Essex orc (trial pic)

[Severian]

Thought I'd try to get the hang of posting pictures, so here is an Essex miniatures orc (Q39 in the current catalogue). I make no claims for the paint job nor the photography (taken on my phone). But he's a fun sculpt. The bronze polearm is a relic of his sometime role in a some Gloranthan context or other.

[Hobgoblin]

Nice!

Was he a Tusk Rider or a troll or something else, do you recall?

[Severian]

Thanks! I originally got him and a few of his colleagues to be gloranthan trolls, but rather gave up on that idea when I realised he couldn't be easily tusked... (I did greenstuff some tusks on some Essex gnolls, though, still sitting around unfinished).
I realised also to be properly canonical, these days anyway, he would need to be rather darker skinned (my gnoll/trolls are greyish-blue) and I didn't feel like repainting him. So I suppose he's an orc of some sort. If I ever finish any more of them, I'll try to think of something plausible for them to do.

[Schrumpfkopf]

I just love these old guys. Your painting does them great justice. I wasn't aware they're with Essex as I haven't looked into their catalogue in the past 10 years.

[Hobgoblin]

It's a real shame that Essex doesn't showcase its fantasy stuff better. Some of it's really remarkable, and almost all of it is at least charming. And there's so much of it: seven different gnolls, well into double figure for Cursaa's orcs and the Great Scaley Orcs, and lots more besides. But much of it is unillustrated on the site; I'd love to see more of the hobgoblins and the chaos warriors (or whatever they call them), for example. Some of the gaps are filled by wikis, but not all.

Essex gnolls as RuneQuest trolls is a really good idea. They're about the right size and stature, and the chieftain in particular looks suitably Gloranthan in his tall plumed helmet.

[Severian]

Yes, I've picked up a good bit of the Essex range in the past few years and it never disappoints. They really should show it off more, you're right, but I'm mostly just happy it's still in production.

I'll probably try to finish some of my gnoll/trolls someday soonish. They're about the size I imagine RQ trolls to be, but obviously opinions vary: the Fenris games troll adventurers (which I have, and which are lovely sculpts) stand almost 50mm (45mm to the eyes) and are very robustly built. I suppose they might work well as great trolls alongside Essex as dark trolls, but I think they're meant as standard dark trolls...

I also have a few Essex goblins to act as trollkin - they scale well enough with the old Citadel trollkin, in fact, and have Bela Lugosi style fangs that tick the tusk box.

[Hobgoblin]

Yes, I've picked up a good bit of the Essex range in the past few years and it never disappoints. They really should show it off more, you're right, but I'm mostly just happy it's still in production.

Yes, that's at least something!

I

'll probably try to finish some of my gnoll/trolls someday soonish. They're about the size I imagine RQ trolls to be, but obviously opinions vary: the Fenris games troll adventurers (which I have, and which are lovely sculpts) stand almost 50mm (45mm to the eyes) and are very robustly built. I suppose they might work well as great trolls alongside Essex as dark trolls, but I think they're meant as standard dark trolls...

I wondered why they were so pricey! Yes, they are lovely, but dark trolls are "canonically" shown as under or around 7' when standing up straight in HeroQuest and Trollpak. And they normally slouch. My compromise (Great Compromise?) is to use old Citadel orcs, which are paunchy, around 7' if upright and ferociously fanged or tusked. They're not quite right - but I think they match written descriptions fine (if not illustrations). And the old Grenadier goblins make near-perfect trollkin.

I also have a few Essex goblins to act as trollkin - they scale well enough with the old Citadel trollkin, in fact, and have Bela Lugosi style fangs that tick the tusk box.

Yes indeed - and the "canonical" descriptions mention "fangs or tusks", I think.

[Brummie Thug]

Interesting looking figure and painted wonderfully. It certainly has a charm about it. Will have to have a mooch or find a show that Essex are going to

[Severian]

Very kind words but really the detail on the figure makes it easy to paint.

Will have to have a mooch or find a show that Essex are going to

They don't generally take their fantasy figures to shows, or so they told me at Salute one year. But there are good pics of some of the range out there on the interweb.

[James Holloway]

It's a shame they don't make more of them, because some of them are quite good -- those Olley Dwarfs in particular are charming, and I really like this orc as well. Kind of a fairy-tale grotesque style rather than the traditional fantasy monster. Of course, I'm also a sucker for Glorantha ...

[WitchfinderGeneral]

He's really crazy, like a lot of the Essex fantasy stuff. I bought all their chaos dwarves some weeks ago and I'm still surprised how characterful those sculpts are. They should really get better pictures on their Website that do them justice.

[Hybrid Alpha]

That miniature has a lot of character and your painting brings it out nicely. I haven't looked at the 28mm Essex fantasy range before. A lot of it would work well for 15mm ogres and giants. I need more 15mm ogres and giants