Frog and Toad

There are a large variety of frog people that populate the D&D universe, but to me, they can be reduced down to those that are based on frogs, and those that are based on toads.

I've mentioned metal Frogfolk in the past, but for those who prefer plastic, a couple of options have recently become available from Wizkids.

For prepainted miniatures, there are the Grung (Waterdeep Dungeon of the Mad Mage #6) and the Grung Elite Warrior (Waterdeep Dungeon of the Mad Mage #16) from the D&D Icons of the Realms line. Similar unpainted Grungs are available from Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures (WZK73845).

The miniatures with the black bases are from the Icons of the Realms line, while the other three are Nolzur's miniatures that I already painted up.

I've seen several reviews on the Nolzur's miniatures that claim they need to be washed to remove release agent, but that sounds unnecessary since the miniatures are not bare plastic, but actually pre-primed.

For toad people, I recently picked up some Ropuchons Warriors (SPCR0006) from Spellcrow miniatures.

These are part of a 10mm line of miniatures with some figures that seem to rival the size of 15mm miniatures.

In any event, the figures are made of a hard resin that is somewhat brittle. One of the miniatures that I bought was snapped off at the ankles, but easily fixed with a bit of CA glue.

These figures actually did need to be washed, since they were slick with release agent.

Last is a comparison of a Frogfolk from East Riding Miniatures, three Wizkids Grungs, and a Ropuchon.

Blemmyes

                           "And of the Cannibals that each other eat,
                           The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads
                           Do grow beneath their shoulders."

                           – Othello

The Blemmyes were originally a sub-Saharan tribe from a region that is now part of modern Sudan. Somehow over the ages, they came to be known as a legendary race of headless people. In later accounts, such as in The Romance of Alexander, they are described as giants covered in golden hair.


Blemmyes are sometimes also confused with Anthropophagi, but this is due to improper parsing of a line from Shakespeare's Othello (see above). This is further confused because the description of Anthropophagi from The Histories of Herodotus is often ascribed to the Blemmyes, but in fact, Herodotus is referring to a Scythian tribe, and makes no mention of headlessness.

My pet theory is that stories of headless Blemmyes with faces on their torsos came from sightings of people wearing large ceremonial masks.


Below are some of the miniatures that I have of Blemmyes, though they are different in appearance from those shown in medieval illustrations.


The first miniature is of a Toadec Spawn (HOT62). I originally bought these for a frog warband, but upon receiving the miniatures, I realized that what was painted up as big protruding lips on the 15mm.co.uk website was actually an eye. I figured that these miniatures must have originally been designed as Cyclops-Blemmyes. What really confirmed this for me was when I came across the East Riding Minatures Blemmyes (the next two miniatures), which are also described as Chest-Eyes. The ERM miniatures are clearly of the same origin as the Toadec Spawn. The first one is a Blemmye with spear FT-25, followed by a Blemmye leader armed with a khopesh from the ERM Fantasy Personalities set (FT-40). Anyway, they are too small to be used as Blemmyes in 1/72 scale, but can be repurposed as toadmen if you wanted to paint them up that way.


The final figure is a Grenadier Grunch (Fantasy Lords 031). The torso is spot on for a Blemmye, but its legs are digitigrade, which is not so typical. The Grunch is more suitable for use with 28mm figures, but I think I'm going to use it as a giant Blemmye.

Kingdom of the Dwarfs

The characteristics of mythological dwarves are often mixed with those of other mythological races such as elves and trolls. In Norse mythology, the beings called svartálfar (dark elves) are essentially dwarves. They live underground, fashion cunning artifacts, and are generally avaricious. They also bear a resemblance to trolls in that they turn to stone when exposed to sunlight.

Even their size can vary, with ancient images depicting dwarves being the same size as humans. In general though, modern fantasy has set the height of dwarves between 3-4 feet in height. This allows some lines of 15mm dwarves to be used with 1/72 scale figures. Described below, are examples of the various types of dwarves that I currently own.

The first group consists of five plastic dwarves from Caesar, and one from the Age of Mythology game by Eagle Games. The Caesar dwarves are just a tad too tall for my tastes, but they could be used as the taller race of mountain dwarves.



The next set of six images cover the The Shadow Corp/Blood Dawn dwarves sculpted by Rene Perez. They are solid and bulky without being too tall. Of all the dwarves in this entry, I think these are my favorite sculpts.







The next pair of images are of 18mm dwarves from Eureka. They match up very well with the Shadow Corp dwarves, though they seem a bit stiff in comparison.



The next four images are of 15mm dwarves from Black Raven Foundry. These dwarves are are smaller than the Shadow Corp and Eureka dwarves, and much lighter in build, though the height difference is not quite as apparent due to the thickness of their bases.





The next pair of images are of the dwarves produced by East Riding Miniatures. These are true 15mm dwarves with a nice stocky build.



The next images are of dwarven crossbowmen from the Warlords line produced by Grenadier. The bases on these miniatures are very small and uneven so that the figures tend to tip over at the drop of a feather.



Comparison of dwarves blowing horns: Shadow Corp, Eureka x 2, and ERM.



