Okay, I admit it, I'm somewhat of a completist (not as much as Rick Meints, but.). I purchased the Dark Age (formerly Archive) Glorantha figures (see the announcement on the Glorantha website: http://www.glorantha.com/news/pr02_01.html for more information and to follow along with illustrations). Now, I didn't buy these figures back in the late 70's because I didn't like the look of them, and unfortunately, they haven't weathered the years since.
These are nominally 25mm figures, but the majority stand in at 26mm measuring "soles to eyeballs". The smallest is the White Princess at 25mm "S-E".
(A brief aside about figure scales. Figures vary in size between manufacturers. In the 70's, "true 25's" were popular, but currently "Large 25's" or "28mm" is popular, lead by the sculptors of Games Workshop in the late '80's early 90's. Most figures nowadays will be 28mm. But figure companies are not consistent in where to measure that 28mm. The most recognized industry standard is "Soles to eyeballs", as eyes can usually be seen on a figure (or estimated, for fully-enclosed helmets), and you can ignore the height of headgear (especially in the case of Napoleonic figures, where headgear could be up to a foot or two tall. However, some companies count from soles to the top of the head, and some ignore the measurement entirely and bring out "25mm" figures that tower up to 32mm or taller! )
Overall, the casting is pretty good. Not too much flash, no major mold misalignments (flash is the thin, foil-like excess that occurs when a mold doesn't seal completely and also the excess bits from the pour channels that allow the metal to reach the figure; misalignment means that half the figure is offset from the other half, and occurs when a mold *really* doesn't seal properly).
The sculpting leaves a lot to be desired, musculature on several figures is non-existent; for most figures, arms and legs are simply sausages bent at the appropriate point for an elbow or knee.
The figures in set 1 represent individuals from around Dragon Pass and some monsters from old supplements (hey, We're talking '76 or so here, so we're pretty much dealing with _White Bear, Red Moon_, RQ1 and Wyrms Footnotes only). You aren't going to want to buy regiments of these guys, one set should do fine.
The individual figures:
GLO-001 Inhuman King: This guy is big. From the soles of his feet to the top of the headdress, he stands a whopping 54mm (Soles to eyeballs: 40mm). He holds a highly-decorated Klanth in his left hand (Archive remembered that D' newts are left handed, yay!), while in his right is a feathered staff. The feel of the figure is very Meso-American/Incan. He suffers from the "Sausage arm syndrome" mentioned earlier. The right arm is a separate piece, and must be glued on (Superglue is okay, but you might want to use a 2-part epoxy to make really sure he doesn't come apart). There is a notch in the base by his right foot for the base of the staff, making a second bonding point for the arm (Two bonding points means that glued pieces will be stronger and less likely to come apart). The front of his head-dress is also separate. It can be left off, but adds a nice dimension to the figure.
GLO-002 Serpent Mother: 30mm to the top of her cobra hood, 26mm S-E. She's a combination of human and King Cobra, with a snake head, human arms, breasts and what looks like buttocks and legs to her knees. Her thighs are fused together, and below her knees they become a single snake-like tail. Around her neck in front she has what looks like a collar, but there is no way it can be fastened on with her hood extended as it is. She has some lump of metal on her head, which could be painted up as a crown, but there is no definition to this lump.
GLO-003 Evening Star: She's actually one of the over-all taller humans at 33mm to the top of her hat (26mm S-E). She is dressed in a long skirt with either a decorated bodice or armor, her arms are covered in elbow-length gloves. The face looks rather compressed under the weight of her hat - the way the cloak and face were modeled, she has no neck. With her left hand she is casting/throwing a star (no, not a ninja poison-coated throwing star, a Starfish kind of one). Her hat is decorated with wings surrounding her face, and a seven-pointed star (okay, why a seven pointed star when the one she is holding has only five points?).
GLO-004 White Princess: The smallest of the group at 29mm to the top of her fur-lined cloak (26mm S-E). She is all bundled up for one of those infamous Dragon Pass winters, with a fur bordered cloak and dress. Around her waist is a heavily decorated belt. This Princess must have a long neck (unlike Evening Star), as her face pokes out of her hood far above her shoulders.
GLO-005 Gunda the Guilty: Another short gal measured Soles to Eyes (25mm), but her helmet tops out at 32mm, and her spear extends to 50mm. She is dressed as a Wagnerian Valkyrie with winged helmet, chain hauberk with breast-cups, a dress that is cut to her hips on both sides to let her legs show through, and greaves from knees to foot. Her shield is nothing if not nipple-esque (really I'm usually not this prurient, but there is no other way to describe it). She has a knife and sword to fall back on if she loses her spear.
