ALL72017

Half-orc and half-human, these creatures are credited with more intelligence than their pure orc cousins, and that seems to be reflected in this third set on the subject. Although there are still several simply operating with sword or axe, we also find a number that show more sophistication and are using what by their standards is advanced technology. The pair emptying a cauldron could be involved in some form of siege defence or in an industrial task, but the first two in the second row seem clearly to be handling gunpowder grenades, in a world where gunpowder is seldom seen and must therefore be either rare, little-understood or seen as too dangerous. The last pair made little sense to us, but apparently they represent the bomb used to destroy Helm's Deep in the Lord of the Rings film. The third figure in the top row and the last in the second are notable because they both carry what appear to be human children, bound by the hands. However they are probably Merry and Pippin, captive hobbits, again from the Lord of the Rings.

The dress of these creatures is similar to our eyes to that of the orcs. The armour is severe and angular, conforming to what we expect to see from relatively simple (compared to humans) creatures who are presumably cast in an 'evil' role. The helmets are particularly interesting in shape, and certainly help to convey an air of menace. Three of the figures however have no armour, and indeed little covering of any sort. The second figure in the top row, advancing with axe raised, wears nothing but a long loincloth, and the two pouring the cauldron wear aprons, one over a kilt and the other over a tunic. The sculpting is pretty good, and the faces are nice and expressive. However the head of the child/hobbit being carried over the shoulder of the lower half-orc is about as big as that of his captor, so much too large for the small body, which looks odd. We found almost no flash on these figures, and the unusual choice of poses make for something a bit different from simply running around with a blade, so this is a particularly interesting set even though it can be of no particular use for those looking to create a historical diorama.