RP chose to use for all their busts.

One thing I would like to mention was that I had a an all gray resin casting but on the remaining castings for the bust you will get a crystal clear glass bottle that he holds ( obviously the hand will also be this) , the 75mm figure will be all gray resin.

A total of 12 ( not 17 as on the box details) parts were held in clear plastic bags and consisted of the following , the main torso , the hood , the head , 2 arms and 2 hands , 4 pouches , the belt end , no base is included.




Prep needed was simplicity itself , a little bit of sanding and snipping to remove small casting remnants , fit of all the parts is exemplary with them remaining in place without any glue needed as I was dry fitting them for the review.

As I was carrying out the minimal prep the thing that kept leaping out was the great texture of the clothing itself and the ingenious way the face has been produced .

There has on this forum been much comment about 3D well let me say this when cast it certainly translates into resin with excellent results matching the 3D pictures .

Hugo (RP's founder and owner)originally told us about the release here:

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/goblin.73427/watch-confirm

Hugo has chosen to depict the goblin in a monk type garment , have a look at the video folks , certainly a sinister atmosphere there and this is shown in the sculpt , the clothing has superb texture and repays careful painting ( I have this piece on my bench in front of me and its looking sinister ...even as a WIP!!!) .

The clothing has as I said great texture ( this is something that 3D can achieve as we have seen in previous releases) , together with rips and tears at various points !!, you can see these and the very fine weave of the material in the pictures.

The torso has the area for the hood and the arms ready to be fitted , perfect locating areas are seen with the parts fitting with ease , I did when fitting the hood run a tiny bit of filler at the join , just me not really essential.


Around the waist we have the belt with various points to locate the many bags and attachments all fitting cleanly.

On now to the 2nd largest piece the hood , this intrigued me to be honest when I heard about the prelease ...how were we to paint the face ....in such a closed in area ...fear not dear modeller ...Hugo has thought of us by casting the face separately ( more later ) , the hood again shows the great texture and fit is good the pose is with it slightly leaning over ...very scary , with the locating area doe the face being well engineered inside

Thankfully (for me at least) the ears have been cast into the hood itself , these are well formed and worked ...pointy and well.....goblin like!!!!

Around the leading edge we have some nice decoration with both the torso and hood showing the seams , all these will paint up beautifully adding more interest to the piece.




Continued in next post:

Nap

On now to the remaining pieces :

Beginning with that Head:

I say head but actually due to the clever casting of the hood itself we are treated to what I can only described as a mask of a goblin and boy is he ugly , WOW!!! this guy is evil , from the great wrinkles and the eyes that are well done allowing access to the full eye for ease of painting , pointed and bulbous nose with a set of pointed teeth the gums surrounding these are shown , almost like a great white in full attack!! .

Oh and don't forget the spots he has through his various experiments and working in a damp and moulding atmosphere of the castle laboratory ...perhaps he was experimenting on some luckless elves !!!

This is a painters piece for sure remember the lights when you paint as when fitted into place a lot of the upper forehead will be in shadow with the nose peeking out ......packed full of character ..you just got to love him .....I reckon its the tops !!!

Now to the arms:

Both show the same texture in keeping with the rest of the clothing , great folds and movement in both , the material looks and sits as it should ...nice one Hugo ...at the cuffs we have deep ( perhaps leather ) bands , nice details in the ties , the cuffs are hollowed out with skill ready to receive the hands.

Fit into the Torso is under the shoulder cape and is spot on with positioning being excellent on both , the left is straight down with the right being angled and bent at the elbow

Now to the hands :

These are wonderfully worked the left gripping tightly a scroll of parchment , the fingers are wrapped round tightly the hand being in a fingerless glove ( matching the cuffs in leather maybe ) , the fingers are pointy and thin with nice work on the finger nails , sharp and lethal!!.

The right holds a potion bottle , a secret mix that he has concocted in his laboratory .......looking for the next " assistant" to try it out on !!! ...the challenge here will be painting the liquid swirling about in the receptacle.

As I said this is on my bench so I will be doing something a little different with my bottle ( WIP pics will be posted ...hopefully!!)

Fit of both hands is again as expected 1st class , when in position adding some interesting details again .

On now to the remaining pieces:

The belt end , this needed no glue in the dry fitting , excellent texture on the belt itself with nice details on the buckle and I like the way its wrapped round near the buckle, hanging very naturally as well when in position.


The remaining pouches include a long thin bag ( perhaps with "medical" implements in it ) , nice details again on the buckles and starp , fit is again clean and tight ...good option is to personalise the bag perhaps with his name ...Dr Festus Heemegoblin ( guess what I am using as my title ... LOL )

The next being a "purse" full of his evil financial gains ...its bulging so he must have a few coins in it or maybe they are faeries wishes !

My favourite 2 next , on his belt we see a book of spells held safely in a holder , nice details on the book edges .....might add a padlock to mine !!!

The next is a holder that has some exquisite test tube tubes of lethel liquids , each with a rather nifty little cork in it , again we see nice details as always.

Final Thoughts

This is a new area for RP and they have chosen a sinister piece , packed full of character and textures, a painters piece , full of details and with very carefully thought out manufacture , fun to build and well engineered ( especially like the way the face has been done)

A very interesting and a challenge to paint ( believe me buts its an enjoyable one)

Highly recommended even for those who would not normally do fantasy ( like me) , a FUN piece packed full of enjoyment and if painting a bust is not your thing there will also be a 75mm figure being released at the same time.

For more details :

RP now have a website at :www.rpmodels.pt

Or contact RP via message here on PF

or e mail : sales@rpmodels.pt

or on FB : www.facebook.com/RPmodels

Thanks for looking in ...enjoy your modelling

Nap

Rich,

Thanks. For the post , there will always be a big place for conventional sculptors thankfully , 3D has opened up a new world of possibilitys.

Keep that putty and clay moving round the bench mate!

Nap