ALL72009

Although wargs, which are a form of wolves, first appeared in Norse mythology, the idea of having them as beasts of burden for orcs dates back to the writings of J R R Tolkien. In the Lord of the Rings universe they are giant and malevolent creatures, which seems a good set of characteristics for a creature used by orcs. However they are also described as intelligent, and act on their own as well as under the instruction of orcs. In this set we assume the term 'light' refers to the weaponry of the riders rather than the wargs themselves, which stand about 20 mm at the shoulder and are of course enormous compared to actual wolves. All but one are clearly moving rapidly, conjuring up images of orcs rapidly chasing across the lands of Middle Earth, and we liked all the poses. The last animal is not moving quickly, but has some body armour as well as the harness they all have, suggesting this is the mount of a higher-status orc. The protrusion on the penultimate animal is an arrow, which is perhaps a bit random, but easy to trim off if not required. With their snarly open mouths and hurried gait, these models give a satisfying impression of such beasts.

The orc riders are all armed with swords, javelins, axes, bows and a crossbow. The design of many of these is of course quite literally fantastic, and the same is true of their armour. Many seem to have some form of body armour, but of all different styles and probably different construction too. They all seem to have some form of protection for the lower legs, and sometimes for the lower arms too, but there are very few helmets. Lots of pointy bits helps to convey that this is armour worn by evil things, although the long talons on the vambrace worn on the left arm of the first figure in the top row begs the question of how he can grip reins or anything else with that hand, so it looks very impractical to us. Perhaps he liked the look of them in the shop and is now regretting his choice. The poses are quite energetic and fairly plausible, although in the real world having a weapon in each hand is usually difficult and inefficient, and we must wonder how these orcs are controlling their wargs.

As with many fantasy species, the clothing, armour and weaponry of the orcs has a largely medieval flavour, which makes a quite demanding subject for any sculptor. Not having to conform to any real world conventions helps of course, but still we really liked the sculpting here. The detail in places like the torso is hard to make out, but then without knowing what sort of materials would be appropriate here it is impossible to say if it looks believable or not. The faces are certainly very good, with lots of snarling mouths just like their mounts. The wargs too are well done, and in most places there is no flash, although a handful of areas have large amounts, so not a consistent picture. The fit of rider onto animal is not the best we have seen as some sit a little above the saddle itself (because the legs are not far enough apart or the saddle is too shallow), but when placed together the dynamic poses of both species make for some good-looking models.