Well, Convulsion was a blast, not least for the amount of figures I came away with.
For the first time I was able to see the Drago Claw miniatures. These were
originally marketed as Gloranthan minis, but later were re-labeled, so that
"Trollkin" became "Orclings", "Trolls" became "Mountain Orcs", etc. I never
ordered figures from the company, mostly because the rumors of bad service
abounded.
My thanks to Nick Brooke and Jim Robertson for the chance to see (and acquire) these figures.
For general comments - the sculpting on the figures is not brilliant, and figures in the same range can vary in height and/or mass quite a bit.
"Solar Hoplites"
Based on the Yelmalian illo in Runemasters, with hawk-headed helms.
There are two main packages: each one has three figures, all identical. They wear Greek-style scale armor with leather pteryges (flaps at waist and shoulder), fringed cloaks, long-sleeved tunics, and it looks like pants under the kilt. They have greaves over either pants or knee-high boots (or both - the sculpting leaves something to be desired). Their helmets look like hawk heads, and are a bit big for the figure. Their shields are cast with a sunburst design and have three darts cast on the inside of them. They have a shortsword as a backup weapon. The casting on the figures is relatively clean - not much flash or tags, but prominent mold lines will need scraping.
The first package are front-rankers, they have their spears are held at
waist level, thrusting under the shield. 24mm Sole to Eye, 29mm to top of
helmet.
The second pack are back rankers, with spears held like javelins. 24mm S-E,
30mm to top of helmet.
They have command figures to go with the hoplites - A bugler with over-sized trumpet/horn and what looks like plate chest armor; A banner bearer with a vexilla (a flag hanging from a cross-bar, rather than attached directly to the flagstaff). The Vexilla has the starburst emblem, surrounded by a number of runes (from the to, moving clockwise, they are: Spirit, Death, Magic, a circle - which can either be Light or Dark depending on how you paint it., Fertility, Mastery, Fire/Sky. He is perhaps the best figure, with a helmet that isn't as badly out of proportion as the troopers; and finally the officer, who looks like he has a Rooster's head for a helmet, because of the way the feathers are crested. He wields a short(ish) sword in a traditional officer pose.
Officer - 30mm S-E, 36mm to top of helmet. Musician - 29mm S-E, 34mm to top of helmet Standard bearer - 28mm S-E, 32mm to top of helmet, 60mm to top of banner staff.
As you can tell be the measurements, the command pack tower over the ordinary troopers.
The spears are bent (probably simply from years of lying arouns in a box.), but are relatively soft so are easy to bend back to straight. Unlike the Yelmalio cult writeup, these guys are using their spears one-handed.
"Solar Archer"
The solas also have archery support - but I only have one figure, so I'm not
sure if you only have the choice of more figures or not. The archer kneels
on his right leg, with his left out in front. His equipment is identical to
the hoplite gear, except he has a bow and quiver full of arrows instead of
spear and shield. Since he is kneeling, its problematic to get an accurate
height measurement, but he is built more on the cale of the command pack
figures than the hoplites. Even kneeling, he is 24mm S-E.
"Orcling Slingers"
Each pack contains 5 identical figures. Each wears lorica segmentata, (that
banded Roman armor from Gladiator) though it would be easy enough to paint
it as leather; and a knee-length kilt. They are swinging their slings back,
preparatory to releasing. A bag of sling stones completes their equipment.
Their faces are more like Lisa Free's trollkin than Luis Perrin's (I
approve). The figures have some mold lines, and a good scraping with a hobby
knife is indicated. They stand 19mm S-E, and 20mm to the top of their head.
The sling is at about the level of the top of the head.
Harrek the Berserk
Our favorite poster boy for mayhem. Dragon Claw's Harrek is scrawny, looking
more like Cohen the Barbarian than Conan. The bearskin cloak is pretty
goofy - the head of the bear looks more like a nasty mouse, and it sits
awkwardly on his head. Harrek is bare-chested and legged, with a fur
codpiece and boots.
He stands 30mm S-E, and 36 to the tips of the mouse - err, bear, head.
Lunar Pikeman
A rather nice figure, though out of scale with the Solar Hoplites. He wears
a breastplate with leather pteryges at his waist, but not on his shoulders.