GLO-006 Dancer in the Darkness: This figure does *not* suffer from the Sausage Arm syndrome, which is good, as she is nude except for a tattered cloak. She's 27mm S-E, 33mm to the top of her wild hair, and 49mm to the point on her scythe. Her right hand holds the scythe, her left has a snake wrapped around it. Her neck also seems to be a bit long (this is mostly due to the thickness of the cloaks and their fasteners sculpted on the figures).
GLO-007 Gobbler: A depiction of a Gunpowder Gobbler, if memory serves. The Gobbler is 20mm from the soles to his three eyes. He's about 42mm to the top of his out-stretched arms. His body is covered in fur (or bark, if you want to make some sort of Aldryami creature out of him), but his three ears are smooth. He has two short tails.
GLO-008 Harrek the Berserk: Everyone's favorite poster child for Anger Management. 26mm S-E, 32mm to the top of his Bear headdress, 45mm to the tip of his sword. The Bearskin is molded as a short cloak with the bear's head as a helmet and the front legs down Harrek's arms, ending in claws fitted on the back of his hands. He has no shield (what true berserker keeps his shield after gnawing on it?), but does have his sword. He has a clean-shaven chin, but mustachios that reach down to his collarbones. A fur loincloth and knee-high fur boots complete his ensemble.
Side note: Bear-clad figures to represent Harrek are rather plentiful - besides this Harrek and the one coming later this month from Lance and Laser, almost all fantasy miniature lines have someone clad in a bearskin that can stand in. Foundry has an entire pack of 8 of them in their Viking line.
GLO-009 Beatpot Aelrin: Jar-eel's sidekick, he wears a cooking pot on his head, a butcher's apron, a carving knife thrust into the apron strings, a pot-lid as a shield, and a humongous cleaver (the head of the cleaver is a full 10mm, which means about 2 feet in real-world terms.). He stands 26mm S-E, 33mm to the top of his helmet, and 47mm to the top of his cleaver. Besides the equipment noted above, he is naked except for a loincloth. His arms and legs don't suffer from "sausage arms", rather they are at the other extreme, being larger and more heavily muscled than Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Alright, we've got Harreck and Gunda, where is Jar-eel? I know that Archive made her, because I've had the chance to buy her, so why wasn't she included in this set? Bewildered buyers want to know...
GLO-010 Cragspider: Too many fiddly bits! Her stats: 28mm S-E, 35mm to the top of her crown. Her body is about 30mm long from her spinneret to the forward points of her headdress. She is basically a human-spider centaur, but she has human arms and legs (four of each) rather than spider limbs. Her upper body is naked, and, like the serpent mother, she seems to have buttocks and fused legs for her spider abdomen (as opposed to her *human* abdomen). The overall effect of the body piece is of a woman doing a back-stretch. Cragspider is a nine-piece figure (ten if you count the base they give you): the body and eight limbs. Each has to be glued on separately, and the fit between pieces is atrocious. Be prepared to use putty to fill in the joins between the body and each limb. Her legs are pretty easy to place (except for the crappy joins) - except it looks like she has three left legs and only one right leg. Her arms require a bit more thought: you get two straight and two bent. The picture gives you one idea how to put her arms on, but you can place either arm in the top or bottom socket. I found that it was easier to glue on the arms once I had finished the legs and glued her onto a stand - that way you don't need to worry about knocking the legs off while you position her arms (did I mention that there are too many fiddly bits?).
GLO-011 Master of Fire: The MoF comes only if you buy the whole deal, you cannot purchase him seperately, and he's kind of nice figure. He's a heavy chunk of metal, standing 26mm S-E, 28mm to the top of his bald head (or perhaps skullcap), and 40mm to the tip of the fireball in his right hand. He wears a robe with long tippet sleeves, a stole, a short hauberk of chain or scale (or a decorated jacket), and a nice cloak with a ragged bottom edge, perfect for that "fire" look. He has flames coming up from behind his head, and flames surrounding his hands. His right hand is clenched in a fist, while he points with his left as a stream of fire jets out towards his foe. His face is bearded, and as mentioned, he is either bald or wearing a skullcap (there is enough molding to suggest a cap, but you can ignore him for the 'chrome-dome' look.
RR
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