The Cooksnatcher Tribe

Beginnings

I started building an Ogre Army back in November 2005 when my brother convinced me to play Warhammer Fantasy.  I started with the army box, and have added to it since then.  Ideas regarding the background and fluff of my army have finally started to come together, partly as a result of joining this forum back in July.

From the beginning I have wanted to incorporate halflings in my ogre army, though not necessarily on a permanent or inflexible basis.  I also wanted to incorporate the idea of female ogres into the army, originally with the idea of just having female Butchers, and the occasional female maneater.  Vichor's posts on this forum convinced me to build on that idea, though not necessarily to same extent as he did (i.e. an all female ogre force).  I have been thinking of a more balanced army where you are equally likely to find a male or female ogre among the core troops, with units likely to be all male, all female, or perhaps mixed, depending on the circumstances.

Furthermore, I am more interested in a flexible army that can be adapted, within reason, to the circumstances it finds itself in, while still being consistent to the theme & background of my army.

Background

The Cooksnatcher tribe was originally part of the Feastmaster tribe, well known for their "adoption" of halflings to serve them.  The Tyrant of the new Cooksnatcher tribe, Thazreg the Hazardous, was the son of one of the Feastmaster Tyrant's head Bruisers.  Partly due to ambitions of returning strong enough to contend for the tyrantship and partly a result of his innate ogre restlessness, Thazreg began his career as a mercenary among the nations of the Old World.  During his travels, he came to appreciate the variety of foods enjoyed in these nations, even if they were not always of the same quality as the food prepared by the halfling cooks adopted by his native tribe.  He also learned some of the less direct tactics of warfare, such as the use of kidnapping and ransom to either incite direct conflict or to extort desired payment or resources.  It was also during his travels that he was reunited with his longtime friend and lover Targani Feastmaster the Curious.

Targani the Curious was the eldest daughter of the Slaughtermaster Largegut Feastmaster of the Feastmaster tribe.  She learned the arts and skills of the Butchers from her father and acquired a great deal of additional experience and skill in preparing feasts by observing and later supervising the tribe's halfling cooks.  During this extensive interaction with the halflings, Targani was struck by a rather new and radical concept.  She knew the legends of the ogres: where they came from, what happened at the coming of the Maw, the Great Migration and their restless history since that time.  She knew the great restlessness, the gnawing hunger, that every ogre since the coming of the Maw experienced on a daily basis.  She also believed the legend that the ogres had lived in a paradise before the coming of the Maw, living in a land of plenty where an ogre could eat and be satisified, with no worries and no hunger.  She recognized that in some small way, the gnawing hunger was not as great after eating the foods prepared by the halflings.  This led her to the rather startling conclusion that perhaps there was a special way to prepare food, and perhaps a special kind of food, that would satisfy the ogres' gnawing hunger and eliminate it, thereby allowing the ogres to unite under a common banner and rebuild their former paradise.  Inspired by this grand vision, she left the tribe and began traveling the world, seeking out new and different foods and the methods of preparing them, hoping to find that special combination that would satisfy the gnawing hunger in her belly, and thereby obtain the key to uniting the ogre race and leading them back to paradise....

Background (continued):

It did not take long for this ambitious pair to make plans to raise a new Ogre tribe that would seek out the cure for the Maw-inspired Ogre hunger and lead the Ogre race to a new age and a return of their former paradise.  Together, Thazreg the Hazardous and Targani the Curious, would return to their kin of the Feastmaster tribe to persuade them, by force if necessary, to unite in pursuing their goals....

Current State of Army:

I have finally had the time to upload some pictures of my army.  So far only my Yhetees are completed, but I thought I would go ahead and show what I have done so far.


My army (without Yhetee unit) in various stages of painting.


Close up of my Bruiser.  I have not decided yet whether to make him the Tyrant Thazreg the Hazardous, or to get the Tyrant model and convert him.


Front view of eight Ogre Bulls, including Full Command.  These are almost finished, I still want to add the iconography of the Cooksnatcher Tribe to their skin.


Rear view of the Bulls.


Side view of the Bulls.


Another front view of the Bulls, this time with the unfinished standard attached.  I decided to make my standards 'portable' so that I could switch standards to represent different banners and to allow the option of having a look-out gnoblar.  It will also simplify representing captured banners.


Hunter, Blarzeg Cooksnatcher the Blunt, with his two Sabretusks.  I am debating whether to add stripes to the Tusks, and if so, what color.


Front view of four Ironguts with Full Command.  Similar situation as the Bull standard bearer.


Yhetee unit of three.  Will probably redo their bases once I do the bases for the rest of the army.

I also have three Leadbelchers and one more Irongut that I have assembled recently but not yet undercoated.  I also have two Gorgers assembled, three Maneaters (the Paymaster, Female, and Pirate Maneaters) assembled, and am currently converting a Butcher to be Targani Feastmaster Cooksnatcher the Curious.  Also, about three more Leadbelchers, four Ironguts and seven Bulls that I am converting/assembling to be female.  I also have about sixty or so Gnoblars  assembled, with about half undercoated and in the early painting stages.

The skin on the Ogres is painted a little clumsily. However, I do like the fluff and what you have done with the Yhetee fur. Looks really nice.

The skin on the Ogres is painted a little clumsily. However, I do like the fluff and what you have done with the Yhetee fur. Looks really nice.

Thanks for the comments.  The only Ogres whose skins are closest to final are the Bulls.  I still plan to add some war paint displaying the tribe's symbols and probably touch up here and there.  The skins of the Bruiser and Ironguts are still in a raw stage.  I used a drybushing technique to apply the upper layers of the skin as part of the look I was aiming towards was more "rough and dirty" than smooth and clean, since Ogres usually don't bathe on a regular basis.  However, I may try a more direct application of the different layers in the future.

My plan is to continue painting once I finish assembling the models that I currently have in the works.  Speaking of which, I am almost finished with that task.  After I have finished, I will take pictures before I undercoat them, and post a few.

I finished my female Irongut conversions tonight and made progress with the Bull and Leadbelcher conversions, as well as the Butcher.

Here are some pictures of the Ironguts:


All six Irongut conversions lined up: full command and three rank and file.  Front view.


Rear view.


Side view.


Closeup of the command models.  Front view.


Rear view.


Better angle on champion and standard bearer.


Closeup of rank and file models.  Front view.


Rear view.


Better angle.

Those female ogres sure are ugly! But in a good way, very original.
The green stuffed hair and big boobs make it very obvious, nicely done.

I can imagine female ogres' faces to look like their man counterparts.
Cool conversions! 

Those female ogres sure are ugly! But in a good way, very original.
The green stuffed hair and big boobs make it very obvious, nicely done.

I can imagine female ogres' faces to look like their man counterparts.
Cool conversions! 

Thanks for the comments!  Considering this is my first conversion project, I figured it would be easier to use the existing ogre heads and remove the facial hair.  That way I did not have to attempt to sculpt faces on my first conversion attempts.  I also thought that modifying existing heads would make them appear more 'natural' among the male ogres, and allow all of the ogres in my army to have a consistent look to them.

My aim is to finish the Bull and Leadbelcher conversions this evening, and post pictures of them as well.

Those female ironguts made me a fan.
Keep those pics coming.

I was able to finish the Bull and Leadbelcher conversions.  I also finished the Butcher conversion.

Here are the Bull conversions:


Front view of the five converted Bulls.


Rear view.


Another front view, but from a different angle.

Here are the Leadbelcher conversions:


Front view of the three converted Leadbelchers, with loaded cannons.


Another front view, but with unloaded cannons.  This is to help me keep track of whether they have fired or not.


Rear view.

Here is the converted Butcher:


Front view.


Side view.


Rear view.


Another rear view.


Side view.


Another front view.

I love the gnoblar strapped onto the back end... BRILLIANT!  Love the other conversions as well.

Love the conversions, however, aren't the boobs on the Butcher a bit too big?
Otherwise brilliant. I especially like the hair.

I think the unconverted Ironguts skin looks better then the finised one on the Bulls.
Good work on the conversions ^^.

Thanks for all the comments!  Being the first time I have used Green Stuff and done conversions, I know I definitely learned a lot in the process!  It was actually quite fun, and in some ways I am sad that I don't have any more conversions in the works.  I am going to paint what I have before doing anything else.

Last night while taking pictures of the conversions, I decided to go ahead and lay out the entire army (except the Gnoblars - I was too tired to bother bringing out the sixty-plus models I have . . . maybe later when I make progress in painting them) and take some pictures.


Front view of the entire army (except Gnoblars, of course) as I currently have them.


Another view of the entire army.


A view from another angle.


Another view of half the army.


A view of the other half.


A closer view of the Leadbelchers and Maneaters.


A closer view of the Bulls and some of the characters (Butchers and Hunter with Sabretusks).


A closer view of the Bruiser, Butchers (the two on the sides for friendly non-tournament play), and the Gorgers.


A closer view of the Ironguts and Yhetees.


A close up of the Maneaters.


A close up of the Yhetees.


A closer view of the Gorgers.

I'll post more pictures as the painting progresses.

It has taken me a while to take pictures of my progress, as I have had a busy schedule and only recently had the opportunity for a "photo opp" of my developing army.

I did get an addition to my army since the last post: a slave giant.  Below are pictures of the giant in a 'draft assembly' stage.  I am thinking of adding a few more accessories, particularly the 'halfling grab bag', but don't want to overload the model too much.

