Sunday 3 June 2012

West Wind Werewolves 01

I was looking at my blog labels for Werewolves and saw that I had six, but only one of them was for a figure review - my West Wind Werewolf Bikers (see here for that review) . So here I am with my blog over three years old and I have never done a "proper" review of any of my werewolf figures. By "proper" I mean werewolves who aren't toting guns and/or riding motorbikes. I actually own a lot of 28mm scale werewolf figures from a wide variety of companies that I've collected over the years, although many of them are now out of production. They will all get reviewed in time, just as I plan on reviewing my all of my many vampire figures. I thought seeing as I have been looking at West Wind's Bad Moon Over Memphis range in three of my four past posts that would be a good place to begin with.
The huge brute at the left of the photo above is the Big Bopper, set GHB0002 from the Bad Moon Over Memphis range. He is 43mm tall from the soles of his feet to the top of his head and comes as a one-piece casting. Anyone who thinks that he is over-scaled should think again. He is just the kind of uber-werewolf that Selene went up against in the recent Underworld:Awakening film. Also, anyone who has played White Wolf's Werewolf: the Apocalypse role-playing game will know that this figure represents a lupine in Crinos form, the most powerful of their five forms, ranging from human (Homid) to wolf (Lupus). The other two forms are Hispo (a dire-wolf) and Glabro (a human with wolf features).
The black skinned werewolf in the two photos above is from set GH00012 Loup Garou (Great Werewolf), which is part of the Gothic Horror Vampire Wars range. This figure came in four parts - body and legs, right arm, left arm and head and he went together very well, with all parts being a good fit. I used epoxy resin to glue him, which I much prefer to superglue. He is leaning forward as if lunging to attack someone, which gives the appearance that he is smaller than the Big Bopper. Don't be fooled - he is still an impressive looking beast, full of aggression. With his long claws extended, he could easily rip someone's head off with a single swipe of his arm. Incidentally, in W:tA the werewolves call themselves the Garou, from the French, Loup Garou.
The two figures shown above are from set GH00011 Giant Wolves. So why have I included these in my review of werewolves, you may be asking? Aren't they just big wolves?
No, they are much more than that. These are akin to the dire-wolves of many a fantasy tale (see Tolkien's Lord of the Rings for example). Also, referring back to the five forms a lupine can change into in the W:tA RPG mentioned above, this is the Hispo form of a werewolf. Outwardly, it looks like an ordinary wolf but it is much bigger and much more powerful. I have no hesitation at all in declaring these two figures as werewolves.
Finally, is set GH00010 Werewolves, four human-sized werewolves. Going back to Werewolf: the Apocalypse, these figures would most closely approximate the Glabro form. They are still bipedal but nowhere near as large or as powerful as the Crinos form.
These are the classic bipedal werewolves that many folk associate with that species - a cross between man and wolf, bearing the features of both but transforming into something that is totally unique. I guess it is okay that they have still retained their trousers when they transformed, as they are still human sized. If they had transformed into their Crinos form, any clothing they were wearing at the time would have been ripped to pieces during the transformation process.
I like all of these werewolf sets a lot. If you're just starting out in building a werewolf pack, these would get you off to a fine start. They are very nicely sculpted in a variety of poses, heights and forms and best of all, they are very reasonably priced. All four sets cost just £6.00 each from West Wind's webstore.
It's not often that I criticise my own paintwork, but I'm not happy with how the eyes of these creatures have appeared in my photographs. I painted them gloss black, which looks good in real life but which is hard to make out in my photos. Sorry about that, folks. Maybe if I'd painted a dot of white either as a highlight or at either side of the pupils they would have stood out better. I'm also wondering if I should have painted the claws on the two huge werewolves a bone colour instead of black. It would have provided a better contrast in the photos. Ah well, it's all food for thought. Give me your thoughts on the subject and if need be I will modify them.

29 comments:

  1. The paint jobs look fine, sometimes it depends if you paint something for photographs or if you paint it for a tabletop. Somethings that look great up close just don't pop at a distance. Nice collection of werewolves by the way, makes me jealous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a good point you make, Chris. I collect figures for gaming with, not for displaying in a showcase. I'm glad you liked the figures.

