Here’s some rather hasty snapshots of a selection of the character models from the last two scenarios in the Orc’s Drift campaign pack. I’m sorry for the slightly blurry images – I somehow couldn’t get the camera working right despite the fact that the lighting was good.
First up is the inn keepers father. It’s one of the better minis from Trish Morrison’s line of townsfolk and villagers from ‘85. A line which has caught quite some flak over the years but I must admit that I find most of them charming.
The second model is Mayor Leofwine and while the miniature isn’t exactly screaming “mayor” it has a certain imposing air to it. It’s slightly rough around the edges, but the cloak was a delight to paint.
Speaking of rough sculpting we arrive at Bertolac – a fighter who seems closely related to the Young Fighter miniature from the Adventurers Starter Set from 1985. Especially the head and the face of Bertolac is crudely shaped and a bit difficult to paint, but the I guess he’ll look just fine on the tabletop. The shield motif I copied from Gary Chalk’s rendition of Bertolac in the campaign material.
I also copied Chalk when painting the fabled Osrim Chardz; one of those rare dwarves that can be rather costly, especially when looking at the “Buy Now” prices on Ebay. I could not help myself using Chalk’s rather bold, bright colours from the depiction of Osrim on the Orc’s Drift box cover but I think they work well on the mini and while it certainly was a bit intimidating starting to paint this one I’m fairly pleased with the end result. The model is perhaps a bit too busy on the details, but he’s a cool little piece. The miniature itself seems related to a whole little group of dwarfs with the King Gorrin from the Dwarf Lords of Legend (1985) and Pulper Spikehead from the Chaos Dwarf Renegades (1986) boxes.
Osrim Chardz by Gary Chalk in an ad for the Orc’s Drift box
My personal favorite from the lot however is the old dwarf adventurer who in the campaign material goes by the name Beli. I really dig the seasoned, melancholy look of this guy. In many ways this mini sums up all I love about Citadels dwarfs from the 80’s and I never really get tired of these models.
That’s all for now.
Cheers
Martin
Shamutantis 
Superb mate, a really nice collection, and beautifully painted. I agree, Beli really stands out for me too – despite having one of the more muted colour schemes! That face is just brilliant.
Thanks Alex. Both Beli (the vain chap he is!) and I appreciate it.
yeah, Beli is my favourite too. reminds me of dwarfs from fighting fantasy books.
Yes, I agree. That’s exactly the same vibe I get from him. Good stuff.
Splendid stuff! I was unaware the villagers miniatures circa ’85 were so unappreciated in gaming circles.
They weren’t the greatest of sculpts but eBay prices tell me a lot of people still love them like I do! I used to have a fair few but sadly all are now gone.
It’s a similar story with ‘Orcs Drift’. I only have the booklet nowadays but that doesnt tell you the numbers of forces/stats for the Combatants. That was all on the red/blue handouts given to the players.
I suppose I should just re-watch the film ‘Zulu’ and work it out for my self…😀
Thanks Somet. I have regularly come across some rather harsh remarks about the villagers but I certainly have a soft spot for their colourful – if a times odd – look.
You could easily create your own version/vision of the Orc’s Drift. However, one of the charms of the original rosters is all the quirky details which add a ton of character to the individual personalities of the game.