Here is a front view:


A side view:


Another side:


And a rear view:



Here is a group shot of the entire army in their current state:


I don't have time now to post links to the pictures of the painting progress (mostly the Ironguts (male and female), Bulls (female), and Leadbelchers (male and female)) since last time, but I will later as soon as I get more time to do so.

The slave giant looks really good. My first impressin was that the chain was too big for him and looked a little out of scale, but now i think it looks like some good, heavy duty chain. The lengths coming off his heels is a nice touch too.

Your army is very well done!

Thanks
Corai

Thank you!  I found the chain at a local craft store and thought it looked appropriate as "heavy duty chain".

Here are the Leadbelchers in their current state of painting (primarily base coats):

Front View (Males):


Rear View (Males):



Front View (Females):


Rear View (Females):

Here are the other pictures:

Ironguts (Male) front view:


Ironguts (Male) side view:


Ironguts (Male) side view:


Ironguts (Male) rear view:



Ironguts (Female) front view:


Ironguts (Female) side view:


Ironguts (Female) side view:


Ironguts (Female) rear view:



Bulls (Female) front view:


Bulls (Female) side view:


Bulls (Female) side view:


Bulls (Female) rear view:

Love the females...nice conversions Don.

Looking forward to seeing more when its finished.

Oni

It has been a while since I last updated this Gnoblog.  I have mostly been very busy in real life, including moving from an apartment into a house.  Most of my free time for Warhammer since then has been used up in working on additions to my brother's Dwarf Army.  He has been in Brazil since December 2005 working as a missionary.  A mutual friend gave him the recent Dwarf Army Box (when the Dwarfs were recently updated) and I have been working on assembling and painting them for him as a surprise gift when he returns this December.  At the moment, I have them assembled and have started painting them, but I doubt I can get them all finished before he comes home.

As a break from painting Dwarfs, I decided to return to my Ogres and continue work on them.  I took some pictures of the Bull, Irongut, and Leadbelcher Units I have been working on and will post them shortly.  They are still WIP, as I want to add more details.  I still have not done anything to the bases, as I am still debating what to do.  The materials I have on hand are limited to Green Stuff, Snow Flock, Modeling Gravel, and Paint.  I am open to suggestions.

I finally had a chance to try out painting the symbology I came up with for the Cooksnatcher Tribe.  I added them to a standard banner as shown below.  The primary symbol for the tribe is the one within the maw circle on the banner (the fist clutching the cook).  An alternate is the one in the bottom left on the banner, which suggests the connection in the fluff to the Feastmaster tribe (the cook sitting in the cauldron).



I am still debating how to add the symbols to the Ogres themselves.  There is the obvious body paint, as well as adding them to gut plates and perhaps the flat areas of the ironfists (which many of them have).  I have not decided on a color either, other than the black I used on the banner.  I am leaning towards using red or perhaps a purple for body paint or for adding the symbols to the armor.  If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know, as I am still unsure what to do.

Updated pictures showing the progress I have made will follow shortly.  They are already uploaded at Flickr, it will just take some time to copy/paste the urls.

Here are a couple shots of the models I have been painting, as a group:






Here are my Bull command models showing the standard with the Cooksnatcher tribe symbology. Very little changed with the male Bulls, other than the standard.  The banner is removable, which is why you will see it again with the Female Ironguts unit.



Here are the Female Ironguts in their current stage of painting:

Front view


Side view


Another Side view


Rear view



Here are the Female Leadbelchers in their current stage of painting:

Front view


Side view


Another Side view


Rear view



Here are the Female Bulls in their current stage of painting:

Front view


Side view


Another Side view


Rear view



Here are the Male Ironguts in their current stage of painting:

Front view


Side view


Another Side view


Rear view



Here are the Male Leadbelchers in their current stage of painting:

Front view


Side view


Another Side view


Rear view

Good stuff. Your female ironguts are really well converted.

Good stuff. Your female ironguts are really well converted.

Thank you, Reg06!  The female ironguts conversions benefitted from the ready access to extra Dwarf shields.

I continued painting more detail the other night and focused on the female Bull models.  The primary updates are the hair and faces.  I added some highlights to the hair and began painting the details on their faces.  I will probably darken the color of their eyes, or at least add a pupil, as their are too light in the pictures.  The pinkish color (Dwarf flesh) around the eyes and on the lips is the foundation color that I used for the male Bulls when I did their faces over a year ago.  At a minimum, my plan is to paint eyebrows and use washes to add shade to the eyes and the mouths.

I am debating on how much "make-up" to give them.  My initial thoughts are to be a miniimalist with it and perhaps just add a slight touch of color to the cheeks, add a little color to the lips, and perhaps darken the skin around the eyes a little bit.  The background I am developing for the tribe suggests close ties with halflings (of which the tribe has "snatched" a fair number) and some ties to the Dwarfs, in addition to some contact with the other races where they have "snatched" cooks.  So, this tribe probably has more exposure to "civilisation" than other tribes back in the Mountains of Mourn.   So, it is plausible that the female Ogres of my tribe have assimilated some of the manners and customs of their counterparts in other races.  I am just not sure how far they would go.

I suppose the next step would be to test different variations of "make-up" on these models and then post pictures to get some feedback from the community.  Hopefully before the end of the week I will be able to do so and post the pictures.  For now, here are the Female Bulls in their current stage of painting:

Front view (the one on the left is the same as the one on the right in the next picture)


Front view (the one on the right is the same as the one on the left in the previous picture)


Rear view (the one on the right is the same as the one on the left in the next picture)


Rear view (the one on the left is the same as the one on the right in the previous picture)

I proceeded with painting the base details of the faces of the remaining models (Bulls, Ironguts and Leadbelchers), including adding eyebrows similar to the male Bull models I had painted earlier.  The next step will be testing out "make-up" options for the female ogres.  Also, I still plan on applying a wash or two to add appropriate shade in the recesses of the face of all the ogres.

Here are the ogres as they stand now, the primary differences being the facial details:

Front view of three female Bull models:



Front view of two more female Bull models:



Front view of three female Irongut models:



Front view of three more female Irongut models:



Front view of three female Leadbelcher models:



Front view of three male Irongut models:



Front view of two more male Irongut models:



Front view of three male Leadbelcher models:

I have made some progress in the more final details for the ogres, and will include pictures of one of the female bulls showing what I have done.  I painted the tribe symbols on the gut plate and the ironfist, as well as added a symbol to each shoulder (the symbol for feast or eating on the right shoulder, and the maw symbol on the left shoulder).  I also added a little more color to the lips, and added a wash to the skin to give it a more natural appearance.  I may go back and add some highlights back to the skin.  Another thing I did was add a mixed wash of red ink and flesh wash to the club, ironfist, and gut plate to suggest recent use.

Front view of female Bull model:



Side view:



Rear view:



Another side view:



Front close-up of gut plate and face:



Front close-up of war paint and ironfist:



Let me know what you think.  I have not done this to the others just yet, as I only had time to do one.  I feel like I am almost done with this model, having only minor touch ups, basing, and then sealing left.  Once I do this for the other Bulls, Ironguts, and Leadbelchers I have started, then I plan to continue on to the Maneaters, Characters, and Gorgers, before finally painting the gnoblars and halflings.

Good job. Watching this gnoblog is cool, because you record every step in the painting process and one can really see the progress. The warpaint is well done, very steady, clean work there. If anything needs to be done, it's some highlights on the boots, other than that it's just minor stuff.

Thanks for the comments, Reg06!  It is nice to have the process "documented" in this way, as otherwise you only see the finished product and would not appreciate what it took to reach that point.  It helps to paint a number of models at a time in an assembly line fashion, since overall it takes longer, but it provides more opportunities for progress pictures.  Also, taking pictures along the way and posting them to this Gnoblog has certainly helped keep up my motivation to continue the work, as slow as it may be at times.

You are right about the boots.  I think the 'leather' portion is fine, its just the metal that needs some attention.  At the moment, it is just a single base coat of silver.  I will touch it up like I did the ironfist to suggest normal wear, and probably add a dark wash to reduce the newly polished feel.

I am pleased with how the war paint turned out.  The red stands out against the skin color.  I think I will try to include the four symbols on all of the ogre models, though different units may have them in different locations (mainly dependant on available space).

Should I aim for consistent/identical symbol placement across models, or should I mix it up for individualism?

Mix it up for Ogreism.

Mix it up for Ogreism.

Good idea.  Its not like they all went to Ogres R' Us for matching gut plates and ironfists in the first place.  I think I'll keep the symbols on gut plates as either the cook-snatching-fist symbol or the cook-in-cauldron symbol, since those are the primary symbols for the tribe, but I'll definitely mix up the war paint symbols on the arms/shoulders/back and the ironfists.

I may try using other colors, at least for the symbols on the armor, probably orange, purple, or black and see if they would work.  A darker color like purple or black might work better on the brighter colored armor of the ironguts, and orange might work well on the copper of the Leadbelchers.  I will probably stay with the blood red for the war paint on skin, though I may try those same colors (orange, purple, and black) to see how they look.

I worked on the rest of the female Bull ogres and touched up the one of which I posted pictures.  They all have the symbols on their gut plates and ironfists, as well as body paint on their shoulders.  I kept to the same colors for all of them, though, and I think it looks fine.  I also touched up the boots and they look better.  I am almost done with the painting on them.

