Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The Blackmoor Miniatures

Dave Arneson enjoyed using miniatures for his game. However it wasn't untill after 2003 that a line of Blackmoor Miniatures were produced. They were manufactured by Lance & Laser Miniatures and included the following:



The above are three Afridhi Warriors. They are pretty much in line with the way the Afridhi were depicted in the ZG material. I always imagined them to be more exotic though, more Persian or perhaps even African. The models are nice, but they look more like man-sized Fire Giants. Which may have been the idea.


The models above are Ash Goblins. This is a race that was introduced in the D20 Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Sourcebook. They are goblins that have been exposed to the effects of the Valley of the Ancients (Radiation?), mutating with horns and other strange features.

Next models up (above) are Ash Goblin Wolf Riders. I guess they can be pretty menacing when charging down from the Dragon Hills...

These three models are Beastmen. If I remember correctly, these models cam with loads of different beastial heads so that you could mix and match bodies and heads. Beastmen were introduced to the Blackmoor mythos through Mystara. In the Mystara version, there are no Orcs in the Blackmoorian Age, just Beastmen. Beastmen were also included in the D20 Sourcebook, though the D20 line also has Orcs. 


The final models are Thouls. A classic Monster that appeared in OD&D and Classic D&D. In other additions, Thouls were associated with the Mystara line, appearing in the Mystara Monsterous Appendix and appeared under the Mystara logo in 3E conversions. 

One other miniature was also produced. It was a limited edition miniature of Toska Rusa. If anyone has pictures of this miniature, I would very much like to see them! Also, I don't own any of the miniatures above. Lane & Laser seems to have disappeared so I have no idea where I can get these. Ebay perhaps?



-Havard

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing these photos.

    What are Thouls, and where do I read about them?

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  2. Lance and Laser went out of business a year or so ago. I know they sold their molds to a few different manufacturers, but I'm not sure if the Blackmoor ones were sold.

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  3. If I recall correctly, Thouls were a cross between ghouls and trolls. There might be some hobgoblin in there too. It's been a long time.

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  4. Thouls were nasty buggers. They regenerate like Trolls, Paralyze like Ghouls, and look like Hobgoblins. To make things even worse could be Shaman or Wokan. Page 209 Rules Cyclopedia.

    I've got to get my hands on those Beastmen minis. Anyone know if they are being produced by another company.

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  5. Thanks for the info. and page number. :)

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  6. Hello All of the old Arneson Selcet molds and masters have been purchased by Armorcast at www.armorcast.com. The miniatures will be re-released during the first quarter of 2013.

    Steve aka Ginfritter
    VP
    Armorcast LLC

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  7. Wow, this is great news! Does that include more than the miniatures from the pictures above? Please keep us posted when things are ready! :)

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  8. To clarify we do not have the rights to the Blackmoor name, to use Mr. Arneson's name nor the specific creature names but we own the master sculpts and the molds. The miniatures will be released as generic fantasy miniatures.

    Steve aka Ginfritter
    VP
    Armorcast LLC

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  9. Hello All,

    The minis are all up in the webstore. I have found three minis that were late releases and the limited miniature. The Frogmen set was one of the last to be listed, the evil sorceress was the limited miniature and the casting sorceress was the regular production variant, that was never released. Are all available here at www.armorcast.com under Lance and Laser miniatures.

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