Citadel C20 Troll Discipline Master with Whip, and Troll Attacking with Tree Trunk
And staying with Citadel... next out the Lead Mountain were these fine fellows. Now, my understanding is that these were sculpted by Tom Meier, and had a degree of notoriety due to their frank depiction of Troll genitalia. They don't leave much to the imagination, especially with the mild bondage elements of the Discipline Master! The series didn't sell well and was replaced fairly quickly by a second C20 series of trolls sculpted by Jes Goodwin, which were more in the traditional "cartoon" Citadel style... and also clothed! As a consequence the original Meier C20 trolls are comparatively rare to find (not surprisingly, one might say). They are actually lovely figures to paint - well detailed (a bit too much so maybe...!) and with little or no flash (fnar fnar). Base colours, ink wash, and dry brushing - job done. I think the Troll attacking with a Tree trunk is the better figure, and is more likely to see table top time as a generic "WTF is THAT" encounter - I think it still holds up really well against more recent figures, such as the latest addition to my Shadowforge Dark Temple/Amazon army - but the Discipline Master is probably a bit too specialised for use. It looks like an outtake from "300" to be honest. Potentially it could be used as a boss encounter, but in all likelihood it will be moved on to a certain auction site...
And staying with Citadel... next out the Lead Mountain were these fine fellows. Now, my understanding is that these were sculpted by Tom Meier, and had a degree of notoriety due to their frank depiction of Troll genitalia. They don't leave much to the imagination, especially with the mild bondage elements of the Discipline Master! The series didn't sell well and was replaced fairly quickly by a second C20 series of trolls sculpted by Jes Goodwin, which were more in the traditional "cartoon" Citadel style... and also clothed! As a consequence the original Meier C20 trolls are comparatively rare to find (not surprisingly, one might say). They are actually lovely figures to paint - well detailed (a bit too much so maybe...!) and with little or no flash (fnar fnar). Base colours, ink wash, and dry brushing - job done. I think the Troll attacking with a Tree trunk is the better figure, and is more likely to see table top time as a generic "WTF is THAT" encounter - I think it still holds up really well against more recent figures, such as the latest addition to my Shadowforge Dark Temple/Amazon army - but the Discipline Master is probably a bit too specialised for use. It looks like an outtake from "300" to be honest. Potentially it could be used as a boss encounter, but in all likelihood it will be moved on to a certain auction site...
I have managed to procure three of these (with axe, rock and tree-club) and love them to bits, although have yet to get at them with the old hairy wand. They are more hideous or monstrous than Jez's replacements, which I also have a soft-spot for (but sadly don't own any). I suppose the difference between the two ranges can be seen as part of Citadel's progression to a more 'cartoony' style, exemplified by the work of sculptors like Jez Goodwin and Kev Adams. As ever, great painting and interesting article!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind comments! I do agree they are more vile than their replacement, and I can't help thinking that is why they didn't sell well - they weren't in keeping with the Citadel "cartoon" style. I still think they hold up really well for sculpts nearly 30 years old!
DeleteThese look great! The Tom Meier trolls are fantastic, although I like the later C20 trolls too. That range - Hobol Firebreath et al. - was by the Perry brothers rather than Jez Goodwin, though.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind comments! I do like Tom Meier's work in general, and I think they just have an edge to the later Jez and Perry efforts. They're still pretty damn good though!
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