I also tried my hand at basing last night, and after some practice runs on spare bases and some starter box orcs, I added sand to the bases of the female Bull ogres.  I was unable to do anything else to them, but already I can see how it improves the look of the models and starts to "complete" them.  I am debating about whether to add snow or grass in patches to the bases.  I'll have to try out both on the practice bases before I make additions to the ogre bases.

I'm afraid I don't have any pictures at the moment.  The power supply and motherboard of my home computer went out over the weekend and while I was able to buy and install replacements, I had problems trying to reinstall the OS, and it looks like I will need to buy a standalone copy, as the OS I had came with the computer when I bought it, and it won't transfer to the new motherboard.  That should be resolved soon, and I will take and upload pictures as soon as I am able.

Good news!  I can finally say that at least the five female Ogre Bull models I have been working on are almost complete.  I may do some touch-ups here and there but I have finished painting the models as well as the bases.  I decided to go ahead with snow on the bases since I did not have a chance to get any basing material to add grass to the bases.

I tested some techniques on three empty bases and decided I liked the look of first using a glue/flock mixture to create the patches, and then dip the base in the snow flock to add texture to those patches.

Here is a picture of the test bases:



The base on the left used just a layer of glue with flock on top, which I decided looked too shallow and not very realistic.  The other two were testing out the method I described and then used on the ogre models.

Here is a group shot of the five from the front:



Another group shot from the rear:



I also took close-up pictures of the individual models:

This is one of my favorites, with the ironfist raised in the right hand:







Here is another one:







Here is the redhead that I posted earlier:







Another one, which could be used as a Bellower:









And the fifth one:







I upload all of my pictures to Flickr, and all of my ogre pictures, including ones that I have not posted here, can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/donthedime/sets/72157594300052754/.

Things are looking good. I have one suggestion though; make the gnoblog easier on the reader. All your pictures are huge, and you have alot of them. Getting a group shot of a unit is good, but you don't need individual shots, because it takes that much longer to scroll through all the pictures (many of which we've already seen in the group shots). And the pictures don't need to be so huge, which also makes viewing more arduous. All these huge pictures means it takes a really loooong time to load one page, and having typed all of this I still haven't viewed the last three pictures. These things will just make it easier to read, and view your gnoblog. Having said that, this is still your gnoblog.

Good idea.  I went ahead and edited that last post to show smaller images.  When I have more time, I will go back through all my posts and replace the images with smaller ones for better viewing and loading.

Let me know if the edits to that last post makes a difference.

Yup, that's a whole lot nicer.

It took a while, but I have changed the sizes of all of the images, and I'll make sure I use the reduced size in future posts.

Now that I found a basing method that I like, I decided I would go ahead and start using it on the rest of my army.  I will use it on the gnoblar and halfling models later, but for now I started the process for all of the Ogres, Yhettees and Gorgers that are currently works in progress.

Here is a group shot of the Ogres with the first step complete:



Here is my Bruiser model (the GW Special Edition one) that represents Thazreg Cooksnatcher the Hazardous for the time being until I build him using the Tyrant base that I still have in the box (a more recent purchase):


I added a shield and several arrows (from the Giant sprue) to his base in front, and a Black Orc axe and another piece from the fanatics sprue to the back.

Here is my Hunter (Blarzeg Cooksnatcher the Blunt) with two Sabretusks:


Blarzeg is actually straddling a small stream that I modeled out of green stuff.  The picture was not taken at the best angle to see it, though.

Here are my three Butchers, the one on the left represents Slaughtermistress Targani Feastmaster Cooksnatcher the Curious, the wife of Thazreg, and the other two are their two daughters, Yorzakka Cooksnatcher the Unwelcome and Gargetha Cooksnatcher the Determined (from left to right).



Here are the three Maneaters, though I may use the Female Maneater as a Butcher in place of using one of the non-GW models if that becomes a necessity:



Here are my two Gorgers:



Here are the three Yhettees (I decided to redo their bases to match the others):



Here are the Leadbelchers:



Here are the Ironguts:



Here are the Bulls:


The female Bulls are finished.  I painted the sides of the base shadow grey and then sealed the models to help protect them.

You've a good start on the bases, but put some more color on there. Like some static-grass, or really fine gray pebbles.

My plan is to paint the bases with scorched brown, and then highlight lighter shades on top.  Then I will add the patches of snow, using the watered down PVA glue and snow flock mix like I did with the female bull models.  I do not have any static grass to add.

Other than that, I do not have any plans for additional changes other than the additions of a spare gnoblar to a few bases once the gnoblars are painted.

Well, painting the bases will work very well too. I thought they were done as is.

i really like the converted female ogres
pez

Well, painting the bases will work very well too. I thought they were done as is.

I thought I had mentioned that when I posted the pictures, but I wasn't clear enough. Sorry about that.

The only finished bases are the ones for the female bull ogres.  Essentially, the other bases will look like those when I am finished.

I spent the last two nights working on my Tyrant conversion and also made some adjustments to my slave giant.

First, my still WIP Tyrant, Thazreg Cooksnatcher the Hazardous:




     I am planning on adding a large flag stone for him to stand on, to add to his height and emphasize his status as Tyrant and Leader of the Cooksnatcher Tribe.  I will also add the option of including sword gnoblars on the base, by adding magnets to the base (so they won't clutter the base during painting and will be removable as needed).  I will consider the gnoblar on his shoulder as a default luck gnoblar, but may add another one that is removable.
 
    His gut plate is already magnetized, so I can change it out for others to reflect different equipment options.  I already did the same for the gut plate on the Bruiser (with the hand guns on either side of the plate) and can use that to reflect the Brace of Handguns option if I decide to equip him with it.  I feel that the large hammer in his right hand can easily represent a great weapon, a tenderiser, or just his regular "Ogre Club".
 
    Hopefully it is easy to recognize what Thazreg is holding in his left hand!  It took some careful cutting away of the giant hand and repositioning of the head to get the man in a reasonable position.  I added the apron and chef's hat to emphasis that this was a cook that he has recently 'snatched', and therefore a likely reason for any current battle he is in.  I then had to add the Tyrant's fingers.  I know they need more attention, but I am waiting until the GS cures before doing anything else.
 
    The head is only temporarily attached.  It is the one I am leaning towards, but I am welcome to suggestions.  I like this one because his head is focused to the front (and towards combat) as if he is purposely ignoring the cook he is holding.  Also, I like the new head position of the cook, I turned it so he is looking at the gnoblar who currently has him on the end of a rope (securing him in the Tyrant's grasp).

     I may add some more miscellaneous bits or make additions to his armor.  I am open to suggestions, particularly if they reflect the general theme of the tribe.

     I will have to post the pictures of the Slave Giant later.  I am leaving soon to go to the zoo with my family, my sons have been eagerly anticipating our planned trip to the zoo today.

Im so thick today! it took Ages for the Gag to register in my small Gnoblar brain.
Your tribe is called the Cooksnatchers and your Tyrant is actually snatching a Cook, comedy GENIUS comedy Genius.
I realy like this army it's very well painted and very tidy as a force, with a strong sense of character.
Your sculpting is great, specialy the Tyrants hand. Hands are nightmares for most and something I won't go near, so well done.

Nice stuff

Blu Blu.

Very well done. Your skills are certainly improving (not that you were any bad before), and this looks like its going to be a great model.
On a technical note, you can only take one luck gnoblar.

On a technical note, you can only take one luck gnoblar.

Right.  What I meant to say was that the shoulder gnoblar would be the luck gnoblar (by default) unless I was able to come up with another one that would be removable (so that it would be obvious when he was gone).

In terms of the heads I am considering right now, there is the one shown on the pics, as well as the other tyrant head.  I am also thinking about the Irongut head with the chainmail mask, or the 'Bellower' head (the one with the eye patch and embedded fragments that resembles the Bull and Irongut Bellower heads).  I would definitely use GS to shape a neck for the plastic heads if I decide on one of them.

Any suggestions/opinions?

I am still leaning towards the current one as it requires little GS other than some minor gap filling and it will be facing forward towards combat when the base is finished, which is where I want him to face.

The highlights of this army - for me - are the Yhetees, which are fantastic, and that amazing, brilliant, hilarious Tyrant Conversion. Probably one of the best conversions (on this small scale) that I have seen, and definitely one of the most imaginitive ideas! COOKSNATCHER! I'm still getting over that...

B.O.C.B.I.L.O.T

Now for the Slave Giant, who is currently nameless.  Of course, just now I had a great idea to make this slave giant fit even more into the theme of my army, and so I will make some further modifications!   

Here he is:




There are a few differences from the last set of pics.  First, I decided to change the left arm from the straight one to the bent one.  I also added magnets at strategic places on his arms and legs to help secure the chain, and I rewrapped the chain so that each arm and each leg is bound to restrict his movement and emphasize his enslavement.  Then I added the cow and the halfling bag to his back.  The cow is simply hanging from a paper clip I attached to his belt (this way it doesn't restrict painting the giant or the cow) and allows for a more natural position.  The halfling bag is attached by means of magnets, so I can remove it as needed during painting.

As for the further modifications I mentioned, I am going to add an apron and chef's hat to the giant and assume that Thazreg enslaved a Giant Cook!    The giant already has his cooking ingredients!  He can easily make a mean beef and halfling stew! 

