Brian's Wargame Pages: Fantasy Minis

This page is intended to be a repository for mine and other's comments and eventually photographs of fantasy wargaming miniatures.

Black Raven Foundry:

A lightly-edited collection of posts from Chipco-L, containing people's opinions, comments and various links concerning BRF's 15mm fantasy figures, especially their Dwarves. Original author's credit is given in all posts, and my editing has been confined to basic HTMLizing, some spellchecking and trimming of .sigs and other extra parts of the original emails. (A small bar: ---- : seperates individual emails. Once or twice, I've added small editorial comments, set off in [square brackets].)

I wrote:
Anyone want to give me an opinion on Black Raven Foundry's 15mm fantasy figs? They've got a spectacular website - completely illustrated catalog - and the figs look nice in the photos, but I'd like to hear from anyone who actually owns any of their figs.

Especially their Dwarf figs - how tall are their Dwarves? Ral Partha's are a good dwarvish height, while I feel that Reapers are too tall (cool bears, tho). Reaper's dwarves are the basketball players of the Dwarven kingdoms... :) How to Black Raven's measure up? (or down...:))

What about their Undead? I don't know about the undead cavalry especially - the 'horses' look a bit odd...On the other hand, the Dwarven warwagon looks very cool, as does their Orcish chariot with that 'skull' bit. Opinions, please...

Oh, the URL: Black Raven Foundry
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Chris Keil (cjkeil@REMOVE.primenet.com) wrote:
> Reaper's dwarves are the basketball players of the Dwarven
>: kingdoms... :) How to Black Raven's measure up? (or down...:))

Not able to compare sizes, but the figs are well done, and the Battlewagon is the neatest 15mm thing I own... Cool little wagon. It comes with more stuff than I was able to use on it, too, so I got a bolt thrower out of the bargain too.

> What about their Undead? I don't know about the undead cavalry especially - the 'horses' look
> a bit odd...

I like em. I like the XBow undeadies quite a lot, actually. The skulls are a little big, but hey, theyre 15mm. Two poses on the XBow guys. I like the cav, the lines are nice and clean, they paint up quickly, and look good on an FR base. The only real variation in pose is the weapon, but I don't mind. The heads look like... Skeletal horses heads. It's just that skeletal horse heads aren't terribly attractive. :)

> On the other hand, the Dwarven warwagon looks very cool, as does their
>Orcish chariot with that 'skull' bit. Opinions, please...

The chariot has been coverted to Undead in my forces. a quick change out with the mounts (a pair of skeletal horses and some archers swapped out) did the trick, as the whole chariot is "skeletal". Nice piece, is a bit big (it CAN be used as a non-juggernaut chariot, but the wheels and horses will stick over the front and the back. I like the idea of Orcs or Undead having jugged out chariots tho, so it doesn't bother me.
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Phillip Hartzog (phillip@REMOVE.asheboro.com) wrote:
> How to Black Raven's measure up? (or down...:))

The BR dwarves are pretty close to the smaller reaper size - so they mix fairly well - I have an army build from both.

> What about their Undead? I don't know about the undead cavalry especially
> - the 'horses' look a bit odd...

I thought the undead were fair to good, the melee troops being about the best of the line. they are noticably larger than the battle system and grenedier 15mm lines - my archers are grenedier so I just say they are elf skellies so are course are smaller. I haven't gotten any reaper 15mm skellies to compare them to yet (I'll probably get a few in the future) - though the few alternative armies HOTT one I got are close enough. My personal favorite of the BR minis are the trolls. I painted up some to trade, and they looked really good blue (I'm waiting on a replacement pack now).

Over all I've been pretty well pleased with BR quality, I would put them up there on the same ball park as Reaper and Ral Partha - and probably the best buy out there right now.
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Thane Morgan (thane@REMOVE.thanesgames.com) wrote:
I'm selling some of their line. You can see what I've got at Thane's Games. Reaper decently discounted, BRF slightly discounted (but infantry in smaller groupings)

Down toward the bottom of the page:need to make the figure section more distinct.

