ALL72018

Half-orcs are half orc and half human, while wargs are a sort of enlarged and intelligent kind of wolf. Both tend to be cast in the role of the bad guys, but not as bad as some species, and here they are co-operating to go into battle. To take the wargs first, these are the same models as have appeared in several previous sets in this series (and will do so again). They stand roughly 20 mm at the shoulder, and are mostly in poses that suggest moving quickly, as if at the charge. We liked all the poses, which look very energetic and intimidating. All are saddled up, and the last pictured creature has a considerable amount of armour on him, presumably denoting the rank of either the animal or the rider (wargs were traditionally described as intelligent, but in the Lord of the Rings universe they seem to be only beasts of burden). The arrow sticking out of one is a surprise, but can easily be removed if not desired.

The half-orcs all look more orc than anything else to us. Where the faces are visible they have that orc look to them and certainly look ferocious, and the general anatomy is also very muscular where visible. The armour in particular conveys an impression of malice, being very angular and severe, while the weapons also seem very threatening - not a bad thing for any weapon, but many of these are quite over-sized, which suggests more menace despite actually making them more difficult to wield. Of course, having a standard with a large skull on top also tends to project a fearsome attitude, which these figures do very well. Most are holding out bladed weapons in the sort of poses we have come to expect of those holding such weapons, but the second figure in the bottom row stands out from the rest in many ways. This figure has long hair, wears a long robe and holds some sort of staff. He is bare-headed and holds what looks like a grenade, with the fuse still smoking. This seems to be Saruman the White, with his staff in hand, so more of an associate of the half-orcs than one of them.

The sculpting of these figures matches the best seen on the rest of the series so far, which is pretty good with nice sharp detail. The riders fit the animals well, and there is almost no flash on show. While the wargs are very nicely animated, the half-orcs are mostly fairly flat, as is normal given the difficulties of modelling those holding bladed weapons with a standard two-piece mould. All look to be at the charge rather than actually engaged in combat with an opponent, an impression reinforced by the open, shouty mouths. These look very good to us, and very nicely presented, so while they are firmly in the realms of fantasy they make a terrifying sight charging down on some opponent.