Fans of 80s Warhammer models who want to add some muscly brutes to their collection but don’t want to pay eBay prices should check out Roghlod’s Mercenary Ogres by Knightmare Miniatures. Funding on Kickstarter until 12.30am PST / 3.30am EST / 8.30am BST June 20, four ogre sculpts are available that would suit gamers playing first edition Warhammer or planning a retro army for Warhammer: The Old World.
If you’ve only seen Games Workshop Ogres in the contemporary Ogor Mawtribes Warhammer: Age of Sigmar army or Total War: Warhammer faction, you might think these designs are surprisingly short and lean. But these new sculpts by Aaron Howdle are actually a size and style match for the ogres sculpted by Bob Olley and Jes Goodwin for Games Workshop in the mid ‘80s.
Kickstarter pledge levels are available to get the models as singles or in a group of four, and in resin or period-appropriate metal. A pledge for four metal ogres costs about $68 (€64). If you fancy sprucing up your old Ogre Kingdoms army for the eventual Warhammer: The Old World release date, or you want to add some bulk to a 3rd edition Warhammer Fantasy Empire list, check out the Kickstarter now.
Knightmare Miniatures specialises in making modern miniatures with a retro, ‘Oldhammer’ aesthetic. They have a particularly broad range of Orcs and Goblins, many sculpted by Kev ‘The Goblin Master’ Adams, who produced much of Games Workshop’s greenskin range in the 80s. Design elements from both the Kruleboyz and the Gloomspite Gitz can be traced back to Kev Adams’ designs.
Games Workshop has moved almost entirely to digital sculpting and plastic miniature production (often with excellent results, as we found in our Warhammer 40k Leviathan review), but the visual identity of Citadel miniatures developed when models had to be cast in metal. Technical limitations, such as the fidelity it was possible to achieve on models when hand-sculpting with older types of putty, informed aesthetic choices, like the enlarged hands and faces on many Citadel designs.
If you love these minis but can’t think of a use for them, why not look at Plastic Bastards? It’s a free indie wargame which designer Grant Howitt says was inspired in part by beloved Warhammer spin-off Mordheim.