I like BRF; they are probably the best quality for the money. They don't have a wide selection of unit types, though lots of poses. Probably doesn't matter much for FR! (or most other 15mm games, for that matter), but makes a big difference in AoA.

The dwarves are still fairly tall, but much thinner than Reapers Standing side by side, the y are practically the same height, but the BRF ones look smaller because of their slighter build. Reapers are just out of scale; they are more like 17mm or 18mm. They do fit on the bases well, and intimidate your less manly opponent's figures! I sell reaper's dwarves in preference to BRF, because of the wider choice of weapons (and those gorgeous bears!) The elves are fantastic from BRF, but only come in 3 flavors; bows spears and swords. 4 poses of each though. The wood elves are worse off; only spears and bows.

The BRF dwarven war wagon is superb. As is the Orc chariot and balista.

I much prefer Reaper's undead (again, why I sell them), because of the wider array of troop types and the amount of rotting armor and clothing on them. Nothing wrong with BRF's, just not as appealing to my sense of an undead army. The horses look better to my eyes, as well.

Both are slightly above 15mm, as per the new industry trend.

If you are getting 15mm fantasy figures, these are two of the best companies. I spent months looking at different lines to decide what to carry, and in nearly all cases one of those two lines wins. I hope this year lets both of them expand their lines greatly.

Chariot also has some very nice stuff, but I had trouble finding where I could get them wholesale. Essex Fantasy has the BEST halflings, but they are quite expensive for 8 tiny guys. Their centaurs are also superb. Tin soldier makes a great female centaur. Peter Pig has some neat figures, including garden gnomes (snail riders!) and Arabians (carpet riders).

OK, got to stop.
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Jason (miros@REMOVE.earthlink.net) wrote:
The BR Dwarves are in between the Reaper and RP Dwarves. They are definitely over 15mm and closer to the Reaper ones in terms of height, though they are not as thick. I guess they haven't taken as much growth hormone as the Reaper minis. Good quality, as with most of the BR line.
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Tom Pope (tpope@REMOVE.cs.cmu.edu) web designer for BRF (not an employee) wrote:
> What about their Undead? I don't know about the undead cavalry especially
>- the 'horses' look a bit odd...

The undead cavalry is the one photograph I really need to retake, since the individual pieces are way too small. I've been meaning to do that for a while, just haven't gotten around to it, sorry.

Anyway, I think the main reason they look wierd is that they have the remains of barding (or whatever you call the cloth "skirt" they wear). [it is barding] They do look like normal skeletal horses under all that, but the photo doesn't show it clearly.

I just spoke with Black Raven, and I should be geting listings and figures for the Wood Elves and Elven cavalry. As soon as I have the new fgures posted, I'll let you know.
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Robert Crawford (crawford@REMOVE.iac.net) wrote:
I have some scans of Black Raven horses on my site:
http://www.iac.net/~crawford/hobbies/miniatures/horses.html including a skeletal horse.
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Michael Kolb (t20mjk1@REMOVE.corn.cso.niu.edu) wrote:
I have some photos of painted and unpainted Blackraven figures. Most of these are courtesy of Tom Pope: http://dig.anthro.niu.edu/minis.htm.

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Chariot Miniatures

A pair of reviews right now - Chariot's Orcs & Goblins, and their brand-new (as of Oct 99) Dwarves, all in 15mm.
Chariot's Orcs & Goblins:

I just recieved a batch of Chariot Miniatures 15mm Orcs & Goblins, and thought I'd share my initial impressions.

Overall: The detail is slightly lower than Ral Partha figs, but these figs have really great poses, and lots of variant figures of each type - more than RP packs have. Minor casting flash; very few casting defects. A few figs have mold lines visible - most noticably, the trolls. Nothing a few passes with knife and file won't cure.

GOB5 - 8 Goblins w/ Mixed Wpns: Lots of little snaga-orcs - goblins to some of you. Little jeering twerps, about 12-14mm tall, clad in loincloths andwaving weapons around.

GOB16 - Goblin Archers (8): A mob of orcish archers - similar size to the armoured orcs below, but wearing only a loincloth and with bows and quivers of arrows. These are going to run as Skirmishers.

