Note; This review has be concluded by building one sprue, and extrapolating results from there. Also the review will be slanted to using these figures for Runequest and Glorantha RPG’s and war games.

Synopsis:

I just really love these figures and they have exceeded expectation in most departments. The design and build quality on them is outstanding. They have a great range of parts and some really neat design features.  

They complement my other plastic miniatures perfectly in terms of build and introducing new, interesting  and different components for my collection of parts.

What you get:

In each box you get 5 sprues, each with.

• 6 Irish warriors 2, with leather jerkins, 4 not armoured. 2 with trousers, 4 with skirts.
• 10 heads
• 6 large shields
• 9 small shields
• 3 decorative shields( 3 variants)
• 2 Cloaks
• 6 arms with spears
• 3 arms with swords
• 2 with shelleighs
• 4 more arms ( rock, sling, pointing & horn )
• Rams head standard
• 3 Assorted scabbards
• 2 Irish Wolf hounds

So in total that 10 Dogs, 30 Bodies, 90 shields, 50 heads, 10 cloaks, 75 right arms and more stuff as well.  Excellent value.

What I love about the box

• The quality of the sculpts and figures are excellent
• The miniature designs are interesting and dynamic
• A shoulder join  and full arm rather than an elbow join on the right arm means we have more variations of figures and better options for conversions imho.
• The sheer number of options is great for bits box, and as the designs are very different they add variation to parts I have available.
• The heads, I was worried about the heads when looked at photos of the sprue but in real life they are awesome on the figures, also very different to standard Victrix/Gripping beast fair, again adding great parts for future conversions
• Wolfhounds – What’s not to love about 10 plastic wolfhounds? I’ve been looking for dogs for my Balazarings for  ages, but haven’t been willing to pay metal prices for an add on, a perfect solution.
• Loads of shields all varied, nicely designed, even the Viking round shields are a nicer large size to make them non standard.
  • One beautifully designed round shield is a piece that would grace an hero figure.
• I always get unnaturally excited about cloaks for mini’s, but one  of the two design strikes me as the best I have seen yet on plastic miniatures.
• Great design feature that means the arms for clothed figures have a different attachment to those designed for naked torsos, so  it much harder to attach the wrong arms to the wrong mini ( not that I would ever be that stupid. )
• These miniatures can be readily modified by exchanging parts with Victrix, Gripping Beast and Fireforge miniatures.

What frustrates me

• Left arms as part of the body and thus locked in place means we have much more limited variations of figures that can be made. Thus from a full box of 5 spues, as a RPG player this worries me on how I can use all 30 effectively. However not a worry if you are a war gamer
• Delivery time on my full box , minis ordered online May 6th and still haven’t arrived on May 27th. ( review was written from working with one sprue purchased from ebay). Hopefully things will get better after initial surge post launch and after Covid stops messing with delivery.

Using them for Glorantha and Runequest

However envisioning these in Glorantha we have a few uses for these guys;

• The wolfhound are immediately useful for use with Balazarings and I feel the two figures with trousers also can be painted up to look right for that culture. I’m unsure on the skirted figures, but will try one or two painted to make it look leather not cloth.
• All of the figures will work very well for Orlanthi Fyrdmen and skirmishes but the lack of heavy armour suggest they would not make great figures for Orlanthi warriors.
• However with a relevant paint job these guys could look like bronze age street hoodlums from the wrong end of any town, or informal skirmishes and peasant militia from most areas of Glorantha.
• Useful versatile figures but I already have many that fulfill these roles ( except the dogs ).

Recommendations –

• Bought By the spru 9 out of 10,
• Bought By the box  8 out of 10

If you are using plastic miniatures for Runequest or any Glornathan RPG, buy at least a couple of sprues of these; good figures and the range of parts you get is well worth it.

If you want to put together an Orlanthi clan or warband, i’d recommend mixing a box of these with other figures ( Gripping Beast, Victrix & Fireforge ) to get a nice varied warband.

Note imagery is from Wargames Atlantic. I will add some shots of my less glorious attempts in a little while.