The giant is pretty good, and those leg irons are really nice. Great job on them.

nice giant just wondering is the sheild wheel thingy just hanging there or is it attached to his chest

nice giant just wondering is the sheild wheel thingy just hanging there or is it attached to his chest

It is hanging by the short length of chain which is attached to his collar.

I worked on Thazreg more last night and made additional progress.  I added the flagstone for him to stand on, and added magnets to allow two sword gnoblars to be on the base with him (you can see both of them in the pictures, the halfling in front, and the gnoblar in back).  As for the luck gnoblar, there is not enough room to put another one on the base, so I may use the "gnoblar in a bag" from the Bull sprue that I can attach the same way I did the cow on my Giant.

I used a different gut plate for these pictures, it is magnetized like the other one.  The head, which is temporarily attached as I am still developing it, is a combination of the standard Bellower's head and the helmet from the Irongut head with the chainmail mask.  I decided to try out a more unique head instead of the standard, as the two metal tyrant heads did not have the right feel to them.

Here are the pics showing his current status:

Great job with the head. The model looks great, but I'm not sure if the Halfling works on it, it just doesn't have the GW feel.

Thazreg is now almost ready for priming!  I finished his head, permanently attached the left arm, added the 'gnoblar in a bag' and an ironfist, and added a couple gut plates to his shoulders.

Here are the pictures:





Here is a picture showing how he compares, size-wise, to an irongut and bull:



You may notice that he now wears the horned gut plate, the wonder of magnets!

I have added a poll to request the help of the Stronghold in naming my Slave Giant, who is now better suited to be part of the Cooksnatcher Tribe. 

Here he is in all his glory!




Let me know what you think, and thanks for looking!

The giant looks great! I need to know how you did his belt, because it's awesome. I voted for the something else option, because it didn't seem right giving that great model a boring old giant's name. Call him Escoffier, or some variation on the such. Loudcrank Escoffier, or Escoffier Stompsquish. Escoffier renovated classical cuisine, and has achieved some what of a mythical status amongst chefs. Naming the giant after Escoffier (or even Careme) would be fitting.
And I just noticed the extra work on the tyrant, great job there too.

The giant looks great! I need to know how you did his belt, because it's awesome. I voted for the something else option, because it didn't seem right giving that great model a boring old giant's name. Call him Escoffier, or some variation on the such. Loudcrank Escoffier, or Escoffier Stompsquish. Escoffier renovated classical cuisine, and has achieved some what of a mythical status amongst chefs. Naming the giant after Escoffier (or even Careme) would be fitting.
And I just noticed the extra work on the tyrant, great job there too.

Thank you, Reg06!  I added the belt after the apron had a little time to cure.  I did it in two pieces, one for the front and the other for the back.  Each piece was first independantly shaped into a near flat (though still several millimeters thick) strip about a half centimeter wide and long enough to reach from one knot to the other, at the sides of the giant.

I then used a flat, slightly curved sculpting tool to press each piece against the model, and shape the edges so that it would be wider towards the front or back of the giant, but become narrower as it approached the knots.  The other tool I used had a very narrow point that I used to drag along the length of the belt to simulate folds and add texture.  I also used that tool to adjust the shape of the belt near the knots to suggest that the belt, as well as the pants, were tied at the knots.

I didn't think about the cleaver and knife until after doing this, but fortunately the greenstuff was still fairly malleable (and not permanently sticking to the apron, yet) so I was able to slip them in between the belt and apron.  I did have to touch up those areas of the belt covering them, but essentially just repeated the process I used before.  If I had thought of the cleaver and knife before I made the belt, it would have been as simple as placing the cleaver and knife into the position I wanted and then adding the greenstuff belt over them to hold them in place.

As for the name, I considered incorporating the name of a famous chef, but my initial searches did not turn up anything appealing.  Although that may be simply because I was not using the right search terms.  Now that you mention Escoffier, I am leaning towards using that in the name, as it sounds like an appropriate reference for my slave giant.  (Besides, surely Thazreg and Targani wouldn't enslave just any old giant chef!  I think they would have gone for the best!  )

I will need to give it some more thought, and I may adjust the poll to be variants using that name.  Perhaps other members of the Stronghold have suggestions, either other options using Escoffier, or the names of other famous chefs.

Thank you for the input!

I have updated the Name poll with some variations I thought up.  I kept Herb Gordon the Harmless because the name had received some votes.

Looking up the biography of George Auguste Escoffier suggested a further modification to my Slave Giant.  I thought of replacing the millstone on his neck with a large book (which would be about the same size as the millstone) which would then resemble one of Escoffier's famous books.  The main choices are Le Guide Culinaire, apparently his most famous book, Le Livre des Menus, or Ma Cuisine.  I like both Le Guide Culinaire and Ma Cuisine.  I may do two books if I can't decide, and have the second one either in his free hand, or attached to one of the hanging chains.

I will post pictures once I can make the modifications.

fantastic conversions as always, and i thought of a different name: basil the bonehead!

regards

Love the conversions, however, aren't the boobs on the Butcher a bit too big?
Otherwise brilliant. I especially like the hair.

Is there such a thing as boobs that are too big?
but serioulsy I like your conversions. quite imaginative on making cows havent seen many of those.
As far as the look of the skin, the larger size of the ogre minis tend to look better without drybrushing and instead using a layered technique. Its alot easier then it sounds and takes just about as long as drybrushing. Hate to see all that time in conversions and skimp on the paint job. I know that I get very impatient in my painting and try to rush jobs sometimes so I have to remind myself its not a race.

I voted for George Escoffier the Unsteady, but the Extraordinary is also a great name.

I voted for George Escoffier the Unsteady, but the Extraordinary is also a great name.

I second Reg06 and also voted the same way.

Blu Blu.

Thank you all for your comments and the votes!  I will let the poll run longer to allow others a chance to cast their preference.

As I mentioned earlier, I have modeled two large books, which I will paint as Le Guide Culinaire and Ma Cuisine and added them to the Giant.  (I used Milliput for most of the cookbooks, as I wanted to see how it would work, but I must say that Green Stuff is much easier to work with, especially when it comes to mixing.  As you can see from the pictures, although I tried hard to make sure the components were completely mixed, there were still small clumps that I missed.)  I still have the millstone, but it is attached to a side chain instead of directly to his collar.  I also added one final addition, another hook to hang the large barrel from the Giant sprue.  I will add a little sand/gravel to the base before priming him.

And now for the pictures:

That's pure genius DontheDime. Seriously, it might just be my favorite giant conversion, ever (I might be a bit biased though, being a practitioner of Escoffier's art). You've done a great job on this.

It has been a while since I updated the Gnoblog.  Life has been very busy, leaving little time for painting,etc.  In terms of the giant and tyrant, they have been primed, but I have not started painting them.  I want to finish painting the models already in progress before I do that.

As such, I have made some progress with the other models.  For instance, I finished redoing the bases of my Yhetees so that they match the rest of the army.  Here is a picture of the finished group of Yhetees:



I also added the tribal icons to the Bulls, Ironguts, and Leadbelchers.  I finished the male Bulls, all except for adding the snow to the bases.  I need to get more snow flock before I can do that.  Here are a couple pictures of the male Bulls:





The pictures look a little different than my others because I took these during the day and was using the sunlight to provide lighting.

The yhetees are really bright on the blue parts, but not bad (I say that hesitantly, because the models do suck, and it's hard to make them good).

The yhetees are really bright on the blue parts, but not bad (I say that hesitantly, because the models do suck, and it's hard to make them good).

That may be due to the lighting conditions, as in real life the blue is more subdued than it appears in that latest picture.  I did not change anything to the yhetees themselves, only the bases.  Compare with the previous picture taken of the Yhetees:

Great work, I've just found this log and it's awesome. I love the makeup on the female Bulls (can we call them Cows?) they look like very misguided crossdressers (which is a good thing!)

I wish I'd thought of it!

I have more progress to report (and more pictures).  I did get more snow flock, although I have not yet used it for my bases, as I was waiting to have a bigger batch of models to work with.

As such, I finished painting the Leadbelchers (male and female) and the Ironguts (male and female), so that they are also finished except for adding snow to the bases and sealing them.

Here are the pictures:

Side view of male Leadbelchers:


Side view of female Leadbelchers:


Front view of male Ironguts:


Rear view of male Ironguts:


Front view of female Ironguts:


Front view of more female Ironguts:

My suggestion would be Auguste Escoffier the Cute
I always wanted to give a giant that name.

I have not been able to take pictures yet, but I have finished the bases of the male Bulls, male and female Leadblechers, and the male and female Ironguts.  All I have left to do with them and the Yhetees is to seal them.

Now I am moving on to painting my characters, maneaters, gorgers, and slavegiant.  The gnoblars will just have to stay at the back of the line for the forseeable future. 

I will post pictures of the finished ogres when I get the opportunity to take them and upload.

No pictures yet, although I have sealed the models I finished, so that now they are 'officially' finished and ready for gaming.

I started painting my two Gorger models and should actually be able to finish them with a few more painting sessions.

Since I have reached the 200 picture limit on Flickr, I will have to make some adjustments before I can upload new pictures.  I still want to show on my Gnoblog the progression of my models.  I think what I will have to do is to combine the existing pictures into mosaics that would reduce the total number of pictures on Flickr while still keeping the original images online, and thereby allow me to add new pictures to Flickr as they come along.  I probably won't be able to do any of this before the weekend.  If anyone has suggestions on other available options, let me know!

