October 26 The Last Gasp (Ogtober and Orctober)

As October hurtles towards a close, here's the final batch of minis from both the month's projects.  There's only a bit to show, so it might as well go in one post.

Ogtober 

Despite having several (too many?) ogre units on the painting table, I only managed to finish one, this unit of Boomers. 

The Boomers

Rear view

When I painted the first regiment of ogre warriors I wondered if I could get away with just two ogres on a regiment base. It works, but looks a bit empty to my eyes. I can pad the base out with terrain (those bark rocks look good) but it would be nice to have other options.

Then I remembered the 15mm boomer sergeant I did back in 2020. I gave him a red goblin powder monkey, surely I could do something similar here?

So the two ogres have a little 'helper'. The goblin is from the newish goblin sprues and he has a powder barrel taken from the Dungeon Saga terrain pieces. He holds a ramrod (greenstuff on the end of a spear). Originally he just had an empty left hand after removing the bow it held, but it looked a bit odd, so I gave him a mug made from a piece of round sprue frame and a bit of wire.

I think he works well as a unit filler. 

Basing was done to match the previous two ogres, with the addition of a Gamers Grass agave, and I've been putting them on the earlier ogres too. 

There's also a couple of aloe plants. These are taken from a Christmas decoration, painted in a couple of different shades of green. I'm not entirely happy with these; they are pretty good as regards the shape, but the colour is too dark. Aloe tend to be fairly pale green, even paler at the base of the leaves. I'll see if I can correct this at some point; I've plenty more of the bits, so I'll try and get them painted up more accurately. 

Orctober 

The orcs got a restored regiment of Gore Riders (the post on my original army shows how they used to look, broken standard and all). They were an integral part of my old orc army, and I was rather pleased with the basing; the raised pavement giving height to the leader. I wanted to keep that look.

The Blue Shields

They're not retreating, they've run straight over you!

I simplified the base slightly, using some of the plastic sign board type foamboard. I engraved a cobblestone texture into the board - it easily takes the pattern - then edged the pavement with some of my XPS blocks. A bit of broken column and some more rubble complete the base, the whole is then textured with a 'gloop' of sand, paint and PVA, then flock and static grass added. 

The new base

The Flagger (originally seen in bits on the original army post) was repaired for the battle against Boðvoc's elves, I pinned both arms and posed the right arm so the standard pole rested on the rock for extra strength, but this left a gap at the elbow. I filled this with greenstuff, the arm is marginally longer now, but I don't think it really shows.

The paint was badly chipped, needing priming on the bare metal. Then it was a case of painting orc style as usual. I did try to make more of the standard, brightening the red and adding a bit more highlight to the black. 

Looking at the photos, he could do with another spray of matt varnish, and perhaps a bit more fancy detailing to indicate his importance.  After all, he did defeat a bunch of elven Drakon Riders (single handed, according to him!)

The Flagger

Nice cloak

What's Next?

I'm continuing with both the new ogre army and revamping the orcs.

I've a couple of ogre units in the works, plus another hero.  Beyond that, there's plenty more ogre units I can build and paint, though I would like some of the more specialist troops as well.

There are three more orc ax units to rebase (though I might combine two regiments into a horde), regiments of greatax and morax to repair and rebase, three chariots to finish and the giant. 

Given that I don't have any rebased Greataxes, they might be the next lot for refurbishment (there's a lot of breakage to sort).

And then there's the Grey Horde to tackle (which will definitely not be a quick project).

Apart from the standard orc troops, I fancy trying some of the new units introduced in third edition; youngax and longax.

Gamers Grass Blue Agave

Last Sunday I picked up a pack of Gamers Grass Blue Agave Plants to add a bit of colour and interest to my ogres' arid base.

Boðvoc and Snapfit from Da Green Horde commented that they wanted to see how they looked, so here's a picture of one on a new unit's base. 

Agave on base

I'm very impressed with the results, and I'll certainly be looking for similar plants in the future. 

The ogre unit isn't quite finished yet but I hope to get it done before the end of Ogtober.

