Two More Orc(mas) Guards

As promised, here are two more orcs to go with the Orcmas theme.  I know, Orcmas is long past, so we can just appreciate these guys as orcs.  These being from the Foundry mercenary 'orcs' range rather than the 'ogres' range, they are a tad smaller than the previous two (though not by much).  Their sculpts were a bit more simpler, so the painting progressed a little bit easier.

I was quite pleased with the brown fabric on the orc on the left, I had a good time with those highlights.  The expression on his face is also quite appealing.  The orc on the right looks cool with his big book (I assume it's the Naughty or Nice list, though orcs can't read, so...).

I have almost finished  a few goblins to go with this project, so you can hopefully expect those pretty soon.

Pleasantly Surprised!

So, for those wondering, I have been making progress on painting the unfinished progress on my desk.  I have photos to prove it, but won't be sharing them today.

Today is a bit more fun!  On one of the many forums (fora?) which I visit, in this case Warhammer-Empire, there is an annual miniature exchange.  In this activity you are assigned a forum member whom you will then stalk to find out their taste in miniatures.  You are supposed to choose something, paint it, and send it to the person (who will duly be 'surprised' when it arrives).

Today was the day for my surprise to arrive!  The user 'thorimm' had picked me, and he chose to paint not just one, but TEN battleforge halflings!  What a generous guy.  He also included some treats from Holland which I have been enjoying tonight.

On to the pictures!  Keep in mind, these were not painted by me for those who did not read anything written above this line.

I must say he did a smashing good job painting these guys.  In the past I have expressed reservations about Battleforge halflings (which thorimm expressed concern that I may not like the figures).  While I will continue to say that the sculpts are somewhat crude and the size differs dramatically throughout the range, with a good lick of paint they turn out quite fun and endearing!  Just the kind of thing I like.  I have seen some of these figures unpainted, and the paint really makes a difference in this case.

So, kudos to thorimm from the Netherlands!  These will fit in nicely with my Oldhammer stuff, and my boys had some great laughs unpacking the figures which were 'very funny guys'.

Happy 2015!

Well, another year of hobby-ing is upon us.  Like many of you good intentioned-folk out there, I have come up with a resolution.  A rather simple one, in fact.  I want to clean up my painting desk.  After a year or more of half-finished projects and random miniatures and bits amassing on the desk, it is starting to look somewhat less than organized:

I have to confess, however, that I tidied up a bit before I took the picture.  Almost all of my paints were out of the rack and spread across the table.  I also need to look into another paint rack, since I bought some Vallejo Game Air paints to try out, and I have no more room to hold them appropriately.  One thing at a time, however.  Making too many resolutions is a sure way to complete none of them!

So, for the next month or two I will try to paint up some of the backlogged and half finished miniatures strewn across the desk.  There are still a handful of my Orcmas-themed miniatures I wanted to paint, so I will work on a few of those for the time being.  Eventually I will likely get bored of the unfinished stuff, at which point I will probably send them back to the lead pile in shame.

If you look closely at my paint palette, you can see what I am currently working on.  Keep in mind this photo was taken last week so those may show up sooner than later on the blog.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Santorc's nemesis

Orcmas just would not be orcmas without some uppity git trying to usurp the coveted title of "Santorc" (or whatever other clever name you can concoct.  The position has long been coveted by this sneaky gobbo.  Time and again he has been thwarted by bad luck, stupidity, or the business end of Santorc's bell.  Regardless, this rascal has managed (miraculously) to survive as a constant thorn in Santorc's side.

I present to you, Gobbo Clawz!

This cheeky fellow is the 2007 White Dwarf subscription model Night Goblin Boss.  I took the liberty of sculpting some more fur trim on his cloak, as well as adding pom poms to his hat.  I think they look swell.  Being smaller and simpler than the other figures, he painted up pretty quickly.  Now he just needs some minions, as he is somewhat outgunned at the moment, wouldn't you agree?

This seems to be the last figure I will get painted in 2014.  For my loyal readers, thanks for your readership!  I wish you all a very happy New Year full of miniature adventures!