Start up another account? Possibly photobucket (I don't know if they have a limit). The mosaic is a good idea to.

get photobucket that hasnt got a limit my account already has over 400 pics on it and is still fine

Thanks for the suggestions!  As it turns out, I signed up for a photobucket account two years ago and forgot about it, until I tried creating a new account and found my username taken!

I had the chance to take some pictures of my army, as well as my gorgers in their current stage of painting.

Here are the gorgers:









It will take some time to work out the best settings for the images to upload, as photobucket works a little differently to what I am used to with flickr.

Here are some views of my army in their current state:

It's time for an update.  Life has been rather busy of late.  I have been painting my characters, maneaters, and slave giant, but still have a lot more to do.  I don't have any current pictures of them, but will take some when I make more progress.



The major update, though, is that this past weekend I started the process of assembling the gnoblar scraplauncher I bought a while back, but has been sitting in my bits box since then while I was occupied with other things.  Not only have I been assembling the scraplauncher, but I have taken step by step pictures along the way documenting my process.  Here are some pictures of the assembled scraplauncher with the gnoblars in an initial arrangement (subject to change/suggestions):









At the moment, my rhinox is still only held together by yellow Handi-tac putty as my primary focus so far has been assembling the scraplauncher itself, but I needed an "assembled" rhinox to see how it would best attach to the rhinox.  Full assembly, including greenstuffing, the rhinox will take place in a later step.  Here is the rhinox in its current testing state:

I plan to make the head at least a little more dramatic than the default pose, as hinted at in its current state.

So far, I have not glued anything other than certain pins that were anchored on one end.  The scraplauncher itself, as shown in the preceding pictures and in the ones to follow, is only being held together by the pins I added at most of the attach points.  The tutorial I plan to write will show where and how I pinned the various joints.






In the first three pictures, I am holding up the model to approximately the height of the rhinox's back by only lifting up on the end of the launcher's arm.  In the fourth picture, I am holding it up by the excess pin that is joining the launcher's arm to the upright posts that stand on the rhinox's back.  That pin extends all the way through the piece to the other side, and because I have not used any glue, the launcher arm can move up and down.

I'll post more pictures and a step-by-step tutorial when I have more time to work with, although all of the pictures I have taken so far of my scraplauncher assembly have been uploaded to my Photobucket account here.

Just one final note about my scraplauncher.  One of the "chain" pieces that attaches on each side of the rhinox and scraplauncher broke.  Instead of trying to fix the fragile piece, I decided it would probably look better if I used actual chain; and to attach the chain at the appropriate places, I found small metal eye-hooks which I attached by first drilling a hole in the place of attachment and then screwing in the hook.  Here is a picture of the eye-hooks and how they are attached to the upright posts that stand on the rhinox's back:

At the moment, I have only attached the chain at one end, so as to allow the scraplauncher to be easily disassembled for further modeling and for painting.  I will fully attach them when the model is complete.

Well done deciephering the Scrappies instructions!
That chain looks a lot better than the original one you get in the kit, good job the original broke

After being very busy with other things over the past month, I was able to make a little more progress with the second scraplauncher.

Here are both scraplaunchers together to provide some comparison:


The arms are glued to the body, the head is still attached only by Yellow-Tac (I have not made a final decision on the head to use, but this is the one I am leaning towards), the gut plate is also attached by Yellow-Tac and is likely the one I will use, and the two ironfists are attached via magnets to the arms.  I also found some smaller eye-hooks at a hobby store which are what I have used to anchor the chains to the ogre's chest and belt.  The four chains are anchored to the scraplauncher via a larger eyehook, like the ones I used on the first scraplauncher.  I am still open to suggestions.

Here are further views of the second scraplauncher:

I like it. However, to represent being the laughing stock of the entire tribe, the ogre needs more wounds, scars, flavor bits, and possibly a gladiator style helmet of some sort. Sort of like a metal gimp mask.

I finally had time to work some more on my scraplaunchers.  I added magnets to each skid and the base to provide additional support to the entire model.  I can now lift up each scraplauncher by holding the launcher itself, and the base and rest of the scraplauncher come with it.  Once I am ready to permanently assemble the full scraplauncher, the magnets will provide additional strength to the joins.

Here are some pictures showing what I did:

Scraplauncher Tutorial - Step Ten

First, I drilled a hole in the base of each skid to fit one of the 1/8" diameter magnets:


As you can see, I positioned the hole such that it lined up with the forward attachment point of the skid.

After drilling the holes, I glued the magnets to the holes before using them to determine where to drill the corresponding holes in the base:

I assembled the entire scraplauncher on the base and then used a hobby knife to mark in the base the edges of the skids.  This helped me to determine and mark the correct spot to drill.

After determining the correct spot, I carefully drilled into the base to create a hole just deep enough to seat the magnet.

I had to be very careful, as the base is not very thick.  If you do drill through, use a spare metal bit, or piece of sprue cut to fit under the base, and glue it to cover the gap and provide something for the magnet to sit upon.

Then I glued magnets (making sure the polarity was correct) to the holes drilled in the base, as below:


Finally, I test fit the scraplauncher to the base.  This time I went ahead and attached the chains and included the scrappers:

Here is my first scraplauncher, with the rhinox pulling it:





Here is the second scraplauncher, with the ogre pulling it:






I also added some wounds and scars to the ogre of the second scraplauncher, though it is still WIP.  I will post those pictures later.

Here are some pictures after adding some wounds to the ogre, as well as a spear head to the gnoblar just behind him:

Here is a closeup of the gnoblar behind the ogre holding a spear to "encourage" him to pull the launcher:

(For anyone interested, the gnoblar is one from Skrag that stirs the cauldron.)

Another closeup, but this time I have added wounds to the ogre:








I am planning on using some greenstuff to make the wounds more realistic, but am open to comments and suggestions.

Maybe some kind of mask to cover his face and eyes? He looks like he just sort of used to his ordeal which seems quite out of place given the context (being an Ogre chained to and tortured by Gnoblars).

If not a mask, then maybe sculpt a swollen eye and metal studs in his skull, or failing that, paint his fas as if its bruised, so he looks more 'abused' 

What would be even worse, is if those chains would be attached to his nipples too, you cant have a true gimp wiothout nipple rings

Maybe add a chain to the back of his head so if he trys to run away his head will fall off(like in SAW the number I forget  )! Also you could have a gnoblar on his back looking like he's about to slash him,or even better a gnoblar with a whip!

pez

Some good ideas.  I have not done anything to the head but planned to do something more before I am finished.  The swollen eye idea is a good possibility, especially as that head already has the suggestion of one with the large "bump" on one side of his forehead.  A little greenstuff and sculpting to enhance the effect should work.

As for a gnoblar on his back, I do have the one gnoblar over his right shoulder with the spear "prodding" him.  Where would I put another gnoblar?  The way the scraplauncher sits on his back, there really isn't much room.  There is the space right behind his head, but a gnoblar wouldn't last in that position very long once the scraplauncher begins firing.

Some good ideas...I hope to have some time on the weekend to put them into action.

There is the space right behind his head, but a gnoblar wouldn't last in that position very long once the scraplauncher begins firing.

And that's a problem how?

What about a gnoblar sitting on his shoulders with a hammer, for "encouragement"?

I see your point Reg06.  I'll see what I can come up with.

I was able to spend some time working on the second scraplauncher and have some pictures to share.  As you can see, I was able to find a place for another gnoblar behind the ogre's head.  I also added some scarring with greenstuff and increased the size of the lump on the ogre's head.

First some views of the entire scraplauncher in its current stage:






Now for some closeups of the ogre and new gnoblar:







Comments and suggestions are welcome!  At the very least I still need to tidy up the gnoblars waist with greenstuff.

That's great. I love the gnoblar beating him on the head, and the very nasty looking bruise he has up there.

I have done more work, though this is the first opportunity I've had to upload the pictures.  I used green stuff and some wood elf bitz to add some character to the bases of the scraplaunchers before adding sand for texture.

Here is a picture of the base for the second scraplauncher after adding green stuff:


Here is a set of pictures with the scraplauncher on the base:




In this set of pictures I have added the sand and the base is ready for priming:




The next step was priming the scraplaunchers.  I first disassembled the scraplaunchers to the component parts to allow me to prime and paint the components before final assembly.  Here are some pictures I took during the priming process:



To help in handling the pieces during painting, I used a set of wooden dowels that a modified to hold the components.  I added 1/8" magnets to two of them, each oriented differently to be able to hold the small components with magnets for painting.  For the rest I drilled a hole just big enough to hold the pins that I was using for joining the pieces, as I had not trimmed the pins yet.  This allowed me to have a wooden dowel handle to hold and "store" each component while painting and between sessions.

Here are two pictures of my set up showing the wooden dowels with the components "attached" to them.  The wooden dowels are perched on the edge of the yellow bitz containers.



My first painting task was to paint all the wooden areas, followed by the gnoblar skins.  My plan is to make more progress this weekend in painting, perhaps even finishing them if I don't get too distracted by my children.  I'll also take more pictures at intervals to chronicle my progress.

I don't have the time to show all the pictures I took of the painting progress I made this weekend, but I can show a few.

Here are some pictures of my second scraplauncher "reassembled" temporarily to showcase how it looks now.  The wood and metal parts are all painted now.  In fact, most of the scraplauncher itself is near completion in terms of painting, it is the gnoblars, ogre, rhinox, and the bases that all need more work.

