Grenadier and Dark Sword Miniatures Halfling Scouts, sculpted by Andrew Chernak and Bobby Jackson

[72moonglum]

Hello fine fans of fantastic miniatures!

 

So I can't tell you exactly when, but months back Dark Sword Miniatures put out this miniature, two hobbit scouts one standing on the other's shoulders sculpted by Bobby Jackson, an obvious homage to some old Grenadier halflings sculpted I believe by Andrew Chernak back in the early eighties.   As soon as I saw this miniature I immediately thought that all fine fans of old school miniatures would be buying the new version and then painting them both up to happily compare the two.  Well, until now I hadn't seen any such "explosion" of comparisons, so I figured maybe I just need to be the first.  So here is the most recent Dark Sword version, sculpted by Mr. Jackson:

 

 

and here is are the original hobbits, sculpted by Andrew Chernak back in maybe 1982 or so?:

 

 

and here they are side by side:

 

 

I tried to use as much as possible the same or similar color scheme in each version.  The only thing that did happen is that there is a Dark Sword version of the hobbits scouts one on top of each other with two separate cloaks, but I accidentally grabbed the one with a single cloak only.  

 

anyhoos, enjoy this blast to the past and let me know what you think!

Edited January 29 by 72moonglum

[KruleBear]

Awesome. Such a great idea to paint them both and show them side by side. 

[72moonglum]

11 minutes ago, KruleBear said:

Awesome. Such a great idea to paint them both and show them side by side. 

Thanks not-so-KruleBear! I’m surprised I was the first one to think of it! Bobby Jackson also did his own version of the Halfing shooting from a stump, I might tackle those some day later!

[Glitterwolf]

They both look fantastic, the DS version has a slighty more dynamic pose and the Hobbits look more aggressive than the Grenadier ones.

 

[chaosscorpion]

Great! More Classic Pieces!

[72moonglum]

7 hours ago, Glitterwolf said:

They both look fantastic, the DS version has a slighty more dynamic pose and the Hobbits look more aggressive than the Grenadier ones.

 

Thanks Glitterwolf!

 

Yeah, the Dark Sword version hobbitses look a little more angry, have a little more attitude than the Grenadier ones and their poses are a little more natural.   Remember though, the Grenadier hobbitses were from the Grenadier Gold Line box, sculpted way back in 1980, when I was but a tadpole:

 

 

 

Fun fact, the Grenadier Halflings box was my first set of miniatures that I ever got

34 minutes ago, chaosscorpion said:

Great! More Classic Pieces!

Yup, old Grenadier Gold Boxes, doesn't get much more classic than that!

[Rigel]

Incredibly smooth work and great highlighting! Love these two, and the one extra-large cape for both is just good comedy.

[72moonglum]

1 hour ago, Rigel said:

Incredibly smooth work and great highlighting! Love these two, and the one extra-large cape for both is just good comedy.

It’s all about the comedy!

[Grand Slam]

Both look great...lovely detail work and a wonderful excuse to use a wide array of colors. I think the sculpting/posing on the newer one is somewhat superior, but that's to be expected (and the charm of the original still shines through...I'm just not a fan of those long arms).

 

Great skin-tone and nmm on the spears.

[72moonglum]

9 minutes ago, Grand Slam said:

Both look great...lovely detail work and a wonderful excuse to use a wide array of colors. I think the sculpting/posing on the newer one is somewhat superior, but that's to be expected (and the charm of the original still shines through...I'm just not a fan of those long arms).

 

Great skin-tone and nmm on the spears.

Yeah, I’ve always wondered sometimes about those great old Grenadier monkey arms. 

[Chaoswolf]

I have about half of that old Grenadier set that I've managed to collect via trading when I was a kid, or through Ebay purchases as an adult. I don't have the scouts, though.

 

You've done a wonderful job on painting them both. Purely sculpt wise, I prefer the original.

[72moonglum]

18 minutes ago, Chaoswolf said:

I have about half of that old Grenadier set that I've managed to collect via trading when I was a kid, or through Ebay purchases as an adult. I don't have the scouts, though.

 

You've done a wonderful job on painting them both. Purely sculpt wise, I prefer the original.

I’m going to go out on a rather unpopular limb and say from a sculpting aspect, even though the new one was digitally and not hand sculpted, I think the sculpting work is better with the new versions, but the old one really does has so much personality.  They are chunky and a bit awkward sometimes, but in general they are a joy to paint.  I’ve also got tons of old Grenadier that some day I want to dedicate the proper time to, I just haven’t ever really gotten around to it. 

[Poilu_1914]

Love these two, brings back memories! Great job on both of them! I do like the single cape idea, I've always liked minis with a humorous bent to them.

[72moonglum]

2 hours ago, Poilu_1914 said:

Love these two, brings back memories! Great job on both of them! I do like the single cape idea, I've always liked minis with a humorous bent to them.

I just keep wondering, once the hobbit on top is no longer scouting, does that cape just drag all over the place?

[Grand Slam]

37 minutes ago, 72moonglum said:

I just keep wondering, once the hobbit on top is no longer scouting, does that cape just drag all over the place?

That's what I imagine...which makes the whole thing twice as funny.