Blood Bowl: Bully Off!

It's been a long time coming, but I'm ready to hit the turf!

Biff 

Here's one part of the Old World the End Times didn't get hold of.

Blood Bowl was intended to be a project for me some years ago, but got immediately derailed by the Hobbypocalypse. So a couple of armies later, the first team (naturally, I wanted to collect more than one) is ready!

Muntz

Starting off on home territory, I began with the Black Orcs. They're some nice sculpts - a little same-y, but the inclusion of Goblins helps out with that.

Kreese

I wanted the team to look tough, so went with a black undercoat, drybrushing the metallics and then filling in the colours (Waaagh! Flesh for the skin, various browns for the glove and straps, Black Legion contrast for the shorts).

Merrill

But Blood Bowl teams are always flamboyant, even the ones from the Mad Dog Pass, so I decided to completely brighten up the armour with yellow.

Vernon

And so the yellow began: Averland Sunset base (twice), Iyanden Yellow contrast, Averland Sunset layer, Yriel Yellow layer and Lamentor's Yellow glaze. There was almost certainly an easier way but, beyond a certain point, I was already committed.

Bluto

After that it was eyes, tusks, teeth and claws and suddenly I'm wondering why it took me two years between start and finish. 

Tussle

The Goblins (or 'Goblin Bruisers' since they're meant to be made of sterner stuff) were an easier lot to manage. They have a nice 'Brian Froud' (the Labyrinth designer) feel to their gear.

Chet

Same basic colours as the Black Orcs, only with lighter skin (drybrushed at the nose and ears with Bugman's Flesh).

Gripper

Half the knack of colouring their armour was ensuring I'd left enough space to add their team number (I assuming knowing the numbers of your players is important in Blood Bowl, I really have no idea).

Mauler

Once everything was done, the real kick in the teeth came during the transfer window. All the boxed Blood Bowl teams come with full transfer sheets, containing team numbers, decorative symbols and names for each of the base rims (which I also assume is important to know in Blood Bowl, still have no idea).

Speedicut

In some bizarre act of cost-cutting, the teams included in the second edition Blood Bowl set only come with half-transfer sheets: numbers only (although they do duplicate them in either black or white, thanks guys).

So I could either resign myself to having some teams with name bases and some without, pay an exorbitant sum to pick up the sheets second-hand, or get my smallest brush and go slowly mad with the freehand. 

Bodser

That said, I'm very happy with the end result. I can't give my advice, other than use a little brush and a lot of patience. And start writing in the middle, working your way forwards and backwards (working backwards was actually easier, since I was just thinking about making the correct shapes, rather than trying to write a word).

Yeet!

And the final touch for the team: the Trained Troll - Yeet!

I love a blue stone troll, and this started with a Thunderhawk Blue base that I drybrushed up. More freehand on his neck-sign too, since I'm a glutton for punishment.

For the bases, I gave them a quick scrape of brown texture paint (to remove the smooth surface, and look like mud beneath), then stuck a lot of static grass on top. The pitch lines were made by cutting a stencil from an old credit card and blobbing it on top.

And so we have the Mad Dog Necksnappers (named after their patron, Morglum, the bestest black orc in the Old World). 

I'm told they're fairly useless at any of the fundamentals of Blood Bowl (except maybe fouling), so I can't wait to get their boots muddy!