Nice work Don... really like the ogre pulled scrappy and an awesome walkthrough on assembling it

(still dreading assembling one, think i'll be scratch-building for ease myself)

Before you get too far into painting this, I must say I kind of like the ogre as it is now. The skin needs a little more work, but I like the way it looks- very dirty and befitting of the ogre who must be a gnoblar's mount. But that isn't to say it doesn't need to get more natural flesh tones than it does, I just think some grey works.

Thank you both for your comments!

Reg06, I'll keep that in mind.  I definitely want to convey the abuse and shame of the ogre being forced to pull the gnoblar's scraplauncher.  That is one reason why I decided to paint the metal ironfists, gutplate and boot soles the same rusted metal as the rest of the scraplauncher and scrappers.  While using the same colors (for skin, clothes, etc.) as the bulls and other ogres in the army (to help tie the scraplauncher to the rest of my army), my goal is definitely to make this ogre's skin and gear much more visibly used and abused.  In fact, for the ogre's skin, all I did was use the same color layers I applied to the wood.  I agree that the texture of the skin does look "good and dirty", and I will try to preserve that aspect of the skin (or recreate it as necessary) while making it a more natural flesh tone to fit in with the other ogres of my army.

Here are a couple close ups of just the ogre:


Also, here are a few pictures to illustrate the use of the wooden dowels in painting the individual components:


The holes I drilled in the wooden dowels were just wide enough for the pins to fit, which provides a fairly snug fit to secure the component while painting.

And here is a closer picture of the setup I am using to hold the components while painting:


Finally, one last picture, a picture of the rhinox for my first scraplauncher standing on its base.  I am not finished painting the rhinox and am open to suggestions.  I also still need to add more texture to the base before I paint it.  Again, the blanket is blue to help tie this scraplauncher to the rest of my army as well.

hey!,

     looks great, I really like the ogre pulling the scrap launcher! sorry if I didnot read carefully but are you finished with the skin on the ogre because I think his bruse should be a bit purple. Other wise he looks great, keep up the good work!
                                                   Petesamd

Thanks for the comments!  No, I am not finished with the ogre's skin.  I have definite plans about "bringing to life" the bruises, scars, wounds, etc on him by the time I have finished painting him.  I first need to get the base skin tone finished before I paint those details.

Finally an update on my scraplaunchers!  I was able to spend some time painting and have essentially finished painting both scraplaunchers, save for perhaps a few minor touchups here and there and to complete the bases.

I have assembled the scraplaunchers themselves, this time with a more permanent join.  I secured the joins with superglue and trimmed the excess of the joining pins.  I have not yet added glue to the pin that joins each scraplauncher to either the rhinox or ogre.  I also have not glued the skids yet to the scraplauncher, as I am waiting for the bases to be complete and ready for the permanent join with glue (at the moment all I am using are the magnets to hold the base to the model.

Here are pictures of the two scraplaunchers side by side in their (near complete) glory, front and rear views:




Rhinox-pulled Scraplauncher Pictures

Now for some additional pictures of the rhinox-pulled scraplauncher.  Rememeber that the base is nowhere near completion, as I still have not added texture to the base.






Some closeups of the gnoblar spotter in the "crow's nest":




Other closeups of the rhinox-pulled scraplauncher:




Ogre-pulled Scraplauncher Pictures

Now for pictures of the ogre-pulled scraplauncher.  Again, while I have basecoated the base, it is still unfinished.  Also, it wasn't until I was reviewing the pictures on the computer that I noticed that the scraplauncher wasn't sitting flush on the ogre's shoulders as it should.  That will be remedied by the time the model is finished.






Some closeups of the ogre pulling the scraplauncher and the scrappers responsible for 'encouraging' him:









Other views of the scraplauncher:




Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Boy I'm glad dial up is a thing of the past, because that is alot of picture. Fortunately they are all great. I love the palette you use, and the scrappies look like a bustling hive of activity. The ogre is awesome. He looks exactly as he should, and the head wound is just great (and looks exactly as it should- just plain brutal). I'm glad you didn't throw a mask on there, because this is so much better looking and is very demeaning. And I'm giving you a pet gnoblar for this, mostly because of the ogre.

Thanks for the comments and the pet gnoblar Reg06!

I have finished the bases and I am now satisfied with how they turned out.  Here are some more pictures of the two scraplaunchers in their finished state.

First the front view of both scraplaunchers side by side:


Now for pictures of the rhinox-pulled scraplauncher:





And here is the ogre-pulled scraplauncher:

It has been a while since my last update to the Cooksnatcher Tribe gnoblog, mostly due to other things vying for my time (work and family tend to do that, especially with a fourth son on the way -- and due in about three weeks).

While I don't have any new pictures to post, I have made some progress in terms of painting my army.  My Maneaters (Paymaster, Pirate, and Female) are almost finished.  The larger update is that I have 12 gnoblar trappers painted (all that remains is to add snow to the bases) and I am almost finished painting 24 gnoblar fighters.  The trappers and fighters are painted in the same style as the gnoblar scrappers for my scraplaunchers.  I also painted the halfling hot pot and crew that I have, although I still need to finish their bases.

Hopefully this weekend I can take pictures of what I have done and post another update.  I also want to organize my scraplauncher tutorial so that I can post it in the Cauldron as a stand alone tutorial, as right now it is embedded in this gnoblog.

Anyway, thanks to those who nominated me in the 2008 Hobby Hero Awards!  It was humbling to have my army and my ogre-drawn scraplauncher listed among the best of the Ogre Stronghold.  This is a great community!

My next post should have pictures!

wow simply amazing, that ogre must be as strong as a tyrant by now! Good thing he is tied up to that scrapluancher lol.

I admire your whole army - especially the scraplauncher (how on earth did you put that together?!)and the female ogres. An inspiration.

Poor little scrappy ogre.What a bruise. He should go and see a doctor - that could be permanent brain damage and when you have that few brain cells each one counts.

Excellent. Infact so excellent I can't find words for it. WOOOOOOOOOOOAW just about covers it.

If only I could give gnoblars I would.

candycake

As promised, I have pictures!

First of all, here are some pictures of my army.  The picture includes all of the painted models for my army, including the characters and giant in their current state.  It doesn't include the rest of the assembled gnoblars, though, as they are mostly unpainted at this point (except for primer).

Here is an overall view:


Here are various closeups of the above setup (focusing on the models I recently finished painting):



Twelve gnoblar trappers are done:


Twenty four gnoblar fighters are done:


The hunter and cats are done:


I added the tribe's icons to the scraplaunchers:


Here is the Halfling Hot Pot (the bases are not finished):


I also have individual pictures of the models I have recently finished, but I will need to upload them later when I have more time.  The Limited Edition Bruiser and the Maneaters are finished as well and close ups of them will be forthcoming.

Enjoy these pictures for now!

Looking great How many points?

pez

Looking great How many points?

pez

I have at least 3000 points of ogres (I know as I have been able to put together a number of 1500pt lists and play them against each other).  I haven't built my army around a single list, as I don't have many opportunities (or time) to play games regularly enough to really delve into crafting a "perfect list".  For the most part, I have built my army with the idea of being able to "mix it up" when playing so that I can learn how to use every option in the ogre army and give myself more options when it comes time to play a game.

Here are the closeup pictures of the recently finished models:

Limited Edition Bruiser

Here is the limited edition Bruiser that can be fielded either as a Bruiser or a maneater.  His gutplate is removable (and can be replaced with other gutplates) so that I could change it to reflect different options as a Bruiser.



Gnoblar Fighters

Here are the twenty four gnoblar fighters that are finished.  There are at least another thirty to forty single models left to be painted in addition to six diorama bases (40mm) that would act as space fillers if I wanted to field three or four large units of fighters.  If you look closely, you will see that the ones with shields decided to really emulate the ogres of the tribe by painting the Tribe's icons on them.  When I get to showing the scraplaunchers, you will see that the scrappers had the same idea.  Also, please note that the movement tray they are on has not had anything done to it, eventually the movement tray will be painted and based to match the rest of the army.





Gnoblar Trappers

Here are the twelve gnoblar trappers that are finished.  I am painting the fighters and scrappers in a similar style so that if I need more than twelve trappers for a game, I can use fighter models to make up the difference.  Again, please note that the movement tray they are on has not had anything done to it, I put them on the tray to make it easier to take pictures.






Halfling Hot Pot

These are not completely finished, but that is because I was putting the sand/gravel on these bases at the same time as I was finishing the other ones (adding snow patches).  I have the hot pot because it fits into the background of my tribe.  As the Cooksnatcher tribe is an offshoot of the Feastmaster tribe they share the same affinity for halflings, especially the ones that cook really well.  I have about sixteen or so halfling archers as well that I plan to paint at some point.  The color choice for the halflings is based on the colors used on the Pirate maneater model.  As the clothing is similar to those on Empire models, I decided to use the same colors (green and yellow) as would be found in the Moot, or its neighboring Empire province which I can't think of its name right now.






Blarzeg Cooksnatcher the Blunt and his pets

My Hunter is now finished, along with his two sabertusks.  I have not glued the gut plate, so that I could replace it with a different one to represent a different upgrade (either magical equipment or big name).





The Maneaters

Here are the finished maneaters (pirate, paymaster, and female).  Their bases are finished and they also have the tribe's icons on them.





Rhinox-pulled Scraplauncher

Here is the finished Rhinox-pulled Scraplauncher.  As you can see, the scrappers were busy decorating the scraplauncher in the tribe's icons.