GOB12 - 8 Armoured Orcs w/ Mixed Weapons A crew of bigger, meaner uruk - warrior orcs, about 15mm tall. Most in chainmail, some in various types of plate. Lots of variants in this pack: weapons range from long spears to axes and chain maces and there's several helmet types. Nearly every orc has a scabbarded sword on one hip in addition to a main weapon.

GOB10 - Trolls (2): A pair of big ogres/trolls/something. At about 28mm tall, these are twice the size of the uruk; they look like really huge snagas - pointy ears and jeering. Waving big axes and clubs.

GOB3 - 3 Wolfriders w/ mixed wpns (incl. wolves) A pack of wolves, being ridden bareback by little snaga-orcs wearing fur or chainmail vests, and waving weapons - mostly axes or polearms.

GOB4 - 4 Wolves: Regular wolves or wargs. The wolf figs (both packs) are a bit thin, but quite nice. The wolves are 12mm high at the shoulder; with a snaga on their back they're about 18mm tall. There's four or five variations in poses - mostly moving the head around, so the wolf is running with its head down or howling, or similar.

GOB2 - Swarm of Bats: A big swarm of bats. These are very nice castings - 'flocks' of three or four bats cast together, with some single bats and one bigger 'boss bat' per pack. (These guys are a b***h to mount, however. I keep having them fall off their wire flying stands...I'll work something out one day. Great figures, anyway.)

GOB1 - Orc General, Drummer & Standard Bearer: Finally, an uruk general, uruk standardbearer, and uruk drummer. Very cool - especially the drummer, who is dancing around with a big drum, hammering it with someone's thighbones. He might be a magician (shaman type) or bard. My only complaint: the banner is too neat - a simple rectangle of cloth on a pole. I've replaced it with a paper banner, worked up on the computer and printed in colour, then added to a bit with paints and markers. It looks, I think, much better than the basic banner I got...

Overall: Very cool figures. I'll buy more Chariot figures in the future.

Painting: These guys are going to be black orcs - primered black; with grey or brown drybrushed skin. The banner will be red and black, as will various small detail bits on the figures, especially the uruk. Leather and fur and shabby chainmail will account for most of the rest of the painting, and a black wash over the whole figure will finish the job. They look pretty good.
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From: John Hills (j.r.hills@REMOVE.canterbury.ac.uk)

I also like Chariot's Orcs. One pack that you should not forget is the Winged Goblin set. They are waving tridents and can be used for Flying Mobs or Minor Spirits, depending on your paint job.

Another nice unit that you can make with these figures is a mob of goblins being driven into battle by a whip wielding Orc. I have some of these, but they are in my very long painting queue.

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Chariot's 15mm Dwarves

I just got a batch of Chariot Miniature's recently-released 15mm Dwarven figures, and I'm quite impressed. Here's a quick review, and a scan of the figures I have.

Overall: These are short Dwarves - about 11mm to the eyes. They mix decently with the OOP Ral Partha 15mm Dwarves, and with the Two Dragons Vikings I'm using as Dwarves, but if you've got Reaper or BRF 'giant Dwarves', you really can't mix the two lines in one army. Sculpting is up to Chariot's usual standard - not as detailed as RP, but done with animation. Casting is very, very good - Chariot does some of the best casting I've seen. Practically no metal flash or mold lines, and no flaws. Dead easy cleanup - literally seconds per figure.

Here's some details on the individual packs:

[Chariot's Dwarven figures - Click for Larger Image!]

SBB 1: Dwarf Knight riding bear (3): Very nice figures. Dwarves in full plate, with long spears/lances, riding bears. These figures are smaller than Reaper's Bear Riders, by a long way. Only one pose per pack, but these guys are wonderful candidates for some modifications - with the rider's weapon arm positioned as it is, practically any weapon or banner could be added. One modification I do recommend: replace the cast spear shafts with steel wire, or you'll have to be really careful of bending & breaking the thin casting of the lance. The bears are not in an especially dynamic pose, but they're decently sculpted otherwise, and it's nice to have some Dwarven bear riders who aren't massively out of scale... Size: Bear is 10mm to the shoulder, 22mm long. with rider, 20mm to rider's eyes, 40+ to top of spear. (Top left of image)

