Iron Claw Space Pirates: Part 3... Guest Post by Geriatricus

Modern wargamers make me vomit. Back in the good old days, when we wanted to play Warhammer 40K, we didn't use army lists or codices. Do you know what codices are? The. Plural. Of. Codex. The only codex we had was the Codex Vaticanus, and it couldn't be clearer on the topic of kids these days: "Take up a lament on the barren heights," spake the prophet Jeremiah, "for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation".

No, when we wanted to play 40K, all we had was a copy of Rogue Trader. You opened the cover and the spine shattered like it was held together with spittle and icing sugar, scattering loose pages across the room. Gathering them up, you were ready to assemble your army. You just looked at your collection of miniatures and that was your force: squats and marines and orks and space pirates all in one army? No problem. In the grim darkness of the future, no one will bother with homogenous armies. They're too busy rat-fucking each other!

But our games were always fair, unlike today. Nowadays, kids die of heat exhaustion as they sprint to the gaming shop for the latest army list, hoping to outdo each other in an endless arms-race. We lived in a more evenhanded time: we just eyeballed each miniature and assigned him the equipment he appeared to be carrying. If it just so happened that all my marines were carrying laser cannons, and all your guardsmen were carrying stub pistols, that was just the way it had to be. It was fair, the same way that getting t-boned by a cement truck is fair.

No one ever cried because Games Workshop stopped supporting their army of choice. Boo hoo! I can't bring my Bretonnians to tournaments anymore! Jesus Burger-Flipping Christ, we didn't have tournaments at all! It was ludicrous to imagine playing Warhammer out in the open, against strangers, in public. In the halcyon days of my youth, Warhammer was something that you were ashamed of. You hid away, in dank basements, in the dark, playing with like-minded people with whom otherwise you wouldn't be caught dead. The stigma was what made it fun.

But all that's gone now. You had to make it popular. You had to have a net flicks. And now there are no more space pirates. Yours is truly a generation of swine.

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Sorry for the guest post. That guy is a real downer. I've got to stop letting him take over the blog.

Here are the final 7 miniatures from Bob Olley's IC301 Space Pirates (1987) from the golden age of Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader. One of the (many) things I love about this range is Olley's choice to portray several old (and apparently) cranky men.

A prime example of men well past their prime is "Pop Stewart". He's balding, he's pouchy and he's ready to kick ass:

This range of space pirates is apparently led by "Captain Dunbar". He's bucktoothed and dressed in a onesie, but he is carrying a rather large gun:

The face on "Attitude Gorman" is the distilled essence of Bob Olley's sculpting style. With his beaked nose, recessed eyes, and gaping grin, he reminds me of one of Da Vinci's groteques:

"Nixan" is an equally strange miniature. We it not for the gun, he would look like a B-list superhero called Torpedo Man:

For another stumpy and bearded oldster, may I present "Little Rigo":

Another splendid example of Olley's skill at creating uniquely grotesque people, we have "Psycho". He's like what Rambo would be, if Rambo had a dyed blond perm, pimples, and a girdle. I especially enjoy the fact that, unlike almost all Citadel miniatures, he's not wearing boots, but has instead chosen a sensible pair of orthopedic sneakers.

And finally, the oldest and crustiest space pirate of them all, "Dambo Kweltz". You can almost hear the clack of his dentures, smell his eucalyptus chest ointment, and feel the tremor in his hands as he tries to aim his archaic weapons. You get 'em, gramps!

Well, my friends, I hope you've enjoyed this tour through Bob Olley's masterpieces! I certainly have!

You'll notice that I've put a link to a permanent gallery of this range on the right, under Miniature Galleries. 

Rogue Trader Space Pirates by Bob Olley: Part 2

Space pirates were a big part of WH40K in its early days. In The Book of the Astronomicon (1988) we learned that eldar, orks, humans and even squats engaged in piracy. That tome also provides a splendid army list for a pirate band, "Crangor's Buccaneers", which allows the player to assemble a band including squat ensigns, eldar void-dreamers, and recce squads on flying surfboards (aka power boards). 

