Da Bone 'Eadz

"Da biggest an’ meanest Orcses. Dey fights wiv extra choppas to get in sum proper crumpin'. No uvver mob is as ’ard as da Bone 'Eadz."

"Also, dey paintz their 'eads wiv skullz, which iz symbolic of the phenomenology of self-consciousness. Waaagh!"

And for the next trick: a Quest for Fire

It took a bit of creeping forward, step by step, but I have finally finished the first of my Savage Orc units - the kernel of my Savage Waaagh! - the Big 'Uns.

The Last of the Savage Big 'Uns

Say that quick enough and it could be a novel by James Fenimore Cooper...

The standard bearer and musician were repainted from my original unit. This saved a little time, as I didn't need to repeat eyes or bone necklaces. Although I had to completely re-do the skin (the earlier ones were a much harsher green) to make them fit the others, and remove their red/blue tattoos. Other repainted bits included yellow bracelets, blue banner poles and red toenails.

(Red toenails - what was I thinking? Were these Orcs getting ready for Saturday night clubbing? The other kind, that is.)

The plastic standard was taken from the Goblin sprue.
Orcs have no standards. This is a goblin joke.

Other amends I made since painting the first batch of Savage Big Uns: I removed the jawbone tattoos, as it was messing with the look of their faces too much. Each unit will have a different style of tattoo, so I'm glad to have painted my last skull-face.

Skulls are tricky - I don't know why Baron Samedi from Live and Let Die was so cheerful,
 when he had to apply that slap every night.

The Biggest Big 'Uns

For the second batch of Savage Orc Big 'Uns, I decided to treat myself and go straight for the big fellas.

The champion with the horned hat was purchased in 1998,
representing my first attempt to expand the Savage Orc army.
15 years is probably the slowest paint job I've ever done.

Three of this lot were part of the conversions I did. These models are my favourite of the unit because they are:
a) slightly bigger than regular savage orcs, being command group models, and
b) most of them are holding two weapons.

And now for something completely different

In the meantime, as I start considering saving up for some of the new releases (child's education vs a warshrine - it's an easy call, education's free in Sweden), I swiftly slapped some paint on these: -

HEY YOU GUYS

The Waaagh! begins (slowly)

My painting progress more or less ground to a halt in November (due to a novel-writing sojourn, and a few other minor distractions), but having set the date for WoffBoot VII, I am determined to have my Savage Orcs painted and ready to play (lose humiliatingly).

This equates to around 50 miniatures, with a couple of special models thrown in. An easy feat for three months, you might think, although it doesn't take into account my glacial speed of painting. I'm breaking up progress into stages, just to push myself along.

So here is the first batch: one-third of my Big 'Uns regiment:

Their furs and skins are fifty shades of grey - one of them even has the Punishment Stick.