SBB 5: Blades: Dwarves with Swords/Axe/Halberds (8): And with warhammers, maces, and loads of different weapons... this pack demonstrates one of the very cool things about some Chariot packs: lots and lots of variations in figures. I have only eight of SBB 5, but I have SIX different figures! All eight can be seen in the photo, in the long line - and there are probably more varient figures that I don't have yet, if some of the other Chariot packs are any indication. Anyway, most of these Dwarves have chain mail, with some plate. Poses are all very nice - I'm going to have to get some more of these guys soon! Size: 10mm toes to eyes/12mm to top of head/14+mm total. (Middle line of eight figures in image)

SBB 8: Dwarves with Crossbows (8): Dwarves advancing, with chainmail armour, holding a rather small crossbow in a 'ready' position and a short, fat quiver of bolts slung behind the back. Only two poses in this pack - one with helmet and one bareheaded. Size: 10mm toes-to-eyes/11mm toes-to-top of head/12mm total. (Right-hand bottom group of four)

SBB 9: Dwarves w/ Spears and Helmets (8): Dwarves standing, with a smallish circular shield held low across the chest and a fairly short spear held vertically in the other hand, butt resting on the ground. Wearing chainmail hauberk and simple helm. Only one pose in this pack right now, which is too bad. The very short spear could be replaced by a longer wire spear or pike fairly easily, if you wanted. Size: 11mm toes-eyes/13mm toes-top of head/16mm total. (Left-hand bottom group of four)

Painting: These guys are going to be painted in another variation of my regular Dwarven army colours of red, maroon and yellow, with lots of gleaming silver armour and weapons. They'll have some different, unique colors and badges - a contingent from an allied clan, or a different region of the Dwarven empire (which will also explain why they're a bit shorter than the rest of my Dwarves...).

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Ratmen

by Jeff Moore.
Here are the small-scale Ratmen that I'm aware of:

Pendraken: 10mm
Falcon: 15mm
Irregular: 15mm and 6mm

To me, the Falcon Ratmen are closest to GW Skaven in pose and look. Very upright, very humanoid, very human-like in build.

The Irregular 15mm Ratmen, on the other hand, are very chunky, and hunched over. Overall the sculpting is a little "rounder" and softer than Falcon. The 6mm Ratmen are too small to fit into a 15mm army, unless you used them as Rat-Snotlings.

The Pendraken 10mm Ratmen are closer to Falcon than Irregular in sculpting style, I believe.

Personally, I think all of these lines work well together. They all look fine painted up. Not as crisp as, say, Reaper or Ral Partha 15mms, but not bad at all.

Use Irregular for your rank-and-file, especially your heavier troops.
Use Falcon for your gunners and commanders - they look more "civilized" than the Irregular minis.
And use Pendraken as your light troops, especially skirmishers.
Toss in a few 25mm Rats and Giant Rats (made by lots of companies) as various monsters.
A few 25mm Ratmen (also made by lots of companies) make good Rat-Ogres.
If your friend wants a Rat-Giant, use a 25mm Rat-Ogre (GW, Harlequin, Grenadier).
Irregular's Rat-Airboat is a must.
If your friend wants more flying troops, I think Bat Swarms and Giant Bats (GW, Harlequin, Grenadier) also fit the feel of this army.

Jeff Moore, jpattern@REMOVE.aol.com

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Reaper Miniatures Reviews

I've been buying a lot of Reaper 25mm monsters lately, and I already own several. I'm very impressed with the Reaper 'Dark Haven' 25/28mm stuff, especially the monsters and 'specials'. I'm not a big fan of their 15mm stuff - I think it's too big to be 'true 15', but all of their lines are well sculpted and excellently cast. I think their 25mm monsters are better than anything out there - at least that I can get locally.

Reaper's online site, with a full illustrated catalog, can be found at http://www.reapermini.com/.

Reaper Miniatures' Chaos Blood Imps

[Reaper Imps, Front - Click for large image!]

[Reaper Imps, Backs - Click for large image!]

