Acceptable in the '80s: Iron Claw Rock Lobber and Goblins, Skaven, Combat Cards and Warhammer Townscape.

Apps aren't always the easiest way to communicate. I fancied trying out the Blogger app available on the iTunes app network on the wife's iPad. I wrote out a long and detailed post about the releases below. It was erudite, amusing and informative. Sadly, it didn't save as the app is poor at best so you will have to put up with this far inferior re-write I am afraid. 

As you may know, we have been exploring what Citadel put out for Warhammer Third Edition through issues 104, 105 and 106 of White Dwarf. In truth, these three issues are of great importance to fans of the era because they saw the release of two very important supplements, namely Slaves to Darkness and Warhammer Armies. They also contained a wealth of fantasy models, mostly chaos, but there were also a number of ads for further Iron Claw miniatures, sculpted by Bob Olley.

Now we have discussed Olley's work before. Though we neglected to discuss his goblin range, focusing on his Gothic Dwarfs and Undead models of 1987.

His work is best described as the 'Marmite' of miniatures (those of you not an Anglophile or resident here in the UK need to know that Marmite is a vegetable starch product used on bread and toast- its distinctive taste divides opinion, people either love it or hate it, a view not lost of the manufacturers) with collectors and old school gamers either raving madly with frothy lips about his work or casting their eyes away in disgust as soon as one of his strangely fungoid models appears in front of them. Back in the day, I did not like his work at all. But as I have become used to handling more models as I grew older, I learnt to really appreciate his distinctive and original style, especially in today's market of near generic sculpting. 

Olley's goblins are fun and varied. They have the sense of depth and realism that most of his work shares. The models in this selection contain a wide range of suitable weapons, from spears and axes to the iconic ball and chain. The clothes too are suitably goblinoid, and a special mention must got to the wonderful mushroom (or should that be toadstool?) inspired hat! Less sneaky than Kevin Adam's work, these sculpts don't lack charm however. These greenskins seem to have a rather cowardly menace to them (if such an oxymoron is possible) but they rank up nicely alongside their Citadel brethren, indeed they were later incorporated into the line when Iron Claw was dropped. 

Of special note here are the shields. There are some lovely designs here for any old school style painter who wants to begin work of developing a free hand style. Not as complex as the shields of Blanche or Dixon, these examples are no less than effective. 

The stone thrower released as part of the Iron Claw range has been discussed before. Though I doubt many enthusiasts have had the chance to read the fluff that was published for it, nor have a quick gander at the Warhammer Armies rules box so it has been presented for you below. 

However, we haven't talked about the skaven models in the lower part of the colour ad. These expand on the models released in 1985 with some additional models. Now, these are not really War Machines are they? More gun powder and chemical based weapons. All are worth collecting, and in my view, these models remain the best ratmen the Citadel have ever produced. The skaven Jessail is worth a particular mention as these models are quite collectable. 

Before I sign off, I thought I would share with you these two ads. Both are a sign of what is to come on this blog, as both releases are worth posts dedicated to them, namely the Citadel Combat Cards and Warhammer Townscape. 

As always, if you have a memory or an opinion to share about anything discussed today, please do.

Orlygg.

Acceptable in the '80s: Iron Claw Miniatures, Yay or Nay?

I am sure that you recognise these beastmen. The classic metal Realm of Chaos releases from the late '80s that, in my opinion anyway, have never been bettered. These models really do typify what I imagine a beastmen to look like; not just a mere goat head humanoid but a hideous, mutated mix of different animal bits. I also like the fact that the range, released over several years and incorporating earlier models, really do reflect the Chaos God they are supposed to follow while others are appropriate for all and any. 

Now the reason I am talking about these beastmen can be clearly seen on the first row. The nurglesque beastmen with a distinct style. I own a few of the them and have even painted some of them up for my Nurgle Warband. It wasn't until fairly recently that I realised that the sculptor of these models was Bob Olley and that he had a range all of his own 'back in the day'. They were called 'Iron Claw' and like 'Marauder' were produced by Citadel and sold through Games Workshop. 

