So we have got as far as looking at the Warhammer releases inside White Dwarf 119 in this history of Warhammer Third Edition. As you may have already read, this issue also included a fairly detailed look at the Skaven race in this article here.
The now regular set of releases from the Morrisons were these orc boar riders. Now I have gone on the record saying that the majority of sculptors who tackle goblinoids fair utterly unless they are Kev Adams. Its the faces, I think, that often let them down for I see greenskins as rather crafty yet cruel creatures, and certainly not the muscular brutes with generic WAAAGHH attitude.
Now these orcs are nearly on par with Kev's best stuff and I have always really liked this range. The boars look great and the orcs are classic '80s greenskins. What is there not to like about from the high eBay price for these models?
Orlygg
There's a handful of variants of these that weren't released.
ReplyDelete"Its the faces, I think, that often let them down for I see greenskins as rather crafty yet cruel creatures, and certainly not the muscular brutes with generic WAAAGHH attitude."
ReplyDeleteThis change happened across the board. I have a 'draft' post about repurposing my old Dwarf minis as a Hordes of the Things army. Thinking about my Slayer models, I argue that the older Slayer models should be used as Warbands. I write; "This is based on the narrative – ‘wild, irregular foot that rely on more on a ferocious impetuous charge than on mutual cohesion, individual skills or missiles’. Yup, sounds right. At least for the older Slayer sculpts, which have a very definite ‘pathetic’ aspect which I like – wild-eyed rejects and outcasts, no better than normal Dwarfs expect in their ferocity. These aren’t super-dwarfs. [...] But at some point in the 1990s these ‘pathetic’ sculpts were retired and replaced by the miniatures that had at one time been marketed as Marauder's Giant Slayers, which are the ‘champion’ level of the rank and file Slayers in WFB. These became the standard for all Slayers (as WFB got less pathetic and MOR AWESUM!). These are big, hyper-muscled brutes with better developed hairdos and insanely large and well decorated axes." I end up arguing that I'll use these as Paladins, who are great at combat, but at the cost of being 'death or glory'.
As I mentioned on the FB page these are some of my favorite Boar rider sculpts...It has taken me quite awhile but I have manged to track down copies of all of them...sadly I only have 5 painted but that just leaves me many more night of enjoyment when I get to the rest. I certainly agree that they are not quite on par with Kev's Greenskin faces but there are a few real standouts to me...the archers in particular all have wonderful faces...I also really appreciate the wide variety of arms and armor that these guys wear (or not) it gives a unit the proper motley look that suits early edition Orcs well.
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