As I mentioned a while back in my review of West Wind’s biker gang, bikers are useful minis to have in one’s collection because they can play so many different roles in many different settings and game systems. From heroic outsiders to neo-barbarians, the rich cultural mythos behind bikers makes them great “stock” heroes or villains.

These bikers are part of a line originally sculpted by famed artist Marl Copplestone for the late, great Grenadier Models back in the early 90s (or so I’m told). Like a lot of old Grenadier products, they have been picked up and put back into production by another maker, in this case UK-based em4.

Nosh is a bit sensive about his weight problem...

Sold individually for a very reasonable price of ₤1.25 each, these minis represent quite a good value considering the sheer amount of metal in some of the chunkier ones. I also really like the ability to pick and choose exactly what mini one wants instead of being forced to buy them in packs.

Detail has always been a hallmark of Copplestone minis, and these are no exception. In keeping with their RL brethren, these bikers are impressively bearded and sport long, flowing hair. One even goes bare-chested under a vest, showing of an impressive thatch of chest hair. Even tiny elements like chain links boot laces are meticulously correct.

Hairy chest + grenades = muy macho

There’s a lot of individuality and character on display with these lads. One even sports the classic (if now wildly anachronistic) “Fritz” helmet made famous by countless cheesy bike films of the 60s and 70s. It’s only right given their reputation as independent spirits that these minis stand apart as individuals even as their common elements (beards, jeans) draw them together into a group.

There are a couple of odd things about these bikers. For one thing they’re very heavily armed with a variety of automatic weapons and even hand grenades. I guess maybe they’re meant to be riders of the post-apocalypse era, which is a defensible artistic choice even if it does make them a little odd for most present-day settings.

Hey look, it's Flamer!

However, one of them sports a FLAMETHROWER. More than that, it’s a GW-style sci-fi “flamer” rather than a conventional backpack-and-flamegun rig. It may just be my inner gunbunny coming to the fore, but that just seems like an over-the-top choice to me.

The odd choices continue with the biker’s equipment. Like several other Copplestone sculpts of this vintage, there are what appear to be either cash registers or enormous calculators hooked to the belts of a couple of minis. Maybe this made some sense in whatever context the figs were originally produced, but to my eye it just seems downright surreal. I must remember to e-mail Mr. Copplestone and ask if he remembers any backstory on this minor but baffling issue.

First we rumble, then we do our taxes!

Mmm, beefy!

Finally, these guys are beefy. I mean SERIOUS beefy in the “GW Orks” sense of the word. I realize that our motorcycle enthusiast friends tend towards the corpulent side, but these lads strain the borders of plausibility just a bit. They look almost monstrous next to more conventionally-sized Hasslefree minis.

The last four paragraphs make these sound like bad minis, but they’re really quite good overall. I’ve been quite impressed with the quality of Mr. Copplestone’s work, especially given the age of these sculpts. Given the impressive level of detail and the bargain price from em4 they’d make a fine addition to any gamer’s collection.

Pros: Customary Copplestone detailing, Inexpensive

Cons: Idiosyncratic weapons and equipment, Alarmingly orklike

Final Verdict: 4/5

MSRP: ₤1.25 each

Source: Em4

Popularity: 12% [?]

Related posts:

1. Review: Dr. Red & Howler by Pulp Monsters Fresh from Gen Con, we review two new pre-release minis...
2. Review: Lady Justice and the Death Marshals Crew by Wyrd Miniatures At long last we unleash our super-sized review of Lady...