      Delete
  2. AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

    Nice! Scary to meet one of these guys on the streets as you hunt zombies!
    I really like the size of the first werewolf, but the bone he is holding? From an elephant?

    I have a lot of the miniatures from Rackham`s Confrontation line. The wolfen. Always had a soft spot for the canines I suppose....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I must admit, I too, was wondering where the hell the Big Bopper got hold of that bone? Interestingly enough, the bone has sinews of flesh sculpted on it, suggesting he got it from a recent kill.

      I didn't buy any of the Rackham Confrontation figure but their Wolfen figures were very nicely sculpted and I could have easily been persuaded into buying them.

      Delete
    2. I think I have a blister of one from their Voracious warriors lying around if you want it? They made really good miniatures.

      Delete
    3. Found one. I will see if I can get it on its way to you. Whaen I have posted it I will give you a heads up on it.

      Delete
  3. Great set of werewolves. I think the paintjobs are excellent just the way they are. I think most canine nails are black, anyway, aren't they? So I wouldn't change them to bone colored. I like the way you split them into the various forms, it just makes sense to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your input, Joe. It looks like I'll be leaving my figures alone. As a fan of White Wolf's "Werewolf: the Apocalypse" rpg, it made sense to me to split these figures up the way I have.

      Delete
  4. Very nice work Brian. They look good to me as they are.

    by the way, for those of you interested in purchasing some pre-painted Zombies, Brian was kind enough to let me plug these on his blog. Thanks Brian.

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130704901186?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm only too happy to help out a fellow zombie gamer. I must admit, I'm very tempted to put in a bid myself. Your paint jobs are of a very high standard, LL.

      Delete
    2. Thanks Vampifan. Very kind of you.

      Delete
  5. They look fine4 to me mate, lovely work as always!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Fran. Your comment is duly noted and appreciated.

      Delete
  6. These look great! Your descriptions brought me back to my old Werewolf game in '92-'93.

    Have you seen the werewolves that Bronze Age Miniatures has done? I find the sculpts to be pretty cool, and very good representations of garou in glabro. I don't know how well they'll fit your style here, I love the sculpts regardless.

    As always, thank you sir!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's good to hear from another W:tA player, Varangian. Yes, I have seen the Bronze Age werewolf figures. I like the unarmed ones but I'm not so keen on the ones toting weapons. They are not high on my shopping list but that doesn't mean I won't be buying them.

      Delete
  7. They all look great Bryan. I wouldn't worry about the claws as in really life they can be black or brown depends entirely on there marking etc. Top stuff makes me wanna get some and do a 'dog soldiers' scenario

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Simon, "Dog Soldiers" is one of my favourite films. There is a THW scenario available based on the film, which was available as a free download. It's something I'd like to try myself, strictly as a one-off scenario.

      Delete
  8. Werewolves ?

    The human sized figures are what I consider to be your typical werewolves, whereas the two monsters at the top of the page are the stuff nightmares are made of.

    Great paintjobs (as always) and keep the claws as they are, canines claws are usually very dark browns and blacks, as LJ says.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Joe, werewolves. I know they are not undead creatures but I just couldn't ignore them. I've been meaning to showcase some of my lupine figures for a very long time now. More reviews will follow.

      Seeing as I haven't had anyone saying I should repaint the claws of the two giant werewolves I shall leave then black. Oh, and I love your description of them. They are "the stuff nightmares are made of."

      Delete
  9. Absolutely tremendous work; I really love the top two particularly especially the gore on the bone. Brilliant stuff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Michael. When I first looked at that big bone I thought it had pieces of rope wrapped around it near the two ends. But a closer look revealed it to be sinews of flesh, which is a lot more disturbing.

      Delete
  10. Agreed that that is a giant bone. The sculpts all look good, and paintjobs are fine as well. They aren't really something I need for my own gaming needs, but would be great for anyone needing any sort of Wolves. Glad you finally got to them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree that not everyone is going to have a need for werewolves in their games, Adam. But if you are then these are well worth checking out.

      Delete
  11. I like werewolf, in this set I really like the last four, the first two is too big for my taste and the wolf... well, they are just big wolf :D

    But the last four, with the former pants, they seem like normal dudes that happen to live a very bad night... more scary, for me :D

    good paintjob, as always :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Zerloon. Interesting to hear what scares you the most.

      Delete