I picked up a pack of Reaper's 25mm 'Chaos Blood Imps' today, as either Small Monsters or Spirits in 15mm FR! . There's four of them in a pack, and they're quite nice figures. They're all capering, grotesque little creatures, waving a variety of weapons.

Overall Impressions: These are well-cast and well sculpted figures, as usual with Reaper. They're fairly plain, with no fancy details, but muscles and what detail there is is well done. Animation and proportions are good. No casting flaws, and seam lines are small and easy to scrape off. Average figure height is about 17mm - none of the figures are standing upright. With the bases, they're about 20mm tall. (Standing, they'd be maybe 22mm tall - hard to tell, of course.)

Quick Descriptions, L to R: (Click on either of the small photos for a larger version)
Imp w/ spear: An imp in a half-crouch, holding a long spear with both hands, with the butt of the spear dragging on the ground. Large horns on the head, long hair, with knobs down the spine and onto the tail. The figure doesn't seem to be wearing anything.
Imp w/ warhammer: A crouched imp, resting the knuckles of one hand on the ground, and swinging a warhammer overhead. Figure has small horns on forehead, and at various joints on body, and knobs down the spine and tail. No hair, and no clothing.
Imp w/ large axe: Imp with widespread stance, holding an axe overhead. Face is very 'demonic' - ridges and horns, with a long tail of hair behind his head, and the usual knobs down the spine and tail.
Imp w/ scimitar: Figure is standing, but leaning way back with head pointed upward, and one arm overhead. Four large horns on the head, and a small axe in the figure's belt. My favourite of the four.

Painting: I haven't really made up my mind yet - probably reds, yellows, and blacks - good demon colours.

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Reaper Elementals - Air & Water

[Reaper Elementals, front view. Click for larger image!]

[Reaper Elementals, back view. Click for larger image!]

These two are Reaper Dark Haven #02252 Air Elemental (on left, in both scans) and Reaper #02253 Water Elemental (on right). A standard Canadian penny is included for size reference - these are big figures!

Overall Impressions: Well up to Reaper's usual standard. Well sculpted, nice designs and very well cast - both these minis will need only a tiny bit of scraping on the bases, to get them to stand flat. Aside from that, there are no seam lines or real casting flaws visible.

Water Elemental: A very cool, very large figure. Width is roughly 40mm at the base, 50 or 55mm at the widest point. Height is just short of 50mm; the figure is about 25mm thick. It'll just fit on an FR! standard 40mmX40mm base, with some higher parts hanging over. The figure looks like a giant surging wave, curling over to engulf some hapless target. The foam at the tips of the wave form a wide-mouthed, glaring face and suggest claws.

Painting: Blue, of course. Probably a white primer, then dark blue on the lower parts shading into light blue up top, with white drybrushing on the foam and along other parts of the wave.

Air Elemental: Big, vaguely humanoid type. The whole body looks swirling and ridged - with a different paint job this would make a decent Fire Elemental as well - if Reaper didn't already make a very cool Fire Elemental anyway. Height is nearly 60mm, and the figure is nearly 30mm wide at the base.The figure's head has a wide bellowing mouth and glaring eyes, and the ends of the arms split into 'fingers'. The legs merge into the base.

Painting: I really, really don't know... maybe white primer, with light blue drybrushing. Or make the thing look like a funnel cloud - all grey, brown and black from the stuff it's sucking off the ground. Got any great ideas for painting Air Elementals?? (I posted this question to Chipco-L and r.g.m.misc, and stuck the responses up here...)

JPPatton1 (jppatton1@REMOVEaol.com) wrote:
The best ones I've seen use a sandy scheme like the funnel cloud you mentioned. Maybe like a tornado, sort of whirling gray at the top and dirt-colored at the bottom?
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"J.Wagoner" (s351991@REMOVEstudent.uq.edu.au) wrote:
> I'm thinking either:
> 1. White, with pale blue wash and drybrushing. Could look awfully bland, though.

I have used this method to good effect. Take your time in getting the shading just right, after all that is what will make or break the paint job, so don't be in a hurry. Just take your time and get it right.

> 2. Go with funnel cloud colors - blacks, greys and browns from all the
> dirt and crap the thing is picking up from the ground. Might look a bit
> like a 'mud elemental' if I overdo it...

