Basing Kings of War Orcs

A long time ago (2020) I painted up 750 points of Mantic Orcs with the intention of putting together a starter set. It was also a project that gave me targets when I was struggling with motivation during lockdown.

I never got more than the Brock Riders painted for the opposing Dwarf force, and none of the Orcs got based as I was keen to try a couple of ideas for this, none of which worked.  You can see the Skulks here and the Ax here .

Recent work on my Kingdoms of Men Ambush force persuaded me to dig them out and finish them off. Back then I promised that basing would get it's own post (partly because I wanted to astound you all with my cleverness). So here it finally is. Me basing up a  troop of Orc Skulks and a regiment of Orc Ax.

The Bases

I try to have a few Kings of War unit bases ready. I cut them to size out of 4mm MDF, sand the edges (I like to chamfer them slightly round the top edge). Remember, the dust from MDF is a health risk, so wear a mask, work outside etc. Then I seal the MDF with sealant to both protect the cut edges and reduce the chance of moisture warping the material. I then apply magnetic sheeting to the base and paint the whole lot with Burnt Umber craft paint.

Theme for Decoration

My original Orc army had a ruined city theme. I used various bits of broken fish tank ornaments for pillars and walls, with the rest of the ground cover being mostly bare earth with a few grassy patches. Although I plan to revisit this army and repair and rebase it, I still like the theme. 

This time I'm going to create most of my own ruins with XPS foam. So I mocked up each base using blutac to fix the minis in place temporarily.  I'm using less than Full Model Count, usually sixteen for a regiment, so I should have some space for extra decoration.

Planning

I used some random foam blocks to delineate areas of ruins and came up with a set-up I liked. I then pencilled around the bases sufficiently to show where each mini would go. Then using some of the smaller blocks of foam I cut for the ruined walls here, I built little wall sections.  The foam was stuck down with Mod-Podge, simply because it was close to hand.

I then removed the minis individually, numbering each on the base.  This gave me access to the ruins for painting.

Ax regiment mocked up with some XPS blocks. Too big, but it shows me where ruins will look good 

The Skulks squeezing between their 'ruins'

Ready for painting. I found a bit of a column from my earlier army to replace the blocks on one side, and added some 'stones' along the front

Painting the Ruins

The first stage was a coat of thinned Mod-Podge and paint, in this case Vallejo Extra Opaque Charcoal Grey. Once dry it was simply a case of drybrushing with and. I resisted the temptation to do too much, such as staining; the minis are the focus here.

Both bases with painted ruins

Adding Texture (and Minis) - The Gloop*

Once the ruins were finished it's on with adding the texture.  This needs to be a thick enough layer to hide the circular bases on the minis, and provide some texture.  I make this 'gloop' with filler (spackle in the U.S.) mixed with some PVA glue and burnt umber paint.  The proportions are about two thirds the amount of glue to filler, measured by eye, and enough paint to colour the gloop.  I also add a bit of sand and fine grit to give a grainier texture to the finish.  

The fiddly bit is applying this when the minis themselves get in the way.  The answer is to glue a few minis in place, then texture round them, then some more, and so on.

Using the Skulks as an example, I painted a bit of the gloop on each mini base before gluing, this makes it easier to avoid covering the mini itself.  I glued two minis down at once; superglue is ideal for this.  Then I applied  small dollops of gloop around the mini bases with a modelling tool and used an old brush to smoosh it into place.

First two Skulks glued in place and 'glooped'

The gloop smooshed around the pillar

With the first rank done I started the back rank

Finished - front view

and back view

Before it dries, I like to sprinkle a bit more sand and grit onto the gloop to add a bit more texture.

Finishing Touches

The textured surface can be drybrushed, but if you're going to add a lot of static grass or similar there's not much point.  For these units I lightly drybrushed VGC Khaki in patches.  I also painted the bits of grit in VEO Charcoal, then drybrushed it to match the stonework.

Once any painting is dry I added static grass.  My first Orc army had very little grass on the bases, they are marching through a ruined cityscape after all.  My recent Kingdoms of Men army has a lot as I want to emphasise the richness of their lands.  For these I went a bit heavier on the static grass, but since I'm pocking a glue laden brush in between my nicely painted minis, less is often more.  I tried to have more greener grass at the front of the unit, getting sparser and darker towards the rear.  The mere presence of these evil creatures harms the natural world.

The finished Skulks

And here's the regiment of Ax.

It's good to finally get these based and ready for play.  I'm going to have to do the Gore Riders and Trolls slightly differently as their minis don't have integral bases.  I'll make the bases up then pin the minis in place.

*Mel the Terrain Tutor uses the term Gloop for his various pastes and mixes and it seems appropriate.  I suppose it derives from gloopy.   I'm sure it has nothing to do with The Gloop, a coastal feature in Orkney, though that is worth a visit if you are in the area.