Orc Warriors WIP

So way back in May I started work on three units of Orc Warriors, which I sort of stopped working on in order to enter (and complete) the July Painting Challenge over at the Roberts Guild forum. When I finished the painting challenge I was very happy with the result but so unmotivated to continue painting. Then of course I ended up moving my painting station (for several reasons) and it ended up in an area with much less light. Well as I stated in my previous post I was feeling motivated to get more painting done. I would like to finish this orc army before 2014 after all.

So with my new found motivation in hand I re-arranged my space and set up a little portable painting station. I have one of those standing reading lights that projects the light upwards, to this I added a clamp lamp with a 60w bulb in it to give me directional light, and an ott light to sit on the actual table. Between them I have enough light to paint with without killing my eyes and slopping paint willy-nilly all over my models. The result...

The portable painting station complete with current project.

So, I actually got this all set up about three days ago and have been putting my brushes to work for at least a few hours every couple days. I had decided this time around to work on one stick (ie a single unit) at a time as painting a single color over eighteen strips gets old quick. I started with the unit that had the most paint on it already and I just finished up the third big block color... the grey used as the base coat for the metals and pelts. Just finished the last strip earlier this evening. Here are a couple shots...

Hard to see in this shot but the three base colors are green (orc skin), brown (wood & leather) and grey (metal & pelts).

A bit more clear in this picture. Now to just do the last base color then its all highlights and clean up.

The final base color will be the accent color, which varies by unit, which will be red for this unit. Then I will do the highlights for the brown and grey. The green is already done on all eighteen strips actually. So with any luck I will be done within a week with this unit and moving on to the next on. Stay tuned!

Warmaster Day - August 2011

Its been a while since my last post, primarily due to me not having the time to get any hobby work done recently. I moved my painting space and unfortunately it was to an area with much less light. I have fixed that in the last few days after returning from the most recent Warmaster Day at our local game store. I had been dying to get some gaming time in and the announcement for a new Warmaster Day seemed just the thing to get back into the swing of things.

Since I met Ed, the main organizer for Warmaster events in this area, in January he has been tantalizing me with rumors of a plethora (read as "more than two") Warmaster players in the vicinity. I had previously met two of the other players and to my delight this last Sunday I finally got to meet a few more of them. We had seven players total and played in two rounds. Ed sat out the first round to facilitate new people playing each other. Then after a quick bite to eat we commenced with round two in which I sat out so Ed had a chance to play and I had a chance to take pictures. So with out further pomp and circumstance, the pictures...enjoy!

The generals gather in the basement preparing their forces and scouting the fields of battle.

The tables all set and ready for battle - now we just need the little men.

This is from my only battle of the day - 2000pts Orc vs High Elves. We were affected by a nasty plague which made issuing orders harder on the first turn. More debilitating for my green horde than the pansy elves... which seems wrong.

Light cavalry units face off over a small wooded area.

Blast it! The sneaky elves have advanced on the woods... now they will spend the whole game hiding in the trees shooting me!

Bad die! The Elves fail a command roll.

But this unit of mixed archers and spearmen seem pretty motivated to shed blood today.

Gah! Now the Elven warmachine is starting to move!

The elves and are in great position to receive any charges.

This is a shot of the neighboring table... a 2000pt Dwarf vs Dog of War game.

Those pikemen look pretty intimidating as does that Tuska (I think that's what they are called).

The elven light cavalry and archers make short work of my own Goblin Wolfriders. After this my right flank fell apart but I managed to get my troops running around quite effectively (while the elves were stunned into a stupor). We did some nice damage but the elves held and won by a decent margin in the end. Still I'm quite happy with how the army moves now I just need to get better tactics in my playbook.

The third table arrayed for battle. 2000pt Orcs vs Undead.

I liked the terrain on the Dogs of War table so I took a picture when I had the chance. I was told the ruins on the right are from the BoFA set and the buildings on the left are J R miniatures line. They looked really good, I'll have to pick some up.

Between games, after returning from lunch I spotted Ed's excellent pikeman conversion and took a shot.

The after lunch games begin with 2000pt Dwarf vs Undead. All of the games have a single objective. If someone can get 33% of their total army points within 15cm (I believe) the game would end at the conclusion of that players turn. The other two games would end fairly quickly with the objective being met but this table would go to the time limit. It looked like a great battle and a true nail bitter!

The shot from the dwarf side.

The second game - 2000pts Daemons vs High Elves. This shot shows Ed's Daemons lined up and ready to rend flesh.

The High Elf side - Not a bit of makeup out of place. Good show boys!

The Daemons and High Elves prepare to battle over the badlands.

The third and final table - 2000pt Orcs vs Dogs of War! Orcs are on the far side and Dogs of War on the near.

Dwarves pour forth out of the hills prepared to hack down those old bones keeping them from their objective!

The Deamon's new hero, A Daemoness of Slaanesh, is obviously still a novice at leadership. She makes four consecutive blunders. Ouch!

Orcs storm across the fields towards the outpost (the objective on this table).

A shot of table two - Elves are advancing nicely towards the objective.

The Dogs of War commanders fail to get their sections going and this would prove fatal to their battle plan.

Dwarf Warriors, undead chariots and cavalry clash over a small hill and valley.

The Dogs of War get moving.

The shot from the Orc reserve force (cough, cough).

A shot of the table just before the Daemons and Elves converge.

A battle ensues around the dwarf statue objective while in the background the battle on the hill rages on!

Ed moves up some of his forces (which I'm sure were peppered by arrows).

Joe commands his undead legions to advance.

The Orcs reach the observation tower (officially winning the game), now lets see if they can hold it.

Daemon cavalry slams into the Elf lines!

Notice the undead mercenary chariots along to observe the carnage. They look great, don't they?

A Tuska goes wild after a failed command roll but ends up advancing regardless.

The undead, having broken the Dwarf lines at the statue, press their advantage!

The battle on the hill still rages with each commander committing fresh troops.

The battle on table two heats up with troops converging from every direction into the scrum!

The Orcs, never good at waiting, charge the Dogs of War.

A good shot of the action on table three - Advantage: Orcs.

A Bone Giant and Undead Sphinx advance into another unit of Dwarf Rangers.

Things are looking grim for the Daemons.

Just before the Orcs and Dogs of War clash.

Determining attacks and casualties.

The Dogs of War are determined to draw some blood today!

The Undead Sphinx and Bone Giant pursuit the Dwarf Rangers as they withdraw...

...and find themselves surrounded by Dwarf Warriors and cut down!

The Daemons, having lost a significant scrum in the middle, marshal their forces to try a counter attack.

Dwarf warriors position themselves to prevent a unit of chariots from falling back, which leads to their destruction.

The battle on the hill continues without a clear victor.

The Dogs of War finally get their heavy cavalry in position for a charge on the Orcs right flank!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I mostly captioned them from memory of what I saw happening. I got them mostly right, I hope. But in any case I feel more motivated to get some further hobby work done. I hope to have another post up soon.