EDIT: the agave are made by the same company as did the video that inspired the arid bases.  I didn't deliberately set out to find their stuff, but I'm very pleased that I did.

FIASCO 26 Haul

I went to FIASCO, Leeds Wargamers annual show held at the Royal Armouries. This time accompanied by my son (it's usually me accompanying him, providing a bass line to his violin).

It was busy, with the usual mix of display games, participation games and stalls. 

I went with a list, primarily focused on filling out some of the gaps in my new Ogre army, plus some Empire of Dust stuff for Boðvoc. 

I couldn't find any of the Mantic stuff on my list, but I was able to get various bits of interest. 

Here's the haul.

The Haul

I got some Army Painter Dark Tone, mostly to mix up another batch of Marine Juice and some Gamers Grass Blue Agarve leaves for my ogre bases. Some 3D printed barrels and wheels for a little project for the ogres. And, a lucky find, six old school minis; an orc and five undead. These last were a bargain from the Tabletop sale, with the bonus that the money went to a Whale and Dolphin charity. 

There were a few other bits, but as these are presents for people, they'll remain secret for now.

My lad picked up some Soul Reaver cavalry for his growing Undead. I'm sure I'll regret him getting possibly the nastiest cavalry in the game. 

It was a fun trip out, and  useful too, even though my ogres didn't get the reinforcements they wanted. 

Orctober 26, The Second Batch: Skulks, Ax and Gore Riders and Heroes

Here's the next batch of updated orcs.  Three units this time, plus a couple of heroes

The Second Batch

Skulk Troop

I've finally based up the remaining Skulks that I painted back in 2020. One of the quivers needed the paint refreshing, otherwise it was just basing, so a definite easy win.

Skulks

Orc archers, whatever next?

This gives me two troops, which is probably enough, but I have enough bits in the Grey Horde to add at least two more troops. I think troops give more tactical flexibility than one regiment. Mind you, they didn't last long last battle, even with the Raiders upgrade. 

They are a fun unit, and can sometimes surprise. 

Skulk Stalker 

The Skulk Stalker was one of the Dungeon Saga Green Rage expansion orcs, painted up for Vanguard. I rebased him on a tactical rock and did a bit of tidying up on the painting. 

It's not a hero I've ever thought about using before; indeed, I'd kind of skipped over him in the army lists, but I might give him a go now I've got him.

The Skulks' Boss

He caught that coat himself

Gore Rider Troop

Next up is a troop of Gore Riders. These were painted up many years ago and were intended to be a troop rather than half a regiment, hence a carnyx (horn) blower but no standard and a less impressive leader made up from one of the ordinary riders with a weapon swap. 

One of them was later based individually for Vanguard; I can't see that ever getting played again around here, so I'm happy to press gang him into the army.

Gore Riders in the Sky

Eat Our Dust

Ax Regiment 

I also got a regiment of ax based.  There were a few broken and missing axes, but I've got plenty of spares. The Marauder sprue has a left hand holding a club covered with metal plates, ideal for repairing damaged left hands. I did a little bit of highlighting as well, particularly on the cloth areas. Nothing too obvious I hope, but I think it makes a difference. 

Before additional highlights

And after. Hopefully it makes a difference

I kept the broken pillars from the original base and added some XPS block walls. I think I've still got the look of them marauding through ruins.

Orc Ax

Orcs in column, or just walking past one

Finally, some Inspiration

Those Gore Riders need some mounted Inspiration; the Flagger on Gore uses a normal Gore Rider with a flag pole replacing the spear. The left arm is a restic piece from the Fight Wagon crew.

He was already painted, but I made a few changes to the flag to make the torn trophy bit stand out more, and picked out some highlights on the skin. 

Then it's simply a coat of matt varnish and a bit of work to make the base fit the current aesthetic.

Flagger

Flag plus trophies

Now I need to paint a blue flag with a yellow sun

What's Next? 

I'll be swapping back to ogres next, but I must get some more of the old orc infantry rebased.

I've still got to finish repainting the Flagger, and there are a few more heroes I'd like to paint up, simply to give me more flexibility in army choices. 

