The Perrys and the Morrisons

[Hobgoblin]

After some months of gaming with plastic figures with my son, I'm confident that neither he nor his little sister are likely to attempt to devour miniatures. So that has opened a vast hoard (and indeed horde) of 80s and very early 90s lead. I dug some of it out of the attic last night and found that there were tremendous riches lurking there:

* Perry night goblins and great goblins (and some red goblins, but those are less exciting), as well as some of the Goblin Raiding Party box set. Among the great goblins are the tremendous drunken gnolls. And there are fair few [u=http://www.solegends.com/citcat1984comp2/citcomp2030-02.htm]chaos goblins[/u]!
* Perry slann, including several Kremlos and Gurgle Greenwake
* Trish Morrison beastmen (the best GW ever made)
* Citadel broo (as above)
* Aly Morrison hobgoblins (some of the best miniatures ever made, in my view)
* Various Jez Goodwin ogres, hobgoblins, bugbears and "Uruk-hai" (far too big for Tolkien but great figures nonetheless: all of which could be used in a warband of variously sized monsters, as they are all of a similar physical type
* Tom Meier giant goblins/orcs and some of their lesser kin
* Aly Morrison half-orcs - chiefly the better, solid-based sort - and the slave ogre!
* Some Skaven of the earliest sort
* Perry C15 armoured orcs
* Solid-based chaos warriors and knights
* Lone Wolf giaks
* A few chaos sorcerers
* Citadel Eterrnal Champions, including Erekose and Count Ulrik Skarsol
* Tom Meier lizardmen, with at least one cold-one rider and one intact troglodyte
* Trish Morrison lizardmen, including some of Karnac's Reptilian Raiders, and at least one troglodyte
* Jez Goodwin half-orc RoR champion (and maybe some more: I have some based and painted for Hordes of the Things).
* A few Jez Goodwin Asgard orcs (marvellous)
* Unnumbered other treasures.

Anyway, what struck me about all of it is just how good so many of these ancient miniatures are. And, more to the point, just how much better they are than contemporary miniatures, metal or plastic. The Jez Goodwin and Tom Meier stuff is well known, and those sculptors are much (and deservedly) praised. But I think the early Citadel work of the Perrys and the Morrisons is often underrated. The Perry night goblins and great goblins (especially the second wave of the latter - the ones that weren't such obvious variants of a few basic poses) are far better than anything GW has done since. There's a real magic about them, with their wonderful, natural poses, practical-looking clothing and armour and normal-sized weaponry. They really succeed in making the fantastic look genuine - indeed, look "historical". I don't think anyone's managed to do that so well since. And the same holds for their orcs and armoured orcs. There's a subtlety about them that is unmatched since.

The Morrison stuff is different: more fantastical, perhaps, but equally brilliant. Actually, the splendid half-orcs are pretty down-to-earth, with their grubby attire and vicious-looking weapons. But the hobgoblins, with their horned helmets and ornate shields, are a little more fanciful than the Perry stuff, but absolutely splendid. And the poses are again natural and well-weighted. They're some of the very best "orcish" miniatures ever made, I think.

Trish Morrison's chaos beastmen are superb. GW have never done better, either in the quality of the figures or the imagination that went into these sculpts. I wonder why such a brilliant range of wretched creatures - seahorse-men, slug-men, ostrich-men, camel-men, mantis-men, sloth-men - gave way to an increasingly uniform set of steroidal goat-men.

Actually, the (ironic) abandonment of variety in chaos is a real theme when you compare the old stuff with the new. The warriors and knight of chaos from the old boxed sets are so wonderfully varied - there's one with a bow, there's a warrior-maiden, and each appears to be a follower of a different god - that it makes you shake your head ruefully at the current plastic incarnations (I bought a box of three more or less monoposed ones with all-too-similar cloaks, horned helmets and shields.

Oh, well. Sic transit gloria mundi and all that. But viewing all this old stuff does make me wonder why so few contemporary firms render fantasy miniatures as cartoons rather than figures from histories that never were ...

[ZeroTwentythree]

Actually, the (ironic) abandonment of variety in chaos is a real theme when you compare the old stuff with the new. The warriors and knight of chaos from the old boxed sets are so wonderfully varied - there's one with a bow, there's a warrior-maiden, and each appears to be a follower of a different god - that it makes you shake your head ruefully at the current plastic incarnations (I bought a box of three more or less monoposed ones with all-too-similar cloaks, horned helmets and shields.