Santorc's Guards

While Orcmas many officially be over, I am still plugging away at the few figures I wanted to complete this season.  As you saw last time, I had a teaser of two WIP figures - Santorc's festive guards.  I finally finished them, and I am quite happy with the results.  These are some of the Wargames Foundry Mercenary Ogres.  They were sculpted by Kev Adams.  Very challenging figures to paint, with all of the puff and slash, but it is a nice effect when it is finished.

The blacklining on the clothing for the guard on the left took me forever.  After roughing in the colours, I went over each patch with some vallejo black ink, watered to about 60% with water and some flow improver.  Afterwards I had to redo the highlights and brighten up the white, but I really like the use of blacklining in figures like this, as it makes a nice border between the colours.  The other fun part was the gem on the right of the right-hand orc.  It's always fun trying to paint gems.

Finally, I will leave you with a shot of the terrible triad.

Kinda makes you wonder whether you should have made such a long Orcmas list, eh?  I still have a few more figures on the painting table which will hopefully make it in before the New Year.  Namely, I have a couple guards to do, as well as Santorc's biggest rival! (cue menacing music...)

Merry Orcmas!

Well, the day of Orcmas is finally upon us.  My most anticipated piece from this little project shall now be revealed to you.  You might have been thinking that my Orcmas tree looked a tad barren, but like a wise grot you did not mention this to Santorc.  Good job.

Well, Santorc does not plan to disappoint!  You see, a few years ago I ordered a few of the lovely Scibor Christmas bulbs and they were the real inspiration for this whole project.  I have the dwarf bulb unpainted still, but lets leave that for another year.

Here they are, I will start with some pics of them hanging on a WIP tree for the rest of my scenery.  From this you can get a nicer closeup:

These guys were a blast to paint, the detailed bits are very well defined so they respond well to washes.  I started these with my airbrush, more for fun, and was able to get some cool highlighting effects with my limited skills.

Now, where do these critters fit into Orcmas?  Well, even the lowliest grot knows that Santorc stuffs dwarfs inside of the bulbs, then the Orcmas squigs  arrive and try to crack them out.  There is supposed to be a feast afterwards, but the squigs usually eat it all first.

Time for a shot of the lovely tree with Santorc and the bulbs:

Finally, to show you that I have not finished, here is Santorc with his two most loyal bodyguards.  They are still a WIP, so no closeups yet.  They are almost finished, so hopefully I can share them with you in the next day or two.

Until then, Merry Orcmas, and Merry Christmas!

Orcmas Part Too!

I hope you enjoyed Santorc as my first Orcmas entry.  If you didn't well, keep it quiet, as he does come visiting to uppity grots, and his big bell ain't made of pillows, hur! hur!

Moving right along, you might ask what good would Orcmas be without an Orcmas tree?  Well, Santorc would agree with you, so long as you don't ask too rudely :P

Of course, the Orcmas tree is the second piece I would like to share with you this season.  The Orcmas tree is a longstanding tradition - it is fought over year after year by ambitious greenskins looking to claim the title 'da Boss of Orcmas.  'Ol Santorc has defended his title for years uncounted (since orcs can't count!) and will be the Boss for who knows how long.  It is a massive, ancient growth.  Scarred from dozens of previous battles it always manages to sprout branches anew, even when it seems to be nothing more than a scorched ruin!  Santorc defends the tree proudly, ready to take on all comers as he rings his bell across their heads.

Behold, the Orcmas tree!

Initially, my plan was to shape it like a traditional Christmas tree.  That, however did not seem as interesting, and I am happy with the results.  Here it is with Santorc proudly defending it:

The more astute among you have noted that Santorc's base is snowy and the Orcmas tree has no snow.  I am still undecided on whether to make the tree snowy or not.  I have no other snow-covered terrain, so I think the tree might look out of place among the rest of my scenery and would not be suitable for multi-purpose use.  Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I hope you like the Orcmas tree.  Perhaps you even want to claim it.  I am sure Santorc would welcome the challenge!  Perhaps next I will describe how I made it...