THE SAVAGE HORDE

The Old Sage
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12-7-05, 7:18pm

12-8-05, 1:48am

This is the army, sans Boar Boyz, in all its assembled might.

Old School Wolf Chariots!

Eight Savage Orc Boar Boyz, ready to plunge their spears in their enemies' chests.

Orc and Night Goblin Shamans.

Rock Lobber with "Orc Slave Crew".  I have no goblin crew because I have the old models, but these weedy gitz are about as weak as gobbos anyway.

A big mass of Orc Boyz, half-painted and ready to be finished.  Shields will be built and applied after they're fully painted.

Goblin Wolf Riders.  These guys are from the old Battlemasters game, the models for which were provided by Citadel miniatures, making them very tourney-legal.

Black Orcs, circa 4th edition.  Mostly plastics, only the front rank is metal.

The boyz from the 6th edition Warhammer box make good Big Unz, especially with two hand weapons.  I'll probably be removing some of them from their base to reposition, making the ranking easier.

Arrer Boyz from the 6th edition box, 14 of them.  I think they're a versatile little unit that can be a lot of fun.

12-8-05, 12:03pm

2000 Pts - Orcs & Goblins Roster - The Savage Horde

Great Shaman (1#, 305 Pts)
Orc Great Shaman w/ Level 4 Upgrade; Wollopa's One Hit Wunda; Staff of Sorcery; Warboss Umm's Best Big Boss's 'At

Shaman (1#, 145 Pts)
Night Goblin Shaman w/ Level 2 Upgrade; 2 Dispel Scrolls

Shaman (1#, 100 Pts)
Orc Shaman w/ Level 2 Upgrade; 2 Dispel Scrolls

Boyz Mob (25#, 178 Pts)
25 Orc Boyz inc. Musician; Standard Bearer; Boss; Light Armor; Shield; Animosity; Ignore Goblin Panic

Boyz Mob (18#, 177 Pts)
18 Orc Big'Uns inc. Musician; Standard Bearer; Extra Hand Weapon; Light Armor; Animosity; Ignore Goblin Panic

Arrer Boyz Mob (14#, 112 Pts)
14 Orc Arrer Boyz w/ Light Armor

Night Goblin Mob (23#, 155 Pts)
20 Night Goblins inc. Musician; Standard Bearer; Boss; Short Bow; 3 Fanatics

Wolf Rider Mob (8#, 112 Pts)
8 Goblin Wolf Riders w/ Short Bow; Spear; Shield

Savage Boar Boyz Mob (8#, 216 Pts)
8 Savage Orc Boar Boyz inc. Musician; Standard Bearer; Boss; Hand Weapon; Spear; Shield; Warpaint; Bashin' Flag of Bork

Shooty Things (5#, 70 Pts)
1 Goblin Rock Lobber; Orc Bully

Black Orc Regiment (20#, 298 Pts)
20 Black Orcs inc. Musician; Standard Bearer; Boss; Choppa; Extra Hand Weapon; Heavy Armor; War Banner

Chariots (2#, 126 Pts)
1 Goblin Wolf Chariot; 3 Goblin Crew w/Hand Weapon; Short Bow; Spear
1 Goblin Wolf Chariot; 3 Goblin Crew w/Hand Weapon; Short Bow; Spear

Total Roster Cost: 1994

12-9-05, 12:34am

I had to go back and fix some overzealousness from the skin.  I'd done it Goblin Green with a Green Ink wash.  It took a lot longer than I thought to do all that black touch-up.  I also removed most of the models from their bases and reposed them to get the beautiful ranking you see now.  Next step is all that metal - weapons, armor, and rivets.

My regular boyz.  This is a nice catch-all step with them.  Being just regular Boyz, these lads are "the unwashed masses".  As such, it was a quick job to go over them with some Tamiya Smoke.  Instantly shades everything, and gives a tough look to them.  It's sort of like the recent dipping trend, but a lot more controlled.

The Boars were quick to start on, so I did them on a short break.  First brushing of Scorched Brown.  Next up - Bestial Brown!