His sculpting has a distinct style that is hard (for me anyway) to put into words. Gnarled, fungoid and swarthy are words that spring to mind but they don't quite do his work justice. I find that the models don't paint easily. Lots of creases and folds to challenge the painter. Its like each of his miniatures has a strange, uneven texture that, though lifelike, is hard to paint. But that's just me. To understand the range further let me quote Solegends directly;

"Iron Claw were a range of miniatures designed by Bob Olley. First announced in White Dwarf 91, the first releases were the IC201 Skeleton Guard in White Dwarf 93. They were manufactured and distributed by Citadel and appeared during 1987-8. When Bob and Citadel parted company many of these pieces were assimilated into the main Citadel lists. The Goblins and Black Orcs, for instance, formed the bulk of those pictured in the 1990 Fantasy catalog."

I have collected below a range of scans from various sources of some of the miniatures he produced during his time at Citadel. I must confess, I don't actually own a single one of these models and my opinion on them is mixed. Some of his work I find really impressive while other stuff doesn't raise the passion to collect or even paint them. 

Let's begin with these Dwarfs. Or should I say Gothic Dwarfs. I am not quite sure what a Gothic Dwarf may be but these models are certainly original. The first thing that strikes me about them are the helmets. Quite unique are they not; wings, horns and turbans that are rather distinctive. There is a strong nordic sense about many of these sculpts as well as a Russian feel, especially the last model (bottom right) though the miniature on the opposite left looks positively arabian. Looking at them, they make me think of a Victorian performance of 'Ride of the Valkyries' performed by midgets. Perhaps that is what they mean by Gothic?

I certainly would be interested in collecting this little set. There's 13 in the series (including two standards) so a little 12 piece unit would be possible. The piggy back pair would make a fantastic unit champion or leader and you could invent some suitably amusing rules for them. One thing I don't like about the set are the shields. I really dislike moulded on shields. They look too thick for my taste and tend to lack a flat, paintable surface to do skull or ugly face designs on.

As for painting quality of the models on show I'd say they had been handled nicely. Lots of bright, 80s blues and oranges but lots of depth too, most likely created through subtle use of inks. I'm going to steal the brown and yellow cheque design from the Kislevite looking chap on the bottom right for a future model.

The skeleton guard. As the quote from Solegends tells us, these were the first Iron Claw releases. Again, the miniatures have that gnarled, swarthy look (as gnarly and swarthy as a skeleton can be I suppose) that is typical of the Iron Claw range. However, I feel these skeletons to be rather more 'daemonic' looking than the standard Citadel sculpts. There is a fair about of dark comedy about some of the early Citadel skellies, as those of you will know if you own the lovely skelly who is holding up his own skull, and the later plastic and metal examples are rather, souless, but that, perhaps, was the point. These sculpts look really evil. Strange helmets also prevail here. More wings and horns that are distinctly Olley.

I am not too keen on this set, so I'd probably pass. I much prefer the standard Citadel metals and will always favour the good old plastic Skeleton Horde figure or the Nightmare Legion for my choice of skeletal troops. I probably take a couple of the Grim Reapers and definitely the standard bearer, but that's it.

The painting quality is okay here. But there are too many bright reds for my taste. I prefer my undead to clothed in drab browns, blacks and greys. The bone is certainly interesting but there are so many ways to paint them. The evil crimson eyes are a nice touch too, certainly worth emulating.

I really don't like this set. Why? The feel like they have been knocked up really quickly. But that may just be the image so I'd have to have a closer look to make a final decision. I must say though, the mounts look more interesting and varied than the Citadel ones, so I'll have to reserve judgement there. Apart from a few of the Grim Reapers, these models have a bit of a mongol vibe going on. Certainly original in style then!

This is my favourite of the releases discussed in this post. I love the swarthy feel to Olley's goblins. They look suitably menacing too, though they still have that darkly comical feel. This is a kit I'd certainly like to see in my Orc and Goblin force, even though it looks like its been largely put together from pieces of the Goblobber and the Man Mangler. The totem on the front, though only painted silver in this example, would look fantastic worked up in a nice goblinoid green and the small shields are just begging for some 'orrible John Blanche style faces to be painted on them, don't you think?

So then. Do you have any Iron Claw miniatures in your collection? Are you a fan of Olley's work? I must confess to having absolutely NONE of these models in my collection - they are not high on my want list, but some of them certainly would be snapped up if I saw an example at the right price.

Orlygg