I completely agree. Not in regard to chaos, either. I think the lack of variety killed my interest in other ranges as well. Especially irregular/horde/rabble types of troops like goblins.

I don't mind a more uniform look for something like trained spearmen (spear elves, or whatever) at the ready, but even troops like dwarfs can look really odd when put into identical "action" poses. I remember when they released the older metal Hammerers unit, in which every troop was almost identical, only fit on the base attacking at an angle 45 degrees away from straight ahead (so it looked like they were attacking a foe in front of the guy to their left) and completely synchronized in their overhead hammer swing.

[Mars Miniatures]

whew... the title led me to think that maybe the Perrys and Morrisons were having a feud, OK Corral style.
It would have been tough to decide which family to support. 

At first thought I would say Perry, but then again MARAUDER Miniatures is a name that commands respect. 
Like you say, Trish Morrison's work  has a magickal quality.  And I have been debating whether I should ebay hunt her earlier sculpts, despite my fear of lead rot. 

Reading your post, made me think of my current predicament of "oldhammer" nostalgia.  My current goals are to never have a duplicate pose of any model and never use a plastic mini.  I too once owned 80s lead, from Ral Partha, Grenadier, Citadel, Marauder, and Heritage.  Should I reacquire them via ebay, despite my fear of lead rot?  OR stick with my plan of selective new companies with old school feel - Reaper, Otherworld, etc.. 

My ultimate wish would be that a philanthropist miniatures fan would purchase all the old molds/masters of 80s lead and re-cast them in modern white metals. 

[ZeroTwentythree]

Reading your post, made me think of my current predicament of "oldhammer" nostalgia.  My current goals are to never have a duplicate pose of any model and never use a plastic mini.  I too once owned 80s lead, from Ral Partha, Grenadier, Citadel, Marauder, and Heritage.  Should I reacquire them via ebay, despite my fear of lead rot?  OR stick with my plan of selective new companies with old school feel - Reaper, Otherworld, etc.. 

My ultimate wish would be that a philanthropist miniatures fan would purchase all the old molds/masters of 80s lead and re-cast them in modern white metals. 

Some of those are still available or have recently been. I think Mega Minis was producing some old Grenadier, and Mirliton still is. Ral Partha Europe & Iron Wind Metals are still producing many of the old RP figures. Citadel & Marauder are a bit harder to come by, except for some of the former Citadel figures that Foundry casts. But as you say, there are other options, like White Knight's very Marauder-esque figures, and some of the others you mention. Why choose between the two options anyway... buy both old and new! 

[Tactalvanic]

Why choose between the two options anyway... buy both old and new! 

+1 this, been doing it for ages...

I re-started my little hobby several years ago, when I dug some dusty boxes from the attic.

Regardless of the quality or quantity (not necessarily both at the same time) of much modern stuff, those boxes of old stuff from the 80s and 90s stand out so much in comparison to much that has followed.

Nostalgia or not, there's so much really good stuff there, I always find them inspiring, painted or not.

Add to that the fact that so much of it is still available directly, new as such from many of the smaller companies that took on the moulds (except GW of course..)

Right, put normal glasses back on and throw the rose tinted ones in the corner, carry on as normal.

[Hobgoblin]

whew... the title led me to think that maybe the Perrys and Morrisons were having a feud, OK Corral style.
It would have been tough to decide which family to support. 

At first thought I would say Perry, but then again MARAUDER Miniatures is a name that commands respect. 
Like you say, Trish Morrison's work  has a magickal quality.  And I have been debating whether I should ebay hunt her earlier sculpts, despite my fear of lead rot. 

Reading your post, made me think of my current predicament of "oldhammer" nostalgia.  My current goals are to never have a duplicate pose of any model and never use a plastic mini.  I too once owned 80s lead, from Ral Partha, Grenadier, Citadel, Marauder, and Heritage.  Should I reacquire them via ebay, despite my fear of lead rot?  OR stick with my plan of selective new companies with old school feel - Reaper, Otherworld, etc.. 

My ultimate wish would be that a philanthropist miniatures fan would purchase all the old molds/masters of 80s lead and re-cast them in modern white metals. 