A cautionary tale when working with knives: Be careful where you point the sharp end!  This is the unfortunate result of a mishap with my X-Acto blade while removing the Big Unz from their bases.  It helps to remember that a fresh blade is a SHARP blade.

12-15-05, 2:15pm

The Boars got more work during breaks.  Bestial Brown drybrushed over Scorched Brown.

And finally Snakebite Leather for the top highlights.

Progress continues on the Big Unz.  In this step I picked out their armor and weapons in Boltgun Metal.

Once again Tamiya Smoke shows its versatility.  After applying to all of the metal surfaces, the Boltgun Metal is no longer too bright and the metal is instantly shaded.

Most of the Boyz have had the Smoke applied.  The rest need some touch ups before applying the smoke, then it's on to basing and getting those shields assembled and painted.

12-18-05, 2:45pm

Now, the only hitch in my plans is the Savage Orc Boarboyz.  How do I deal with that?  Simple!  I just point out that they "count as" Orc Boarboyz.  The tattoos just work as armor saves, not Ward saves.  Most opponents will happily go along with it, especially since they're not facing frenzied nutters with spears.

The best part of the re-organization is that all of the painted units are still in use.  I've lost no time in painting, and drop some totally unpainted units.  The new Black Orcs will need to be assembled and painted, but that's not as hard as you might think.  These guys are nearly solid armor, with some design work to spruce them up.

I'll post a list later, along with an update on the progress.

12-20-05, 12:35pm

This army will require just a touch more work, possibly less.  All work done so far counts.  I need to put together the eighteen Black Orcs I have and order two more as a bitz order from Games Workshop.  I'll also be ordering crew Goblins for all three of my artillery pieces.  And finally, Grimgor Ironhide to use as the Warboss, Borgut Facebeater for a Big Boss, and a converted fellow for the second Big Boss (undecided on him right now).

With a forced break from painting due to other obligations, this is going to make the army a close thing.  The last time I tried to do an army in a month, I was up until 3am the night before the tourney adding shields onto models.  It all paid off, the army won Best Painted.  I figure I can maybe get two units a week done, use a week for the artillery, and a week for the characters.  If I can pull that off, I'll be golden.

Anyway, on to the new list.

2000 Pts - Orcs & Goblins Roster - Thrash 'N' Bash 2000

Characters

• Black Orc Warboss @ 230 Pts w/ Basha's Big Axe of Bashin'; Drog's Dead 'Ard Armour; Talisman of Protection
• Black Orc Big Boss @ 106 Pts w/Heavy Armor; Shield; Sword of Might
• Black Orc Big Boss @ 134 Pts w/Heavy Armor; Fumpa's Club of Fumpin'; Enchanted Shield
• Orc Shaman @ 150 Pts w/Level 2 Upgrade; 2 Dispel Scrolls

Regiments

• 20 Black Orc Regiment @ 303 Pts w/Musician; Standard Bearer; Boss; Extra Hand Weapon; Gork's Waaagh! Banner
• 20 Black Orc Regiment @ 273 Pts w/Musician; Standard Bearer; Boss; Extra Hand Weapon
• 18 Orc Big'Uns @ 187 Pts w/Musician; Standard Bearer; Extra Hand Weapon; Bashin' Flag of Bork
• 25 Orc Boyz @ 178 Pts w/Musician; Standard Bearer; Boss; Shield
   

Support

• Effigy of Gork @ 40 Pts
• Goblin Rock Lobber @ 75 Pts w/Orc Bully
•  
• Goblin Spear Chukka @ 40 Pts w/Orc Bully
• Goblin Spear Chukka @ 40 Pts w/Orc Bully

8 Orc Boar Boyz Big'Uns @ 239 Pts w/Musician; Standard Bearer; Boss; Spear; Light Armor; Shield; War Banner

Total Roster Cost: 1995

12-22-05, 7:02pm

In the meantime, if you've got any comments, or want to comment as you read this blog and have a thought, go ahead and post it over in the Inisfail forums.  There's a topic for this very article.  You can get to it by clicking the Discuss this article link at the top of the page.  I'll check out the forums and respond to comments.

