Goblin Bat Cavalry

(4-3-2020) New toy bats from Schleich!

No painting required!

(see below for original toy conversion project)

These were labeled Fruit Bats.  They are the perfect size for 20mm Goblin riders.  The same technique was used for mounting them on pins, Hot Gluing the pins to the bases.

Here are some shots showing off the finished results, and some battle scenes from a 2e BattleSystem game they participated in...

A view of the 50mm square MDF base, and the bent Corsage Pin, inserted into the plastic belly of the Schleich Fruit Bat toy.  This allows the Bat to be angled, as needed.

Some D&D pre-painted bats (blue-gray) were added into the mix, to provide Leaders for the Aerial Cavalry Units. They mix fairly well with the Schleich Fruit Bats -- well enough for this gamer.

The Goblin Bat Cavalry is not terribly effective in battle, but visually, it is extremely fun to use on the tabletop!  If you want some exotic Cavalry for your Goblin Army, I highly recommend Bats, if you can find the Bat figures!  Even though they are not bruisers in battle, they have a powerful psychological impact on opponents.  That is fun to watch unfold, the defenders fearing the worst as they are enveloped by the Goblin Riding Bats, hurling fire bombs at them!  Little damage, but maximum psych impact...

Older, Original Post on using rubber toy bats:

I searched e-Bay for some bat toys, to use as aerial mounts for my 1/72 (18-20mm tall) Caesar plastic Goblins, since my Goblin army is always getting wiped out by enemy Longbowman -- they need some help!  I found some rubbery, toy bats, that seemed big enough, and when they arrived, I knew they would work.

The Bats were gray and black colored.  They have some molded textures, so I just Dip'ed them, to make things quick and easy.  The Goblins had to be cut off from their molded bases, but a razor knife made that simple.  Of all of the poses in the Caesar set, only one figure seemed appropriate:  the Rock Throwers.  I chose the Rock Throwers because of the way Bats fly:  they twist, and turn, very rapidly, and they are quite large compared to the Goblins.  It seemed logical that the Goblin riders would only be able to attack with some type of missile weapon, and bows require careful aim -- rock throwing seemed the best 'fit' for the situation (I really wanted to use the Molotov Cocktail hurlers, but the figures wouldn't fit, so I took what made sense, and worked...).  The Rock Throwers will not inflict as much damage as the fire bombs, but they should still trigger a morale check, which in BattleSystem games, can be decisive, if you manage to Shake, or Route your enemies....

To mount them, I used a T-shaped, quilter's pin.  I bent the sharp end, around 90 degrees, then I pushed that into the Bat's belly, just behind its head.  The T-head was then hot glued onto the floor tile base (some covered with cork, and the others covered with green craft foam -- the foam sticks better to the floor tile, and it is easier to cut).  The Goblin figures' legs won't quite stretch around the Bats' neck, so I used a razor knife to cut out some channels, behind the Bats' ears, for the Goblins' legs to fit into.  Unfortunately, this led to a single slip of the knife, and one Bat lost its head...  I pinned it, glued it, and everything turned out alright; this also allowed me to turn the Bat's head, to create a different pose.  With the Bats being made out of some soft, rubber-like, plastic, I don't know what glue will adhere strongly, so I did not repeat the beheading.  ;-).

The pin mounting through the torso, allows the Bats to be turned on their pins, to change their angle of flight.  This will prove useful on the gaming table, as it will allow me to demonstrate the Bats turning as they cross the table.

Here you can see the T-pin, head down, and the sharp end bent, sticking out of the Bat's torso,
just behind the head.  The only thing this model needs, is a little paint, and a Goblin rider, up top.

Here are some photo's of the Bats, two finished models, and two in progress, to demonstrate the mounting techniques.  Unfortunately, my PhD camera (Push here, Dummy!) does not do macro very well, so focus is never really great, but I hope you can glean enough from the poor quality photo's. Cheers!