Camera-phone photo examples below:
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| Kennington OG3 Large Ogre Tribal Warrior (40mm base) (RBG Shadowblade Reyviande shown for scale) |
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| Kennington OG3 Large Ogre Tribal Warrior (40mm base) (Bob Olley Citadel Ogre for scale) |
From a design point of view the Ogre Shield Warrior has a slightly woodsy fairy-talesque quality that I admire greatly. Obviously these are Ogres in the mid-to-late 80's Citadel sense of the word, not the AD&D giant cavemen nor the fat-guy mammoth mounted mongol of current GW stock. He's slimmer than the Olley Ogryn and the chain mail is finer, but side-by side the faces look 'of a kind' together.
Although I'm not aware of any original drawings, the Ogre Warrior is almost undoubtedly a Gary Chalk design - think the original Talisman Ogre card, with the leather cap and the ornamental brackets on the privvy door shield, there are echoes of Froud and Elmore in the character.
Alongside this Ogre Warrior there are 3 other models in the Kennington Large Ogre range: Clan Chief, Blade Master and Bowman. Since posting this MBM (the original source of the identifying miniatures) don't seem to be carrying the range, and the Kennington miniatures may have been re-coded.
| Folio Works | Kennington |
|---|---|
| uncatalogued? unreleased? | ??? (facing left ragged shield) |
| FW9/2 Ogre Necromancer | OG 1 Large Ogre Clan Chief (skull staff) |
| FW9/4 Ogre Warrior | OG2 Large Ogre Blade Master (facing forward) |
| FW9/1 Ogre Hero | OG3 Large Ogre Tribal Warrior (winged helm) |
| FW9/3 Ogre Hunter | OG 4 Large Ogre Bowman (bow & quiver) |
I really like them, especially the Tribal Warrior and the Bowman who stylistically seem to be a pair (strangely the Fantasy Warlord rulebook says that Ogres don't use bows). The Clan Chief (originally named Ogre Necromancer) is a bit too much of a halloween cartoon for my personal tastes (perhaps with a little conversion work he'd be perfect) but he could slot into someones 1990s Night Goblin army with very little problem.
Then the price, £4 for a 54mm Bob Olley / Gary Chalk Ogre? can't be bad!
They can be found at: SHQ / Kennngton Miniatures Shop
Urucks!
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| Kennington HO 3 Hill Orc Warriors (40mm base) |
HO 3 Hill Orc Warriors £4 (2 figure pack) from Kennington Miniatures. The Uruck Warriors are quite chunky for Orcs. Perhaps smaller Ogres, or even giant Giaks - much of the costume design is quite similar, and these could make great extensions to the Citadel Lone Wolf range. Both Urucks are of the ape-like (dare I say Kevin Adams-esque?) countenance, that fits nicely with mid-late 80s Citadel Orcs.
The example of 2(a) has some minor casting problems, there's a bit of a mould line and some flashing around the head and raised arm - nothing that the average miniatures enthusiast isn't used to dealing with. The detail on the front of the torso does seem a little soft, but in comparison with early 80s pre-slotta miniatures it's nothing too drastic. That aside, there are some amazing details - there is a little goblin face carved into the pommel of his sheathed sword, and the Urucks head is crisp and full of character. He's wearing something akin to spiked american football armour a-la Mad Max - dungeonpunk!
3(b) has chainmail with some hanging plates, and a nice fur trimmed helmet - the open armed pose is a little odd, but given how the arm connects to the chain mail top makes it ripe for cutting of and repositioning - making ranks of differently posed troops quite easy.
Below I set out a table trying to cross-reference the original Fantasy Warlord range and the current Kennington pack names, mostly by reference to the photos on The Lost Minis Wiki and the MBM site.
| Folio Works | Kennington |
| FW5/2 Uruck Command (winged helmet) | HO 1 Hill Orc Command (winged helmet) |
| FW5/2 Uruck Command (shaman) | HO 2 Hill Orc Shaman and Bodyguard (shaman) |
| FW5/3 Uruck Warriors 1 (?) | HO 2 Hill Orc Shaman and Bodyguard (bodyguard) |
| FW5/3 Uruck Warriors 1 (?) | HO 4 Hill Orc Warriors II (?) |
| FW5/4 Uruck Warriors 2 (long mail coat) | HO 4 Hill Orc Warriors II (Long Mail Coat) |
| FW5/4 Uruck Warriors 2 (spiked plain helm) | HO 3 Hill Orc Warriors I (spiked plain helm) |
| FW5/5 Uruck Warriors 3 (plumed helm) | HO 1 Hill Orc Command (plumed helm) |
| FW5/5 Uruck Warriors 3 (spiked furry helm) | HO 3 Hill Orc Warriors I (spiked furry helm) |
| FW5/6 Uruck Warriors 4 (round furry helm) | HO 5 Hill Orc Warriors III (round furry helm) |
| FW5/6 Uruck Warriors 4 (round helm w. mail) | HO 5 Hill Orc Warriors III (round helm w. mail) |
Overall it's a nice range with enough variants to keep things interesting!
The miniatures themselves have a chequered history - when Folio Works ceased trading (the company dissolved in 1993), the moulds were bought by Mayhem Miniatures before they were purchased by Kennington in 2000. However, these miniatures didn't appear in Red Giant - Folio Works in-house magazine nor in the core Fantasy Warlord rulebook itself, so defining the provenance of these 20 year old models has relied a lot on the comparison with miniatures in collectors hands (and the photos they've put of them on the internet), text catalogues (notably The Games Quaterly Catalogue Nov. 1991 the relevant parts of which were scanned and uploaded by Deckarudo to the Fantasy Warlord Yahoo Group)
As far as I can see the other miniatures in the Kennington Fantasy Range originated in other lines and are not related to Folio Works or the Fantasy Warlord miniatures, and don't look much like Bob Olley sculpts. Having said that, there are several items in the resin scenery whose names match, and names in the Scifi that match the High Command Folio Works scifi range.
The rulebook itself: Fantasy Warlord can be gotten 2nd Hand at Amazon prices start around £2.50, and it really deserves a post of its own...
For me the winning combination of Bob Olleys and Gary Chalks talents that really make these old figures stand out.
They can be found at: SHQ / Kennngton Miniatures Shop
Thanks for the Review and pics (with size comparisons no less)! Moreover it's great to hear SHQ makes quality products and it sounds like your order went through without a hitch. I've been wanting to put in an order but always feel a little better hearing a first hand account before I order from a new obscure company. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteWhich reminds me I should get a scale comparison with those Hill Orcs, although a better photography set-up would serve them better! When you do place an order and get them painted up drop me a note, be great to see them done up nicely!
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