Wednesday 4 October 2017

Diary of an Average Painter: Red Orcs (Rackham)

I've always hated green orcs.  Anyone who truly knows orcs realises they are red or brown or earthy tones. They also do not call their weapons "choppaz."  Their weapons do no end with the letter "z" as they can spell properly, as they do not Americani(z)e things.

My orcs are inspired by oni - the Japanese demons which often feature as the mask bit of the samurai helmet.

These are the baseline grunts.  No, they are not "gruntz" or "boyz"

These guys are using crossbows. They are not "shootaz" or suchalike. Merely crossbows.

Red is the colour of rage. Red is the colour of the true orc.

A chieftain and a shaman.

A warlike race, orcs understand the value of well maintained armour.

The armour is not always random pots and pans superglued to an animal pelt.

Sometimes the orcs do go beserk with huge axe, though. 

This will be a handy warband for my homebrew Middleheim rules...

 ...where they will be more than just "+1STR" against puny human opponents...

As usual, this isn't attempting to be a painting masterclass, just a reminder to get those models painted to an acceptable standard and get 'em ready for the table...

4 comments:

  1. I really like these! And I appreciate the inspiration to "stop worrying and keep painting"

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    Replies
    1. Since I adopted the
      "no new models in a genre until the old ones are painted" and "tabletop standard is fine, but just paint the damn things" approach my painting output (and ratio of unpainted/painted models) has improved drastically.

      Everyone knows unpainted minis cannot protect you in the afterlife.

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  2. I hate the stupid GW orcs can't spell thing, and your paint job is great - but I do lean towards green orcs... My mental image is of an elusive green-skinned menace that melts into the dappled forest green. A large, strong brute but cunning and as at home in the woods as any elf.

    Oh, and I may have been influenced by Warcraft II orcs during a formative period in my life (not the stupidly over-sized orcs they have now).

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  3. I too view orcs as savage tribesman, of a warrior hunter/gatherer bent; terrifying warriors, not illiterate and comically stupid green cockney geezers grown from fungus who charge around shouting waaaaagh...

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