His helmet has cheek and nose guards, and a lovely crescent moon as a crest.
He wears a short-sleeved tunic, and has greaves on his lower legs. His
sidearm is a scimitar, and his separate shield has a lovely relief of the
Goddess riding a bat. He is crouching/running forward, wielding a pike in
both hands. He is built on the heroic scale - crouching, he is 25mm S-E,
33mm to the top of his crest.
"Ducklings"
The ducks are represented by two packs of troopers and a command pack. They
are uniformly armed and armored.
They wear Hollywood Greco-Roman breast-plates and helmets, complete with
"Scrub-brush" crests and leather pteryges at the waist. Group one wields
short bowie-knives/scimitars and shields with a sunburst engraved on them,
the other leans on a leaf-bladed sword that is two-handed for them, with a
shield slung on their backs and a dagger for a backup weapon. Both figures:
16mm S-E, 23mm to top of crest
The Duck Command pack includes an officer, musician and standard bearer. All three wear cloaks (absent from the troopers) and the same sort of Hollywood armor as the troopers. The Officer has a human-length sword and a tall plume or panache on his helmet instead of the scrub-brush crest. The Musician blows a long horn that reaches the ground (think a short version of the Swiss trumpets). The standard bearer carries a vexilla with no ornamentation.
Officer: 16mm S-E, 32mm to top of crest
Musician: 16mm S-E, 23mm to top of crest
Standard: 16mm S-E, 23mm to top of crest, 52mm to top of standard
"Tapirman Chariot"
Morokanth, really..
This bag is heavy, as it includes not only the chariot, driver and hero, but
herdmen to pull it.
The morokanths don't seem to have thumbs molded on, but still they wield a
whip (driver) and mace (Hero). The driver has two necklaces and earrings,
but no other clothes or armor. The hero a leather breastplate with pteryges,
and an extra collar to protect his neck. He has a backpack and miscellaneous
pouches on his back and belt.
Driver: 25mm S-E, 29mm to top of head, 58ish to top of whip.
Hero: 27mm S-E, 32 to tip of ears.
Herd Men: four herdmen draw the chariot, all identical. They are pushing hard, leaning well forward. They wear skimpy, hole-y kilts/loincloths and a leather halter arrangement, to which is attached a bronze collar and cuffs. Finally, their feet are protected by fur knee-high boots. If they were standing straight, they'd be about 30mm S-E.
The chariot itself is 45mm side to side, 35mm front to back. The wheels are 25mm tall, and have a scythe-blade arrangment that can be attached or not, as the owner sees fit. The cab is a 16mm-high wall. Attached to the inside of the cab are a bow, a quiver of arrows, a pack, and two sets of manacles. There is plenty of room for the driver and hero to ride side-by-side.
The casting wasn't great on these figures - a lot of knife-work will be required to clean them up.
Antelope Riders
There are two distinct styles of sculpting here - the Praxian rider is much
smaller than the Lunar riders, and so is his Sable.
The Praxian is dressed as an Hollywood American Plains Indian, with fringed shirt and pants, long hair held back by a headband, a small shield, a feather-decorated spear, and bow & arrows slung across his back. He's small, only 26mm S-E, 29mm to the top of his head. His Antelope is about 25mm to the shoulder, 39 to the highest point of his horns. It wears a fringed blanket for a saddle, and a hors bridal and reins. The ensemble is a little smaller than a smallish Old Glory horseman.
The Lunars are outrageously oversized. The troopers sit ~30mm S-E, they'd be taller if they were standing. The trooper wears pseudo-Roman kit including a scale byrnie, a helmet with cheek pieces but otherwise open-faced, and carries a lance and a crescent-shaped shield. His legs are protected by greaves, and he carries both a scimitar and a dagger as backup weapons. At least the trooper more or less fits on his Sable Antelope, which stands ~29mm at the shoulder. The horns have to be glued on separately.
The Command staff are even larger - they sit ~31mm S-E. They wear more pseudo-roman kit, though none of them have shields. They are straggle-legged, and do not fit the saddles of the Sables at all. They might fit on an old Ral Partha Elephant. I wouldn't advise anyone to pick up the officers, though the troopers are (barely) useful.
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