This could work *really* well but it would be risky. Please be sure to scan a piccy when you have finished so we can see how things turned out. [I will, don't worry - Brian]
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Samuel Reynolds (reynol@REMOVEprimenet.com) wrote:
> Opinions, ideas, or suggestions?

I'd probably paint them as fire elementals; they look more like that to me.

As air elementals, I'd go for the ethereal look: primer white, pale blue basecoat (sky or baby blue), drybrush white, wash with a 1:1 mix of cobalt blue and pearl (pearlescent/metalic) white, drybrush heavily ("damp-brush") with the basecoat color, then drybrush lightly with pearl white. To make the eyes/mouth stand out, you might pick them out in cobalt blue after the wash.

I did RP's 25mm air elemental (see an unpainted photo of the mini) as funnel-cloud and thunderheads. The torso and one arm are sculpted as funnel clouds, while the shoulders, head, and the other arm look like thunderheads. I used a white primer.
For the funnel-cloud parts, I basecoated dark brown (raw sienna, I think), damp-brushed ivory, washed with black, drybrushed light flesh, and finally drybrushed light gray.
For the thunderheads, I basecoated dark gray, damp-brushed a lighter gray, and drybrushed white.

I hope to have photos of the finished product up soon.
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Thomas Whitten (whitten@REMOVEcae.wisc.edu) wrote:
> 2. Go with funnel cloud colors - blacks, greys and browns from all the
> dirt and crap the thing is picking up from the ground. Might look a bit
> like a 'mud elemental' if I overdo it...

Now if you do go this way be sure to go from dark to light as you move up the miniature. This would give the effect that the majority of the debris is toward the bottom of the miniature. It will also help reenforce the fact that it is an air elemental. This method may be difficult in that it would involve blending techniques on non-flat surfaces as well as a blending of the shading and highlights as you move up the miniature. (I guess you wouldn't need to do that last bit of blending.)

Now that I think about it, I wouldn't attempt this because I am not that good a painter.
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"Guy E. Flora" (guyef@REMOVElincoln.treasurer.ohio-state.edu) wrote:
All these tornado ideas make me want to cut a gobbo or two in half and stick them on the elemental just for effect. :-)
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Atlantis games (gaming@REMOVEsympatico.ca) wrote:

Hi,
We have an old Ral Partha air elemental and we painted it in different shades starting from dark blue to pure white in brush strokes. All the colors of the sky wich is natural since your talking air elemental.

Cheers, Dennis
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smithdoerr (smithdoerr@REMOVEpipeline.com) wrote:
Either of the color schemes you suggested will look good. Just keep the colors light and pale for that tranparent "air" effect If you go with the gray and brown color scheme use light blue-gray and sandy brown or tan.
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Paul Perry (madcat@REMOVEuswest.net) wrote:
A good color scheme I used to use:
A base coat of Sky Blue, feathering the middle with white.
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Eve Forward-Rollins (lutra@REMOVEhalcyon.com) wrote:
In the traditional idea of elements, Air is associated with the color yellow. You might try a muddy yellow/white (like a sandstorm) which would be a bit different and distinctive.
-E
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Mark (jagged@REMOVEtanelorn.gemsoft.co.uk) wrote:

I'm a pro painter and I have never seen a better style than one I saw 15 years ago...

Start with a slate blue and work up to a light blurry-white highlight with the odd wisp of gentle grey. Now the odd bit...flourescent green eyes! It looks lovely.
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Thane Morgan (thane@REMOVEthanesgames.com) wrote:
I would start white, do a broad light blue wash, a denser, spottier darker blue wash, followed by a light greyish drybush with a near white drybrush over it. I used this scheme for some Reaper Air Elementals, and was very happy with the resulting look.
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Wolfgang Mueskens (ea1533@REMOVEfen.baynet.de) wrote:
After trying several washing, highlighting variants, I finally decided to paint it wet in wet (white, gray, blue) which satisfied me most.
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Two Dragons 15mm Vikings

These are pretty nice figures. Only one pose per pack, but the poses are very nice - animated without looking silly. Sculpting is good - maybe a bit better than MiniFigs, the equal of Chariot, but not as crisp and detailed as Ral Partha. Flash is limited to the usual stringy bits of casting sprue and very thin mold flash & lines on some of the figures - a very easy clean-up job.