Comparison of dwarven sorcerers: Shadow Corp x 2, and Eureka x 2.



Comparison of dwarven arquebusiers: Caesar, and Shadow Corp x 2.



Comparison of dwarven crossbowmen: Caesar, Shadow Corp, Eureka, Grenadier Warlords, Alternative Armies HOT, and SLM.


Comparison of dwarven axemen: Caesar, Shadow Corp, Eureka, Eagle Games, and SLM. These are the best dwarves for use in 1/72 fantasy. The Caesar dwarves are somewhat too tall for me, and I'm not a big fan of the SLM dwarves sculpted by Bob Olley due to their over-sized heads, but others may have a different opinion.


Comparison of smaller dwarven axemen: BRF, Alternative Armies HOT, Mongoose/Rebel, Alternative Armies TTF, ERM, SLM x 2, and Tin Soldier (I think). These dwarves are either too small, or too slender for me. One possibility is to use them as gnomes instead.

Bein' Green

The following miniatures are a small group of frogs and toads I have assembled for gaming purposes.

The first two pictures are of frog folk from East Riding Miniatures. The first three figures below, are from the Frogfolk Command (FT65), followed by the two poses from Frogfolk with Swords (FT69), one pose from Frogfolk with Spears (FT68), and two poses from Frogfolk Ambushers (FT70).


The next picture shows one pose from Frogfolk with Blowpipes (FT67), and the two poses of Frogfolk Archers (FT66).


I really like this range of frogs from ERM. They are currently the only 15mm fantasy frog people in production. However, Eureka is halfway to producing some of their 28mm Warrior Frog line in 15mm through the 300 Club, and I understand that SLM will also be releasing frog people next year.

For normal frogs which can double as familiars, Chariot has a Plague of Frogs (CFB02) in 15mm consisting of ~20 frogs on circular bases. Irregular produces Kermit the Barbarian (CR27) on a square base, as part of their 6mm fantasy line. The third miniature below is a Ral Partha toad from their Familiars set (02-958), followed by Reaper's toad familiar from their Familiar Pack III (02593). These toads are rather large, and the Reaper toad in particular would be good cane toad in 1/72.


Next are the giant frogs: The first is the Giant Frog from Citadel (FF56), followed by three different poses from Black Tree Design's Frog Swarm (FA0822).



Even larger giant frogs and toads follow. The first two miniatures below are toad mounts from Eureka's Warrior Frog Cavalry (100FRG26). There are six different variants made up by combining three different types of body with two different sets of legs. The bodies are made of a gray resin, while the legs are made of metal. One of the frogs also comes with an extended tongue made of metal. The final Giant Frog (M134) is from BTD. It is a two part figure, with separately molded front legs. The feet of an unfortunate victim protrude from it's mouth, but I think I will be removing them.

...an orc!

Drawn from Tolkien's LoTR and popularized through the influence of D&D, orcs have become the staple baddie in fantasy gaming. There are many different depictions of orcs - from the pig-like orcs of the early days of D&D to the lantern-jawed GW orcs that seem to have become the de facto standard nowadays. Me... I kind of prefer the look of the old Heritage orcs that were part of their LoTR line.

In addition to differences in appearance, there is also a lot of variation when it comes to determining how tall an orc is. Tolkien's orcs are typically smaller than men, and in fact, some are probably not much larger than hobbits. The largest of the orcs from LoTR are Sauron's black orcs and Saruman's Uruk-hai, which are almost "man-high" (which could still be pretty tall, since "man-high" in Middle Earth is 6'4"). Most orcs from modern fantasy gaming though, seem to be taller and heavier than humans.

There are only three sources for 1/72 orcs that I am aware of - Caesar, Orion/Dark Alliance, and Rebel. Many of the Dark Alliance Orcs (PAL72001) are modeled after orcs from the LoTR movies. They are almost the height of a man, so would make good Uruk-hai or black orcs.



Caesar orcs (106) seem to be modeled after GW or WoW orcs, so I have to say that I am not a fan of their appearance. Caesar also released a set of white metal orcs under their Miniknight brand. Anyway, the Caesar orcs are tall, and in some cases, taller than man-height. They do not have much detail, and have a primitive appearance, so they might work as orc barbarians.



The following picture, is of Rebel Minis orcs. They were originally produced by Dark Hold Miniatures, sculpted by James Tharpe. They are quite nice, and have the look and feel of the LoTR orcs illustrated by Angus McBride. Most of these orcs approach man-height, and there is even one that is as tall as George.



In 18mm, there are the Eureka orcs and man-orcs. The Eureka miniatures tend to be very uniform in size, and images for all of the figures are available on the Eureka and Eureka USA websites. The Eureka orcs are short and squat with bandy legs and long arms. Shown below are the Orc chiefs (300ORC04 - 2 poses); Orc standard bearers (300ORC05 - 2 poses); Orc musicians (300ORC06 - 2 poses); and Orc with sword (300ORC03 - 1/4 poses).