Ogre-pulled Scraplauncher

Here is the finished Ogre-pulled Scraplauncher.  The scrappers were also busy here decorating the scraplauncher in the tribe's icons.



Hope everyone enjoys the update!

I love the halfling hotpot- we tried to make a gnoblar hot pot but it just didn't work out. I think Dad is going to try again though.

How does it play and is it worth it?

Candycake

I love the halfling hotpot- we tried to make a gnoblar hot pot but it just didn't work out. I think Dad is going to try again though.

How does it play and is it worth it?

Candycake

I have only used it in a single game, but since I could count on two hands the number of Warhammer games I have played, that isn't saying much.  The main reasons I got the hot pot in the first place were for fluff reasons (they fit in well with the Cooksnatcher tribe's background) and because I saw it as a simpler model to assemble and paint than the scraplauncher.  Of course, since I now have two scraplaunchers of my own (which were actually rather enjoyable to build and paint), the second reason is not as valid anymore.

In comparing the hot pot with a scraplauncher, there are pros and cons.  First, the hot pot is 50 points and therefore cheaper than a scraplauncher as well as the other OK rare units.  However, it is a Dogs of War unit and uses a Rare slot.  While it doesn't have killing blow, unlike the scraplauncher it doesn't allow armor saves, and the model under the hole of the template takes a Strength 6 hit for D3 wounds.  There is also a maximum range of 36" for the hot pot.  Also, halflings have a better leadership of 8 and don't have an ill tempered rhinox (or ogre) to keep in check; while the scraplauncher is a chariot and has a higher toughness and an armor save, among other things.  Of course, this isn't a comprehensive comparison, just what I can think of right now.

I would need to play a lot more games with both the hot pot and the scraplauncher to provide any comments on how they compare on the table in battle.

Anyway, thanks for the comments!

I thought it was time to provide an update.  Life has been very busy lately, especially this past week.  My wife was in labor for the better part of last Monday and Tuesday, and our fourth son, Philip Benjamin, was born Wednesday morning at 11:18am EST.  We had been concerned about his health since a couple of ultrasounds had shown a potential heart problem.  So he was taken to the Special Care Nursery shortly after birth so that they could check on his heart and see what the problem was.  The cardiologist saw him that first day, and then another one saw him the following day (Thursday).  They both found that, although there was some evidence of what was suspected in the ultrasound, his body has been able to compensate and it is not causing him any problems.  He will need to regularly see the cardiologist for some time just to make sure that he continues to do well, but he was released from the hospital this past Friday night (February 20) and came home with us.  He is a healthy 10 lb 12 oz and 21.5 inches long.

Here is a picture of him shortly before we took him home on Friday:



Anyway, as such I have not been able to do much to the Cooksnatcher Tribe, except for a project that is currently under wraps because I may submit it to the Big Name competition.  I would post some of the WIP pictures that I have been taking over the past couple of weeks, but then I would not be able to enter the competition.  This has been one of my toughest projects yet as it is entailing some sculpting, not just converting.  Depending on how much time I can devote to it over the next two weeks, I may be able to submit it to the current Big Name competition.  Either way, at some point in the future I will be posting pictures.

thats a lame excuse! .. just kidding congratz mate!

massive congratulations to you and your family

BB

Congratulations Don. Four sons? Wow. That should be entertaining (to say the least). I'm glad to hear everything turned out fine.

Awesome work on the bruiser and the maneaters, and the scrappies. You've really come a long way in terms of painting. I was half tempted to give you a pet gnoblar for the bruiser (I really like it. The painting style is great, and really works for the model), and the ogre scraplauncher seals the deal- that scrappie is one of my favorite minis.

Lovely army, and very lovely son!  What a sweetie. Congratulations to you and your family!

Awwwwww. I think that says it all. Congrats very much. Now how many more sleepless nights will that be?

candycake and all her team

Just a little status update!  Life has been very busy lately and I have not had much time for hobby activities (it is hard to do much hobby-related while also holding a baby in your lap!) except what I can squeeze in at night after the kids are in bed or on the weekends.  As such, most of my spare hobby time has been occupied with a new "distraction": building a 40K Ork army.  At some point I'll start a Gnoblog for that army too.

However, in terms of the Cooksnatcher Tribe, I do have an update, although no pictures at the moment.  I have finished my gnoblars (including the six 40mm base dioramas) as well as the Halfling Hot Pot.  This means that I can now easily field at least three full sized (20-25) units of Gnoblar Fighters.  I have also started painting the other Halflings as well (the archers/ Lumpkin Croop's gang).  I will try to post pictures when I get the chance to take them.

Long time without an update!  Life has been very busy and I have finally had a chance to take some pictures of what I have done in the meantime.

For starters, as the subject relates, my Slave Giant, George Escoffier the Unsteady, is almost complete.  The only thing I have left to do is the base.  The reason I have not done so is because I have been waiting to finish the rest of the characters (Tyrant, Slaughtermistress, and two Butchers) so that I could base them all at the same time.  I have made progress on those characters, although I still have some more finishing touches on them to do before I can finish their bases.

Here are pictures of George Escoffier the Unsteady:





More to come...

That's incredible man.  My hat's off to you.

I know its a tad late but it would have been really funny (at least for me anyways) if one of the cookbooks said "To Serve Man".

Cookie to anyone who knows the reference...

Good looking force you have 'ere Mr. The Dime. I have no hat, inappropriate to take off a shirt?

Wow! Love the Slavegiant!!

omg
awsome mate its ginius!! i really like the books did you made it with plastic card?
and your skin looks really nice

waiting for more

Thanks for the comments!  Actually, the books are a combination of "brown stuff", aka Milliput, and some spare dividers from a plastic compartment tray.  In fact, here is a picture of the books before priming:



As for the more I promised...

Here are pictures of the remaining characters that I am working on (Tyrant, Slaughtermistress, and two Butchers).

First the Tyrant, Thazreg Cooksnatcher the Hazardous:






Next the Slaughtermistress, Targani Feastmaster Cooksnatcher the Curious:





And the butchers:





They still need more work, in addition to finishing the bases like the rest of the army.

It's kind of sad when you find a slaughter-mistress handsome! GREAT JOB

I have finished the rest of the models for my Cooksnatcher Tribe (at least as originally conceived and created).  The characters and Slave Giant are now finished and based the same as the rest of the army.  Here are some pictures of the army together on my craft table:

Here are some pictures taken from the perspective of an opposing army:






And here is more of an aerial shot than the first:


Here is a list of the units shown:

3 units of 25 Gnoblar Fighters
1 unit of 12 Gnoblar Trappers
2 units of Bulls (1 has only 4 and is joined by the Tyrant and Slaughtermistress; the other is 3x3 with full command)
2 units of Ironguts (1 with 4 and full command; the other is 3x3 with full command, including a Bruiser and Butcher)
2 units of Leadbelchers (1x3 each)
1 unit of Yhetees (1x3)
2 scraplaunchers
1 Slave Giant
2 Gorgers
1 unit of Maneaters (1x3)
1 Butcher on her own (behind the 3x3 Bulls and in front of the two Gorgers)
1 Hunter with two Sabretusks
1 unit of Halfling Archers and 1 Halfling Hot Pot (although in 8th edition these models would be used to represent Gnoblars (probably trappers) as Dogs of War are no longer allowed)

I will post individual pictures of the finished Slave Giant, Tyrant, and Slaughtermistress later...

Here are some pictures of the finished Slave Giant, he is finally based and has been officially marked/branded with the tribe's symbols:






Here is the Tyrant of the Cooksnatcher Tribe, Thazreg Cooksnatcher the Hazardous:








And the final pictures of the Slaughtermistress of the Cooksnatcher Tribe, Targani Feastmaster Cooksnatcher the Curious:

I decided to add more Bulls (male and female) to the Cooksnatcher Tribe to allow for greater flexibility in unit size and number when fielding the army.  I have thirteen finished Bulls (eight male and five female) and have now built another seventeen Bulls (seven male and ten female) to bulk up the numbers.

Here are some pictures of the new additions:

I added one of my finished Bulls (male) to the unit on the left to fill out the unit for the pictures.  The unit on the left has the seven new male Bulls and one of the new female Bulls, with the unit on the right having the remaining nine new female Bulls.  I also added two of the standard tops that I finished earlier to the standard bearers.

Here is a closer view of the left unit:


Here is a closer view of the right unit:


All of the new Bulls are shown with the "Ogre Club only" weapon option - they have bare fists on their left arms.  However, instead of gluing their hands/weapons I have magnetized them so that I can switch out the bare fists with another club or an ironfist, depending on how I want to field them.  It will also make it easier to paint them.

Here is a picture of three of the female Bulls, showing the magnetized weapon options:


And some pictures showing them with the options attached -
First the 'naked' option with just the Ogre Club:

Next the additional hand weapon option:

Finally the ironfist option:


I have also added some other miscellaneous ogre equipment to the Bulls for them to carry with them.  The next set of pictures show the sides and rear views of the three females above so you can see some of these miscellaneous equipment options.  The wires will be trimmed after I finish painting them and make final decisions on which pieces will be on which ogre; for now it gives me the ability to paint the entire model without them being in the way.




And here are the three female Bull command models showing other options:





I have already primed and started painting these additional Bulls.  I will post more pictures of them once I have made more progress with them.

