This blog is about the world of gaming miniatures, as seen from my perspective. I've been collecting and painting for over 30 years now, and while my primary focus is miniatures for D&D, I also enjoy many other games that use minis, so we'll be covering those as well. Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Do You Recognize This Ogre?

This ogre (if he is indeed an ogre) appears to be an unreleased TSR miniature, most likely sculpted by David C. Sutherland III. It was acquired from a collector who knew and lived near David around 1997, when David lived in Poulsbo, WA and was seeking employment with Wizards of The Coast after they bought TSR. What I'm trying to find out is ANY information with regards to this particular miniature. If you or anyone you know can shed any light on this brute, I would be much obliged.






Was it in fact sculpted by DCS III? If not, then who?

Is it an ogre? If not, then what?

Where was it cast?

Was it intended as a test, an employee-only gift, or for future release?

What line (if any) was it intended for? D&D, AD&D, Dragonlance, Empire of the Petal Throne, etc?

The specs for this miniature are as follows:

Height (top of base to eyes): 1 and 1/2" (38mm)
Height (bottom of base to top of helmet): 1 and 7/8" (47mm)
Height (bottom of base to tip of axe): 2 and 5/8" (66mm)

Weight: 2 ounces (56 grams)


The hallmark on the bottom of the base is clearly stamped/inscribed  © 1984 TSR, Inc.

 Shield front.

Shield back.

The shield is 7/8" high and  5/8" across. There is a peg on the shield arm, but no mounting hole on the back of the shield.

This particular ogre holds a two-bladed axe. The other two variants I have seen hold a single-bladed axe and what looks like a hand axe.

 Posed with the DCS III ogre mage and a DragonTooth innkeeper.

Ogre and innkeeper.

In the pictures, it is shown as I acquired it: mounted on a thin cardboard base and primed. I soaked the base in Simple Green to remove the cardboard and reveal the bottom of the base. The axe is glued/epoxied into the hand. It has now been stripped of primer. Hopefully someone will be able to fill in the blanks for me. Otherwise I guess I need to call in Scooby-Doo and his friends.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's cool! Thanks for sharing. The quality of the sculpting and casting seem better than usual for TSR's minis.

ATOM said...

I agree, nice mini. If Dave sculpted that, he was a competent sculpter, the flowing fur cloak looks really nice.

Frank Mentzer said...

Boss of miniatures would have been Art Neckermann (of Valiant); sculptor very well may have been DCS3.

F