Mars-Miniatures: Dwarfs From Iron Claw, Essex, & Grenadier

Even more Dwarf reinforcements are on their way to Moria. First up are 24 Dwarfs made up from a mix of old school lead from Iron Claw and also from Essex Miniatures. While they are from 2 different companies, they are both sculpted by Bob Olley and are virtually indistinguishable from one another. In fact, after putting them together as a unit, I have forgotten which are Iron Claw and which are from Essex.

The Iron Claw Dwarfs are sold as "Gothic Dwarfs". But Essex sells them as "Chaos Dwarfs". At first, I didnt think of these fellas as Chaos looking. In my blog's fluff, at this point at least, Chaos Dwarves have not yet been ostracized from the rest of Dwarf society. Which is fortunate for Balin, Lord of Moria who has been resurrected by the Fell Gods of Chaos. I myself wonder how Balin will be treated by the Dwarf Kings Thorgrim, Kazador, Gorrin, and others. Also I believe Prince Ulther has a special rule about Chaos Dwarves, something about a tradition handed down to him to hunt them Oh, its the Frenzy special rules that apply to Prince Ulther's Imperial Dwarves when fighting Chaos Dwarves.

At any rate, lets investigate these Iron Claw/Essex Dwarfs further before judgement...

Ok, let me discuss these guys from left to right.
1) Skeletor helmet dwarf does look Chaos-y, I will admit.
2) The Dwarf wizard Peter the Hermit is holding an upside down imp and thats pretty cool. Is he about to sacrifice it or just scold the lil fella?
3) Next we have the Grandmaster Jacques De Solay with his fancy "Order of the Golden Sun" Helmet which means he is the Grand Poobah of this Lodge.
4) Our banner bearer here does look a bit ominous looking. Perhaps a Nurglish banner, but the head at the top reminds me of a D&D Oni Mage, so perhaps its a Tzeentchian banner. Ooh, btw the new Warhammer Quest has a Oni trollish looking monster.
5) Drummer here has a skull drum and bone drumsticks. Mahabone, brothers!
6) This fella has an eyepatch. One eye. Osiris reference, anyone? There is a definite and peculiar symbolism in this unit which an Inquisitor needs to look into. (Perhaps with an Ordo Hereticus team and a couple of Virus bombs in orbit, just in case...)

Bane: "Theatricality and deception are powerful agents to the uninitiated... but we are initiated, aren't we Bruce? Members of the League of Shadows"

Jack the Ripper: "These symbols, the mitre, the pentacle star, even someone as ignorant and degenerate as you can sense that they course with energy and meaning. I am that meaning. I am that energy"

Lord Blackwood: "My powers and my assets were given to me for one purpose. A magnificent, but simple purpose: to create a new future. A future ruled by us."

OK, so maybe these Gothic/Chaos Dwarfs have some deeper sinister purpose. Or perhaps they will save Moria from imminent doom. At any rate, I get the feeling Balin is going to want to talk with these fellows.

Here are some new fangled technology. These Dwarfs are Thunderers, with their gunpowder weaponry.

The fellow on the left is reported to have fought at the famous battle of Ork's Drift.

Here we have some Grenadier Dwarfs. They are heavy lead miniatures. I get the feeling they have the highest percentage of lead of any figures I have ever held. If I line my walls with these fellows, even radiation from nukes wont be able to penetrate it.

They do have their own primitive charm. These guys are grim silent warriors. Stubborn, tireless and persistent, they embody the great traditions of the Dwarven race.

Here we have more old school Citadel miniatures. This unit is called the Band of the Hawk.

On the far left is Lord Commander Reinhardt. He likes to crush his enemies with a deadly swing of his massive warhammer. On the far right is his second in command, Commander Guts.