Love the girls... not literally but love the GS work!  Sure it has been said many times before, but everytime I see the title of this blog I can't read it right the first time... ;-)

oAF

neat!

the conversions are ace especialy the slavegiant. i would recomend dipping the models tho as the colours look flat at the moment and its a easy way to  bring out definition

Thank you all for your kind words.

Now for the update.  I have made some progress in painting the new ogres I assembled.  Here are some pictures of three female ogres after some base coating:





Recently, though, I have been occupied in building a suitable companion for my Slave Giant George Escoffier the Unsteady.  She will be chained to Skrag's cauldron, and will be suitably dressed for a Slave Giant of the Cooksnatcher Tribe.  Instead of basing her off the complete plastic giant kit, I have been sculpting almost from scratch on an armature I created, and just using the feet, arms, and head of the giant kit.

These pictures show how she will be chained to the cauldron:




I still need to add her top, apron, hair, hat, and further accessories.  I am a little hesistant to show the view from the front for that reason.  Here are some further WIP shots (without the cauldron chains attached), but, again, avoiding a front view, but still providing a view of the work I did on her skirt and the addition of manacles and collar at the attachment points for the cauldron chains:





The stick in her hand is what she uses to stir the pot.

She does not have a name at the moment, and I am considering doing another poll similar to what I did for George.  I am open to suggestions, both as to name and to the model itself.  Once I have enough name suggestions I will put up a poll to allow the Stronghold to vote for their favorite.

Welcome back Don.
The giant is looking great. I really like the set up of the chains, and all of the worky bits you have.
For a name, consider something based off of Catherine de Medici. Catherine was an Italian noble (of the Medicis) who lived during the 16th century. When she went to France to marry King Henry II she brought with her Italian chefs who helped revolutionize French cuisine, and went a long way in making it what it is today. She's one of the most important women in the history of cooking (along with legends like Julia Child, or Cat Cora).

There's also Marie-Antoine Careme, who is actually a man (like your giant's original mini), but is named Marie (which is a female name). So it's nice and clever, and meta.

Cat Cora is without a doubt one of the most talented chefs alive right now, and one of the few female celebrity chefs who can actually cook. Can't go wrong there.

Julia Child? Needs no introduction. Also she was pretty big and liked to drink.

Thanks for the suggestions Reg06!  I knew I could count on you for some good ones!

As far as an update, I have added a top and added details to the manacles and collar.  Slow but steady progress.  I am open to suggestions on what kind of apron to add and what kind of chef hat to add.  The next step will be adding her hair.

This is so much win. I like it without the apron, and just adding the chef's hat would (combined with the cauldron) get that imagery down very well.
As for the chef's hat, I think one of those floppy, folded over toques you see in really cheesey Italian pizza places would look great. Or a tight baker's cap.

Thanks Reg06!  Forgoing the apron was at the back of my mind, particularly as I still can't decide on what kind of apron I would use.  Anyway, I will proceed with hair and hat, and we'll see what that looks like.  I can always go back and add an apron if necessary.

Speaking of hair, I spent some time this evening 'drafting' a few options for how to do the hair, and I would like some feedback.  The hair options I drafted were three: 1) long hair (nothing special), 2) long hair tied in two pig tails, and 3) a single pony tail.

Here are pictures of these options (I used yellow tac as a temporary solution to try out the options without committing to anything yet).  Of course, these are very rough versions, but hopefully they are sufficient to convey the idea.

First is Option #1 (long hair)





Now Option #2 (two pig tails)





And Option #3 (pony tail)





I am going to set up a poll for fellow Stronghold members to vote their preferences or to offer suggestions.

Love that ponytail, easy choice.

With no hat, definitely the ponytail.
If you also want a hat, I think the pigtails.

Ponytail looks (by far) the best.

Blonde dreadlocks!

I am planning on adding a chef's hat of some sort, so keep that in mind with your votes.  When I get the opportunity, I will make some mock-ups with hats as well to show what the combinations would look like.

Anyway, I got the new book yesterday and have spent the past day poring through the book and enjoying everything about it.  I also picked up the Thundertusk/Stonehorn kit and have started assembly on it.  At the moment I am exploring the feasibility of making the kit interchangeable with magnets, etc. or just making use of the extra bits to perhaps try building the other monster from close to scratch (similar to what I have been doing with my 2nd slave giant).  Anyway, I definitely want to make a Thundertusk as the idea of a "walking refrigerator" sounds very appealing and apt for the Cooksnatcher tribe.  I am debating at whether I should make just one or both riders female, though, to fit more into my mixed army.

Anyway, thanks for those who have voted and made suggestions for my second slave giant!  The poll is still open for those who have not yet voted.  It will probably be sometime next week before I start making a decision and proceeding with the conversion.

With hat I have to go with the pig tails.

If you are going to do a hat, then I return to my original statement- pigtails are the winner. So -1 to the ponytail for the poll.

I'm liking the look of your army - nice work.  Although I did misread the tribe name as Cocksnatchers...

A quick update before I retire to bed.  I went ahead with the pigtails but with a twist...the pigtails are braided and they are looking good.  I took a lot of pictures and even some video of not just Slave Giant #2 but also of my Ogre Horde (almost, 17 models) addition currently in painting progress; and my Thundertusk/Stonehorn.  I hope to upload pictures and video tomorrow and I will post tomorrow with the new update.

As for the Thundertusk/Stonehorn kit, I decided to make it interchangeable as a Thundertusk or as a rare slot Stonehorn.  When I eventually get a second kit I plan to make the hunter rider option and pair it with a hunter on foot using the hunter parts from the first kit.  I magnetized the heads as well as the back piece to make the change easy depending on what I want to field.  I didn't bother with magnetizing the tail, though, going with the short tail for both.  I also went ahead and made the riders female, although I still need to finish their hair.

Anyway, I will post pictures and a link to video as soon as I can tomorrow for your feedback.  Good night!

As promised, here are the pictures of my progress.

First is the Slave Giant.  As I mentioned last night, I went ahead with the 2 pigtails option, and I made them as braids.  Here she is:






And here she is next to George, her betrothed/husband (check out the rock on her finger!)


Next step will be to add the hat, either similar to George's hat or something like the big floppy chef's hat that Reg06 described.  I will make a mock-up of what I am thinking of and post when I have the chance, hopefully by the end of the week.  I am also in the process of uploading to YouTube a video of the slave giant, hopefully showing her in a better light and angle than just the pictures.

Second is the seventeen Ogres (almost a horde all by themselves) I assembled last year with customizable weapon options and have made part of my September painting challenge to finish painting by the end of the month.  The skin still needs some refining before I continue with the rest.



Finally, the Thundertusk/Stonehorn kit that I bought with the new Army Book.  I have assembled and magnetized it so that I could use it as either the Thundertusk or as the Stonehorn rare option with either the chaintrap or harpoon launcher, so as to keep my options open.  I took some liberties with assembling the kit and found that I really like the look of using the large horns on the rear saddle in conjunction with the other bits (the 'standard' and the single long horn with places for attaching more gear).  I really like the idea of the Thundertusk as the "walking refrigerator" and built it this way to really emphasize that.  The ogres of the Cooksnatcher Tribe are really enjoying their new refrigerator which allows them to make longer trips in their search for the perfect foods.

This picture shows the options/components to make either monster:


Here is the model assembled as the Thundertusk:




Here is the model assembled as the Stonehorn with the Beast Rider using the chaintrap:



...and with the Beast Rider using the harpoon launcher:



Here are a couple pictures showing how I magnetized the weapon arms to allow the swap between chaintrap and harpoon launcher:



All that is left (besides making decisions on what bits to use to adorn the model, although I won't be glueing anything until I have finished painting them) is to add hair to the riders as I decided to make them female, in case you hadn't noticed.  When I do get a second kit, I will probably leave those riders as male.

I also created a video showing the Thundertusk/Stonehorn and the options, and I will be uploading that to YouTube as well.  I will post again when I have links to the videos.

As promised, here are links to the videos I made of my Slave Giant and of my Thundertusk/Stonehorn kit.  I uploaded them to my Youtube account (I have the same username there as here).

The Slavegiant video is here.

The Thundertusk/Stonehorn video is here.

I was surprised at how quickly Hragged found the Slavegiant video I posted last night and added it to the Video Updates thread here on the Stronghold!  He is definitely on top of things!  Three cheers for the OverTyrant!

I find female ogres and giants for that matter way more scary then their male counter parts. 

Your sculpting is ACE!

keep up the good work.

Cheers.

Bra'tac

that stonehorn needs boobs!

that stonehorn needs boobs!

you meen an Udder ??

Fantastic job with the magnetising and great video

K

Great job on the giant Don. And nice work with the magnetizing.

Thank you all for your comments!  I am just about finished adding the hat to the Giant, and finishing the Ogre Beast Riders.  I hope to take pictures/video later this evening when I am finished.

I took pictures and video of my progress, but unfortunately Photobucket is acting up and I am not able to upload the pictures yet.  However, the videos are uploading fine to Youtube, so I hope that video at least will be sufficient for now until I can upload the pictures and link to them.

Here is the link to new video of the Thundertusk, which is almost ready for priming.

And here is the link to new video of my Slave Giant, who is just about done.  I am open to suggestions for any further details to add, though.

I just went through your whole gnoblog and I, being a chef, love the Escoffier refrences.  the toque looks good too!

 Looking foreward to more.