Metal Underground.com

What’s left for a band of bloodthirsty, elf-hating, drum-pounding orcs after invading Earth and conquering death metal? Apparently the answer is “break into fantasy gaming!” A boon for sadistic DMs, the orcs have officially been shrunk into pint-sized terrors to send your party of adventurers on a search for a few scrolls of resurrection.

Set to standard 28mm scale, the orcs set fine next to miniatures from war games like Warhammer or Warmachine, or pre-painted minis for D&D. Rather than resin or plastic they are made of – what else? – metal. Much like the more intricate Reaper miniatures, my particular batch had some small artifacts that needed to be trimmed off the edges of the guitars or tips of the axes.

Each orc is its own unique model with a different pose so they don’t end up looking too similar, and the minis have as much detail as you’d expect from any high end miniature line. Eyebrows, tufts of hair, belt buckles, and even dents on weapons are all painstakingly detailed. As death metal masters, they of course all have their appropriate instrument in hand, from bass guitar to microphone. The drum kit is a separate piece so an orc doesn’t always have to be attached to it, and the massive skull bass drums and protruding human spinal columns make it the stand out piece in the set.

All the orcs make the transition from band member to miniature smoothly, perhaps with the exception of Hulg. I was always under the impression he was supposed to be a zombie (or some other undead monstrosity), but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. A little bleached bone paint will clear that up for anyone worried about the continuity of extra-dimensional monsters that play guitar.

The only downside to the set is that the minis may not fit the tone of all games (how many times will your players really come across orcs with guitars and a full drum kit?), but then again the group that’s always wanted to play a party of plane hopping orc bards is now officially set for life.