Tuesday, 13 October 2026

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.

Morax, orc warriors with two axes each. Trolls, and to the front, a war drum
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.

Orcs with two axes!  They wear the typical Mantic orc infantry mix of armour plates and ragged clothing, reds, greys and browns predominate
Morax troop

From the back you can see the motley clothing better (less armour) and the broken pillar and ruined walls they are marching through
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 in armour scraps, presumably just nailed on.  They are dark green, with a little shade variation.  They wield a mix of big hammers, axes, crude swords and rocks
Trolls 

A better view of the revolting scabby bodies of these foul creatures
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. 

One crew is a guard with shield and axe, the other is a drummer with two sticks topped with skulls. Both wear cloaks of wolfskin; the animals' head is the hood of the cloak. A small walled and paved area is a stand for the drum and drummer.  The drum has bones as tensioners and a pile of dwarf heads rests at the side
The War drum and crew 

The crews' fur cloaks are brown (darker along the spine), the guard has a large wooden shield painted black with a red axe device. The behind the drummer is the remains of a low wall with a skull resting on it
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.

10 comments:

  1. Your Orcs and Trolls are looking great. Next game that war drum is toast!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excellent work on the rebasing, repairs, and touch ups on the old units, The new war drum, and bodyguard look fantastic, and very thematic basing, by the sounds of it, you may need some more protection for it's next outing ! LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks. Rebasing is a chore, but it feels good to have got some of it done.
      Yes, I think I'll need something extra to protect the percussion section. Boðvoc seems to have it in for them.

      Delete
  3. They look superb!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. It'll be good to get them all sorted.
      There's a lot of stuff to repair and rebase, still, one unit at a time.

      Delete
  4. Great work! I especially like how you painted the fur cloaks and shield of the war drum orcs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks.
      All that faffing around with the grey Dire Wolves and these brown wolf skins were easy.

      Delete

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,...