I wouldn't be too worried about lead rot. I've been looking out for it as I go through the lead-hoard, and so far, I've seen no sign of it. The ones I've been basing up are as robust as they were when new. These are miniatures that have been roughy stored in open-topped plastic tubs for 24 years or so - and some of them (Fiend Factory creatures and early Ral Partha stuff) were old when I acquired them in the 80s. I spotted "1979" on some of the Ral Partha bases (though they may have been cast later).

[Hobgoblin]

I completely agree. Not in regard to chaos, either. I think the lack of variety killed my interest in other ranges as well. Especially irregular/horde/rabble types of troops like goblins.

I don't mind a more uniform look for something like trained spearmen (spear elves, or whatever) at the ready, but even troops like dwarfs can look really odd when put into identical "action" poses. I remember when they released the older metal Hammerers unit, in which every troop was almost identical, only fit on the base attacking at an angle 45 degrees away from straight ahead (so it looked like they were attacking a foe in front of the guy to their left) and completely synchronized in their overhead hammer swing.

That is one reason why I suspect I shall never play Warhammer again (I had abandoned it by the end of my first stage of gaming, so, happily, many of the best of my old miniatures are already on round bases for skirmishing). Systems that avoid ranking up - skirmish games like Song of Blades and Heroes or multi-based mass battle systems like Hordes of the Things - seem very much the way to go to me; I'll probably just stick individually based figures temporarily on plasticard sheets for HOTT, etc. A round base is liberating!

On that note, I was amazed to see just how small the second iteration of Golgfag's ogres (the Jez Goodwin ones) are. I'll be basing those on 30mm round bases, which will fit them nicely. They're about half the size of the current GW ogres (which I quite like - but the old metal ones are much better).

[Modhail]

Aww, and here I was hoping this was announcing a new joint company/range...
I have to agree though, the older sculpts are quite marvellous.

[white knight]

I'm sure I don't have to convince anyone I have a love for oldschool figures, Marauder in particular. Is it wrong to secretly hope GW will go bust and all its assets, including the rights to long OOP ranges will have to be sold to people who will bring them back? If that happens, I'd probably try to get the rights to the Marauder dwarf range (naturally), puff and slash ogres and maybe the 90s Empire range and halflings.

[Modhail]

It's not wrong, but knowing GW, those molds and greens haven't been saved (cheaper to destroy than to store...).   Otherwise, what I wouldn't give to have the old early/mid 90's models (and games!) available again.

[white knight]

Oh, I know, some years ago there was a big outrage when it was revealed they grinded up a shedload of old moulds and greens.

But with a good set of productioncastings and a skilled mouldmaker, one could make a new productionmould with limited shrinking and loss of detail.

[Hobgoblin]

I've often thought how wonderful a new set of the old Morrison hobgoblins would be. I wouldn't care if they were in plastic or metal.

When I was a kid, I met Aly Morrison once or twice in Edinburgh - maybe around the time that Marauder was starting up. I recall asking him why GW had abandoned the hobgoblins, and he said it was because they didn't sell well. That lack of sales has always puzzled me. Not only were they among the best fantasy figures ever made, but in Warhammer 2nd edition, they were very powerful - as good in combat as orcs, but with the considerable extra benefit of frenzy. They used to be the shock troops in my childhood Warhammer armies.

[ZeroTwentythree]

As long as we're waxing nostalgically, I think the Tom Meier lizards & trogs are the best Citadel has done. I've got a full set, but wish someone was still casting them so I could get a few of each for gaming units. Plus maybe a few to chop up & build into leaders/heroes.

[Hobgoblin]

Yes, those are brilliant. There are a few in my cache, though I think only one troglodyte has survived. I discovered a fully painted lizardman some months ago; my son managed to knock it off the table and break off its hooked katana. I shall go to some pains to fix it (using a very small pin vice, perhaps).

I think the Trish Morrison lizardmen are very good too, though very different.

[Sir_Theo]

The Perry's did some wonderful stuff for GW (their Empire models are still better than anything Empire to have come since)  but the Morrisons were God's in my eyes when I started in the hobby.  Marauder Miniatures made some amazing stuff.  My first miniature army of any sort were made primarily of marauder Dwarves,  and they are still among my favourite models of all time.