I suspect we'll be increasing the points next game, so I'd better get busy. I've plenty still choose from in the old army: a giant, three chariots, a regiment of gore riders, a regiment each of morax and greatax and three regiments of ax.

And there's the Grey Horde too, with plenty of options there. 

Ogtober 26: Mantic Ogre Warriors

Time to get some more Ogres done, so I painted up the Warriors that I teased at the end of the previous Ogtober post.

I chose to build them all with swords and will probably do another regiment with all axes and clubs. It makes no difference within the game, but does give me some way to identify them in write ups. 

The leader is another female ogre, in case we ever use the Clash of Kings 24 updates (yup, still using third edition - it works for us), where a unit could be upgraded with a Matriarch.

Ogre Warriors

Rear view 

Painting 

They were pretty straightforward to paint (though I realised that I missed a few mould lines - darn) using the same skin tones as the Sergeant and trying to match the base. As it was my first time painting these particular bodies there were places where I wasn't sure if something was armour or strap, or where the boots ended etc. Still, I worked it out in the end. 

No one gets a tactical rock; those are reserved for Heroes. I did try using a bit of filler to add some relief to the base, otherwise the technique was the same as on the sergeant. I don't think the Martian Ironearth has worked as well (I didn't use a thick enough layer, apparently), and painting around the ogres was fiddly, but doable. It does make me wonder how I'm going to manage with 15 to 20 goblins on a base. 

I think I could do with some more varied tufts for this army, or maybe even some small succulent type plants. But for now they're fine.

Painting a unit of ogres is a bit like painting a unit of heroes; they are large enough that each demands individual attention.

That said, I did do the same stage across all the minis. They take longer than painting smaller troops of course, but there are only three to a unit, so I suppose it balances out. 

It does encourage me to look at ways of justifying two ogres to a regiment.

What's Next?

Apart from more orc sorting for Orctober 26, I've built a couple of Boomers who are awaiting paint. Hopefully I'll squeeze them in to October.

Two Boomers 

Orctober 26 The First Batch: Basing and Rebasing Morax and Trolls

Since I needed to increase the Lockdown force for the recent game against Boðvoc, the first units to be tackled for Orctober were the already painted Morax who finally got based, and the Trolls from the old army who were rebased to match their more recently done chums.

The first batch  Morax Troop The Morax needed a little bit of repair work, merely replacing broken axes (I have lots of spares in the bits box). One of the reasons the orcs in the old army have so many broken axes (though not in the case of these unbased Morax) is that I originally based them with weapons sticking out over the bases. I avoided that issue this time around, hopefully they'll keep those axes a bit longer. I've kept up the theme of them marching through ruins, using some XPS 'bricks' alongside an old fishtank ornament pillar.

Morax troop

Rear view

Troll Regiment

There's not a lot to say about them. I did take the opportunity to add some highlights to the trolls, partly to give them more variety of skin tones, but I don't think it's worked particularly well. I also used some of the Vallejo Effects Rust paints on their armour.

Trolls

Rear view

And Something New

My orcs needed something to boost their Nerve, so I painted up a War Drum. 

I replaced the guard's sword with an axe (I told you that I had a lot of spares), partly because I do like my orcs to have axes, and partly because it looked like it would soon break anyway. 

Painting was following my usual orc method, and the drum was straightforward. I'm not sure those bones would stand up to the tension, but they do make for a great looking design.

This was fun to do, though I did rush a bit. Making the base was fun too; the skull on the wall has a wire which pins the stones together. 

The War drum and crew

Rear view (with skull)

What's Next?

In terms of orcs, I have plenty more of my old army to tackle, and another troop of Skulks that just need basing.  I've also found four painted Gore Riders, which would make a troop.

First, though, I think I should sort out the chipped paintwork on the Flagger, and maybe rebase one of the old Ax Regiments. That way the 1200 point army I used will be finished.

Of course, I'll probably change things around, but it did seem to be a reasonably effective force.

Kings of War: Elves vs Orcs

Warning, this is another one of my long waffling type battle reports, not the more reader friendly format of mostly pictures and a bit of text. The latter are quicker to do, but revisiting my old orc army got me feeling nostalgic.

