"Best 28mm Orcs?" Topic

I'm working on a Lord of the Rings projects in 28mm, skirmish stuff with the Song of Blades and Heroes 2e rules. As I look around for different options for orcs, however, I'm not finding a whole lot to work with. There are the official GW miniatures, and then a whole bunch of Warhammer style orcs with cartoonish proportions (especially over-sized jaws). What options are out there for 28mm orcs that cleave more to a classic D&D or to a Peter Jackson look?

Oathmark goblins by North Star. Don't let the "goblin" fool you.

What could be better than Ghost Miniatures? They also have my favorite line of dwarves too. Available from Old Glory: link

Sample shots:

Oathmark see comparison here

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The Wargames Factory, now owned by Warlord Games, plastic orcs always struck me as extremely compatible with GW's LotR orcs. I have not ever actually gotten to compare them, side by side.

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Here's some Wargames factory orcs my friends have used in Frostgrave games.

The Ghost miniatures orcs are nice, I have some and they are perfect for LOTR.

Having the Wargames Factory Orcs I like them very much. I was hoping to do a Isenguard Uruk group using Viking Swords and Roman and Celtic Shields but I didn't have enough of those. Size comparison between the two lines should be helpful.

FWIW, (and YMMV);
I've always felt the Celtos 'Fomorians' were more Tolkienesque than Jackson's vision:

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The real question is, do you want GW scale figures, or more realistically proportioned figures? The WGF Orcs and LOTR orcs are the latter, so if you wanted to use them with say, GW heroes or Reaper RPG figures, you are sol. But if you are using them with almost all of the historicals out there, you are fine.

Scotia Grendel have the old black tree LOTRs range

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Ral Partha Europe have a nice range of orcs

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EM4 carry the old Grenadier plastic orcs. 50 in a bag. Spear, sword or bow for 7 pounds UK.

I like EM. They work with Lotr Orcs from Gw well.

I also cast some Prince August ones. They are also pretty decent.

Thanks,

John

These are some great recommendations, much appreciated.

I particularly like the Celtos line and Scotia grendel, I'll probably use Celtos for goblins and Scotia for orcs.

Well, if you want to go 1e AD&D Monster Manual style, and proportions, I would highly recommend Caesar's 1/72 Goblins (around $15 USD, delivered) for 36 figures! Their 1/72 Orcs are on the smallish side, but you get 36 of these for the same price of around $15 USD, delivered (check e-Bay, usually a seller from Taiwan sells them for $9.99 USD/box + S/H).

There is also the Dark Alliance sets of Orcs and Orc Warg Riders, also in 1/72. I use the DA Orc Warg Riders as Goblin Warg Riders, as they are about the same size as the Caesar Goblins. The Wargs are a bit small, but I don't mind. I use the Warg Riders as Medium Cavalry.

I also had the Prince August mold for casting Goblin Wolf Riders, years ago. I needed 60 Wolves for the Battle of Five Armies… After that game, I had 60 Wolves, sans riders! I cut a number of the Caesar Goblins off of their bases, and mounted them on the PA metal Wolves. I use these as Light Cavalry troops for the Goblin army (about 150 figures strong, total).

Goblins, per the 1977 Monster Manual, are only around 4 feet tall. The 1/72 figures work great with 25mm-28mm Humans! And they are sooo affordable! The Caesar Goblins paint up super-fast: they are wearing loin cloths.

You have a smorgasbord of figures to choose from… Good luck! Cheers!

The Ral Partha Fantasy Armies gargantua orcs are my favorite. I'm just waiting for the kickstarter that brings back the whole range so I can get the ones I'm missing. Last time I looked they still had one pose unit packs of 12 for a decent price but twelve is enough of those ones I want the others. No wolf riders though, just dinosaurs.

If you're looking for classic D&D Orcs, you might consider Otherworld Miniatures Pig-Faced Orcs ( link ) . While I haven't done fantasy in a long time, these figures are so nice ( if a bit pricey ) that I have considered getting some of their hobgoblins just out of nostalgia ( link ) .

The 1/72 scale figures are the best "bang for your buck", by far. Yet, for 28mm, I think the Oathmark figures need to be considered, if one likes plastic figures.

Far more reasonable than Games Workshop and in that size for finding other players.

Mind you, the 1/72 are so inexpensive you can afford to buy multiple armies and invite your friends to play who have figures! (or those who have larger scales – and they can see the advantage of gaming at various scales depending on the type of game you want to play and the rules)

Thunderbolt Mountain had a really beautiful range of Goblins. Really, it's a shame they're gone. I suspect, like many gamers, I thought they'd be around forever and I'd get to it eventually.