ALL72010

This is the second set of orcs mounted on wargs from Dark and Light Alliance, and this time the orcs are 'heavy'. Certainly the blades are bigger, and there are weapons such as maces, while lighter weapons like bows are absent, though it is the level of armour that these creatures wear that seems to be the main difference here. Most have helmets, and there is more armour generally, especially on the limbs. All the weapons are close-contact, and include plenty of fearsome blades and clubs, although we would wonder at the effectiveness and usability of the weapon in the second row with the three heads. Also flails, with the fast-moving heads, are not a smart weapon when mounted, even in a fantasy world, since the danger to your own mount would be enormous. More orcs here are holding a shield, generally of interesting but fanciful design, much like much of the armour on display. Plenty of sharp edges and pointy bits seem to conform to the general impression that literature has given us of the orcs and their equipment. The faces of the orcs are suitably ugly, with lots of open mouths and bared teeth, so they look a ferocious bunch. The poses are the usual selection for this level of technology, which means the swinging of weapons is always very difficult to portray realistically, and the result is often fairly flat. However under the circumstances the figures are not too bad.

The wargs are a giant form of wolves, and in the Tolkien books are used as mounts for orcs as shown here. Although they are intelligent and can act on their own, all these models are saddled up and look great, echoing the fierce nature of their riders. These are the same models as appear in the first set, so we would echo our approval of the lively and reasonably realistic poses, and of the aggressive facial features. The sculpting of the fur is nicely done, and in fact all of the sculpting here is good. Most of the riders fit the wargs well, but a couple do tend to sit a little above the saddle - something a bit of trimming would fix. Put together these models look good to our eye, and should send a chill down the spine of anything being hunted by them.