If you particularly prefer one style over another, please leave a comment.

Boðvoc and I met up for another game of Kings of War recently. He used his recently triumphant elves, and I used my orcs; a combination of my lockdown force and a few bits I've added to it as part of my Orctober 26 challenge. 

As Boðvoc has been working through the scenarios in order (nice logical mind) we played Dominate with 1200pts a side. 

The Orc Horde of Hurglik the Vile

My choices were partly dictated by my lockdown force, (750 points). I based and rebased a couple of extra units and painted up a new unit to give the orcs a bit more sticking power. 

Hurglik theVile, Orc Krudger 95

Vespa, Orc Flagger 50

Bagragh, God Speaker with Drain Life spell and artifact 95

War Drum with Sacred Horn 95

Troll Horde 190

Gore Rider regiment with Healing Potion 190

Two Ax regiments 130 points each (The Blackshields and the New Ax)

Morax troop with artifact125

Skulk Raider troop 100

The Elven Host of Lord Cadvan Dunmail 

Lord Cadavan Dunmail, Elf Prince 

Eritas the Scribe, Archmage 

Army Standard Bearer

Kindred Tallspears regiment 

Kindred Gladestalkers troop 

Kindred Archers troop

Forest Shamblers horde

Silverbreeze Cavalry troop

Drakon Riders regiment with Diadem of Dragonkind 

Bolt Thrower 

Set up

Boðvoc had set the table beforehand, apparently based on a battlefield from a magazine. As guest, I had choice of table side. 

I was trying to be vaguely tactical, in that I positioned the Krudger and Flagger for best Inspiring effect, the Godspeaker to benefit from Tribal Magic, and the War Drum to boost as much of the Horde as possible.

Boðvoc seemed to have a better grasp of his army's capabilities, and certainly made better use of the woods.

The field of battle

The Elven Host

The Orc Horde

Another view of the elves

Opening Moves 

The Skulks crept into the far woods and the Glade stalkers occupied the near wood.

The scouts do their thing

The Elven far flank advanced, their arrows targeting the Morax, though the Elven wizard proved singularly ineffective. The Morax quailed under the onslaught, but the stern gaze of Hurglik kept them in place.

The Gladestalkers similarly shot the Trolls while the Elven centre stood, giving the greenskins the chance to close the distance; the Drakon Riders hopped over the woods to face the Trolls.

In response, the Skulks edged through the woods, hoping to surprise the Elven far flank and loosing a few shots at the Kindred Archers. The rest of the orc horde steadily advanced, the Gore Riders threatening the elven far flank.

End of turn one

The Archers entered the far woods and shot the Skulks, causing them to mill around in confusion.

The Silverbreeze backed off, shooting the approaching Gore Riders, the Archmage added a Lightning Bolt, and the Bolt Thrower also shot them. Despite the damage, the Gore Riders were unfazed. Hurglik was watching!

The Gladestalkers damaged the Trolls further, but the bigger threat was the Dragon Riders who flapped over to the orc line, then turned to threaten the Troll flank. Unfortunately for them, they'd moved too hastily to use their fancy Diadem of Dragonkind*.

The encounter in the wood

End of elf turn two

The Trolls turned to face the new threat, while Bagragh flung a Fireball at the winged menace. Alas, so far from the rest of the Horde, his magic was underpowered, and only a few flames scorched the scaly beasts.

While the Skulks dithered around, hoping they could withstand the inevitable Elven attack, the rest of the horde moved up, the Morax peeling off towards the wood. Could they get to help the Skulks in time?

The Gore Riders smashed into Eritas, the Elven Archmage, pulping him into the earth. They'd aimed for the Silverbreeze, or failing that, the Bolt Thrower, but they stumbled to an embarrassed halt, just short of the Elven line.

End of orc turn two

The Main Battle 

The Archers took aim at the Skulks, loosing a deadly volley and wiping them out. The Silverbreeze just sneak in against the flank of the Gore Riders, doing little damage. The Forest Shamblers crash into the New Ax regiment, causing enough casualties to waver them, but failing to wipe them out. 