Rogue Trader had to include space pirates. There wasn't a sci-fi trope that Rogue Trader didn't include, and space pirates have been an integral part of space opera since Ray Cumming's Brigands of the Moon (1931) or Buck Rogers battling Black Barney (1939). Leaving out space pirates would be like leaving out laser guns.

Of course there are space pirates and then are space pirates. Some versions rely on high camp (with parrots, cutlasses and Cornish accents) and some are a little more normal, i.e. "violent criminals with a spaceship." Bob Olley's version is somewhere in the middle: both eccentric and scary.  Personally, I think his version of space pirates owes a special debt to Doctor Who. Colourful yet menacing space pirates loom large in "Meglos" (1980) and the "Pirate Planet" (1978), not to mention the incomplete serial "The Space Pirates" (1969). 

Today I wanted to share six more painted miniatures from Bob Olley's fabulous IC301 range of Space Pirates (1987). 

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First up is "Star Raven". With his mix of cybernetics and fantasy-elements, this is a thoroughly entrancing sculpt.

Second "Vaal the Asharian". The big lips, fat head, and warty skin, make this sculpt 100% unfiltered Olley. I also detect a whiff of Matt Groening's animation style, although that may be anachronistic of me.

Third is "Verrington Kosht". This is another of Olley's splendid aliens. I particularly like tumescent weapon that he is carrying.

"Banzai Jones" seems to be straight out of a 1940's pulp adventure with his leather bomber and aviator cap. His name nods both to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and The Adventures of Buckeroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984). An interesting pairing! Both had budgets of approximately $20, but one made back $6 million at the box office and the other $390 million.

"Zandar" is another one of Olley's random aliens. He carries a fabulous dragon-patterned gun of uncertain type. Olley's delightful penchant for inventing new alien species and new forms or armament was another thing that put him out of step with the homogenizing trend of Games Workshop in the late 1980's:

And finally, my all-time favourite space pirate, "Nightwing". I love the bionic arm, the flowing cape, and the sinister facemask:

Stay warm, my friends!

See the first post in this series here. And the next post here.

Rogue Trader Space Pirates by Bob Olley

Bob Olley's Iron Claw was an offshoot of Citadel Miniatures operating briefly between 1987 and 1988. Olley operated in a different visual language than all the other sculptors at Games Workshop, which was why (I suppose) it made sense to give him his own label. His figures were fungoid, stumpy and melodramatic. When other sculptors modeled heroes or villains, Olley sculpted character actors. His figures stood out like mold on bread.

If there was one range of miniatures particularly suited to the Iron Claw treatment, it was Space Pirates.  They allowed a sculptor like Olley almost unlimited scope to use his warped vision: motley crews composed of cyborgs, robots, and off-brand aliens; jury-rigged equipment and bizarre weaponry; and a fusion of fantasy and sci-fi tropes. And so the IC301 range of Space Pirates was born, with 17 models released in 1987.

The very characteristics that would make the IC301 Space Pirates charming are also what doomed it to obsolescence. Olley's playful and uninhibited approach meant that ranges like the Space Pirates had no place in Warhammer 40K as it evolved into a tournament game with well-defined races and regimented army lists. 

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First up is "Col. Vlad". Bulbous head? Check. Half-digested face? Check. Weapon growing tumors? Check. Yep, that's a Bob Olley sculpt!

Second is "Loritta". I love the way she is holding that gun: half Rambo, half Nita Strauss.

Next is "Ooglorg the Cruel". Well, you'd be cruel too if your momma called you Ooglorg.

And finally for today we have "Venk." He carries a resonant Star Wars vibe (a thing not uncommon in the Rogue Trader era).

Stay tuned for more Iron Claw madness! Thanks for coming by!