12-26-05, 9:45pm

The Rock Lobber was sitting around, pristine white, so during a break I picked it up and inked it vigorously with Brown Ink.  My hand now looks splotchy, but the Rock Lobber came out pretty good.  Because it's mostly wood, the ink did most of the painting for me.  It also helped pick out some of the details so I can find them later.  It's a similar idea to the guide ink - that is, using a thinned down ink over a white primed model to find the details.  That's a technique I really like, and I suggest you try it sometime.

I finally got around to assembling the unit of eighteen Black Orcs.  I left off the standard top because it's going to be easier to paint separate, especially with all those trophies.  These guys are going to be primed black and then painted.  It should be an easy job, with all that armor.  The plan is to add some designs to their armor to break up the monotony of all that metal.

The boars finally get ears and snouts!  A simple Dwarf Flesh works well for this.

And then some Tamiya Smoke over the entire model, adding some depth to the fur and a little more shading to the ears and snouts.  When it dries and is hit up with some dull cote, it'll make the boars look dirty, like the filthy little critters they are.

The Big Unz continue to get a good deal of work.  I picked out the pouches with some Snakebite Leather.

And then a good Brown Ink over the pouches gives them depth and a leathery look.

You can actually see the pouches better in these photos, though they're actually meant to show you the use of Kommando Khaki to pick out the stitching on the backs and wristbands of some of the Big Unz.

1-2-06, 3:10pm

After the Brown Ink wash, I painted all of the metal bits on the Rock Lobber with Boltgun Metal.  Nothing fancy.  I actually think Orc war machines look better if you don't make them all fancy. 

After that, I brushed Tamiya Smoke over the entire model.  It added more depth to the wood, toned down the BM, and shaded the metal well.  As you can see from the skull on the bottom, a couple of touch ups needed to be done afterward.

These five odd boyz out got a new skin and helmet treatment, making them look almost exactly like the rest of the Boyz in the unit.  That'll help me score on those painting points.

The boars get tusks!  Straight up Bleached Bone.

A few steps got condensed here thanks to the camera battery needing recharged.  I painted the metal bits on the tusk Boltgun Metal, then washed over the tusks with Tamiya Smoke (yes, I know I'm starting to sound like a Tamiya salesman, but really, check the stuff out).  Then I did the edges of the bases with Goblin Green.

Two more steps condensed.  The hooves were painted black, then the tops of the bases were painted Goblin Green and flocked.  I still need to brush off some excess flock on the models, but that'll take a second.  Now all that's left is the eyes, which I've been trying to research to make sure I get it right.

The Big Unz get their teeth!  This was a simple matter of painting the teeth Bleached Bone, then washing them with Tamiya Smoke.  Fast and fun!

And now for some detail work.  Horns in Tin Bitz, eyes picked out with Blood Red, and heads done with Kommando Khaki and Scorched Brown hair, highlighted with Bleached Bone (before being washed with - you guessed it - Tamiya Smoke).

An in-progress shot of the Command.  The bones and drum tops were done with Kommando Khaki highlighted with Bleached Bone.  The drums were Bestial Brown with a Brown Ink wash.

The completed unit!  You can see the command was finished with some more work, and a few details were added (blue glyphs on the shoulders, Tin Bitz glyphs on the bellies).  It took some time, but I'm pleased with the results of this unit.

1-3-06, 1:47pm

Not many comments today, just the basics of the paint work.

The Boyz receive their eyes so they can charge the enemy.  And with that, they are truly done!

A set of shields, assembled and ready to prime and paint and then attach to the Boyz.

The Boarboyz start to see some work finally.  First, Goblin Green for the skin.

Then a nice Dark Green Ink wash.  This provides shading and also gives the Savage Orcs the dark skin I'd imagine they'd have.

Bestial Brown for the fur...

...followed up by a Brown Ink wash.

The feathers are Regal Blue.  Blue is a lucky color for Orcs, it'll also be the color of their tattoos.

The spear hafts, club handles, and standard pole are painted Scorched Brown.