The Tallspears charge the Blackshields' front, while the Gladestalkers take them in the flank. To make sure of victory, the Drakons ignore the Trolls and fly over them to catch the chance doomed Ax Regiment in the rear.

Unsurprisingly, the orcs are quickly demolished.

End of elf turn three

Things are looking grim for the orcs. Half their infantry are gone. What remains is damaged, and the trolls are stuck out on a flank, facing the wrong way.

Still, orcs don't give in (unlike myself, who was just about ready to concede), so time to fight back.

The Morax charged into the wood. Despite the undergrowth hindering them they made short work of the Archers, then turned to face the main action. The Gore Riders quaff their Healing Potion then turn to face the Silverbreeze and are similarly successful, then completing the manoeuvre to face the main battle.

The New Ax are unable to do anything to the Forest Shamblers, but Hurglik charges into their flank, though does little damage.

On the near flank, Bagragh once more Fireballs the Drakons, but again causes very little damage. The, by now quite dizzy trolls spin round to face the action.

End of orc turn three

The centre of the action

The Drakons once more fly over the ground sloggers and smash into the Morax, crushing them completely. The Forest Shamblers turn to face the Orc leader, sure that the Tallspears could deal with the Ax. They damaged Hurglik, but he just laughed it off.

The Tallspears caught the Ax in the flank, but a combination of tough orc flesh and armour, and simply not hitting enough, meant that the orcs survived.

The Bolt Thrower crew grinned, those Gore Riders didn't stand a chance. Unfortunately, they missed! The Gladestalkers shot Vesp, but he shrugged of the minor damage.

Drakon Vs Morax

End of elf turn four

The big fight again

Bagragh uses his magic to hurt the Tallspears, then redirects their vital energy to heal the Ax who have turned to face the elves. Vesp runs in too, but despite his dubious assistance, the elves remain, bloody but unbowed.

The Gore Riders are more successful, charging in alongside Hurglik, between them they smash the Shamblers into kindling.

The Trolls, furious at being kept out of the action for so long, charge the Gladestalkers and make short work of them.

The orc fight back begins

End Phase (apologies, only one photo from the very end)

The Elven so called heroes back off. They are wise enough to know when their cause is doomed.

The Bolt Thrower crew haven't got the message, and plug away, cheering when their bolts hit, but groaning when the huge arrows bounce off the rubbery Troll hide.

The Drakons again bring Death from Above, wiping out the Gore Riders, while the Tallspears continue to fight the Ax, finally finishing them off.

Bagragh lobs a Fireball at ASB, but misses. Vesp and Hurglik smash into the Drakon Riders, as does the War drum (I'd assumed it was a War Machine and thus unable to fight, but it classes as a monster, so time to get in on the action). This unlikely combination finishes off the wannabe dragons. 

Not to be outdone, the Trolls charge the Tallspears. They take out their frustrations on the poor elves, leaving nothing standing.

Seeing what little remains of the proud Elven host, Lord Dunmail slinks away, accompanied by his trusty banner bearer and the crew of the Bolt Thrower.

All that remains

After Action 

Well, a well fought battle that we both really enjoyed. The game certainly had it's ups and downs for both sides. The Elven elite rule was very effective, I think it gained at least one hit every time.

My Inspiring was also effective, especially given the Nerve boost granted by the War Drum (which managed to avoid the curse of the newly painted unit). I think it was this combination that gave me victory; several units were saved by it and went on to cause considerable damage to the elves.

You can read the elven report over on The War Crow

I took more care over deployment than I usually do; I had grand plans involving combinations of troops, heroes and artifacts. But no plan survives contact with the enemy, and mine started falling apart long before contact. Two of the artifacts never got used (but then, neither did the Drakon Riders Diadem). The Sacred Horn definitely proved it's worth though.

Boðvoc was very canny in his use of flying troops, to which I need to find a counter. Orcs have little opportunity to take to the air: likewise ogres. Something to think about in my new army.

* I thought this was a great choice of item to give them. The poor Drakons can't breathe fire, so their riders carry an item so it looks like they do. They might even tell the Drakons that it's them doing it.