Iron Trencher Miniatures by Black Cobra: A Grimdark WW1 Warband with Bases and Ruins

Black Cobra Miniatures built the Iron Trenchers as a full warband with the scenery to fight over, and it's the newest complete set in our Trench Grimdark range that we hadn't written up yet. Our Iron Trencher miniatures cover rank-and-file trenchers, an elite guard, specialists, a captain, a field gun, matching trench bases and a set of Arabic-style ruins, all printed to order in resin here in the UK. If you want grimdark WW1 miniatures that hang together as one force rather than a box of odds and ends, this is a good place to start.

What's in the Iron Trencher miniatures range?

Eleven listings, and they slot together like a warband roster. The core is the Iron Trencher set: ten troopers for £25.99 at 28/32mm, or either half of the set as a five-pack for £16.99. Singles start at £6.29, so filling a gap later doesn't mean buying the whole set again.

On top of that you get:

• Iron Trencher Elite Guard: nine figures for £22.99, or four- and five-figure packs from £14.99.
• Iron Trencher Captain: two versions, with or without a bird, from £6.49.
• Iron Trencher Assassins: five for £18.99, or singles.
• Dervishes and Alchemists, each sold as a pair (£9.99 and £10.99) or one at a time.
• Iron Lions (pair £16.99) and Iron Bulls (pair £19.99), the bigger pieces in the range.
• The Big Cannon at £14.99, for when the warband needs something loud.

You can see every piece together on the Black Cobra Miniatures collection page. Black Cobra designed the range for their Iron Trenchers warband-and-terrain campaign, and the original files live on their MyMiniFactory page. We print them under a commercial licence.

Grimdark WW1 miniatures in three sizes

Most of the range comes in 28/32mm, 35mm and 40mm, and the individual troopers and specialists also go up to 54mm and 75mm. That matters more than it sounds. If your group already runs a warband at a chunkier heroic scale, you can pick the size that stands level with what's on the table instead of hoping the new lot match.

A rough guide on cost at 28/32mm: the ten-man Iron Trencher set plus the nine-man Elite Guard gives you nineteen bodies for £48.98. Add a captain and the cannon and you've got a full force with a leader and some heavy support for well under £75. Everything is supplied unpainted in grey resin, cleaned and cured, and you'll want a light sand on any joins before priming. Our guide to prepping and priming resin minis covers that step.

Bases and ruins to match your trench crusade models

This is the bit we like most. Black Cobra didn't stop at the figures. The Trench Bases come in 25mm, 32mm, 40mm, 50mm and 60mm, from £3.49 for three, and twenty 32mm bases cost £15.99. Use them across the whole warband and the force reads as one army on the table, even before paint.

Then there's the Arabic Ruins Scenery: fifteen pieces for £49.99, or single pieces from £4.99. Broken walls and rubble give your Iron Trenchers a home turf that isn't another stretch of muddy duckboards, and they work as cover and objectives in any 28/32mm skirmish game. If you're planning a whole board, our terrain buyer's guide for Trench Crusade and the wider Trench Grimdark scenery collection are worth a look alongside these ruins.

Where the Iron Trenchers fit in your collection

These aren't official Trench Crusade models. They're original Black Cobra sculpts with a grimdark WW1 look, and they sit comfortably next to the rest of our Trench Grimdark range, Crab Miniatures' Doomed Battalions and the Bite the Bullet x Ashen Armies sets included. Whether they suit your club's games is down to your group or event organiser, so check before a tournament.

For a narrative campaign or a friendly game, they give you a lot to work with. The trenchers and elite guard make a solid core. Assassins, dervishes and alchemists give you specialists with a clear job, and the lions, bulls and cannon add some weight. If you're still working out what a warband needs, our guide to building a Trench Crusade warband walks through it. For a broader look at what's out there, see where to buy Trench Crusade models in the UK.

Standard dispatch is 5 to 8 working days, since each order is printed for you. Pick a size, grab some bases, and start with the ten-man set. You can add the specialists once you've seen how the first squad paints up.