Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Orc Army for Dragon Rampant

This week's project was finally getting a box of Wargames Factory Orcs painted and based. I must have bought them four or five years ago for a project I have since forgotten. However, with my new interest in Dragon Rampant, I decided to assemble and paint up the orcs.

Here's a group shot of twenty four



Some small group photos below. Overall, my impression of these figures is rather mixed. The look or aesthetic is well done. These are very much Peter Jackson LOTR orcs, not pig faced AD&D/GW orcs or noble savage Warcraft/Skyrim orcs. Their armor and gear is rather patchwork, suitable for the savage mob army from the films. In keeping with the films look, I went for an ocher skin color with a little goblin green and pale flesh mixed in.


The design of the figures is something with which I had a bit more of a problem. The bodies and legs are separate pieces - which is generally a good thing as it gives more variation. However, the bodies are meant to be reversible, meaning either side is suitable for the chest to give even more variation. A nice idea in theory, however it does lead to some awkward poses and odd angles. The plastic material is a positive, though. Even on some of their bad figures, the hard plastic from Wargames Factory is durable, takes paint well and has minimal flash. 


The weapons on the sprue are another positive. These are some real nasty looking weapons that orcs would make - serrated edges, extra spikes, thick little daggers and morningstars.  As far as conversion and kit bashing potential, it's pretty easy. The photo above shows a spear bearing orc whose arm comes from a Gripping Beast Viking set. The orc archer on the far right has a recurve bow clipped on from the Gripping Beast Arab army. Some other bits come from the Frostgrave soldiers. 


That's my review of a five year old or more product whose immediate and near future availability is uncertain due to the pending takeover of Wargames Factory by Warlord Games. (I just checked Warlord - they are available at $5 USD per sprue of 3 figures)

A good Dragon Rampant army needs a big guy, so I threw in a Reaper Bones Mountain Troll. A great figure, and as I have said before, on figures of this size and larger, the bones material holds detail as well as metal. 





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