Eureka Man-Orcs are modeled after Uruk-hai from the LoTR movies. They are really nice sculpts, but even at 18mm, are too short for 1/72 Uruk-hai without conversion. My only quibble was with the standard bearers. The standards make the figures so top heavy, that they cannot stand upright without basing. Shown below are the Armoured Man-Orc chief (300MRC10); Armoured Man-Orc musician (300MRC12); Armoured Man-Orc with blade (300MRC09 - 1/4 poses); Man-Orc light infantry chieftain (300MRC04); Man-Orc light infantry musician (300MRC06); Man-Orc light infantry with sword (300MRC03 - 2/4 poses).



The remaining orcs in this entry are categorizeds as 15mm, although most are proably a lot closer to 18mm than 15mm. The first two orcs shown below, are Armored Orcs from East Riding Miniatures (FT-1). In general, the ERM orcs are a bit flat and crude. They also do not come in many poses, but I think that they will actually look really good when painted up. The next nine orcs are from the Mighty Armies orc boxed set from Mongoose (MGP9901). They are small orcs, and require a lot of work to make presentable, since they are completely covered with flash. The set is now produced by Rebel Minis, so I don't know if they still have the flash issue.



The Shadow Corp/Blood Dawn orcs are large 15mm miniatures sculpted by Rene Perez. The Black Orcs are bulky, and clearly influenced by GW orcs. I never liked the cartoony GW look, but I think that so long as they are not painted green, these orcs will actually turn out quite nicely. The first two orcs are Orc Infantry (SC3045/ORC004, ORC002); followed by a [Black] Orc w/Two Handed Hammer (SC3045/ORC006); [Black] Orc w/Polearm (SC3050/ORC007); and a [Black] Orc Champion (SC3054/ORC012).



Next, are a mixture of the Shadow Corp Black Orc Command (SC3053), and Blood Dawn orc command set (ORC001). The Blood Dawn orc command combines most of the figures from the two Shadow Corp command sets (SC3053/SC3047), with the exception of the orc chieftain with BFS (ORC011).



The Black Raven Foundry Orc Melee Troops (FO01) are short, hunched, bandy-legged orcs. They are nice sculpts, and like most BRF miniatures, their armor and weapons tend to be on the more elaborate side. If it wasn't for their jutting fangs, I'd probably use them as goblins rather than orcs. The set comes with four poses armed with spears:



Four melee poses:



And a command set:



The BRF Great Orcs (FO07) stand head-and-shoulders above the regular BRF Orcs. Again, they are well equiped with fairly elaborate arms and armor. I'd almost say that they would make better D&D style hobgoblins than orcs. The set includes four poses armed with spears:



Four melee poses:



And a command set:



The Orc Warhorde from Alternative Armies (HOTT1003) contains figures from several different sets of orcs. I'm not too clear on which figure belongs to which set, since the images on their website seem to mix miniatures from different sets. I believe that the first two orcs are Mountain Orcs (HOT4B), followed by various figures from the Orc Horde set (HOT4A). The Orc Horde is supposed to have three poses, but I'm not sure which are the three official poses for the set. In any event, the figures are small and slender, having the appearance of goblins, rather than orcs. In fact, many of these figures seem to be used interchangably with their goblin sets.



More orc-like is the Orc Command from Alternative Armies (HOT91). These orcs stand on thick bases, and tower over the goblin-orcs of the Orc Warhorde. The sculpts are solid, though not particularly detailed. I really like the faces, which manages the jutting tusked look without crossing over into GW territory. I also found the orc wizard quite interesting. I imagine that he took the beard and hat of a slain wizard to effect an appearance of power.



The SLM Orc Command (ORC01) and Orc Warriors (ORC02) below, are true 15mm orcs. They are beautifully scuplted, but rather delicate looking compared to most of the other orcs of their size. The chief and shaman could probably be used as 1/72 orcs, but the others would definitely have to be used as goblins.



Chariot orcs are true 15mm figures. The Armoured Orcs with standard (GOB11) are shown below. Some of the figures seem to be used interchangably with the Chariot goblin command set. The orcs are short and bow-legged, with long arms.


Last is the Tin Solider Orc Command Pack (DFA18). There are three poses supplied in duplicate. They are by far, the shortest of the 15mm orcs. The sculpts are too cartoonish for my tastes, though I think that I can use the drummer.



If you've gotten this far, congratulations. This is a long entry, and does not even cover all of the manufactured 15mm orcs. Anyway, to summarize, I think that Caesar, Dark Alliance, Rebel, and Shadow Corp orcs, as well as BRF Great Orcs, work the best for 1/72. Some of the Alternative Armies, ERM, and SLM orcs are fine as well.


The short stocky orcs from Chariot, BRF, Eureka, ERM, Mongoose, and maybe Tin Soldier would work as small orcs. Other 15mm orcs of the slender variety would work better as goblins.


A comparison of orc archers. The first archer is made by Caesar, while the next three archers are Shadow Corp orcs, consisting of an Orc Bowman (SC3046/ORC003), and two Black Orc Bowmen (SC3052/ORC010). Next is an Eureka Man-Orc light infantry archer (300MRC01 - 1/4 poses), an Alternative Armies Orc Archer (HOT38), and two orcs from the Mighty Armies orc boxed set.