"Jewelry" is picked out with Boltgun Metal.

1-26-06, 12:58am

I've been hard at work, but I've been unable to post updates thanks to a power surge that burned out my computer.  The culprit was a loose power line outside of my house.  It's been fixed, but the PC is shot.

The tournament is this Saturday, so it's crunch time for me!

The Boarboyz are done, bar shields.  The Boyz with hand weapons are done.  The army has been reconfigured.  And now for those shots.

 
Here's the Orc Boyz with shields.  They have a full command group of classic Orcs, with blue tassles, hair, and other assorted bits to tie into the blue theme of the army (because blue is lucky!).

Savage Orc Boarboyz, sans shields.  It took quite a bit more work to get these boyz into fighting shape, and they've even managed a few games since they were completed.  I just sprayed their shields so I can get them done soon.  Note the blue feathers, keeping alive the theme.

My favorite unit is the Black Orcs (just nudging out the Boarboyz), so I've got some in-progress shots I dug up of them.  First I primed them black, then overbrushed with Boltgun Metal.

Next came some Regal Blue on the shoulder plates and knee guards, as well as various parts of the helmets.  I varied the location each helmet was painted blue to make sure the unit wasn't too uniform.  Again, there's that blue theme!

Next up was a Snot Green skin, which I later did a Dark Green Ink wash over.

The unit complete, ready to be based.

The Black Orc Standard Bearer.  The bearer himself wasn't so much trouble, but the banner took some time!

The Boar Chariot.  Yes, that is a Beastmen Chariot, I'm borrowing it because the Boar Chariot fell apart at the last minute.  With it severely broken, I had to pull in a stand-in, which was a primed Chariot from my dad's Beastmen army.  It'll return to that army following the tourney.

The chariot crew are ready to ride in style!

Here's another unit of Orc Boyz with two hand weapons.  I got a ton of Orcs for $50 off of a friend, but they were mostly mangled in the painting category.  But they were readily available for repainting to add to the army, so that's what I did with them.  It was basically the same steps as the Big Unz unit above.  Simple is good!

The Orc Boyz Standard Bearer.  His standard arm is popped off because I found it easier to paint that way.  I'm done with him, except shading that hair and the bit below it.  Yes, indeed, his hair and tassles - and the dead Saurus head - are keeping alive the blue theme.

I've got more work to do tonight, and I've just primed the crew for the Rock Lobber as well as the Boarboyz' shields and one of my Shamans.  The Night Goblin shaman is still missing and the Savage Orc Shaman is in a heavy repainting process.  More pics as I can get to them.

1-29-06, 12:41am

But before I show you them, I want to speak on the Savage Horde.  They went into battle in the Rogue Trader Tournament Saturday, and though they left with a 1-2 record in the battles, they came away with a most coveted prize... Best Painted!  Aside from the many compliments, they actually managed to bring home the main prize.  This army, which I worked and worked and worked at just to get done in time, managed to impress people enough to take the top prize in the painting.  And that just makes me feel wonderful inside.  I also tied for second in sportsmanship, which is also nice.

I'd like to thank anyone who kept reading this, and stuck with it even through the lack of updates.

And now for the characters:

The Rock Lobber crew, complete with borrowed Ork Lobba crewman.  I don't know why, but these guys are some of my favorite models in the entire army.  I did the skin Goblin Green with an overbrush of Scorpion Green, which came out a nice light green that contrasted with the rest of the army.  The rocks are Codex Grey with Fortress Grey highlights.  The belts are black, the pants and loincloths Ultramarine Blue, and the wrappings, teeth, and claws are Bleached Bone.  The Bully also keeps up the black and blue color scheme.

A Savage Orc Shaman!  Again, there's that wonderful black and blue scheme.

Number two Shaman.  I like the way his blue and red robes came out, the contrast is nice and not distracting.

Night Goblin Shaman!  The blue is a definite departure from the norm, and also helps tie him into the rest of the army.

I firmly believe the blue theme to the army helped the looks of the army, and impressed others.  It gave a unifying point to the army that was also easy to work in here and there.