However - these lads are SHORT! The rest of my human figures are Ral Partha `Battlesystem` fantasy 15mm or MiniFigs historical 15s, both of whom use the `15mm from toes to eyes` style - so the actual figure is 17mm or so tall, to the top of the head or helm.

Two Dragons 15mm barely even make it to the `15mm to the top of the head or helm` standard in most cases. However, they'll make wonderful Dwarves - my RP Dwarves are about 11mm to the eyes, or around 14 to the top of the head. Here`s some measurments.

First number is from toes to eyes. Second number is from toes to top of head or helm, not counting horns or decorations on the helm. Third number is total height, from bottom of base to topmost part of figure - this usually includes weapons being brandished - especially large numbers mean the figure has a long axe, spear or pike overhead.

Two Dragons Viking humans: 12mm, 12-14mm, 15-25+mm.
Ral Partha Dwarves: 11mm, 14mm, 15+mm.
Ral Partha Medieval fantasy humans: 15mm, 17mm, 20+mm.
MiniFigs historical Barbarian humans: 15mm, 17mm, 20+mm.
and, just for comparision:
Chariot Orcs: 13mm, 14-16mm, 20+mm.
Chariot Goblins: 11mm, 12mm, 20+mm.

As can be seen, with the figure mix I have, running the Two Dragon Vikings as humans would be a bit of a joke - all my other humans are at least a full head taller than them. It looks like my Dwarven army is going to get a lot bigger, a lot faster than I thought, and that my planned Barbarian/werething army will have to wait until MiniFigs re-releases its Barbarian ancients range! (or I cough up for more Demonworld stuff...)

Here's the packs I have so far, with comments: (all packs have 10 figures)

[Two Dragons' figures - Click for Larger Image!]

VIK 7 - `Charging w/ spear & mail coat, bare headed.` This guy is going bald on top, with long hair down the sides and a long beard. His spear is levelled out in front, held in both hands. A long sword hangs from his belt, and his rear foot is off the ground. Height: 12mm, 14mm, 15mm. (Top pair in photo)

VIK 18 - `Mailed warrior advancing, spear out, shield up` Helmeted warrior, long hair out the back and a mustache. Spear is tucked under right arm, levelled, and his round shield is on his left forearm, held high in front of the face. He's got a long sword on his belt, as well, and the usual thigh-length mail coat. Height: 12mm, 14mm, 15mm (Second pair in photo)

VIK 23 - `Mailed huscarl with double-headed axe & loose shield` This guy has a big Danish axe, held in both hands and being swung overhead. Round shield is cast seperately - I'll either put it on his left forearm or sling it over his back. Thigh-length mail coat, and long sword on left hip. Height: 12mm, 14mm, 27mm (Third pair down in photo)

VIK 26 - `Varangian/huscarl swinging axe, in long hauberk, helm, loose round shield` The chain hauberk reaches to mid-calf or so. The smaller, single-headed axe is being swung in both hands, up and over the shoulder. Seperate shield, again, which will probably go over his back, becuase both arms are involved in that axe. A short sword is scabbarded on the left hip. Height: 13mm, 15mm, 16mm (Fourth pair down)

VIK 28 - `Ulfhednar, unarmoured, with typical wolf`s head & skin, swinging sword` Figure is wearing a short-sleeved thigh length tunic, and swinging a long sword with both hands, standing in a wide braced stance. The late wolf`s head is mounted on his helm, with the skin falling down his back and the wolf tail nearly reaching the ground. Height: 12mm, 16mm, 20mm. (Fifth pair down)

Basically, all of these figures will integrate into my Dwarven army very easily. The Ulfhednar will be berserks (Fanatics in FR!), and the ordinary guys will become the 'Dwarven militia grunts', with my fancy-dress Ral Partha Dwarves as the regulars of the ruler's army. The last two figures in the image to the left are Ral Partha - left, a fantasy Medieval human; right, a Dwarf.

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